*Warning! This article contains spoilers for Shadow and Bone*

On April 23rd, Netflix released their brand new show, Shadow and Bone which is based on the books by Leigh Bardugo. As someone who is a HUGE fan of these books and Leigh Bardugo, I knew I had to watch it. This show contains 8 episodes that are each roughly around 45 minutes to an hour. The show contains the world and characters from the book Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows. I have recently finished the show and wanted to share my thoughts and opinions. 

This show did an amazing job at bringing this world to life. Having Leigh Bardugo be a writer and executive producer on the show was definitely a reason why this show was so successful. Throughout the book series, she does a fantastic job at describing the world so vividly and it translates amazingly to television. All of the characters looked exactly how I pictured them and how they were described in the books which does not happen often. Also, the small details like the keftas they wore and the palace were so detailed and were exactly how the books described them. I also found that the show stayed pretty true to the book and even used some direct lines like “Fine, make me your villain” which is an iconic line from the Darkling in both the book and the show. 

The show also included the Six of Crows Characters, Kaz, Jesper, Inej, Nina, and Matthais and I was very curious to see

how they would connect their stories because we meet the crows in the books 2 years after the events that take place in Shadow and Bone. The way that they connected the two made a lot of sense to me and stayed true to the crow’s true nature and desires. They are motivated by thrill and money and so having their story in the show be about kidnapping Alina Stakov was the perfect way to connect them and brought that exciting heist aspect to the show that is associated with the crows. 

After reading a book series and then watching the adaptation of it on television, I normally find myself disappointed and unimpressed with the outcome of it. However, this series did not disappoint and I have already found myself rewatching it. It is truly a beautiful show and does not steer away from the books and their stories and characters. I recommend everyone to watch this show even if you haven’t read the books(although I do recommend the books because they are FANTASTIC)!