The Language Of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo | Book Review
The Language Of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
book review + clean guide
Hi sweet friend!
I just finished reading The Language Of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo the author of popular YA novels like Shadow and Bone which is also a tv series on netflix. I haven’t read any of Bardugo’s novels before or watched the tv show before so this is my first time consuming any of her content. I’ve heard so many good things about her books. So many bookworms love her work so I’ve been very interested in trying out one of her books.
I saw this book at a thrift store and thought the cover looked cute and that it was a collection of short stories. I’m liking short stories more and more now. It’s a good way to get a taste of what an author’s writing is like without committing to a full novel or series. So I got the book and started reading the stories!
One thing I noticed was it was hard for me to find clean guides for this book. Maybe it’s because it is a short story, maybe it’s not as popular as the other books. Whatever the reason it was hard for me to find any reviews that shared what was the content in this book. That made me want to create my own content guide for this book going in depth into each story. The story ended up having a bit more content than I liked (closed door, high violence including cannibalism, dark magic, etc). The one content that wasn’t in the book was language which is pretty cool for a secular book.
Hopefully this is helpful!
Book Blurb
Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, #1 New York Times—bestselling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.
Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, these tales will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.
This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, all of them lavishly illustrated with art that changes with each turn of the page, culminating in six stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves.
The Review
Rating: ★★ (the only reason it is this high is because of the first story which I really enjoyed)
Cleanness: ★★?
Note: I have a content guide for EACH story! I couldn’t find a content guide when I was looking up this book so that’s part of why I wanted to put this review together.
This collection of stories reminds me of the old fairy tales. Like the writing of Grimm, Andersen and Villeneuve written in this fantasy world that is really intriguing. At times the story becomes quite dark but at the same time it’s almost…lighter than the original tales.
On the whole I liked this collection of fairy tale retellings! There are stories I would definitely read again because of how intriguing the story was and how beautiful the writing was. One of my favorite things was how this felt like one of those darker classic fairy tales. I loved the writing style!
The stories are rated as follows from best to DNF:
Ayama and the thorn wood | 5 stars
The too-clever fox | 4 stars
The Soldier Prince | 3.5 stars
Little Knife | 2 stars
When water sang fire | 2 stars
The witch of Duva | 1 star DNF
The thing I didn’t like was the content. I go more in depth with each story but basically there is quite a lot of violence, witchcraft, a gay moment, hinted at sexual content and cannibalism (these two elements specifically made me DNF The Witch Of Duva which I recommend skipping). The one content that didn’t show up was bad language which is actually pretty cool for a secular book.
There are interesting parts but it’s not the best. The content was more than I like reading about. I give a content guide for each story because each story has a different content level.
If you like the Grimm fairy tales and you like that darker feel and are okay with some content then I think you will like this story. If any of that bothers you then this isn’t the book for you. While parts were interesting this just wasn’t the book for me. But I’m glad to have read it even just to have a clean guide for readers!
Hopefully that is helpful!
Ayama and the thorn wood
There is but one rule in my wood, he growled. “Speak truth.”
Rating: ★★★★★
Content: ★★★★
A retelling of the labyrinth with hints of beauty and the beast. A tale of stories and shared friendship born from being lonely and cast out. A story of seeing the heart and not judging one by their appearance. A story that feels like Villeneuve meets Grimm meets mythology. I loved the enchanted wood and the stories told.
Content: death of animals. A woman has a child who is a beast. People wonder how she came to have a child like this (or who she slept with to have this child).
The too-clever fox
“The trap is loneliness, and none of us escapes it.”
Rating: ★★★★
Content: ★★★★
A retelling of sorts of red hood riding hood.
Do not be too clever or you will make yourself proud. Pride comes before the fall. Do not trust appearances. Beauty may be wicked and ugly may be good. All face loneliness. Loneliness can be a trap if you aren’t careful and clever like the fox.
Content: death and hunting of animals. You see an animal get skinned and others turned to furs.
The witch of Duva
Rating: ★
Cleanness: ★
DNF
A retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
The content in this is not one I do not feel comfortable reading. It’s quite disturbing and frankly disgusting. I do not recommend reading.
Content: girls are kidnapped and feared dead. Talk of stoning. People make icons and sacrifice to the forest in hopes of their daughters being spared. Cannibalism. Really evil deaths. Spirits that kill children. Hunting. Witchcraft. Sexual content (why I DNFed).
Little Knife
Rating: ★★.5
Cleanness: ★★★★
This story reminds me of Perseus and Andromeda.
An interesting tale of tasks to win the hand of a beautiful girl. Interesting but not my favorite.
Content: demons. People wonder who the duchess had a child with. People keep trying to kidnap a girl. Magic. Spoiler: a girl is wed to the sea. Take that as you will. Personally didn’t like it.
The Soldier Prince
“The more I wanted, the more I became like them, the more real I became.”
“I know who I am without anyone looking.”
Rating: ★★★.5
Cleanness: ★★
Retelling of the Nutcracker and the Velveteen Rabbit.
Basically, if you read my review of the Nutcracker then this tale sums that up. In the original tale the age gap freaked me out and this plays into that feeling. But I’m a way it is improved (at least to me). The plot twist (if you’d call it that) where we see what becomes of the nutcracker soldier was really intriguing. A life for a life. It is definitely an interesting story that makes you think.
My only real complaint was making a character gay or rather bisexual. I don’t like reading stories of this sort. I skimmed over p.172 to skip it. It was to me unnecessary and rather out of character but that’s just me.
Content: demons. Deaths. Murders. Cheating. Fortunetelling. Age gap. Cutting off heads. Kissing. A boy character kisses a girl and boy. The villain hurts a baby is a disturbing way.
When water sang fire
Rating: ★★
Cleanness: ★★
A little mermaid retelling.
Honestly I was a bit bored of this story and ended up skimming it in places. There are cool parts but something about it just didn’t hold me captivated.
The story was dark and in places interesting. Basically it is a villain backstory on how Ursula became the outcast witch that she is and the vendetta she has against the royal family that would lead to *hypothetically* her “helping” Ariel.
Content: whispers about a girl being the daughter of her mother and a man not her father (cheating). Hinted at having relations (sleeping with another) and kissing. Nothing is shown but it is a bit much for me. For the merfolk to turn to humans they must carve legs from their tales which is a bit violent for my tastes. One character is a “player”. There is a brutal murder (I skipped this part). Witchcraft. Blood magic.
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