Blog Tour: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I was so excited to be part of the official Shadow and Bone blog tour - so excited that, apparently, I missed my posting date by five days. *hangs head* Fortunately, the lovely Ksenia Winnicki allowed me to post anyway. So if you were looking at the schedule and wondering why Sunday's post wasn't up...mea culpa. All the way.

Anyway, today we have Leigh giving us a few makeup tips that even a Grisha can appreciate; and, after that little snippet of wonderfulness, there's a giveaway of Shadow and Bone so you can have the awesomeness all to yourself. You can put it on your shelf or under your pillow so you can have sweet dreams of Ravka, or take off the dust cover and frame it...

Enjoy!

When I wrote Shadow and Bone, I was working as a makeup and special effects artist in Los Angeles. I still love to talk products and beauty, and there are a few questions that seem to come up again and again. So here are some tips and tricks inspired by the world of the Grisha Trilogy. (Just so you know, I don't rep or sell any of these products. They're just favorites that I can't do without in my kit!)

Problem: Fabrikator pallor

Too many long hours spent slaving in the Materialki workshops? Avoid the sun, and opt instead for my favorite bronzer, DuWop Revolotion (in Original). This lotion works on even the palest skin, and will leave you looking moisturized, dewy, and sunkissed. Plus, it's not too heavy on shimmer, so you needn't worry about glittering like a Cullen.

Problem: Chapped lips from the icy winds of Tsibeya

For soothing dry lips I like Smith's Rosebud Salve or Aquaphor. Tip: Licking your lips when they're dry only dries them out more. Press your lips together to release their natural oils instead.

Problem: Late nights at the Grand Palace

Too little sleep and too much champagne? When you're feeling tired or sickly, focus on perking up your skin. Benetint is a long-lasting berry stain that works for pretty much every skin tone. Posietint looks crazy in the bottle, but gives a subtle, pinky flush. It also has a creamier consistency than Benetint, so it's a little less intimidating. Tip: Posietint darkens slightly as it sets, so apply one layer and wait a few minutes before you add on.

Problem: Smudged mascara

If you just found out your regiment is headed into the Shadow Fold, you may have good cause to weep-- but at least you can look good doing it. Blinc and Fiberwig are both tube mascaras that don't require a base coat. They're easy to apply and easy to remove, and as long as you don't rub your eyes, they won't budge.

Problem: You aren't a Grisha

I like the idea that doing what you love and excelling at it make you beautiful. So, when Grisha use their power, instead of draining them, it just makes them stronger, healthier, and better looking. But we mere mortals must contend with spots, blotches, and wrinkles. My recommendation? Try FaceAtelier's Ultra Foundation. This brand takes a bit of work to find, but it gives a natural, radiant finish. (Also, unlike most cosmetic lines, they don't treat women of color as an afterthought. Their wide range of shades accommodates any and every skin tone.) Tip: Apply with a synthetic flat or domed kabuki brush from Crown.

Problem: There is no magic makeover

How many times have I heard or read that "confidence" is the real secret to looking and feeling great? Well, sure. But has there ever been a better example of "easier said than done"? Where do we get confidence and does it require a prescription?

I still struggle daily with insecurities about the way I look, so I'm not going to pretend to have it all worked out, but here is my best beauty advice: If you want to feel pretty and generally badass, you don't need expensive products or an elaborate skincare regimen. You just need to acquire skills-- take up a sport, learn to cook, master a language. Feel capable. Be competent. This is the mystical wellspring of confidence that trumps shiny hair and bee-stung lips. It's better than lip gloss, and it lasts longer, too.

 

Leigh Bardugo was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, and graduated from Yale University. She lives in Hollywood where she indulges her fondness for glamour, ghouls, and costuming in her other life as makeup artist

 L.B. Benson. 

Her debut novel, Shadow and Bone (Macmillan/Holt), is the first book in the Grisha Trilogy, a YA high fantasy series set in a world inspired by Tsarist Russia.

Places you can find Leigh:

Facebook :: Twitter :: Website
 

Bardugo, Leigh: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, #1)

Expected publication: June 5, 2012
Henry Holt and Co. 
YA Fantasy, 368 pages
Acquired and read: Through NetGalley (one of the many reasons to love being a book blogger!) and I read it within an hour last night. I have no will power whatsoever when it comes to ARCs.

Challenge? 2012 Debut Author Challenge

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near-impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one unlikely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life– a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha… and the secrets of her heart.

Shadow and Bone is one of those amazing 2012 debuts that delivers everything the blurb promises you. And I mean everything.

Let's start off with Alina. The main character, the heroine, the poor lamb being led to the slaughter - well, that was how I felt for her more than once in the course of the storyline. For some reason, she also reminded me a bit of the cartoon Anastasia: tough, I can handle it, but also with a soft heart that is often bruised by her strained relationship with her childhood best friend and the fact that she has totally scary powers that she didn't even know about.

I mean, can you imagine how much pressure it must be on your shoulders, to be the Sun Summoner - to have people worship you like a saint when all you want to do is curl up in a ball and cry?

Yes. I did want to hug her a few times. I'm not sure how well that would be received though.

Mal. The childhood best friend, the love interest (at least the one that a reader feels like rooting for) and an awesome soldier. Of course, he had to taint it a little bit for me by being a total womanizer - at first - and not seeing the girl right in front of him. YA heroes. They can be so clueless.

I am very loath to mention the Darkling - a. because I will probably blurt out a spoiler that will have everyone who hasn't read this yet beating me over the head with their blog headers (ouch!) or b. the author will come after me with her scary makeup brushes and be like, "You spoil my novel, child? You die!"

Yes. My imagination gets way ahead of me.

Okay. What I will say about the Darkling is that he is young (of course), tall, dark and handsome (to be expected) and...he's on the Dark Side. What do you expect from the title? Just so you know - I wouldn't take any cookies to join his Dark Side. Nope. It's more trouble than it's worth.

On to the world-building (which, as you know, is pretty much the main reason why I love fantasy)...Alina and her world are amazing. Leigh Bardugo used Russian culture to weave her own amazing fantasy-world, where samovars and thick coats exist beside ancient evils the likes of which don't exist in this world...and royals who definitely would have deserved a little revolution had they actually lived in Russia.


Believe me. This tsar is a total pig.

Also, Keith Thompson drew a map of Ravka (see here on Leigh's blog)...yes, THE KEITH THOMPSON. Now you can hang it up on your wall and pretend there's a real place out there you can go to visit, if only to see the volcra in their native habitat and brave the dangers of the Unsea.

Warnings: (Or, things that even if this book was undoubtedly awesome, bothered me...) Mal and his buddies being a pack of womanizers - never in detail. Some instances of language, one or two kissing scenes, thematic violence and some pinches of innuendo.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, #1)
Leigh Bardugo
June 19, 2012

Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, all she’s ever been able to rely on is her best friend and fellow refugee, Mal. And lately not even that seems certain. Drafted into the army of their war-torn homeland, they’ve been sent on a dangerous mission into the Fold, a swath of darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh.

When their convoy is attacked, all seems lost until Alina reveals a dormant power that not even she knew existed. She is torn from everything she knows and whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. He believes that she is the answer the people have been waiting for: the Sun Summoner. Only her power can destroy the Fold. 

Overwhelmed by luxury, envied as the Darkling’s favorite, Alina struggles to keep her wits about her without Mal by her side. But nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her mastery of her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha—and the secrets of her heart.

Okay, I think I like these beginnings of a new trend with Russian-based YA. Of course, anything with a trouble-worn, determined heroine is always a big WIN with me - as long as the author really does deliver - and with authors like Susan Dennard and Sarah J. Maas giving this high praise, I'm pretty sure it'll own up to its expectations.

And, as I said before in the Gathering Storm review: anything involving sled rides + samovars + thick exotic accents + mysterious elite = MUST READ.

And the fur hats. If you want to get me ANYTHING this year, give me one of those.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme courtesy of Breaking the Spine. Please refer the hosting blog for participation rules.