I’M SOO EXCITED TO REVIEW THIS SHOW! 😀 I have waited 6 years for this and omg guys I’m so happy it’s out! You can read my books review of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy here back in Bookidote earlier days haha. Honest TV show review for this one ? I FRKN LOVE IT!
For those who’s not familiar with The Grisha Universe, the Netflix show is a mix between Shadow and Bone and Six Of Crows from the same author Leigh Bardugo. Alina Starkov is an orphan and with her childhood friend, Mal, they got recruited as mapmakers and trackers on a dangerous expedition, during which, Alina will discover her true potential. In parallel, we meet the Crows, a squad of criminals who will try to find their shares of things in this fantastic worldbuilding of Grisha’s magic, humans and a struggle for power.
As a die hard fan of the Grisha Universe, I was very ver very happy that they do it justice. First, they ABSOLUTELY NAILED THE CAST. Every single character understood their roles, I wonder if they’ve all read the books because it’s an amazing ensemble. The main character Alina played by Jessie Mei Li totally owns her role, a confused, but still very witty and on her guard type of woman who meets the Darkling (played by Ben Barnes and gosh I couldn’t be happier that it was him haha) and their chemistry on screen is juste insane. Mal also starts to grow on me as I go along and I feel like his character is much more likeable in the show than in the books. But the real screen stealer for me were Jesper and Nina & Matthias. Jesper embodies the funny stereotype to perfection and Nina and Matthias storyline just makes me ship them even more.
Worldbuilding wise I think Netlfix put the right budget for this show, from the Keftas to the magical displays, to Kaz perfect outfit, everything was on point. The Fold as well, as this mysterious entity was represented with such darkness and the CGI of the creatures is in my opinion, pretty successful. Now, the one thing I wish we could see more is the Russian folkore influence, since it’s a pretty big theme in Ravka’s architecture.
Overall, I was very happy with this adaptation and cannot wait for Season 2 !!
What do you guys think? Did you read the books? Did you like the show? (:
Big thank you to Macmillan and Netlfix for the new copies of the Grisha Universe book series!
Review by Trang T.
Bookidote 
I haven’t yet read the Shadow and Bone triolgy, but I adore the Six of Crows books. So it was fun to see those characters come to life on screen. I really enjoyed being able to have more content from those characters 🙂
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The cast was soo perfect 😍 I loved Kaz’s entrance when he put the cane on the table LOL like DAMN I KNOW WHOS COMING 😂
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Yes!! Kaz brekker didn’t need a reason to have an entrance that iconic 😂 I was also obsessed with Jesper twirling his gun in every scene haha! I’m excited to see where they’re going to take season two!
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Omg same!! 😂Okay but how perfect is Jesper though?! I can’t wait to see Wylan
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Kit Young was such perfect casting for Jesper. I’ve never seen someone so charasmatic and attractive in my life haha! I also can’t wait to meet Wylan. I hope they announce a renewal for season two soon!
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Im 4 episodes in and I really like the show, I might give the books a try!
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YESSS 😍😍 please do!! The books are really good! Let me know when you finish the first season 😉
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I knew this was mixed with sox of crow so I’m not watching this show until I finish Shadow and bone trilogy and SOC duology. Great review!
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I’ve seen the first five episodes and quite enjoying this first season, even though I needed a few forays on the web to better understand the background.
I have not read any of the books but I’ve had Six of Crows on my TBR since… well, forever, and given that I enjoy enormously the part of the story focused on the Crows, I will not wait much longer 🙂
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I’ve not read any of the books yet but I do have an ebook copy of Six of Crows. Perhaps I should get around to trying that? 🙂 I enjoyed the trailer and would certainly give the series a try if I had access. Maybe one day. Thanks for the review!
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This was really fun watching, although many things are changed from the original story
We have publish more recommend tv and web series like shadow and bones https://gobookmart.com/shows-like-shadow-and-bone-based-on-fantasy-fiction-books/
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I keep hearing good things about it. Am looking forward to checking it out.
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Great review! ❤ They did such an amazing job bringing the books to life and even improving the story in certain ways, like actually making Mal likable! lol 😛
It was so awesome seeing the characters and world brought to life and I was so giddy with excitement every time they introduced something new from the books into the show. They really did a beautiful job with it. Can't wait for Season 2! 😀
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AH the photos are so beautiful in this post! I am so excited to watch it!
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I was very nervous about how the Six of Crows characters fit into the narrative, but I was pleasantly surprised with the result. And I wholeheartedly agree that the casting was perfect.
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