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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
14 reviews
moony_blossom's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
These Tales are very much known Fairytales but with a twist. One could even say more realistic, truer to life for sure. And even though i really like fairytales i couldn’t enjoy these darker ones as much as i thought i would. So finished a feeling a little disappointed. Regardless i would say this book is worth reading at least once. But read it during winter time not in the middle of summer like i did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Child abuse
epellicci's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Language of Thorns is a collection of creepy short stories from the fictional countries of Bardugo's Grishaverse. These creative and sinister tales all feature links to fairy tales that we recognise, however are darkly subverted in uniquely horrifying ways. I particularly enjoyed Ayama and the Torn Wood, When the Water Sang Fire, and The Witch of Duva (which admittedly I had already read).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
unqualified_mc's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Number 3 felt like a german childrens story.
Thought the last one would be about lesbian-soulmates finally accepting themselves without the need of others. We took a sharp turn to the left and got a Ursula-origin story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism and Child abuse
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Murder
Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Bullying, and Kidnapping
Story 1 and 2 are the more lighthearted ones. 3 involves the most brutal and potentially triggering elements and it's mostly shocking because after the previous ones it was unexpected. 4 only has a few things that involve content warnings but much less in detail. Number 5 isn't exactly a really dark telling but still not something I'd call lighthearted.blakethebookeater's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My ranking of the short stories:
1. The Soldier Prince (5/5)
2. When Water Sang Fire (5/5)
3. Amaya and the Thorn Wood (5/5)
4. The Witch of Duva (4/5)
5. Little Knife (3/5)
6. The Too-Clever Fox (3/5)
Overall, I think that this was a beautiful collection and I loved the way Leigh subverted fairy tale tropes to create stories that feel so unique and dark and magical. This is definitely worth your time! Breakdown of thoughts on each story below:
Amaya and the Thorn Wood was such a beautiful and strong start to this collection. I loved the message of this story and it had some very strong imagery. Leigh knows how to write a good fairy tale.
The Too-Clever Fox was a good tale, classic animal fable, but it felt a little too short for me to really care and I feel like I saw the end coming.
The Witch of Duva was a VERY dark story and I loved it. It was very inspired by Hansel and Gretel and Leigh took it and twisted it into something so different and weird and it was great.
Little Knife was an overall strong story but I feel out of all of the stories, this one felt the most predictable to me. It’s not a bad thing, but when most other stories subverted or at least tried to subvert expectations, this one just fell a little flat in comparison. Still a good story!
The Soldier Prince is so good. Sooooo damn good. It surprised me by how much I loved it and the FEELINGS I got from even this short little tale made me love it all the more. This and Water Sang Fire are the tale that I feel like NEED to be adapted to the screen somehow because they are just that amazing.
When Water Sang Fire is the last story in this collection and the one that packs the most punch. It feels like a novella because of how long it is, and because of that this story definitely has the best character development of the bunch. This is even better when you realize it’s a loose adaptation of The Little Mermaid and it’s so dark and amazing. Great way to end this collection!
Now the only bad thing is that there aren’t more stories. So Leigh, please, I need another book of Grisha fairytales please because this was awesome.
1. The Soldier Prince (5/5)
2. When Water Sang Fire (5/5)
3. Amaya and the Thorn Wood (5/5)
4. The Witch of Duva (4/5)
5. Little Knife (3/5)
6. The Too-Clever Fox (3/5)
Overall, I think that this was a beautiful collection and I loved the way Leigh subverted fairy tale tropes to create stories that feel so unique and dark and magical. This is definitely worth your time! Breakdown of thoughts on each story below:
Amaya and the Thorn Wood was such a beautiful and strong start to this collection. I loved the message of this story and it had some very strong imagery. Leigh knows how to write a good fairy tale.
The Too-Clever Fox was a good tale, classic animal fable, but it felt a little too short for me to really care and I feel like I saw the end coming.
The Witch of Duva was a VERY dark story and I loved it. It was very inspired by Hansel and Gretel and Leigh took it and twisted it into something so different and weird and it was great.
Little Knife was an overall strong story but I feel out of all of the stories, this one felt the most predictable to me. It’s not a bad thing, but when most other stories subverted or at least tried to subvert expectations, this one just fell a little flat in comparison. Still a good story!
The Soldier Prince is so good. Sooooo damn good. It surprised me by how much I loved it and the FEELINGS I got from even this short little tale made me love it all the more. This and Water Sang Fire are the tale that I feel like NEED to be adapted to the screen somehow because they are just that amazing.
When Water Sang Fire is the last story in this collection and the one that packs the most punch. It feels like a novella because of how long it is, and because of that this story definitely has the best character development of the bunch. This is even better when you realize it’s a loose adaptation of The Little Mermaid and it’s so dark and amazing. Great way to end this collection!
Now the only bad thing is that there aren’t more stories. So Leigh, please, I need another book of Grisha fairytales please because this was awesome.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, and Confinement
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