So I picked this series up to read because a friend of mine who is on the spectrum was very excited about it and I wanted to be supportive and have something to talk about with them ad nauseam.

I like a lot about this trilogy. The atmosphere, the overarching plot, the intrigue, the world building, the magic system, the writing style (I am usually not a fan of first person, but it is done well), most of the characters.

What I don't like about this series is the romance angle, granted I'm only two books deep and maybe the third in the trilogy gets better, maybe she's just prepping me for the rest of the Grishaverse and I have to plow through some of the less savory aspects.

But the character I cannot stand in this whole trilogy so far is Mal, just fuck this character. Anytime he and Alina share a scene together I couldn't be less interested, and my ADHD brain wants to do anything else.

The melodrama is too much, this constant baby boy with his hurt feelings and Alina constantly trying to soothe them is the aspect of this story that suffers. He didn't want her until she became somebody, and now he wants her, but he wants her to be the wishy-washy girl he knew as a kid who waited at windows for him to come home.

Maybe I'm too harsh on the character but Mal to me is as compelling as a sack of saggy balls.

The romance angle makes me score this trilogy a 4 out of 5, still very good, but only when the main couple aren't sharing a scene alone together.

Now the only question I have about this series in general has to do with the map.

Why does the Unsea look like an aggressive vagina.

https://www.leighbardugo...

Look at that map and tell me the Unsea doesn't look like an incredibly hostile vagina.