 |
| Image and Summary from Goodreads.com |
Awaken the Magic!
Emma, a good-hearted midwife, rushes to warn a neighbor about the hired gunman headed to his ranch but can't prevent the catastrophe in store for his daughter.
Palli, the prophesied daughter of a king, is fated to rescue her people from the destruction called forth by a vengeful priest.
Roselee, a ghost with a faulty memory, flits through the halls of an insane asylum in search of the mortal boy who can help her save the day.
Arabella, a living spirit trapped in her own comatose body, helplessly watches from the realm of dreams as her usurping cousin plots to destroy her once and for all.
Tanza, a tomb raider on a distant planet, struggles to make a living and doesn’t need a long-lost prince to complicate her difficult life.
One way or another, these beauties have no intention of sleeping away their problems.
***
*BEYOND THERE MAY LIE SPOILERS--AND DRAGONS*
The only word to aptly describe this
collection, despite the absence of magical elements in two or three of the
stories, is indeed magical. Each
story’s setting thrummed into vivid life, stock full of characters that defied stereotypes
and made you appreciate each author’s unique way of telling story.
The Man on the Buckskin Horse was
inspiring, to say the least. I loved how we learned so much about the Sleeping
Beauty character despite her not being the narrator. Luke Palmer, someone who
could have easily become a true antagonist, quickly stole my heart with his
back story and his chivalry and depth despite his choice of profession. A few
quibbles I had was that the true antagonist’s actions felt a little
unrealistic—she risked a lot for what she wanted, and I wasn’t quite convinced
to her reasoning of why she wanted the land and why she would go so far to get
it. As well, I wanted more development for the secondary romantic relationship
of the story.
Guardian of Our Beauty by Kathryn
Connaughy was the story that perhaps best reflected my own writing style and
preferences in regards to storytelling. Her style is very much reflective of
many of my favourite authors—Shannon Hale, Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I loved
Neriya and Palli, and how they stood so well on their own before they even
meet. Neriya especially really did not meet the stereotype of the typical
romantic hero; he isn’t as certain, isn’t as confident. But he tries, and my goodness gracious, he was
so lovely in that trying. Palli’s quiet confidence and even questioning make
her an a-typical princess, and I loved how the scene where she pricks her
spindle was turned around. This story contained quite a few of the aspects I
had considered to write into my own version of the tale for the contest, and I
applaud this kindred-spirit author. Again, however, the ending felt rushed, and
SPOILER BUT NOT REALLY, I wished for more time to see Neriya and Palli “fall in
love” before their union as husband and wife. He rescues her, and then it’s
like I blinked and suddenly they’re married with children.
The Ghost of Briardale by Grace Mullins
was the story that, to me, felt the most complete and took the most advantage
of the 20,000 word limit. More than any of the other stories, this one did not
feel too long or too short. The amount of characters, plot, and setting that
fit into this one novella was astounding. I was happy from beginning to the
end, which was where it might have felt the tiniest bit tight, but it was
closed enough without being unrealistic. I loved the characters, loved the
Swamp, loved how everything, even the smaller elements you might have ignored,
became important and all came together at the end. I adored Franz and Roselee
and actually really want more of their story in the future. The setting
completely charmed me—I love that late-Victorian era and the language was so
bubbly and the character names made me think of J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis and
were so reminiscent of this line from Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: “There once was a boy named Eustace
Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” Point being: LOVED IT.
Spindle Cursed by Michelle Pennington
had dragons. That’s all I can say. As I’ve said in other book reviews I’m sure,
if there are dragons, I am sold hook, line, and sinker. Edmond and Arabella
both challenge readers to rethink their ideals of a prince and princess,
especially when it comes to the idea of what makes someone truly beautiful and
worth love. The dragon was so fun, and I loved the political struggle at the
helm of their world. It was like a mix of Gail Carson Levine and Megan Whalen
Turner, with a bit of Rosamund Hodge thrown in—three authors I love and admire.
However, like many of the previous stories, I had a suggestion or two. I felt
that so much of the story’s plot revolved around Edmond’s journey to reach
Arabella, and too much time was spent on that. So when they finally meet and
start interacting, I felt there wasn’t enough shown of their relationship
before they’re suddenly in love. It felt far too quick and made it difficult
for me to accept him calling her terms of endearment when, to me, they had
literally almost just met.
Finally, Out
of the Tomb by Ashley Stangl. This story had a really strong theme and
Tanza’s struggles were very real. Auren definitely had my heart, and I loved
how Stangl took the Thirteen Fairy Gifts and created Virtue Names in her world.
It was just so clever an idea that I’m super jealous of it! Other reviewers
have haled her worldbuilding, her characters, and so there’s not much more I
can really add to that conversation. There was one nitpick I had: I found the
narrative voice of the story distanced me a bit from Tanza and Auren; Tanza as
a character voice did not always come through in the narration despite it being
third person limited. That, alongside the amount of information and terms we
are fed, made me feel slightly overwhelmed and distracted from the story. I’ve
seen this in other reviews from readers who read science fiction and fantasy,
so it’s not an uncommon thing. I do appreciate, however, her effort to feed us
info bit by bit instead of info-dump. I just felt that I didn’t actually know
who was who or what was what until about halfway through the story. I kept with
it, but for other readers who aren’t familiar with science fiction and fantasy,
it might be a bit more challenging.
All
in all, congratulations and fantastic jobs to all the authors—and
editors—involved in this collection! Four out of five stars!
