STUNNING!!!! Breath-taking! Intricate, beautiful, haunting, creative - a work worthy of the same ranks as all the classic fairytales which have come before. If she hadn't already become a household name with "Shadow and Bone" or "Six of Crows", she certainly ought to be after "Language of Thorns". A PERFECT book from start to finish.

I love the way these stories mashup or retell-with-a-twist stories we already know, it pairs beautifully with the not-quite-Earth of The Grishaverse. It's familiar, but unique.

I love the way Bardugo uses her tales to tell important, modern morality tales. Not about being demure and living happily ever after as some rando's wife. But about being strong in the face of abuse and grief. I love that the cast of these tales are diverse; that any reader could see themselves in them.

I love the way these tales echo within, or relate to the plot of, the other Grishaverse novels. I wish someone had told me to read this book /before/ King of Scars, because it would have completely changed my perception of KoS! The idea that fairytales each have a grain of truth, and our heroes/villains are either following a history which is doomed to repeat itself, or falling into the footsteps of an archetype who came before them and are becoming the stuff of legends... It's brilliant, and gives me ALL the Princess Tutu vibes. Are our heroes stuck in a story? Or do stories just spring up around real people, and embellish pain into poetry? How much of our lives is choice, how much destiny, how much are we products of unknowable histories that came before us... What are we when someone else tells our story; which version of ourselves is true? (Now I have all the Hamilton vibes! XD)

Beautiful! Beautiful!!! Did I forget to mention the gorgeous illustrations?! There are literal works of art in this book! This book makes you think, makes you feel, makes you fall in love with stories... What more could you possibly want from a book?! Beau-ti-FUL!

Another beautiful tie-in to the Grishaverse; the paintings alone are STUNNING. It was intriguing and creative to see how:
A) There are saint stories across the whole world, implying that magic is universal and the borders which divide our heroes are manmade and arbitrary.
B) Our heroes either get turned into stories themselves, or follow in the footsteps of known stories, ensuring that the legends and the magic remain alive.
C) Some stories even crossover with Language of Thorns, implying that the subjects of fairytales and religious works alike were real people in this universe. Maybe even foreshadowing that we'll get to see them in other Grishaverse novels...

But the book gets a little too "real", a little too like the holy books which inspired it. It becomes a list of silly vinettes. Some have universal messages, not all. And they're not as powerful as the stories in Language of Thorns. It's a book best sipped, not binged, because trying to read all the saint stories at once gives it a sing-songy, we've-heard-this-before, kind of lulling rhythm, despite how well its written.

I wasn't sure how I wanted to score this book. It's terrifying, in that it's way too close to plausible, given everything that's happened in the USA these last few years. I wonder if it was considered a more sci-fi read back when it was first published. The book is atmospheric, philosophical... it offers a conversation, but no answers. And with real politics of the day hemorrhaging what was fantastical about the novel decades before... now I'm unsettled to not have answers, to not have a clear heroine who saves the day and triumphs over overwhelming odds. There is less to debate any more, less enjoyment in the safety of fiction. A similar regime is real for some reader, somewhere, and I don't just want to hear the problem, I want to work towards the solution. I can see why the show took the story MUCH further, and focused on the Mayday resistance.
While it may have come up short in the adventurous plot department, it certainly excelled in the writing style. This anonymous woman is confessing, unraveling, romanticizing, daydreaming - all in an effort to remain human - and her associative storytelling, swirling past and present, really clicked. This book felt over too soon, I was that invested. I'm glad I have Testaments to look forward to.

I didn't find the conclusion as compelling as the first book in the duology. Most of the supporting characters were dragged along for the ride, and the fact is pointed out in universe with zero consequences. Even the "villains" don't take many actions against our heroes, remaining vague threats and potential political opponents (who are easily out-maneuvered, turns out!). The plot was a little boring, our crew isn't in the same level of danger as the first book, there are no tragic deaths or noble sacrifices. At the end of the day, this book was mostly melodrama: Fable being naive, Fable being more upset about lying than murder, Fable just wanting her Daddy and her boyfriend to say "I love you" to make everything okay, Fable being rescued instead of taking agency... At one point, I realized I was just reading to get it over with, there was no more suspense or joy carrying the plot :/. Disappointing.

This book is fabulous, equal part hilarious and raw. I identified a lot with the stories from Allie's life, the good and the bad. She has a succinct way of describing difficult emotions which is mind-blowing, I wish I were that deft with words O_O.

The book itself is a little... messy? The stories don't progress in chronological order, or anything; they don't segue into each other. Some chapters seem to just END, just give up without a concluding thought. The bookend stories don't set a tone, so it's unclear WHY all this information is being related to an audience: Is it meant to be uplifting? Cathartic? Informative? What is the takeaway for having read Allie Brosh's diary?... "To each their own"?

At the end of the day I love the stylized storytelling... but I came face to face with my own demons, and I don't want to look at them O_O. So... I don't know that I want to reread or recommend this book, if it makes me feel icky XD. "A good book! I only read it once. Be careful." XD Odd review, sorry.

This book takes OFF from the first page, and is relentless with the emotional gut-punches. It's brilliant for how much it makes you feel for these characters. I admit, I was NOT prepared for the book I was getting into; I thought this was a thriller, but it's more of a drama. The book digs down DEEP into the topics of grief, young love and expectations versus married life and reality, abuse and cycles of abuse, the damage secrets/lies by omission can do in any relationship (friendship, familial, or romantic)... This book had a LOT to talk about, and spending so many pages/hours living through the same pain as these protagonists was heartbreaking. Too real! ;___; <3 Amazingly written.
That said... as a mystery, it falls flat. There is no surprise twist waiting at the end, like I thought there was going to be. A bunch of sad things happen...and then the book ends. I don't feel satisfied for chasing clues. It's mostly a drama or a tragedy, and drops the statement that life is terrible sometimes. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Tons of discussion potential, but not a lot of re-readability.

One minor issue I took with the book was its supreme Whiteness XD. Pretty blonde ex-cheerleaders and football studs having beautiful babies, working high-power jobs, living in an expensive cul-de-sac, sending their kids off to private school... I was so disgusted by all the "White Girl Problems", that I actually started actively recasting the characters in my head to be more ethnically diverse. And the book carries ALL of the same emotional weight with people of color. Moms are moms, wives are wives, and losing a child or the love/trust of a spouse is a universally understood pain. Or at least, a pain which transcends race. I think the book could have been stronger had it been diverse, to put the emphasis that their struggles come from their strained relationships, not from their privilege being tarnished.

A beautifully written book that will break your heart and make you wish for an ethnically diverse Netflix adaptation... and a few more mysteries to uncover. Boom.

Read the illustrated edition with my 5 year old son ^_^. It's so fun to see him fall as in love with this world, and these characters, as I did. But it's also kind of tough to go back and reread these books, and realize where they fall short. The characters can be bullies or narcissists. The representation is poor, even judgmental. The writing can be REALLY long-winded, and over-explain things... Having grown up enough to be objective about the series, now, it's hard to watch my son fall in love with it. I want him to love it AND recognize its short-comings too, I don't want him to emulate the cruelties in this book.

DNF. Romance novels aren't my usual m.o., but a book club friend recommended it as being twist-yourself-in-knots funny, so I gave it a shot. The sample chapters on Libby /were/ funny... but the fun stops after those first few chapters. The whole book is too neat: Three girls who are friends, three guys who are friends, everybody couples up - what is this, a square dance!? And the characters are very immature, a lot of name-calling, holding grudges, stomping off like a huffy anime character... And the mysterious "badboy" across the hall is crazy predictable: Awww, he CARES about all the women he sleeps around with, he's the bestest best fwiend evew, he's helpful, and sentimental, and and and, he'll leave them all for me me me.... *Shrug* Boring and catty to the extreme, AND a female lead who "tames her man"? The whole book is too unbelievable to be any fun. And this is coming from a fantasy nerd! No thanks :/.

This was a page-turner, I devoured 300 pages in one sitting, I could not put this book down! The Whodunnit is pretty clear from the get-go. What keeps you reading is the psychology of the different characters, and the dramatic irony of will they figure each other out or not. The book plays a lot with the whole "you can't judge a book by its cover" concept.

The book also discusses, heavily, the difference between a fetish and a danger, an impulse versus an addiction, and all the ways that sex can be used to control emotions rather than celebrate them. This is a very sexual, but unsexy, book, and it handles many raw, embarrassing, feelings and situations. I loved it, for the characters it brings to life, their morally grey inner conflicts, and the dialogue it opens up for the readers.

There were just some nitpicky things I thought could have been tighter? There seemed to be an implication that Sheila's father molested her, but that little detail went nowhere. Ethan's claustrophobia doesn't come back in a significant way, like Sheila doesn't try to trap him in a bathroom, or something.Why does Abby make such a big move at the end of the book, when nobody suspected her? Little things.

This was a phenomenal book, to begin with: It's genre-savvy, modern, and respectful/soulful in the way it relates the psychology and struggles of all of the teenage characters. The author has an amazing skill for getting inside the head space and voice of a character, and bringing a moment to life. I related to, and cared about, everyone in this story.

As far as the murder mystery goes, there were a lot of red herrings. I was kept guessing constantly. I want to applaud Perkins for that too... But at the end of it all, looking back, I think /I/ was reading too much into the book, and it was actually more straight-forward than I was willing to admit. The killer is rightfully deduced halfway through the book, there is no surprise twist ending, or conspiracy of multiple killers... Maybe it's a little Column A, Column B: The book puts the reader in the same position was the speculative townsfolk, and you're /meant/ to feel chagrined for looking for something more salacious instead of acknowledging the ugly and the obvious.

I think I would have preferred if the killer's message were a little clearer? The targets, the staging of the bodies, the poltergeist-like behavior taunting the victims for months before their deaths - I don't think it was quite pulled together and explained in a satisfactory way. And I'm not content to handwave and say, "Well, what can be rationalized in the mind of psychopath can't be explained to your average Joe." I wanted a little more clarity before the end. And instead, the book just ENDS. No epilogue, no nothing, just abruptly fade to white...

Final note: I wanted more KATE! It's sad that Kate only gets one PoV chapter, when she is the only intelligent person who gets attacked: She sets alarms/traps, she pays attention to strange noises, she goes for a weapon, she tries to trap the killer in the basement, she calls 911, she doesn't assume she's being pranked by her friends... Katie is SO good at defending herself, that the killer actually stops assaulting her to ask, "Why aren't you screaming?" XD BALLER! This book would make an AMAZING Choose Your Own Adventure, like a Goosebumps type book, where the killer and survivors change depending upon which plot threads you follow. Please, Perkins, release the Katie Cut! <3