#I'm actually just reading shadow and bones for Darkling and Six of Crow

[romanticatheartt]

Now that I'm free from university (not completely free... but yeah)

[lilithfreya]

Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone Modern College AU's

I was redding my Alina and Mal part and I got some news ideas how to make they storie better so I'm going to right they part again but some of thing will stay the same, I hope all of you enjoy.

Alina(update):

She will study cartography and took an art class, but she will move and being Mal's roomate, but because they don't have a lot of money she's think about stop to take that class so she can't work also but she don't wanna Mal found out about this because she now he will not agree if that and try to stop her.

But she saw in college a arts contest will happen and with the prize she can help in their home, so she get win in secret and that's how she won the attention of mysterious painter The Darkling, he talk to her about how talented she's and how together they can do a amazing work, she don't trust him but with his help she now now she can won more money and maybe build a better life for her and Mal, even this now just make her feel really anxious and bad for lie to Malbut is for a good case.

But one day when she and Mal are having a fight because they are jealous, she finally tell Mal about everything, her feelings for him and show him what she was doing in these month she tell in what she really feel creepy about the teacher Morozova and Mal tell her nothing is happen between him and Zoya, he was close to her just because he wanna now what was happening with her since they stop talk because of the big arts contest will happen in the end of this month made by the family Lantsov, and they finally make up together and became lovers for the first time.

But they keep it a secret until the art event night where the chaos happens.

Mal (update):

He will continue being the sunshine and pure farm boy all of us love so much, doing sport, futebol, in college to pay his studies, he will study about being a physical education teacher and also a economics class, because they want to feel he can't do everything to Alina never feel like he don't have everything she deserve in the future.

But when she stop hang out with him and stopped talk with him and start doing everything teacher Morozova tell to her do, he start think he don't is enough to her, like what he has to compete with the most richest and famous teacher of the campus.

But they finally talk and stay together. He finally feels like everything is alright the creepy teacher starts staying around everything they are doing and seems like he's stalking Alina.

They call the police to talk about this but they say they couldn't do nothing without evidences, seans like shadows, stranger letters and some really strangers accidents in his practice are not enough to make

In the night of the event the chaos is happening even the old rich lady is still following and making questions about his life, his dead mother and where he's from, and for some reason something in her eyes reminds him of his own mother.

What he wasn't expect was the darkling has making a new photo shoot in the event but the muse this time was Alina, without she knows, all of the photos are Alina in different moments even inside they apartament and in intimate moments, so he couldn't control himself and goes to fight with him and the chaos start, the police are called and they found some cameras inside they house.

Darkling goes to jail because Alina wasn't the first woman with him to do this kind of thing, and Mal found out the old lady, Baghra, was actually his auntie, and she gave to him all the furniture of the Kirigan family and started to make him her successor in the business.

So Mal asks Alina for marriage and they stay together and open a foundation for lost childrens, and adopt some of them.

Thanks for reading, in this weekend I will post finally Inej and Kaz part, so stay turned. Bye, XOXO. THE OTHERS PARTS/COUPLES HERE

[iambecomeyourvillain]

Alright I know many people say Six of Crows is better than Shadow and Bone and to think about it, maybe it even is.

But. That doesn't mean you shouldn't give a shot to Shadow and Bone. Seriously, if you're reluctant about whether you'll like it or not. Get into it. Get right into it because

-it's the first book in the Grishaverse

-hence everything is described

-the Darkling

-it has a fast pase so you don't have to be bored and impatient for the fun part

-the DaRklinG

-It's adventurous

-great plot twists

-did I menTION The DARklinG???

-Just the Darkling really. Read it for the Darkling. Thanks

[nataliescatorccio]

I only read the six of crows books, but the show made me interested in the shadow and bone books and I was/am contemplating whether to read them or not but during the season's run and even to this day I still see people heavily dislike Mal's character but say that he is better in the show. I wanted to ask: is he truly that bad, or I just see more people dislike him than like him? Why is he so disliked/hated? Like is it his personality or did he do something...? 🤔

i'll put it under the cut for you (just so others can avoid if they so wish!)

i loathed mal in the books, honestly for a mix of his personality and his actions. i found book!mal to be way more of a typical 'nice guy'. and by that i mean the guy you meet in life who says 'i'm not like other guys, i'm a nice guy' but actually is a bit of a fuck boy and is constantly pushing for you to change yourself to conform to his wants.

the biggest issue i have with him as a character is that before alina realised her powers and potential, he effectively ignored her and slept around with other girls. then, as soon as she starts finding a role in life for herself and is not reliant on him, he decides he could actually have feelings for her and shames her for finding happiness with the grisha. also feed into this that the way alina's magic works in the book is very different - repressing her power makes her ill, she looks pale and sickly. she isn't anymore, she has found her strength, and mal shames her for it.

he continues completely rejecting alina and her powers and instead wanting alina the orphan to return. his whole plotline is basically being unable to accept that alina has power and seems to pull a whole 'pick me or your powers' situation, as if she can't be a powerful woman and love him. it really feeds into sexist stereotypes for me that mal can't possibly accept her as a powerful woman.

on top of all that he slut shames alina for her interest in the darkling. then, in the second book he has the audacity to cheat on her and sleep with someone else because he's not getting enough attention from her cos, you know, she's busy trying to save the damn world.

i just found his character to be incredibly entitled (hence the nice guy likeness), it came across to me as very 'i am your best friend so therefore i deserve you'. which particularly leaves a sour taste when he seemingly only notices her romantically once she's suddenly 'important' but immediately wants her to go back to the way she was. i just don't find his character very supportive, in the second book especially his attitude is very 'me me me' without taking a minute to think about the weight on alina's shoulders (who has suddenly been handed the responsibility of saving the world and is even being called a saint). for me, mal's character hit too close to home for comfort and that's why i couldn't stand him in the books; having to give up my own power for a man? yeah, that's more realistic and scary than facing a man who can create shadow demons.

[echo-bleu]

Shadow and Bone season 2!

I've been pretty excited about it, seeing the posters and promo stuff. i liked season 1 even though it had many flaws, and hyperfixated on Kaz crumbs for like 2 weeks (external circumstances had me move on or it would have been longer), and it got me to read Six of Crows, which was the real treasure there, let's be honest. I do love a heist story.

2x01. I'll put all spoilers behind a cut. There will be criticism so don't read if you don't want that.

Wylan! I like him. He's cute and he feels like the book character and I like that he's the one who made Kaz's flash bomb in S1

I haven't read the actual S&B and KoS books so I don't know Nikolaï and the others beyond the promo material and fandom osmosis, so I'm pretty curious. I liked Nikolaï's introduction.

Heleen is dead? wtf

I could see why people liked the Darkling in S1 when he was playing at the good guy, but now he just feels like a cartoon villain. The acting isn't even good? I was cringeing hard during the scene with Genya.

I don't really care about Malina either way, though they're pretty cute in this. I liked the library scene because I like Alina being a map nerd.

The writing feels... very rushed and heavy handed. I get that things need to fall into place quickly but there were way too many coincidences.

The wagon scene and Kaz's flashbacks felt very contrived. I get that it's not easy to show Kaz's trauma when you don't have the luxury of getting directly in his head, but that was disappointing. And Kaz in general in this ep, tbh. I enjoyed Freddy Carter's acting in s1 but this was not great.

Inej and Jesper, however, are still delightful.

Jesper's duratz ability was outed super early and too easily, why??

I don't in general care much whether adaptations closely follow the book or not as long as I'm entertained but I came out of this episode feeling disappointed, it was very heavy-handed. But we'll see what the rest of the season is like, I guess.

[darklyndivinely]

I finished reading the shadow and bone series and I've got thoughts and some unpopular opinions so let's go. Spoilers for the books btw.

I downloaded the books back in April 2021. I saw six of crows being recommended everywhere and wanted to read the whole of the story. I remember coming here on Tumblr to scope out the vibe of the books as well as to read some reviews perhaps. What I learned then was that people hated Malina, loved the Darkling, and hated the ending. I did try to start reading the first book back then, but got distracted.

I picked them up again a week ago after watching season 2 of the show. The majority don't like Mal, albeit Show!Mal is a bit more loved. Perhaps it was the awareness of this already widely agreed upon opinion of everyone's or maybe it was just the image of Archie Renaux in my mind, but I did not hate Mal at all. I actually really understood him. I'm not saying he's the best love interest. He's not. He's got some glaring flaws. But he cares for Alina. And he's done some mistakes. He was an absolute ass to her, but he apologized. He admitted his mistakes and tried to do better. You can't tell me that you wouldn't try to distance yourself from the person that you are in love with if you realised that that is the good thing to do. He can be shitty, and absolutely terrible at communication, and he's got some bad coping mechanisms, but he's human. I don't know why the fandom doesn't try to understand him.

Let's move on to Alina, who despite being the protagonist, isn't as loved as I had expected. Many people said that she's a Mary Sue. That she just doesn't have flaws and starts and ends the same way. I'll admit it can be a bit difficult to see it, but I thought she really grew into herself. She was more confident, cunning, outspoken, understood different people's perspectives and experiences better. And she's absolutely hilarious (I was thinking of compiling all the bits from her that made me wheeze). She isn't a total Mary Sue (maybe a bit, I'll admit that). The answer is clear when you compare her to an actual Mary Sue character like Rey Skywalker from the Star wars sequels.

Her story has a circular ending. She starts as a nobody and that's how she finishes. I'm still a bit sceptical about it. I'm with it, but I'm also not. The foreshadowing for it (the soldiers of light bit) was decent. Her losing her powers made sense, cause if she hadn't she wouldn't ever be able to be at peace again, she'd have to spend her entire life shouldering the burden of being a one of a kind grisha and a saint. But I also do not like how she's being forced to live without them when it was so integral to her well being. The loss of them has been described as the loss of a limb. And I feel deeply for her.

I really enjoy Nikolai, he's absolutely hilarious. Misha is baby. Tolya and Tamar are amazing (wtf why aren't there more fics about them????).

Moving on to The Darkling. I do not ship Darklina, but I did enjoy the connection they had for the entirety of the third book. The confidence of telling Alina his name touched me a bit. What I really enjoyed, however, was the way he isn't portrayed as a complete morally black character. He's done fucked up shit but when you look at it from his perspective you realise that all that he has been through, the pain, the heartache and the betrayals have led him to shy away from attachments. He's not redeemable, and that's fine. I don't ship him with Alina, but I can appreciate the underlying intent for his actions. He did them the only way he knew how.

Overall, I really enjoyed the books. Gonna move on to Six of Crows now. If you read all of this, I appreciate it <3

[caveatscriptor]

✒️ for the grishaverse asks? I just finished reading ruin and rising yesterday and I loved it, though Ive heard most people favor six of crows so I'm curious! Thats my next read.

Grishaverse Ask

Well, I'm going to tell you immediately Six of Crows! Thing is, I have only read the shadow and bone trilogy and the six of crows duology (I am currently reading King of Scars); but between those two six of crows, always! (I'm going to give you a rundown, completely spoiler free)

Main differences: Shadow and Bone is first person (you cannot escape Alina's mind - I am not a fan of book Alina... certain lines were difficult, and certain moments that we didn't seem to get past as well); Six of crows you have 6 different pov's from very different people (all criminals, but all with sound resoning for their causes - that's a potent recipe). Writting wise, six of crows is a massive step up and I also think you get even more immersed into Ketterdam than you ever got immersed into Ravka (you are mainly stuck inside the little palace and then you go search for the amplifiers, but that's it; what I personally took away from the trilogy was the little palace and not much else). Ketterdam you are up in the roofs with Inej; the Komedie brute costumes are a staple; the slat, hellgate, the crow club, etc. Your enemies are also very different from the darkling, there's no space for sympathy for any of them, after all, Ketterdam is basically a den for gamblers, merchants and gangsters (you do have "upstanding" places like the university district - but we never dwell much on it truly).

But why six of crows and not shadow and bone? Shadow and bone is almost the making of a legendarium, a Sun Saint and a Shadow Sinner; a young girl led astray by a very much older and manipulative man; a girl that wants to rid her country of an evil force: the fold; the chosen one beating evil. Six of crows is not about saving the world, it's about six people each with their own goal, that end up being a family to each other, even if begrundgingly (Kazzle Dazzle, everyone).

Nina is grisha, 2nd army soldier, and she wants to save Matthias, a druskelle (a hunter of grisha); they should be enemies but they end up loving each other despite their cultural background and all the differences that can come from that. She's a fabulous heartrender that doesn't need her powers to make your heart skip a beat.

Matthias Helvar, has only known how to follow orders, never to question them. The one time he does, he discovers not only love, but that the path he has been following maybe has blinded him to the truth.

Jesper, a charming sharp-shooter, who seems to only be content when he's high on adrenaline by gambling or by risking his own life. But behind all of his bravado there's something deeper; in spite of coming from a loving family and seemingly having nothing that could lead him to such a life.

Inej Ghafa, kidnapped from her own home and brought to a foreign land, indentured, enslaved and still seeing the good the world has to offer, in spite of it all, and without losing her faith in her saints. She's strong beyond words, and the deadliest rogue Ketterdam has to offer. The wraith will know all your secrets and her knives will not miss your heart, if it needs be.

Kaz Brekker, dirty hands, bastard of the barrel, the mind of the operation. Vengeance is what moves him, and greed is his tool. The cane, the gloves, the reluctance in trusting anyone, the past that he cannot let go, the goal he must accomplish. He's not just deadly, he's highly driven in his hatred (he's a tough pill to swallow in Six of Crows, at least to me; but in Crooked Kingdom, everything will make sense).

Wylan, the boy that, in theory, got in with the wrong crowd, but that in actuality found love, all the forms of love that he could imagine and deserved. The family he never had. And, even though Kaz may be the plan maker, Wylan is the brightest mind in the group.

These six people go on a heist, in search of freedom, in search of purpose, in search of vengeance. These are some of the best written characters and group of people that just works perfectly well together. Besides, it's not about saving the world, it's about saving themselves and saving each other.

I hope I could help ;)

(I could've expanded more on the trilogy, but like you said, you just read it, so no need to delve deep into it)

[justanotherfanaccount]

it is time

shadow and bone s2e8 reaction...the season finale

"wait...mal is a bird?" I love you jesper

kaz giving nikolai his cane 😭😭 #besties

OMG DEAD "yes! my man! ...oh I mean we haven't actually put a label on it.."

noooo!! this mal death scene is actually heartbreaking!!

"make them redraw all the maps" 😭😭

I'm sobbing omg I can't do this

THE FLASHBACKKKSSS DONT SO THIS TO MEEEE

inej and Zoya my badass queens 😭😭 (sorry for the crying I haven't recovered from the mal death)

THE DARKLING YELLING TO LEAVE HER ALONE 😭😭

THE DARKLING ACTUALLY DID LOVE HER STOP STOP STOP STOP

alina noooo 😭

this is so painful...

in the books I felt like he had to die...and alina was doing the right thing but now I just feel so heartbroken 😭😭

"make sure there is nothing left of me" "blue skies" 😭😭😭 "MY LITTLE SAINT"

ITS TOO MUUUUCCCHH

alina no...

this is going to cost her...I'm just not sure what yet

NOT KAZ KNOWING THE POEM TOLYA WAS SAYING

kaz's face when jesper hugged inej cuz he knows he can't 😭😭

THE CUT OF ON THE FIVE OF CROWS PLEASE!

no matthias...no Matthias don't do it

David nooooo don't be dead! don't be dead!!

not a ring with a ruby 😭😭 omg I can't take this

what does that bee mean..? I might be looking into it too deep...

MAL AS A PRIVATEER I LOVE IT

"choice...not destiny" 🥺

kanej scene omg omg omg

HES BEEN LOOKING FOR HER FAMILYYYY

"what do you want then?" his facials were so perfect 😭😭

THE SCENE ITS THE SCENE OMG ITS STRAIGHT FROM THE BOOKS I CANT TAKE IT

this scene already broke me when I read the books I can't do this they're such good actors the lines are perfect omg omg I cant

YEEESSSS MAL AS STURMHOLD

inej in the ship!?!?! hold up

WHAT ABOUT SIX OF CROWS HOLD UP

NO NOT A TOLYA AND INEJ THING!!! THIS BETTER NOT BECOME A LOVE TRIANGLE

what is going to happen in these next 20 minutes??? I'm so scared

oh god...NOT THE WOLVES

damn!! yes! he's controlling the wolves!

oh god...he just got pardoned but now he won't be

I HATE PEKKA ROLLINS I NEED HIM DEAD

kaz buying out indentures 🥺🥺 my baby

I. do. not. trust. the. apparat.

fuck this guy I love nikolai

oh noooo I knew it was coming but I still wasn't prepared

HE SAID THE LINE

yes Zoya get your man

IS KAZ TALKING ABOUT THE ICE COURT!?!?! AUGGHHHHGHFH

omg yes he is omg omg omg omg

girl don't do it girl

DID ALINA JUST USE THE DARKLINGS POWERS!?!?! OH MY GODDD!!!!

[daylightaftertherain]

finished s&b season 2, random thoughts below (spoilers obviously)

THE CROWS but esp wylan bc he's my son and I love him

not the biggest fan of how they ended up combining the two series together, the crows definitely deserve much more than this, and also I kind of hate how they're just pulling things out of both six of crows and crooked kingdom randomly with no regard for how the scenes reflected the characters' arcs

kaz and jordie though? TRAUMATIZING

idk why they included jesper's mom in there either, it was fun seeing him using his powers but the books do SO much better at realistically handling him overcoming his feelings of guilt and fear over an extended period of time with support from people he loves, rather than him suddenly gaining clarity because of a poison trip hallucination

also the last ep handled everything weirdly imo, like inej already hunting down slavers when that makes no sense for what her arc was in the books, and right after the "how will you have me" scene too (still iconic though)

wesper should've gotten their slowburn, but I will still happily replay their scenes until I feel something because I'm still a sucker for wesper being couply even if their relationship was super rushed

thank god for kit and jack doing the "just girls" scene during promo because the show's effectively eliminated any chance of that <3

ICE COURT ICE COURT ICE COURT ICE COURT >:D

JURDA PAREM

really really hope they handle wylan and van eck properly if we get a third season

overall I just think the writers either didn't fully understand the crows' personalities and stories and picked whatever was most popular within the book's fandom, which, yeah, you have to do some fan service, but this has zero regard for what people who've read the books actually wanted, and while I did enjoy watching, I really would've preferred their stories getting handled with care (even if it meant less screentime)

also can we stop with the whole pulling shit out of our asses that have nothing to do with adapting the books faithfully and don't even contribute to the plot of the show thank you

enough about the crows ahjsgjkhfdhf let's move on to shadow and bone

still despise alina with either mal or the darkling, I'm sorry but they both do not deserve her and she had better chemistry with nikolai in five minutes than those two ever did

tolya and tamar were some of my favorites unsurprisingly, they're iconic and I would do anything for them (and tamar getting her sapphic love story oh my god)

I also loved alina's interactions with the crew and basically anyone who wasn't mal or the darkling, she's thriving this season and I'm glad she's becoming her own person

nikolai was so well portrayed, really hope he gets his king of scars arc and we get to see more of him, but I think they should've kept in the bit where he was basically a volcra for a while (probabaly got cut because of budget or smth but it added so much to his character)

why would they kill off david (I'm half-holding onto the show/movie logic of not seeing the body yet but STILL) it's way too early in the overall plot of the book series, and I can't enjoy the show when they pull things from different points in the timeline without any reasoning behind it, it's just lazy and stupid. also genya did not deserve this much suffering in one season istfg

I skipped most of the darkling's scenes because that man pisses me off so much, but ben barnes did a good job at adding depth to him after baghra's death

speaking of baghra she's an a+ character, no notes

that's it I guess? def forgot some thoughts that I might add later, but yeah this season was fun and I had a good time, there's just some huge issues with how they adapted the books to the show, and their handling of all of the characters

[vvivacious101]

My Reactions to S&B Season 2

If you are a fan of the books then you probably will not like this season... at all.

The Shadow and Bone season 1 adapts Shadow and Bone (the book) and adds original content with regards to the Crows and the Darkling's past.

I was not super impressed with the first season because they literally took every important moment in Alina's relationship with Mal and just deleted it. It really irritated the hell out of me.

But for the most part, the season is well-written, coherent, and it actually works. If this was my introduction to this universe, I would have been intrigued and eager to watch a second season.

But the second season clearly bit off more than it could chew, way more.

The second season of Shadow and Bone adapts Storm and Seige, Ruin and Rising, Crooked Kingdom and alludes to plot points from King of Scars (without conveniently having a King of Scars) all while managing to come up with an entirely original storyline for the Crows in the latter part of the season. When I say this season bites off more than it can chew, I mean it literally.

Frankly if inspired by the show you pick up the books most of Storm and Seige (like 95%) and Ruin and Rising (about 90%) have not been adapted to the show. There is a lot (A LOT) of content that isn't even remotely adapted. So if you like Mal and Alina give the books a go. If you really want to know who Nikolai is read the original trilogy.

One thing I really liked about Shadow and Bone is that it is morally complex. Alina is not a goody good character and most characters make bad choices which lends them intrigue and makes them interesting. But the show has so far gone a long way to redirect the story such that characters aren't forced into making bad decisions which neuters the story. The moment I really bonded with Shadow and Bone (the book) was in its climactic scene in which Alina in a bid to save Mal sentences a lot of people to certain death. She knows they will die, she knows they don't deserve to but she does it anyway and that cemented her character for me. But, the show just reworks that scene so that Alina doesn't have to make that decision at all. The show does this at multiple moments but it is most noticeable with Alina and Nikolai.

This season adapts some major plot points from Crooked Kingdom and does it well. Though I must agree without seething in Kaz's anger for the entirety of Six of Crows and most of Crooked Kingdom, it's hard to emphasize how crucial revenge on Pekka Rollins is for Kaz. It goes down almost exactly as it does in the book and that was really satisfying but now I'm really scared for how things will go down should they try to adapt the Ice Court Heist. The outbreak of plague is pretty crucial to the final showdown with Jan van Eck and faking a plague twice in such quick succession might not be the greatest of ideas, it will definitely not feel as novel. If the writers are creative enough they can actually adapt Six of Crows and most of Crooked Kingdom as is in the upcoming seasons and that is good but again I will be said that the end of Jan van Eck will not coincide with the end of Pekka Rollins. Also, I'm living for the scene between Inej and Pekka at the end of Crooked Kingdom and I am sad it will probably never get adapted.

So, the season basically adapts nothing from the rest of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, it just hits on major plot points to keep the story headed in the same direction but that's it. There are so many plot lines and scenes that don't even exist in the show. Things are way more precarious in Ruin and Rising than they ever got in the show.

And I'm not even kidding when I say this. There is a line in Ruin and Rising that I read ages ago and I was completely stunned by it. To the extent that I wanted to read the book it came from. My search for the book must not have been successful because I never did learn which book it came from. But, when I read Ruin and Rising there it was.

These are the kind of things that make the books iconic and when the show doesn't do the things that make the book iconic. It's never a good look. This is why a faithful adaptation should literally be the only way to go. If you are faithful, the fans of the original work will be there and you can appeal to a broader audience because more people watch shows than read books. But, if you try to take a middle path it leaves no one happy.

And don't even get me started on Mal and Alina. There are so many things that never made it on screen. I was really looking forward to the 'I am become a blade' scene. Literally, there is another scene right at the top of my head that I so badly wanted to see on screen but I never had hopes for it and seeing how they dealt with their relationship in season one, I didn't expect much but man they gave us nothing. Nothing. There is one Mal and Alina scene that actually made it to the screen and it's this one. But it's literally a drop in the ocean.

Also managing so many storylines together means the season is awfully rushed.

Two things that peeved me even in season one but I just forgot to mention are firstly, the height of the fold and secondly, Alina's sainthood.

The problem with the stupid Fold is that it doesn't stretch upwards infinitely. It seems to have a definite height which is a problem when you establish flight because why don't you just fly over the fold???

Secondly, Sankta Alina. Alina's sainthood is something that develops over time in the books but in the show, it is there from the moment she appears on the scene. In the books, there is a lot of discourse on faith and how it can be a double-edged sword. But the show just seems to revere Alina as a saint from day one. Again, why? It's never answered. This plotline also never goes anywhere except maybe to influence Inej's decisions but on the whole, it's pretty useless compared to how pivotal it is in the books.

So, at this point, we should talk about the Crows...

The Crows were the best part of season one but for season two they are kind of a mess. Frankly, this season lacks coherence. Across the board, things just don't fit right and it feels especially significant with the Crows because their cast is amazing and that's why individual scenes stand out sometimes even entire plotlines that are for the most part separate are good but when assembled with the rest it is just chaos.

Wylan is the cutest thing around, I can't wait to get his backstory. I'm in love with Wesper and Jesper for the most part is the Crow in focus especially in the latter half of the season. I really liked his entire arc about coming to terms with his powers though if they use this as an excuse to not cast Colm Fahey, I'm going to revolt. I wasn't overly into 'the Neshyenyer' plot but it correlates really well with Jesper's arc almost like it was created for him!

The first half of the season has Kaz in focus and the latter has Jesper. This season really does very little with Inej or Nina. I would have loved to see their relationship develop because they are such amazing friends. I'm in love with the scene in Six of Crows in which Inaj wakes up to find Nina tending to her, it was everything. I really need it but I have hopes!

Overall, this season is very very messy and frankly, at this point if we get a third I hope there is a serious improvement in the writing because the way it is currently is not a good look.

I really wish that if anyone decided to adapt Shadow and Bone again they really see it for what it is. It is Alina's story but it is also a love story and if you can't respect the latter you probably shouldn't be trying to adapt it.

[morrigan-sims]

What are your hottest of hot takes on some of the booktok/trending books rn?

okay, I'm going to be honest and say I didn't even know what's trending on booktok right now. I had to google.

A Court of Thornes and Roses

Bleh. I read this book, and did NOT like it. Throne of Glass was decent enough, but ACOTAR is... not good. The relationships all give me bad vibes, or are just straight up toxic, and there's more sm/ut than I'm comfortable with. Also, the ending of the second book (which was where I stopped because agian, not a fan), is almost the exact same ending that Ms. Maas used for the end of Empire of Storms (book 5 in throne of glass). It's one thing for there to be tropes, but to essentially plagiarize yourself is an interesting thing to do.

What is it with booktok and faeries?? Is there something you people find romantic about being held against your will by a supernatural creature 10x your age??? DOES NO ONE ELSE FIND THAT CREEPY??? (ALSO Faerie myths rarely end well for the humans, and they never have good intentions. Not to mention that a very common faerie myth (changelings) is very, very ableist.)

2. Red Queen

it was.... meh. Things got dragged out 10x more than they needed to, and why can't you just kill these people who are evil and be done with it?? Also, neither of the love interest options are very good people to the main character. There's so much back and forth and backstabbing that you have no idea who's on what side, which while can sometimes turn out okay, the number of times the reader's opinion about X or Y character flip flops is just rediculous. (And again, just kill the douchebag and be done with it!!)

3. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

This one... this one is something else. While I love the concept, in theory, I was NOT a fan of the execution. It's not nearly as good as everyone makes it out to be, and if you want to see V.E. Schwab's better writing, read the Villains series. The concept is nice, but the plot and characters leave a bit to be desired, imo.

Bonus (but tw for implied grooming and very unhealthy relationships) under the cut.

BONUS: Shadow and Bone (kind of)

While I absolutely ADORE Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom, and also loved King of Scars/Rule of Wolves, I was initially uncertain if I wanted to even read Six of Crows after reading the original trilogy. I read both *years* ago, before BookTok latched on, and I discovered that I cared 20x more about the side characters (Nikolai, Tamar, Genya, etc.) than I did about Alina and Mal. I never really cared about them or what happened to them, but I was deeply invested in the side characters stories. Hence why I'm so happy that Ms. Bardugo decided to explore them in KoS/RoW. But that's not my issue with S&B. My issue with S&B is actually a fanbase issue, not a plot issue. THE DARKALINA CREEPS. Who is their right mind thinks that the Darkling gave one rat's ass about Alina??? Who in their right mind could ship them together. Yes, you're supposed to see the Darkling as more than just an evil monolith, and that's valid. But how anyone can read those books (ESPECIALLY the tent scene near the end of book 1) and not be absolutley REPULSED by the Darkling, baffles me. Yes, you're supposed to feel emotions about him, even mourn his death, (or in my case, the death of the person he coudl have been, the person his mother wanted him to be), but dear god, he's a creep. He's also about 600 years old, and you're shipping him with a teenager. What the hell is wrong with you??? The reader is supposed to follow an arc with him, from being wary to admiring him to hating him, and maybe ending on pity. But SO many people get stuck on admiring, and it revolts me. I'm not going to lie, someone liking the Darkling or shipping Darkalina is a MASSIVE red flag, because of how blatantly abusive and manipulative the Darkling is. He's not even subtle about it, after the first 2/3 of the 1st book.

Okay, that's all. I'm so sorry for screaming at you.

[teacup-tyrant]

Shadow & Bone 2.1: Live review/reaction

Remember when I did these first season? I did it again because I can't help it.

In this episode: We're finally at the bottom of the Barrel where we belong, Nikolai's boat looks stupid, and "there was only one bed."

-Haha Kaz forged them papers to get into Novyi Zem, of course he did.

-Wait where are Alina's neck antlers? I can't see them. Hiding under clothes?

-So I expected that the Crows would return to find Pekka Rollins had taken over the Crow Club, but I didn't expect him to turn it into the Kaelish Prince. How dare. This is all getting very Six of Crows-y very fast.

-No one arrests Kaz Brekker so easily, excuse me.

-He's sitting SO CLOSE to people he is gonna start to FREAK OUT and I am here for it. But also, where have we seen a situation like this before with Kaz being sandwiched between people in a prison wagon, hmmm? So I guess we'll have to expect to be in the same situation in Fjerda.

-Stop touching him stop touching himmmmmm

-One of my season 2 wishes was for Kaz to have contact moments like this with no explanation given and this scene just gave me that. Thanks.

-At first I was like UGH, the Stadwatch aren't wearing purple, but like many other shows in recent time, we're just getting darkness as a directorial choice here and I couldn't tell that they actually are wearing purple. Good.

-Is that Nikolai, whuuuut? His accent is very... something. It's strong.

-“And there was only one bed” Alina and Mal moment.

-“We are not vultures, we are crows.” Favorite line so far.

-So we're getting Kaz seeing through a guy as Sturmhond only for him to see through Sturmhond as someone else during the auction scene in CK? Nah. They blew another plot hole in the duology.

-(This was, she would soon realize, a common theme of SoC scene stealing as the show progresses.)

-We're getting Jesper being a fabrikator this early? Sure makes the Ice Court reveal less fun. But Kaz keeps people's secrets. So. Maybe no one else will know.

-ZOWI!! Man the Zemeni have a much better way at looking at things than the Ravkans do.

-How is Mal's old general randomly here? Why would he get the reward for finding Alina, like he can suddenly abandon his own post and go off bounty hunting. He's as much a deserter as Mal then, it makes no sense for him to be here.

-They're in the bottom of the Barrel? Finally. Right where they belong.

-Wahhhhh Kaz trying to protect Inej by sending her away already. And she says she's not leaving him, ouch my heart.

-The way Rollins says “Brekker” reminds me of Snape saying “Pottah” hahaha

-Omg Wylan playing flute on the street, I SCREAMED. What is this Ian Anderson way of playing the flute, I ask you?!?!? You're not supposed to make sounds like that on the flute. I played flute for 12 years and never have I made those kind of noises, Wylan, that is only a Jethro Tull kind of thing and any flute teacher will scoff at you if you even bring it up.

-There you go everyone, it WAS Wylan's bomb that saved Kaz from the Darkling.

-Was that Nina stopping everyone's hearts? It WAS! I knew it. She called Kaz “Angry Hat” ahaha that is amazing, I can't wait to see her have banter with him.

-Oh shit, they're tattooing murderer on him?! Brutal. My tattoo artist roommate would have something to say about the hygiene involved here. Or, lack thereof.

-I'm sorry, I hate the design of Nikolai's ship. It's clearly something “other” because it's not wood like the rest of them, but it just looks so flat and boring. It looks like bad CG, even the parts of it that aren't CG. It also looks empty and unlived in. It's too clean.

-Hahah Nikolai's steampunk crew. I forgot how steampunk-y book 3 gets. I've only read it once so uhhh I don't remember most of it.

-KAZ SAID THE LINE.

-Are we going to see the Slat? Are we going to see something become the Slat and all the gritty bottom of the Barrelness that I want?

-“The Barrel belongs to bastards.” You're damn right it does, get em!!

-Welp, I'm happy at the amount of Crow content we're getting. So what I'm seeing here is that... we're setting up how we get to the point where we start at Six of Crows. Sort of. So Kaz will come out of it with his gang back but living in a shithole. But Rollins still needs to be around for that, thus, we can't beat him properly this season. So.

Ok. NEXT.

Ep1 | Ep2 | Ep3 | Ep4 | Ep5 | Ep6 | Ep7 |Ep8

[memento-morri-writes]

SoC is such a good book tho!!! I could NEVER make my family read it so kudos to you!! The relationships in between the characters are elite imo and the complexity of them made me really happy when I read it!

have you watched Shadow and Bone on Netflix?? if so what did you think of the mashup in between SoC and S&B??

if you don't mind me rambling, rn I'm reading The Atlas Six which if you don't know is about six of the best magicians (called medeians in the book) of the world and how they are selected to pass a bunch of trials for two years, the prize being working in the archives of the Alexandria's Society! But the catch is that only five of them will be admitted and the sixth one simply has to die for not being selected

I have only read a couple more of a hundred pages but so far I'm loving it! It's packed with action and you have povs of the six of them which always makes a book better imo

- @/ink-fireplace-coffee

Carmen, Carmen, Carmen!!! <3333

The Atlas Six is literally the very next book in my TBR, ajdkasjdak. I'm excited about it!! I've heard good stuff about it, and your endorsement makes me even more eager to read it!! I just have to finish A Darker Shade of Magic first.

Also, about SoC. I made my entire family read it, ajsdkakjdsa. My mom read it, then for some absurd reason waited like 4 months to read CK, even though I was basically following her around with a copy begging her to. That pissed me off.

My sister didn't read it, but that's because she's convinced that if she takes a break and reads ONE book in English, she will die and forget everything she's ever learned in 13 years of taking Spanish... 🙄 I'll make her read it one day.

Stuff about S&B Netflix under the cut, because I have Too Much To Say.

As for S&B, the TV Show, I'm not really a fan. Controversial, but I am a stickler for things being accurate to the books as possible. Honestly, I haven't even finished the show. I'm only about halfway through. Part of the problem is that I've never cared one bit about Alina or Mal. The only character I cared about in the original trilogy was Nikolai, lmao. Also, this is really stupid, but I think a lot of people fell in love with the Darkling, partly because he's played by a conventionally attractive man, ajdkjas.

RANT INCOMING

I could go on for hours about how you're supposed to follow Alina's path: which is confusion > idolization > attraction > HATRED, but people get stuck on the idolizing him and thinking he's hot (I mean, yes, he's described as attractive, and Ben Barnes is good-looking enough). But he's so very, very manipulative and clearly abusive and it terrifies me how many people genuinely ship him with Alina. I know that wasn't Ms. Bardugo's point at all, but people will do what they want, I guess.

P.S. - I do know that also the Darkling is supposed to be human, not an evil monolith. He's supposed to be scary partly because you can sympathize with him and feel things about him. But that doesn't erase his toxic and abusive nature. (or at least it shouldn't if your braincells are working.)

OKAY, RANT OVER.

Basically, I wish they hadn't tried to smash two stories into one. I know that the ending of season one sets up well for the actual canon SoC plot, but they've already used so many of the SoC plot points (Kaz selling his crow club shares, etc.) that it would just feel repetitive to do them again. So, I'm a little conflicted.

Okay, sorry, you stumbled into something I have very strong feelings about, ajasjdks. I apologize.

[incrackandwhite]

Hi! I've been wondering if I should read Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo, and I was wondering if you had any thoughts about it? It's a series, so I want to be 100% sure I'm in for the long haul before I start.

Funny story, anon—I’ve never actually read Shadow and Bone. I did watch the show, and I loved it, but I wasn’t really into reading the whole series. It seems generally like your cliché fantasy novels—female protagonist discovers she’s “different” from everyone else, has to save everyone else, defeats the villain, gets the guy, happily ever after. The one thing that did interest me though was that she apparently falls in love with the villain, the darkling? Although ben barnes is adorable.

But that whole entire arc didn’t make sense to me. Alina’s in love with womaniser Mal, her best friend—>discovers she’s a sun summoner, something “more” than everyone else—>is taken with the Grisha—>falls in love with the darkling for his hidden depths or whatever—>discovers the darkling is “bad”—>runs away—>defeats the darkling—>dates mal.

It’s not that I particularly hate Malina or Darkling or anything, I haven’t read the books so I can’t form an opinion, but the romantic storyline just doesn’t make sense. Why include a relationship with the darkling if she was going to kill him and date Mal in the end? It seemed just very unnecessary.

As for the actual storyline, like I said, it didn’t do it for me. I liked the show because of the cast, the plot just fell kinda flat to me.

(SPOILER)

The one thing I did enjoy was Kaz Brekker and his team of criminals, and I would have liked to read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, but then I found out that Matthias dies and like, the whole reason I wanted to read it was because of MatthiasxNina (I do not know their ship name) and what’s the point if he dies?

So yeah, no. Not interested in Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows. But if you feel like you might be into it, go for it!

[rinadragomir]

I just started the Grisha trilogy and I have thoughts- none of them good. Hope I can rant here. I'm done with Shadow and Bone and halfway through Siege and Storm and this is getting on my nerves now.

I mean, I love the setting, and the 'world' so as to speak and I also get why the Darkling is wrong (I mean, you know, using a weapon of darkness to kill people on the borders of your country and your neighbour's country to consolidate your power is wrong, generally) but Alina is the most boring, lame protagonist ever. She does nothing in the series (at least until now). Every time something happens, I'm like, 'yeah, maybe she'll do something now, or influence the outcome somehow' but she doesn't. The Darkling drags her to the Little Palace. The Darkling decides what she's going to do. Baghra tells her to run and how to be. Genya makes whatever decisions are left. Then she runs away and Mal decides to go after the stag. Mal leads her everywhere. Mal hides them in Novyi Zem and makes up the goitre story. And afterwards Nikolai/Sturmhond makes every decisions and she just goes along with it. All it makes me think is, 'bitch why are you even here?' They could have just taken a flashlight with them and called it a day for all that she does in the series. People critique Divergent for falling into stereotypes but at least Tris makes her own decisions, leads by instinct , is decisive about what she wants to do and is a decent character over all. Alina is just...there. She literally does nothing. At this point I'm only continuing it because I want to get to Six of Crows soon and don't like to miss out stuff (even little easter eggs)

TLDR: Grisha Trilogy has a good premise but the protagonist is so lame that it ruins the book.

I'VE ONLY READ HALF OF THE FIRST BOOK BUT YES

Hahahaha but i really know shit about these books. I've only read Six Of Crows 🌼🌼🌼I stopped reading sab cause i couldn't stop laughing at these Alexander MorozovA, Alina Starkov() and people getting drunk cause of kvass......✨cringe✨

I've seen lots of people complaining about same thing, so I think you're right hehehe~

Actually all of these Divergent, The Selection, Beautiful Creatures AND HUNGER GAMES (good female character BUT SUCH A STUPID PLOT, I'll make a post about it) books are just that cringe but free content🐥pure entertainment.

If start taking these books seriously and use logic while thinking about these worlds they will make you mad.

Very good point tho!!! I love this baby essay ✨🐥

[tricewithaz]

THOTS ON SHADOW AND BONE

Hello everyone! it is I, Trice, and i come with my thoughts on the Shadow and Bone show cause ive got many

I'm gonna divide this in what i liked, what i disliked, and what i think could have been better but didn't really bother me. Feel free to send your opinions too!

As a whole, I really liked the show and I think it's a great adaptation that both fans and newcomers will enjoy. It's super well done! and every episode had me glued to the tv even though I knew what was going to happen.

Beware this is long

To start,

What i liked

Mal and Alina

I never really liked Mal in the books, mainly cause he had like, nothing going on for him, and not having his pov made him no favors whatsoever. Alina's perception of him was everychanging, two factors that didn't make him unlikeable necessarily, but that made me not want to read about him. In the show he's way more likeable and even though he still doesn't have a lot going on for him, you can see that he's always trying to protect alina, and you also see a bit of his demeanor through Archie's acting. I think he made a great job at portraying him. And Alina! Alina who in the books was essentially a y/n sort of character (although she did get better over time), her character, likes, dislikes, her DRIVE was incredibly portrayed in the show. Also Jessie (loml, marry me) and Archie have incredible chemistry together and they sold their yearning SO WELL (and so did the kid actors portraying them as children oh my GOD)...yall...i cried when they held hands. My favourite scene was definitely when Alina took care of Mal's wounds (a favorite trope of mine). And the HURT in their eyes whenever they thought the other was in danger....i saw the show dubbed but I'm sure their voices made it beyond incredible as well, their face acting was just on. point. Overall the show rEALLY makes me root for them both individually and together which is something the books didn't manage to do.

The Darkling

AAAAA i really enjoyed the Darkling omg, incredible charisma, Ben does such a great job (and so did his voice actor in Spanish oh my GOD). His acting was just as I imagined it in the books and i loved how he could be as sweet and mysterious as he could be menacing. In fact! i liked him more than i did in the book, and i think it was a great choice to make him more human. I'm not sure if this was Ben or the writing, but i could really see his yearning for an equal, for Alina, his loneliness and his thirst for power and control too. Great love interest, even greater villain. And his wardrobe was phenomenal. I also really liked how they implied that The Darkling was a name given by other people, it was very believable that people would call someone who literally controls shade something akin to "son of the dark" or something of the sort, instead of it being a name he gives himself or his job title (both if which are incredibly pathetic and cringy to think about).

Jesper

No comments. He was just great. I love Kit.

Nina

Omg Danielle did SUCH a great job at portraying Nina, it's exactly how i imagined her in Six of Crows.

Helnik

THE. YEARNING. THE. CHEMISTRY. I didn't love their scenes at the boat but once that was over I was practically screaming at the screen to jUST KISS ALREADY. Calahan and Daniell have such good chemistry together and the few changes they made only served the story better. I did wish they had development over more time cause Matthias' change of mind felt too quick, but i get why they had to rush. Because of how good their chemistry was, their fallout also was incredibly painful.

Inej's fear of the Menagerie and her morals

Amita's portrayal of Inej's hurt, devotion and her refusal to kill (and later hurt cause she has killed) is incredibly subtle but so SO effective. She's so talented really and truly sold Inej's feelings throughout the show.

VFX

Man.....the fold, the volcra, the grisha powers.....kudos to the animators and overall artistic team cause they were incredible. Also seeing the different title animations in each episode was such a tiny detail that made me so excited and they all looked so good.

Ketterdam

Again, kudos to the artistic team, everything about Ketterdam felt so alive (and weirdly moist), truly sold a kind of aesthetic and life that is so characteristic if the Barrel, even when i didn't imagine it that way in the books.

David

He appeared like, twice, and both times were so cute and charming I can't wait to see more of him both on his own and with Genya.

The Wardrobe

So, at first i hated the keftas. I thought the looked tacky and costume, but when you see them on screen they're just perfect (although i have to say the patterns on some of the keftas were kind of...cheap looking? and the training keftas were just kinda boring. My favourite was the Darkling's. Aside from that, i really liked Kaz's and inej's clothes too. Very distinctive and recognizable (although it was kind of weird seeing Inej in teal instead of purple lmao).

And the queen's dresses. Chefs kiss.

It's...so cheesy (affectionate)

The whole show felt like the kind of movies I would watch as a kid like Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. The writing was stylized enough to make it incredibly dramatic and overall there was just so much heart behind all of it. Definetely a show to watch again and again and feel all of it, cause that's what it being so cheesy managed, to make me actually feel for it. It feels like something to watch on a rainy afternoon after a bad day....it's great okay i really enjoyed it, even (specially) the most unbelievable parts of it. And here's the thing, it's something that i think a lot of newer tv and film have lost, so this is good.

What i didn't like

Zoya

Mostly cause of the writing. Originally, in the first book, i didn't like her, neither as a character (stereotypical mean girl with no other motivation than to bang the love interests....all three of them....what's new i still think it's an incredibly sexist trope) or a person (hey at least this was intentional), but over time i grew to LOVE her (mean girl turns out to have a good heart and actually respects the mc and decides to fight alongside her cause it's what's right, without necessarily liking her or giving up her character??? AND she has strong motivations??? now THAT'S new). In the show, i hoped they would keep her mean girl nature while foreshadowing her depth, but all they did was turn her into a petty seductress with barely any screentime, and that only makes her not even a bad antagonist but just a boring character to watch. Not only that but they took away a big part of her character that needed to be developed in the next books. I wanted to watch her rivalry with Alina, her unjustified venomous tongue too, I wanted to be entertained by her and I wasn't. This was also a problem cause when she finally changed teams, and when she hugged Alina, it was incredibly unsatisfying, it would have had a way stronger effect if we had seen her being Ruthless Zoya with a big ambition. I also didn't like how we were told that she didn't like alina, or that she had a family, instead of it being shown on screen. Just from the show, all i can tell you about her is that she likes to bang people and she has a good moral code i guess. Yall, I'm so petty about this.

Kaz

So, I didn't hate him, in fact i think I would have enjoyed him if I hadn't read the books first, cause the two things that bother me about him were two essential characteristics of him in the books. FIrstly, he seems so strained, instead of the seemingly laid back, almost chill looking (even though we know he's not chill at all) Kaz we see in the books, the Kaz that always knows something that you don't. Show Kaz doesn't seem to always be in control, to always have the last word, the last laugh. Instead he seems strained, all the damn time. And I think this is mainly a writing and directing issue. And he also seems weak, something Book Kaz would never do. This is also an issue cause because he doesn't have the same presence he has in the books, the times where he is weak, don't seem as effective. Sure, Pekka Rollins has essentially reduced him and humiliated him, but I haven't seen enough of Kaz being actually dangerous for this to be shocking and for Pekka to seem even more hateable (and, i really liked Pekka, loved him as an antagonist more than i did in the books). Idk, Kaz was so charismatic and just fun and engaging to read in the books that his portrayal in the show felt lacking.

Alina's power's VFX

The little suns were cute and all but the light coming from within her was just ugly I'm sorry.

SFX

A lot of the sound design was just too stylized for the tone of the show i think. I particularly remember the sound of Mal's punches....what's that about.

What i think could have been better, but didn't particularly dislike

The Crows' storyline

And i think part of this is a consequence of Kaz not being as witty as he was in the books. Where's the incredibly complicated heist moves? the even more unbelievable C and D plans when something goes wrong? I didn't like that them getting Alina was essentially just luck, cause i didn't see enough of them being smart and quick on their feet. I also think it was unnecessary to have their storyline mixed with Alina's, i would have enjoyed watching a different heist, maybe in Ravka as well, and them incidentally crossing paths with Alina, more than i liked this storyline. ironically enough, the heist was the part i was least interested in

Genya and Alina

I just feel like her relationship with Alina wasn't strong enough, and i think it's because the show tried to make us believe they were much closer than they were without spending the necessary time in them.

Overall, I really really enjoyed the show, i will be watching it again (particularly cause i want to watch it in English) and i cannot wait for the second season omg (although i have to say, I'm scared for Nikolai)

I think that's all! I would also love to read yall's opinions and have a conversation.