Review: The Demon in the Wood

The Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"He didn't move. He sat and watched as her eyes went glassy, as her hand dropped away, as at last she slumped backward, her empty gaze fastened on the moon."

Oh. My. Goodness.

This story is way too short. As in, I need more Darkling right meow please.

I would definitely read an entire book dedicated to him; the Darkling is one of my favourite characters from The Grisha Trilogy, even if he is one of the baddies. He's one of those villains-we-love-to-love you know? His actions are morally inexcusable, yes, but man just by reading this prequel I've been transported right back into all the crazyness of this world and I remember (again) why this is one of my favourite series of all time (and he one of my favourite bad guys of all time). Despite its short length, we've certainly been given a lot of information about the Darkling and his upbringing, and as such we get a much more rounded picture of why the Darkling is so troubled.

We meet his mother, who is an incredibly powerful Grisha in her own right and obviously the main source for the Darkling's similar prideful and power-hungry ways in his later years. Not only that, but we get to experience a bit of what it was like for such powerful Grisha like he and his mother to actually live amongst regular people at the time - a.k.a, they don't. Always on the run, always in hiding, always fearing for their lives and having to rely on each other and their wits to survive...what an existence. Not to mention that I'd forgotten (again!) just how gory and detailed Bardugo writes her violent scenes - let me just say they had me squirming!

Definitely check out this short prequel if you at all enjoyed the Grisha Trilogy! This made me want to re-read them all over again.

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