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Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft by Jessica Spotswood, Tess Sharpe
1 review
darquedreamer's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was not nearly as good as I expected it to be. I know when it comes to an anthology of stories, we aren't going to love them all, but I expected some powerful stories about witches and badass women from this one, and I feel like I got a muddled mess. There were only a few stand out stories, and only a few stories that actually had true witchy vibes. Some of the stories just felt like unfinished "first impression" pieces from bigger stories, and some just didn't feel cohesive, didn't feel like they had a plot, had too much going on for a short story, missing the mark completely. My rating is an average of the ratings from all 15 stories, and it may be subject to change in the future when I decide to give this one another chance, but for now, I was very disappointed with my initial read through.
1. STARSONG ★
This was my first impression of the collection, and I almost dnf'd the whole thing because of it. The story was lackluster and I truly hated the whole "Instagram star" thing going on.
2. AFTERBIRTH- ANDREA CREMER ★
3. THE HEART IN HER HANDS- TESS SHARPE ★
4. DEATH IN THE SAWTOOTHS ★★★.5
5. THE TRUTH ABOUT QUEENIE- BRANDY COLBERT ★.5
6. THE MOONAPPLE MENAGERIE ★★★.5
7.THE LEGEND OF STONE MARY-ROBIN TALLEY ★★★★.5
Finally a good one! I'd read an entire novel based on this one!
8. THE ONE WHO STAYED ★★★★
Another I'd read a full novel on, but if the group in this story was so powerful and knew what was going to happen, why not prevent it instead of allowing it to happen and offering revenge after the fact?
9. DIVINE ARE THE STARS ★★★★★
Zoraida's story spoke to me! Brought tears to my eyes. Perfect!
10. DAUGHTERS OF BABA YAGA ★
This one made no sense. Too much happening at once.
11. THE WELL WITCH ★★★★
Good, but needed more of a conclusion and more of a power build up in Elsa.
12. BEWARE OF GIRLS WITH CROOKED MOUTHS ★★★★
Good, but needs a better ending.
13. LOVE SPELL ★★★★.5
Beautiful!
14. THE GHERIN GIRLS DNF
Not feeling it. Too many POV's. Not cohesive. Boring.
15. WHY THEY WATCH US BURN ★★★
I got the message, just wish it had been a little more interesting and wish the story itself had more explanation.
1. STARSONG ★
This was my first impression of the collection, and I almost dnf'd the whole thing because of it. The story was lackluster and I truly hated the whole "Instagram star" thing going on.
2. AFTERBIRTH- ANDREA CREMER ★
3. THE HEART IN HER HANDS- TESS SHARPE ★
4. DEATH IN THE SAWTOOTHS ★★★.5
5. THE TRUTH ABOUT QUEENIE- BRANDY COLBERT ★.5
6. THE MOONAPPLE MENAGERIE ★★★.5
7.THE LEGEND OF STONE MARY-ROBIN TALLEY ★★★★.5
Finally a good one! I'd read an entire novel based on this one!
8. THE ONE WHO STAYED ★★★★
Another I'd read a full novel on, but if the group in this story was so powerful and knew what was going to happen, why not prevent it instead of allowing it to happen and offering revenge after the fact?
9. DIVINE ARE THE STARS ★★★★★
Zoraida's story spoke to me! Brought tears to my eyes. Perfect!
10. DAUGHTERS OF BABA YAGA ★
This one made no sense. Too much happening at once.
11. THE WELL WITCH ★★★★
Good, but needed more of a conclusion and more of a power build up in Elsa.
12. BEWARE OF GIRLS WITH CROOKED MOUTHS ★★★★
Good, but needs a better ending.
13. LOVE SPELL ★★★★.5
Beautiful!
14. THE GHERIN GIRLS DNF
Not feeling it. Too many POV's. Not cohesive. Boring.
15. WHY THEY WATCH US BURN ★★★
I got the message, just wish it had been a little more interesting and wish the story itself had more explanation.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Animal death, Homophobia, Rape, Slavery, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
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