Book review - The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo

(Now after the talk going around about using photos from the web and the potential of being sued I have decided not to include a photo here but you can find images here on Leigh Bardugo's website.)

Now I am going to try and not spoil The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone to some of you) but just in case I accidently do, I AM SORRY! I TRIED NOT TO!! Lauren kept mentioning this book on twitter and after a while I got curious and asked what it was about and I am so glad I did.

From the cover:

I've been waiting for you for a long time, Alina,' he said. 'You and I are going to change the world'.

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the world of the kingdom's magical elite-the Grisha. Could she be the key to setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a man of seductive charm and terrifying power. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him?

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The Gathering Dark is book one in the Grisha trilogy which is a YA Russian based fantasy set in Ravka, a fantasy world of magic and darkness. After reading the Hunger Games and Divergent which I thought had brilliant settings it was great to read yet another book in which the world building was strong. It feels darker those other books, I guess because of the magical element.

Ravka is a country at war, a land split in two by the Shadow Fold which is dangerous to cross because of the ravenous Volcra that swoop in to rip you limb from limb if you dare to try and make it to the other side. Alina and her fellow orphan Mal grew up together and even when they are undetaking their military service their childhood bond remains. In a voyage across the Shadow Fold danger strikes and powers she never even knew she had burst out of her. Alina is suddenly propelled her into a life with the Grisha and she finds herself being described as Ravka's greatest weapon against the Shadow Fold.

The Darkling, which I think is an amazing name for a character by the way, truly is seductive and he certainly has a way with words. I found all the characters interesting in this book and I really liked Alina. I went online to look at some reviews of the book and was quite amazed at how many people didn't seem to like her as a heroine. She doesn't start off strong, in fact she is very insecure and I think it is fair to say weak but I feel that means she has lots of room to grow and already in book one, she has grown. I like a journey and her journey is one I want to be on. Her affection for Mal is blatant from the start and I like how it is not done in a 'I never knew I had feelings for him' way. She acknowledges these feelings and the fact she does little about them in this book seemed to be a contenious point for many of the reviewers I read. They thought it was weak not to act on this but to me, this was what being a teenager was about. Telling someone you liked them? Brings me out in a cold sweat even at the age of 29! I could identify with her in this way and I look forward to seeing how the love stories in the trilogy develop. Contented sigh.

This is perfect for anyone who likes Young Adult fantasy and I for one can't wait for book two!

ROW80 Check-in 29th July 2012

I am not sure how many weeks in to this round we are but I feel I am hitting my stride after meeting my weekly goals again this week. Although everything changes in my Wednesday check-in when I tweak them to fit my CampNaNo word count daily goal in. Easy. Eeeeek!!

My goals are:
1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes at least a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.
Goals 1, 2 and 3 are big ticks and I definitely did read two books this week. I am going to review a book I have read tomorrow so that will be ticked off before we say goodbye to July hopefully. In my 30 minutes each day I have done more research into first and third person and I wrote a little bit of a planned scene from each perspective in the hope it would help me decide on a POV. It hasn't! I also read bits from two books I like, one from each perspective (suggested by Lauren) but I have to admit I am still unsure. I need to decide on this in the next 48 hours so I can start Matchmaker, Matchmaker on Wednesday. Any advice gratefully recieved!!

Now on Wednesday my goals do change because of CampNaNo. The overall goal for August is to write 50,000 words which works out as 1,613 words a day. Deep breath! Now I have done this before in November and I managed it, even getting up before work to write and fitted it around a very busy time at work. This August will be very different as I am not at work as I am a teacher so I don't have to fit writing around my job but I have to say I am slightly worried. It may sound crazy but in a way having limited time to write often makes me more productive. Some days last week I nearly didn't get in my 30 minutes because I felt I had plenty of time and then someone would invite me out to do something and before I know it I am out half the day. I know I could say no but if I can be disciplined I should be able to do my writing and also spend lots of time with family and friends. I think I need to try and get in a habit of getting up and writing in the morning. This is something I don't do when I am working but if I get up and write as much of my daily target as possible then I can be more flexible as the day unfolds. The sprints on the #ROW80 hashtag are great but I know evenings are not going to be the easiest time to write. So that is the plan. I will try and make some sprints as I love the support from my writing friends.

I am a girl with a plan and I hope it works! Hope you have had great weeks and here is to seeing in August with a flurry of words!

ROW80 Check-in 25th July 2012

Well the sun is still shining and I am still managing to keep up with my goals! Huzzah!

My goals are:
1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes at least a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.
Goal one is going well and I think my preparation for CampNaNo is going well. On Monday I spent time going through some of the scenes working out the purpose behind each scene and how I was going to try and achieve the aim of each scene. I did this on Tuesday and Wednesday also so I now have a better understanding of the scenes I have plotted (I haven't plotted the end, I am hoping it is going to reveal itself as I go along!) and managed to get rid of a couple of scenes that didn't serve any purpose by themselves but could form part of another scene. Yesterday part of my time was spent researching the job my MC is going to have and finding some job adverts for her job were really useful at helping me figure out some of her traits - luckily lots of them I had already noted down.

On Monday I revealed to my family I am taking part in camp. Many of you know I am largely a secret writer so telling them was a big thing for me. I told them in a very off hand way and just said 'You know that writing thing I did in November? Well I'm doing it again in August.' When I did NaNoWriMo I had just broken up with my boyfriend and I think they thought it was a bit of a reaction to that decision (which it kind of was!) and this time they were just as lovely and just said 'That's a good idea'. It is nice because I just sat outside with my mum doing my prep and my sister knows I am going to be writing when I am staying with her. Now I just need to tell a couple of friends I am going away with during August because I am going to need to put aside time to write each day. I feel ok about this though and I am sure they will be supportive.

Now I have suddenly had a few freak outs. One being if the story is good enough but I am putting this down to the usual self-doubt we all experience and until I start writing I can't know if there is 'enough' story can I?! My other freak out is about whether to write in first or third person. I think my plan is to take a key scene and write a paragraph or two from each perspective and see how they feel. It seems more natural to write in the first person as everything is around the MC and there aren't any scenes in which she isn't involved so I am leaning towards writing in first but I am worried that being in her head might be somewhat annoying. I am going to try both and hopefully one will feel a lot more comfortable or appropriate than the other.

I still haven't done my review (how is it the 25th of July suddenly?!) but I am having lots of lovely reading time. I read 'The Gathering Dark' by Leigh Bardugo in less than 48 hours so I am well on my way to reading two books this week. I am now reading book 53 of the year so still behind but getting there!

This was meant to be a short check-in but hey, thanks for sticking with me till the end! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and I will see you on Sunday!

ROW80 22nd July 2012

Another week down, another week when I have met all my weekly goals! Hooray!

My goals are:
1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes at least a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.

This is my second ROW80 check-in and I have read two books this week so I am catching up with where I should be in terms of my 100 books in a year challenge. I have now read 51 books and enjoyed a train journey today finishing an Adele Parks book. I still haven't reviewed a book but there is plenty of time for this to happen in July.

Now my 30 minutes a day since Wednesday have been hard to fit in at times but I have done it. On Thursday I read an article on a real-life matchmaker that Lauren brought to my attention and then spent time reading some of the Larry Brooks articles about NaNo. They can be found here. They are so helpful and as I was out on Friday from 8am till Midnight (end of term celebrations!) I caught up with Friday's 30 minutes by reading Larry's posts for an hour on my phone yesterday whilst on a train journey.

Today I have started doing what Larry suggests to optimise scenes by taking each scene you have plotted and working out what the scene needs to accomplish and how you will accomplish this. I have done this for scenes 1 to 14 and will continue with this tomorrow. As Lauren pointed out there are only 9 days till CampNaNo starts and I have my 'cabin' assigned with some of my good ROW80 friends in which is great! I feel in a good place to start on the first but there is still lots to do, namely set up my Matchmaker, Matchmaker notebook so all the scribbles and jottings are in one place and accessible for me as I move around this summer.

I am on summer holiday now and once I begin to relax I really hope to enjoy it even with the insanity that is CampNaNo thrown in but let's face it, is going to be sooooo much easier than fitting it in around work. Hope everyone has had a great week and see you on Wednesday!!

ROW80 Check-in 18th July 2012

I almost feel I speak too soon when I say on a Wednesday my week is going well. I worry I will jinx it and all my productivity will come to a screeching halt. But alas, my week is going well!

Here are the goals:
1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes at least a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.
As you can see goal 2 is gone and Matchmaker Matchmaker (or MM) is my working title for my CampNaNo project. I keep staring at it and pondering the use of a comma between the words. What do you think? I am going to keep the scored through goal there as it is nice to feel I have ticked something off.

Since Monday I have spent 30 minutes each evening plotting and planning MM and I now feel most of the decisions have been made. Of course details will change but it is nice to feel the preparations are going somewhere. On Monday and Tuesday I spent the 30 minutes grabbing images of people, furniture, even clothes to help me visualise my characters and their surroundings. I read somewhere about planning character's houses and how you get insight into someone by their house and the things they choose to have around them. I have now stopped myself in this endeavour as I could collect images forever more. It does make me realise how great it is to create fantasy spaces. My MC's bedroom very much resembles my dream bedroom. Sigh.

Today I spent time working on how long the MC has known people and how they met and also I have been researching certain aspects of history as my MC studied this at University. It is so amazing the things you can google but also amazing how quickly time flies!! Now I need to think about things I still need to decide on/research/work out and I also plan to re-read the amazing posts Larry Brooks wrote for NaNoWriMo which can be found here. Really worth a read. 13 more days to prepare!!

I have been reading a bit this week and am close to finishing a book although I am not really enjoying it. I need a good book that I can really get my teeth into after 4 books I have felt a bit half-hearted about. Luckily I have many great looking ones lined up!!!

So that is all for me. Two more days of work and then my summer holidays start! Six weeks is really amazing and I don't even care if the sun doesn't shine at all. Definite perk of being a teacher!

Hope you are having a great week wherever you are!

ROW80 Check-in 15th July 2012

Unlike last week I have actually managed not to lose momentum towards the end of the week and have done fairly well on my goals!



Here are my goals:
1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes at least a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.





Since check-in on Wednesday I have managed to do 30 minutes of prep work towards my CampNaNo project each day. I can't remember the exact day I did what but I now have a list of characters with names, famous look-a-like photos to help me visualise (so much fun to collate!) and decided on a job for each character and the link to the MC. I am really starting to like my MC and keep thinking of traits and aspects of her backstory often at inconveinient moments like when I am driving. Although I love that she is infiltrating my head somewhat. So goal 1 - big tick!





Now I giggled when I read the comments of Juliana and Nadja who quite rightly pointed out it is hard to help name a book you know nothing about! Very briefly my WIP is about a girl who matchmakes all her friends and the journey it takes her on. Oooooh that was brief! I have decided on Matchmaker Matchmaker as a working title....maybe MM for short?!? So goal 2 - big tick!





Checking in for second time this week. Goal 3 - big tick!

As always I have been reading at every opportunity and have just finished my 49th book of the year! Still behind schedule but making up ground and after this coming week I have 6 weeks off work so I will be reading lots and lots! Not sure if I have read two books this week but will give goal 4 a tick as have read lots of books lately.




Goal 5 still needs to be completed. Now anyone who happens to check out my '100+ books in a year challenge!' page (I'm sure you all do daily!) will notice I have just finished the Shades of Grey Trilogy. I will not be reviewing any of these books. I have read so many reviews of the books that say most of what I want to say and to be honest if I start reviewing one of them I will end up ranting and the review will be pages and pages and I will end up feeling rage. I have learnt some valuable lessons though which will no doubt help me in my own writing such as how repetition can be the most infuriating thing ever! However, my favourite reviewer of book one is red lemonade who you should check out. Warning though there is lots of swearing and spoilers if you haven't read the book and are going to. Also if you love the books don't look as it will ruin them for you! So, so funny.




Hope you have all had successful weeks and here is to another productive one!

ROW80 Check-in 11th July 2012

This week so far has been focused and productive. Let's hope I keep it up!!

My goals are:
1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes at least a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.
This is my week so far:

Monday
On Monday I worked on my main character. I had snippets of information about her floating around my head so I jotted all of these down and although I have gone back and changed them I feel like I am getting to know her well. Am going to try and find a famous 'look-a-like' as a photo of each character really helped me envisage them during NaNo last November.

Tuesday
I outlined plot number 4 which came to me in a light bulb moment as plots 1 to 3 weren't quite right. What I like about this plot is that my MC is not a cow as she was in other plots and although I am sure one day I will write about a MC I don't necessarily like, I like this one and want to relate to her which would have been hard in other plots. I think this plot is a keeper!

Also on Tuesday I opened my new CampNaNo notebook! It is A5 and black and soft touch with lovely spaced lines inside and it is where all my character bios etc will be written up so all the info I need for NaNo is in one place which will be useful when I am moving around in the summer. Lena mentioned she wrote an inscription in the front of each notebook so I decided to write a quote that I had above my desk throughout secondary school and it did keep me going during coursework and exams. The quote is:

'Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.'

Thomas A Edison

Wednesday
I joined in with half of the #ROW80 sprint which was lovely! I plotted possible scenes from plot point 2 up to the resolution. Obviously these aren't set in stone but I have a guide which I know is crucial in NaNo. I think I am going to wait till I get there to decide the resolution, what do you think? I have two or three possible ideas but I kind of want to see how I feel it should end after I have been on the journey with the characters....surely the 'right' ending will present itself?

So goal 1 is on track and I have been reading lots (an have had new books arrive today!) so goal 4 is underway too as is goal 3.

Now, goal 2. Naming my WIP. When I think of my project I think of it as 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker' or 'Match'. What do you think? Any opinions good, bad or ugly would be appreciated!!

So, so far so good and I hope I don't lose it over the coming days like I did last week. Hope everyone is having a great week!

ROW80 Check-in 8th July 2012

Ok. I'll be honest. The last few days have not been glorious. Well actually they have been but not in terms of writing progress.

Here are my goals:
1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes atleast a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.

I am checking in so that is goal 3 met. Let's focus on that achievement for a while!

Since Wednesday I don't feel I have achieved much towards goal 1 as I haven't produced any notes etc. for my NaNo project. I have read alot of great posts though offering advice about plotting though as I currently have 3 possible plots I may follow and I need to decide which one to go with. And I have thought. A LOT. So I am not sure I can say I have done 30 minutes each day but if you add all my thinking and reading together it probably is atleast 30 minutes a day. I have been reading for pleasure but still not done my book review for this month.

As I write this feel a bit lacklustre...it hasn't been terrible but I haven't anything to show for this week. But thinking is important so I am happy I have been mulling things over and I would rather have three potential plots then none!! So my challenge for this week is to produce some character profiles as I found these invaluable for NaNo last year as there is no time to search back through my writing to find out what colour hair I said a character has. I will admit for the WIP I finished recently I didn't have these and had to write NAME for a couple of small characters when I couldn't remember what name I had given them.

So not a disaster but not amazing. But at least I am here and trying!

I have told my sister about CampNaNo and she is very supportive which will be invaluable as I am staying with her and her husband for two weeks in August. Oh and with my little nephew who I can't help but adore. I have even enjoyed changing his nappies this weekend! So I am glad I will have her support for the summer.

Here is to an even better week!!!

ROW80 Check-in 4th July 2012

Well in two short days I haven't achieved alot but things so far are going ok....

My goals are:
1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes atleast a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.
Here is how my week has looked so far.

Monday
After deciding and declaring goals I spent 30 minutes reading through the scrappy notes I had made for my new project. Now these notes were made when the idea came to me and I just jotted them down so I didn't forget. My memory is somewhat different to the reality as I remember pages and pages of genius ideas. Instead I found two pieces of paper, one with a loose plot (very loose) and one that said - 1) need setting, 2) need characters, 3) need plot. No what I was hoping for but I still like the idea which I guess counts for something!

Tuesday
After a chat with Lauren (I say chat to pretend we don't live on different continents!) I decided to give the way she plots a whirl. I guess it can be described as quite mathematical but I found it did help me pace out my plot points. The method is to write 1 to 48 down the side of a page, divide it into 4 parts and each part into four chapters. Then each chapter has three scenes. This way plot point one comes at the start of part 2, plot point two at the start of part 3 and plot point three at the start of part 4. Of course the number of chapters and scenes can be flexible but I did find it helped me get a 'visual' of my story. I am sure this is a well known method (or a variation of one) but as I am still finding the plotting method that works best for me it was nice to try something quite methodical. As opposed to my random plotting in the past which meant I tend to race through things. I am sure some people will run screaming from this method but it might spark something in someone somewhere!

Wednesday
I have been thinking of setting and main character today at work. An odd thought strikes me about her appearance or character and I am going to need to start carrying a small notebook for such occasions. Tonight I have spent time re-reading parts of craft books I have found helpful with this and have scribbled down a page of ideas about her.

So, goals 1 and 3 are on track. Goal 2.....not so much. Have come up with a few names but they aren't quite right. I guess I could just decide on a working title for now. Goal 4 is going ok, I have finished book 46 and am now reading 'Fifty shades of Grey' for book 47. A friend leant it to me and I just need to see what all the fuss about! I should be finished soon as it is an easy read but I doubt this will be my July book review as the world is saturated with people's opinions on it at the moment so goal 5 will have to wait a while!

I hope everyone is having a great start to the round!!

ROW80 Round 3: My goals!!

I saw a link to someone's R0W80 goals on twitter and had a moment where I thought 'Round 3? Is round 2 over?' See I have been absent and vague of late and since I finished my WIP I haven't written a thing. Not even a ROW80 check-in. Yes I wrote a mini blog birthday post and a book review but that is it. I predicted I would lose my way under the pressure of work and sadly I was right. But here I am, round 3 and ready to go!!

Now since writing 'The End' on my WIP I have been at a bit of a loss. I know I should edit it but I also know that is going to be a mammoth task. Some of you may remember the first 50,000 words are in the third person then I decided to write in the first person. Yes. It is in somewhat of a mess. I won't put it off forever as I love the premise of the story but I know editing is going to be a long task and I need to be in the right mindset for it. But then I wasn't motivated to write something new. Basically motivation had left the building.

Then yesterday in a twitter conversation with the lovely Lauren and Lena somehow the topic of CampNaNo came up and all of a sudden I felt excited! Excited by the idea of actually doing something with a plot idea I had a while ago, very excited by the fact as a teacher I am not at work for the whole of August therefore writing time should come easier and very, very excited to be doing it with some of my lovely ROW80 friends!! It was decided. We would all give it a go. I also mentioned it to a friend here (the one who knows about my blog!) and she is up for it too! For more details on CampNaNo look here!

So with just under a month to go my goals for this round will start off being NaNo prep and on the first of August change to being all about the word count. I started mulling the idea over today and I realised I need to think about everything. I have the premise and even how I think it will end but I need a setting, characters, a plot, and everything inbetween! I am not sure where to start but I think it will be with the characters or plot. I have a vague idea in my head about the sequence of the plot but wow does it need padding out. But I am excited by the challenge.

So here they are, my goals:

1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes atleast a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week  no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.

While my writing has been off the agenda reading is still how I love to spend my time. I am reading book number 46 of the year which is behind schedule as I should be reading books 53 and 54 this week but I am not doing badly.

I hope to meet goal 3 every week because this ROW80 community it so amazing that if I check-in, read the check-ins of others and comment where I feel I can then I will get so much more out of the next few months.

Here is to a great round!!!!