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swampbooks's review
3.0
thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book
3.5 Stars overall rating
I got the ARC almost exactly a year ago, but the book wouldn't open on my Kindle and I figured it was a damaged file. I recently found out it worked with the Kindle app on my phone and immediately started reading. Better late than never, I guess.
Let me start off by saying I'm not familiar with all the classic tales these short stories are based off/inspired by and I do feel like this was detrimental to my enjoyment of some of them. I'm currently reading [b:The Blue Fairy Book|34458983|The Blue Fairy Book|Andrew Lang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1488601353l/34458983._SX50_.jpg|1369471], so maybe once I've familiarized myself with the tales I don't know I will give the lower-rated stories a reread. (Not all of the tales are in the Blue Fairy book but whatever, I'm doing my best!)
Arzadu and the Sea | 3.5 Stars
Love an adventurous woman, but maybe don't leave your kids? Kudos to her though for realizing what she truly wants out of life and going for it.
A Dance of Birds and Men | 5 Stars
A heavy-metal rendition of Cinderella that would make the Grimm Brothers proud!
The Queen of Hearts Interrogates Pinocchio | 1 Star
Ain't feeling it. NEXT.
The Swan and Bellerophon | 4.5 Stars
Stop that made me sad ಥ ︵ ಥ
Megaflora | 4 Stars
Language could get a bit confusing but overall it was delightful
The Fisherwoman, Her Husband, and the Never-Dead Nymph | 4.5 Stars
So beautiful and morbid, it really replicates the feel of a classic tale. A story on the creation of sirens was something I did not realized I needed until I read this.
Traveling Songs for Star-Warriors | 2.5 Stars
Story on why you should always listen to your mom
The Red Princess Who Was Hidden Underground | 2 Stars
I can appreciate the story and writing quality but it just didn't hook me.
Restless Treasure | 3 Stars
Kinda lackluster
Snow Beauty of Starfruit? | 1 Star
I'm so confused
The Selfish Jeeant and the Twelve Dancing Robots | 1.5 Stars
Cute but still lackluster for something inspired by a timeless tale
Twice in the Telling | 4 Stars
Writing felt a bit clipped but overall it was a lovely, haunting story
Bathed in Silver | 4.5 Stars
Omg sapphic princesses in love..... be still my beating heart...
The Gala Tea Celebration Cake | 2 Stars
This would have been fun if it were more fleshed out. It feels like lots of things were skipped over in order to squeeze everything into a short story and it just made the plot line messy.
Through the Bitter Glass, Enticingly | 3.5 Stars
Spooky and would make for an interesting full novel.
When Apple Woke | 2.5 Stars
I appreciate the attempt but the story was mediocre overall.
From the Cradle to the Grave | 3 Stars
Ooooo this would make a cool movie
The Golden Feather | 4.5 Stars
DAAAANG that took a turn I did not expect
Sweet as Honey | 4 Stars
We love a gentleman troll!
Rule of Three | 5 Stars
Out of all the stories, this did the best with merging two classic tales and transplanting them into a completely different setting. I genuinely want to read more of this.
The Legend of Moon and Ship | 4 Stars
Bit too short but still a very intriguing plot.
3.5 Stars overall rating
I got the ARC almost exactly a year ago, but the book wouldn't open on my Kindle and I figured it was a damaged file. I recently found out it worked with the Kindle app on my phone and immediately started reading. Better late than never, I guess.
Let me start off by saying I'm not familiar with all the classic tales these short stories are based off/inspired by and I do feel like this was detrimental to my enjoyment of some of them. I'm currently reading [b:The Blue Fairy Book|34458983|The Blue Fairy Book|Andrew Lang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1488601353l/34458983._SX50_.jpg|1369471], so maybe once I've familiarized myself with the tales I don't know I will give the lower-rated stories a reread. (Not all of the tales are in the Blue Fairy book but whatever, I'm doing my best!)
Arzadu and the Sea | 3.5 Stars
Love an adventurous woman, but maybe don't leave your kids? Kudos to her though for realizing what she truly wants out of life and going for it.
A Dance of Birds and Men | 5 Stars
A heavy-metal rendition of Cinderella that would make the Grimm Brothers proud!
The Queen of Hearts Interrogates Pinocchio | 1 Star
Ain't feeling it. NEXT.
The Swan and Bellerophon | 4.5 Stars
Stop that made me sad ಥ ︵ ಥ
Megaflora | 4 Stars
Language could get a bit confusing but overall it was delightful
The Fisherwoman, Her Husband, and the Never-Dead Nymph | 4.5 Stars
So beautiful and morbid, it really replicates the feel of a classic tale. A story on the creation of sirens was something I did not realized I needed until I read this.
Traveling Songs for Star-Warriors | 2.5 Stars
Story on why you should always listen to your mom
The Red Princess Who Was Hidden Underground | 2 Stars
I can appreciate the story and writing quality but it just didn't hook me.
Restless Treasure | 3 Stars
Kinda lackluster
Snow Beauty of Starfruit? | 1 Star
I'm so confused
The Selfish Jeeant and the Twelve Dancing Robots | 1.5 Stars
Cute but still lackluster for something inspired by a timeless tale
Twice in the Telling | 4 Stars
Writing felt a bit clipped but overall it was a lovely, haunting story
Bathed in Silver | 4.5 Stars
Omg sapphic princesses in love..... be still my beating heart...
The Gala Tea Celebration Cake | 2 Stars
This would have been fun if it were more fleshed out. It feels like lots of things were skipped over in order to squeeze everything into a short story and it just made the plot line messy.
Through the Bitter Glass, Enticingly | 3.5 Stars
Spooky and would make for an interesting full novel.
When Apple Woke | 2.5 Stars
I appreciate the attempt but the story was mediocre overall.
From the Cradle to the Grave | 3 Stars
Ooooo this would make a cool movie
The Golden Feather | 4.5 Stars
DAAAANG that took a turn I did not expect
Sweet as Honey | 4 Stars
We love a gentleman troll!
Rule of Three | 5 Stars
Out of all the stories, this did the best with merging two classic tales and transplanting them into a completely different setting. I genuinely want to read more of this.
The Legend of Moon and Ship | 4 Stars
Bit too short but still a very intriguing plot.
paulalovesbooks's review
4.0
Me encantó. Hay cuentos para todos los gustos y con giros muy moderno. Aquí hay fantasía oscura, urbana, ciencia ficción, ficción histórica, personajes lgbtqi+, heroínas que no buscan ser salvadas por el príncipe, villanos/as, de todo!
Hay muchos cuentos en esta colección que daría todo para que fueran novelas completas, es que son asombrosos esos relatos, y en tan pocas páginas tienen tanto potencial y contenido.
Pueden leer sobra una caperucita roja escapando de los nazis. Una bestia que se enamora de un hombre muy bello, la Reina de Corazones interrogando a Pinocho por una desventura de Alicia, y muchos otros cuentos geniales.
Hay muchos cuentos en esta colección que daría todo para que fueran novelas completas, es que son asombrosos esos relatos, y en tan pocas páginas tienen tanto potencial y contenido.
Pueden leer sobra una caperucita roja escapando de los nazis. Una bestia que se enamora de un hombre muy bello, la Reina de Corazones interrogando a Pinocho por una desventura de Alicia, y muchos otros cuentos geniales.
nadiacoleccionista's review
4.0
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.
First of all I am totally fascinated by this book, I really love that there are so many short stories and each one has a different author.
What I liked about this story is that we can see some modern and fantastic reinterpretations of several classic stories and they give them a very interesting and entertaining twist, plus each of the stories is a different genre; we can see dark fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy and much more.
Most of the stories I liked a lot and they entertained me too much, there were a couple that didn't quite convince me, but overall they are very good stories.
Another thing is that the English is a basic-intermediate one, the advantage is that as they are short stories it is not a very complicated English and that helps a lot to be read very easily:)
I highly recommend it for all those who are fans of anthologies and are looking for short fantasy stories and even for people who want to enter the genre this is a very good option, I leave with a good taste in my mouth with this book:)
First of all I am totally fascinated by this book, I really love that there are so many short stories and each one has a different author.
What I liked about this story is that we can see some modern and fantastic reinterpretations of several classic stories and they give them a very interesting and entertaining twist, plus each of the stories is a different genre; we can see dark fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy and much more.
Most of the stories I liked a lot and they entertained me too much, there were a couple that didn't quite convince me, but overall they are very good stories.
Another thing is that the English is a basic-intermediate one, the advantage is that as they are short stories it is not a very complicated English and that helps a lot to be read very easily:)
I highly recommend it for all those who are fans of anthologies and are looking for short fantasy stories and even for people who want to enter the genre this is a very good option, I leave with a good taste in my mouth with this book:)
roshreviews's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
Having enjoyed the first anthology in this series (Upon a Once Time), I was really looking forward to this second installment of fairy tale and folklore retellings. But unlike the first book, this one satisfied me to a lesser degree than I had wanted.
The anthology contains 21 fairy-tale/folklore mashups. Just as in the first edition, each story is a refurbished version of two fairy tales. The collections covers a nice variety of genres, though most of the tales are from SFF.
I didn't know the original tale in a few cases. That hindered the enjoyment of a few of the retellings as the lack of context created a vacuum in the understanding. (This didn’t happen in the first volume of this series.) In most cases where I was aware of the original tale, my admiration of the retelling was far greater as I could appreciate the nuanced changes incorporated by the author.
The one thing in common to all these stories is that they are creative. Try writing a double fairy tale mashup and you'll understand the difficulty of the task. But as happens with every anthology, some stories shine brighter than the others. My favourites from this collection were the following:
Arzadu and the Sea - Alex Hernandez – Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
A Dance of Birds and Men - Jenni Meade - Dark Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (What a dark twist to two of my favourite stories! This was mind-blowing!)
The Swan and Bellerophon - Leo Otherland - High Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (This would easily have been a five star if the writing were a bit tighter. It was too drawn-out for my liking.)
The Fisherwoman, Her Husband, and the Never-Dead Nymph - Havi Navarro - Dark Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
Traveling Songs for Star-Warriors Taylor Rae - Science Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Red Princess Who Was Hidden Underground - L. P. Melling - Magical Realism - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Restless Treasure - Kayla J. Espinoza - Urban Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Selfish Jeeant and the Twelve Dancing Robots - Evergreen Lee - Science Fiction - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Twice in the Telling - Carina Bissett - Dark Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Bathed in Silver - Lex T. Lindsay - Dark Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
When Apple Woke - Sarah Lyn Eaton - Science Fiction - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Sweet as Honey - Henry Herz – Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Other decent ones were:
The Queen of Hearts Interrogates Pinocchio - Gabriel Ertsgaard - Crime fiction - 🌟🌟🌟
Through the Bitter Glass, Enticingly - Sam Muller – Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟
The Golden Feather - Alexandra Seidel – Epistolary - 🌟🌟🌟💫
Rule of Threes - Rebecca Hardy - Dystopian fiction - 🌟🌟🌟
The Legend of Moon and Ship - Bettina Juszak - Science Fiction - 🌟🌟🌟💫
17 out of 21 stories is not at all a bad deal for an anthology. This book would certainly be a nice read for SFF fans.
Thank you, NetGalley and Air and Nothingness Press, for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.
The anthology contains 21 fairy-tale/folklore mashups. Just as in the first edition, each story is a refurbished version of two fairy tales. The collections covers a nice variety of genres, though most of the tales are from SFF.
I didn't know the original tale in a few cases. That hindered the enjoyment of a few of the retellings as the lack of context created a vacuum in the understanding. (This didn’t happen in the first volume of this series.) In most cases where I was aware of the original tale, my admiration of the retelling was far greater as I could appreciate the nuanced changes incorporated by the author.
The one thing in common to all these stories is that they are creative. Try writing a double fairy tale mashup and you'll understand the difficulty of the task. But as happens with every anthology, some stories shine brighter than the others. My favourites from this collection were the following:
Arzadu and the Sea - Alex Hernandez – Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
A Dance of Birds and Men - Jenni Meade - Dark Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (What a dark twist to two of my favourite stories! This was mind-blowing!)
The Swan and Bellerophon - Leo Otherland - High Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (This would easily have been a five star if the writing were a bit tighter. It was too drawn-out for my liking.)
The Fisherwoman, Her Husband, and the Never-Dead Nymph - Havi Navarro - Dark Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
Traveling Songs for Star-Warriors Taylor Rae - Science Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Red Princess Who Was Hidden Underground - L. P. Melling - Magical Realism - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Restless Treasure - Kayla J. Espinoza - Urban Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Selfish Jeeant and the Twelve Dancing Robots - Evergreen Lee - Science Fiction - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Twice in the Telling - Carina Bissett - Dark Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Bathed in Silver - Lex T. Lindsay - Dark Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
When Apple Woke - Sarah Lyn Eaton - Science Fiction - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Sweet as Honey - Henry Herz – Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Other decent ones were:
The Queen of Hearts Interrogates Pinocchio - Gabriel Ertsgaard - Crime fiction - 🌟🌟🌟
Through the Bitter Glass, Enticingly - Sam Muller – Fantasy - 🌟🌟🌟
The Golden Feather - Alexandra Seidel – Epistolary - 🌟🌟🌟💫
Rule of Threes - Rebecca Hardy - Dystopian fiction - 🌟🌟🌟
The Legend of Moon and Ship - Bettina Juszak - Science Fiction - 🌟🌟🌟💫
17 out of 21 stories is not at all a bad deal for an anthology. This book would certainly be a nice read for SFF fans.
Thank you, NetGalley and Air and Nothingness Press, for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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