#but the friends to lovers in this case was alina totally settling and totally changing who she was

[xadenviolct]

*browses through tumblr tags again*

*misses all the potential that grishaverse could have held*

Seriously, there was some epic story potential there if Bardugo had only taken a few more risks. A few more avenues explored that weren't "typical".

And yes, I guess the mid 2010s (Shadow & Bone was published in 2012 I believe?) there weren't a lot of "risk taking" in the YA genre and I can get that... sort of.

Maybe.

Because the bare bones of the story? The plot itself?

It's so utterly good. And there's depth there between dark and light, and outcast and minorities in a society (the Grisha) and the symbolism between power and corruption, monarchy--

Just--

I could probably rant on how much COULD HAVE BEEN with these books, with this story, and yet what did we ultimately get?

A boring, tired, childhood friends to lovers, power corrupts, keep the status quo story line.

Yawn.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the idea. The plot. The characters. Everything about it.

I love what it could have been.

I just... wish it was given such a chance to do that?

I want THAT story.

I want the morally grey "how far is too far". I want the revolutions. I want the dark versus light, the yin and yang. I want the comparisons between Nikolai and Aleksander and I want Mal's mediocrity to actually be addressed and dealt with.

I don't want the FMC to ... settle in the end. To make herself smaller so the "ordinary" male love interest is satisfied. Because I keep thinking of the scene of her in the window, playing with the sunlight--

Mal might be happy, but Alina settled.

And that is not the message I want. That is not the message that should have been told, either.

I want the blurry lines between what is right and wrong. What is necessary for the good of many versus the good of the one.

And you know what?

That's where the books failed.

Because I'm sorry. Like Mal all you want, but the guy was just...

So far below mediocre it was ridiculous.