All I wanted in the books was for Alina to give Mel the middle finger, embrace her power and try to make the world better for the Grishas instead of the whole "I don't want it, I want to be a housewife bullshit"

I just stumbled upon your channel and oh my god I kept giggling the entire time because of all the points you have made. I also read the six of crows duology first and fell madly in love with the writing and character development. So when the teaser for Shadow and Bones TV show dropped I gave the first book a chance and yeeted it afterward because of how bland & predictable it was and how it was basically a "wish fulfillment" story with a young girl suddenly being treated like a princess, who has the power to save the world. Even if I'm interested in meeting Nikolai's character I don't think I can sit through hours of reading about a girl whose a large chunk of decisions was influenced by which guy she's interested in. In the words of readwithcindy the best character development in the series most likely belongs to Ms. Leigh Bardugo because of how much her writing improved in her other books. Anyways, great video! I'm also interested in your take on the series once it airs!

I'm a darklina shipper and I loved your video hahaha i think the books had inconsistencies and the fact that first cover page of shadow and bone had "A dark heart, a pure soul. A love that will last forever" line on the top makes me wonder what was the first idea Leigh had with the development of the story

@bookendjam

3 жыл бұрын

Bardugo really said: "I'm going to bait the enemies to friends to lovers people so hard." I had no clue that line was originally associated with The Gathering Dark. Wild, utterly wild.

I'm so glad I've found the other Grishaverse fan who Knows the ending was a copout.

I would 110% for sure watch more reviews and stuff like this from you!

The Shadow and Bone trilogy are *fine* books, they're fun to read, but they're not the pinnacle of literary achievement, and along with all the points you made about unexplored and imho more realistic reasons for overarching conflict, I think the main issue with Alania is that she has NO AGENCY. Throughout the entire series, she doesn't make a single decision for herself. Instead, she's told she has a goal or presented an option she ends up failing to take because she doesn't want to upset Mal (who, again imho, only liked Aliania when she WAS plain and small, not WHO she was when she was plain and small) or because at the last second the choice is ripped away from her, a la when Baghra tells Alina to flee the palace before she can make one of her first real choices in the series. It would have been fascinating to see Alina not only making choices but being forced to make HARD choices like Nikolai, where either one ended up with a cost or loss. Instead, she's piloted along like every other 2010's YA protagonist then ultimately stripped of her power and chooses to walk away from every single conflict that has been set up so far to retire into the most cliche happy ending. I think the ending stripped bare how little Alina was actually ALLOWED to influence the world around her. She WAS a powerful magic user, but she didn't or wasn't allowed to transform any of that magical power into tangible power over the world around her. The series ending proved that, for as much as she was told she could change the world, she had been a juiced-up firework in the end, and she could be subtracted from the world without any of the plot falling apart or even sagging.

@PsycoAxeFairy

3 жыл бұрын

I just finished binging the TV adaptation and I can gladly say they gave her (and many other characters) so much more agency

I loved this, and yes I am that Alina/darkling shipper 😭✋🏻

You've actually helped me understand why Darklina is a thing. I feel more bad for Darkling but.. he still manipulated her and was a creep thanks to what Leigh Bardugo wrote so I personally won't get down on that. But hey, fan fiction is there for a reason. So you can just... act like that stuff didn't happen lmao, it's fair.

Okay, but if being an amplifier gives you a second life then my favorite piece of human garbage shouldn't have died as well

@dumdumdum6842

3 жыл бұрын

By my favorite I mean one of two characters in the series that I actually kinda liked

@bookendjam

3 жыл бұрын

Uuuuuh, but he...uuuuuuuuh *looks at smudged writing* lost the will to live?

Okay but realistically, the whole fold extending in the first book as a ploy to threaten BOTH Ravkan authority and the government of other countries was cruel but a respectable strategic move. I don’t claim the Darkling’s actions in the other books though because it just feels like massive break out of character just because Leigh needed conflict and was upset at the Darkling now. So, I like the Darkling when he acts in character because he’s the only one working to make the present broken order of the world move but I don’t claim his out of character bs in the next books. Basically, I like him because he’s the only main character in the trilogy who really brings forwards the social questions brought up with Six of crows, with the added flavour of discrimination, revolution and how an eternity of loneliness and disappointment can corrupt you. I don’t ship Genya and Alina because I fully sold my sold to Genya and David, my precious adorkable Grisha babies however I am definitely there to screw around Zoyalina, mostly because I’m a massive Zoya simp.

I feel like this video somes up my feelings about this trilogy

Finally a review that actually tackles on the many problems of the grisha trilogy's messages and themes. Everytime I think about these books I just feel sad because they had so much potential, and it was all wasted.

ur video made me laugh so hard and i agree with so many of your opinions. I'm looking forward to the show because i don't think it's going to be a faithful adaption and I'm kind of looking forward to what it's going to look like as it's own story if that makes sense

I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts about this, you made some great points. Also, I appreciate that you annunciate.

Why would you say things so tru and that should be said 😌

This video is really good!

This is everything 💕

gorl your channel is a gold mine and ahhh i need your thoughts on the tv show

@bookendjam

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I thought with this video that I wouldn't have anything else to say about the series, but...the Netflix adaption and the Nikolai Duology dragged me back kicking and screaming. I somehow have new beef.

@happyjellycatsquid

3 жыл бұрын

@@bookendjam Oh my god the show is a mess, please get the beef out and make a video!! 🥸

@bookendjam

3 жыл бұрын

@@happyjellycatsquid I thought I was done talking about these books, but then I read the Nikolai Duology and then I watched the television series. Once school finishes up for the year I will definitely be able to release more content.

0:16 I love the Ratatouille quote.

@bookendjam

3 жыл бұрын

Any time I make a video or write something as a critique I think of the quote. It really is different being on the artists side of the glass or on the critics.

@zeldasabastical3629

3 жыл бұрын

@@bookendjam Wow, 6 months flew by..

@bookendjam

3 жыл бұрын

@@zeldasabastical3629 I know. I'm in the middle of making another book review right now that's somewhat humorous and easy going, and trying to summarize my thoughts on the TV show...because I have Thoughts....

@zeldasabastical3629

3 жыл бұрын

@@bookendjam great can't wait for Thoughts

Great video! You mentioned you are a Russian folklore nerd, have you read the Winternight trilogy? If yes... any thoughts to share?

@bookendjam

3 жыл бұрын

I've finished the first two books in the Winternight trilogy! They're very enjoyable, and while not in any way historically accurate, they really do present the folktale figures in a way I can get behind. I still need to finish the final book, but thus far I'm impressed. There are definitely some elements of women's roles and gender that could be improved upon, but from a strictly Russian folklore stance the story has clearly been well researched. If you're into Russian folklore I also recommend Deathless by C. Valente. It's more surreal and metaphorical, but another well researched piece that plays with the folklore well. None of the magical people are named Greg.

@00moon

3 жыл бұрын

@@bookendjam Thanks! I'm new to Russian folklore, I wasn't interested at all until Winternight, and now I need more. I'll look into Deathless.

Late to the party, but can I just say that I'm some weird hybrid of a Darklina shipper... kinda? I don't actively ship them like I do with other ships I'm more invested in, I just think their character dynamic is fascinating and had *so much potential*. Alina becoming his partner in crime and turning into a villainess could've been interesting, maybe even a route where she reels him back on the extremity of his well-intentioned extremism. I don't know, I haven't yet read Ruin and Rising but I don't care about spoilers at this point. Here's to the Netflix adaptation.... doing better overall, I am *not* happy with the direction they've taken so far... Removing *all* the less than savory elements of book!Mal and making his relationship with Alina be that of mutual pining is just... hhhhh. I don't like it. If during Siege and Storm, Mal realized how much of a jackass he's being to Alina, came to terms with her power (but still keeps her reined in in a loving manner when she starts thirsting for more power), and remained supportive of her new responsibilities as the Sun Summoner, I would've been *so* on board with this couple. Hell! I would've forgiven book one Mal for being a jackass because CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. With show!Mal, he's just gonna be a puppy-eyed dunderhead.

Do you have Goodreads? It would be cool to see what other books you like for some recs.

@bookendjam

3 жыл бұрын

I just made one for the sake of this channel: www.goodreads.com/user/show/128422338-bookend-jams It's definitely young, but I'm slowly fleshing it out.

this is SO funny

13:31 🤣🤣🤣

I loooooved the six of crows duology and would have loved more of it. I read shadow and bone but not the rest of that series because it was kinda boring. I didn't really care what happened to Alina, I didn't find the Darkling all that compelling and Mal was ok. I would picked him over the Darkling though, because even in one book I thought he was creepy and manipulative. There were too many YA troupes shoved into one book with not enough world building to make me slog through more of it. I'm hoping they fix some of these issues with the netflix series but I'm really worried they're gonna ruin my chance to get the full six of crows story on screen.

Your voice is like nails on a chalk board with all do respect