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stophie12's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mbradham's review
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
bashsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
This book is exactly as advertised: lesbian erotica in a high fantasy context. I was hoping for a slight bit more diversity in the sex (none of these magical folks can create a dildo/strap-on?) but it was still a fun and sexy read. My favorite stories from the collection were "The Prize of the Willow" and "The Mark and the Caul".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Body shaming, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Confinement
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, War, Classism, Blood, and Death
Minor: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
kieranl's review
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this anthology. Stories were engaging and fun and the twists were oh so welcome.
witchofthemountains's review
3.0
Ratings by Story:
Steel by Cara Patterson - 5/5
I LOVED this one. I connected with both characters and would honestly read an entire series set in this world. Will I be looking up Cara Patterson and hoping she has written more published work? Hard yes!
Robber Girl by Madeleine Shade - 0/5
I am a Red Riding Hood kind of woman. And I could not stand this story. It read like a bad piece from Literotica. I'm really shocked it made it into the anthology and had this been the first one, I likely would have DNF'd this one.
The Princess's Princess by Salome Wilde - 3/5
The MC is really hard to deal with for most of the story. Once she stopped being quite so irritating I really liked the story.
Woodwitch by M. Birds - 4/5
Confession time: I really like the King Arthur movie with Kiera Knightley. Historically accurate? Gods no. Entertaining and visually pleasing? Absolutely yes. This short story felt like an improved version of that world. Cohesive storytelling, engaging characters, and romantic chemistry set in a world I would love to read more of. The only reason that it's 4/5 and not 5/5 is that I felt it left too much unsaid. Basically I need more!
The Prize of the Willow by H. N. Janzen - 4/5
This one is so, so good. But it ends on such a heartbreaking note. Not the kind of heartbreak I was afraid of in queer romance. But still heartbreaking all the same.
Toads, Diamonds, and the Occasional Pearl by Emily L. Byrne - 3/5
This was one of the more fun stories in my opinion. A little bit of rivalry, a little bit of love.
SWF Seems FGM by Allison Wonderland - 0/5
There's clever and then there are so many puns that it's bad writing. This was the second option. I rarely say this but I hated this story.
The Mark and the Caul by Annabeth Leong - 5/5
A story like something straight out of Irish mythos. I loved every single page and will definitely be looking for more from this author!
Penthouse 31 by Brey Willows - 5/5
This one didn't feel erotic but honestly I don't care. I loved this story. I could read a whole saga about these women. And frankly who doesn't a strong, dashing woman riding in to the rescue?!
The Miller's Daughter by Michael M. Jones - 3/5
The Rumpelstiltskin retelling you've always wanted!
The Warrior's Choice by A. D. R. Forte - 4/5
Of all the stories in this book, this one feels the most like an oral tale to tell by the fire. I love the way it starts with a glimpse in modern times and then goes back to what once was. Beautiful and poetic in a way I don't normally see in short stories.
Trollwise by Sacchi Green - 2/5
I love the inclusion of trolls. And I love the Norse imagery. But I'm docking a solid three stars for the surprise het sex that took up as much 'page time' as the lesbian sex. It's not what I expected in this book and absolutely ruined my enjoyment of the rest of what had the makings of a good story.
The Sorceress of Solisterre by Lea Daley - 1/5
I wanted to like this story. I really, really did. I loved the world the author built. But one woman pining for another while having to hear her the woman she loves having sex with men is way too close to personal triggers for me to enjoy the story. It actually ruined my overall enjoyment of the book since it was the last story. Honestly I would just read Steel again and skip this one.
Book Rating Based on Story Average: 3/5
Steel by Cara Patterson - 5/5
I LOVED this one. I connected with both characters and would honestly read an entire series set in this world. Will I be looking up Cara Patterson and hoping she has written more published work? Hard yes!
Robber Girl by Madeleine Shade - 0/5
I am a Red Riding Hood kind of woman. And I could not stand this story. It read like a bad piece from Literotica. I'm really shocked it made it into the anthology and had this been the first one, I likely would have DNF'd this one.
The Princess's Princess by Salome Wilde - 3/5
The MC is really hard to deal with for most of the story. Once she stopped being quite so irritating I really liked the story.
Woodwitch by M. Birds - 4/5
Confession time: I really like the King Arthur movie with Kiera Knightley. Historically accurate? Gods no. Entertaining and visually pleasing? Absolutely yes. This short story felt like an improved version of that world. Cohesive storytelling, engaging characters, and romantic chemistry set in a world I would love to read more of. The only reason that it's 4/5 and not 5/5 is that I felt it left too much unsaid. Basically I need more!
The Prize of the Willow by H. N. Janzen - 4/5
This one is so, so good. But it ends on such a heartbreaking note. Not the kind of heartbreak I was afraid of in queer romance. But still heartbreaking all the same.
Toads, Diamonds, and the Occasional Pearl by Emily L. Byrne - 3/5
This was one of the more fun stories in my opinion. A little bit of rivalry, a little bit of love.
SWF Seems FGM by Allison Wonderland - 0/5
There's clever and then there are so many puns that it's bad writing. This was the second option. I rarely say this but I hated this story.
The Mark and the Caul by Annabeth Leong - 5/5
A story like something straight out of Irish mythos. I loved every single page and will definitely be looking for more from this author!
Penthouse 31 by Brey Willows - 5/5
This one didn't feel erotic but honestly I don't care. I loved this story. I could read a whole saga about these women. And frankly who doesn't a strong, dashing woman riding in to the rescue?!
The Miller's Daughter by Michael M. Jones - 3/5
The Rumpelstiltskin retelling you've always wanted!
The Warrior's Choice by A. D. R. Forte - 4/5
Of all the stories in this book, this one feels the most like an oral tale to tell by the fire. I love the way it starts with a glimpse in modern times and then goes back to what once was. Beautiful and poetic in a way I don't normally see in short stories.
Trollwise by Sacchi Green - 2/5
I love the inclusion of trolls. And I love the Norse imagery. But I'm docking a solid three stars for the surprise het sex that took up as much 'page time' as the lesbian sex. It's not what I expected in this book and absolutely ruined my enjoyment of the rest of what had the makings of a good story.
The Sorceress of Solisterre by Lea Daley - 1/5
I wanted to like this story. I really, really did. I loved the world the author built. But one woman pining for another while having to hear her the woman she loves having sex with men is way too close to personal triggers for me to enjoy the story. It actually ruined my overall enjoyment of the book since it was the last story. Honestly I would just read Steel again and skip this one.
Book Rating Based on Story Average: 3/5
entamewitchlulu's review
3.0
It was just ok. Though I will pay actual money to not have to see the vagina referred to as "a women's sex" ever again.
Steel: 3/5. Just fine. Kind of a tell rather than show story, moved really fast and the relationship didn't have room to develop.
Robber Girl: 2/5. Not entirely sure what the heck was happening in this one. It was messy and convoluted and felt just a bit racist in the way the dark-skinned character was described.
The Princess's Princess: 2/5. Another just...poorly paced one. Also seemed a little weirdly exotifying with the dark-skinned character.
Woodwitch: 3/5. Much more interesting worldbuilding and relationship building, but still just didn't feel like it had room to breathe with the amount of space devoted to it.
The Prize of the Willow: 3/5. Liked the premise, found it just a little meandering.
Toads, Diamonds, and the Occasional Pearl: 2/5. This one could have been workshopped more. I had no idea who was who or what the relationships of anyone involved were supposed to be.
SWF Seeks FGM: 0/5. An entire story of just really bad puns and alliteration in place of writing an actual comedic story? No thank you. I had to put the book down and stare at a wall because reading all of this absolutely inane alliteration made me want to throw things.
The Mark and the Caul: 4/5. This one was actually pretty good! It had that actual fairy-tale feeling to it that I enjoyed.
Penthouse 31: 4/5. Definitely the best one in the anthology, though I would have liked a little more worldbuilding space. I liked the modern take on the prompt and the characters felt a lot more real and their relationship was given more chemistry.
The Miller's Daughter: 4/5. Actually liked this one too; I'm feeling like these last couple of stories really should have been the openers for this anthology. Once again, was better because of the real fairy-tale feeling and just, overall, better writing and pacing with the space allotted.
Warrior's Choice: 2/5. I have no idea what is happening in this one.
Trollwise: 1/5. There's just, out of nowhere, and for no real reason, a dubcon sex scene that made me real uncomfortable.
The Sorceress of Solisterre: 4/5. This one was rather sweet and I think it did a really good job fitting the story and the pair's chemistry into the short story format.
Overall it was just kind of disappointing. I get that this is specifically an erotica anthology, but it really felt like most of the stories failed to take the time to really put their worlds and characters together so they could just rush onto the mediocre, repetitive sex scenes. There's really no point, in my opinion, to putting together a themed collection like this if the focus is going to be on writing PWP instead of actually writing lesbian fairy tales. Anyway, I can't say I recommend it unless you only read the handful of stories I recommended above, or you're just in the mood for some blah fairy tales with some sex scenes sprinkled in. Which, you know, is fair. The straights get to have all sorts of mediocre erotica, so I think the gays deserve some too.
Steel: 3/5. Just fine. Kind of a tell rather than show story, moved really fast and the relationship didn't have room to develop.
Robber Girl: 2/5. Not entirely sure what the heck was happening in this one. It was messy and convoluted and felt just a bit racist in the way the dark-skinned character was described.
The Princess's Princess: 2/5. Another just...poorly paced one. Also seemed a little weirdly exotifying with the dark-skinned character.
Woodwitch: 3/5. Much more interesting worldbuilding and relationship building, but still just didn't feel like it had room to breathe with the amount of space devoted to it.
The Prize of the Willow: 3/5. Liked the premise, found it just a little meandering.
Toads, Diamonds, and the Occasional Pearl: 2/5. This one could have been workshopped more. I had no idea who was who or what the relationships of anyone involved were supposed to be.
SWF Seeks FGM: 0/5. An entire story of just really bad puns and alliteration in place of writing an actual comedic story? No thank you. I had to put the book down and stare at a wall because reading all of this absolutely inane alliteration made me want to throw things.
The Mark and the Caul: 4/5. This one was actually pretty good! It had that actual fairy-tale feeling to it that I enjoyed.
Penthouse 31: 4/5. Definitely the best one in the anthology, though I would have liked a little more worldbuilding space. I liked the modern take on the prompt and the characters felt a lot more real and their relationship was given more chemistry.
The Miller's Daughter: 4/5. Actually liked this one too; I'm feeling like these last couple of stories really should have been the openers for this anthology. Once again, was better because of the real fairy-tale feeling and just, overall, better writing and pacing with the space allotted.
Warrior's Choice: 2/5. I have no idea what is happening in this one.
Trollwise: 1/5. There's just, out of nowhere, and for no real reason, a dubcon sex scene that made me real uncomfortable.
The Sorceress of Solisterre: 4/5. This one was rather sweet and I think it did a really good job fitting the story and the pair's chemistry into the short story format.
Overall it was just kind of disappointing. I get that this is specifically an erotica anthology, but it really felt like most of the stories failed to take the time to really put their worlds and characters together so they could just rush onto the mediocre, repetitive sex scenes. There's really no point, in my opinion, to putting together a themed collection like this if the focus is going to be on writing PWP instead of actually writing lesbian fairy tales. Anyway, I can't say I recommend it unless you only read the handful of stories I recommended above, or you're just in the mood for some blah fairy tales with some sex scenes sprinkled in. Which, you know, is fair. The straights get to have all sorts of mediocre erotica, so I think the gays deserve some too.