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A review by savage_book_review
Dark Fairytales for the unloved volume one by Stacey LP, Loren Sorensen, Amity Grey, Nova B. Quinn, RubyAnn Stiegelmeier, S.D. Paine, Marianne Grey, Grace Vice, Memo Rable, Ellen Winter, Gareth Ian Davies, Alex Upchurch, Mehdi Fakhrahmad
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
*Please note, I was provided with an ARC copy by the authors and am voluntarily leaving an honest review*
My bookshelves are full of twisted fairytale retellings, so when I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this, I was looking forward to reading some dark original tales in that style. And there are definitely some good ones in here! Covering a broad spectrum of gunmetal grey to pitch black, from true fantasy to magical realism, this anthology of short stories is not for the faint of heart or the fair maiden!
Personal favourites for me were:-
- 'The Curse of Obsession' by Loren Sorensen. A ballet dancer, a demon and some enchanted pointe shoes.
- 'Scorpion Grass' by Grace Vice. A selfless woman and a cursed man who shows more care when in attack mode than her asshole of a husband does ever.
- 'The Hunter and the Beast' by S D Paine. A cursed princess and her 'bad boy' rescuer.
I found that, in general terms, I enjoyed reading the longer stories herein, as they felt more developed and had clear beginnings, middles and ends. Many of them went in directions I wasn't necessarily expecting too, which gave each of the tales a nice extra bite, and they felt like they were more able to explore the darker themes and perhaps the rationale behind the characters' actions. The shorter of the stories (those that only take up a few pages), were just as interesting, but felt more like really good introductions, or hooks into what could and should be longer works. I was often left hanging on and wanting more!
As you'd expect from a collective work, the tones and styles of each story are very different from each other, and naturally some were more to my taste than others. I was more drawn to those that felt more like traditional fairytales with a creepy undertone, and there were a couple of stories that just didn't click with me because the style just doesn't suit me. None of the writing is bad, not by any stretch! I just found it a bit of a balancing act to find one story that I really got into might be followed by one that left me scratching my head a bit. Similarly, I quite like reading the details and minutiae of an author's world-building, but of course in short story format there isn't necessarily time for that layering, so in some cases again I was left wishing for more of the work.
Each story starts with a list of content/trigger warnings where appropriate, and most of the stories also come with a 'not suitable for minors' warning. While I don't have any triggers myself, I liked the way this was addressed by each individual author, rather than just as a collective at the start of the book. It tells someone like me what to expect, and would be helpful to those who might need it because they can still enjoy the book while easily being able to skip the stories that don't appeal. A few of the warnings definitely got a raised eyebrow from me (dendrophilia, anyone?!), but definitely better to have too many warnings than not enough!
And yet, despite the darkness, there are also some moments of comedy, an HEA or two and some really powerful female characters standing up for themselves and taking back their power, which gives the anthology a great all around feel. It may not have been entirely in sync with my own tastes/wants/needs from a book, but that doesn't mean it isn't a great read for others!
My bookshelves are full of twisted fairytale retellings, so when I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this, I was looking forward to reading some dark original tales in that style. And there are definitely some good ones in here! Covering a broad spectrum of gunmetal grey to pitch black, from true fantasy to magical realism, this anthology of short stories is not for the faint of heart or the fair maiden!
Personal favourites for me were:-
- 'The Curse of Obsession' by Loren Sorensen. A ballet dancer, a demon and some enchanted pointe shoes.
- 'Scorpion Grass' by Grace Vice. A selfless woman and a cursed man who shows more care when in attack mode than her asshole of a husband does ever.
- 'The Hunter and the Beast' by S D Paine. A cursed princess and her 'bad boy' rescuer.
I found that, in general terms, I enjoyed reading the longer stories herein, as they felt more developed and had clear beginnings, middles and ends. Many of them went in directions I wasn't necessarily expecting too, which gave each of the tales a nice extra bite, and they felt like they were more able to explore the darker themes and perhaps the rationale behind the characters' actions. The shorter of the stories (those that only take up a few pages), were just as interesting, but felt more like really good introductions, or hooks into what could and should be longer works. I was often left hanging on and wanting more!
As you'd expect from a collective work, the tones and styles of each story are very different from each other, and naturally some were more to my taste than others. I was more drawn to those that felt more like traditional fairytales with a creepy undertone, and there were a couple of stories that just didn't click with me because the style just doesn't suit me. None of the writing is bad, not by any stretch! I just found it a bit of a balancing act to find one story that I really got into might be followed by one that left me scratching my head a bit. Similarly, I quite like reading the details and minutiae of an author's world-building, but of course in short story format there isn't necessarily time for that layering, so in some cases again I was left wishing for more of the work.
Each story starts with a list of content/trigger warnings where appropriate, and most of the stories also come with a 'not suitable for minors' warning. While I don't have any triggers myself, I liked the way this was addressed by each individual author, rather than just as a collective at the start of the book. It tells someone like me what to expect, and would be helpful to those who might need it because they can still enjoy the book while easily being able to skip the stories that don't appeal. A few of the warnings definitely got a raised eyebrow from me (dendrophilia, anyone?!), but definitely better to have too many warnings than not enough!
And yet, despite the darkness, there are also some moments of comedy, an HEA or two and some really powerful female characters standing up for themselves and taking back their power, which gives the anthology a great all around feel. It may not have been entirely in sync with my own tastes/wants/needs from a book, but that doesn't mean it isn't a great read for others!