I haven’t read “Vampires Never Grow Old” so I have no authority to review or criticize that anthology, but I did read “Mermaids Never Drown”, and can say that I thought this one was so much better?!?! That one was fun, yes, but I thought the stories in “Faeries Never Lie” stuck with me more, on both a writing and emotional standpoint. Though, more of my favorites were from the authors I wasn’t as familiar with. (Ryan La Sala’s story was underwhelming, and I was really looking forward to it. Conflicted on what to feel about Rory Power’s story because I didn’t dig the flowery writing, but I loved the ending and how messed up it was.) 

Perhaps it’s also because there’s a bit more substance to connect all the stories together. Are they in an interconnected universe? Absolutely not. (Some of these stories are even from existing books by the authors they’re written by. See: “Blue Amber” and “The Honest Folk”.) However, they all captured the allure, mystery, and even threat of faeries, even if the degrees of each thing varied based on the author. A couple of these were willing to go the horror route, actually, and while those didn’t end up on my favorites list, they were still enjoyable. (See: “Fool” and “Dear Diary”.) 

I’ll admit, though, there were some stories I just thought were mediocre or rushed. A couple of these ideas seem like they’d work better in a longer form, like the magic school we see a glimpse of in “The New Girl At Autumn Prep”. (I also liked the idea of showing colonialism through the bits of history on the Courts, and white-centric beauty standards through the glamours! I just disliked how because of the length, the exposition was plentiful and rushed. Gah.) (…reading about an Indigenous-coded character going to a magic school to exceed in a space meant for her colonizers really makes me want to move “To Shape A Dragon’s Breath” up my TBR.) The only other story I can think of feeling rushed like that was “Revelry”, everything happened at a breakneck pace and the cliffhanger was frustrating.

Enough rambling! I’ll list my favorites: “Rotten”(5⭐️), “Blue Amber”(4.5⭐️), “The Honest Folk”(5⭐️), “Birch Kiss”(4.5⭐️), and “La Tierra Del Olvido”(4.25⭐️). “Rotten” was surprisingly unpredictable, with a snarky and intelligent protagonist that still found a way to meet her downfall, and I liked the Southern setting. “Blue Amber” was a stellar continuation of a universe I never thought I’d want to read from again, and captured some of the magic and poetry I’ve adored Anna-Marie McLemore’s books for. “The Honest Folk” was gripping from start to end, providing a memorable story that people who hadn’t read Folk Of The Air can still enjoy, and giving nods to the lore that longtime fans will love. “Birch Kiss” was a beautiful exploration of love, grief and gender—even the Prince is just a woman who uses that title!! The gender-fuckery is everywhere!—although, I do think that East’s dysphoric yearning about West could get toxic at times. 

If you’re limiting yourself to only checking out one of the Untold Legends anthologies, I’d recommend this one! It was great.