I enjoy anthologies and this one in particular hit a lot of highs for me. The author list was a perfect mix of names I recognized and ones I didn't. The book had a flow while was diverse enough that each story felt like it's own. Overall a good read.

These short stories are fun and they stay captivating until the very end. If you like horror, witches or Halloween this is a great book to read in the fall.

A fantastic band of authors came together to create this wonderful, witchy, diverse, badass female anthology and I AM HERE FOR IT. I knew there wasn't going to be a bad story in the batch but I didn't realize how difficult it would be to choose a favorite. Anna Marie-McLemore always slays, and her story is probably my favorite, but Jessica Spotswood did not disappoint with the magic and Nova Ren Suma (who is a new author for me) is an author I'm going to now read more from thanks to this book!

This book was a fun and fast read for me. I was immediately intrigued by the presentation of witchy stories revolving around various female identities. It was great seeing the subject matter presented from queer perspectives. Queer ideologies have always been present in the culture but those stories are often not told, making this collection quite refreshing. This book would be great for middle and high school ages.

I wasn’t able to finish this book. Because of this, it is my policy not to review the book on my site or on Goodreads/Amazon. I also didn’t mark it DNF.

A bit above the age group for my elementary library but a perfect book for HS libraries and YA sections of public libraries. I love short stories like this because it helps to get students and adult readers introduced to many new authors that you may not have read without this.

With stories set in the past and present, in world real and imagined, the short stories in Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft are linked by their feminist, progressive politics. Many of the stories feature queer romances and they were clearly selected with the aim of representing a wide range of cultures and traditions. I’ve chosen to highlight three stories from the collection, representing its highest and lowest points.

Is it unbearably cliché to call “Love Spell” by Anna-Marie McLemore spellbinding? This beautiful story follows a young bruja who’s moved in with her tía to learn more about her magic, gifts that her neighbours beg for in their hour of need and shun in the light of day. When the narrator falls in love, it seems doomed from the start. How could a witch who isn’t even permitted to receive communion ever hope to be with a boy who’s devoted his life to the Catholic Church? There are many love stories in this collection but none stole my heart like this one. McLemore’s writing is lyrical and evocative, and they accomplish a lot in only a few pages. Their writing style is full of figurative language used to great effect, especially when sharing that the narrator’s love interest is trans. I loved this story’s messages about the importance of community and faith, and the power of knowing your own worth. It’s not often that a single short story compels me to read an author’s backlist, but “Love Spell” has done just that.

“The Gherin Girls” by Emery Lord is also a love story: one about the love between sisters. Despite their differences in personality and life experience, Nova, Rosie, and Willa have always been close. Raised by their loving parents, each of the Gherin girls is smart, strong, and independent. But if she’s so strong, then why is Rosie still haunted by her relationship with her shitty ex? This tale explores the lasting effect that an abusive relationship can have on someone. Rosie has been made to feel small and stupid and foolish. In only a few pages, Emery Lord crafts distinct POVs for each of the sisters to reveal that despite what Rosie thinks, her sisters don’t blame her: they only want to help her heal. In this story, real magic – real power – comes from the unconditional love of your family.

The most disappointing story in the collection for me is “The Moonapple Menagerie” by Shveta Thakrar. Each year, Shalini and her coven members put on a magical play, with each of them responsible for part of the production. Shalini is too embarrassed to confess to her friends that she’s suffering from writer’s block and makes a pact with a demon in a desperate bid to complete the play before opening night. I thought this one had a lot of potential in its world building, which draws heavily on South Asian mythology. Unfortunately, the plot was just so dull. I wish we’d learned more about the creatures and less about Shalini’s struggle with impostor syndrome.

I recommend Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft to fans of witch stories, diverse fantasy, and YA romance readers.

There were a few stories I didn't care for but I liked a high percentage than I normally do with story collections, if you like witches and the like, I highly suggest it.

I thought that I had completed the review of this over two years ago. I read this and used it in my classroom, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I do recommend it.

A great variety of magic-filled stories! I loved all the different characters and their individual stories. A very fun anthology that I would recommend to anyone looking for magic and girl power!

I love spooky books but I couldn't get into this book of short stories. I wish I had made it through because I feel like it's more fair to rate short stories one by one than as a whole, but I didn't make it very far.

A wonderful group of short stories that kept me coming back for more. I was delighted to see the variety of stories in here and the gorgeous voice in the story telling.

Intrigued by the premise, I was happy to receive this galley. However, I simply could not find a single story within this anthology that resonated with me.

Nothing has ever made me want to marathon watch The Craft, Simple Magic and Hocus Pocus quite like this short story anthology. Toil & Trouble has been the perfect femme-centric read for the latter half of spooky season.

★★★★ STARSONG by Tehlor Kay Mejia
★★★★★ AFTERBIRTH by Andrea Cremer
★★★ THE HEART IN HER HANDS by Tess Sharpe
★★★★ DEATH IN THE SAWTOOTHS by Lindsay Smith
★★★ THE TRUTH ABOUT QUEENIE by Brandy Colbert
★★ THE MOONAPPLE MENAGERIE by Shveta Thakrar
★★★★ THE LEGEND OF STONE MARY Robin Talley
★★ THE ONE WHO STAYED by Nova Ren Suma
★★★ DIVINE ARE THE STARS by Zoraida Córdova
★★★★ DAUGHTERS OF BABA GAGA by Brenna Yovanoff
★★★★★ THE WELL WITCH by Kate Hart
★★★★ BEWARE OF GIRLS WITH CROOKED MOUTHS by Jessica Spotswood
★★★★ LOVE SPELL by Anna-Marie McLemore
★★★★ THE GHERIN GIRLS by Emery Lord
★★★★★ WHY THEY WATCH US BURN by Elizabeth May

The thing about anthologies is that it's hard to find one where every story hits you the RIGHT way, and Toil & Trouble was no exception. There were stories I really loved (shout out to Afterbirth, Death in the Sawtooths, The Legend of Stone Mary, The One Who Stayed, Beware of Girls With Crooked Mouths, The Gherin Girls, and Why They Watch Us Burn!), and the rest just didn't really stand out for me. They weren't bad, per se, just not my thing, I suppose!

Still though, if you're into witches, then I def recommend picking this one up!

Ah, these stories are all well written. Some I think I really liked pretty quickly and others it took me a few minutes to catch on to but overall they were a pretty fast paced read for me and I enjoyed reading about the different types of witches and how they interacted with mortals. Some are funny and some were scary. Perfect read at Halloween time.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love witches and I enjoyed the way these stories were told. I liked some more than others (which is the norm when I read anthologies) but I loved that each other brought something new and special to each story. The perfect season to read witchy stories.

I don't normally enjoy anthologies but I did like this one! All the stories had some similarities but were also their own and holy hell LGBTQ+ rep! My favourite one was probably the very last one "Why They Watch Us Burn" but they were all fantastic.

I apologize but this title did not work for me. I’ve discovered that I don’t enjoy short stories collections and rather than harm the authors I chose not to rate it.

I ended up not finishing these stories. I really Love stories about witches but I could not get into this one at this time. Short stories are not for me. Will try again another time.