The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi

This has got to be one of my all time favourite books of all time. I feel like I definitely say things like that a lot, but this is a book that I have not stopped thinking about since I read it back in August of 2020. I will be completely honest and confess that I still have not read book 3 of the series, because that is what I have started accidentally doing to my favorite book series (it’s becoming quite a problem, because I do want to read them, but I do not have the time and I do not want the series to end).

This book is often accused of copying Six of Crows, but I think that there are a lot of issues with that statement. While the basic idea of the two books are the same, “six” teens go on a heist (I say that because honestly The Gilded Wolves has seven from the beginning), they are wildly different in their application. I think there is a huge root in racism, because there are more similarities between other books and Six of Crows, but it isn’t until it is written by a person of color that people claim that “it’s the same story.” The Mistborn and Aurora Cycle series are both more similar to Six of Crows than this book is, and yet no one accuses any of those authors of copying each other.

Like I said, this book follows six young adults as they plan and execute a heist for the seventh main character. While the characters are interesting, the best part of this book is the heist. One of the biggest criticisms of this book is that the heist is too complicated (especially when compared to SIx of Crows), which genuinely confuses me because this heist is accurate and math-based. There are a lot of hints, and there are no plot holes, and the reader is told about what happens, instead of simply allowing plot holes to happen because “it just works out like that,” making it actually interesting. It might not be for everyone, but it is definitely a book that everyone should look at. It’s hard to give a plot summary without immediately spoiling the book, because the plot starts almost immediately.

Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo

Like The Gilded Wolves, this book is also an acquired taste. I know a lot of people did not like this book, though I think it is in part due to the fact that they were expecting it to be Six of Crows but for the adult category instead of young adult. However, this book is wildly different from her young adult books, but in a wonderful way.

Ninth House follows university student Galaxy “Alex” Stern as she navigates her “second chance at a good life” given to her by the Ninth House at Yale University. The Ninth House is in charge of policing the dangerous secret societies at the university. While they would normally pick an incoming freshman student to be mentored for the year, Alex was chosen despite not being an accepted student due to her ability to see ghosts unassisted, something that has led her down a path of drugs and alcohol. When a girl ends up murdered on campus, Alex is forced to begin looking into the obvious paranormal reasoning behind it, to save others from being harmed as well. On top of that, despite still being new at the job, she has to do it mostly on her own, with only help from one other person, because her mentor was killed in the fall, forcing her to navigate the world without him. 

This book is so interesting, because Alex is somewhat of an unreliable narrator, because it becomes clear that she is not telling the whole truth and actively hides information from us as the reader. However, we get more and more information from her past and what happened in the fall, from the point of view of Darlington, her mentor, in a past timeline of the fall of that school year.

In case it was not obvious in my last post, the GrishaVerse, specifically Six of Crows, is incredibly important to me and helped me through some hard times. Because of this, I have a very strong emotional attachment to a lot of the characters in the series, which made me so excited to see them on screen, but also made me nervous. As much as I wanted to see them, I was worried about them not living up to expectations. However, just like in season one, all the characters, new and returning, lived up to their glory from the books.

The Characters

If there is one thing that is important to the GrishaVerse, it is the characters within it. Even in the beginning of Six of Crows, when she introduces a random character to kill off immediately, he is someone so unique that people still immediately know who he is when you talk about him. This means that it was crucial for the show to not alter characters in any major way, even as they made changes to the plot.

That being said, the one character that they can (and should) change, they did. Mal’s character is improved from the books which is necessary(I could do an entire blog post on his character alone, honestly), but his core principles have not changed. He’s instead had a couple decisions changed, making him the same character, but with less toxicity. 

All in all, the characters in the show are so true to the original characters that I have no complaints about their characterization whatsoever. The things that made me love them all in the first place are still there, even as they are put in situations that I had no idea about. The only issue I have is (spoilers for the show and Siege and Storm) that Alina agrees to marry Nikolai. It really caught me off guard for it to unfold the way it does. (spoilers over) I do like the improvement on the relationship between Mal and Alina however (which I will elaborate on in part 2).

The Plot

This is where the writers really tend to mess with things. And for what it is worth, they do a really good job. For me, as a book lover who tends to be the first one to say the obnoxious “that’s not what it is like in the book,” to only have one major issue with the things they chose to change is impressive. I did have a second issue with something that they changed, but I don’t hate their choices. Even as certain plot changes occurred, the heart of the GrishaVerse was still present

The Changes

(spoilers for the show, Rule of Wolves, and Crooked Kingdom)

The change that made me sad was the change in Jesper and Wylan’s relationship plotline. They got together really quickly, which I am not going to complain about, though I am going to miss the slow burn from the books. I really think the writers took pity on us because we have already been dragged through two full seasons of Kaz and Inej. However, the fact that they slept with one another prior to the show (which was so obvious, I don’t know why it shocked people) means that one of the best lines between the two, which explicitly states Jesper’s bisexuality and solidifies them into potential love-interest territory, will never happen. The “Just girls?””no, not just girls.” line will never happen. On top of that, our chances of hearing “maybe I liked your stupid face” is also slim, especially considering they had something similar said in the show (“I kinda like your face”). All in all, however, I am happy we get to see the two happy.

The one that pissed me off is

the choice they made to kill off David prematurely. Yes, he dies in Rule of Wolves, but he plays enough of a part in that series that it makes no sense to kill him early. Unlike with every other change in the show, this is the one that I cannot find good reason for. The only one I can think of is that they wanted to highlight the relationship between Alina, Genya, and Zoya, as the three girls most directly manipulated by the Darkling, through having them be the Triumvirate by replacing David with Alina. However, he did not need to die for them to do that, because there is not the same emphasis on the separation of Grisha by orders in the show that there is in the books. That is the only change I actually take issue with. I am just holding onto hope because they never showed us a body. 

Yes, there will be a part two because I have so many thoughts about this show that I cannot express in any reasonable word length.

In honor of the second season of Shadow and Bone comes out tomorrow at 3 am (as of writing this), I wanted to talk about season one as a page-to-screen adaptation. 

Season One and The Book

Any book lover will tell you that their dream page-to-screen adaptation is one that includes every minute detail of the book. And while I am with them on that, I am a realist and understand that it’s damn near impossible. The only adaptations that I have seen that are so close to the original source are the BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice (1995) and the Netflix adaptation of Heartstopper (2022), and even those had some deviations.

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For me, I only want one that stays true to the book. Little details that I will understand as a reader are also fun, for sure, but as long as the basic plot and themes remain the same, I am generally satisfied.

Shadow and Bone as a series both succeeds and fails spectacularly at this. It is one of my favourite shows of all time, and I got to see characters that have brought me so much comfort and security over the years come to life, and that is an experience I loved. That doesn’t change the ways that it fails in some aspects as an adaptation.

Like I said, this is one of my all time favourite shows. It has beautiful cinematography, the special effects are incredible, and the casting, while too old for the book, is amazing. The story itself, especially one of the plots, stays accurate to the book. It included the little moments for book readers to understand. The characters are true to the book, for the most part. Overall, this overshadows what I am about to say, at least in respect to quality.

If I have ever talked to you about the ways that Ithink you need to read the books, you will know that I, like most everyone, feel that Six of Crows is much better than the original trilogy. It’s to the point that if you read Six of Crows first, Shadow and Bone is not fully worth reading, because it will be a let down. Because of this, most of her fanbase wanted a Six of Crows adaptation more than a Shadow and Bone adaptation, as the characters in the two shows barely interact, and they’re set two years apart, which might not seem a lot, but puts the cast of SoC anywhere from 13 to 16 years old when the events of SaB occurred.

This is why it was a shock that they decided to make a Shadow and Bone based show that also included the Crows. The storylines don’t really blend together easily, or have a substantial link to each other. Six of Crows does not serve as a continuation of Alina’s story in the original trilogy. So, the decision to include the characters from the more popular series was a decision made to attract viewers. While normally spinoff series normally do not succeed to the extent of their predecessors, Six of Crows was an exception to this rule. Failing to include the 6 characters would make people upset because that is the story they preferred. However, starting a show featuring only the Crows would alienate the core fanbase that will create rewatch value and join Netflix only to watch the show. Instead, they chose to try both, creating the original story with the preferred characters woven in. And while I do understand the choice, and appreciate the reasoning behind it, I think it shot itself in the foot.

While at the moment, the decision to include the Crows is more profitable, they have eliminated a chance to make more money down the line. By including the Crows as characters in the first series, they have made it impossible to make a true Six of Crows story like fans have wanted from the beginning. Aspects of the characters will have to completely change because of what happened in the show. The story itself would make no sense because it relies on the Crows being aged 16-18. A lot of the choices they make, and their inexperience, is what makes Six of Crows so successful. The choice to age them up, and to make them (mostly) more experienced will hurt a future heist focused storyline (basically: they do dumb shit and it sometimes works and no one knows why, which is why we love it). The atmosphere and story they have created does negate that. The crows themselves had to be changed as characters to fit into the storyline which is another huge reason people loved the crows.

While they realized that people loved the Crows more than the Grisha characters, they did not account for how much people love the Crows. All the people they thought would “only come for the Crows” would willingly sit through the entirety of Shadow and Bone for even a glimpse at an accurate depiction of the characters.

I read her books for the first time when I was only 14 years old. And this is important to note, because the A Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass series were both released as Young Adult books (with Maas suggesting it herself). I was in the main demographic for these books when I read them, and the first time I read them, I loved them. And then I reread them shortly after and I learned just how bad it all was. Also, if you read one of these, you will have read them all because she cannot think of any different storyline than whatever basic plot she thought of once. Also, her writing is just shitty. That’s it. 

Crescent City series

I would say this was the worst in terms of writing and lack of creativity, but because it was aimed at an adult audience (and I only read book 1) I have nothing to critique as much. That being said, I still want to cover it. As is typical with all of her books, she uses “male and female” instead of man and woman. It is genuinely the creepiest thing I have ever read (we won’t even discuss the heteronormativity and anti-trans rhetoric so explicitly woven into her books, even with her “queer” characters because I do not have the time to cover it for all the books and I do not remember this well enough to discuss it). It feels like when you meet one of the guys who says “females” and it sets off alarm bells in my head that he is about to hurt me in some way. As per usual with her books, her main character is “badass and feminist” until a guy is there, and suddenly, it’s okay for men to say sexist things.

Throne of Glass series

The most “YA” of all her books (which does not mean much). It’s been a hot sec since I have read these, but I still have plenty to say about them. I am trying to keep these brief because A Court of Thorns and Roses best describes the issues with her books, in easier to spot detail than the rest of her books. However, that does not mean that there is nothing to say about these ones. In this book, we see the glorification of abuse. Our main character (who’s name changes in the book for a really dumb reason), ends up with a man who repeatedly threatened her with physical abuse, all while claiming to be a “badass woman” who “will not take any sexist bullshit.” It’s all incredibly preformative. But it’s worse here than in any adult book glorifying/denying abuse. It is one thing for a book intended for an audience who has the critical thinking skills/experience to understand that it glorifies and celebrates abusive relationships, and it can be a safe way to engage with the dark sides of human fantasy. However, this is a book marketed for children. Young Adult books are books approved for ages 12 and older. The primary audience is under the age of 18, specifically girls. These are incredibly vulnerable girls who are now reading about an abusive relationship that is being portrayed in an incredibly problematic way. On top of that, the only person of color in the first 4-5 books is used to simply push the main white character into an action, furthering the white savior trope, and killing her off rather quickly. There’s also not a single queer character in the (very large) cast of characters,

A Court of Thorns and Roses

This trilogy was the first one I read, and boy is it the worst. While it is also published and advertised as a YA book, remember ages 12-18 primarily, it has very very explicit scenes. This book makes the abuse and racism in the other books she wrote seem like nothing at all. I am going to try to condense it as quickly as I can because it is a lot. SPOILER WARNING!!

Book 1: A Court of Thorns and Roses

This one is based on Beauty and the Beast, and boy can you tell. Because it is literally the same plot, but it manages to make the already questionable plot (no the original Beauty and the Beast is not stockholm syndrome, there’s a wonderful essay about how it isn’t, written by professionals) worse. While Beast realizes “hey I am an asshole, maybe I should not be,” the love-interest gets worse and worse as time goes on. He SAs her, and then sends her back to her house. Then she comes back to save him, and literally dies doing so. Instead of trying to help her escape when he gets the opportunity to, he just tries to sleep with her, while she’s kinda drugged (which is a whole other can of worms because you don’t even know what’s about to happen, except you maybe do) and fails to even do that. On top of that, she is repeatedly drugged by another character throughout the second half of the book and forced to pretend to be his “wh***” as they say in the book (12+ remember) in exchange for saving her life. He also SAd her. He forces her to agree to live with him sometime, if they escape, in exchange for him helping her not die. So basically, both men are taking advantage of her, and yet she loves one and thinks the other one is kinda sexy. All still marketed to 12 year olds. An almost entirely white cast, with the exception of a couple extra characters (only one given a name) who, guess what, dies.

Books 2: A Court of Mist and Fury

This is where it gets even worse. Well, it actually gets better before it gets worse, but then it spirals so badly. This one is meant to be based on Hades and Persephone, by someone who clearly a) doesn’t realize Beauty and the Beast is a Hades and Persephone retelling already and b) doesn’t understand the nuance behind the stories (because there’s way more than one). Moving right along. The main heroine starts to realize that maybe her fiance is abusive, which is great. We love the attempt to break away from abusers and helping young people realize that people are abusing them and that they can escape. While she’s going down the aisle to marry him, the other guy comes in to force her to live with him to save her. Because nothing says heroic like forcing someone to live with you against their will. Then we start to get to know the other dude. You know, the one who forced her to “pretend” to be his sex slave (is it pretend if he treats her like that while she’s drugged i.e. SA) in exchange for saving her life, then forced her to live with him one week a month for the rest of eternity in exchange for giving her a fighting chance, and then explicitly SAs her. That one. Well turns out he is a radical feminist (because that’s totally true) who is a really good guy. Then she goes back and forth between these two jackasses before one of them (the first guy) traps her in the house against her will and she has a panic attack, allowing the second guy to send his friend to save her so she can live with them permanently. He then proceeds to ridicule her for not knowing to read (she was living in poverty) and call her weak (screams feminist to me). But he doesn’t force her to stay in the house against her will. Except for all those weeks where he forced her to stay in the house against her will because of a bargain she made when she was dying. Then he publically “plays with” her (ya know) but it’s okay because she’s sober now (still 12+). Then she finds out they’re mated (the most heteronormative bullshit out there because it’s all intended between “males and females” to make the best babies (seriously cannot make this shit up)) and that he knew since he met her the first time and just didn’t tell her. So she gets mad and he goes to apologize and while doing that excuses all of the times he sexually assaulted her because he was “saving her” from the horrors. You know, all those times he drugged her? It was for her. He’s a feminist like that. 

We finally get a total of 2 queer characters, one who is the negative stereotype of a bisexual, where he constantly wants to have threesomes and cheat on his partner. The other was clearly not originally intended to be a queer character, but she changed her mind when people started pointing out her lack of diversity. 

Intermixed with all of that fun plot, we are introduced to the “barbarians.” In this world, there are “high fae” and “lesser faeries” (yep that’s what they’re called). This one race of faeries are written to look like the high fae but our actually lesser faeries. The race is south asian coded characters and Maas represents them as treating women horribly and being incredibly old fashioned. The second guy is half lesser faerie and half high fae. And while his father is a jackass and white/high fae and his mother is not either of those things, as a whole Maas makes her racism quite clear.

I keep bringing up the fact that the intended audience is 12 and older because that is important. While glorifying abuse and excusing sexual assault is never okay, it is worse when the intended audience is young girls who cannot recognize it for what it is, problematic and dangerous, and they are being told through the media that this is okay behaviour. These books are genuinely disgusting, and this is only the first 2. There are 2 more books and a novella, and they just get worse and worse, all while being marketed to a young teen audience.