Cover Reveal – The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.

This new novel by Leigh Bardugo finally has a cover! And it’s beautiful. Read all about it here with some pieces of an interview with Leigh Bardugo about how they got to this cover. With the embroidery and the colour combination, it gives us a taste of how this book will be. It’s based on myths and folklore that live in the Grisha world. With the different emblems (the fox, the thorns, the bird/fenix maybe?) it gives us an idea of the subjects of the different stories. And it’s going to be dark. The black background, the blue thorns and the bright orange-brown figures on the cover show us that these stories will be interesting, dark and full of magic.

This collection of short novels set in the Grisha World is just another reason for me, and for all of her fans to step back into this world. We’ll get to read about different tales that live there and that are mentioned in her other series. The combination of the 6 tales, with three brand-new ones, will be a perfect blend of danger, magic and folklore.

It’s always fun to get these glimpses in the world our favourite characters live in. I think of the Tales of Egg and Dunk by George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones), The Hobbit or The Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien and even Sarah J. Maas is writing some more stories in the world of Throne of Glass.

It’s a format that is more easily used in Fantasy worlds and it’s a trend that most writers continue to use to go back to the world they created and give the fans more stories in that specific world. Is it to get us to buy more books and in such way support the publishing world, definitely yes. Is it something I easily do and buy? Off course, just to get more stories and an extra chance to dive back into the world I felt in love with. But my opinion is that as long as the stories remain interesting, I’ll throw my money any way the publishing world wants.

What do you think? Will you be picking this up? Let me know in the comments below.

xoxo

BBL.

Book Review – Crooked Kingdom

by Leigh Bardugo

‘The hotly-anticipated sequel to the Carnegie Medal 2017 nominated SIX OF CROWS, this is GAME OF THRONES meets OCEAN’S ELEVEN in a fantasy epic from the number 1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.

Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

After pulling off a seemingly impossible heist in the notorious Ice Court, criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker feels unstoppable. But life is about to take a dangerous turn – and with friends who are among the deadliest outcasts in Ketterdam city, Kaz is going to need more than luck to survive in this unforgiving underworld.’ (Goodreads) (536 pages, September 27th 2016, Orion Children’s Books)

I am so glad I waited until both these books were out before starting them, because I would have honestly died waiting for this second book. I fell in love with the first one, with the characters and the world. Leigh Bardugo is just a marvelous writer. She tore my heart out with her story and her words and now I’m desperately trying to find another book to help me out of this reading slump I’m in since reading this book. None compares for the moment.

This book was crazy. After a heist-story in the first book, we get to see it again but in their own town. And the stakes are even higher. Kaz is getting more extreme with every action, trying to find a way to fix things. They don’t know who to trust. They don’t know where to go. They went into hiding and trying to find a way to get Inej back. There is all this crazy stuff happening. And they are just trying to survive and trying to take down all those around them. 

This is another book where I just couldn’t put it down. After every event, something else happened. We get to know a lot more about the background of different characters. This made me care even more for Inej, Kaz, Wylan and the others. And one heartbreaking event. Man, Leigh, my heart broke over and over again. I can totally understand it in the sense of the book and story, but when I don’t think rationally, I mean, No. No. No! If you have read this book, you’ll know what I’m talking about. 

This has ups and downs, beautifull characters and a nice crafted story arc. And even though the story is and feels finished, I want more. I want to know what happens afterwards with our favourite characters. What are they doing now? Where are they going? Will they stay in Ketterdam or are they going to sail the world? So many questions and if Leigh Bardugo would ever write some short stories about them, I wouldn’t mind it at all.

4,5 out of 5 stars!! If only this story was a little longer. I want to know what happens after. I can’t wait to read the other stories she’s going to put out in this interesting world or in any other world she will create.

xoxo 

BBL.

Book Review – Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

by Leigh Bardugo

‘Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist: 

Break into the notorious Ice Court (a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage (who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward (and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.’ (Goodreads) (462 pages, September 29th 2014, Henry Holt and Company)

This was the most surprising book I’ve read the last few months. I already loved the Grisha trilogy and especially the blend of magic with the Russian culture on which the world is based. But here Leigh Bardugo takes it to the next level. She introduces all new characters and puts them in a world we already know and love. The familiarity is there, which makes it easier to connect with the new characters. It was fun to read that the characters from the Grisha trilogy are mentioned and are now a tale in their part of the world. Stories travel and this helped to see the entire world Leigh Bardugo created as one whole.

As for the new characters, each single one is different, is interesting and had their own back story. It didn’t feel overwhelming to get to know all their different identities and their quirks. You could easily tell from whose point of view you were reading, from the way Leigh Bardugo wrote. Each character had a specific style and you could feel his or her personality through the words on the page. This is written from the point of view of all the different characters. She didn’t focus on one character, but gave us a glimpse of the thoughts of all of them which helped to understand the story and the reasoning behind each decision and step they took.

Another thing that was really interesting was that this is a group of misfits, of thiefs and others, and each of them had their strengths and weaknesses. They each add their values and their strengths to the group, and though Kaz definitely is the leader, you feel that they all shift and turn and want the group to succeed. In the middle of the book, it’s not a job like any other, but a test to see how far they’re willing to go and how far they can go.

It’s beautifully written. The characters jump of the page and are vibrant. The depth of their characters are shown with every step they take, every decision they make. It’s a story that doesn’t let go and with every turn of the page something else happens, something crazy, and just when you were about to stop, you’re sucked right back into it.

If you’re a fan of the Grisha trilogy, then this is the book for you. But also when you’re a fan of a good heist story, an adventure story then give this book a try. You don’t have to read the Grisha trilogy first. You don’t need it at all to understand the world or the characters or the story. There are little nods here and there and which are fun to read if you have read the trilogy first, but it won’t take away from the pleasure of reading this book.

4 out of 5 stars!! I had to start Crooked Kingdom immediately after. Review of that one coming soon.

xoxo

BBL.

Book Review – Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Grisha #1

‘Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy.’ (Goodreads) (358 pages, 5th June 2012, Henry Holt & Co.)

I was quite surprised by this book. I went into it not knowing what to expect and heard a lot of different opinions about this book. Either you love it, or you hate it. I luckily loved it. I won’t say that it is high literature, but it is an enjoyable read and one that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I liked how Leigh Bardugo took the Russian culture and made it her own. It fits perfectly well with the story and you can just imagine how the world looks like. By keeping it simple and not describing to much how everything looks, she captures the essence of the story and of the world she created. I feel you don’t need a lot of explanation to understand how everything works and that made this story so easy to read and to enjoy.

Alina, our main character, seems a little bit pathetic at first. She clings to her beliefs and wishes that everything remains as it is and when she has difficulties, she stagnates instead of rising up to the occasion to prove her worth. But I have to say she grew on me. As the story progresses we discover everything together with her. How her powers work, how she needs to manage her new-found fame, how to handle the haters around her… It’s a difficult world to live in and Alina, being used to be unnoticed, doesn’t really know how to handle her new life and it takes her a long time to find her way. But it’s entertaining to read about her journey and Leigh Bardugo really takes her time to get to know Alina and feel sympathetic toward her.

And the Darkling, let me tell you about the Darkling. I have no idea how to feel about this character. One time I love him, the other I hate him. He plays with Alina’s feelings of insecurity to get what he wants, but sometimes he does it in a way that make you feel sympathetic toward him and I think he became one of my favorite characters ever.

The entire time you read this story, you kind of know where it is heading. It is the first book in a trilogy and the setup is very clear, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It’s interesting enough to keep you entertained and it still has enough turns to surprise you.

4 out of 5 stars