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abbielouise_day's review
3.0
The writing was beautiful, and the stories were clever, and I enjoyed the darker retellings of classic fairytales. But I found the stories too short, only a couple of pages long, not long enough to connect or indulge in the story. I felt they needed to be longer, more fleshed out, it felt like the author stopped halfway through each retelling. I feel like I would've loved this if the stories were more developed.
circlesofflame's review against another edition
3.0
Dark, feminist fairytale retellings? Sounds like a perfect recipe to me. So, why didn't I love this? The women in these tales aren't as empowered as I would have imagined. They were focused on the negative opinions of others and took these on, resulting in them feeling pretty rubbish about themselves... and this is never challenged. The whole collection feels negative, rather than overly dark. The writing is wonderfully lyrical, if just a little abrupt in tone, littered with short, clipped sentences.
Although I didn't enjoy these tales as much as I hoped, I would like to see how Sullivan's lyrical writing style would translate to longer works.
Although I didn't enjoy these tales as much as I hoped, I would like to see how Sullivan's lyrical writing style would translate to longer works.
zoidze's review
4.0
Slippershod - 5 stars
The Woodcutter's Bride - 4 stars
Come Live Here and Be Loved - 3 stars
You Shall Not Suffer - 3 stars
Meet the Nameless Thing and Call It Friend - 3 stars
Sister Fair - 5 stars
Ash Pale - 4 stars
Consume or Be Consumed - 2 stars
Doing Well - 4.5 stars
The Tender Weight - 5 stars
Riverbed - 4 stars
The Little Gift - 5 stars
Beauty and the Board - 3 stars
50.5 = 3.88 = 4 stars
The Woodcutter's Bride - 4 stars
Come Live Here and Be Loved - 3 stars
You Shall Not Suffer - 3 stars
Meet the Nameless Thing and Call It Friend - 3 stars
Sister Fair - 5 stars
Ash Pale - 4 stars
Consume or Be Consumed - 2 stars
Doing Well - 4.5 stars
The Tender Weight - 5 stars
Riverbed - 4 stars
The Little Gift - 5 stars
Beauty and the Board - 3 stars
50.5 = 3.88 = 4 stars
lauraisreading's review
4.0
Overall very solid. Stories were always thought-provoking, sometimes great, sometimes meh. One to reread in a few years. 5stars for the illustrations!
wyllow_tree's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Rape
Moderate: Sexism, Pedophilia, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Animal death
hylian_narwhal's review
4.0
True rating; 3.75 stars
Classic fairy stories reimagined with sometimes even darker learning than the original, or with a completely new perspective on the tale.
Not all were to my taste, but overall a very good collection.
Classic fairy stories reimagined with sometimes even darker learning than the original, or with a completely new perspective on the tale.
Not all were to my taste, but overall a very good collection.
thingslucyreads's review
5.0
I AM YELLING! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!
It set such a high standard for itself with the Cinderella retelling and then continued to just smash the ball out of the park. Some retellings went exactly the way I expected them to (The Little Mermaid) and others I never could have predicted (The Beauty and the Beast).
Each story was an absolute treat and I’ve said this a lot but this is a fairytale retelling collection that actually DESERVES to be called feminist. And not in the way that “feminist” often means “the female protagonist is sassy.”
Bluebeard is the standout story in this collection and the one that really solidified the above opinion. Feminism isn’t just about women being rightfully treated as humans, it’s also about men having the space to be humans.
Please read this one, it’s so worth it.
Rep, from memory: an autistic side character and a black side character in the Fair, Brown and Trembling retelling, a black main character in the Donkeyskin retelling, an ff relationship in the The Goose Girl retelling.
CW, from memory: animal death, parental death, threat of rape, threat of incest, description of corpses, pretty much all CWs you’d expect from traditional fairytales.
Disclaimer: I read this collection over a fairly long period of time and cannot remember rep and CW details from every story, for which I apologise. When I reread this I will amend this review to include anything I’ve missed.
It set such a high standard for itself with the Cinderella retelling and then continued to just smash the ball out of the park. Some retellings went exactly the way I expected them to (The Little Mermaid) and others I never could have predicted (The Beauty and the Beast).
Each story was an absolute treat and I’ve said this a lot but this is a fairytale retelling collection that actually DESERVES to be called feminist. And not in the way that “feminist” often means “the female protagonist is sassy.”
Bluebeard is the standout story in this collection and the one that really solidified the above opinion. Feminism isn’t just about women being rightfully treated as humans, it’s also about men having the space to be humans.
Please read this one, it’s so worth it.
Rep, from memory: an autistic side character and a black side character in the Fair, Brown and Trembling retelling, a black main character in the Donkeyskin retelling, an ff relationship in the The Goose Girl retelling.
CW, from memory: animal death, parental death, threat of rape, threat of incest, description of corpses, pretty much all CWs you’d expect from traditional fairytales.
Disclaimer: I read this collection over a fairly long period of time and cannot remember rep and CW details from every story, for which I apologise. When I reread this I will amend this review to include anything I’ve missed.
lem119's review
4.0
Individually, each of these stories is bewitching. Reimaginings of classic fairy tales, some align more closely with the original tellings while others you would glimpse only the barest bones of the story on which they're based. As a collection, they sometimes feel slightly repetitive, so this might be a book that's better to read over a period of time, one story every once in a while, rather than all in one go. However, this doesn't take too much away from their individual beauty and compelling nature. Some are bold while others are tragic, with themes of femininity, empowerment, imprisonment, desire, virtue, love... the highlight is the Little Mermaid story, Consume or Be Consumed. I'll be thinking about that one for a long time.
lipsmovetheysay's review
5.0
deirdre’s stories in this form are always somewhere between poetry and prose. i swear there were parts in iambic pentameter. there’s a sweet, lulling pull to the language that runs throughout, like a river. truly i loved this. can’t wait to read more.