Synopsis:
Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.
Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid’s voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy’s bidding but only for a terrible price.
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.
Photo by Cerize Sicat
Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 / 5 stars
Review:
If you haven’t noticed it yet, I have a very dark and twisted mind that enjoy dark and twisted stories. Leigh Bardugo has never failed me with those. Though of course, for me, the Grisha Trilogy is the weakest of all. Six of Crows still reigns my favorite and very CLOSELYYYYY followed by this one. The stories she weaved sent shivers down my spine and yet I couldn’t put it down. Not to mention the fantastic artwork by Sara Kipin which is jaw dropping gorgeous that I kept staring at it and featured it numerous times in my instagram account.
We all know all about the bedtime stories of the handsome prince or the fair-haired princess of faraway lands and how their suitors must complete tasks in order to win their hand. Well, Bardugo knows that that’s not the case all the time. Sometimes dark and terrible things happen, the beautiful girl is not what you expect her to be, and not everyone gets to have a happy ending. I absolutely love dark retellings, but what I love about this one is that there’s an essence of uniqueness to it that overpowers the original story and makes it more endearing and fantastic.
I wouldn’t give you a review of each of the stories because I feel I might give too much away, and I really want you to experience the dark stories for yourself. I’ve arranged everything from my favorite to least. 😊
- The Witch of Duva – Absolutely fantastic! Quite disturbing, yes. But fantastic! THIS GAVE ME CHILLS. My mouth is literally hanging open after reading it that I had to remind myself to close it.
- When Water Sang Fire
- The Too-Clever Fox
- Ayama and the Thorn Wood
- The Soldier Prince
- Little Knife – It bore me for a bit. It’s interesting but not at par with the others.
As you can see, I’ve enjoyed the book so much. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys retellings like I do. If you haven’t read any of Leigh’s book, that’s also fine as this doesn’t rely heavily on her Grisha world or characters. And before I end this review, I just want to share some of my favorite lines from the book.
“So shut the window tight and make sure the latch is fastened. Dark things have a way of slipping in through narrow spaces.”
“Come now, Ayama. You know how the stories go. Interesting things only happen to pretty girls;”
“She held each sorrow like a chafing grain and grew her grudges like pearls.”
“Magic doesn’t require beauty,’ she said. ‘Easy magic is pretty. Great magic asks that you trouble the waters. It requires a disruption, something new.”
Thank you for reading! 😊
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