Rating a short story collection is often a difficult task. This one has two phenomenal stories - the first and last - which are alluded to in the title. The first made me feel childlike wonder while the last gave me the heebie jeebies. Like hardcore heebie jeebies. Like "I am so happy I don't live alone" heebie jeebies.

I'm not sure why the other stories didn't really hit the mark for me. I had a lot of trouble engaging with them and something about the pacing didn't seem quite right. It's difficult to put my finger on what didn't work, but I will say this: the writing itself was stellar and the vibes were immaculate. These were my bedtime stories for several days, because reading them often felt like being a young child who is told a fairytale they're too young to understand. While I think some of the intentions of the middle stories went over my head, the experience of reading them was ultimately pleasant.

A 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I recommend this collection to anyone who loves modern retellings of fairytales, doesn't mind reading a few forgettable stories before bed, and loves gorgeous evocative writing.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/iNUD3wZlu7w