Reviews

Villainous: An Anthology of Fairytale Retellings by Helen Whistberry, Katherine Macdonald, Julie Embleton, Philip M. Jones, Rebecca F. Kenney, Carol Beth Anderson, L.T. Ward, Jacob Klop, E.P. Stavs, K.A. Miltimore

katie_schaffer_heaton's review

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

mandysreadinglist's review

5.0

 𝖁𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖚𝖘: 𝔄𝔫 𝔄𝔫𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔶 𝔬𝔣 𝔉𝔞𝔦𝔯𝔶𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔢𝔱𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰

This has been one of my favorite books of June! I have been devouring fairytale retellings, and this was such a fun companion to read with @serena_valentino_author’s Villain Series ❤️‍🔥 these shorts retell and reimagine the stories of so many timeless villains, and I just loved the whole collection! Some of my favorites were 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, and 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦'𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴 ❤️

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱:
Straw Into Gold @cbethanderson
Sisters @helenwhistberry
Bluebeard's Wife @epstavs
The Ogress by Philip M. Jones
The Big Bad Wolf is Born by Jacob Klop
The Pied Piper @rebeccafkenneybooks
The Stepmother by Katherine Macdonald
True Love's Kiss @julieembletonauthor
Jack, The Giant, and the Beanstalk @ltward.writer
Take My Heart @kamiltimore

Proceeds from this collection are being donated to charity, helping children in need ❤️ cover art by @faylane14 

libraryofretellingsandstars's review

4.0

"Villainous: An Anthology of Fairytale Retellings" by L.T. Ward, Jacob Klop, Rebecca F. Kenney, K.A. Miltimore, Carol Beth Anderson, Helen Whistberry, E.P. Stavs, Katherine Macdonald, Philip M. Jones, and Julie Embleton is a collection of 10 fairytales where the villains are telling their true story.

I would give "Villainous: An Anthology of Fairytale Retellings" by L.T. Ward, Jacob Klop, Rebecca F. Kenney, K.A. Miltimore, Carol Beth Anderson, Helen Whistberry, E.P. Stavs, Katherine Macdonald, Philip M. Jones, and Julie Embleton a 4-star review because, 1; I love fairytale retellings 2; the stories were strong and gorgeous 3; I liked how they gave twists to the stories of the villainous we know 4; I really enjoyed it but it wasn't my fav.

myadventurewithbooks's review

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

4.0

mimiathereader's review

4.0

This is a book of short stories about the villains in the well-known fairytales we all grew up listening. And I liked very, very much.

A collection of fractured fairytales (one of my favourite things!) that give us a new perspective on the villains of their stories - sometimes redemption, sometimes ambiguity, others just getting to know the “bad guy” a little better. They were great reads and so interesting!

Other things I liked: getting to know some new writers, some of the writers had such good writing!, the cover, the many mentions to the Fae and probably a lot of other things I’m forgetting right now.

Some things I wished were different: some of the stories were not completely obvious from the start about which fairytale they were about and I wish they were because I think I would have enjoyed them more and, also, some of the stories mentioned fairytales that were the focus of other authors and they did not match with each other - they didn’t have to but I would have enjoyed the book more if they did.

Stories to look out for (in my humble opinion): Straw into Gold by Carol Beth Anderson, Sisters by Helen Whistberry and The Pied Piper by Rebecca F. Kennedy. I enjoyed most of the stories but these three were so, so good!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

dwinprincess's review

5.0

You think you know some of the oldest fairy tales? Guess again. As you read these, you’ll get the other side. Forget everything you thought and see it all, from the other side

I truly enjoyed these stories and will be checking out more from the authors in this anthology.

Great read for all ages.

I received an advance copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

shcleveland's review

4.0

"Villainous" more than lived up to its titled with the delightfully wicked stories. Most of the entries were well written and cunning. I especially enjoyed the interesting takes on Rumpelstilskin, Bluebeard, and the Pied Piper. It was refreshing that so many of the authors chose fairytales that are a little less well-worn, less oft repeated. Still, the new takes on classics such as Snow White and Cinderella that make you actually hurt a little for the villains were masterfully done.

I came in to the anthology familiar with the work of several of these authors. I'm leaving it with an even longer to-be-read list.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

clarissagosling's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

5.0

Every story in this anthology hooked me in and I couldn't put them down. They are all fabulous retellings of well known stories from fresh perspectives.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.