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justgeekingby's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? N/A
4.0
Once Upon a Summer: A Folk and Fairy Tale Anthology is the second season-themed anthology in the series, and like the first one it was a joyful reading experience. While there were a few stories that didn’t catch my attention, or I don’t feel quite fit the theme of ‘summer’, overall the wide variety of stories and themes, as well as the quality of writing, was fantastic. This is a wonderful anthology to read in the summer or during the colder months, as I did to give you those warmer feelings when the weather is miserable.
I want to give a shoutout to some of my personal favourites in Once Upon a Summer. This isn’t an indication of the other stories, these are just the ones that left a lasting impression.
The anthology starts strong with a story by ‘The I Scream Van’ by Caroline Logan. I’m a long-time fan of Logan and loved that this story is so typically her while also showing a different side of her writing. It’s creepy and heart-warming, giving you those Halloween vibes right in the middle of summer. Adie Hart’s ‘What Big Geese You Have’ that follows is a story of two witches who turn up for the same assignment and neither of them is willing to give it up. It’s an unlikely partnership with fairytale elements, and I loved every minute of it. I hope Hart writes more in this universe, as it was great!
‘These Burning Bones’ by Laila Amado is a stunningly powerful story and not to be missed. Fans of a darker story will love ‘The Last Roses of Summer’ by Kate Longstone as much as I did. I may have grinned a little too hard at the conclusion to this one; yes, I have a wicked streak 😉 A unique story that I felt truly embraces the storytelling aspect of folklore is ‘Juniper and the Upside Down Well’ by Ella Holmes. This was such a beautiful story that stuck with me after I read it.
Likewise, ‘Love in the Time of Volcanoes’ by Jake Curran-Pipe had a similar feel. Curran-Pipe is from the Canary Islands and ‘Love in the Time of Volcanoes’ is his interpretation of the legend of Gara and Jonay from La Gomera which is used to explain the existence of the Garajonay National Park. I enjoyed the story, but I also liked that he wanted to write this story so that it would be included in the anthology for the first time.
Just as Once Upon a Summer started with great stories, it ends on a fantastic note. ‘The Witches of Dogtown’ by A. J. Van Belle is a story about witches, women and magic, and quite frankly is amazing. Finishing up the anthology is ‘Contract with a Mermaid’ by M. J. Weatherall, a story set in Scotland and inspired by Celtic folklore. It’s about a Maighdean-mara, a mermaid, who ended up land-bound and as a result offered bargains to mortals. Weatherall’s story is about one such bargain made by a girl to save her mother’s life. It’s a great story and the perfect ending to this summer-themed anthology.
The full list of stories in Once Upon a Summer is:
‘The I Scream Van’ by Caroline Logan
‘What Big Geese You Have’ by Adie Hart
‘The Forest at the End of the World’ by Josie Jaffrey
‘It Is Written’ by S. Markem
‘These Burning Bones’ by Laila Amado
‘Vespertine’ by Elanna Bellows
‘The Last Roses of Summer’ by Kate Longstone
‘Love, Pride, Virtue and Fate’ by Bharat Krishnan
‘Juniper and the Upside Down Well’ by Ella Holmes
‘Love in the Time of Volcanoes’ by Jake Curran-Pipe
‘Bluebeard’s Beach House’ by Jenna Smithwick
‘The Knucker of Lyminster’ by Katherine Shaw
‘Summer Dreams’ by R. A. Gerritse
‘The Witches of Dogtown’ by A. J. Van Belle
‘Contract with a Mermaid’ by M. J. Weatherall
I want to give a shoutout to some of my personal favourites in Once Upon a Summer. This isn’t an indication of the other stories, these are just the ones that left a lasting impression.
The anthology starts strong with a story by ‘The I Scream Van’ by Caroline Logan. I’m a long-time fan of Logan and loved that this story is so typically her while also showing a different side of her writing. It’s creepy and heart-warming, giving you those Halloween vibes right in the middle of summer. Adie Hart’s ‘What Big Geese You Have’ that follows is a story of two witches who turn up for the same assignment and neither of them is willing to give it up. It’s an unlikely partnership with fairytale elements, and I loved every minute of it. I hope Hart writes more in this universe, as it was great!
‘These Burning Bones’ by Laila Amado is a stunningly powerful story and not to be missed. Fans of a darker story will love ‘The Last Roses of Summer’ by Kate Longstone as much as I did. I may have grinned a little too hard at the conclusion to this one; yes, I have a wicked streak 😉 A unique story that I felt truly embraces the storytelling aspect of folklore is ‘Juniper and the Upside Down Well’ by Ella Holmes. This was such a beautiful story that stuck with me after I read it.
Likewise, ‘Love in the Time of Volcanoes’ by Jake Curran-Pipe had a similar feel. Curran-Pipe is from the Canary Islands and ‘Love in the Time of Volcanoes’ is his interpretation of the legend of Gara and Jonay from La Gomera which is used to explain the existence of the Garajonay National Park. I enjoyed the story, but I also liked that he wanted to write this story so that it would be included in the anthology for the first time.
Just as Once Upon a Summer started with great stories, it ends on a fantastic note. ‘The Witches of Dogtown’ by A. J. Van Belle is a story about witches, women and magic, and quite frankly is amazing. Finishing up the anthology is ‘Contract with a Mermaid’ by M. J. Weatherall, a story set in Scotland and inspired by Celtic folklore. It’s about a Maighdean-mara, a mermaid, who ended up land-bound and as a result offered bargains to mortals. Weatherall’s story is about one such bargain made by a girl to save her mother’s life. It’s a great story and the perfect ending to this summer-themed anthology.
The full list of stories in Once Upon a Summer is:
‘The I Scream Van’ by Caroline Logan
‘What Big Geese You Have’ by Adie Hart
‘The Forest at the End of the World’ by Josie Jaffrey
‘It Is Written’ by S. Markem
‘These Burning Bones’ by Laila Amado
‘Vespertine’ by Elanna Bellows
‘The Last Roses of Summer’ by Kate Longstone
‘Love, Pride, Virtue and Fate’ by Bharat Krishnan
‘Juniper and the Upside Down Well’ by Ella Holmes
‘Love in the Time of Volcanoes’ by Jake Curran-Pipe
‘Bluebeard’s Beach House’ by Jenna Smithwick
‘The Knucker of Lyminster’ by Katherine Shaw
‘Summer Dreams’ by R. A. Gerritse
‘The Witches of Dogtown’ by A. J. Van Belle
‘Contract with a Mermaid’ by M. J. Weatherall
Content Warnings
rosie_reads_7's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
roshreviews's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
In a Nutshell: A decent anthology set around the theme of summer. Some really good stories herein, but overall, this wasn’t as delightful as the earlier collection of ‘winter’ stories.
This book is the second of a planned four-book anthology series, based on the four seasons. The first book, ‘Once Upon a Winter’, came out in November 2021 and had seventeen stories set in winter. Now we get this summer-themed anthology with fifteen stories. Spring and Autumn will be the remaining two seasons in the series.
Summer is my least favourite season. A tropical summer drains out all my energy and leaves me longing for the refreshing Indian monsoon. However, as I had enjoyed the winter-based anthology so much, I decided not to let my bias against the season affect my potential reading pleasure. 😉
The introductory note by editor and contributor H.L. MacFarlane sets the right tone for this collection. While her entire note was brilliant, I especially loved this line: "Winter may be a time to listen to stories, but summer is the time to live them." Quite true. (Except if you live in a tropical country and summer just bakes you.🔥)
The stories cover a range of genres ranging from fantasy to romance to dystopian, and each offers a distinct feel. There was no point at which I had a feeling of déjà vu. The rep is also diverse, with many stories featuring LGBTQIA+ protagonists. Some of the stories are retellings of fairy tales and lore. Don’t expect a light Disney-style collection though. Just as the original fairy tales have always been grim, these stories too tend to follow the darker side of worldly and otherworldly folk.
As always happens in an anthology, some stories were outstanding and some left me a bit dissatisfied. But one story that truly puzzled me with its appearance here was “Love, Pride, Virtue and Fate”. This story was a narration of the Hindu God Krishna’s early life, beginning with his parents’ troubles under Kansa and going on to Krishna’s childhood years. This is neither a folk tale nor a fairy tale but a mythological tale and based on one of the gods from an active and widely-practised religion. It didn’t feel right to have a story about Krishna in a ‘fantasy’ collection. I would have been as horrified had I seen a tale about Jesus in a fairy/folk-themed anthology.
I rated the stories individually as I always do. Of the fifteen stories, only five stories reached or crossed the four-star mark. The rest were mostly clustered in between. My top favourites were:
🔥 The I Scream Van - Caroline Logan – Loved the monster narrator. Enjoyed the story development. Would have rated it higher had there been more background to the narrator and why they had to visit that village annually. The details were vague. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 It Is Written - S. Markem – Such an innovative and a witty story! Laughed all the way from start to end. To be honest, this could go either way in terms of its humour. But I like quirky, and hence I loved this. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 These Burning Bones - Laila Amado – Again a story with an unusual narrator. Loved this retelling of ‘The Firebird’. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🔥 The Last Roses of Summer - Kate Longstone – Loved the protagonist who is so unlike usual folktale FMCs. The only reason why this fell short was because it started one way and ended up in a totally different direction. The disparity between the beginning and the end was too much. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 Contract with a Mermaid - M.J. Weatherall – An interesting story using mermaids as well as another fantastical creature. A retelling of a selkie legend, but with some new elements. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
(S. Markem and Laila Amado also had appeared in my favourites list for the first collection.)
All in all, I did like this collection, but it was not as memorable to me as the first one had been. That said, it still ought to make for an enjoyable read to fairy tale and folktale fans.
3.05 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.
My thanks to MacFarlane Lantern Publishing and BookSirens for the DRC of “Once Upon a Summer”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
This book is the second of a planned four-book anthology series, based on the four seasons. The first book, ‘Once Upon a Winter’, came out in November 2021 and had seventeen stories set in winter. Now we get this summer-themed anthology with fifteen stories. Spring and Autumn will be the remaining two seasons in the series.
Summer is my least favourite season. A tropical summer drains out all my energy and leaves me longing for the refreshing Indian monsoon. However, as I had enjoyed the winter-based anthology so much, I decided not to let my bias against the season affect my potential reading pleasure. 😉
The introductory note by editor and contributor H.L. MacFarlane sets the right tone for this collection. While her entire note was brilliant, I especially loved this line: "Winter may be a time to listen to stories, but summer is the time to live them." Quite true. (Except if you live in a tropical country and summer just bakes you.🔥)
The stories cover a range of genres ranging from fantasy to romance to dystopian, and each offers a distinct feel. There was no point at which I had a feeling of déjà vu. The rep is also diverse, with many stories featuring LGBTQIA+ protagonists. Some of the stories are retellings of fairy tales and lore. Don’t expect a light Disney-style collection though. Just as the original fairy tales have always been grim, these stories too tend to follow the darker side of worldly and otherworldly folk.
As always happens in an anthology, some stories were outstanding and some left me a bit dissatisfied. But one story that truly puzzled me with its appearance here was “Love, Pride, Virtue and Fate”. This story was a narration of the Hindu God Krishna’s early life, beginning with his parents’ troubles under Kansa and going on to Krishna’s childhood years. This is neither a folk tale nor a fairy tale but a mythological tale and based on one of the gods from an active and widely-practised religion. It didn’t feel right to have a story about Krishna in a ‘fantasy’ collection. I would have been as horrified had I seen a tale about Jesus in a fairy/folk-themed anthology.
I rated the stories individually as I always do. Of the fifteen stories, only five stories reached or crossed the four-star mark. The rest were mostly clustered in between. My top favourites were:
🔥 The I Scream Van - Caroline Logan – Loved the monster narrator. Enjoyed the story development. Would have rated it higher had there been more background to the narrator and why they had to visit that village annually. The details were vague. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 It Is Written - S. Markem – Such an innovative and a witty story! Laughed all the way from start to end. To be honest, this could go either way in terms of its humour. But I like quirky, and hence I loved this. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 These Burning Bones - Laila Amado – Again a story with an unusual narrator. Loved this retelling of ‘The Firebird’. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🔥 The Last Roses of Summer - Kate Longstone – Loved the protagonist who is so unlike usual folktale FMCs. The only reason why this fell short was because it started one way and ended up in a totally different direction. The disparity between the beginning and the end was too much. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 Contract with a Mermaid - M.J. Weatherall – An interesting story using mermaids as well as another fantastical creature. A retelling of a selkie legend, but with some new elements. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
(S. Markem and Laila Amado also had appeared in my favourites list for the first collection.)
All in all, I did like this collection, but it was not as memorable to me as the first one had been. That said, it still ought to make for an enjoyable read to fairy tale and folktale fans.
3.05 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.
My thanks to MacFarlane Lantern Publishing and BookSirens for the DRC of “Once Upon a Summer”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
cozybooksandgoldenembers's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Cursing
There is a short story that includes infanticide.sarah_bell's review
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
4.0
A lovely summer anthology perfect for reading in the garden with a glass of Pimms or sangria (and yes, I am speaking from experience!)
Whilst I enjoyed all the stories, there were a few particular favourites:
Firstly, What Big Geese You Have by Adie Hart. I enjoyed Hart's District Witch story in the Winter anthology and I loved this one, too. A runaway princess, opposite attracts sapphic witches and an angry goose - what more do you need? I particularly enjoyed the banter between the two witches.
The Knucker of Lyminster by Katherine Shaw also has a runaway princess and sapphics (spotting a theme to my tastes here!) and I loved the blossoming understanding between the princess and the knucker.
Next, there's still more sapphics, but also an enchanted well and fae this time, in Juniper and the Upside Down Well by Ella T. Holmes. I loved the characters in this and I was genuinely invested in them managing to break the curse.
Meanwhile, It is Written by S. Markem was entirely different - a satirical tale all about a wizard trying to have an adventure worthy of being included in a summer anthology. This was just a lot of silly fun that nicely balanced out some of the serious stories.
Overall, I highly recommend this is you're looking for a summery read!
Whilst I enjoyed all the stories, there were a few particular favourites:
Firstly, What Big Geese You Have by Adie Hart. I enjoyed Hart's District Witch story in the Winter anthology and I loved this one, too. A runaway princess, opposite attracts sapphic witches and an angry goose - what more do you need? I particularly enjoyed the banter between the two witches.
The Knucker of Lyminster by Katherine Shaw also has a runaway princess and sapphics (spotting a theme to my tastes here!) and I loved the blossoming understanding between the princess and the knucker.
Next, there's still more sapphics, but also an enchanted well and fae this time, in Juniper and the Upside Down Well by Ella T. Holmes. I loved the characters in this and I was genuinely invested in them managing to break the curse.
Meanwhile, It is Written by S. Markem was entirely different - a satirical tale all about a wizard trying to have an adventure worthy of being included in a summer anthology. This was just a lot of silly fun that nicely balanced out some of the serious stories.
Overall, I highly recommend this is you're looking for a summery read!
annettenis's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
pasuht's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
This anthology will come out on June 2nd.
When I read anthologies, there always comes a point when the next story comes up and I either think “Oh no, another one!” or “Yay, another one!”. Once Upon a Summer clearly falls into the Yay-side of things.
That doesn’t mean that I loved - or even liked - every single story. But I’m a picky eater and if you serve me fifteen stories, I don’t expect to find every course delicious. I just hope that I’ll find enough stories with fun ideas, interesting themes, and impressive execution that I don’t mind the ones that don’t work for me.
Once Upon a Summer was full of fun ideas. “The I Scream Van” by Caroline Logan starts the book strong by employing by mixing fay with an unusual and delightful love story. Followed right away with “What Big Geese You Have” by Adie Hart, a story that includes sapphic buddy-cop witches fighting a big goose. “Love, Pride, Virtue and Fate” by Bharat Krishnan, that tells the tale of a king trying to escape his destiny in form of an Indic myth, was also one of my favorites.
Thematically there are many stories where princesses don’t want to be part of an arranged marriage; maybe a little too many of those for my taste. On the other hand, that many of the stories were build around queerness made the repetitiveness easier to swallow. Most of the queer princesses were lesbians, but I even spotted some aromantic characters, which made me happy. Another focus of the stories were witches; I especially enjoyed “The Witches of Dogtown” by A. J. Van Belle, where a young woman becomes the heir of an old witch. And of course there are fairies, like in the already mentioned “The I Scream Van”.
Many of the stories are very well written. The “Knucker of Lyminster” by Katherine Shaw, one of the princess-doesn’t-want-to-marry-stories, being one that I really enjoyed. And “Love, Pride, Virtue and Fate” deserves to be mention a second time here.
I want to compliment the diversity of the authors picked for Once Upon a Summer. I also was happy to see a content warning for one of the stories, though I would have loved it even more if they would have been used consistently throughout the book.
Overall, I would have wished for a little more bite and a little bit more of the gruesomeness of old school fairy tales. Most of them - with notable exceptions like “Bluebeard’s Beach House” by Jenna Smith - are on the lighthearted end of the spectrum of, if not content, then tone. But that’s a matter of personal taste, not objective evaluation.
I absolutely recommend giving this story collection a closer look, especially if you’re interested in its themes.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
When I read anthologies, there always comes a point when the next story comes up and I either think “Oh no, another one!” or “Yay, another one!”. Once Upon a Summer clearly falls into the Yay-side of things.
That doesn’t mean that I loved - or even liked - every single story. But I’m a picky eater and if you serve me fifteen stories, I don’t expect to find every course delicious. I just hope that I’ll find enough stories with fun ideas, interesting themes, and impressive execution that I don’t mind the ones that don’t work for me.
Once Upon a Summer was full of fun ideas. “The I Scream Van” by Caroline Logan starts the book strong by employing by mixing fay with an unusual and delightful love story. Followed right away with “What Big Geese You Have” by Adie Hart, a story that includes sapphic buddy-cop witches fighting a big goose. “Love, Pride, Virtue and Fate” by Bharat Krishnan, that tells the tale of a king trying to escape his destiny in form of an Indic myth, was also one of my favorites.
Thematically there are many stories where princesses don’t want to be part of an arranged marriage; maybe a little too many of those for my taste. On the other hand, that many of the stories were build around queerness made the repetitiveness easier to swallow. Most of the queer princesses were lesbians, but I even spotted some aromantic characters, which made me happy. Another focus of the stories were witches; I especially enjoyed “The Witches of Dogtown” by A. J. Van Belle, where a young woman becomes the heir of an old witch. And of course there are fairies, like in the already mentioned “The I Scream Van”.
Many of the stories are very well written. The “Knucker of Lyminster” by Katherine Shaw, one of the princess-doesn’t-want-to-marry-stories, being one that I really enjoyed. And “Love, Pride, Virtue and Fate” deserves to be mention a second time here.
I want to compliment the diversity of the authors picked for Once Upon a Summer. I also was happy to see a content warning for one of the stories, though I would have loved it even more if they would have been used consistently throughout the book.
Overall, I would have wished for a little more bite and a little bit more of the gruesomeness of old school fairy tales. Most of them - with notable exceptions like “Bluebeard’s Beach House” by Jenna Smith - are on the lighthearted end of the spectrum of, if not content, then tone. But that’s a matter of personal taste, not objective evaluation.
I absolutely recommend giving this story collection a closer look, especially if you’re interested in its themes.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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