OuaT short story collection reading FTW! These two count towards myths and/or folklore and/or fantasy, take your pick.

This is the second-latest (as of this writing) magazine instalment of the Diemers’ Project Unicorn. It’s their best yet! I /loved/ these stories and couldn’t pick you a favourite if you forced me to. They were all phenomenal. These stories all take on existing myths (something the Diemers have a strong record with) from various cultures. So far, the Diemers have stuck fairly close to western myths and fairytales in their retellings, but this sees them branch out into a few other cultures as well.

There’s “A Myth of Ashes” which cleverly combines Cinderella with an even older myth, but I don’t want to spoil it for you. You’ll probably pick up on it quite quickly when you start reading, but I think it’s the more powerful because of that. There’s “When Thou Wakest” which is as much scifi as it is fantasy and a strong take on origin myths in general. There’s “Even in Another Time” which I wished tied the storylines a little more tightly together because I would have loved it even more. There’s “Phasma” which it would not surprise me in the least to learn it was inspired at least partially by Tam Lin. There’s “True if by Sea” which is their first venture into a trans* story and may be one of my favourites for the sheer amount of hope and love in it. There’s “Speak of the Devil” which is a darker tale, a poem rather, about the Jersey Devil. It’s not at all what you might expect. It’s also easily the darkest of the stories in the volume and it feels a tad out of place because of that, but it’s still a good tale.

There are more tales and most of these are freely available on their website if you want to try them before you buy, but they’re worth every penny. I loved this little collection and I look forward to their next works!

This is the latest (as of this writing) magazine instalment of the Diemers’ Project Unicorn, and it follows up the quality that they delivered in ‘Myth, Magic and Glitter’. Some of these stories see the return of an issue I had with earlier volumes in that the stories don’t feel finished. For example ‘Aphrodite Has a Daughter’ is over before its plot even has a chance to start properly. This makes sense when you know it’s an introduction to a novel-to-be (as I did), but might make a reader feel cheated if they didn’t know. Sometimes I felt like the stories could have benefitted from a little more length to introduce elements more strongly, such as in ‘Flower Constancy’ where the ending felt a little too abrupt.

Largely, these stories weren’t what I was expecting and that probably does bias me a little because it means I never enjoyed this as much as I was hoping I would. It also means every story surprised me, though, because none of these stories ever went where I was expecting them to go. I loved that. I enjoyed these. It’s an odd mixture of the quality of ‘Myth, Magic and Glitter’ with some of the lack-of-polish from the first few volumes.

My favourite is probably either ‘Solitary Birds’ by Jennifer or ‘Unwanted Things’ by Sarah, with a close third runner-up being ‘The Bee Telling’ (again by Sarah). These were the stand-out pieces for me. ‘Solitary Birds’ was beautiful. It ended at just the right spot for me to want to shout “But you can’t end it there! The story’s not over yet!” except that I /know/ that’s not true. It’s a perfect ending spot for a short story. And it doesn’t spell everything out and the descriptions of Emerald are wonderful and the communication barrier… It was lovely. ‘Unwanted Things’ manages to carry a strong environmental message as well as everything else. I quite liked these fairies (well, this fairy) and I /loved/ the concept! And ‘The Bee Telling’ is so sad. But I do so want to learn more about this world and the philosophies behind bee telling.

Lovely collection, as always.

Look! A not-OuaT read! :O

Kitty Bennet’s Diary by Anna Elliott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer note: Anna is a friend. I have friendship-bias, but she’s simply an amazing storyteller. *heart* Kitty’s diary is the third in a series, but it’s perfectly possible to read it on its own. You’ll be a bit spoiled for the first two and you’ll miss out on the start of Kitty’s character arc, but it functions perfectly well as a stand-alone book. (I dare bet you don’t even have to have read Jane Austen to enjoy this.)

If I have any complaints about this book (and the series as a whole), it’s that it follows the idea that all women NEED a romantic relationship with a man to be fulfilled in life a little more than I’d wanted. That said, the strong points of Anna’s romances is that they are NEVER about the physical. Characters are always draw to one another because of some mental or emotional attraction. The physical is secondary. (Good thing too; I do not get on with romances where the attraction is purely physical.)

And Kitty is a wonderful character. She’s sassy and snarky and sweet with a touch of a temper, and she’s dealing with some pretty dark stuff. (PTSD, if you’re curious.) She’s assertive and yet constrained by the society she lives in. It’s been a delight to read about Kitty’s adventures and friendships. The plot is fast-paced with many a tense moment, but the book is really all about the characters and their relationships together, about friendship and self-discovery. And romance. I mean it IS a romantic story. Of course there’s romance. ^-~

Thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s made me eager to reread the first two in the series.

Again, some of these were read for Once upon a Time VII’s short story quest. Those are The Stable Boy by Megan Derr (fairytale retelling), Mystery of the Sea Light by I.P. Igo (fantasy), The Price You Pay by Michelle Sonnier (fantasy), Author Vs. Character by Lazette Gifford (fantasy), Blue by Andrea K. Höst (fantasy), A Ride through Hell and Back by Lazette Gifford (fantasy), Sweet Phantom by Elizabeth McCoy (fantasy), Epilogue for a Lost Tale by Lazette Gifford (fantasy.

Also included is The Austen Avenger by Tara O’Donnell, which may or may not count as fantasy depending on your inclinations.

And a retelling/folktale for Once upon a Time VII. At the end of the month? A statsie round-up!

One Saved to the Sea by Catt Kingsgrave

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My main issue with this book is one of expectations. I’ve seen this lauded for its sense of time and place and… Narratively it could be set on any remote island chain in any time very easily. The dialogue, though, I felt was wonderful and did have the sense of time and place that I was expecting to find everywhere in the book.

Part of the trouble, too, I think, was that I was expecting a novel, not a novella. There isn’t enough space in this word count to give me the narrative sense of time and place that I was expecting and wanted to experience. (Also, Kingsgrave doesn’t quite follow through on the whole legend she’s building on/retelling, which jarred a bit, because the rest of the plot is relatively predictable.)

But those issues aside, this was a wonderful story. The dialogue was evocative and strong. It was a delight to read. The relationship between Mairead and the rest of the islanders was strong, the emotion taut and tangible, the romance believable and oh so wonderful to read. There is some sex, but if, like me, that’s not really your thing, it is skimmable without ruining the plot. There’s actually a lot to love here and I wish it were a full novel with a stronger sense of the setting and Mairead’s relationship with everyone. It’s already so gorgeously wrought. I loved Mairead as a character, her practicality, her quiet strength, her sense of self, and the way she struggled to fit into the society around her as herself.

I’d happily recommend it. It’s a very powerful and engaging tale. I just wish it’d lived up to all of my expectations. It would’ve jumped right up into my list of favourites on a first read.