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Reviews tagging 'Death'
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
18 reviews
anielabooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
This book was absolutely beautiful. The cover and illustrations were gorgeous. The stories were captivating and reminiscent of classic fairy tales. I particularly loved “Ayama and the Thorn Wood” and “When Water Sang Fire.” The lessons taught in these books are very relevant and important for kids to learn but please read the content warnings before introducing them because some stories have dark scenes. I thoroughly enjoyed the way it connected to the world of the Grisha, as the S&B books slyly mention some of the folk tales outlined in the book. Overall amazing read and I recommend even those who haven’t read other books from the Grishaverse to explore this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Minor: Incest, Infertility, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and War
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
I won’t be rating this one as a whole because each story received a different level of love from me - but I will say that it was all brilliantly written. Not that I’m surprised, considering it was Leigh Bardugo. All hail the Queen.
[update] After much discussion with my other reader friends, I've decided to rate the individual stories within this book!
[update] After much discussion with my other reader friends, I've decided to rate the individual stories within this book!
Zemeni:
Ayama and the Thorn Wood - I was completely entranced by this story. So much so that I flew through it and it was done before I felt like I'd even really started. Such an interesting tale and it gets 4 stars.
Ravkan:
The Too-Clever Fox - This story was really creative, though slightly predictable. I was pretty sad while reading it as well because of all of the animal deaths. It gets 3 stars because of that.
The Witch of Duva - I was absolutely disgusted by this story and felt myself making a repulsed face throughout most of it. Someone told me that the witch in the wood is supposedly The Darkling's sister? That part is intriguing, but I was still too grossed out to give this one any more than 1 star, unfortunately.
Little Knife - What a great story! I was fascinated by the river and the way it took on a character of its own. Plus, the true ending was surprising in the best way possible. This tale gets 4 stars.
The Witch of Duva - I was absolutely disgusted by this story and felt myself making a repulsed face throughout most of it. Someone told me that the witch in the wood is supposedly The Darkling's sister? That part is intriguing, but I was still too grossed out to give this one any more than 1 star, unfortunately.
Little Knife - What a great story! I was fascinated by the river and the way it took on a character of its own. Plus, the true ending was surprising in the best way possible. This tale gets 4 stars.
Kerch:
The Soldier Prince - Another one that had me flying through. I just had to know what happened next during every moment. I also loved that it brought in elements of The Nutcracker! I wished that it never ended, which made me realize this was definitely worth 5 stars.
Fjerdan:
When Water Sang Fire - This gave me Little Mermaid vibes while also being mildly terrifying and gruesome. I wasn't sure where the story was going and I loved that about it. It wasn't nearly as predictable as some of the others and the ending was quite powerful, as well as completely heartwrenching. It was another one that I didn't really want to end, so again, this one gets 5 stars.
I definitely want to purchase this book now that I've read the library copy. The illustrations were astounding and I loved how they told the tale just as much as the writing did. I can definitely see myself reading these short stories again and again (aside from The Witch of Duva, of course).
I definitely want to purchase this book now that I've read the library copy. The illustrations were astounding and I loved how they told the tale just as much as the writing did. I can definitely see myself reading these short stories again and again (aside from The Witch of Duva, of course).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, and Torture
talasterism's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Murder, and Pedophilia
Groomingemily_mh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Leigh Bardugo knows how to write fairy tales SO WELL. This was creepy and atmospheric and often tragic. It was the perfect autumn read (even though it's spring where I live). My favourite story was probably the Witch of Duva. Docked a half star because I thought the first and last stories dragged a little.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Incest, Pedophilia, Murder, Death, Violence, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Domestic abuse, Child death, Medical content, Blood, and Cannibalism
Minor: Pregnancy, War, Alcohol, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Vomit, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Torture, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: War
fantasycat's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, and Murder
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
rachrreads's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Sexism
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