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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
With captivating lyrical prose Marjorie Liu has written a short story collection that will enchant readers from start to finish.
From the creator of Monstress, The Tangleroot Palace: Stories is a collection of six fantastical short stories and one novella. This lushly written collection runs the gamut from a fairy tale-esque princess on a quest to a post-apocalyptic horror story. Each story is a glimpse into an enthralling new world. Whether a fan of steampunk, high fantasy, horror, or fairy tale retellings, there’s something in the collection for every type of genre reader.
Even in such a marvelous collection there’s always a stand out and for me that was The Briar and the Rose. A Sapphic reimagining of Sleeping Beauty that takes on the dark elements of rape and loss of bodily autonomy that often get ignored in new versions and retellings of the original story. In Liu’s deft hands the tale becomes one of a woman possessed by a witch who regains control of her own body every Sunday and the woman’s bodyguard who is the only one who notices.
Fans of genre fiction and short stories should pick this one up. Liu’s talent with world building alone makes this collection a must read.
Disclosure: This review is based on a digital galley provided by the publisher through Netgalley..
[View this post on my review blog.]
From the creator of Monstress, The Tangleroot Palace: Stories is a collection of six fantastical short stories and one novella. This lushly written collection runs the gamut from a fairy tale-esque princess on a quest to a post-apocalyptic horror story. Each story is a glimpse into an enthralling new world. Whether a fan of steampunk, high fantasy, horror, or fairy tale retellings, there’s something in the collection for every type of genre reader.
Even in such a marvelous collection there’s always a stand out and for me that was The Briar and the Rose. A Sapphic reimagining of Sleeping Beauty that takes on the dark elements of rape and loss of bodily autonomy that often get ignored in new versions and retellings of the original story. In Liu’s deft hands the tale becomes one of a woman possessed by a witch who regains control of her own body every Sunday and the woman’s bodyguard who is the only one who notices.
Fans of genre fiction and short stories should pick this one up. Liu’s talent with world building alone makes this collection a must read.
Disclosure: This review is based on a digital galley provided by the publisher through Netgalley..
[View this post on my review blog.]
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
In the past I have struggled to read a book of short stories, but this book was just one intriguing world after another. The main reason I was frustrated with this book was because when I finished some of the stories, I would want to read more about those characters. The short stories don't necessarily need to be extended for me to say they are wonderful, but I wanted to sent Liu an email asking for more anyway. I love how Liu writes women--I often have a difficult time relating to strong women in fiction, but there was nothing in my patriarchially raised brain (which I often need to tell off) that nagged at me about any of the women. Perhaps it is because some of the stories are so wonderfully, beautifully queer, and that automatically makes me more comfortable with an author. My personal favorites in this collection are "The Briar and the Rose," "The Light and the Fury," "Where the Heart Lives," and "Tangleroot Palace."
adventurous
medium-paced
CW: Really, really graphic at times.
The cover is gorgeous, the stories are imaginative, the content just isn't really for me. Short stories are always hard for me because it takes so long to get into the characters and world that I am just never ready to let go after 30 pages. The book is full of wonderful queer stories, and but they are dark, really, really dark. The story about the princess and the duelist was probably my favourite, as it was a really interesting take on Sleeping Beauty, but the story went back to the source material which was :|
That cover, though, is perfection.
Spoiler
sexual assault resulting in pregnancy, miscarriage, body autonomy, body horror, graphic gore, and more I'm probably missingThe cover is gorgeous, the stories are imaginative, the content just isn't really for me. Short stories are always hard for me because it takes so long to get into the characters and world that I am just never ready to let go after 30 pages. The book is full of wonderful queer stories, and but they are dark, really, really dark. The story about the princess and the duelist was probably my favourite, as it was a really interesting take on Sleeping Beauty, but the story went back to the source material which was :|
That cover, though, is perfection.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes