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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
That was so fun! I kept seeing hints of our folklore in the stories but Leigh twisted them so masterfully.
the last story was the Ursula villain origin story I didn’t know I needed
I got the book from a book fair in Colombia. I had not planned to buy the book. But after going around the humongous book fair and was about to go back home empty handed, I decided I was going to buy any English book I could find, and this was one of the two that I bought. I thought I could use a collection of short stories, a fairy tale of some sort. I was a bit disheartened when I knew that the stories took place in a universe in one of Bardugo's series; I have never read any of her books that I was worried I would not enjoy the book because of it.
The problem that I seem to have with short stories is that there are times that I felt the story should not have ended yet, leaving a huge question mark as to the point of the story and that irks me to the core. So, clearly I wasn't hoping much from reading this book. But, boy, was I wrong. The first story, Ayama and the Thorn Wood was an interesting story to open the book. It was beautifully written, and it captivate me in to the world I have never entered before. I had high hopes from where the story was going to go.
The second story, The Too-Clever Fox, was beautifully written. The characters were indeed captivating, and to me, I almost wished this was not a short story but a full length novel. It would have been interesting to see more adventures from the Fox and the Nightingale. The Witch of Duva, the third short story also deserves its very own full length story. It would have been like a fantasy slash detective story. It is heart wrenching sad to see the ending, but it is also filled with hope. My favourite would have to be Little Knife, the fourth short story. When you first read it, it didn't quite feel as magical as the previous stories had been, but it is the one I resonate the most. I love how reading the book, I kept on thinking that Little Knife is female, and then when I saw the illustration, and indeed I saw Little Knife as female.
Now, speaking of illustration, all the pages of the books are filled by illustrations from Sara Kipin. It is such a beautiful illustrations that made the magical stories are breathed into life itself. I felt the illustration had come to life with every page I read from this book. And it made good company to have the illustration moves with you as you flip your pages. The last two stories, The Soldier Prince and When Water Sang Fire, are both scary and sad respectively. Reading The Soldier Prince reminded me a lot of when I first read the story of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, and it had haunted me. This story though is scar for a whole different reason, one I would watch had it been adapted into a movie. When Water Sand Fire is just heartbreakingly sad, and yet the ending is not to cause you to weep, because Ulla is not your damsel in distress.
The problem that I seem to have with short stories is that there are times that I felt the story should not have ended yet, leaving a huge question mark as to the point of the story and that irks me to the core. So, clearly I wasn't hoping much from reading this book. But, boy, was I wrong. The first story, Ayama and the Thorn Wood was an interesting story to open the book. It was beautifully written, and it captivate me in to the world I have never entered before. I had high hopes from where the story was going to go.
The second story, The Too-Clever Fox, was beautifully written. The characters were indeed captivating, and to me, I almost wished this was not a short story but a full length novel. It would have been interesting to see more adventures from the Fox and the Nightingale. The Witch of Duva, the third short story also deserves its very own full length story. It would have been like a fantasy slash detective story. It is heart wrenching sad to see the ending, but it is also filled with hope. My favourite would have to be Little Knife, the fourth short story. When you first read it, it didn't quite feel as magical as the previous stories had been, but it is the one I resonate the most. I love how reading the book, I kept on thinking that Little Knife is female, and then when I saw the illustration, and indeed I saw Little Knife as female.
Now, speaking of illustration, all the pages of the books are filled by illustrations from Sara Kipin. It is such a beautiful illustrations that made the magical stories are breathed into life itself. I felt the illustration had come to life with every page I read from this book. And it made good company to have the illustration moves with you as you flip your pages. The last two stories, The Soldier Prince and When Water Sang Fire, are both scary and sad respectively. Reading The Soldier Prince reminded me a lot of when I first read the story of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, and it had haunted me. This story though is scar for a whole different reason, one I would watch had it been adapted into a movie. When Water Sand Fire is just heartbreakingly sad, and yet the ending is not to cause you to weep, because Ulla is not your damsel in distress.
Leigh Bardugo has my heart. I only bought this because she wrote it and I had loved her trilogy and duology. I literally had no idea what the book was suppose to be about beside the fact it was connected to the grisha world. Once I found out it was fairy tales I was pretty disappointed and didn't really wanna read it. But because she had won me over before and it was already on my shelf I picked it up. I was nervous every time I started a story thinking I may not like it. I ended up liking/loving them all. I honestly was so sad every time a story came to an end because while she wrapped them up well I still wanted to know more. Her writing just pulls you in and keeps you there. I look forward to her next book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The illustrations in this book are TO DIE FOR! I love how they build as the stories progress and this was some wonderful additional lore for the Grishaverse.
4 stars for the subverted fairy tales; 1 extra for best illustrations
I love fairy tales and fables so this was perfect for me. It's also one of the most beautiful books I've ever seen before.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic is a welcomed piece to the Grishaverse and the best part is there is no need to TGT or SOC.
The tales are lore from across the country of stores our beloved characters had more than likely been told as children to be wise enough to know when enough is enough, to be brave enough to realize it is okay to be different, and to be careful for what you wish for as sometimes wanting is not always your needs. There are Grisha and mermaids. There are kings and wicked beasts. There are clever foxes and unexpected evils. There are moments to make you laugh and lessons to be learned.
Also I am pretty sure the Darkling may have been mentioned.
I will be adding this to my collection.
The tales are lore from across the country of stores our beloved characters had more than likely been told as children to be wise enough to know when enough is enough, to be brave enough to realize it is okay to be different, and to be careful for what you wish for as sometimes wanting is not always your needs. There are Grisha and mermaids. There are kings and wicked beasts. There are clever foxes and unexpected evils. There are moments to make you laugh and lessons to be learned.
Also I am pretty sure the Darkling may have been mentioned.
I will be adding this to my collection.
This was AMAZING!!! There were so many twists and turns that I did not see coming; the subtle retellings were so well written!
My order of preference for the short stories:
1. The Too-Clever Fox
2. Ayama and the Thorn Wood
3. The Witch of Duva
4. When Water Sang Fire (although the ending was one of my favourites - I was very slow at realising which fairytale it retold, so the ultimate reveal had even more effect - this was the longest tale and for the mostpart I was fairly bored, until the action amped up towards the finale)
5. The Soldier Prince (I'm not well versed in the tale of the Nutcracker, so I didn't see the retelling side of this novella, nor did I love the ending; overall I simply wasn't a big fan of this one)
6. Little Knife (I really don't understand what this story was even trying to say, I would've happily not had this in the bindup)
When I first heard about this novella collection, I'd hoped to be reading more about the characters from [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459349344s/23437156.jpg|42077459] that I adore, and upon realising that this was not the case, I was doubtful. However, I'm glad this was a collection of fairytales that the Crows would've grown up with; it gives insight into the world of the Grisha, into their history and background. Overall, I was very happy with this novella bindup.
PS: the illustrations in this were also fabulous and I adored them.
My order of preference for the short stories:
1. The Too-Clever Fox
2. Ayama and the Thorn Wood
3. The Witch of Duva
4. When Water Sang Fire (although the ending was one of my favourites - I was very slow at realising which fairytale it retold, so the ultimate reveal had even more effect - this was the longest tale and for the mostpart I was fairly bored, until the action amped up towards the finale)
5. The Soldier Prince (I'm not well versed in the tale of the Nutcracker, so I didn't see the retelling side of this novella, nor did I love the ending; overall I simply wasn't a big fan of this one)
6. Little Knife (I really don't understand what this story was even trying to say, I would've happily not had this in the bindup)
When I first heard about this novella collection, I'd hoped to be reading more about the characters from [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459349344s/23437156.jpg|42077459] that I adore, and upon realising that this was not the case, I was doubtful. However, I'm glad this was a collection of fairytales that the Crows would've grown up with; it gives insight into the world of the Grisha, into their history and background. Overall, I was very happy with this novella bindup.
PS: the illustrations in this were also fabulous and I adored them.