Title: The Soldier Prince
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Language of Thorns (Leigh Bardugo)
In: Grishaverse Companion
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fairy tales, Fantasy, Illustrated
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Imprint
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: I want.

A modern retake on the classic Nutcracker. A darker twist for a fairytale.

Something about The Nutcracker has always interested me. Or at least, something about it has drawn me in from the very beginning. So to read a short story, rewritten fairy tale that features the plotline of the nutcracker completely drew me in. The fact that it was kind of dark, and incredibly fun… just made it all that much more intriguing and engaging.

About halfway through this tale, I was kind of gunning for Clara and the Nutcracker. But then the discussion of an individuals’ wants and needs came into play, and I no longer wanted them to end up together. The story quickly stopped being about a romance between Clara and the Nutcracker, and something more. A tale of finding one’s own life and path. And maybe, just maybe, breaking free of a toxic past and toxic parents…

Image source: The Grishaverse Wiki

Title: Little Knife
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Language of Thorns (Leigh Bardugo)
In: Grishaverse Companion
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fairy tales, Fantasy, Illustrated
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Imprint
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: She was so beautiful, in fact, that the midwife attending her mother snatched up the wailing infant and locked herself in a linen closet, begging for just another moment to gaze upon Yeva’s face and refusing to relinquish the baby until the duke called for an axe to break down the door.

In this third Ravkan folk tale from Leigh Bardugo, a beautiful girl finds that what her father wants for her and what she wants for herself are two different things.

It is a companion story to the third book of the Grisha Trilogy, Ruin and Rising, and the stories “The Witch of Duva” and “The Too-Clever Fox.”

I thought this was going to be very traditional-feeling. The overlooked suitor keeps on trying for the beautiful, rich bride. He gets help from an unpredictable source (in this case a river), and after completing task after task, he finally triumphs. That is until you remember that this is one of Bardugo’s fairy tales and they aren’t going to be like this at all.

One of my favourite recurring moments throughout is “it wouldn’t have happened if they just asked her what she wanted”. And it honestly reminded me of all the times that what I wanted / said / needed felt like it went ignored. And I remembered that most young women have probably felt the same – prized for their beauty / standing / whatever and had their wants and needs ignored. It was certainly the issue that I had in all of the Grimm Brothers fairy tales that I’ve read recently…

Little Knife is a wonderful story with (in my opinion) a happy ending. It is a great reminder that marriage, and social standing aren’t everything. It is about not taking things for granted, and not thinking that you own something just because it has helped you. Everything, everyone has a spirit and it is far better not to trap them… in case the worst should happen.

Image source: Overdrive

Title: The Witch of Duva
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Language of Thorns (Leigh Bardugo)
In: Grishaverse Companion
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fairy tales, Fantasy, Illustrated
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Imprint
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: The trees are hungry tonight.

There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls…or so the story goes. But it’s just possible that the danger may be a little bit closer to home. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo’s debut novel, Shadow and Bone.

I love the notes of a traditional fairy tale throughout this story. The idea of “don’t go into the woods”. Be careful of the wicked witch. A young girls’ life being turned upside down by the remarriage of her father (after the mother has passed away). But this is where many of the similarities end.

The Witch of Duva goes to show that sometimes the danger is actually a lot closer to home than we realise. That the big unknown isn’t actually what’s scary and dangerous. It turns the traditional tales and themes on their head. Nadya is sent off in to the woods to protect her. Her step mother acts the way she does for a completely unexpected reason.

Bardugo does an amazing job of rewriting fairy tales with a spin, that, at least for me, feels far more realistic than the traditional stories. And this tale tells us that it is often that which is close to home that is the more terrifying and dangerous…

Image source: Goodreads

Title: Ayama and the Thorn Wood
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Language of Thorns (Leigh Bardugo)
In: Grishaverse Companion
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fairy tales, Fantasy, Illustrated
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Imprint
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: And what a brave girl to attempt such a task.

Ayama’s sister is beautiful, and she is often forgotten. Until the day that the King needs a messenger to go and negotiate with his beast of a son… then her entire world is changed.

Most stories, fairy tales, really anything that I read features a pretty girl. She is gifted by grace, beauty, kindness, yadda, yadda, yadda. But not so with this reimagined fairy tale story. This is all about the ugly (and somewhat forgotten) ugly sister.

Ayama isn’t beautiful, her voice sounds horrible, and even her parents are kind of freaked out by her. She’s a lot more like everyone else in the world, and it’s kind of nice to read about someone who isn’t beautiful. But she does have all of the characteristics that I have become used to in a lead girl in a fairy tale. Ayama is kind, and humble. She has a strong moral and ethical compass. And she isn’t afraid to love. Everything that a young girl should actually aspire to be.

Although there is a major point throughout the story of the difference in perceptions and acceptance of siblings, this isn’t actually seen to cause a rift between the two siblings. The sisters still love each other and treat each other with respect, even when the parents are a little lacking in this. Normally I would expect a level of bitterness throughout, and it was incredibly refreshing to not come across this.

Image source: The Grishaverse Wiki