The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic

overall rating- 4.5/5okay i did not expect that? i picked this up expecting a short novella of the grishaverse and it turned out to be a whole collection of stories that are so beautifully written. like this should literally be a standalone instead of a novella. I'm so impressed?! [b:The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic 34076952 The Language of Thorns Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic (Grishaverse, #0.5, 2.5, 2.6) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491842507l/34076952.SX50.jpg 55087763] is a small collection of six folk-tales. All these tales are beautifully crafted, short and yet convey important profound messsages. I used to read tons of folk tales when I was a kid, so this made me feel super nostalgic:(AYAMA AND THE THORN WOOD- 5/5 ☆☆☆☆☆this was definitely one of my favourites. it's a story of courage and outcasts, of those who are different and of wanting to be heard. i loved it even more because of the little stories ayama tells the beast. the message of the story: “tell the true stories instead of the easier ones” and i think that's so important because we've all heard the usual fairytales- princes saving girls, beasts turning into princes, the ‘they lived happily ever afters' but what if it that wasn't actually the case. what about honorable beasts and weak, evil kings, females saving the day instead of your conventional prince? this is such a beautiful story and honestly I wish i grew up reading more stories like this, instead of the fairytales we were fed.THE TOO-CLEVER FOX- 3/5 ☆☆☆https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4174921964THE WITCH OF DUVA- 2/5 ☆☆https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4181077942LITTLE KNIFE-4/5 ☆☆☆☆https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4188079548THE SOLDIER PRINCE-5/5 ☆☆☆☆☆okay wow. Leigh's writing. period. ( that's three periods, i know. go away) I was so excited to read a folk tale set in Ketterdam and this did not disappoint at all. The story flows extremely smoothly and the different povs were also done well. Droessen's character was so creepy but like also, so interesting??? i'd read an entire book about him honestly. And the ending- Althea-WHEN WATER SANG FIRE-5/5☆☆☆☆☆This was definitely my favorite of all these stories. it was also the longest and considering i was in a little bit of a slump, i kept putting off reading this and i really shouldn't have bothered because it's by far, one of the best short stories I've ever read.Despite it being only about 80 pages long, it's definitely up there in my list of books. Something else that stood out to me, is the world-building. Considering i didn't know anything about this world, I wasn't confused at all. The world building is beautifully done due to the author's way of tangling the world building with the plot.‘When water sang fire' is a tale of sildrohers - a magical race of sea folk who inhabit the waters off the coast of Fjerda. (kinda like mermaids). The story follows Ulla and Signy, two little sildroher girls who aren't very special and yet the magic they create together, brings them to notice of the young prince. There might even be blood magic and going to human lands involved. (just saying. )Trouble roused that day as two girls tangled together like rockweed, but then closed its eyes, pretending to sleep, leaving Ulla and Signy to their games and whispered confidences, letting them murmur their secrets and muddle their dreams as the years passed, waiting for winter and the prince's birthday party.OVERALLI love how real & raw these folktales are, the dark theme and wrongness of all of them.an excerpt from the author's note:“I think many of us hear in familiar tales, because we know—even as children—that impossible tasks are an odd way to choose a spouse, that predators come in many guises, that a prince's whims are often cruel. The more I listened to that note of warning, the more inspiration I found.”I love the recurring themes of freedom and discovering yourself in all these stories, and [a:Leigh Bardugo 4575289 Leigh Bardugo https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1534446099p2/4575289.jpg]'s storytelling is just chef's kiss. The element of surprise and unpredictability in all her writing draws me to her books everytime, and i'm not complaining.Language of thorns has short stories that are all extremely well written and have no connection to the main grishaverse novels. These books are a great way for somebody to get a taste of the author's writing and i'd definitely suggest everybody to pick them up.