If you watched this then you should definitely read the novel. And if you haven't watched this yet, read the novel first and then maybe don't watch all of this.

I'm going to be honest, I really wanted to like this, not only because of the novel but also because of ZWY who I think is doing fantastically well. But sadly, I was left a bit underwhelmed.

The show on it's own sits okay, and hits all the right spots. It has your boss lady lead and her simpy boyfriend. Which is fine and I watch a lot of and love. But the drama watered down some of my favorite character traits of the leads.

The novel itself is fantastic so maybe I shouldn't have watched the show right after reading it. It made the ML much softer, which is a shame because I think ZWY would have done an amazing job portraying how intimidating and powerful CXZ is in the book. My love for the FL in the novel was how cheerful and over the top her love for her husband was, especially in the beginning. She had heart shaped glasses on the entire time, and I loved it. And both of them were so funny; their internal monologues were so fun to read, that I had hoped they would somehow incorporate it in the show.

The show kept a lot of the humor, but it made ML a lot softer and FL a lot harder. It also got rid of a lot of the periodic aspects that show social cues and rules, hierarchy and power-structures, and how difficult it is to be a woman alone. While they kept the fact that the trade guild wouldn't include women, it removed how difficult and harassing being a single woman is, especially in that time period.

They also changed a lot about FL and ML's relationship as bandit v. prince. I liked that ML thought of LW as his equal and his friend. I think this was one of the more positive changes from the novel, where in the novel LW was portrayed more of a villain causing chaos to help ZY, and they didn't have an understanding with each other. But with this change, they also tried to give FL more power, but at the same time, they stripped some power from ML.

In the novel, ML was super powerful and intimidating - a prince with his own army that made the court nervous and everyone wanted him on their side during the coup, so much so that he decided a war with a 1% chance of survival was a better option that getting involved in that mess. The only reason, in the novel, he got involved was because they were threatening LMT and his family. Otherwise he liked to keep his cards close to his chest. Only a few other characters stood up to him.

But in show, even the FL's uncle talks back to him (when in the novel he was so terrified they would be imprisoned and killed). They were also very inconsistent about how much power he had - whether it was as a prince or as a lord. It sometimes felt like he was just being walked all over by characters.

My biggest gripe is the FL's character. I loved her in the book, so it was a bit of a let down when she came out so stereotypical and... bland. I think CWR is a good actress, but maybe it was that I didn't feel the chemistry between the leads or that she was just not a fun character compared to her written counterpart.

I hate that I'm bashing this. This was, despite what the above may imply about what I think, a good story. I just wasn't as invested as I was in the novel. As a stand-a-lone, it is good and watchable. As an adaptation, it is lackluster.