This book was quite an amazing, fast-paced, action fantasy romance. The TV show is quite amazing and I think it is actually better than the book itself which is quite rare.

The series is a fantasy, romance adventure book suitable for teens, and is set in the fantasy world of the “Grishaverse." There are many diverse characters (including LGBTQ+ characters) and a non-problematic author, giving this book a well-deserved spot in the bestselling teen books of all time.

The themes in Shadow and Bone include betrayal and deception, with friendship and love keeping the characters united, like a good versus evil conflict. 

I loved the character development of the story and how some side characters got major moments to shine where true colors came through. I also liked the entire plot and where the story took place. The magic and different kinds of powers that characters used were really cool as well.

The only thing that really brought down the rating was how many unnecessary comments Alina made; that was very annoying. She kept complaining non-stop. Different characters didn’t really connect with the main themes or plot.

Overall this book was quite nice and the TV series is really good. I just wished there was less chitchat of Mal and Alina, and instead more action with side characters and the theme.