As soon as I saw that Toil and Trouble had a story by one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth May of the Falconer trilogy, I knew I had to have it. Even if the subject matter hadn’t been one of great intrigue and interest to me, I would have bought it for that alone! Then it turned out to also have a story by Zoraida Córdova, which was also awesome.

The fifteen short stories in Toil and Trouble vary widely. They all have a couple common elements, as one might guess from the subtitle – all involve women, most of them amazingly strong, vibrant characters, and all involve “witchcraft” as defined by each particular author. Some I enjoyed more than others, namely the ones by Elizabeth May, Jessica Spotswood, and Emery Lord. I will definitely be finding books by the latter two and reading them, as somehow I had never come across their work before. For a more detailed review individually, check out The Sassy Book Geek’s review. She has an absolutely AMAZING overview of each story in this anthology!

The relationships that many of the stories showcase – and in such a short few pages – are beautiful, and heart-wrenching. There are sisters, lovers, friends, mothers and daughters and grandmothers. Reading these made me realize how much I need to value the female friends and caring family members I have in my life, as well as feel a little jealous of a few of them! The sister trio in Emery Lord’s story really pulled at my heart strings.
“She’d tell her daughters someday: ‘If you don’t feel safe enough to yell back, you’re not safe enough. My babies, that is not love.’” ~ Emory Lord in Toil & Trouble


If you are looking for an atmospheric collection of stories, this is definitely it! If you are looking for horror, this is NOT it. The hair-raising factor in these is due to the “unnatural” powers and magic, not anything particularly grotesque.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really loved this group of books! Perfect for October when I love reading all things spooky. I love short stories and these did not disappoint.

Overall rating: 3.75/4

1. Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia - 3 stars
This was a solid start.

2. Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer- 3 stars
This was a more traditional take on the witchcraft story.

3. The Heart in Her Hands by Tesse Sharpe-5 stars
I loved this story. It's a story about defying fate, the idea of soul mates being predetermined.

4. Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith-2 stars
I couldn't get into this story. The concept was interesting but they tried to do too much in too short of time.

5. The Truth About Queenie by Brandy Colbert- 3.5 stars
I loved our characters and the way this story "ends" but really begins.

6. The Moonapple Menagerie by Shveta Thakrar- 2 stars
I did not care for this story at all....

7. The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley- 3 stars
This story had potential but wasn't my favorite.

8. The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma- 5 stars
This was definately one of the hardest to read. There was so much dread and tension happening. As a reader and knowing what was going to happen was heartbreaking. At its core, it's about supporting each other as women and help each other through times of need.

9. Divine are the Stars by Zoraida Cordova-3.5 stars
I love a good magical realism story and this one did a nice job of pulling in my attention.

10. Daughters of Baba Yaya by Brenna Yovanoff- 3 stars
Not much to say about this one it was fine.

11. The Well Witch by Kate Hart-3 stars
I liked the western setting for this story and it started out strong but by the end I was disappointed.

12. Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood- 3 stars
Average

13. Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore- 2 stars

14. The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord- 3.5 stars
This story was about the unconditional love and the bond between sisters.

15. Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May-5 stars
By far my favorite story in this anthology. This was such an empowering story This was the perfect ending to this collection. It's a haunting analogy for how we treat survivors of sexual assault and rape. Super powerful.

This collection was overall very interesting. I loved the representation and diversity of these stories. All of these stories had an element of feminism and empowerment with a witchy twist. The only thing I wish there was a bit more of was some more historical or traditional witchy settings. Most of these stories took place in a modern society and I wanted a few more setting in the past. Also I would have liked to seen a story or two with a "dark/evil" witch to make the collection even more diverse.

Toil and Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft edited by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe is a collection of short stories about witchy women. It was published August 20th, 2018 from Harlequin Teen.

As with all anthologies, there are some stories I liked more than others. But, I didn't hate any of them. My favorites were those where the magic was of the healing sort. That the tales weren't all from the same cultural perspective was a plus. And many of the stories had a feminist bent to them.

Among my favorites was "Starsong" by Tehlor Kay Mejia where there is a young witchy astrologist who is drawn to another girl. And I enjoyed "The Truth about Queenie" by Brandy Colbert where a girl is driven to find out if she really has power or not. And I liked "The Legend of Stone Mary" by Robin Talley which has a nice twist to it. There were more I liked than not.

At the end of the book was a list of all the authors with brief bios that included their favorite fictional witches. This was informative and entertaining.

I give this collection 4 out of 5 stars. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories about witches. It is a YA collection and some of the stories do have a feminist bent to them.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

3.5 / 5

This is probably one of the better short story anthologies that I've read!
Really great variety of stories that are taking place in the past, present, and future. I really liked how all these authors (none of which I had ever read before!) took the theme of witchcraft and went in so many different directions. While I definitely enjoyed some stories more then others (Death in the Sawtooths and Afterbirth are two that particularly stood out) I found the collection as a whole be a strong one. Perfect October reading! :)

This is a good anthology for teens and adults who love stories of the supernatural from past, present and future. 15 tales by 10 authors cover a variety of scenarios involving magic. I enjoy anthologies because you can complete one tale, lay the book down and start fresh. Both good and bad magic so you can take your pick as a favorite, mine was The truth about Queenie by Colbert. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Toil & Trouble is a collection of short stories that is the perfect one to read right before Halloween.
Each story narrates the life of a witch, whether she be modern or an archaic type. Personally, I was a big fan of the modern ones, seeing how the protagonists were able to use their own magic inspired by their heritage. I found that a lot of the authors were using magic that wasn't just westernized but were diving into history of Latin communities as well, which I really enjoyed.

The writing in all of the short stories was so rich and well done, I almost wished that there was more to it.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was pretty excited about this collection. I have liked Jessica Spotswood's Cahill Witch Chronicles and there aren't a lot of witch books/stores out there. But I ended up rather disappointed.

Short stories are incredibly hard to write, in my opinion. It is a particular skill set which not all authors have. I have not read most of these authors longer works so I can't speak to their writing more broadly.

A lot of the stories came across as pushing an agenda. I'm not offended by the content, but it is annoying to me when things feel forced. I think it's like when a major issue/event happens and then popular shows need to have a similar story line to "address" it. You can do a PSA without feeling like a PSA.

There were a few stories I did enjoy reading. Jessica Spotswood's and "Death in the Saw Tooths"-sorry I can't remember the author's name-were both interesting. And they made me want to read more like a full length novel of those stories.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this, but I don't want to just dismiss it. One of the things about an anthology is that it exposes you to a large amount of authors/stories. Most likely you'll find something you like and maybe you'll find a new favorite author.

I was excited when I saw I got approved for this, since I love everything dealing with witches! There was a part of me that was hoping a lot of the witches portrayed would not fall into any of usual stereotypes we see in the media. Thankfully this anthology exceeded my expectations quite a lot!

The diversity throughout the anthology is what truly made me adore this book. Every single story is so different from the last. Whether it be from the world building, the cultures portrayed, the way in which each character uses their powers and how that molds their daily lives.

One of the things that was a very pleasant surprise was the amount of LGBT representation throughout the anthology. I had seen a few others mention this, but I had thought it was maybe part of one or two of the stories. By the time I finished the book I was just so overjoyed to have read about so many queer characters! The character’s sexuality was always portrayed in a positive light and brought up in very casual ways, which also made me very happy. It was never added in for shock value, or to make the characters seem lesser.

Some of the topics covered in the anthology are very heavy, a few character’s deal with sexual assault in two different stories. Nothing explicit is described, but it is there and can be uncomfortable to read through. So I feel I really need to add that into this review as a slight warning, since I know a lot of people may not want to read about that.

There were a few parts that I felt where just too slow, I had a hard time getting through those stories which is why I only rate it at four stars. Despite those few slower reads, the rest of the anthology is amazing. The plots are engaging and so many of them left me wanting more! I would love to read full length books on so many of these characters and their worlds, I wanted to know more of them and what would happen next in their lives. At the end of the day not only is this a very entertaining read, it is also a very empowering one. Seeing all these strong characters overcoming so much and just being their unique selves was really inspiring.

This anthology of witchy women explores the stories of several characters from various backgrounds at different times in history, told through the lens of different authors. Several stories were interesting, while others were difficult to understand and get through. It can be very difficult for authors to develop the proper setting/world building in a short fantasy story. Several stories were confusing, it was especially jarring to move from one world and its rules to another. I enjoyed “Death in the Sawtooths,” which is about a which, whose patron goddess is of the underworld. The main character helps determine the growing darkness in her town by working with the dead. “Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths” was an interesting story. I wish that the author could expand this story into a novel. It focuses on three sisters, who each have different magical powers. Each is dealing with their own romantic challenges, but together, they can overcome and stand strong.

This wasn’t my favorite anthology, but there were a handful of stories that kept me interested.

I'm all about the anthologies but this had more disliked stories than liked stories and I'm having a hard time because I would have loved to get some fantastic witchy stories. I appreciated that they were diverse in both time period and characters but nothing popped out as being particularly well-written, well-plotted, or super creative to raise up the collection as a whole.

Can't win 'em all but it will certainly have fans!

I received Toil and Trouble as an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This collection of stories is the perfect thing to set the mood for October. Most of the stories were really good, such as “Divine are the Stars” by Zoraida Cordova where a young woman named Marimar travels to her childhood home to witness her grandmother dying. Cordova has a beautiful writing style that sets the tone for the scene.

I loved that several of the stories had to do with sisterhood—both in a familiar and sorority sense. One of those was "The Gherin Girls" by Emery Lord, which has three sisters coming together after one of them leaves an abusive relationship.
I really enjoyed how some of them put a modern twist to witchcraft like "Starsong" by Tehlor Kay Mejia, which has a young witch reading horoscopes on Snapchat; while others were set in the past such as "The Well Witch" by Kate Hart. It's set in the late 1800s in Texas where a young woman is alone in the wild west, but has a knack for sensing the life-giving water underneath.
There were a few that fell flat for me like “The Moonapple Menagerie” by Shveta Thakrar. A small coven of teenage witches can shapeshift and put on a play every year, but the young witch who is supposed to be writing the play has trouble creating--until a churel (a demon) offers to help. I just felt like there was a lot going on in such a short time. I couldn’t keep track of who was who, especially with the reference to their animal shapes and then their actual names.

The one that made the most impact to me was "Why They Watch Us Burn" by Elizabeth May. This was about a girl who was sent to a labor camp for "being a witch." Though, as the story progresses, we see that she was sexually harassed and named her accuser. All of the thirteen women who were at this camp were there for naming their assaulter. Considering the news headlines right now, it just made me ache. Not only for these women, but for all women who have been sexually assaulted. Nothing was too graphic; there were mentions of bruises and victim blaming. The women proved their strength at the end, however. This was definitely one that will stick with me.

What a cool book.  As everyone knows, I love witches, so I snapped up the chance to read this collection of short witchy stories as soon as I saw it on Netgalley.  It is a collection of 15 short stories, all written by different women, involving magic, witches, and femininity.  The most amazing thing about this collection is the diversity.  Every story is vastly different from the one before, including the characters, writing styles, forms of magic, concepts, etc.  We got so much variety, and yet they all worked well together as a cohesive collection.  There were definitely some stories that I enjoyed and connected to more than others, but I think there is truly something for everyone in this collection.  My favorite stories were "The Gherin Girls" by Emery Lord, "Beware of the Girls With Crooked Mouths" by Jessica Spotswood, and "Why They Watch Us Burn" by Elizabeth May.  "Beware of the Girls With Crooked Mouths" was so captivating, and I loved the system of magic and the plot of the story.  I could have easily read (and want) an expansion of this story into a novel.  "The Gherin Girls" I loved because of the sisterly relationship (I really connected to these characters) and the subtle, yet well developed magic in it.  "Why They Watch Us Burn" was an incredible way to end the anthology.  It was completely haunting, terrifying, and scarily relevant.  I rated each story with a star rating and then averaged them to get my overall rating for the collection and it came out to a solid THREE STARS, but some of these stories are worth so much more to me.  There was a quote from "Why They Watch Us Burn" that really resonated with me, and I'm sure will with a lot of women.  "The most terrifying thing in the world is a girl with power.  That's why they watch us burn."

I can't say I really enjoyed the stories as I didn't. Were they bad the answer is no they just weren't for me. They all seemed too similar for my liking and the witchcraft aspect always left me wantngnfor more.

Like any anthology there are peaks and valleys throughout this book, but I will say that is is much more up than down! In a world which is currently sending messages to girls ad women that their worth is not valued, this collection of short stories stands up and shows the power we possess. There are stories where the evil is leaders, the men, siblings, and power itself but all of the stories prove that we will not go quietly as one story comments. I would recommend this to all women, and to scare some of the less enlightened men ;) but many of them would be wonderful to be read and studied in hs and college English classes,

I love the witchy vibes that are popular right now, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book! I love that it brings together female voices from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Plus, the feminist vibes are just an added bonus! I was especially looking forward to Zoraida Córdova and Brandy Colbert. I think within this book everyone can find a story that appeals to them.

I love spooky stories about witches, but they can get a bit trope-y at times. Variations on the same theme. Black cats. Warts. Spells. Incantations. It gets a bit repetitive. Toil & Trouble is a story anthology about witches that gives a new spin to the classic tales. These stories are diverse, creative, and entertaining, with a dash of spooky witchiness.

From love spells that go wrong to witch hunts, these 15 stories celebrate all things Witch....with a empowering, feminist overtone.

Each story gives a bit of a new spin to the witch tale. Creative, entertaining and thought-provoking anthology! I really enjoyed this book! Each story is different and interesting. I tried to pick a favorite, but it was pretty much a tie between two: Daughters of Baba Yaga and Why They Watch Us Burn. But, all of the stories are good!

Stories included are:
Starsong - Tehlor Kay Mejia
Afterbirth - Andrea Cremer
The Heart in Her Hands - Tess Sharpe
Death in the Sawtooths - Lindsay Smith
The Truth about Queenie - Brandy Colbert
The Moonapple Menagerie - Shveta Thakrar
The Legend of Stone Mary - Robin Talley
The One Who Stayed - Nova Ren Suma
Divine Are The Stars - Zoraida Cordova
Daughters of Baba Yaga - Brenda Yovanoff
The Well Witch - Kate Hart
Beware of Girls With Crooked Mouths - Jessica Spotswood
Love Spell - Anna-Marie McLemore
The Gherin Girls - Emery Lord
Why They Watch Us Burn - Elizabeth May

This book is definitely intended for a young adult audience. I still enjoyed it, despite having passed the Young Adult stage a few decades ago. The stories seek to empower women and show a different side to witch tales. A bit of diversity mixed in with the spookiness was a nice change!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Harlequin Teen via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

It can be very hit or miss with anthologies and with TOIL & TROUBLE: 15 TALES OF WOMEN & WITCHCRAFT I found that I wasn't feeling most of the stories. First, what I did like was the ultra-feminist, diverse, and progressive bent to these stories. It was so great to see so many voices represented. Each story is unique and you can hear each author's voice so clearly through the pages. I liked the fact that you get a story about a young Latina girl in modern times dealing with magic and love (LOVE SPELLS) and then you get a story about a possible demon child being born in 1700s America (AFTERBIRTH).

The stories that didn't work for me were just very uninteresting for me. Also, I am not a fan of YA love stories which a lot of these stories relied on more than the magic or witch aspect of the characters. Many of the stories that I couldn't get into were also a bit hard to follow due to the prose or the vagueness of what was happening.

TOIL & TROUBLE: 15 TALES OF WOMEN & WITCHCRAFT is a pretty good mixed bag of YA urban fantasy. I loved the fact that this anthology is intentionally super diverse and feminist. With such diversity you get more voices and more unique stories to discover.

What magic is this? This anthology is diverse, and rich, and sweeping. My average rating is 4 stars, because I really enjoyed most of these stories.
And I even did this thing where I reviewed each of these short stories individually? What kind of magical creature am I becoming?

🔷 Starsong by Tehlor Kay Meijia // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

➤ ownvoices Latinx, sapphic characters
CW - drug use

“People find me when they need to see the beauty they feel.”


Okay, this was seriously cute. I love how even short stories can convey so much about a person. Luna was engaging and adorable, and I loved the way she narrated. The instagram DMing was adorable, from the way Luna counted each minute, and holder breath. And it was just a seriously fluffy story, ok?

🔷 Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CW: childbirth, blood, death

“In the eyes of the village, my truths cannot be suffered to live.”


Golly, that was a DARK read. Good, but so dark. I actually wanted a tiny bit more closure? Just a reassurance that everything was actually going to be alright.
Set in Puritan New England, with a midwife accused of witchcraft. A bit gory, because childbirth isn't pretty.

🔷 The Heart in Her Hands by Tess Sharpe // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
➤ sapphic characters and sapphic relationships
CW: loss of a parent

“He can’t fill the empty space in her because there are none. There is no emptiness in a devoted heart.”


Ah, I LOVED this short story SO MUCH. I'll admit, the very beginning was a touch confusing. I had no idea what was happening and who liked who, and when this story was set. Because there's cars and phones and magic? That's a weird mix.
But I DEF liked the matriarchal society and the strong message of girl power. SO COOL.
And the sapphic ship? WOW. And straight up, throw out the heteronormative life for running away to a sapphic coven hidden up in the mountains. YAY.

🔷 Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith // ⭐️⭐️
CW: CW: death, corpses, bullying

“A person can tell you anything, but bones—those tell the truth.”


I'm still trying to feel out my thoughts on this short story? Like, I really liked the message. But the delivery was a bit too weird? And not just in a storyline, but the tone. The accent really, really threw me. The main character seemed to have a regular voice, but one of the characters had a very weird accent that was difficult to read.
And I didn't really like the overall theme of bullying. This girl was bullied, and she's rightfully angry. But the kids who bullied her don't seem to have learned? It was just mixed messaging for me and not my cup of tea.

🔷 The Truth About Queenie by Brandy Colbert // ⭐️⭐️⭐️
➤ Characters of Color

I thought this was really great! Super touching story about growing to accept who you are and your own strengths. Maybe the love triangle was a tad cliche, and I felt really bad for Queenie. (Come on, Webb)
I also really, really loved the conversation about how people of color are stigmatized while white people can get away with being witches. I definitely saw this growing up in conversations about traditional African religious practices.

🔷 The Moonapple Menagerie by Shveta Thakrar // ⭐️
➤ South Asian rep
I was so confused. So confused. I'm not sure what part of this is part of a dream sequence and what part was actually happening? The writing was very picturesque but the story just didn't make much sense.

🔷 The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
➤ Sapphic Rep

“Everybody for miles around used to remember the story of Mary Keegan’s curse, but you wouldn’t know it now.”


Oh my goodness, this is my favorite! (at least so far) I LOVE the story, and the way it's told, and the rumors of curses and legends. And just EVERYTHING!
It's spooky and mired in mystery and sapphic and just GOOD.

🔷 The One Who Stayed by Nova Ten Suma // ⭐️
CW: rape, sexual assault

Um, I did not like this story. It's realistic to the feelings associated with sexual assault, but I just didn't appreciate the story. It was the vibe, people watching but doing nothing to stop the assault? I know some people really liked the empowering message, but knowing the girl was going to be assault, but doing nothing to actually STOP the rape from happening made me ill.

🔷 Divine Are the Stars by Zoraida Córdova // ⭐️⭐️⭐️
➤ Latinx rep
“…But memories make things grander and more beautiful when you want to think fondly on them.”


Um, I have no real idea what was happening most of this story. But it was lyrical and kind of pretty? I was just very confused and it was hard to keep ALL the names and characters straight.

🔷 Daughters of Baba Yaga by Brenna Yovanoff // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CW: bullying, gore

"I was born to bury saints in the yard."


Ok, I really, really liked this story! It kept me very engaged and I wanted to keep reading. and I was sad this was a short story because I could have kept on reading.

🔷 The Well Witch by Kate Hart // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
➤ Native American rep
CW: racism, animal cruelty, death

"She brought nothing but the water along behind her."


Oh my word, this is definitely my very, very favorite. Everything about this story made me fall in love. The setting, in West Texas. Elsa, and her resilience. Zeb, and his kindness.
I just LOVED this story. Now, parts of it made me very, very angry. But it just resonated with me so deeply.

🔷 Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
➤ Sapphic
“But she would trade it all to be able to remember her little sister’s smile.”


How could this story end??? I was NOT prepared for this story to gut me. It had a very colonial vibe but it wasn't exactly colonial. There were sapphic characters and pirates and Scottish witches. Gosh, it was dark and gay all at once. I LOVED it and wish desperately for a full length novel. Because it was SO GOOD.
I was a bit disappointed with the ending because it just ended? And it definitely did not feel concluded.

🔷 Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“The way my mother told it, girls always held on tighter than boys. A boy moved on while the girl still scribbled her first name with his last."


Oh my goodness, I did not know this anthology could get even better, BUT IT DID. This story is sweet, and heartwrenching. It drags you on this breathless step into first love. I loved it so damn much.

🔷 The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CW: Absuive relationship

"In a way, you're related to many women who have suffered for misunderstanding and fear."


What a story. This is so powerful and beautiful. This is the sisterhood story we all need to read. It's moving, and emotional, and healing.

🔷 Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CW: assault
➤ Sapphic characters, F/F relationship with a POC

We are thirteen. We have always been thirteen. And we are wolves, and goddesses, and witch."
Wow, wow, wow. This story is just, so powerful. I cannot stop thinking about it. And reading this week, during the Supreme Court hearing, and seeing a woman testify, this story just resonates so powerfully. I will keep coming back to this and reading it, because it's so deep and powerful.

Toil & Trouble is an excellent collection of bewitching short stories just in time for Halloween. This anthology is filled with tales following witches and is filled with magic. Readers who enjoy fantasy or witches in fictions will want to pick this one up!