Full disclosure, I was drawn to the Grishaverse after seeing the TV series.

The author has done a wonderful job creating a rich and complex universe, I sailed through the book in one sitting. It's easy to get lost in the Ravkan landscape as we follow Alina on her epic journey. 

However, I think the TV series did a much better job at crafting a more sympathetic portrait of both the Darklina and Malina ships.  
 
In the books, I missed the spark and humanity between Alina and the Darkling, apart from that sudden kiss and the Darkling occasionally observing Alina's training, there is little interaction between them. Jessie Mei Li's Alina has a lot more agency when it comes to her relationship with the Darkling. 

Mal's relationship with Alina also isn't as compelling in the novel, he's largely absent for most of the story, and while at the end he recounts the horrors he endured, I didn't feel for him as strongly because as a reader I wasn't privy to his struggle. The TV series took us along on Mal's journey and gave us more time to fall in love with and root for his character.

While the book definitely falls into a number of typical YA tropes (scrawny saviour girl with mythical powers, the "I'm not like other girls" mentality, love triangle, saving the world)it does a brilliant job at creating intriguing characters that leave me interested to see how they'll grow throughout the series. 

I'm definitely binge reading the rest of the trilogy this weekend.