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A review by apalershadeofwhite
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I had already read three of the tales in this collection after binge-reading the Shadow and Bone series: Little Knife, The Too-Clever Fox, and The Witch of Duva. Therefore, I already knew I was going to enjoy this book and I was right and then some! Bardugo is great at grabbing you from the very start of anything she writes. A lot of books aim to interest a reader through the first chapter or even the first page, but no one grabs your attention from the first line like Leigh Bardugo does. She is so good at what she does. She tells these amazingly intricate and insanely creative stories in a way that is so gripping and attention-grabbing, but also in a way that just hits you completely. These stories have morals that are quite common in fables and fairy tales, etc., but she writes them in a way like no other.
I think The Soldier Prince might not only be my favourite story in this entire collection (which is a big feat considering all of these tales are stunningly written), it may also be one of my favourite beings of writing of all time. I felt myself getting to emotional reading it, which I think was down to my emotional attachment with the story of the nutcracker more than anything else, but it was still an insanely good tale. I felt so nostalgic and happy reading this that I found my cheeks feeling warm and my eyes having a slight sting at the back of them. I grew up loving the tales of the nutcracker, from movies to the soundtrack to watching the ballet when I was a little older. The story was both on the surface - via content and visuals - beautiful but it was also stunning linguistically. Overall, it was just an indescribable experience to read it.
I also adored the last tale, When the Water Sang Fire (which we can all agree is a badass title). It was odd that it was chosen to be the final story because it was the longest of all of the short stories, and you often seen the tales get a little shorter towards the end of a collection. This took nothing away from the reading experience, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed this entire book and struggled to put it down when I needed to do other things and actually be a contributing adult in society lol. I will definitely be coming back to this book and rereading it, probably multiple times. The entire collection was just written so stunningly and it was so evocative. I love it. Completely.
I think The Soldier Prince might not only be my favourite story in this entire collection (which is a big feat considering all of these tales are stunningly written), it may also be one of my favourite beings of writing of all time. I felt myself getting to emotional reading it, which I think was down to my emotional attachment with the story of the nutcracker more than anything else, but it was still an insanely good tale. I felt so nostalgic and happy reading this that I found my cheeks feeling warm and my eyes having a slight sting at the back of them. I grew up loving the tales of the nutcracker, from movies to the soundtrack to watching the ballet when I was a little older. The story was both on the surface - via content and visuals - beautiful but it was also stunning linguistically. Overall, it was just an indescribable experience to read it.
I also adored the last tale, When the Water Sang Fire (which we can all agree is a badass title). It was odd that it was chosen to be the final story because it was the longest of all of the short stories, and you often seen the tales get a little shorter towards the end of a collection. This took nothing away from the reading experience, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed this entire book and struggled to put it down when I needed to do other things and actually be a contributing adult in society lol. I will definitely be coming back to this book and rereading it, probably multiple times. The entire collection was just written so stunningly and it was so evocative. I love it. Completely.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Violence, and Murder