There are seven fairy tales in this collection, and each and every one is a banger. They are such a delectable and impeccably crafted balance of the earthly and the eldritch, the universal and the particular. Many of her characters are traveling, as befits a fairy tale; whether they are walking along a road or trapped in an airport awaiting an ever-delayed flight, they have to avoid the traps that lie in those liminal spaces. My favorites, to my surprise, are the romances; unlike the flat, transitional nature of love in folktales, love in these stories is painful and complicated, yet absolutely worth descending to hell for. (The queen of hell reigns in a surreal suburb; it’s easy to accidentally eat the food of the fairyfolk when it comes in such a mundane guise.)