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A review by awesomeeallyson
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was stunning starting with the cover to the very last page. To start, I really enjoyed Leigh's retellings of classic fairy tales, especially her afterword where she goes into a little more detail about why she made some of the changes that she made. Each story leaned into the bigger lesson, while taking a darker look (and in some stories i mean they are DARK, this is not a book for young children of the faint of heart) and the more classic version of these stories. Some stories were better than others, but overall each one was captivating in its own way and had some plot twists I genuinely didn't see coming.
But what really makes this book a 5-star for me is the illustrations. I truly don't know if I liked the illustrations more than the words. They wrap around the edges and grow with each page. Each addition relates to the story itself, though some are more noticeable than others. And after the last page of the story you get a full two page illustration highlighting the overall theme of the story. I loved examining each page to see what changed and what was added and looking at the colors!
This book is beautiful inside and out. You don't have to know anything about the grishaverse (though if you do you'll find some easter eggs hidden in there) to enjoy this book for what it is: a stunning novel.
But what really makes this book a 5-star for me is the illustrations. I truly don't know if I liked the illustrations more than the words. They wrap around the edges and grow with each page. Each addition relates to the story itself, though some are more noticeable than others. And after the last page of the story you get a full two page illustration highlighting the overall theme of the story. I loved examining each page to see what changed and what was added and looking at the colors!
This book is beautiful inside and out. You don't have to know anything about the grishaverse (though if you do you'll find some easter eggs hidden in there) to enjoy this book for what it is: a stunning novel.