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wardenred's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Most people don’t notice magic, unless they’re looking.
Normally, I take my time with anthologies and short story collections, but this one was a surprisingly quick read. Isabel Yap's writing style really resonated with me, and I kept reaching for the book to read just one more story in-between other daily things. It helped that a lot of the stories here (though not all by far) were really short.
The one I enjoyed the most was the longest one, though—A Spell for Foolish Hearts, a pretty cute mlm workplace romance with a lot of witchiness, my single favorite flavor of dramatic misunderstanding, and a smile-enducing happy ending. Others that stuck with me include Hurricane Heels (We Go Dancing) which offers a great take on the magical girls trope; the fairy-tale-ish How to Swallow the Moon that won my heart with its rich worldbuilding, beautiful wlw romance, and the maiden teaming up with her queer LI to beat the monster instead of nobly sacrificing herself to save her people; and A Canticle of Lost Girls with its interwoven themes of growing up, motherhood, and female friendship.
Some of the stories here are unsettling and disturbing at times; others are full of hope; some are both. All in all, I greatly enjoyed this collection and I feel kind of sad that my journey through its pages is over.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Rape, and Suicide attempt
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