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cakt1991's review
3.0
A solid and fairly enjoyable collection. I picked up this one thanks to recognizing a few familiar names, like Seanan McGuire and L. Penelope, and enjoyed them. The weakest link was the Hernandez story, which makes reading it in e-format completely useless, because flipping back and forth and navigating is much harder. However, I did like the wide variety of fae stories covered by the group of authors as a whole.
mallodoragrymm's review
4.0
“If I’d known then what I know now about fairy lore, I would have told my mother to burn that damned pillow and get those cursed teeth as far away from me as possible. Fairies and spirits aren’t generally known for altruism and charity, and a fairy bargain – even one so simple as trading a coin for a tooth – is a dangerous thing.”
“Perhaps most importantly, these stories hold a mirror to ourselves. J.M. Barrie of Peter Pan fame wrote that when the first human child laughed, that laugh shattered into countless pieces, and those pieces became fairies.”
It’s yesterday’s news that I am obsessed with Fae and that I blindly jump to every opportunity to read something new on the topic. This time it was an ARC of a fairy anthology with barely any authors familiar to me and a gorgeous cover. Of course I hit that request button.
It’s a known thing that each anthology is filled with stories which range from a hit to a miss. This is partly because editors use this method to promote up and coming authors, among the already famous, hardened ones. I don’t have anything against this, on the contrary, I think it’s an amazing thing, because I discovered some really great authors this way, but it doesn’t erase the fact that the day when I’ll rate an anthology with 5 stars is in a galaxy far, far away. This is mostly because of my rating process, where I rate each story separately, and then calculate the end results. The bad eggs bring the others down. The point I’m making here is that four stars is a pretty high score for an anthology, and that this one is worth your attention. On to the stories:
The Tooth Fairies by Glenn Parris
This one is obviously about tooth fairies, who are something like The Borrowers, except pretty bloodthirsty. On their mission to retrieve a molar, they encounter the one thing they fear most – a witch’s familiar. 4/5 stars
Glamour by Grey Yuen
I didn’t like this story much, even though it was well written. A murder happens, and the detectives discover the victim, a famous singer, was Fae, but there’s more to the crime scene than meets the eye. 3/5 stars
See a Fine Lady by Seanan McGuire
This one was interesting because it starts like a joke. A lady rides into a Target store on a unicorn. The lady is of course Fae, and only one worker can see the unusual beings and she’s curious to know more. 4/5 stars
Or Perhaps Up by C.S.E. Cooney
A truly lovely and imaginative story, it felt like a dream. A girl drowns in a river and becomes a water fairy. Beautifully written. 5/5 stars
Don’t Let Go by Alana Joli Abbott
This story was cute but not too interesting. It’s set on the Isle of Man, which is a setting I never encountered before. It’ about a girl who likes a boy with a secret. 4/5 stars
The Loophole by L. Penelope
I loved how this was written, but unfortunately it felt incomplete. It’s probably because this story is accompanying a larger work and didn’t do well on its own. I did like the characters though and that one of them was a breath witch, so I may look into the series this story fits into. 3.5/5 stars
The Last Home of Master Tranquil Cloud by Minsoo Kang
This was a lovely, sweet story about a Chinese scholar who stands up for women in a patriarchal society bent on destroying women without an obvious use. Bonus points for fox spirits. 4/5 stars
Your Two Better Halves: A Dream, with Fairies in Spanglish by Carlos Hernandez
Wow, this was wild. It’s a choose your own adventure story so that part was quite interesting, but it lacks quality in writing and characters, and the writer tried to compensate with throwing in random Spanish words. I had fun hopping around, like in a game, so that upped my rating. 3.5/5 stars
Take Only Photos by Shanna Swendson
One of the better stories in this collection. It’s a heartwarming tale of a woman who has mysterious nightly intruders, and then recruits a coworker to investigate what’s going on. 5/5 stars
Old Twelvey Night by Gwendolyn N. Nix
This story was excellent! It’s about an apple tree guardian spirit who dreams of becoming more and spreading its roots. It is also a story about friendship and betrayal, giving a new level to the natural order of things like seasons. 5/5 stars
The Seal-Woman’s Tale by Alethea Kontis
In this story, a selkie is tricked and captured by a troll king who senselessly tortures her every day. I love selkies and it was well written, but something was missing. 4/5 stars
The Storyteller by David Bowles
This story was short and weird and again something more was missing. It’s beautifully written though, and the main character is a Mexican storyteller grandma, I loved that. 3.5/5 stars
Summer Skin by Zin E. Rocklyn
Oh you know how I like weird and sometimes gory things? Well this story has that. It’s about an Indian girl with a weird skin condition who kidnaps an auntie because she has something the girl desperately needs. 4/5 stars
Colt’s Tooth by Linda Robertson
A funny, refreshing story about a boy who experiences a living nightmare after his mother takes him to a barber for a tooth extraction. It’s set in the 1800’s, so I guess barbers did that then. 4.5/5
After calculations, the final rating comes to something like 4.07, and that makes Where the Veil Is Thin one of the better anthologies I’ve read. If you love Fae like I do, go ahead and read this collections, and you’ll find all kinds of faeries and other wicked creatures.
“When you finish reading these stories, you return to our world with new eyes. Every new-budded flower, every firefly, every raven watching you from its perch, becomes more.”
A thank-you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The review is also available on my blog Books of Magic
“Perhaps most importantly, these stories hold a mirror to ourselves. J.M. Barrie of Peter Pan fame wrote that when the first human child laughed, that laugh shattered into countless pieces, and those pieces became fairies.”
It’s yesterday’s news that I am obsessed with Fae and that I blindly jump to every opportunity to read something new on the topic. This time it was an ARC of a fairy anthology with barely any authors familiar to me and a gorgeous cover. Of course I hit that request button.
It’s a known thing that each anthology is filled with stories which range from a hit to a miss. This is partly because editors use this method to promote up and coming authors, among the already famous, hardened ones. I don’t have anything against this, on the contrary, I think it’s an amazing thing, because I discovered some really great authors this way, but it doesn’t erase the fact that the day when I’ll rate an anthology with 5 stars is in a galaxy far, far away. This is mostly because of my rating process, where I rate each story separately, and then calculate the end results. The bad eggs bring the others down. The point I’m making here is that four stars is a pretty high score for an anthology, and that this one is worth your attention. On to the stories:
The Tooth Fairies by Glenn Parris
This one is obviously about tooth fairies, who are something like The Borrowers, except pretty bloodthirsty. On their mission to retrieve a molar, they encounter the one thing they fear most – a witch’s familiar. 4/5 stars
Glamour by Grey Yuen
I didn’t like this story much, even though it was well written. A murder happens, and the detectives discover the victim, a famous singer, was Fae, but there’s more to the crime scene than meets the eye. 3/5 stars
See a Fine Lady by Seanan McGuire
This one was interesting because it starts like a joke. A lady rides into a Target store on a unicorn. The lady is of course Fae, and only one worker can see the unusual beings and she’s curious to know more. 4/5 stars
Or Perhaps Up by C.S.E. Cooney
A truly lovely and imaginative story, it felt like a dream. A girl drowns in a river and becomes a water fairy. Beautifully written. 5/5 stars
Don’t Let Go by Alana Joli Abbott
This story was cute but not too interesting. It’s set on the Isle of Man, which is a setting I never encountered before. It’ about a girl who likes a boy with a secret. 4/5 stars
The Loophole by L. Penelope
I loved how this was written, but unfortunately it felt incomplete. It’s probably because this story is accompanying a larger work and didn’t do well on its own. I did like the characters though and that one of them was a breath witch, so I may look into the series this story fits into. 3.5/5 stars
The Last Home of Master Tranquil Cloud by Minsoo Kang
This was a lovely, sweet story about a Chinese scholar who stands up for women in a patriarchal society bent on destroying women without an obvious use. Bonus points for fox spirits. 4/5 stars
Your Two Better Halves: A Dream, with Fairies in Spanglish by Carlos Hernandez
Wow, this was wild. It’s a choose your own adventure story so that part was quite interesting, but it lacks quality in writing and characters, and the writer tried to compensate with throwing in random Spanish words. I had fun hopping around, like in a game, so that upped my rating. 3.5/5 stars
Take Only Photos by Shanna Swendson
One of the better stories in this collection. It’s a heartwarming tale of a woman who has mysterious nightly intruders, and then recruits a coworker to investigate what’s going on. 5/5 stars
Old Twelvey Night by Gwendolyn N. Nix
This story was excellent! It’s about an apple tree guardian spirit who dreams of becoming more and spreading its roots. It is also a story about friendship and betrayal, giving a new level to the natural order of things like seasons. 5/5 stars
The Seal-Woman’s Tale by Alethea Kontis
In this story, a selkie is tricked and captured by a troll king who senselessly tortures her every day. I love selkies and it was well written, but something was missing. 4/5 stars
The Storyteller by David Bowles
This story was short and weird and again something more was missing. It’s beautifully written though, and the main character is a Mexican storyteller grandma, I loved that. 3.5/5 stars
Summer Skin by Zin E. Rocklyn
Oh you know how I like weird and sometimes gory things? Well this story has that. It’s about an Indian girl with a weird skin condition who kidnaps an auntie because she has something the girl desperately needs. 4/5 stars
Colt’s Tooth by Linda Robertson
A funny, refreshing story about a boy who experiences a living nightmare after his mother takes him to a barber for a tooth extraction. It’s set in the 1800’s, so I guess barbers did that then. 4.5/5
After calculations, the final rating comes to something like 4.07, and that makes Where the Veil Is Thin one of the better anthologies I’ve read. If you love Fae like I do, go ahead and read this collections, and you’ll find all kinds of faeries and other wicked creatures.
“When you finish reading these stories, you return to our world with new eyes. Every new-budded flower, every firefly, every raven watching you from its perch, becomes more.”
A thank-you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The review is also available on my blog Books of Magic
brigid10049's review
3.0
My main reason for picking this up is 1. Fairy stories (grew up with and loved them so an obvious choice there) 2. Seanan McGuire (eerie fairies so of course). However, I often find myself wanting a great gem of an anthology. I’ve loved a few here and there. It’s not that there’s not great stories here but my main complaint is that the book as a whole did not really grab me in the way a book should (even for an anthology). A story, in itself, should make you want to keep reading way into the night. I often found myself sighing, not out of good book feels but out of ‘i am bored’ feels. So was it okay? McGuire’s story, as always, was quirky, funny weird and strange story. That’s what I liked. As a book of stories that you sit down with and enjoy because you like to read? Not so much, no.
wisecraic's review
3.0
**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**
Where the Veil is Thin is a collection of short stories from various authors, all surrounding the fae folk. Each story has a somewhat different take on fae lore or explores a different aspect of fae lore.
As I seem to say with all anthologies, some stories struck me more profoundly than others, and my reactions to each story were mixed. I will say that this anthology had more stories that hovered around the 3 to 4 star level, rather than having a broad expanse of ratings.
I did enjoy the types and variety of stories, and am glad to have been able to read this early.
Where the Veil is Thin is a collection of short stories from various authors, all surrounding the fae folk. Each story has a somewhat different take on fae lore or explores a different aspect of fae lore.
As I seem to say with all anthologies, some stories struck me more profoundly than others, and my reactions to each story were mixed. I will say that this anthology had more stories that hovered around the 3 to 4 star level, rather than having a broad expanse of ratings.
I did enjoy the types and variety of stories, and am glad to have been able to read this early.
hailie's review
3.0
This collection of short stories contains many imaginative and unique stories concerning fairies. There are great love stories. horror stories, and absurd stories.
Quest for Tear Haven: A story about fairies who are like little vampires who drink blood from lost teeth.
Glamour: A hard to follow story about changelings.
See a Fine Lady: Fairies and unicorn enter a Target.
Or Perhaps Up: A story of those who die in a river, and awake river made.
Don't Let Go: An adorable love story.
The Loophole: A cute love story with an interesting take on fairies.
The Last Home of Master Cloud: The story of an ancient scholar who wrote an addendum in the defense of women.
Your Two Better Halves: An absurdist choose your own adventure story.
Take Only Photos: A cute Christmas story about elves and new friendships.
Old Twelvey Night: Apple Spirts protect their orchard.
The Seal Women's Tale: A surprising narrative about a seal women who can change her skin.
The Storyteller: A grandmother tells stories to her grandchild.
Summer Skin: A creepy horror story.
Colt's Tooth: he last story is like the first... tooth fairies.
Quest for Tear Haven: A story about fairies who are like little vampires who drink blood from lost teeth.
Glamour: A hard to follow story about changelings.
See a Fine Lady: Fairies and unicorn enter a Target.
Or Perhaps Up: A story of those who die in a river, and awake river made.
Don't Let Go: An adorable love story.
The Loophole: A cute love story with an interesting take on fairies.
The Last Home of Master Cloud: The story of an ancient scholar who wrote an addendum in the defense of women.
Your Two Better Halves: An absurdist choose your own adventure story.
Take Only Photos: A cute Christmas story about elves and new friendships.
Old Twelvey Night: Apple Spirts protect their orchard.
The Seal Women's Tale: A surprising narrative about a seal women who can change her skin.
The Storyteller: A grandmother tells stories to her grandchild.
Summer Skin: A creepy horror story.
Colt's Tooth: he last story is like the first... tooth fairies.
thistle_and_verse's review
4.0
I give my thoughts on this short story collection in this video: https://youtu.be/0p4i0tNeco0
book_ish_bitch's review
4.0
This eerie and enchanting anthology is sure to delight those looking for a little extra punch to their faerie stories. I loved this collection of mysterious and masterful tales; I will be buying this beautiful book, no questions asked!
madarauchiha's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about info carrd: https://uchiha-madara.carrd.co/ 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡❤️
This was a fun anthology! More hits than misses for me, personally. I liked that it didn't rely on horrific or tactless abuse themes either!
◆ The Tooth Fairies by Glenn Parris
medium: dogs, blood, cats,
major: mouth trauma, child abuse, ear trauma, teeth horror and mouth horror?, spiders / spiderwebs,
◆ Glamour by Grey Yuen
minor: child death,
medium: sexualized dead women's bodies, kidnapping,
major: police, murder,
◆ See a Fine Lady by Seanan McGuire
Skipped this one
◆ Or Perhaps Up by C.S.E. Cooney
minor: hamilton musical mention, drowning?, catholicism,
medium: alcohol,
major: drowning,
◆ Don’t Let Go by Alana Joli Abbott
minor: blood, sacrifices,
I love this story. nothing about shitty horror tropes, cool!
◆ The Loophole by L. Penelope
minor: emetophobia, blood,
medium: alcohol, minor underage drinking, sharps and gore,
major:
◆ The Last Home of Master Tranquil Cloud by Minsoo Kang
minor: death and child death, rape, child abuse / abuse, murder, death, femicide,
medium: historical sexism, NSFW scene,
major: cannibalism?,
I love this story so much. five five, the best.
◆ Your Two Better Halves: A Dream, with Fairies, in Spanglish by Carlos Hernandez
major: body horror but nothing gruesome, cannibalism, murder,
◆ Take Only Photos by Shanna Swendson
minor: alcohol,
major: paranoia, breaking and entering, christmas,
◆ Old Twelvey Night by Gwendolyn N. Nix
minor: body horror,
◆ The Seal Woman’s Tale by Alethea Kontis
medium: murder, imprisonment, gore and unsanitary, murder, relationship consent issue, pregnancy and childbirth
major: rape, rape by deception,
◆ Summer Skin by Zin E. Rocklyn
minor: sharps, murder
medium: orphaning, major body horror and maybe ableism about skin conditions like psoriasis or eczema, gore,
◆ Colt’s Tooth by Linda Robertson
major dental / tooth horror,
This was a fun anthology! More hits than misses for me, personally. I liked that it didn't rely on horrific or tactless abuse themes either!
◆ The Tooth Fairies by Glenn Parris
medium: dogs, blood, cats,
major: mouth trauma, child abuse, ear trauma, teeth horror and mouth horror?, spiders / spiderwebs,
◆ Glamour by Grey Yuen
minor: child death,
medium: sexualized dead women's bodies, kidnapping,
major: police, murder,
◆ See a Fine Lady by Seanan McGuire
Skipped this one
◆ Or Perhaps Up by C.S.E. Cooney
minor: hamilton musical mention, drowning?, catholicism,
medium: alcohol,
major: drowning,
◆ Don’t Let Go by Alana Joli Abbott
minor: blood, sacrifices,
I love this story. nothing about shitty horror tropes, cool!
◆ The Loophole by L. Penelope
minor: emetophobia, blood,
medium: alcohol, minor underage drinking, sharps and gore,
major:
◆ The Last Home of Master Tranquil Cloud by Minsoo Kang
minor: death and child death, rape, child abuse / abuse, murder, death, femicide,
medium: historical sexism, NSFW scene,
major: cannibalism?,
I love this story so much. five five, the best.
◆ Your Two Better Halves: A Dream, with Fairies, in Spanglish by Carlos Hernandez
major: body horror but nothing gruesome, cannibalism, murder,
◆ Take Only Photos by Shanna Swendson
minor: alcohol,
major: paranoia, breaking and entering, christmas,
◆ Old Twelvey Night by Gwendolyn N. Nix
minor: body horror,
◆ The Seal Woman’s Tale by Alethea Kontis
medium: murder, imprisonment, gore and unsanitary, murder, relationship consent issue, pregnancy and childbirth
major: rape, rape by deception,
◆ Summer Skin by Zin E. Rocklyn
minor: sharps, murder
medium: orphaning, major body horror and maybe ableism about skin conditions like psoriasis or eczema, gore,
◆ Colt’s Tooth by Linda Robertson
major dental / tooth horror,
theladyduckofdoom's review
3.0
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have mixed feelings about this book of collected fairy stories. Some stories were fantastic, but some were not. I have to admit I skimmed the choose your own adventure story, as it does not read well on kindle.
There are definitely better collections out there, but if you like a particular author, or fairies in general, this might be worth picking up.
I have mixed feelings about this book of collected fairy stories. Some stories were fantastic, but some were not. I have to admit I skimmed the choose your own adventure story, as it does not read well on kindle.
There are definitely better collections out there, but if you like a particular author, or fairies in general, this might be worth picking up.
effy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.68 Stars
With a wide variety of contributors, this anthology of short stories about the realm of the fey has great selection of tales.
Of the 14 stories including within this book, none of them were lower than a 3 Star read for me with 6 of the stories rating as a 4 or 5 Star read.
Some of the stories felt really rushed or had unsatisfying conclusions but overall a really fun read!
With a wide variety of contributors, this anthology of short stories about the realm of the fey has great selection of tales.
Of the 14 stories including within this book, none of them were lower than a 3 Star read for me with 6 of the stories rating as a 4 or 5 Star read.
Some of the stories felt really rushed or had unsatisfying conclusions but overall a really fun read!