The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

I received this title via @kidlitexchange for an honest review.

So what exactly do you get in The Language of Thorns? Leigh says in her interview with GdM: “These are the stories my characters would have heard growing up. Some of them deliberately evoke popular fairytales, others diverge more radically from the familiar. They come from different countries around the Grishaverse, so you’ll get slightly varying views on magic, heroism, and even beauty depending on whether the story is from Kerch, Ravka, Fjerda, or Novyi Zem. There are a few easter eggs for readers of the Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone series’, but you can also pick up the collection without ever having read one of my novels.”

I loved the Grishaverse and Leigh’s style of writing. It is very Russian and there are so few books that really transport me into another world so thoroughly unlike my own. The stories definitely gave me an original Grimm’s fairytale vibe and this was the author’s intent. The artwork is beautiful and although it it’s only a sample I previewed, the beauty of the book surpassed my expectations. Color is used to great effect with even the text changing color along with the illustrations along the margins. The artwork gives you a sense of the scenery and tone of the story.

Final Verdict: A+
I look forward to reading the book in its entirety.