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A review by anitairene
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
First off, the illustrations and presentation of the stories are breathtaking! The red print was a little hard for my eyes to read it could have been a darker shade but I managed. The blue print was a lot easier. The illustrations that work their way around the pages as you read are stunning! Shoutout to the artist Sara Kipin and the book designer Natalie C. Sousa. If you read the ebook I STRONGLY suggest finding a print copy just to take in the illustrations. They don’t make books like this anymore, and it was a breath of fresh air.
I enjoyed all the stories, but not all of them equally. The Too Clever Fox was cute and sad at the same time but the end didn’t surprise me I picked up on it right away.
The Little Knife and the Soldier Prince were my least favorites. The Little Knife was at least short enough to hold my attention. I got kind of bored with the Soldier Prince and it seemed to drag on. While I know the folk tales in this are inspired by other fairy tales and myths the Soldier Prince doesn’t even try to hide the fact that it is the Nutcracker just with an alternative ending.
The Witch of Duva was great but the most disturbing of them all!!
Ayala and the Thorn Wood is my second favorite as it reminded me of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella (possible spoiler the beauty isn’t the heroine and beauty doesn’t end up with the beast)! It was smart to put this story first as it really sets the tone for the rest of the book as the main character in this one puts her own spin/ending on stories she grew hearing from her grandma. This is a direct correlation to what Bardugo is doing with each story in The Language of Thorns. Stories we’re familiar with just with a Bardugo/Grishaverse spin on it.
But I fell in love with When Water Sang Fire. Bardugo saved the best for last with that one. I have a theory about who Ulla and the Seer’s Apprentice are! I got so excited when I made the connection between When Water Sang Fire and Chapter 33 of Rule of Wolves! Planning to read The Lives of Saints next to see if it will confirm my theory on who Ulla truly is!!! I’d say more but I don’t want to spoil it for others.
I enjoyed all the stories, but not all of them equally. The Too Clever Fox was cute and sad at the same time but the end didn’t surprise me I picked up on it right away.
The Little Knife and the Soldier Prince were my least favorites. The Little Knife was at least short enough to hold my attention. I got kind of bored with the Soldier Prince and it seemed to drag on. While I know the folk tales in this are inspired by other fairy tales and myths the Soldier Prince doesn’t even try to hide the fact that it is the Nutcracker just with an alternative ending.
The Witch of Duva was great but the most disturbing of them all!!
Ayala and the Thorn Wood is my second favorite as it reminded me of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella (possible spoiler the beauty isn’t the heroine and beauty doesn’t end up with the beast)! It was smart to put this story first as it really sets the tone for the rest of the book as the main character in this one puts her own spin/ending on stories she grew hearing from her grandma. This is a direct correlation to what Bardugo is doing with each story in The Language of Thorns. Stories we’re familiar with just with a Bardugo/Grishaverse spin on it.
But I fell in love with When Water Sang Fire. Bardugo saved the best for last with that one. I have a theory about who Ulla and the Seer’s Apprentice are! I got so excited when I made the connection between When Water Sang Fire and Chapter 33 of Rule of Wolves! Planning to read The Lives of Saints next to see if it will confirm my theory on who Ulla truly is!!! I’d say more but I don’t want to spoil it for others.