book_cryptid's review
3.5
i really enjoyed the experience of reading these stories, the writing style was really cool and the stories were very interesting as well. of course there were some i liked more, some less, but overall they were pretty good.
where am i going with this? no clue. why am i giving this three stars? no idea either. good book. read.
where am i going with this? no clue. why am i giving this three stars? no idea either. good book. read.
m_fhowe's review
2.0
This book was not an easy read. These stories are well crafted and good reads but the subject matter can be overwhelming. The two stars are for the writing because Balaskovits is a talented writer. I wanted to abandon the book but didn't because the writing sucked me in. The collection as a whole felt unsatisfying but still worth picking up if you can handle darker subject matter.
maleficentknits's review
4.0
Original ideas reworking faerie tales of some strong, some twisted, several disturbing female characters. I wouldn't mind keeping a copy of this anthology in my collection.
therestricktedsection's review
3.0
These are not the typical fairy tales you’ve come to know and love. They much more reflect the original stories written by the brothers Grimm than the Disney versions you grew up with. Each tale is quite dark and twisted, a concept I have always appreciated in theory but it seems am not the biggest fan of in practice. I think it’s that I’m just too soft-hearted and weak-stomached to appreciate this book for all it is. I felt queasy during almost every story of the book, especially during the parts where animals were killed (I’m a vegan and a very sympathetic/empathetic person so descriptions of animals being killed is a bit too much for me. There’s an entire story that basically centers around meat which was extremely difficult for me to get through.)
None of this is to say that this is a bad collection, in fact it’s quite the opposite. A.A. Balaskovits certainly knows how to craft a story. She weaves sentences together in such a way that you don’t fully realize the impact the words you’re reading are going to have on you until you reach the end and find yourself gasping. Even though the subject matter was too much for me, I enjoyed the reading experience because Balaskovits’ writing was so enjoyable. I found myself unable to put the book down, upset stomach or not, because the way Balaskovits has written the stories made me want to continue.
The main draw of this book for me was that it screamed feminist, which it definitely is. The summary of the collection states “These unlucky girls, struggling against a society that all too often oppresses them, are forced to navigate strange worlds as they try to survive.” and the stories show various women fighting back against their oppressors in various ways and Balaskovits makes no claim stating that one way of fighting is inherently better than another, which I really appreciated. I also appreciated that female/female relationships were portrayed here, as LGBTQIA+ themes are rarely present in fantasy and fairy tale worlds.
Overall, I’d recommend this book if you are someone who enjoys feminism and stories about strong women. If you’re a fan of the original fairy tales written by the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Andersen or have read and enjoyed Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, I think you’d really enjoy this collection.
None of this is to say that this is a bad collection, in fact it’s quite the opposite. A.A. Balaskovits certainly knows how to craft a story. She weaves sentences together in such a way that you don’t fully realize the impact the words you’re reading are going to have on you until you reach the end and find yourself gasping. Even though the subject matter was too much for me, I enjoyed the reading experience because Balaskovits’ writing was so enjoyable. I found myself unable to put the book down, upset stomach or not, because the way Balaskovits has written the stories made me want to continue.
The main draw of this book for me was that it screamed feminist, which it definitely is. The summary of the collection states “These unlucky girls, struggling against a society that all too often oppresses them, are forced to navigate strange worlds as they try to survive.” and the stories show various women fighting back against their oppressors in various ways and Balaskovits makes no claim stating that one way of fighting is inherently better than another, which I really appreciated. I also appreciated that female/female relationships were portrayed here, as LGBTQIA+ themes are rarely present in fantasy and fairy tale worlds.
Overall, I’d recommend this book if you are someone who enjoys feminism and stories about strong women. If you’re a fan of the original fairy tales written by the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Andersen or have read and enjoyed Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, I think you’d really enjoy this collection.
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