I loved this whole anthology, every single story was so different and so interesting. Not one was the same and it was great. Plus ending with a version of Dracula with mice? Absolutely bloody brilliant. ( )

Like every anthology I've read, this collection included some stories I liked much more than others. However, in this particular collection there were no stories I disliked and I thought the majority of them were truly enjoyable. The first few stories read like fables and I didn't find them well developed or emotionally engaging. The third story was bland, poorly developed, and predictable. The last story was a funny retelling of Dracula but I didn't feel like the author brought much to it. I think those were the only stories I wasn't too impressed by. Two other stories were a bit scary and one actually made me jump when interrupted while reading. The one by Jane Yolen wasn't scary but it was enjoyably atmospheric.

My favorite stories from the collection were the two by James Butcher and Kami Garcia. I suspect the fact that their stories related to fully developed worlds they've written about previously helped both of them to write successful short stories. Both of their stories focused on emotionally engaging, self-contained incidents which felt resolved but also hinted at the larger story to come. The collection as a whole was well organized, with neighboring stories often having something in common. I also appreciated the diversity of the collection which included stories drawing on many different mythologies and set all over the world. Overall, a very enjoyable, well curated collection of stories with some true standouts and very few duds. I'd recommend it to fans of the paranormal or magical realism.

This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey. ( )

Like every anthology I've read, this collection included some stories I liked much more than others. However, in this particular collection there were no stories I disliked and I thought the majority of them were truly enjoyable. The first few stories read like fables and I didn't find them well developed or emotionally engaging. The third story was bland, poorly developed, and predictable. The last story was a funny retelling of Dracula but I didn't feel like the author brought much to it. I think those were the only stories I wasn't too impressed by. Two other stories were a bit scary and one actually made me jump when interrupted while reading. The one by Jane Yolen wasn't scary but it was enjoyably atmospheric.

My favorite stories from the collection were the two by James Butcher and Kami Garcia. I suspect the fact that their stories related to fully developed worlds they've written about previously helped both of them to write successful short stories. Both of their stories focused on emotionally engaging, self-contained incidents which felt resolved but also hinted at the larger story to come. The collection as a whole was well organized, with neighboring stories often having something in common. I also appreciated the diversity of the collection which included stories drawing on many different mythologies and set all over the world. Overall, a very enjoyable, well curated collection of stories with some true standouts and very few duds. I'd recommend it to fans of the paranormal or magical realism.

This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey. ( )

Like every anthology I've read, this collection included some stories I liked much more than others. However, in this particular collection there were no stories I disliked and I thought the majority of them were truly enjoyable. The first few stories read like fables and I didn't find them well developed or emotionally engaging. The third story was bland, poorly developed, and predictable. The last story was a funny retelling of Dracula but I didn't feel like the author brought much to it. I think those were the only stories I wasn't too impressed by. Two other stories were a bit scary and one actually made me jump when interrupted while reading. The one by Jane Yolen wasn't scary but it was enjoyably atmospheric.

My favorite stories from the collection were the two by James Butcher and Kami Garcia. I suspect the fact that their stories related to fully developed worlds they've written about previously helped both of them to write successful short stories. Both of their stories focused on emotionally engaging, self-contained incidents which felt resolved but also hinted at the larger story to come. The collection as a whole was well organized, with neighboring stories often having something in common. I also appreciated the diversity of the collection which included stories drawing on many different mythologies and set all over the world. Overall, a very enjoyable, well curated collection of stories with some true standouts and very few duds. I'd recommend it to fans of the paranormal or magical realism.

This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey. ( )

Like every anthology I've read, this collection included some stories I liked much more than others. However, in this particular collection there were no stories I disliked and I thought the majority of them were truly enjoyable. The first few stories read like fables and I didn't find them well developed or emotionally engaging. The third story was bland, poorly developed, and predictable. The last story was a funny retelling of Dracula but I didn't feel like the author brought much to it. I think those were the only stories I wasn't too impressed by. Two other stories were a bit scary and one actually made me jump when interrupted while reading. The one by Jane Yolen wasn't scary but it was enjoyably atmospheric.

My favorite stories from the collection were the two by James Butcher and Kami Garcia. I suspect the fact that their stories related to fully developed worlds they've written about previously helped both of them to write successful short stories. Both of their stories focused on emotionally engaging, self-contained incidents which felt resolved but also hinted at the larger story to come. The collection as a whole was well organized, with neighboring stories often having something in common. I also appreciated the diversity of the collection which included stories drawing on many different mythologies and set all over the world. Overall, a very enjoyable, well curated collection of stories with some true standouts and very few duds. I'd recommend it to fans of the paranormal or magical realism.

This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey. ( )