The books were awesome. I came to them after the first series (cause I'm a sucker for a spoiler!). Just gonna say it, I loved this series! 1 & 3 in particular, 2 a bit dry for me but felt the same reading the second book also.

The changes they make in the adaptation suited the screen perfectly. Characters beautifully portrayed. Made me smile, made me cry. Powerfully storytelling done well.