Once Upon a Curse is an excellent compilation of stories, mostly previously published, based on fairy tales and legends. The Peter S. Beagle story was the big draw for me, but I also liked the Patricia Wrede story and "Solstice Maiden" by the volume's editor, Anna Kashina. Received from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program in return for an honest review.

I really liked pretty much all of the stories. There was maybe one or two that I wasn't feeling, but the rest were great. My favorite was Frayed Tapestry. A Necklace of Rubies gave me the heeby jeebies. And Every Word I Speak was heartbreaking.

Oh and I got this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. ( )

What attracted my attention about this book was the story by Peter Beagle. This was an excellent story that sparkled like a diamond. But it was no diamond in the rough. The other stories in this collection varied from good to riveting, and kudos to Anna Kashina for editing this collection. A number of stories were so good that I could not choose a favourite. But if I had to choose, it would be "But Can You Let Him Go", a re-telling of the Cinderella story. It has depth in both plot and character development that is fully mature but without losing the magic of the fairy tale. I loved it! ( )

I requested this short story collection because Peter S. Beagle was featured. I still haven't read any of his novels, which I really need to remedy. But I was pleased with the other stories here, not just his, which makes me happy. I did get the feeling that I should recognize the myths some of these stories are based on, but I suppose my mythology is lacking. Many of the stories tasted familiar, as if I had read something like it before, but I couldn't pin it down. For all that, this collection had me reading fast, because the stories are well written. Beagle's story is about the personification of Death (seems like I've seen quite a few of those lately) but it's a good twist on the theme. And there is always a price for talking with the one who will take you out of the world...

Some of the fairy tales are repeated in different authors' stories, but each one is told in a unique way. Some were creepy, yet romantic, and others just made me squirm. These are not fairy tales you would tell your young children, but YA lovers would be comfortable. Overall a good, if dark, collection and a good introduction to the various authors.

Received as a digital ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. ( )

This is a great collection of short stories from authors that I love (like Peter Beagle) and some authors that I've never heard of before (but oh- I am so going to find other works from them now!).

One of the main reasons I love reading these types of collections is that it introduces me to authors that I may never run across in my normal book shopping. Usually I also get bored with part of a normal collection. So to find an anthology where all but one (which still was OK but didn't drag me in like all the others) I loved is a feat indeed.

Waring: I'm pretty sure that there is at least one tale from one of a past anthology collections I've read, but it was still good to re-read it :)

Overall, I'd recommend for anyone that likes fairy tale remakes, interested in finding some new fantasy authors and for those that like a bit of twists in their short stories.

Received this book from the publisher for a review via the LibraryThing.com Early Reviewer giveaway. ( )