☾ about the book
Title: Little Knife
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Shadow and Bone Trilogy
Published: 2014
Format: audiobook, ebook, novella (can also be found in The Language of Thorns)
Pages: 32
Rating: ★★★★★
Trigger Warning: arranged marriage
☾ the plot
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.A King sets out three challenges to find a husband for his beautiful daughter.
A simple Grisha man calls upon the river ‘Little Knife’ to help him win the challenges, and the girls’ hand.
But it turns out that the River has ulterior motives.
☾ the characters
A Princess, confined to her chambers because she is so strikingly beautiful that all the men of Ravka fight over her, is confronted with her father’s wishes for her to be healthy, rich, adored and loved.
A Materialki, who has had enough of his simple life, hoping for wealth if he wins the hand of the Princess.
A Prince, who has a thousand men to do his deeds, but no wits to him.
A river that holds the country together and serves as a pool of life, wanting nothing more than to leave in the company of a beautiful girl.
☾ the world building
The story is set in Ravka, where Grisha roam freely among the common folk and royals, and where magic doesn’t only live in humans.
☾ the things i liked about this book
I like fairytales and fables, so this was just perfect to me.
I also like a good novella I can use to get caught up (or ahead) in my goodreads challenge – bonus points because it was written by Leigh Bardugo and feels like an actual tale that may or may not be circulating in Ravka – one that parents tell their children.
☾ the things i didn’t like about this book
There was nothing I disliked about this book.
☾ would i recommend this book
Yes!
It’s not a mandatory read – even if you’re a fan of the GrishaVerse, but if you, like me, like fables and fairytales, this may be worth checking out!
