Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
12 reviews
rory18's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A masterfully crafted collection of dark yet inspiring cautionary tales. There's no unreality trigger warning, but if there was one it would certainly apply for The Soldier Prince (heavy themes of grooming in that one, too.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Xenophobia, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Child death, Alcohol, Homophobia, and War
casthefanby's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol
wrinnola's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, Confinement, Child death, Violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Classism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Self harm, Body horror, and Bullying
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Addiction
peggy_racham's review against another edition
4.5
Six childrens stories that the grishaverse characters probably grew up hearing. They were all unique, interesting and diferent even when taking inspiration from some of our stories.
(TWs are mostly of page and mention only, but these are stories similar to grimm original)
(TWs are mostly of page and mention only, but these are stories similar to grimm original)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Murder
infjkiki's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Murder, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Blood
poisonenvy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
This is my second anthology of my year of "read one short story a day."
The first thing I have to say about this book is that it's gorgeous. Just breathtaking. The art really brings the stories to life, and it definitely netted this book an extra star or two. It's really very stunning.
This is a collection of myths and fables from various locations in the Grishaverse: Zemini, Kerch, Fjerdan, and, unsurprisingly, Ravkan, which has the most stories. I'm a little disappointed that no stories from the Shu made it into this collection.
Most of the stories are inspired by myths from our own world, either a mix of multiple stories, or just a retelling of others. I had a lot of fun each morning figuring out where the inspirations for each tale came from. So, without further ado, my reviews.
Ayama and the Thorn Wood This was a fun tale, and a mash-up of Greek mythology, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. It shouldn't work, but it did, and it ended in a far more satisfying manner than I had originally anticipated. The stories that Ayama tells are far more authentic than the ones that she heard, and I can appreciate that, would have appreciated it even as a child.
The Too-Clever Fox I've been looking forward to reading this tale pretty much since Nikolai was first introduced in <I>Shadow and Bone</i>, and I finally snuck it in ahead of time while I was reading <i>Rule of Wolves</i>. While I saw the ending happening fairly early on, I still <i>loved</i> this story a lot, and it really is a tale that suites Nikolai.
The Witch of Duva I actually didn't see the ending coming, and that was a pleasant surprise. This was a retelling of <i>Hansel and Gretel</i>, and it was fun, if not darker than the rest of the stories in the collection.
Little Knife I loved the ending to this story. But other than that, I didn't love it as much as the other stories. I still enjoyed it, but it seemed a little route. The final illustration for this story though is probably my favourite out of the whole collection.
Soldier Prince To me, this seemed like a mash-up of The Nutcracker and Pinocchio, but looking at the author's note at the end of the story, I see that the Velveteen Rabbit was the inspiration for this one. It was very well told, with a theme along the lines of "you can't become real without first wishing for something." To be human is to want and to dream, it's true, and the story tells that excellently.
When Water Sang Fire I think this is the longest story in the collection, but I haven't actually confirmed that, so don't quote me on that. I was nearly late for work though, because it was longer than I expected, haha.
But it was really good. It's emotive, and the ending was really well done? I'll confess that I didn't see where the story was going, but once we got there, I was quietly stoked.
The first thing I have to say about this book is that it's gorgeous. Just breathtaking. The art really brings the stories to life, and it definitely netted this book an extra star or two. It's really very stunning.
This is a collection of myths and fables from various locations in the Grishaverse: Zemini, Kerch, Fjerdan, and, unsurprisingly, Ravkan, which has the most stories. I'm a little disappointed that no stories from the Shu made it into this collection.
Most of the stories are inspired by myths from our own world, either a mix of multiple stories, or just a retelling of others. I had a lot of fun each morning figuring out where the inspirations for each tale came from. So, without further ado, my reviews.
Ayama and the Thorn Wood This was a fun tale, and a mash-up of Greek mythology, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. It shouldn't work, but it did, and it ended in a far more satisfying manner than I had originally anticipated. The stories that Ayama tells are far more authentic than the ones that she heard, and I can appreciate that, would have appreciated it even as a child.
The Too-Clever Fox I've been looking forward to reading this tale pretty much since Nikolai was first introduced in <I>Shadow and Bone</i>, and I finally snuck it in ahead of time while I was reading <i>Rule of Wolves</i>. While I saw the ending happening fairly early on, I still <i>loved</i> this story a lot, and it really is a tale that suites Nikolai.
The Witch of Duva I actually didn't see the ending coming, and that was a pleasant surprise. This was a retelling of <i>Hansel and Gretel</i>, and it was fun, if not darker than the rest of the stories in the collection.
Little Knife I loved the ending to this story.
Spoiler
I'm all about sapphic water nymphs.Soldier Prince To me, this seemed like a mash-up of The Nutcracker and Pinocchio, but looking at the author's note at the end of the story, I see that the Velveteen Rabbit was the inspiration for this one. It was very well told, with a theme along the lines of "you can't become real without first wishing for something." To be human is to want and to dream, it's true, and the story tells that excellently.
When Water Sang Fire I think this is the longest story in the collection, but I haven't actually confirmed that, so don't quote me on that. I was nearly late for work though, because it was longer than I expected, haha.
But it was really good. It's emotive, and the ending was really well done? I'll confess that I didn't see where the story was going, but once we got there, I was quietly stoked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Child abuse
kingspite618's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is hands down one of the best folklore books I've ever read. Its diverse characters, plotwists and connections to the Shadow and Bone world was simply fantastical. These tales are a perfect mix of a disturbing, mysterious and fascinating plotline and endearing (or terrifying!) characters that are difficult to forget.
Definetely a must-read if you're a fan of the Grishaverse series!
Do beware of triggers and very disturbing themes, though.
Definetely a must-read if you're a fan of the Grishaverse series!
Do beware of triggers and very disturbing themes, though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse
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
emily_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
eriniven's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, and Animal death