howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

This is fairly insta-lovey (I mean, they're technically childhood friends who fell in love as teens and have been apart for 10yrs, so take that as you will) and a little dub-con (in the way that most Beauty & the Beast stories are, if you know what I mean), aaaand there's also a scene that might offend those who aren't comfortable with shifter/human sex while the shifter is, er... shifted... So I guess my point is that you should know what you're getting into if you pick this up, but as for me, I thought it was fun and I really enjoyed the bit of a twist on the whole curse and conclusion. I also might have cried a little near the ending, and I feel like the fact that Kati Wilde is so good at getting me attached to characters in so few pages that I get emotional is pretty high praise from me.

While I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never been the biggest fan of the original source material, there’s something about the world of Wonderland that draws me in over and over again through retellings; I can never seem to get enough, so when I heard an entire anthology was being released of dark fantasy and horror stories themed around Alice and her adventures, I couldn’t get my hands on a copy soon enough! I’m so pleased to say that it was everything I hoped it would be. Many anthologies are full of hit-and-miss pieces, but Wonderland is a genuinely solid collection of stories — I really don’t think the average Wonderland lover will be disappointed by hardly any of these tales.

While I definitely have a few stand-out favorites, I haven’t broken down a full anthology review piece-by-piece in a long time (though long-time friends and followers will know it used to be one of my review trademarks!), and this seems like the perfect excuse to dive back into one of those long, thorough reviews! If you'd like to see my full review, check it out here on my blog! Otherwise, keep reading for my favorites (snipped from the full review):

→ The White Queen’s Pawn — Genevieve Cogman ★★★★★
Ahhh. This story was the moment when I knew this anthology was going to be an out-and-out success for me, because Cogman totally blew me away with how fun and fleshed-out this tiny little tale was. In this piece, a group tries to blackmail an elderly woman (who was an assassin in her younger years) into training new assassins, but there’s more to her story than they realize. I don’t know why, but I am a tremendous sucker for elderly women being badass protagonists, and this one didn’t let me down in the slightest. I would read an entire novel set in this world that Cogman’s created without hesitation.

———

→ Good Dog, Alice! — Juliet Marillier ★★★★★
This one hurt my heart in the process. Little Dorothea is given a puppy for her birthday, and she names her Alice. The two go on adventures, but accidentally end up in another world, in which Dorothea’s given some unexpected help with a terrible situation she’s living through in the real world. While I’ll mention all of the trigger warnings and their respective stories below, I do want to specifically state that this story features implied child sexual abuse, and like I said… even though it isn’t graphic, it pained me a fair amount to read, but I promise it’s worth it.

———

→ Vanished Summer Glory — Rio Youers ★★★★★
This is a really odd one that I’d be curious to see what other reviewers think of. It alternates between a “before” and “after” of a man going missing; the “before”s detail his descent into apparent madness, while the “after”s chronicle his poor wife’s musings over what might have happened to him and where she thinks it all went wrong. There are some really tragic details here and the whole thing is left open to your interpretations, but most of all, I liked the way Wonderland is woven in so that it’s hard to tell if it’s an actual place, or something this poor man has dreamed up in his grief.

Thank you so much to Titan Books for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content warnings: Wonders Never Cease: cancer, depression; There Were No Birds to Fly: cannibalism; Dream Girl: body horror; Good Dog, Alice!: pedophilia, sexual assault, grooming; The Hunting of the Jabberwock: animal death; Smoke ’em if You Got ’em: implied rape and child abuse; Vanished Summer Glory: cancer; Eat Me, Drink Me: animal death; general anthology warnings: gore, gratuitous violence, murder, death.

Diversity: Alice is black in both Dream Girl and What Makes a Monster.

TL;DR: If you’re any sort of fan of Alice in Wonderland, whether it’s the original source material or retellings, this is right up your alley. With a solid mixture of dark fantasy and horror, there’s sure to be something to please everyone.

#1 A Court of Thorns and Roses ★★★★★
#2 A Court of Mist and Fury ★★★★★
#3 A Court of Wings and Ruin ★★★★★
#3.5 A Court of Frost and Starlight ★★★★★

Update (09.17.19)
4th read, and first time checking out the audiobook. Ikeda's narration is flawless for Feyre and this was honestly the most fun read-through of the first book I've had so far.

Update (12.26.17)
I've just finished my 3rd read, and while I can fully recognize that this book isn't nearly on par with its sequel, I don't think I could fathom ever lowering the rating below 5 stars. This book, when I first read it, was my first real foray back into YA fantasy and fae stories, after a several-year-long hiatus (mostly imposed by a controlling/abusive ex who convinced me I was "too old" for YA). It reminded me why I loved the genre and missed it so much, and gave me back what I had missed for so long: the ability to totally lose myself in a book, a series, a fandom. I can never devalue what Maas did for me with ACOTAR.

Of course, the writing isn't what her later writing has proven itself to be as she improves, but the depiction of a relationship that's less than it seems, as well as the fierce bravery and wit that Feyre exhibits in the final third of the story? I love it. I love wild, broken little Rhysand and everything he is for her. I love Lucien's wit and snark, and the way, when push comes to shove, he proves his friendship and loyalty (to a fault, sometimes). I love meeting all of the other fae - especially gossip-y little Suri, dishing out tea all over the place - and I love the entire world of Prythian, with its courts and struggles and in-fighting and secrets.

I'm probably never going to write a full review for this book, because by this point, I'd just be fangirling for ages about a book most of you have already read, but I wanted to finally put words on paper for how utterly grateful I am that this series gave me back something that I had missed so tremendously.

#1 A Curse So Dark and Lonely ★★★★★
#2 A Heart So Fierce and Broken DNF

If you've read the book and enjoy listening to great songs that are super emotional and reminiscent of characters, might I encourage you to listen to 'I'll Be Good' by Jaymes Young and cry over Rhen with me?

Harper’s life isn’t easy—her father has left her family with all his debts, her brother is working for the same loan sharks they owe, and her mother is in the final stages of cancer. Meanwhile, in the land of Emberfall, Crown Prince Rhen is facing the final season of his curse: if he doesn’t find love within three months, he’ll be left forever in the form of the bloodthirsty beast that overtakes him with each failed courtship. When the prince’s guard kidnaps Harper for one last shot at breaking the spell, will she choose a dying kingdom, or her family?

I love Beauty and the Beast retellings, but we’ve had so many of them that they need a fresh take to catch my eye nowadays, and A Curse So Dark and Lonely absolutely had that to offer. Between the mixture of urban and high fantasy worlds, and the protagonist’s cerebral palsy representation, I’ve been hyped as heck for this release since the synopsis was first announced. In fact, I think I hyped myself up too much for it, because when my copy arrived,it was hard to pick it up right away just thanks to being nervous over how devastated I knew I’d be if it wasn’t amazing!

→ L I K E S :

“You are responsible. You, Rhen. You alone will destroy them all.”

Thankfully, every last one of my concerns were TOTALLY unnecessary, because I thought this was flawless. I adored the atmospheric setting, the flawed characters, the representation, and how dark the curse was. Brigid Kemmerer took this classic tale of a prince cursed to live life as a beast, and tossed it into such a heavy, violent spin that I was hooked from the first page.

Everything is always the same. Except for the dead. They never come back.

Of course, there are the characters, too, who are so lovable despite being ridiculously flawed (or because of that, maybe, because they all feel so complex and multidimensional!). Harper is a phenomenal heroine and I LOVED her CP rep—there are just so many good conversations taking place in this book regarding how the world treats people with disabilities.

There is blood under my fingernails. I wonder how many of my people I’ve killed this time.

And then, of course, there’s Rhen, who is so angsty and tragic but in the best way, and my favorite, Grey, the guard. Grey was honestly the star of this show for me, between his quick wit, cool demeanor, and neverending loyalty and bravery. Can I please get a book about him, Brigid? Pleeeaaaaase?

→ F I N A L THOUGHTS :

Seriously, though, I just don’t have anything negative to say about this gorgeous fantasy novel. Between the writing, characters, story, rep—it’s the whole package, and easily my favorite work that I’ve read from Brigid Kemmerer so far. I love her contemporary writing, too, but this made me genuinely hope she keeps putting out fantasy releases, because she’s a total natural.

→ RECOMMENDING TO… :

I’d recommend this to any fans of fantasy stories, especially if you enjoy retellings and/or high/low fantasy crossovers!

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Bloomsbury YA for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I did it! Almost two years after reading Cress, I've finally continued the series with Fairest, which—if you didn't know—is a novella from Levana's point of view, explaining her origin story as a villain and what turned her into the wicked Lunar Queen we all know and hate today.

"You held all the power. You've always held all the power."

I've tremendously enjoyed the series as a whole, but this is the first installment I've given less than 5 stars. The writing is still gorgeous as Marissa Meyer's always is, and the plot is intriguing, so none of that is the problem. Learning what turned Levana into who she is today and getting this backstory on her, as well as the history behind what happened to Cinder and Winter, is absolutely fascinating! There's just one problem that was enough to force me to take TWO MONTHS to finish one little bitty novella:

I ABSOLUTELY HATE LEVANA SO MUCH.

I've heard so many people say this book redeemed Levana for them, or helped them empathize with her, or made her their favorite villain, and I respect that, but that's not what happened for me. If anything, I went from a general dislike for her character to her becoming one of my most loathed fictional characters of all time.

Sure, she has a tragic incident from her childhood and she's clearly completely mentally unstable with a heaping dose of narcissism and delusional thinking, but she's also self-absorbed, manipulative, a child murderer, and a literal rapist. (Seriously, why is nobody talking about the trigger warnings for this book, because I did not expect to waltz into a book full of a woman raping a man through psychic manipulation and horrific coercion.)

So, final thoughts—is this novella well written? Yes. Does it contribute to the overall series? Yes. Should you read it? Absolutely. Will I ever reread this or have any even remotely positive feelings for Levana's character? Nope, don't think so.

If you ever need a story that’s guaranteed to give you all the feels, break your heart, and look good doing it, Anna-Marie McLemore’s definitely the right woman for the job. If this tells you anything about how much faith I have in her writing, I don’t even like the fairytales this book pulls from, yet it’s still been one of my most anticipated releases of 2018.

‘There will always be two daughters. But we will always take one back.’

Predictably enough, I was not disappointed. Blanca & Roja is such a gorgeously woven magical realism story, full of lovable characters that I can’t help wanting to protect, and an atmospheric setting that’s positively teleportative. Anna-Marie’s writing always immerses me so quickly, and this was no exception, as I literally was less than ten pages in when I first thought, “Wow, I love this book already.”

I could not let that kind of distance spread between me and the girl I’d mapped the woods with, both of us learning them as well as each other’s faces.

One thing that I’d like to mention is the magical realism aspect to Anna-Marie’s style, and how I think readers will fare with that in general. I know the lyrical writing style caused a lot of my friends to dislike her last release, Wild Beauty (which I adored, but art is subjective!). If that describes you, I think you’ll be happy to know that the magical realism facets of Anna-Marie’s storytelling felt substantially less prominent in this book than they did in Wild Beauty. In fact, if you’re looking for a book to introduce you to the MR subgenre, I think Blanca & Roja would be perfect for it.

Roja and I had woven the roots of ourselves together so well that if she was ripped from the ground, I would be wrecked.

Not only is the writing lovely, but these characters just won me over so effortlessly! Blanca and Roja, our title characters, are the most wonderful sisters. They care so much for one another and want so desperately to find a way to save one another from their family’s curse, that they’ve spent their entire lives trying to find a way to trick the swans so that they won’t take either girl. Their desperation and fierce protectiveness of one another will give you all the warm fuzzies, and even when they fight, their love for each other never leaves center stage.

But I would not let the swans write our story for us.

Besides the sisters, their love interests are precious, broken, soft boys that really stole the show for me. I loved the sisters, but I loved Page and Yearling. They aren’t living under the weight of a blood curse, they’re just trying to survive a world that they don’t feel like they fit perfectly into, for one reason or another. I can’t say much about Yearling without spoiling a mystery surrounding his character, but I will say that he broke my heart over and over. Page, on the other hand, is such a sweet, lovable little thing. He’s trans and nonbinary—modeled after Anna-Marie’s own husband!—and if you ask me, very few authors write queer characters quite as lovingly as Anna-Marie does.

“I don’t mind questions. Most people never bother asking.”

There is a lot of representation going on in this book, by the way. With Page, we obviously have this trans/nonbinary rep, but we always get this insight into how nuanced and specific his identity is to him, which is such a legitimate thing for a lot of people! With Yearling’s character, he’s recently become disabled (partially blind), and I loved how much time is spent focusing on his struggles to adapt, and how respectfully it’s handled in the book’s dialogue. There’s also an absolutely lovely f/f side couple that we spend a bit of time with later in the story, and I couldn’t write this review without mentioning the fantastic period rep that anyone who’s ever suffered from serious menstrual problems will relate so hard to, like I did.

To them, Roja’s hair was a sign of her wickedness. To them, I was weak, a girl born without fingernails or teeth sharp enough to get into anything.

Perhaps the most prominent piece of the representation is the struggle of colorism and racism that these beautiful Latina sisters go through. Roja is brown-skinned with dark red hair, whereas Blanca is mostly white-passing with pale skin and golden hair. Their community has used the differences in their appearances to form assumptions about the girls and which sister the swans will choose, and it functions as a divide between them at times. It draws light to how much pain colorism can cause within a community when one girl is valued above another for having a white-passing appearance, and it’s heartbreaking, but necessary.

It is not a story about realizing you have become beautiful. It is about the sudden understanding that you are something other than what you thought you were, and that what you are is more beautiful than what you once thought you had to be.

Final thoughts: Blanca & Roja is an absolutely gorgeous fairytale retelling that everyone should read, especially if you’re a fan of magical realism to begin with, or if you’re looking for a fantasy story with endlessly diverse representation. The characters are a delight to read from, and you simply can’t help but become emotionally invested in the entire scenario from start to finish.

Content warnings for abuse, violence, racism/colorism, transphobia, homophobia

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Feiwel & Friends for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If there are a few things I love in my fantasy stories, they are: 1) good, diverse representation, 2) fairytale vibes and/or retellings, 3) historical settings, and 4) animals and/or shape-shifters. This book checks all those boxes, plus either other chapter is poetry (and if you didn’t know, I adore stories in verse), so basically this was one of the most “on brand for me” books I’ve ever seen in my life and I was absolutely ecstatic to read it.

There have always been rumors about the Kodari forest and the hidden things within it. Now I know we are a part of that unseen world.

Like all the best fairytales, The Sisters of the Winter Wood is written at the most fascinating crossroads of whimsy and despair, and it works perfectly. The mood of the entire story is captivating and beautiful, but beneath, there lies something sinister, plots of revenge and betrayal, and the tragedy of a society that devalues Jews and women. It’s a fast read, and that’s a good thing, because I could hardly put it down—I had to know what would happen next, whether Liba and Laya would be safe or not, and could either of the sisters fight fate and family to determine their own futures?

Death lives here. Death will always live here.

The writing and plot are pleasant, but this felt like a mostly character-driven story to me, and I loved the way those characters were brought to life. A substantial portion of the story revolves around their family’s beliefs and the ways they are treated—on a lesser note, the disdain cast their way by many other Jews due to their mother having converted to Judaism, and on a much larger scale, the torment that Jewish people have endured at the hands of many.

As I’m not Jewish, I obviously can’t speak from that perspective, but I can say that I thought their beliefs were depicted beautifully, and I loved learning more about Liba and her family’s customs. It broke my heart to see the struggles they faced, and during one scene near the end, I couldn’t stop crying because it had suddenly become so real and sad.

On the other hand, the representation I can speak on is the plus size rep, which I adored. Liba is plus-sized, and her self-doubt worried me at first—would this be another tragic tale of an overweight girl feeling worthless because of her size?—but I quickly realized that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, Rossner paints a realistic and familiar image of a young woman who frets over her size and feels inadequate for it, while her loved ones—including the man who pursues her—find her beautiful and wondrous.

Perhaps there are different breeds of men. What separates one from the other?

On a less tragic note, there are a few different romantic subplots here—the main being between Liba and Dovid, a local boy who she finds herself falling for despite her own self-doubt and reservations. While the development of their relationship definitely struggled with insta-love, Dovid was so genuinely pure and precious and lovable that I couldn’t help but root for them, anyways. The other romantic subplots in the story technically also are insta-love, but they have explanations behind them that I won’t spoil you for—I’ll just say that it’s only a minor flaw in the story.

Beyond the fantasy aspect, the romance, and the lovely representation, The Sisters of the Winter Wood is a story of family love, the mountains we will climb to ensure our loved ones’ safety, and the power of a people who are willing to fight for their beliefs and their survival, regardless of what the world throws at them. It is an absolutely stunning tale in at atmospheric setting that transported me right into the Kodari forest, and by the end, I didn’t want to leave. Rena Rossner is a natural, and I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of this gorgeous story and see for yourself. 4.5 stars!

Content warnings for anti-Semitism, minor body horror, abduction, body shaming, murder.

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Orbit for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have a lot of feelings about this book. Strange Grace has been one of my most anticipated 2018 releases all year—I love these dark, witchy fantasy stories, and as soon as I saw Tessa mention it on her twitter back at the start of the year, I wanted to pre-order it right then and there. All the build-up leading to finally reading this twisted little story is precisely why this review is so difficult for me to write.

They made this bargain with the devil: Every seven years their best boy is sent into the forest from sundown to sunrise, on the night of the Slaughter Moon. He will live or die on his own mettle, and for his sacrifice the devil blesses Three Graces.

First, let’s talk about some pros. This book makes for a fantastic fall read, especially if you’re looking for something involving witchcraft, dark magic, and those oldschool occult vibes with lots of nature spellwork, charms, bone magic, blood working, etc. The entire mood of this book felt to me like it could have been filmed on the set of the film The VVitch, is what I’m getting at here—and that’s a good thing. I adored the aesthetic, and loved most of the actual representation of the Grace witches’ magic—especially the fact that each witch performed different types of crafts, such as Mairwen’s bone and blood magic, while her mother preferred healing crafts and charms.

Later, when the sun fills the valley, a shadow stirs. It is a slinking thing, powerful and hungry. It lifts fingers of bone and root from the forest floor, cradling the tiny doll.

There’s also a creeping dread and terror to the entire forest that is executed phenomenally. We start with this explanation of why everyone is terrified of the woods even during the 7 years in between the Slaughter Moon rituals, and the way the woods call to Mairwen and the Grace witches before her makes it feel as though the forest is this thinking, sentient creature all on its own. I was immediately intrigued by the setting and was ecstatic when we finally got to explore it a bit further, learning about the creatures within and the secrets the woods have been hiding.

She wishes to step inside. Longs to explore, to discover the forest’s secrets. But her mother has said, again and again, Grace witches do not return from the forest. We all hear the call, eventually, and walk inside forever. My mother did, and hers before that. You were born with the call, baby bird, because of your daddy, and must resist.

On the negative side of things, however, the magic doesn’t feel explored enough—there are bits thrown in that rely on the reader having pre-existing knowledge, and I think a lot of readers will wonder why certain things are being done (like the blood magic, weaving bones into clothing, etc.). As it stands, it sometimes felt like it was being thrown in just for “witchy vibes” appeal (but take me with a grain of salt here, as I may just be taking things a bit too personally).

He misses her with a simple ache that wakes him up at night. He doesn’t know if he’s in love with her or if he wants to set her on fire.

The characters were also a source of internal conflict from start to finish: I loved them so much and wanted to protect them and see them all happy and safe, but there’s honestly not a ton of fleshing out from any of them. While we’re given basic motives and beliefs for each of our three main players, I felt like their emotions—especially regarding the romance—were shown from a distant, far-off perspective. The only character I ever felt like I was being given a genuine chance to connect with was Arthur, with his gender fluidity, struggles to thrive, and implied nonbinary identity. I loved getting inside of his head, even when he broke my heart with his own internalized homophobia and transphobia. Rhun and Mairwen, on the other hand, while both lovable, never felt real.

Underneath his spikes, Arthur wants nothing more than to be loved by these two people.

While it may sound like I was disappointed by quite a bit (and trust me, I was), the reason I didn’t hesitate to round my 3.5 up to a 4 is because of the absolutely precious polyamorous relationship that forms. There’s other queer rep in the story (such as a side f/f couple and implied bi/pansexuality from a few characters), but the spotlight shines on the relationship between Mairwen (implied bi/pan), Arthur (bi/pan, trans spectrum/implied enby), and Rhun (we know he’s queer, but I strongly feel that he is biromantic and homosexual). Each of these teens loves the other two so much they can hardly stand themselves, and given that polyamorous representation is so rare in books—especially in YA!—I was utterly delighted to watch them come to terms with the idea that they had enough love in their hearts for a trio instead of a duo.

Her heart has always belonged to the forest.

So, if you’ve stuck it out this far, you’re a winner in my book, because I think this is one of the messiest reviews I’ve ever written. I simply don’t know how to eloquently describe my feelings for this book, which simultaneously made me so happy and yet left me so let down. There is so much good at play here, but in so many ways, it could have been more. There’s so much time spent describing repetitive things (which doesn’t help with the poor pacing in the middle of the book) that could have benefited tremendously from being spent on character development or world-building.

My final point is this: this is quite likely one of the lowest 4-star ratings I have ever given, but it is still a 4-star read at the end of the day. I absolutely feel confident in recommending this title to people who enjoy dark fantasy, books including witchcraft, the occult, deals with devils, and anyone who wants to finally see some on-page polyamorous representation in their YA reads.

Content warnings for animal death, transphobia, homophobia, forced gender roles, child death, verbal abuse.

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Margaret K. McElderry for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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Buddy read with Kaleena!

We would have been overjoyed to have found this anthology, filled with characters with skin and hair and names more like ours, in our beloved libraries. It’s the book that was missing in our lives for far too long.

I have been so excited about this collection ever since I first heard about it. Ellen Oh is a wonderful woman (you may know her as one of the co-founders of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement!), and I knew that her co-editing efforts would lend to a perfectly wonderful anthology. I love retellings, but more than anything, I was obsessed with the idea of this collection being written singlehandedly by Asian authors, writing Asian stories. Honestly, this is the kind of diverse representation we need more of in the bookish world!

It’s hard to narrow down my favorites to just a few, but if I had to pick a top 3, it would go to:
Olivia’s Table by Alyssa Wong
The Crimson Cloak by Cindy Pon
Eyes Like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa

→ Forbidden Fruit — Roshani Chokshi ★★★★★ ←
They were beautiful in their fragility, disappearing as fast as a bloom of ice beneath sunlight.

What a stunning introduction to the collection! I’ve never read any of Roshani’s work before, but this made me immediately wish to do so. It’s the retelling of an old myth about Maria Makiling, a goddess associated with Mount Makiling in the Philippines, and her mortal lover. The writing felt so reminiscent of a classic, old myth or legend, in all the best ways, and I only wish it could have been longer!

Origin: Filipino

→ Olivia’s Table — Alyssa Wong ★★★★★ ←
“If you honor everything I’ve taught you, then I promise that I will never leave you.”

Alyssa Wong is probably my singular favorite short story author, and she always writes these gorgeous, haunting tales (typically with some horror-esque or death-related vibes, and often a queer protagonist, which this story features both of). This did not disappoint at all. It’s about a Chinese-American teen who takes over preparing the Yu Lan (Hungry Ghost Festival) meal at a hotel in Arizona, after her mother—who had spent many years holding the task—has passed away. It not only displays the importance of remembering and honoring your ancestors and culture, but it also offers a brutally honest look into how it feels to mourn a lost loved one. I cried through probably half of this story, and now I just want to go hug my mom, but kudos to Alyssa for breaking my heart in the sweetest possible way, as usual.

Origin: Chinese

→ Steel Skin — Lori M. Lee ★★★☆☆ ←
Yer’s father was an android.

This sci-fi piece is a retelling of a children’s story, and in this rendition, Yer is a young girl who believes her father has been replaced by a coldhearted, emotionless android. I didn’t have any complaints about the story, but I wasn’t particularly sucked in, either—it was an interesting concept, but I thought the ending was kind of predictable, and it isn’t a story that I think will stick with me in any way.

Origin: Hmong

→ Still Star-Crossed — Sona Charaipotra ★★★☆☆ ←
“You don’t know how to choose until you’re right there, on the precipice, giving you’re your everything for something that may be real or may be a shadow, a ghost you’re chasing.”

Unfortunately, this piece didn’t work well for me, either. It’s a very loose retelling, and depicts a young woman who’s trying to learn how to press her parents’ boundaries through partying and letting loose, when she meets a young man who swears he knows her, though she can’t fathom why. There isn’t much I can say without spoiling the ending, but this was an odd story with an ending that I honestly found slightly disturbing (and not in a good way). I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I enjoyed it much, either.

Origin: Punjabi

→ The Counting of Vermillion Beads — Aliette De Bodard ★★★☆☆ ←
But nothing gets through the wall. Not leaves, not birds, not girls—not the sister of her heart, the one who’s always had enough fire for both of them, dragging her into scrapes and trouble as if there were no other way to live.

Two young women have been taken to live in the Emperor’s Palace, working as accountants, but the Palace is surrounded by a massive wall that nobody can overcome, and they desperately want to go home to their families. I loved the bond between these two sisters, but the story itself didn’t hold a lot of interest for me. I thought it was a little bit jumpy and would have benefited from being about twice as long and having room for more explanation of what was happening to the girls.

Origin: Vietnamese

→ The Land of the Morning Calm — E. C. Myers ★★★★★ ←
I don’t believe in ghosts in the real world, but that’s the joy of the Three Kingdoms.

This story was so sweet, and sad, and precious. Sun’s mother passed away when she was 11 years old, and her biggest tie to her mother’s life is The Land of the Morning Calm, an MMORPG, which is scheduled to be shut down in just over a week. Sun revisits the game and finds a familiar spirit trapped therein. Not only is it a sweet reunion story, and a gorgeously modernized folklore retelling, but it also presented an interesting view into both sides of a popular debate: video games can be bonding experiences and create wonderful memories for families who play together, but all hobbies have to be kept in moderation, as we see through Sun’s lamenting over the times she didn’t get to spend with her parents because of their gaming habits.

Origin: Korean

→ The Smile — Aisha Saeed ★★★★★ ←
Belonging is not love. It never was.

This reads so beautifully like old folklore, with a brilliant young dancer who has found herself trapped in an unhappy relationship with a jealous prince. The depiction of the courtesan was so brave and empowering, and there was an incredibly authentic feeling in the darkness of the tale as she was forced to choose between her freedom or her life.

Origin: South Asian

→ Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers — Preeti Chhibber ★★★☆☆ ←
Let the gods have their battles of good and evil. We were here to dance.

This installment was fun in that it paralleled the original story and the retelling, one piece at a time; on the one hand, we had the infamous Hindu legend of the battle between Durga and Mahishasura, while on the other, we had a story of three young girls celebrating Navaratri and seeking revenge on a rude boy from their community. I enjoyed how heavily inspired the story clearly was by the legend, and I liked how heavy-handed the Hindu references were (I had to look some of them up, admittedly, but it was a great opportunity to learn more about the religion and celebration). Unfortunately, my complaint is just that the writing felt so young—I think this story would’ve been better suited as middle grade than YA. It almost felt like a modern parable, which isn’t what I expected.

Origin: Gujarati

→ Nothing into All — Renée Ahdieh ★★★★☆ ←
But in truth the brother and sister were searching for something else entirely. Something they’d sworn to keep secret. Something they’d caught sight of only once, eight years ago: Goblins.

It’s no secret that I love stories relating to all manner of feyfolk, including coldhearted, greedy little goblins, so I knew I would like this one. I strongly believe whimsical fantasy is where Renee’s writing niche is, and I felt so sucked into this retelling of these siblings seeking goblins—one for simple magic in her life, the other for gold.

Origin: Korean

→ Spear Carrier — Rahul Kanakia ★☆☆☆☆ ←
But a hero wouldn’t be so lonely and so afraid. A hero wouldn’t shout for help, and then, hearing only silence, go back to his trench and cry.

I genuinely hoped that I would not be 1-starring a single story in this collection, but this was awful. It’s about a kid who dreams his whole life of becoming a hero, so when a god randomly appears and asks him to join in some celestial warfare, he agrees without knowing what he’s signing up for. The stream-of-consciousness writing is not well done, the narrator comes across as very juvenile, and there are some downright insensitive quips about people who die for others or for the furthering of knowledge and science.

Origin: South Asian

→ Code of Honor — Melissa de la Cruz ★☆☆☆☆ ←
I almost murdered a girl yesterday. Literally.

I recently read a short story by this author that I adored, so I hoped I would love this, too, but this was definitely not my cup of tea. It’s hard to root for a narrator who feels this much like a mid-2000s Mary Sue protagonist, much less when she’s busy slaughtering poor baby animals to calm herself down from her “rages”. This story also just felt so weird and out of place to me, and after I learned that this story apparently ties into the author’s Blue Bloods series, it felt too self-serving for me to give it much merit.

Origin: Filipino

→ Bullet, Butterfly — Elsie Chapman ★★★★★ ←
The commanders keep telling us we’re so close to finishing the way, that it’s almost the end—but whose end?

This story was breathtakingly beautiful, and so sad. A retelling of “The Butterfly Lovers”, a two-thousand-year-old Chinese legend of star-crossed lovers, it depicts a China in which war has ravaged everyone, forcing young women to work in factories creating weapons for young men to utilize. When Liang is awaiting his station, he dresses as a girl to visit the factory, and falls in love with a young woman therein. The writing in this piece is so powerful, and I loved every word of it.

Origin: Chinese

→ Daughter of the Sun — Shveta Thakrar ★★★★★ ←
Savitri Mehta’s parents had named her for light.

I enjoyed this story so much, as it portrays a young woman—born with the light of the sun in her chest—who seeks a companion, finding it in a boy full of moonglow—a boy who’s been doomed to die in one year. This is such a gorgeous story, but more than anything, I loved the fact that, despite having been inspired by a mix of two stories instead of one, I could absolutely feel the resemblance to the Mahabharata. My favorite stories in this collection have mostly been the ones that felt like folklore to me, and this one is a shining example of that.

Origin: South Asian

→ The Crimson Cloak — Cindy Pon ★★★★★ ←
All the storytellers get it wrong.

I have never read Cindy Pon’s work before, but after this story, I absolutely must, because this was astoundingly beautiful. In the original story of “The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl”, despite the Weaver Girl being a goddess, she is given no real autonomy or dialogue; in Cindy Pon’s retelling, however, she is the one who makes the first move, who plays her charms, who gets her way. It is so empowering and sweet, and the bits regarding how fast her mortal loved ones’ lives flash before her eyes was tremendously poignant. Throughout the story, I kept thinking about how much I would adore a full novel or even novella extension of this little masterpiece.

Origin: Chinese

→ Eyes Like Candlelight — Julie Kagawa ★★★★★ ←
Takeo never saw the fox again. But sometimes, on warm evenings when he was outside, he could almost imagine he was being watched.

Julie Kagawa is another author in this collection whose work had been on my TBR for a while, so I was particularly excited about this story, and it definitely did not disappoint. I’ve always loved Japanese lore and stories about kitsune in particular, and I thought this piece had such a sweet, sad little twist to it. I especially loved the ending; even though it was sad, it went above and beyond to display the depth of emotions that Japan’s most infamous trickster spirits are capable of. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to scurry off and read Julie’s entire bibliography.

Origin: Japanese

FINAL AVERAGE RATING: 3.87/5
Normally, I’d round this up to a solid 4/5, but honestly, there are so many gems and this collection feels so important that I didn’t hesitate to give this 5 stars. ♥

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Greenwillow Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!

This is a tough review to write. Let me go ahead and get this out there: I hate reading classics. I used to be really afraid to admit that, but I've accepted the inevitable judgment and have to be honest about it now. With very few exceptions, I do not enjoy them, and I find them to be boring and hard to trudge through.

Tolkien, however, was a writer who I have said many times I consider to be one of the single most influential and imaginative artists in all of literary history. He created a world that was so fleshed out, and impacted the world so strongly, I am truly convinced that the fantasy books we read today would be vastly different without his efforts having paved the way for so many creators. For that aspect alone, this book is worth 5 beaming, shining, solid stars.

On the other hand, it took me five tries to finish this damn book. I have been trying to read it my entire adult and teen life, and honestly thought I would DNF it again this time. While it's a gorgeous world full of lovable, interesting characters and creatures, it's an absolute chore to get through. If this were a story that had been published within the last decade or two, and hadn't been so damn creative for its time, this would probably be a 2-star review for how utterly bored I was during most of it.

All of that said and done, I have to acknowledge the previous gushing I offered up on Tolkien as a creator, as well as the fact that I already know I hate reading classics, and my boredom was just as much my own fault as anyone else's... so, I'm going to set this at 4 stars. I know my rating system for this review may not make a lot of sense to some of my friends and followers, but after a few days of deliberating, it's the decision I felt most comfortable with.

You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!

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Original pre-review:
This will be my fifth time starting this book, and I am determined to finally finish it, with the help of my amazing buddy reading partner, Terry!