simmer_paws's review
5.0
4.5/5 Stars
Rep : Plus Sized, POC, & Sapphic
18+
I was given this ARC from the author for an honest review of this novella, The Magic Thief. Very minor spoilers ahead
This novella was wonderful and if you to get a taste for A.K Mulford’s writing style this would be a great place to start as it gets right into everything. This book has girl power, a sapphic relationship, friendship, a plus sized main character, and a very interesting magic system.
This book is perfect for fans of high fantasy adventures featuring a person of color, sapphic, plus sized leading woman with a dash of romance and spice.
Spoilers below for some of the plot & relationships
I loved seeing the relationship between Valkiri and Teshi, who only became friends because they had to work together and the dynamic was amazing with the occasional bickering mixed in with true friendship. I found the relationship between Respyn and Valkiri very interesting because they very clearly still care for each other but you see them both fighting the fact there is this big divide since Valkiri had stolen Respyn’s magic, and how their relationship progresses doesn’t feel forced or feel like its ignoring this very clear problem they both are facing.
Rep : Plus Sized, POC, & Sapphic
18+
I was given this ARC from the author for an honest review of this novella, The Magic Thief. Very minor spoilers ahead
This novella was wonderful and if you to get a taste for A.K Mulford’s writing style this would be a great place to start as it gets right into everything. This book has girl power, a sapphic relationship, friendship, a plus sized main character, and a very interesting magic system.
This book is perfect for fans of high fantasy adventures featuring a person of color, sapphic, plus sized leading woman with a dash of romance and spice.
Spoilers below for some of the plot & relationships
Spoiler
Within the world we learn how magic is something that isn’t always known about and is transferred when a person dies but it can also be stolen after a person dies. Our main character Valkiri, “works” for a man who is a collector of magic, her magic allows her to be able to withdraw the magic from a person normally right around or after their death and transfer it to her master's staff. She has a partner, Teshi who is a Goblin, who works with her in collecting the magic for their master, a powerful Sorcerer, Gormar Montlyn. A tiny bit later we meet Respyn, who Valkiri and Teshi had previously met and stole her magic from thinking she was going to die. But before Valkiri had stolen Respyn’s magic, they had a short relationship together and Valkiri even knowing Respyn was going to die hadn’t warned her at all. Respyn, clearly angry about her stolen magic, searches for Valkiri to force her to return magic. Together, Valkiri, Respyn, and Teshi, go on a quest to retrieve Respyn’s magic from Gormar and possibly kill him at the same time freeing Valkiri and Teshi from him.I loved seeing the relationship between Valkiri and Teshi, who only became friends because they had to work together and the dynamic was amazing with the occasional bickering mixed in with true friendship. I found the relationship between Respyn and Valkiri very interesting because they very clearly still care for each other but you see them both fighting the fact there is this big divide since Valkiri had stolen Respyn’s magic, and how their relationship progresses doesn’t feel forced or feel like its ignoring this very clear problem they both are facing.
Spoiler
lunarbookwyrm's review
5.0
Fortunate to get an ARC for an Honest Review for The Tide That Binds us by Alexis Maness. Omg! It was a wild emotional ride for me. I loved it for what the Novella is because it was a holographic mermaid dream come true. It was short, simple, and I gave it a five-star because I was very invested with the story, and omg! The AESTHETICS we're gorgeous! Never have I ever read a strong female lead with seafoam green hair.
And omg yes! This novella reminded me how much I love them mermaids!
It has:
Romance is sweet and HEA!
Bad ass Heroine, QUEEN! - Love, love, love Celestia
Mermaids! Duh!
LGBT+ rep <3
Plus size rep too :D
I just got mad bec some piece of poop tried eff up my girl Celestia! I will protect this woman!
This is my first sapphic romance novel and it just warms my heart! If you want to chill and solve a murder mystery, with mermaids, and fall in love. Then this check it out!
And omg yes! This novella reminded me how much I love them mermaids!
It has:
Romance is sweet and HEA!
Bad ass Heroine, QUEEN! - Love, love, love Celestia
Mermaids! Duh!
LGBT+ rep <3
Plus size rep too :D
I just got mad bec some piece of poop tried eff up my girl Celestia! I will protect this woman!
This is my first sapphic romance novel and it just warms my heart! If you want to chill and solve a murder mystery, with mermaids, and fall in love. Then this check it out!
cover2covertx's review
5.0
I was so excited to receive an ARC for one of the novellas in this anthology (The Magic Thief by AK Mulford) and it was all I needed to be immediately hooked. I'm a huge fantasy reader and I love the genre, but it's hard to find strong, independent female characters. Add to that plus size characters who take charge of their own story and sprinkle in romance? I'm sold. This anthology is quickly becoming one of my favorite fantasy stories on my book shelf and now I've discovered a whole other list of fantasy authors to start reading!
makbrown's review
5.0
I don’t usually read anthology books. The lack of a continuous story throws me out of my reading zone. However, I had to read this one for two reasons.
1. It’s about plus size females in fantasy worlds. As a plus size female, I had to support this book.
2. It has a story by AK Mulford in it. I would literally read anything she writes. It’s because of her that I even knew about this book.
For these reasons, I had to buy this book!
I did get an ARC of AK Milford’s story. This is my honest review.
1. It’s about plus size females in fantasy worlds. As a plus size female, I had to support this book.
2. It has a story by AK Mulford in it. I would literally read anything she writes. It’s because of her that I even knew about this book.
For these reasons, I had to buy this book!
I did get an ARC of AK Milford’s story. This is my honest review.
forestatdawn_reads's review
5.0
I received an advanced reader’s copy of A.K. “The Magic Thief” which is short fantasy sapphic romance. I really appreciated how Valkiri was a plus size main character because a lot of the female protagonists out in the fiction world are lacking in diversity. That is one thing I love about Aly is her ability to write a wide range of characters that are extremely lovable and realistic. Way to go A.K! Another hot out of the park!
thatfabchick's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
zea_d_writing's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
3.5 ⭐️ for the anthology as a whole.
As a whole, this anthology is decent. I absolutely love the overarching premise of this anthology: strong, powerful, plus size women protagonists in fantasy worlds. Something rarely seen and celebrated in the genre, and almost never done well.
Some of these stories are just okay, some are really not good at all, but a few are truly wonderful.
Below are my thoughts on each story as individual pieces but all combined, I’d recommend this anthology.
Curves and Magic Reviews:
#1: Poppy and the Four Kingdoms by EM Howell
3.5⭐️
A generally enjoyable fantasy romance with a sassy, plus sized human MC and a fae assassin love interest. The writing was well done and the characters were interesting. It felt a bit rushed in a novella format and would have benefited from being fully fleshed out as a novel. The MC also felt like a bit of a Mary Sue; she doesn’t react to fear, can ride a horse better than anyone, shoot a bow like a pro, was given perfect advice by family and friends that always allowed her to make the perfect decisions when needed, she’s witty and sassy and attractive. It wasn’t a big issue and wasn’t necessarily annoying, it was just noticeable as the character developed.
#2: Lillie of the Forest by Rae Hendricks
2.5⭐️
This novella started out strong with all of the signature characteristics of a classic fairy tale. Well written and edited, it was engaging from the start. It was also immediately obvious (in a good way) that this would be a Beauty and the Beast retelling, which I was excited about.
But, just as the story really got started with the MC leaving home to search for her Papa, the quality of the story abruptly plummeted into poorly written Fanfiction territory. The almost lyrical, classic fairy tale vibes disappeared entirely. The writing was abruptly filled with typos and other mistakes. And instead of simply reimagining a classic story, it became tropey and a bit confused in its direction. There were honestly several times where I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the cliches used or even the undeveloped and/or unsupported jumps in plot or character’s knowledge that the story often relied upon to move forward.
If the tropey romance was the ultimate goal of the story, it would have benefited from having that be the promised goal of the story from the beginning. But as it is currently written, it feels like two very different but related stories mashed together.
I was also not a fan of the fact that this story “ends” on a ‘To Be Continued…’ instead of giving us an actual ending.
#3: The Magic Thief by AK Mulford
4⭐️
This story is definitely a highlight of the anthology. Well written, interesting characters, and a decent plot. It was a fun, easy read.
#4: House of Ember by Bobbi Jo Green
2.5⭐️
This story was incredibly short and painfully straightforward. There was nearly no conflict, no stakes, and what little obstacles there were for the MC to overcome, were overcome with ease. It read more like wish fulfillment rather than an interesting story. The MC wished for magic, immediately got magic, was satisfied with said magic, and ended up getting everything she wanted with one exception. That exception being the love interest. There was no build up to their relationship. No foundation. It felt shoe horned in.
All of these elements put together made for a rather bland and somewhat boring story without enough substance to get attached to.
#5: The Tide That Binds Us by Alexis C Maness
3.5⭐️
A well written and interesting romance. A sapphic mermaid romance with the fated mates trope. I generally liked the characters and the romance dynamic. It was cute and sweet and hit the beats of this kind of story just right. I did, however, find the plot to be incredibly predictable and felt like everything was overcome far too easily; to the point that I had a hard time being invested in in the story beyond the character interactions. If the stakes had been higher, if the plot had twists or more depth, and if the characters had actually struggled to achieve their goals…this would have been an excellent story. As it is, it’s a good story.
#6: Wolf Kind: A Royal Demons Prequel by R.H. Nightingale
2.5⭐️
I found the plot of this story generally intriguing and I liked the character interactions. I feel like this story had so much potential with it’s worldbuilding, discussion on abusive and manipulative relationships, and discovering ones path. There were a lot of intriguing ideas here and because of that, it definitely kept my interest up.
However, the writing quality detracted from this story greatly.
While there were the usual structure and grammatical errors throughout the text, those honestly weren’t the biggest issue. The biggest detractors were the repetitive descriptions and the consistent misuse of various words throughout the story. There are several instances where a word is used incorrectly in a very obvious way, and it took me out of the story every time.
I also felt like the writing quality matched that of a bad fanfic. The MC’s emotions swung wildly and without explanation. There were abrupt leaps in logic and knowledge that were unsupported yet were key to moving the plot forward. Plot points often felt jarring due to not being built up in text. There was a lot of telling with very little showing.
The story also feels incomplete, even for a short story that is obviously supposed to be part of a larger world the author has written. There are promises given in the story, major plot points focused on, that are discarded and never fulfilled or mentioned again. It gives the story a very incomplete, unfinished feel.
#7: Dissasemblance by R.J. Lloyd
4⭐️
Solid writing with an interesting MC and a compelling plot.
There were just a couple of spelling errors and one continuity error that bothered me, but they didn’t detract from the story at all. It was well written, well paced, the voice was clear, and the plot was interesting.
Definitely another highlight in this anthology and it’s certainly made me curious about the books this short story/excerpt is attached to.
#8: The Bargain by Mary Warren
4⭐️
Loved this story and easily my 2nd favorite story in the anthology. Very well written with a clear, consistent narrator voice. A strong, powerful plus sized MC. A well developed plot. And honestly probably one of the best soulmate stories I’ve read. It came off as sweet and authentic as opposed to cheesy like most with the soulmate trope do.
I also greatly preferred this take on the fae romance dynamic. Which is also not exactly my favorite trope but this story reinvents that dynamic and delivers it in a way that felt like a breath of fresh air.
This story was short and sweet and delivered exactly what it intended.
#9: The Shadow and The Rose by Chandra Trulove Fey
3⭐️
The writing in this story felt a bit messy and, at times, unedited. For example, in the beginning of chapter two the MC is sitting down for her “light morning meal” when customers to the shop come in “just as she was about to have dinner”.
The story itself was okay. Fairly standard fantasy. But I did find myself fairly bored and struggling to get through it.
#10: Deadly Sweet Rolls by Jesse M. Harvey
4.5⭐️
This was my favorite story of the anthology. Hands down. It has classic fantasy vibes and setting and general plot but twists with strong fairy tale elements weaved throughout but throws the genre a twist by having the MC be a plus sized, middle aged woman who is definitely not the standard fantasy protagonist type. Very professionally written. Fantastic plot, characters, voice and tone, pacing, and worldbuilding. Overall really a fantastic read. I’d love to read more by this author.
As a whole, this anthology is decent. I absolutely love the overarching premise of this anthology: strong, powerful, plus size women protagonists in fantasy worlds. Something rarely seen and celebrated in the genre, and almost never done well.
Some of these stories are just okay, some are really not good at all, but a few are truly wonderful.
Below are my thoughts on each story as individual pieces but all combined, I’d recommend this anthology.
Curves and Magic Reviews:
#1: Poppy and the Four Kingdoms by EM Howell
3.5⭐️
A generally enjoyable fantasy romance with a sassy, plus sized human MC and a fae assassin love interest. The writing was well done and the characters were interesting. It felt a bit rushed in a novella format and would have benefited from being fully fleshed out as a novel. The MC also felt like a bit of a Mary Sue; she doesn’t react to fear, can ride a horse better than anyone, shoot a bow like a pro, was given perfect advice by family and friends that always allowed her to make the perfect decisions when needed, she’s witty and sassy and attractive. It wasn’t a big issue and wasn’t necessarily annoying, it was just noticeable as the character developed.
#2: Lillie of the Forest by Rae Hendricks
2.5⭐️
This novella started out strong with all of the signature characteristics of a classic fairy tale. Well written and edited, it was engaging from the start. It was also immediately obvious (in a good way) that this would be a Beauty and the Beast retelling, which I was excited about.
But, just as the story really got started with the MC leaving home to search for her Papa, the quality of the story abruptly plummeted into poorly written Fanfiction territory. The almost lyrical, classic fairy tale vibes disappeared entirely. The writing was abruptly filled with typos and other mistakes. And instead of simply reimagining a classic story, it became tropey and a bit confused in its direction. There were honestly several times where I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the cliches used or even the undeveloped and/or unsupported jumps in plot or character’s knowledge that the story often relied upon to move forward.
If the tropey romance was the ultimate goal of the story, it would have benefited from having that be the promised goal of the story from the beginning. But as it is currently written, it feels like two very different but related stories mashed together.
I was also not a fan of the fact that this story “ends” on a ‘To Be Continued…’ instead of giving us an actual ending.
#3: The Magic Thief by AK Mulford
4⭐️
This story is definitely a highlight of the anthology. Well written, interesting characters, and a decent plot. It was a fun, easy read.
#4: House of Ember by Bobbi Jo Green
2.5⭐️
This story was incredibly short and painfully straightforward. There was nearly no conflict, no stakes, and what little obstacles there were for the MC to overcome, were overcome with ease. It read more like wish fulfillment rather than an interesting story. The MC wished for magic, immediately got magic, was satisfied with said magic, and ended up getting everything she wanted with one exception. That exception being the love interest. There was no build up to their relationship. No foundation. It felt shoe horned in.
All of these elements put together made for a rather bland and somewhat boring story without enough substance to get attached to.
#5: The Tide That Binds Us by Alexis C Maness
3.5⭐️
A well written and interesting romance. A sapphic mermaid romance with the fated mates trope. I generally liked the characters and the romance dynamic. It was cute and sweet and hit the beats of this kind of story just right. I did, however, find the plot to be incredibly predictable and felt like everything was overcome far too easily; to the point that I had a hard time being invested in in the story beyond the character interactions. If the stakes had been higher, if the plot had twists or more depth, and if the characters had actually struggled to achieve their goals…this would have been an excellent story. As it is, it’s a good story.
#6: Wolf Kind: A Royal Demons Prequel by R.H. Nightingale
2.5⭐️
I found the plot of this story generally intriguing and I liked the character interactions. I feel like this story had so much potential with it’s worldbuilding, discussion on abusive and manipulative relationships, and discovering ones path. There were a lot of intriguing ideas here and because of that, it definitely kept my interest up.
However, the writing quality detracted from this story greatly.
While there were the usual structure and grammatical errors throughout the text, those honestly weren’t the biggest issue. The biggest detractors were the repetitive descriptions and the consistent misuse of various words throughout the story. There are several instances where a word is used incorrectly in a very obvious way, and it took me out of the story every time.
I also felt like the writing quality matched that of a bad fanfic. The MC’s emotions swung wildly and without explanation. There were abrupt leaps in logic and knowledge that were unsupported yet were key to moving the plot forward. Plot points often felt jarring due to not being built up in text. There was a lot of telling with very little showing.
The story also feels incomplete, even for a short story that is obviously supposed to be part of a larger world the author has written. There are promises given in the story, major plot points focused on, that are discarded and never fulfilled or mentioned again. It gives the story a very incomplete, unfinished feel.
#7: Dissasemblance by R.J. Lloyd
4⭐️
Solid writing with an interesting MC and a compelling plot.
There were just a couple of spelling errors and one continuity error that bothered me, but they didn’t detract from the story at all. It was well written, well paced, the voice was clear, and the plot was interesting.
Definitely another highlight in this anthology and it’s certainly made me curious about the books this short story/excerpt is attached to.
#8: The Bargain by Mary Warren
4⭐️
Loved this story and easily my 2nd favorite story in the anthology. Very well written with a clear, consistent narrator voice. A strong, powerful plus sized MC. A well developed plot. And honestly probably one of the best soulmate stories I’ve read. It came off as sweet and authentic as opposed to cheesy like most with the soulmate trope do.
I also greatly preferred this take on the fae romance dynamic. Which is also not exactly my favorite trope but this story reinvents that dynamic and delivers it in a way that felt like a breath of fresh air.
This story was short and sweet and delivered exactly what it intended.
#9: The Shadow and The Rose by Chandra Trulove Fey
3⭐️
The writing in this story felt a bit messy and, at times, unedited. For example, in the beginning of chapter two the MC is sitting down for her “light morning meal” when customers to the shop come in “just as she was about to have dinner”.
The story itself was okay. Fairly standard fantasy. But I did find myself fairly bored and struggling to get through it.
#10: Deadly Sweet Rolls by Jesse M. Harvey
4.5⭐️
This was my favorite story of the anthology. Hands down. It has classic fantasy vibes and setting and general plot but twists with strong fairy tale elements weaved throughout but throws the genre a twist by having the MC be a plus sized, middle aged woman who is definitely not the standard fantasy protagonist type. Very professionally written. Fantastic plot, characters, voice and tone, pacing, and worldbuilding. Overall really a fantastic read. I’d love to read more by this author.
ms_lancepants's review
5.0
I was fortunate to receive an ARC for one of the stories featured in this book “The Magic Thief” by AK Mulford. The story follows an unlikely pair (that really couldn’t be a more perfect pairing) Valkiri and Teshi. They are branded and forced to do the bidding of an evil sorcerer despite their attempts to flee… until they are reunited with a past flame of Valkiri’s, then everything shifts. The story is full of adventure and spice too! I appreciate that finally there is a fantasy story where the main character is plus size. Representation matters, so I’m excited to read the other stories when this is released and hopefully AK Mulford will write a series all about these characters in the future.
mk_loisirs's review
4.0
I was lucky to be sent an ARC for The Magic Thief by AK Mulford - a story which is included in this anthology. If Mulford’s work is but a taste of what the other authors came up with the anthology will be superb.
AK Mulford crafts such a highly entertaining story that develops well in the short format. The characters feel full, despite us not knowing as much about them as we would like! (Give us a full story, AK! The prequel, what happens next?! Anything!!)
The story itself is wonderful if only for the fact it represents real issues curvy women face on a daily basis. The representation and diversity is appreciated!
Valkiri, Teshi and Respyn are equally fun characters in their own right.
Teshi is perhaps my favorite only because she reminds me of some of Nott from Crit Role. Her spunky, quick witted attitude is so fun to read!
I won’t go too much into the plot as to not spoil it but -
Valkiri (fae) is able to steal people’s magic. She and Teshi (goblin) work for a powerful sorcerer to collect magic he seems worthy. Their gig, despite being essentially indentured labor, goes “well” until they run into a mark that…well didn’t actually die. Respyn wants her magic back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Will Valkiri & Teshi help her go against the sorcerer? And will Respyn take more than her magic but a heart too?
AK Mulford crafts such a highly entertaining story that develops well in the short format. The characters feel full, despite us not knowing as much about them as we would like! (Give us a full story, AK! The prequel, what happens next?! Anything!!)
The story itself is wonderful if only for the fact it represents real issues curvy women face on a daily basis. The representation and diversity is appreciated!
Valkiri, Teshi and Respyn are equally fun characters in their own right.
Teshi is perhaps my favorite only because she reminds me of some of Nott from Crit Role. Her spunky, quick witted attitude is so fun to read!
I won’t go too much into the plot as to not spoil it but -
Valkiri (fae) is able to steal people’s magic. She and Teshi (goblin) work for a powerful sorcerer to collect magic he seems worthy. Their gig, despite being essentially indentured labor, goes “well” until they run into a mark that…well didn’t actually die. Respyn wants her magic back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Will Valkiri & Teshi help her go against the sorcerer? And will Respyn take more than her magic but a heart too?