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booksandlemonsquash's review
4.0
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am often wary of anthologies, as the stories can cover such a wide range and don't always fit my tastes. Well with this one, I needn't have worried. I liked most of the stories, and loved more than a few! I definitely think wintery fairytales is the way forward for me :D There's such a great spread of ideas in this, but all still managing to come together really nicely.
It starts really strong, with The Biting Cold by Josie Jaffrey - a stunning eco story, and evolves through traditional fairy tales, folk warnings and even a little comedy. My favourites were The Biting Cold, A Pea Ever After by Adie Hart, The Snow Drop by H. L. Macfarlane and Lord of the Forest by Katherine Shaw. All for different reasons - Josie's eco story really made me think about the environment, Adie's feminist retelling of the Princess and the Pea was brilliantly lighthearted and wonderfully inclusive, The Snow Drop was romantic and sweet, and Lord of the Forest was a nice twist on a beast terrorising a town.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and encourage you to read and let me know which your favourites were! 4 stars.
I am often wary of anthologies, as the stories can cover such a wide range and don't always fit my tastes. Well with this one, I needn't have worried. I liked most of the stories, and loved more than a few! I definitely think wintery fairytales is the way forward for me :D There's such a great spread of ideas in this, but all still managing to come together really nicely.
It starts really strong, with The Biting Cold by Josie Jaffrey - a stunning eco story, and evolves through traditional fairy tales, folk warnings and even a little comedy. My favourites were The Biting Cold, A Pea Ever After by Adie Hart, The Snow Drop by H. L. Macfarlane and Lord of the Forest by Katherine Shaw. All for different reasons - Josie's eco story really made me think about the environment, Adie's feminist retelling of the Princess and the Pea was brilliantly lighthearted and wonderfully inclusive, The Snow Drop was romantic and sweet, and Lord of the Forest was a nice twist on a beast terrorising a town.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and encourage you to read and let me know which your favourites were! 4 stars.
rosie_reads_7's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.0
justgeekingby's review
4.0
Originally posted on Just Geeking by.
At this time of year I’m always on the lookout for winter or holiday themed books, and being someone who primarily reads fantasy and science fiction, there aren’t that many to be found unless someone specifically sets about putting together a themed anthology. So when I found out about Once Upon a Winter: A Folk and Fairy Tale Anthology, I was thrilled! Even more so as it has a story from one of my favourite authors, Caroline Logan, and a few other authors on my TBR
At this time of year I’m always on the lookout for winter or holiday themed books, and being someone who primarily reads fantasy and science fiction, there aren’t that many to be found unless someone specifically sets about putting together a themed anthology. So when I found out about Once Upon a Winter: A Folk and Fairy Tale Anthology, I was thrilled! Even more so as it has a story from one of my favourite authors, Caroline Logan, and a few other authors on my TBR
sarah_bell's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
itsabookthing2021's review
3.0
Thanks to Booksiren and publishers for the eARC.
Once upon a winter is an anthology which consists for 17 different stories by 17 different authors.
These folklore and fairy tale stories are great and each one is different from the last.
I loved the different writing styles from each author.
With anthologies there's always some stories that read better than others but that's personal preference and I still enjoyed every story
Once upon a winter is an anthology which consists for 17 different stories by 17 different authors.
These folklore and fairy tale stories are great and each one is different from the last.
I loved the different writing styles from each author.
With anthologies there's always some stories that read better than others but that's personal preference and I still enjoyed every story
srivalli's review
4.0
3.8 Stars
One Liner: A satisfying read
Once Upon a Winter is a collection of seventeen stories, a combination of fairytale retellings and originals. The stories range from lighthearted to dark, middle grade to adult, and fantasy to romance. Readers who like multiple genres will enjoy this book more than others.
The highlight of the book is that each story was unique. No two stories felt similar, despite the common thread of fairytale and folklore themes running through them.
Listing my favorites below (in the order as printed in the book):
• The Biting Cold by Josie Jaffrey: This is fantastic. The narration pulls you right into the story and keeps you there until the end (even if you can guess what will happen).
• Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Bharat Krishnan: Read this more for acing the character’s tone rather than the storyline.
• A Pea Ever After by Adie Hart: This is probably the best retelling I’ve read in a long time. It’s just too good!
• The Snowdrop by H. L. Macfarlane: My heart went aww… reading this one. Such a sweet one, though the ending is predictable.
• The Best Girl this Side of Winter by Laila Amado: An adventurous MG fantasy. What's not to like.
• The Snow Trolls by S. Markem: Do not read this when eating or drinking. You’ll enjoy the narrative style and the execution.
• Lord of the Forest by Katherine Shaw: You can’t have a story with a mythical creature from a forest and expect me not to like it. Short yet powerful.
• Long Meg and the Sorcerer’s Stones by M. J. Weatherall: Almost made it to my best list. It should have been longer and more fleshed out.
To Sum up, Once Upon a Winter is a lovely collection of multiple genres, themes, and tales set in snowy white lands, castles, forests, and mysterious villages.
My thanks to Macfarlane Lantern Publishing and BookSirens for the digital review copy. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
*****
Full review to come.
One Liner: A satisfying read
Once Upon a Winter is a collection of seventeen stories, a combination of fairytale retellings and originals. The stories range from lighthearted to dark, middle grade to adult, and fantasy to romance. Readers who like multiple genres will enjoy this book more than others.
The highlight of the book is that each story was unique. No two stories felt similar, despite the common thread of fairytale and folklore themes running through them.
Listing my favorites below (in the order as printed in the book):
• The Biting Cold by Josie Jaffrey: This is fantastic. The narration pulls you right into the story and keeps you there until the end (even if you can guess what will happen).
• Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Bharat Krishnan: Read this more for acing the character’s tone rather than the storyline.
• A Pea Ever After by Adie Hart: This is probably the best retelling I’ve read in a long time. It’s just too good!
• The Snowdrop by H. L. Macfarlane: My heart went aww… reading this one. Such a sweet one, though the ending is predictable.
• The Best Girl this Side of Winter by Laila Amado: An adventurous MG fantasy. What's not to like.
• The Snow Trolls by S. Markem: Do not read this when eating or drinking. You’ll enjoy the narrative style and the execution.
• Lord of the Forest by Katherine Shaw: You can’t have a story with a mythical creature from a forest and expect me not to like it. Short yet powerful.
• Long Meg and the Sorcerer’s Stones by M. J. Weatherall: Almost made it to my best list. It should have been longer and more fleshed out.
To Sum up, Once Upon a Winter is a lovely collection of multiple genres, themes, and tales set in snowy white lands, castles, forests, and mysterious villages.
My thanks to Macfarlane Lantern Publishing and BookSirens for the digital review copy. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
*****
Full review to come.
amac_reads's review
4.0
This work is a collection of winter-themed short stories that feel like fairytales and folklore. In total there are seventeen stories that explore various themes and some even revisit familiar stories. Some of the stories were spooky, some contained themes exploring climate change, and others were humorous.
There were several stories that I was absolutely blown away by – honestly, the majority of these stories were quite good. There were only two that I didn’t find to be particularly interesting. This was a fun way to be exposed to many new authors and their works. Despite the theme of the anthology, the stories were not repetitive or too similar, and I greatly enjoyed some of the retellings that were included.
My only complaint about this work was that there were several typos including extra commas and spaces. I loved the winter theme of this anthology, and highly recommend reading it! I’m going to reread it again when it’s not 90 degrees outside.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
There were several stories that I was absolutely blown away by – honestly, the majority of these stories were quite good. There were only two that I didn’t find to be particularly interesting. This was a fun way to be exposed to many new authors and their works. Despite the theme of the anthology, the stories were not repetitive or too similar, and I greatly enjoyed some of the retellings that were included.
My only complaint about this work was that there were several typos including extra commas and spaces. I loved the winter theme of this anthology, and highly recommend reading it! I’m going to reread it again when it’s not 90 degrees outside.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
carenzabramwell's review
3.0
Thank you to the publishers for sending me a digital proof to read before publication. I am leaving this review voluntarily. There were some stand out stories in this collection, such as A Pea Ever After. However, most of this collection wasn't for me. While I liked the diverse take on the theme of winter, I found it difficult to enjoy because the age range of the stories was so all over the place. I preferred the more environmental takes to some of the fantastical. Short story collections aren't something I read often and I like the premise of a set of stories about the seasons. This just wasn't quite for me in the end.
catsluvcoffee's review
4.0
I absolutely adore folktales and fairytales, whether they are variations of the original stories, simply influenced by the classic tales or completely brand new imaginings. I didn't hesitate to say yes to Once Upon a Winter. What's even more exciting is that Once Upon a Winter is the first of four planned seasonal anthologies from Macfarlane Lantern Publishing. Obviously, this one starts with the colder season of the year and all the stories within containing the cold bite of winter's wind and snow.
As with all anthologies, there are stories that will resound more with the reader over others, which is the beauty of an anthology. While there were a couple of the stories that didn't work so well for me, the vast majority did. The atmosphere of the stories varies from sweet and romantic like "The Snowdrop" by H. L. Macfarlane, in which a boy meets an unexpected faerie friend, to the humorous "The Snow Trolls" by S. Markem where the edict is "Don't eat the yellow snow" and then there are those much, much darker, which are always going to be my personal favorites.
That's not to say I still didn't enjoy the other stories. "A Pea Ever After" by Adie Hart is a feminist tale that is on the lighter side of the retellings in the anthology but I loved this take on The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen. A fairy godmother has gathered four princesses together to compete for the hand of the prince. It was welcome to see smart, capable princesses that had no need of rescuing. In fact, the princesses had no interest in marrying the prince at all. Not that he's not perfectly handsome or refreshingly educated or even remarkably kind and funny because he is, they just aren't interested or have better things to do with their lives.
Once again on the darker side of things is "Silverfoot's Edge" by Ella Holmes. In this tale, a trickster freezes a woman's love in a small pool and tasks her with finding one special snowflake in the midst of so many. This story starts in winter but spans the following months as well. It's everything that I love about fairytales. There's the peril of her loved one, the riddle to solve, a clearly defined baddie, and a determined and cunning heroine. Not to mention that the little-folk creatures sent with her to "weigh" the snowflakes—the only way she'll know she's found the correct one—are adorable. My favorite passage of the entire anthology is here:
My mother once said to me love is an edge you will fall over, and she was right.
I think about it often as I walk the woods. She is dead and shrouded in the earth, and I feel her with every bare-footed step throughout the dirt.
Landing among my favorites as well were two others in the collection: "The Best Girl this Side of Winter" with its undead, poisoned claws, and an impossible quest and Katherine Shaw's "Lord of the Forest" which introduced me to the Leshii, a Slavic forest protector spirit. Don't let the fluffy bunnies on the cover fool you, there are wolves within these pages.
If you love the stories by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Andersen, there's a story here for you. Unlike the aforementioned authors, this anthology sees a more diverse authorship being primarily comprised of female and LGBTQ+ authors from various countries. Grab yourself a copy and a blanket and expect a little magic for those long dark winter evenings.
As with all anthologies, there are stories that will resound more with the reader over others, which is the beauty of an anthology. While there were a couple of the stories that didn't work so well for me, the vast majority did. The atmosphere of the stories varies from sweet and romantic like "The Snowdrop" by H. L. Macfarlane, in which a boy meets an unexpected faerie friend, to the humorous "The Snow Trolls" by S. Markem where the edict is "Don't eat the yellow snow" and then there are those much, much darker, which are always going to be my personal favorites.
That's not to say I still didn't enjoy the other stories. "A Pea Ever After" by Adie Hart is a feminist tale that is on the lighter side of the retellings in the anthology but I loved this take on The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen. A fairy godmother has gathered four princesses together to compete for the hand of the prince. It was welcome to see smart, capable princesses that had no need of rescuing. In fact, the princesses had no interest in marrying the prince at all. Not that he's not perfectly handsome or refreshingly educated or even remarkably kind and funny because he is, they just aren't interested or have better things to do with their lives.
Once again on the darker side of things is "Silverfoot's Edge" by Ella Holmes. In this tale, a trickster freezes a woman's love in a small pool and tasks her with finding one special snowflake in the midst of so many. This story starts in winter but spans the following months as well. It's everything that I love about fairytales. There's the peril of her loved one, the riddle to solve, a clearly defined baddie, and a determined and cunning heroine. Not to mention that the little-folk creatures sent with her to "weigh" the snowflakes—the only way she'll know she's found the correct one—are adorable. My favorite passage of the entire anthology is here:
My mother once said to me love is an edge you will fall over, and she was right.
I think about it often as I walk the woods. She is dead and shrouded in the earth, and I feel her with every bare-footed step throughout the dirt.
Landing among my favorites as well were two others in the collection: "The Best Girl this Side of Winter" with its undead, poisoned claws, and an impossible quest and Katherine Shaw's "Lord of the Forest" which introduced me to the Leshii, a Slavic forest protector spirit. Don't let the fluffy bunnies on the cover fool you, there are wolves within these pages.
If you love the stories by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Andersen, there's a story here for you. Unlike the aforementioned authors, this anthology sees a more diverse authorship being primarily comprised of female and LGBTQ+ authors from various countries. Grab yourself a copy and a blanket and expect a little magic for those long dark winter evenings.