all hail daddy darkling! 24 hr grisha trilogy vlog, reading for the first time! 

I feel like the show does a better job of explaining the Darkling’s motivations and plan. I also agree that the opening is some of the best fantasy I’ve ever read, and then it very quickly become VERY YA!

NOT THE “I am become a blade 😈” IN THE THUMBNAIL 😭🤚🏻

I read SoC first then read this series for context and i have to say SoC is soooo much better in my opinion. The strongest parts of Leigh Bardugo’s writing in SoC are the character dynamics and THE BANTER, which is lacking in Shadow and Bone. This series is very teen angst and I was so surprised the two series were so different.

“Well I guess it’s not a bird it’s a Mal” haha loved this review so much 👌🏼

"do i think alina should have died? yes" PLS kajdskajsd ur so right !!!!

This vlog has the best timing because I've just started Ruin & Rising. And it's true that I prefer the SoC duology over this trilogy, but I'm really suprised how much I'm enjoying the books so far. I've just finished re-watching the show as well & dare I say, to me it is the best adaptation ever!😁

Yes! Agree with everything you said! I read the Six of Crows duology first and ended up really enjoying and had it on my shelf for awhile. I only recently got the Grisha trilogy from the library and enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. Like Six of Crows is definitely stronger in writing and characters but the first trilogy is solid. Now the Nikolai duology…..

Shadow and bone got me back into reading and it holds such a special place in my heart 🤭💕

can u do a 24hour reading of six of crows and crooked kingdom? It is much better, and I know you will love them!

Fuckboy childhood best friend 💀 most accurate

This video was just hilarious! Barbie and the magic of pegasus LOL 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

i must be the only one who loves the ending. i like the idea of alina leading a quiet, comfortable life with mal raising the orphans after going through so much and having to pretty much save the world. i do have mixed feelings abour her losing her powers tho but i guess it is what it is

the dyad between Alina and Aleksander is chef's kiss

this was SO funny! You're descriptions of what is happening in the book was HILARIOUS. I also read this trilogy in a 24 hour time period and it was so fun to binge!

I think all of us can agree that pacing was very weird in these books, but I really think I was way less bothered by it than most people were. I love these books

This vlog was actually so fun!! I would love to see you tackle some more YA fantasy in future vlogs esp now that it’s fall 😍😍

I just finished this trilogy and have been pushing this blog off so I can listen to all your thoughts!!

i agree, 24h vlogs are so fun! i really enjoyed the trilogy when i read it ♥

Much prefer the TV series, usually books are better, but I’m so ready for the season 2 release!

22:26 Not the cat opening the door????😂😂 Edit: I thought it was a ghost at first! That one part had more intrigue than Shadow and Bone😭

_THANK YOU_ for coming out with this video, it reminded and motivated me that I had been halfway through Siege and Storm ever since Shadow and Bone season 1 came out & I really needed/wanted to finish the trilogy! I caught up on all your other videos, and then got to work listening to the audiobooks, literally just so I could watch this. ^-^ I'm glad that I already knew going into the last two books that people weren't happy with how the trilogy ended, so I was braced for the worst, and even though I wasn't entirely thrilled with it myself I actually wasn't as totally disappointed by it as I had expected to be either.

Love this! 100% yes on more 24 hour reading vlogs. This was fun 😍

I appreciate your perspective cause I've also been confused a little by the "hate" this series gets despite other YA series of very similar quality getting love (looking at you Sarah Janet)! But also YES READ CROOKED KINGDOM! That duology is SO good 👍

ALSO - when I got to the "i am become a blade" bit myself, I was like 'Now I think I get it-This really IS kind of camp'(because I'd seen your video title/thumbnail but waited to actually watch until after I did a little bit of 24hr audiobook listening myself - so I'd spent the whole time mildly pondering exactly which parts were or weren't campy in my own opinion too). Lmfao 🤣🤣

Oh thank goodness this just popped up. I almost started doing chores but now I can sit for a bit 😂

I read the trilogy last year only because I wanted to read Six of crows, and it really wasn't for me...The first book was the best out of three for me, I kinda waited for darklina moments lol but overall it was fun. The second and third were so boring to me, mainly because I didn't give a shit about any of the characters, and even Darkling was just cartoonish villain (the show does a better job of showing his backstory). But, if I had read this when I was younger I think I would've really liked it, in my opinion this is just on the younger side of ya, and I will always respect that this trilogy is blueprint for fantasy ya books

"so it smells like hella blubber" I DIED

Why is this vlog so funny I’m laughing so much

“ It’s not a bird, it’s a Mal “ lol.

I think this series would only be bad if Nikolai hadn't been introduced....so much of it was confusing/vague and I feel like at what point they implied the Darkling, Mal, Alina and Morosov were all related?? Why was the Darkling so old? It works so well as a Netflix series though, I feel like it makes the characters way easier to understand

You're right! This WAS a _LOOTTT_ of fun[ (for me)to watch, too]-it was really comforting to see that I wasn't alone in feeling there were ups and down, but ultimately still not thinking it was really a totally terrible series at all, even in spite of that!!!!! 😂🤍😂 Looking forward to seeing what you'll 24hr reading vlog about next! ^-^ 💜 Thanks, again!!!! ^--^ 😊💖

Daddy Darkling 🤣 The cast of Shadow & Bone call Ben Barnes “Shadow Daddy.” I don’t see why Mal gets so much hate. Love him

This was so much fun to watch 😂

CHANDLER, The darkling saved genya from the gropy king, remember???

I’ve never read the last book so this was a great refresher 😃

Really loving this vlog!!! Also, I need that salad recipe!!! 😋

I still need to read the third book in this 😩

IM SO EXCITED

I'm not into YA so I skipped it to six of crows. The audio book is incredible - they have different voice actors for every point if view! I haven't listened to the second book in the duology but I absolutely will get there.

I loved hearing your thoughts about all of these books, and it comes at such a funny time bc I just decided to unhaul all of my Grishaverse books. This series overall was like a solid 3 stars to me, but Siege and Storm was my favorite! Ruin and Rising and I have beef, so we're not going to talk about her lmao I have to agree with other people in the comments: the adaptation is better.

I need to read those books lol

i’m pretty sure i was quite ill and off school when i read ruin and rising because i gave the first two books 2 stars but gave the third one 5 stars lol

Please do the same for Six Of Crow🙏🙏

I read the grisha trilogy after soc/ck so in comparison, it definitely fell flat BUT i still think it was a solid ya series (granted, if it weren't for Nikolai, my thoughts wouldn't be the same lol). Rereading everything in preparation for both the show and Rule of Wolves though, i agree that the characterization of the trilogy characters is especially weak and to me i think my lack of connection to them was bc of the 1st person POV. 1000% would've been on board for some Darkling chapters, not for darklina but bc i can genuinely see the potential for him as a layered complex villain, which seems to be Ben Barnes's intent as well, bless that man.

would love to see more 24 hour readathons from you❤️

Another great vlog!! I love your City of Forks crewneck and need one. Where's it from?

I've always wondering in the case of emergency do you have a list of those passengers who many need extra assistance?

I thought I had dnfed the trilogy and then listening to your recap realized I did read the whole thing and it just made zero impression lol. The books did not hold up to my expectations from watching the Netflix show but I think it’s probably because I aged out of the YA genre

😍

I'm not a "hater" of the Shadow and Bone trilogy (I also think it's fine), but I think some of the things that greatly effected my feelings about the series overall: 1. I read the Six of Crows duology first and regardless of whether or not you like that duology, it just isn't a kind comparison between the two, SoC is just a way stronger story 2. The romance really was a mess and I just got so irritated by it. I never was a fan of Mal and I do think that if he was supposed to be end-game, there was a better way to contrive that romance that wouldn't have made me hate him so much. Nikolai NEVER should have been poised as a love interest and I wished we had explored more of the tension between Alina and the Darkling. Speaking of - 3. The Darkling really lost his teeth the further the series went on. It was almost like Bardugo didn't realize how compelling of a villain he was and was trying to lean away from that character/romantic plotline (cuz ofc Mal is end-game). But I really think if he had continued to develop as a character, that would have added some badly need depth and by contrast, could have helped with Alina's own character arc (because when a villain is not fully fleshed out, it weakens the hero as well). What you said about his motivations was spot on. I could probably go on, but those were the big three that really dragged this series down for me. Loved watching you read it tho!

With the books I feel like the layout doesn't match? Idk if that makes sense. But it's like the editor had Leigh bardugo beef up parts that weren't necessarily important and stagnated the rest. Idk the topics weren't fleshed out that much and it fell flat all around. The technical aspect of the story was good and so we're the concepts but the layout was weak.

i watched the show first & i found the Darkling to be way more daddy in the show than books. the romance genuinely didn’t make sense to me in the books- and im a dark romance bitch

30:24 same girl 😏🔥

I feel like I'm the only person who actually *likes* book!Alina. 😅😅🙃🤦‍♀️😁 👀 Lollll I actually like that she's flawed(sometimes stupid/annoying a.f.), but..ultimately...actually a genuinely good-soul. I like her growth in the books, and I actually think there's often a TON more [mostly internal ]stuff that goes on in the books than you're really giving it credit for sometimes. ^-^ (but maybe that's just me, reading my own stuff into it, idk!) I completely agree with you about Mal and all Mal!related-drama though, especially in the first book. I actually surprisingly liked him best in the third book, though. I _almost_ liked him, at first, in book 2 too...but then he regressed a lot and became basically just an ass again, so I didn't like him at all just like I really didn't like him in the beginning & was legit dreading seeing them end up together. But, somehow, book three actually saved it & _almost_ even made me ship it just a little bit. Loll I don't know that I would really call the dynamic between Nikolai/Alina/Mal a love triangle at all though, honestly. The triangle[ in my opinion] is definitely much more between Mal/Alina/Darkling. Nikolai is just...extra stuff - not really love related(I mean..it's a political alliance/marriage of convenience...but to a guy who's not actually terrible and could easily make either a great platonic life-partner OR a great non-platonic romantic partner if only they were legit that into each other & she was not so much more legit into other people). He's like the _real_ best-friend, who she can always fall back on when she can't take the drama with life and/or the actual love-interests anymore; but maybe that's just me, being weird - I dunno. 🤣 I did notice that they spend a whole lot of time literally just planning to do shite in this series, and then it all ends up being for nothing because before they can actually finally do anything then they end up having to change course completely and do entirely other shite instead. But.. we actually _DID_ find the firebird ..we almost got killed by said-firebird, but then we didn't get killed by it because we realized we didn't even need any firebird at all .. we just needed Mal.🤦‍♀️ 😶 Ssooo we just immediately decided not to fuk with that firebird after all so our dear great bird decided to return the favor and just fly off and leave us alone too. Unpopular opinion, here, maybe .. but : I don't really think that the TV show actually _did_ do it better, though-at least, 9 outta 10 times. (Except with Mal's character. It definitely did do Mal better, I will give it that.) I think the only reason people think that the tv series does Alina &/or the grisha trilogy's story better is just because to begin with they didn't really like or care about Alina & the grisha trilogy anyhow, so they easily enjoyed the fact that largely it was severely just entirely abbreviated and/or skimmed right over really.😅😅😅🙃😶😶 At the start, Mal and Alina are kind of extremely judgmental and prejudiced against the Grisha-just like all the other normies. Book 1, is all about Alina being told that she is a Grisha..wrestling with denial..gradually getting to know Grisha as actual people whilst gradually coming to terms with recognizing and accepting it that she herself is in fact also one herself..and eventually realizing that, oh snap, it really _is_ *actually* true .. and it actually has been literally all along.......and not being true to herself has been literally making her physically waste away. When she finally steps into her own at the end, after gradually edging towards it bit-by-bit every step along the way, it's truly powerful-she is finally being herself, who she always was but never allowed herself to be before, and she is basically literally coming alive for it & it's a thing to be reckoned with. . which also ends up being a little more to bite-off than the Darkling initially bargained for. ((In the tv series, she's basically knocked-out until it's already over because literally everyone else actually does more than her in that fight[ during what was in the books her one big moment when she actually finally _DID_ SOMETHING of real significance], and she wakes up just in time to be a flashlight to shine the way out for them after it's all done.🙃🙃 & I kinda hate that. Plus, in the books, that fight was actually LOST[ every bit as much as it was actually a win]..they just barely survived and crawled away from it with their lives, on the outside, even though on the inside they had kind of won a huge internal/personal triumph....seeing as they also did kinda walk away from it with the gumption or the conviction or whatever to work on rallying themselves so they could return to fight again another day.)) She's terrified of accepting herself as a Grisha, because she's afraid that Mal won't accept her as a Grisha either if she does, and at first she has literally no one else but him. Book 2 is her being torn between a lot of different things, trying to figure out how to actually fight again another day if it can even be done at all, and second-guessing/doubting herself[ and doubting other things/people] a lot. (I actually kinda wish we had seen them actively on the run dodging the Darkling's pursuit of them haunted by the people left behind &/or the people they'd failed to save for a little longer, and *DEFINITELY* wish that played into that gray-area/inner-darkness a little more at the end too. Like, she should have actually gone with the Darkling for a while, and been dogged by her friends trying to either get her back or stop her..until, finally, she had to do her whole big nearly-killing-herself stunt to save them[ rather than just freezing up or running away and letting people die again as she sort of did in the first book] pretty much exactly like she did.) She pretty much learns that there are definitely people out there who will and do accept her, whether Mal does or not, even though she doesn't recognize it until after she almost loses it completely; and her whole entire world has finally expanded and gotten so much bigger than just Mal, this [formerly ]one and only person she really knew or was at all close to[ in the beginning of the first book]. Book 3 is her finally starting to learn how to build her confidence up and actually live-up to her true self, and also truly value/appreciate or hang-on-to and treasure/fight-for the other things and people in her life[ but still struggling sometimes not to second-guess or doubt other people]. The ending was stupid and anticlimactic, and certain parts all throughout it even before that did kind of slow or drag on and overstay just a little bit here or there, but all-in-all I still really enjoyed it-both the third book, and the whole entire trilogy overall. But that's just my own take.😅🤷‍♀️😁 Loll That whole bit about finishing it being a weird downward slant yet weirdly still a positive - because there were things that didn't really work or weren't the most likeable and yet at the same time there were things that did or were[ & it really _doesn't_ deserve the hate it gets these days] too - is totally spot-on! That was basically me walking away from it after finishing the audiobooks too, and yet, I actually really enjoyed it & am going to reread it in physical copy super soon. ^-^

The last book in the trilogy was by far the worst. Also, chapters from the darklings POV would have been game changing

MAAM.. before this begins, there better be no Grishaverse slander… (ps I don’t care if there is actual slander lol) I agree with you about Mal… he’s so boring 😬