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A review by obscurepages
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
(You'll also find this review on my blog!)
The Language of Thorns proved to me just how brilliant Leigh Bardugo is. It was dark yet beautiful, and atmospheric altogether.
The writing
I said it once, and I'll gladly say it again: Leigh Bardugo's writing is AMAZING. AMAZING. I fell in love with her writing when I first read Shadow and Bone. I fell in love with it more when I read Six of Crows. And I fell in love with it again last night when I finished reading all the six stories included in this book.
It was dark and raw and beautiful and haunting, all at the same time. Leigh Bardugo managed to take some of the well-known fairy tales and folklore in the world, put her own twist and story, and made them her own.
I also loved how the stories reflected human nature—the human psyche—showing the readers just how imperfect we are. That even our own family has evilness inside, that sometimes the people who we believed are monsters are the innocent ones, that even our closest friend can betray us, and so on and so forth.
Beautiful and enchanting.
The characters
The characters of the six different stories were also very interesting. And I loved it because at first glance, you think you know the story and how it goes, and what the character will do. But in this book, it was impossible to tell for me. These characters were enchanting and also very dark and realistic in a way, because they do symbolize humanity at its worst and its best.
I definitely loved Ulla's character in When Water Sang Fire. There was so much mystery and pain that surrounds her. And Bardugo's writing style just made her story even more haunting.
The plot
I loved the plot in each of these short stories, seriously. These were inspired by folklore and fairy tale but Bardugo definitely managed to put her own twist and made them her own.
The plot twists were brilliant. In The Too-Clever Fox, I literally let out a loud gasp when I got the the climax. The same thing happened when I was reading The Witch of Duva. Bardugo's weaving of the plot twists is legit genius!
The world-building
Of course, the world is Grishaverse so I already love it. But still, Leigh Bardugo captured the different settings in these different stories and laid it down for the readers so perfectly. Whether it be on a ghost town, at the bottom of the ocean, or the menacing, dark woods. Every world in every story was atmospheric, and it just pulls you right in.
Also, I just want to say that this book is beautiful! BEAUTIFUL. Not only the stories, but I am saying the whole book is beautiful inside and out! Just look at the naked hardcover right here. Also the illustrations inside look AMAZING. Kudos to the illustrator, Sara Kipin!
----------------------------------------------------------
Thoughts on my second read:
I wasn't over my Grishaverse/KoS high, so I decided to reread this beauty. It was still so, so gooooooddd. The stories plus the illustrations? Wow. Wow. Wow.
The Language of Thorns proved to me just how brilliant Leigh Bardugo is. It was dark yet beautiful, and atmospheric altogether.
The writing
I said it once, and I'll gladly say it again: Leigh Bardugo's writing is AMAZING. AMAZING. I fell in love with her writing when I first read Shadow and Bone. I fell in love with it more when I read Six of Crows. And I fell in love with it again last night when I finished reading all the six stories included in this book.
It was dark and raw and beautiful and haunting, all at the same time. Leigh Bardugo managed to take some of the well-known fairy tales and folklore in the world, put her own twist and story, and made them her own.
I also loved how the stories reflected human nature—the human psyche—showing the readers just how imperfect we are. That even our own family has evilness inside, that sometimes the people who we believed are monsters are the innocent ones, that even our closest friend can betray us, and so on and so forth.
Beautiful and enchanting.
The characters
The characters of the six different stories were also very interesting. And I loved it because at first glance, you think you know the story and how it goes, and what the character will do. But in this book, it was impossible to tell for me. These characters were enchanting and also very dark and realistic in a way, because they do symbolize humanity at its worst and its best.
I definitely loved Ulla's character in When Water Sang Fire. There was so much mystery and pain that surrounds her. And Bardugo's writing style just made her story even more haunting.
The plot
I loved the plot in each of these short stories, seriously. These were inspired by folklore and fairy tale but Bardugo definitely managed to put her own twist and made them her own.
The plot twists were brilliant. In The Too-Clever Fox, I literally let out a loud gasp when I got the the climax. The same thing happened when I was reading The Witch of Duva. Bardugo's weaving of the plot twists is legit genius!
The world-building
Of course, the world is Grishaverse so I already love it. But still, Leigh Bardugo captured the different settings in these different stories and laid it down for the readers so perfectly. Whether it be on a ghost town, at the bottom of the ocean, or the menacing, dark woods. Every world in every story was atmospheric, and it just pulls you right in.
Also, I just want to say that this book is beautiful! BEAUTIFUL. Not only the stories, but I am saying the whole book is beautiful inside and out! Just look at the naked hardcover right here. Also the illustrations inside look AMAZING. Kudos to the illustrator, Sara Kipin!
----------------------------------------------------------
Thoughts on my second read:
I wasn't over my Grishaverse/KoS high, so I decided to reread this beauty. It was still so, so gooooooddd. The stories plus the illustrations? Wow. Wow. Wow.