Reviews

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo

loriemegistus's review against another edition

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5.0

This was perfect. Beautiful short story fairy tales set in the Grishaverse with GORGEOUS illustrations. My fav was probably Little Knife and When Water Sang Fire (because The Little Mermaid hype!!!)

**read during Dewey’s 24hr Readathon

devinelybookish's review against another edition

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5.0

Wonderful collection of short folklore tales. each one was different and had some unexpected twists to them, making them darker. The illustrations are beautiful and really add to the atmosphere of the tales.

My favourite one was the last story but I enjoyed reading the others too.

yeeperdoodles's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

meagan_kay's review against another edition

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4.0

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

halsavannah's review against another edition

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5.0

Spoilerleigh is my queen forever and always. i loved these stories, and i’ll probably read them again and again. each one was dark and twisty and unexpected. she took familiar stories and added a heightened eerie, uneasy element to them that makes them feel more truthful.

also the illustrations are STUNNING, and i loved the way they grew and changed through each story.

i enjoyed being back in the grishaverse too, and especially loved getting a bit of new darkling lore thrown in!! i didn’t expect that at all, and it was the most fun surprise.

bookshop_b's review against another edition

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5.0

Woah.

Still recovering from those stories. They may have been written like fairy tales but man did they make me sweat! The illustrations were so amazing! How they grew with the story as it progressed - so bloody cool!

If you haven't read this yet, what the hell are you waiting for???

melirod0699's review against another edition

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5.0

"We are not made to please princes."
DAMN STRAIGHT.
When I should have been reading other things, I decided to just take a GLANCE at the first pages. Needless to say, I loved it immediately, finished it in two days despite life/college/adulting, and absolutely ADORED THIS BOOK. Leigh Bardugo is one of my favorite authors, and her vibrantly written worlds and characters are put on display in this collection. Fairy tales get flipped upside down and inside out in the most macabre and brilliant ways, having an effect that is both disturbing, enlightening, and empowering. All of the stories were rich, well-developed, and so full of the cultures and traditions that make the Grishaverse so vibrant.
Leigh has this amazing ability to make me full-heartedly believe that I am EXPERIENCING her stories. Reading this felt like I was sitting around a campfire in Ravka listening to an old Grisha (not gonna lie, I thought of Baghra) recounting all of these tales. Not to mention each story was so complex and brilliant and COMPLETELY surprising, despite being based on familiar arcs and stories. Extremely culturally relevant, feminist, progressive, magical, creepy, nostalgic, stirring, and self-aware. BASICALLY I'M SCREAMING AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND AMAZING AND EVERYONE SHOULD GO READ THIS NOW.

merithefish's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I liked this book and it really gave me an insight of the Grishaverse world building. 

greywqrens's review against another edition

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4.0

leigh bardugo never disappoints

hannah_curtis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

3.0