
The Language of Thorns
Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic
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Narrated by:
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Lauren Fortgang
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Written by:
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Leigh Bardugo
About this listen
Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, number one New York Times best-selling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.
Enter the Grishaverse.... 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.
Perfect for new listeners and dedicated fans, the tales in The Language of Thorns 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.
©2017 Leigh Bardugo (P)2017 Audible, Inc.You may also enjoy...
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On an isolated estate in late-eighteenth-century rural Wales, a young English doctor uncovers dangerous secrets that may threaten his own life in this spellbinding Gothic tale from the bestselling author of Pandora.
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Couldn’t put it down
- By Amazon Customer on 2025-02-04
Written by: Susan Stokes-Chapman
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The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door
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Camford, 1920. Gilded and glittering, England's secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed.
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Great story and performance
- By blair r on 2025-04-22
Written by: H. G. Parry
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Alice
- Written by: Christina Henry
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls that echo the screams of the poor souls inside. In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn't remember why she's in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood.
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Dark Chocolate
- By Scott Jimmo on 2023-02-19
Written by: Christina Henry
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Demon in the Wood
- A Shadow and Bone Graphic Novel
- Written by: Leigh Bardugo
- Narrated by: Ben Barnes, Benjamin Valic, Cassandra Morris, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Before he led Ravka’s Second Army, before he created the Fold, and long before he became the Darkling, he was just a lonely boy burdened by an extraordinary power. Eryk and his mother, Lena, have spent their lives on the run. But they will never find a safe haven. They are not only Grisha—they are the deadliest and rarest of their kind.
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A Quick Dark Fantasy Listen
- By Amy Braun on 2022-09-29
Written by: Leigh Bardugo
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The Grandest Game
- Written by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- Narrated by: Anjali Kunapaneni, Christine Lakin, Zachary Webber
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year’s game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win. Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets.
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bunch of sparky people
- By NancyArbogast on 2024-08-24
Written by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
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The Ever King
- The Ever Seas, Book 1
- Written by: LJ Andrews
- Narrated by: Lucy Rivers, Will Thorne
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
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Performance
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Story
For years, Erik, the scarred king of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who killed his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realm. Until his enemy's daughter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes her the unwitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge. She's innocent. He's vicious. He will take back what he lost, no matter the price. Unless she steals his heart first.
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Erik's voice was perfection
- By Tashy99 on 2025-05-01
Written by: LJ Andrews
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The Shadow Key
- A Novel
- Written by: Susan Stokes-Chapman
- Narrated by: Richard Harrington
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On an isolated estate in late-eighteenth-century rural Wales, a young English doctor uncovers dangerous secrets that may threaten his own life in this spellbinding Gothic tale from the bestselling author of Pandora.
-
-
Couldn’t put it down
- By Amazon Customer on 2025-02-04
Written by: Susan Stokes-Chapman
-
The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door
- Written by: H. G. Parry
- Narrated by: Melissa Vaughan
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Camford, 1920. Gilded and glittering, England's secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed.
-
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Great story and performance
- By blair r on 2025-04-22
Written by: H. G. Parry
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Alice
- Written by: Christina Henry
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls that echo the screams of the poor souls inside. In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn't remember why she's in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood.
-
-
Dark Chocolate
- By Scott Jimmo on 2023-02-19
Written by: Christina Henry
-
Demon in the Wood
- A Shadow and Bone Graphic Novel
- Written by: Leigh Bardugo
- Narrated by: Ben Barnes, Benjamin Valic, Cassandra Morris, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before he led Ravka’s Second Army, before he created the Fold, and long before he became the Darkling, he was just a lonely boy burdened by an extraordinary power. Eryk and his mother, Lena, have spent their lives on the run. But they will never find a safe haven. They are not only Grisha—they are the deadliest and rarest of their kind.
-
-
A Quick Dark Fantasy Listen
- By Amy Braun on 2022-09-29
Written by: Leigh Bardugo
-
The Grandest Game
- Written by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- Narrated by: Anjali Kunapaneni, Christine Lakin, Zachary Webber
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year’s game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win. Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets.
-
-
bunch of sparky people
- By NancyArbogast on 2024-08-24
Written by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
-
The Ever King
- The Ever Seas, Book 1
- Written by: LJ Andrews
- Narrated by: Lucy Rivers, Will Thorne
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, Erik, the scarred king of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who killed his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realm. Until his enemy's daughter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes her the unwitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge. She's innocent. He's vicious. He will take back what he lost, no matter the price. Unless she steals his heart first.
-
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Erik's voice was perfection
- By Tashy99 on 2025-05-01
Written by: LJ Andrews
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The King of Frost and Shadows
- Fated to Darkness, Book 1
- Written by: Jen L. Grey
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- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
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Performance
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For the last twelve years, Tavish, the King of the Unseelie Fae, focused on finding the key for taking back his rightful lands from the Seelie fae after they killed his parents. There was one problem that stood in his way—locating the Seelie Princess hidden on Earth. After years of haunting her dreams, he finally locates her and drags her back to their realm. She’s forgotten her fae life and wants to escape. He doesn’t care. He merely needs her blood in order to free his people. But she’s more than he remembers, and a spark ignites between them every time they touch.
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Can’t believe this isn’t more well known
- By I pray to god my family never sees my amazon history on 2024-11-26
Written by: Jen L. Grey
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Promised in Fire
- Of Dragons and Fae, Book 1
- Written by: Jasmine Walt
- Narrated by: Bridget Bordeaux, Jake Bordeaux
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Adara has been an outsider for as long as she can remember. Born and raised in the earth fae realm, she's a water fae who can't control her magic, making her not just useless but downright dangerous at times. When a training mishap accidentally unleashes a hidden magic inside her, Adara suddenly finds herself on the run. The king wants to use her powers for nefarious reasons, and he'll stop at nothing to obtain her—including kidnapping and torturing Adara's mother.
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Promised in Fire by Jamsime Walt
- By Brittany on 2025-03-10
Written by: Jasmine Walt
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The Lives of Saints
- Written by: Leigh Bardugo
- Narrated by: Ben Barnes, Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 2 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Best-selling author Leigh Bardugo takes listeners deeper into her world than ever before. Out of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, from the hands of Alina Starkov to yours, the Istorii Sankt’ya is fully realized for the first time. These tales include miracles and martyrdoms from familiar Saints like Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses and Sankt Ilya in Chains, to the strange and obscure stories of Sankta Ursula, Sankta Maradi, and the Starless Saint.
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Wonderful!
- By Elizabeth on 2021-06-06
Written by: Leigh Bardugo
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Belladonna
- Written by: Adalyn Grace
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Nineteen-year-old Signa Farrow, orphaned as a baby, has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her last remaining relatives are the Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at the glittering and gloomy estate of Thorn Grove. Thorn Grove’s patriarch, Elijah, mourns his late wife, Lillian, through wild parties and drink, while eldest son Percy grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and daughter Blythe suffers from the same mysterious illness that killed her mother.
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Unique story and amazing narration
- By Arielle Hautcoeur on 2023-03-25
Written by: Adalyn Grace
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Empire of Shadows
- Raiders of the Arcana, Book 1
- Written by: Jacquelyn Benson
- Narrated by: Alex Picard
- Length: 16 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Nice Victorian ladies don’t run off to find legendary lost cities. One trifling little arrest shouldn’t have cost Ellie Mallory her job, but it’s only the latest in a line of injustices facing any educated woman with archaeological ambitions. When Ellie stumbles across the map to a mysterious ancient city, she knows she’s holding her chance to revolutionize Pre-Colombian history. There’s just one teensy complication.
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Absolutely astounding
- By Linnaea Murray on 2024-11-01
Written by: Jacquelyn Benson
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Black Sun
- Written by: Rebecca Roanhorse
- Narrated by: Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Kaipo Schwab, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial even proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger.
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Can’t wait for the next instalment
- By Anonymous User on 2021-01-25
Written by: Rebecca Roanhorse
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One Dark Window
- Written by: Rachel Gillig
- Narrated by: Lisa Cordileone
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets. But nothing comes for free, especially magic. When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it.
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Good storyline
- By Amazon Customer on 2023-10-02
Written by: Rachel Gillig
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Third Eye
- Written by: Felicia Day
- Narrated by: Sean Astin, Felicia Day, Neil Gaiman, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
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Performance
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Story
Once upon a time, in the magical land of San Francisco, there lived a not-so-ordinary girl named Laurel Pettigrew. She was supposed to be the Chosen One. The plan was simple: She would vanquish the great evil Tybus in an epic battle. But destiny had other ideas, and Laurel's performance in the whole heroics department was a colossal flop. Now, instead of being a legendary hero, Laurel's the resident pariah of the magic realm. And what’s worse, the dark wizard Tybus swooped in, took over the realm, and forced all supernatural creatures to live under his tyrannical rule.
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Story was a bit too YA for my linking
- By Cameron Turner on 2023-10-09
Written by: Felicia Day
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Frost (Dramatized Adaptation)
- Frost & Nectar, Book 1
- Written by: C.N. Crawford
- Narrated by: Karen Novack, Nanette Savard, Nazia Chaudhry, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On the worst birthday of my life, I come home to find my boyfriend in bed with another woman. Within hours, I’m drunk, homeless, and pledging to stay single forever. And that is when the dangerously sexy Seelie King rolls through town, looking for fae like me. Every generation, the king holds a competition for Seelie queen. But for reasons he won’t explain, Torin is looking for a charade, not a real marriage. So when I drunkenly sling insults his way, I have his attention.
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Casting off
- By Steph on 2024-12-30
Written by: C.N. Crawford
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This Woven Kingdom
- Written by: Tahereh Mafi
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight. The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.
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It good but not great
- By Crystal on 2023-08-19
Written by: Tahereh Mafi
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A Fate of Wrath and Flame
- Fate of Wrath and Flame, Book 1
- Written by: K. A. Tucker
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Klett
- Length: 18 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Gifted thief Romeria has flourished from her days as a street kid pilfering wallets to survive. Now she thrives, stealing jewels from the rich under the involuntary employ of New York City's most notorious crime boss. But when an enigmatic woman secures her services at swordpoint, Romeria is plunged into a startling realm of opposing thrones, warring elven, and elemental magic she cannot begin to fathom. Her quest is straightforward: Steal a stone from Islor's sacred garden without anyone discovering her true identity, which would earn her certain death.
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Love the story but the voice acting was a bit off
- By Gabby on 2025-04-06
Written by: K. A. Tucker
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The Deer and the Dragon
- No Other Gods, Book 1
- Written by: Piper CJ
- Narrated by: Luna Rey
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Marlow needs to believe she's crazy. The alternative would mean embracing the gift—or curse—shared by her mother and grandmother: she can see angels and demons, including a dark and haunting entity who's been with Marlow her entire life. At least, she believes that's all he is until a fae from the Nordic pantheon strolls into her life and informs her that she's been sharing a bed with the Prince of Hell.
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Very different Story
- By Jady on 2025-02-20
Written by: Piper CJ
What listeners say about The Language of Thorns
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Andrea Delano
- 2020-02-09
a beautiful listen
the stories are interesting with just enough wonder and mystery to scratch that folklore itch. The Language of Thorns gives wonderful depth and breadth to the world Leigh Bardugo has created.
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Overall
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- Dalyn P
- 2022-10-23
I'm in love
absolutely loved this set of stories and I'll probably read it again right away :)
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Overall
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Performance
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- JB
- 2021-08-18
This is very important!
These stories mean more to me than almost anything I’ve read. Having these stories have prominent queer character were something I would have loved to have seen when I was growing up. Thank you so much for this experience. And omg, that last story!
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Overall
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- Thorn
- 2020-07-24
love it.
wonderful. hope to hear many more stories like this.ive listened more then once. always enjoy the stories.
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- Cristina H
- 2020-11-03
every story chills
I absolutely love all the little short stories that are in this audiobook so good
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- Tessa Mathison
- 2020-07-06
Fairytale Heaven!
This is such a great collection of stories, it really brings the Greishaverse to life. A great addition to Leigh’s other books!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jamie @ Books and Ladders
- 2021-08-16
A Bit Disappointing
I liked some of this but other parts I found myself having to listen to over and over again. I'm not sure I would have picked this up if it hadn't been an Audible Daily Deal. Truly, more and more I have been disappointed by Leigh Bardugo's work which makes me sad because I loved the Grisha series and even SIX OF CROWS. In fact, I named my car Zoya because of it. But we'll see what happens and if I continue reading. I just think this is the downfall for me, personally.
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- Davstr
- 2022-06-24
It was ok
I thought that the whole little story things was pretty annoying otherwise it was pretty good
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