I always love an anthology, because it gives me a chance to try out authors that are new to me. As with all anthologies, I loved some stories and disliked others, but that's purely my personal taste, and oh so subjective.

I recommend giving this anthology a whirl, you will absolutely find something worth reading!

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. There are two books in this set and they are a set of Halloween themed cozy mysteries about Lucy Stone. I was drink some iced chai since it was too hot for a heated beverage. Relaxed to read these two cozy mystery tales. I enjoyed them and they were quick reads for me. They made me relax and just enjoy the mystery of what was happening.

Do I Recommend this book? Yes

Notes and Opinions: Each of the stories had there ups and downs. I obviously loved some more than others but as a whole, I loved it! It had a whole lot of powerful women and it was just beautifully written. Each author's writing complemented each other and their worlds. It was so beautifully crafted
and I know I'll be recommending this book to everyone. I mean, who doesn't love stories about witched??

I always love a good YA anthology! Add in witches and strong, powerful girls and I'm 100% sold. I really appreciate the diverse cast of characters, and though there are some stories I liked better than others I thoroughly enjoyed this collection overall. I can't wait to recommend it to readers in my new library!

This is probably without a doubt my most favourite anthology that I've ever read to date. It conjured up so many emotions during my reading experience, grief, happiness, inspiration. These stories made me feel things, which is certainly always a plus when rating a novel. Also, this book was pretty gay, which I always appreciate.

I've savored this slowly, enjoying a story here and there between books, and while I'm not much a short story collection aficionado, this was charming. Not every story enchanted me—it'd be true witchcraft if it did, because let's face it, I am a witch like that—but overall, this collection has a gleaming spark to it (which includes gay witches, poc witches, awesome witch friendships, witches getting witch shit done, #ov, fun historical fiction which is my ultimate jam as of late, and awesome interpretations of witchiness). *

* Yes, I overdid the cliché witch phrases.
* Yes, I regret nothing.

As is pretty typical of short story anthologies, this was a mixed bag. I loved the amount of diversity and representation in the collection (culturally, lgbtq+, etc.), yet as is often the case, I liked some stories far more than others. I also felt like many of these stories had beginnings and middles, but no conclusions. An additional purchase for libraries where short story collections are popular.

This is a brilliant anthology about women. I usually don't reach for anthologies since I would only like at most 2 stories out of a book but I liked the majority of them in this one! This book presents witches which were often women that were educated, unmarried, or didn't follow traditional expectations put in place by society in various eras of humanity. There's some stories in it that I wish would become a standalone book like Lindsay Smith's Death in the Sawtooths and her world in the southern united states.

The Heart in Her Hands by Tess Sharpe is another of my favorite in the book. It's about girls who spur fate, who take matters into their own hands, to fight for a love worth turning their backs on their teachings and community.

Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer is one that stuck out to me with it being in the 1600s and the story of Deliverance and result of her mentor being accused of witchcraft. This story consists of a traditional witch trial (meaning the woman has absolutely 0 chance of winning).

The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley is great too. Wendy, our main character, has always been warned away from the woods (naturally) where a statue of her great + grandmother’s statue remains. The statue is meant to remind the town of a witch who was killed in the town which leads us to the central theme of this story: to always remember the past and in turn not repeat history.

The Well Witch by Kate Hart was a bit toned down on the witchiness but it was an ok story set in the 1800s in the western desert.

Most of the stories are great and I really like the book

I loved this. Diverse authors, diverse character. Witches. LGBTQ representation. With the exception of one story, I’m looking forward to rereading these stories.

This is probably without a doubt my most favourite anthology that I've ever read to date. It conjured up so many emotions during my reading experience, grief, happiness, inspiration. These stories made me feel things, which is certainly always a plus when rating a novel. Also, this book was pretty gay, which I always appreciate. I'm not even joking, the majority of this book, gay. Not to mention witches are amazing, and the fact that this book is all female witches is amazing. I've been looking forward to reading this after it was announced, and I was not disappointed at all, all of my expectations were well met.
This all being said, the way that I review anthologies is not based of the entirety of the book itself, as that is difficult with so many individual stories at play, but instead I will entail my thoughts on my chosen favourites from the bunch. So without further ado, here were my favourites.
Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia.
This was a brilliant one to start of this anthology. Set in a modern time with a present theme of social media, this story is adorable in every single way. With the presence of social media influencers as a very big part of society, this was innovative in our century and easy to relate to. And, it was gay and adorable, so obviously I enjoyed it.
The Heart in her Hands by Tess Sharpe.
I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCH OKAY. This one is also set somewhat presently, and has such an intricate plot line and backstory that is brought fourth so well with such a short amount of pages. And I love soulmate AUs, although this one definitely didn't go as I expected. In fact, nothing in this story went at all how I expected, and I loved it! And this one is gay as well, and WOMEN OVERPOWERING THE OPPRESSIVE SYSTEM. WHAT MORE COULD YOU EVEN WANT?
Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith.
I really liked the concept on this one! It was certainly an enjoyable read, but I will say that I think the mystery element was a bit too short and conclusive, and I think that it was in general just difficult to pull off with only a short amount of pages. I thought it was lacking and it seemed to be set up to be complex when it ended up being solved shortly after. Nonetheless I loved the backstory set up here as well.
The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley
Robin Talley is one of my favourite authors, and so of course I was just so excited to read her piece in this anthology. It was really intricate, to say the least. I really liked the backstory for this one as well, it revolves around a legend in a small town dating back 200 years, and ties this in with the present day. This is just amazingly imaginative.
The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma
There isn't really too much I can say about this one, other than I enjoyed it. This is also modern day, and it revolves around a group of girls who are bonded together by the same tragic event that's fallen each of them in a variety of ways, and they recruit others into the coven through comfort, as they're the ones whom are first seen after it happens when they lay in wait. This was captivating and showed the bond of different girls together through something that tied them together commonly. Also, girls seeking revenge with magic is an awesome concept in any sense.
Divine are the Stars by Zoraida Còrdova.
Witches and ancestry and witches of colour and discovering hidden talents and floral themes. This one was marvellous.
Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore.
I was so excited to see one of my absolute favourite authors in this anthology, it seemed obvious she would be because she's the queen of magical realism. I'm so glad she did a piece for this, because it was amazing and dazzling and magical and just basically everything you could ask for with Anna-Marie McLemore writing a story about witches.
Why They Watch us Burn by Elizabeth May.
This one literally made me ball my eyes out. This is so sad and heart wrenching, and though the theme feels like olden days and ancient, a lot of what's said in here really rings true in regards to modern-day society. I really liked that this one blurred the lines between witch trials and modern day events, it was really interesting and beautiful, but important and captivating, in a really somber sort of way.

I received this book in exchange for an honest opinion from the publisher and this has not altered my opinion of the book.

I’m pretty sure that this is one of my favorite short story collections that I’ve ever read. It has everything that I want in a series of stories about witches. I love while they were different, they all flowed really well and I felt no choppiness. The stories themselves were different and interesting and I really enjoyed the majority of them and they are ones that I for sure will be rereading this in the future. Several of the stories included witches who were lesbian or bi and I really thought that was a nice touch and it all felt so natural. Maybe I’m a witch?

Overall, this book was a success for me. All that’s keeping it from a full 5 is that I had some mixed feelings about one or two of the stories. I would still suggest this book to everyone that I know as of now and I gave it 4.5 out of 5. This is a fantastical book, so there are stories about witches in our world who are trying to hide their magic and stories where it’s common knowledge there are witches. Just as a FYI.

I enjoyed this little collection of short stories! It definitely delivers on what's promised: YA? Check. Spooky ladies? Check. Witchy fun? Check. This was a great premise for a short story collection, and I'm excited to see a popular short story collection aimed at teens. Short stories are a GREAT tool for busy people to be able to keep up a consistent reading habit, and if we can hook readers into them at a young age, ALL THE BETTER for slowly morphing them into the insatiable readers that I hope they all become.
That said, any time you have a collection, there are going to be highs and lows. For me, there were more lows in this collection on a writing level than I wish there had been. It really boiled down to the writing quality more so than the stories. Most of the stories had great ideas behind them. Unfortunately, I do think many of them didn't have writing that lived up to the premise, and that undermined my enjoyment at times.
But in total, I enjoyed this collection. Not the best I've read, but I think it's well worth your time if you're into these kinds of stories.

**This book was provided to me free by Netgalley. Thank you so much for letting me read and review this.**

If you average the ratings of the short stories I finished you get 2.73 stars, so I rounded up to three stars.

“Starsong:” 3/5 stars. Started off boring, ended just when it got interesting. Typos in the pdf sent to me.

“Afterbirth:” 4/5 I enjoyed this one a lot! Much better than the first, and more of want I expected out of this book.

“The Heart in Her Hands:” 3.5/5 Stars
I loved Bettina and Auggie, their story was underwhelming and a tad confusing, but still cute nonetheless.

“Death in the sawthooths:” 3.5/5 Stars

“The Truth About Queenie:” 5/5 Stars
I absolutely loved the all black characters, and the story of this one.

“The Moonapple Menagerie:” 1/5 stars

“The Legend of Stone Mary:” 5/5 Stars
This was another home run for me. This story would have been amazing as a fully fleshed out standalone.

“The One Who Stayed:” 3.5/5 Stars
Trigger warning for gang rape with no details, but you pretty much get the idea.

“Divine are the stars:” 1/5 stars.
I don’t know if I’m just not intelligent enough for most of these stories, but I stayed lost on 90% of them, and this was one of them.

“Daughters of Baba Yaga:” 1/5 stars
BOR-ing. Petty revenge tale.

“The Well Witch:” 1/5 stars
One of the least interesting for me and it dragged on longer than it should have when other stories deserved more detail.

Every other short story in this (3 more) were DNF’s I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t muster up what was needed to finish this book.
And I’ve only ever DNFed one other book in my life. So thats saying something.

I was really looking forward to this book, but sadly it was a flop for me.

Toil and Trouble is a magical collection of fifteen stories centered around the personal magic of girls. Some know and cultivate their magic while others discover their power through heartache and strife. The heroines are culturally, ethnically, and sexually diverse, and the tales are set in the past, the present, and the future. While written by different authors, the stories are unified in the themes of female power and society’s punishment and fear of women’s abilities and the need to control them. It is a relevant and resonant collection that I will read again and again and recommend to teens who need a little magic in their own lives.

Absolutely loved this feminist triumph! The diversity in world building was especially fantastic. Thanks so much for the ARC!

I received an electronic copy of this book to review in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

I was intrigued by the synopsis of the book and how beautiful the cover is! I’ve been reading and researching more so than practicing Wicca for over a year now and have really grown a strong connection to it and those that follow the Craft, so that was another draw to this book. I wanted to read about true and real and even if it’s fabricated, realistic stories about real people who have similar interests to me. This book was wonderful! I really enjoyed each individual story for many different reasons and of course as you read each story and follow the writing style of each author, some are better described and illustrated than others, but I appreciated each story within. I absolutely adored the fact that terminology and practices that I have grown to become familiar with were used in these stories and explored in a real-world application so that it wasn’t something that I was just reading about, but that a lot of other people were participating in. I actually would love to go back through and read the book in its entirety again. There are stories for every kind of witch and non-witch that people can draw some inspiration from as well as the pain, happiness, light, and darkness from each story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this advanced copy.

**Thank you to Harlequin Teen for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review**

I hadn’t read an anthology in a while so when I saw this one up on NetGalley I knew I had to try to get an ARC. If you couldn’t tell by my Goodreads I adore anything supernatural, paranormal, or fantasy related. Witches are right up my alley.

This anthology has 15 short stories so I will give brief review along with a rating for each story!

1. Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia *4 stars *
This was the best story to start off this anthology. It’s so sweet. This short story follows a Latinx (own voices) sixteen-year old named Luna who is obsessed with makeup, fashion, and reading charts and horoscopes for people. She has a huge social media presence which allows her to show people things they aren’t able to see (such as their true horoscopes) since she is an actual bruja (a witch). Meanwhile, Luna is also trying to gain back her mother’s trust after making some poor life choices a year ago. (Trigger warning for substance and alcohol abuse). As a result of all of this Luna feels rather lonely. All she seems to do now is hang out in her room reading horoscopes for her clients online and posting new photos on her social media. However, this all changes one night when a cute girl messages her on her social media. The two girls begin to banter and argue about whether astrology is an actual science, while Luna wonders if the girl is flirting with her. I adored this story. It’s such a sweet and relatable story.

2. Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer *2.5 stars*
This story is a classic witch trial story set in New England in the 1600’s. The story begins with a difficult childbirth scene (trigger warning for complications during childbirth) that results in the midwife being accused of witchcraft. This story consists of a traditional witch trial (meaning the woman has absolutely 0 chance of winning) and some mysterious spell books which means you’re in for a creepy, spooky, fun ride.

3. The Heart in Her Hands by Tess Sharpe *3.5 stars*
This story is full of generational witches, tea lovers, kitchen and garden witches, and angry deities-- so basically everything you could ever ask for in a witch anthology. The main theme of this story is soulmates. It explores the idea of soulmates being predetermined and following your heart. I loved this story so much. It’s just a heartwarmingly beautiful story.

4. Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith *4 stars *
This story follows Mattie who is in service to Lady Xosia who is also known as the Lady of Slumber aka Death. Naturally, the town carries extreme prejudices against Mattie because her patron is Death. The main theme of this story is of being stereotyped and judged for the actions of others rather than on your own actions.
P.S. There’s also a cool witch and wizard hierarchy in this story which is really fun and intriguing.

5. The Truth About Queenie by Brandy Colbert *5 stars*
This story is perfect. I actually forgot that I was reading a short story in an anthology. I need more. This story has such a diverse cast of characters; I believe the whole cast is African American. Queenie, our main character, is a witch but she is denying her powers because she believes that when she was young her powers accidentally hurt a friend. While that may be the premise of this story, the story contains so much more. It’s a beautiful story about accepting and believing in who you are, making your own choices, and letting yourself and your own actions define you. This was by far my favorite story in this anthology. The themes, the writing, the characters are all crafted perfectly.

6. The Moonapple Menagerie by Shveta Thakrar *2 stars*
This story was entertaining, but I just didn’t fall in love with it. It’s a cool story about teenage shapeshifters that are putting on a play. Shalini, our main character, asks a churel (demon) to help her create the perfect ending for the play, but as per usual the demon is not willing to do this for free. Demons aside this core of this story is about friendship...and not making deals with demons--just don’t do that.

7. The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley *3 stars*
I’m not quite sure why, but I just could not connect with this story. The writing was great; Talley created a spooky atmosphere that we all expect when witches are mentioned. Wendy, our main character, has always been warned away from the woods (naturally) where a statue of her great great great great (i’m not sure how many greats, honestly) grandmother’s statue remains. The statue is meant to remind the town of a witch who was killed in the town which leads us to the central theme of this story: to always remember the past and in turn not repeat history.

8. The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma *5 stars*
Wow. Just wow. I was on the edge of my seat with my heart slowly breaking into a million little pieces. This story was so powerful. The heart of this story is feminist and empowering. It’s about women coming together to support each other during their darkest times. (Trigger warning: sexual assault and rape.)

9. Divine are the Stars by Zoraida Cordova *4 stars*
First off, I love Zoraida Cordova. I couldn’t wait to read her story in this anthology and she did not disappoint. This story is full of magical realism and Cordova’s beautiful prose. At its core, this story is about what all families go through behind closed doors; the messy parts that we don’t like to advertise to the public. In typical Cordova fashion, she weaves a beautiful tale centered upon family.

10. Daughters of Baba Yaya by Brenna Yovanoff *3.5 stars*
My first thought while reading this story was of The Craft. If you are a fan of The Craft then this story is made for you. This story is essentially about 3 girls who want things to change. They are tired of sitting back and letting bad things happen instead they want to punish those who have hurt them. These girls find their power and agency in this story and it’s AMAZING.

11. The Well Witch by Kate Hart *2 stars*
This story is centered around a girl living all alone in the rugged outback of Texas in 1875. Her mom is dead, and her father left three years ago and has yet to return. Then, three men show up seeking shelter. I was enthralled with the first half of this story but the second half was a let-down. I didn’t like the ending.

12. Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood *5 stars*
This definitely has Three Dark Crowns vibes. This story is about three sisters who are aware that one of them will go crazy and murder the other two. How do we know this? It’s a family curse/prophecy. Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths could honestly be a full-blown novel, actually can Jessica Spotswood make that happen? I would LOVE to read it.

13. Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore *4.5 stars*
Lovespell is about a bruja who is living with her aunt so that she can learn her craft as they both share the magic of curing other people’s heartbreak. This story is ownvoices Latinx fiction about a girl who is struggling to hold on to her faith and first-love because she knows he can never truly be hers. Full of heartbreak and hope, this story is a must-read.

14. The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord *5 stars*
I adored this tale of sisterhood and the unconditional love shared between sisters. At its heart, this story is about abuse. Emery Lord captures the cycle of abuse perfectly. She shows how it’s not always easy to realize you are in an abusive relationship and how your abuser will always want to put the blame on you rather than on themselves. This story is heart-wrenching but so incredibly realistic.

N/A The Only Way Back by Tristina Wright *N/A*
I’m skipping this story because it will not be in the finished version after sexual assault allegations were brought against the author.

15. Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May *5 stars*
THIS STORY WAS THE PERFECT ENDING TO THIS ANTHOLOGY. I cried. This story made me feel every single emotion possible. (Trigger warning: rape/sexual assault though it’s only implied rather than described.) This story is about Night and 12 other women who are taken into the woods to repent. It’s haunting and heartbreaking how accurate this story is in regards for how survivors of sexual assault and rape are treated in society. At its core, this story is about finding your voice and reclaiming your true identity. It’s about sisterhood and supporting one another through the most treacherous times in life. It’s about love.

Overall, I enjoyed this anthology. It's full of meaningful stories that are incredibly relevant to our current society. I also think it's important to mention that you don't need to be a fan of witchcraft to enjoy this collection of stories.

A stunning collection of short stories. Each story showed depth and strength, peaking into a fully completed world. There were many stories where I felt sharp disappointment to reach the end. Every reader will find at least one story that speaks to them--most will find several. Additionally, each story serves as a high recommendation for readers to check out that author's other work. A masterful example of an anthology.

I don’t typically enjoy short story collections, mostly because I get TOO attached to characters or a world and the short story format isn’t enough time for me to be satisfied with the bitty chunk I get. And Toil & Trouble was no different; most is the stories I wanted to sink into and live in.

However, most of them made sense as a short story. I was pleased with their resolutions and they didn’t feel rushed. Unfortunately, while many of the stories featured strong writing, a few were incredibly juvenile and I had to skip them, bringing down the overall strength of the collection

Toil & Trouble is everything I dreamed it could and would be and then some. I was not only gripped by each of the stories, but I often forgot that I was reading a collection--always a good sign. I found myself wholly invested in each of these women's stories, wanting to know how their lives turned out. This is the perfect summer read to give to anyone who is looking for a quick, magical and fun read.

Recommend this one far and wide!