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A review by lemonbun
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft by Jessica Spotswood, Tess Sharpe
4.0
General overview: 4π
A great collection of short stories! This was really a joy to read.
Some stories were DEFINITELY better than others. The ones that were bad were such a drag to get through. However, there were plenty of good and great stories that made it all worth the while. Want cute lesbian romances? A range of stories with a great poc cast? Women learning to accept their strengths? Then I strongly recommend you try this book.
Starsong: 1π
What a way to start the book. This one was trying a bit too hard to be modern and #relatable. Some of the sentences just felt cringey. Also the frequent reference to star signs and where their moons are etc affecting her and her mothers mood...just wasn't for me! I joke that "excuse me, I'm a scorpio so I do this." But this story was using it genuinely. The one saving grace for me was the romance. But even then, it doesn't compare to romances later in the book. (See the heart in her hands).
Afterbirth: 3.5π
Kept me hooked. Compared to Starsong, this one was much grittier and focussed more on the traditional witch with her herbs and books. However, there is very little connection to the characters.
The heart in her hands: 4.5π
A brilliant, fleshed out story. In so few pages I was already invested in the characters. A new angle on the 'fated true love' trope. The setting and descriptions, the magic, the overall story...all of it was great!
Though I do have some questions left regarding Auggie. She's a witch too, but there's very little explanation involved in how she has her powers like is described for Bette. The whole point is that everyone's powers are gifted, bound until they are 'ready' and they are left a mark of the first words spoken to them of their soulmate on their skin. So what does this mean for Auggie? If I had any negative points about the story, its that I'd like to know! I really want to rate this story a 5, but these unanswered questions bugged me.
Death in the sawtooths: 4π
A story about a witch that works in a morgue, whose magic is that of Xosia, the lady of death. I like the premise, the writing flows and the story was overall very good! Maybe a tad rushed apprehending the villain, but hey, its a 25 page short story. Really enjoyed this one!
The truth about Queenie: 4π
Really nice story. It was great to have a fully black cast - which isn't as frequent as it should be in books/movies. Queenie and her grandma were standout characters to me. I wish there was a little more magic and witchery and a little less pining over Webb. It ended up being quite bittersweet.
The Moonapple menagerie: 1π
I didn't enjoy this at all. I just wanted to dnf this one. The reader is immediately thrown into the making of a stage performance in a coven. Something about apples in the beginning...idk they're not even relevant and add nothing to the story. I didn't care about the characters, the plot felt jumbly..it just didn't feel well thought out like the other stories. Why were these people even making a play? I have no sense of their world at all.
The legend of stone Mary: 4π
Good story. Has an interesting twist or two. Perhaps would have liked to see the MC actually use magic, but that wasn't the focus of the story.
The one who stayed: 1π
So this story straight up throws out gang rape. (Note: not in explicit detail.)
This one made me pretty uncomfortable. It took me a bit of time to realise it was alluding to rape. At first I thought, probably not, it's quite a dark and difficult subject which doesn't really seem appropriate for the book. The further I read the more sure I was.
What bothers me is that there seems to be a witches circle that takes in rape victims. That part is fine. What disturbs me is that they on some level seem to know its going to happen before it does. Why not intervene?
Idk the whole story just made my skin prickle, and not in a good way.
I suppose the one saving grace is that the women come together and support one another...but after the fact.
I can only hope that maybe the witches are looking back on the events and not foretelling the future.
Either way, the whole topic was a difficult one to get through. Rape happens and it should be discussed. But I found in the case of this story, it made my skin crawl and only made me anxious.
Maybe others would find solace in this story. I did not.
Divine are the stars: 2π
It was okay, I guess. The story didn't capture me much. It's just about a large family coming home after being called. Stuff happens that I don't really get, and don't really feel much from. That's about it really.
Daughters of Baba Yaga: 2π
Took a while to get into the flow of an actual storyline. Even then, it was pretty vague, there just didn't seem to be a main focus. And to my disappointment, there had nothing to do with Baba Yaga who I was looking forward to learning more about. Oh well.
The well witch: 4π
A good read. The writing flowed naturally and progressively. I felt so frustrated for the MC as events played out. Her emotions really came through to me as a reader. I wish she had more witchy powers to demonstrate.
Beware of girls with crooked mouths: 3π
The magic was fun in this one. Lots of use of potions, fire powers and the ability to see the future. Much more magic and witchery than some of the other short stories. The premise of the story was interesting as well. The idea that in this family of witches, one of the witches will go mad and kill her sisters/cousins. It happens every generation. The MC is desperate to prevent this. I mean... the obvious answer would be to have an only child, no? Or have no children at all.
I was morbidly hoping for a witchy fight to the death but that didn't happen.
Most of these short stories have endings that are quite empowering, but I didn't get that here. I don't know if I was satisfied. But hey, the journey was good.
Love spell: 2.5π
This story was nice. Though maybe a little slow and boring to start but the last pages were good.
I liked the magic. The curing of lovesickness. Its an intricate task, one that requires care and various different components. I found the whole ritual of it to be a much needed angle on witchcraft that the many of the other short stories didn't cover.
The ending was satisfying.
However, there were so many words I'd never heard of. I usually don't mind googling the odd word here or there, but it's pretty annoying when a vast majority of the sentences have so many words that are from a different language with no translation. I'm trying to read, I don't want to have to look up every other word. If the author had alluded to what these words meant, given just a bit more context, that would have sufficed. It got better later on, but the first couple pages were particularly annoying.
The Gherin girls: 5π
A heartwarming story of the love between 3 sisters. Throughout the story, it's easy to develop an interest in the characters.
The magic is more like a strong affinity for a certain subject. Nova to food and Rosie to plants. Willa's power particularly shined, the ability to feel someone's emotions via touch. It came into the story a fair amount, and every time it was really enlightening. Or at least, confirmed what she and the reader already suspected of certain characters emotions. There isn't necessarily a strong driving force in the plot, but it was really entertaining following the different perspectives of these sisters and what they are dealing with.
Why they watch us burn: 5π
Amazing story!
This story does tackle rape like 'The one who stayed'. That version of events made me feel uncomfortable, which I wasn't prepared for. In this story however, it only adds fuel to the anger and fire of these girls. It was not the focus of the whole story, but a motive to their rage.
Their events did not make me sad like how I felt in βThe one who stayedβ, but made my blood boil for them.
Their ever growing resentment of the men who have caged them and tried to control them is so strongly conveyed. These girls band together and become stronger and it's wonderful to witness.
Seeing them gradually become empowered was wonderful to read!
The romance as well, adds additional substance. It really is a lovely romance between the two.
My one issue is that I'm a little confused when this story is meant to be set. People believe in witches, any woman could be a witch for any small reason. They burn for it, or work in camps. Priests use symbols and wards. And yet, there is talk of skyscrapers and cars. I'm struggling to place the time frame in which these events occurred, as everyone's mentalities towards witches are very VERY dated, but it's mixed with modernity. However, this did not take away from the story.
A great collection of short stories! This was really a joy to read.
Some stories were DEFINITELY better than others. The ones that were bad were such a drag to get through. However, there were plenty of good and great stories that made it all worth the while. Want cute lesbian romances? A range of stories with a great poc cast? Women learning to accept their strengths? Then I strongly recommend you try this book.
Starsong: 1π
What a way to start the book. This one was trying a bit too hard to be modern and #relatable. Some of the sentences just felt cringey. Also the frequent reference to star signs and where their moons are etc affecting her and her mothers mood...just wasn't for me! I joke that "excuse me, I'm a scorpio so I do this." But this story was using it genuinely. The one saving grace for me was the romance. But even then, it doesn't compare to romances later in the book. (See the heart in her hands).
Afterbirth: 3.5π
Kept me hooked. Compared to Starsong, this one was much grittier and focussed more on the traditional witch with her herbs and books. However, there is very little connection to the characters.
The heart in her hands: 4.5π
A brilliant, fleshed out story. In so few pages I was already invested in the characters. A new angle on the 'fated true love' trope. The setting and descriptions, the magic, the overall story...all of it was great!
Though I do have some questions left regarding Auggie. She's a witch too, but there's very little explanation involved in how she has her powers like is described for Bette. The whole point is that everyone's powers are gifted, bound until they are 'ready' and they are left a mark of the first words spoken to them of their soulmate on their skin. So what does this mean for Auggie? If I had any negative points about the story, its that I'd like to know! I really want to rate this story a 5, but these unanswered questions bugged me.
Death in the sawtooths: 4π
A story about a witch that works in a morgue, whose magic is that of Xosia, the lady of death. I like the premise, the writing flows and the story was overall very good! Maybe a tad rushed apprehending the villain, but hey, its a 25 page short story. Really enjoyed this one!
The truth about Queenie: 4π
Really nice story. It was great to have a fully black cast - which isn't as frequent as it should be in books/movies. Queenie and her grandma were standout characters to me. I wish there was a little more magic and witchery and a little less pining over Webb. It ended up being quite bittersweet.
The Moonapple menagerie: 1π
I didn't enjoy this at all. I just wanted to dnf this one. The reader is immediately thrown into the making of a stage performance in a coven. Something about apples in the beginning...idk they're not even relevant and add nothing to the story. I didn't care about the characters, the plot felt jumbly..it just didn't feel well thought out like the other stories. Why were these people even making a play? I have no sense of their world at all.
The legend of stone Mary: 4π
Good story. Has an interesting twist or two. Perhaps would have liked to see the MC actually use magic, but that wasn't the focus of the story.
The one who stayed: 1π
So this story straight up throws out gang rape. (Note: not in explicit detail.)
This one made me pretty uncomfortable. It took me a bit of time to realise it was alluding to rape. At first I thought, probably not, it's quite a dark and difficult subject which doesn't really seem appropriate for the book. The further I read the more sure I was.
What bothers me is that there seems to be a witches circle that takes in rape victims. That part is fine. What disturbs me is that they on some level seem to know its going to happen before it does. Why not intervene?
Idk the whole story just made my skin prickle, and not in a good way.
I suppose the one saving grace is that the women come together and support one another...but after the fact.
I can only hope that maybe the witches are looking back on the events and not foretelling the future.
Either way, the whole topic was a difficult one to get through. Rape happens and it should be discussed. But I found in the case of this story, it made my skin crawl and only made me anxious.
Maybe others would find solace in this story. I did not.
Divine are the stars: 2π
It was okay, I guess. The story didn't capture me much. It's just about a large family coming home after being called. Stuff happens that I don't really get, and don't really feel much from. That's about it really.
Daughters of Baba Yaga: 2π
Took a while to get into the flow of an actual storyline. Even then, it was pretty vague, there just didn't seem to be a main focus. And to my disappointment, there had nothing to do with Baba Yaga who I was looking forward to learning more about. Oh well.
The well witch: 4π
A good read. The writing flowed naturally and progressively. I felt so frustrated for the MC as events played out. Her emotions really came through to me as a reader. I wish she had more witchy powers to demonstrate.
Beware of girls with crooked mouths: 3π
The magic was fun in this one. Lots of use of potions, fire powers and the ability to see the future. Much more magic and witchery than some of the other short stories. The premise of the story was interesting as well. The idea that in this family of witches, one of the witches will go mad and kill her sisters/cousins. It happens every generation. The MC is desperate to prevent this. I mean... the obvious answer would be to have an only child, no? Or have no children at all.
I was morbidly hoping for a witchy fight to the death but that didn't happen.
Most of these short stories have endings that are quite empowering, but I didn't get that here. I don't know if I was satisfied. But hey, the journey was good.
Love spell: 2.5π
This story was nice. Though maybe a little slow and boring to start but the last pages were good.
I liked the magic. The curing of lovesickness. Its an intricate task, one that requires care and various different components. I found the whole ritual of it to be a much needed angle on witchcraft that the many of the other short stories didn't cover.
The ending was satisfying.
However, there were so many words I'd never heard of. I usually don't mind googling the odd word here or there, but it's pretty annoying when a vast majority of the sentences have so many words that are from a different language with no translation. I'm trying to read, I don't want to have to look up every other word. If the author had alluded to what these words meant, given just a bit more context, that would have sufficed. It got better later on, but the first couple pages were particularly annoying.
The Gherin girls: 5π
A heartwarming story of the love between 3 sisters. Throughout the story, it's easy to develop an interest in the characters.
The magic is more like a strong affinity for a certain subject. Nova to food and Rosie to plants. Willa's power particularly shined, the ability to feel someone's emotions via touch. It came into the story a fair amount, and every time it was really enlightening. Or at least, confirmed what she and the reader already suspected of certain characters emotions. There isn't necessarily a strong driving force in the plot, but it was really entertaining following the different perspectives of these sisters and what they are dealing with.
Why they watch us burn: 5π
Amazing story!
This story does tackle rape like 'The one who stayed'. That version of events made me feel uncomfortable, which I wasn't prepared for. In this story however, it only adds fuel to the anger and fire of these girls. It was not the focus of the whole story, but a motive to their rage.
Their events did not make me sad like how I felt in βThe one who stayedβ, but made my blood boil for them.
Their ever growing resentment of the men who have caged them and tried to control them is so strongly conveyed. These girls band together and become stronger and it's wonderful to witness.
Seeing them gradually become empowered was wonderful to read!
The romance as well, adds additional substance. It really is a lovely romance between the two.
My one issue is that I'm a little confused when this story is meant to be set. People believe in witches, any woman could be a witch for any small reason. They burn for it, or work in camps. Priests use symbols and wards. And yet, there is talk of skyscrapers and cars. I'm struggling to place the time frame in which these events occurred, as everyone's mentalities towards witches are very VERY dated, but it's mixed with modernity. However, this did not take away from the story.