Reviews

Cursed: An Anthology by Angela Slatter

lsparrow's review against another edition

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3.0

The first few stories we my favorites in this collection. The further the stories strayed from a fairytale format the less I enjoyed them. Some great authors in this collection.

rsksmith's review against another edition

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fast-paced

4.5

Overall very strong anthology! I love a dark fairy tale retelling, which most of these are. Only 2 of all the stories didn’t hold my interest, many are creepy and a few are funny - it flew by!

punkcalf's review against another edition

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3.0

It's almost impossible to rate and review an anthology. There were some really good stories in there that I absolutely enjoyed.

Others... not so much. There were three stories that I couldn't make heads or tails off. It was confusing, messy and with prose that was impossible to follow.

Some stories suffered because of their length. A few I found way too short for what they were trying to do. Others were too long so it felt like a drag. It doesn't help that the book puts the two longest stories near the back which really had me fatigued.

This book took me forever to get through, which why it gets three stars, rather than four.

If you like stories about people being cursed in one way or the other; do check it out as the stories that I enjoyed ARE fun but if this isn't your thing; leave it.

giada_g's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

eveningjaye's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

like any anthology it has it highs and lows but overall it was a very fun read 

jmajoros's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

4.0

infinitelibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad

3.0

goldengeode's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced

3.25

Like any anthology, it has its good stories and its bad. I found myself disliking more stories than I liked.

I’m a fan of MR Carey and was not disappointed, but also I only found one other author whose works I want to check out. 

I hoped more stories were about actual curses, but I’d say about half of them seemed like dark takes on fairy tales or stories of monsters rather than actual active *curses* 

Favorites: 
Listen (Jen Williams)- A cursed bard brings the dead to life. 

Henry and the Snakewood Box (MR Carey)- A simple man uses and then becomes the pawn of an all-powerful wish-granting demon. Charming story. 

Wendy, Darling (Christopher Golden) - Peter Pan’s Wendy as an adult; struggling with ghosts from her past. Nice dark twists.

Again (Tim Lebbon)- A woman is cursed to die over and over again, as she tries each time to reunite with her partner.

bibliolaurus's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Good collection of short stories about re-imagined and new fairy tale curses. Favourites include: Henry and the Snakewood Box by M.R. Carey, Listen by Jen Williams, and Faith & Fred by Maura McHugh.

ferly_ree's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25