Has there ever been a better collection of short stories? The answer is no. At least not that I’ve read so far. I adored this SO MUCH! Incredible stories about witchy, strong, amazing women.

I did something a little different while reading this anthology. I knew with as many books as I read I wouldn’t be able to remember every detail of each story, so as I finished a story, I jotted down a few words or thoughts I had while reading and I’m going to share those with you along with some quotes I highlighted!

Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia: Magical, powerful. I love that this story forces me to use google translate.

“That our magic is restless and wild and trouble-bound. But I don’t know if I agree. Maybe we were just two people chasing numbness because we didn’t know what the stardust inside us was for.”

“I, Luna Mendoza, was part of the swirling color and dancing light of a sky that had never seemed so close.”

Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer: LOVED! Classic “towns people don’t understand so it must be the devil” story, but written so well.

The Heart In Her Hands by Tess Sharpe: Food love! Also tea! Beautiful story about choosing your own path.

“This is the thing about falling: It’s tricky. Sometimes you’re tumbling down into love before you realize your feet have left the ground. But it’s a choice too.”

“‘Sweets, we can be scared together,’ Auggie says. ‘But we can’t be scared here. Not anymore.'”

Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith: Reminded me of an episode of Supernatural.

The Truth about Queenie by Brandy Colbert: OMG Brandy Colbert! A new favorite author and I’m so excited to see a story by her here. I loved the contemporary setting so much.

The Moonapple Menagerie by Shveta Thakrar: Beautiful and atmospheric.

The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley: Love! I would read more of Wendy and Karen’s story!

The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma: Subtly powerful.

Divine Are the Stars by Soraida Córdova: So magical!

Daughters of Baba Yaga by Brenna Yovanoff: Loved this story so much. Everyday witches!

The Well Witches by Kate Hart: OMG Give me MORE!

Beware of Girls With Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood: The saddest story so far. 😦

Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore: So so beautifully written.

The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord: FAVORITE. I have so much love and feelings for this story and the sisters. I relate to Rosemary on a level that is still hard to talk about, but this story resonated with me so much.

“Tea won’t make it not true. Of course it won’t, Novy wants to snap. Tea doesn’t fix anything. It’s just comfort you can hold.”

Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May: So Fucking Powerful. The perfect way to end a beautiful collection.

“Then I think of witches, and understand that there are too many people in this world who would rather see a woman burn than wield power.”

“You understand the truth, though, don’t you? The most terrifying thing in the world is a girl with power. That’s why they watch us burn.”

*Please note, these quotes are from an ARC copy, so they may change in the final copy.

Witches!! Perfect fall vibes from this one. I really enjoyed the stories and found it to be super entertaining but also informative in a way.

A fan of short story collections, this book fits in perfectly, fueling equally my love of short story and magic! It was a witchy delight, and as a fan of a number of these writers, I was happy to snap up more of their work!

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was an excellent and quick read, and there were so many stories that I absolutely loved in it. There were a couple that were just misses for me, but overall I loved it so much. I would highly recommend you all pick it up, especially with Halloween right around the corner :)

*I want to first thank Net-galley for giving me a copy of this book for an honest review.*

I really enjoyed all the stories in this anthology. They were all so diverse and interesting, as soon as I read that this would be a witchy read I just had to pick it up. This book contained 15 different diverse stories of depicting the lives of all different kinds of people. There was LGBTQ representation as well as different races Andre classes. I loved how these story showed us not just scary and spooky stories nut it’s zhowed us the history of women empowerment. I hope to read more anthologies just as these. I gave this book four stars mainly for its meaning behind each story. As for each single story I believe I only rated one of the 5 stars. They were all really interesting I wasn’t just having problems connecting with the characters and some of the stories I believe mainly because they’re around 20 to 30 pages each. I felt like they were really well written and very thought out. My main problem was how hard it is to fall into a story within a few pages. For some of them I really wish I had more of it or even a back story into the magic and what led the characters to be in the spot they are in now.

My all time favorite was the last story Why they watch us burn by Elizabeth May. This one broke my herT in so many ways. It’s more of a modern story depicting women being called witches for standing up for theme selves. The main character stood up for herself against a man who said he was tempted by her. A lot also has to do with men in church such as the Priest of the church. They accused women of witchcraft sting they’re hand tempted them to sin. This story was powerful at this time to read because of the the contradictions that have been coming out to light with Priest and Popes sexually harassing and raping girls and boys since a young age. I cried at the end of this and I want so much more of it. I definitely recommend this book mainly for this story here.

This review is based on an ARC of Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (HarlequinTeen).

"This is what witchcraft looks like: it is women holding hands, harnessing power, and changing their fate. If every woman practiced such a thing, we would learn what Eve did after she ate that apple. When she held knowledge in her hands. We would upend the world."

The problem with all anthologies is that they are extremely hit and miss, having so many authors given the same prompt and making something of the same idea; some stories just won't be for you. To get my rating I rated each short story on a 5-star scale and found an average (3.1), and rounded to the nearest .5-star. In this anthology there were more stories I didn't like than that I did.

The second story, Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer, was by far my favorite, followed by Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths and The Tale of Stone Mary. After these, the rest were pretty forgettable.

I do need to give honorable mentions to 1) the gorgeous cover art!!!, 2) the diversity in these stories, and 3) the queer rep.

A few stories in Toil & Trouble made it worth the read, but I wouldn't bother to read this entire anthology again.

Normally with anthologies, I have a hard time connecting with all of the stories. Most seem to have really good short stories but also have some that aren't so great and lead to a "meh" feeling.

But this was not one of those anthologies. Even the stories that ended too soon (in my opinion) or were weakly written I found something to relate to in each one of the stories. Some made me tear up, some made me angry, and some filled me with hope and in my opinion any book that can do that is a powerful book; especially when that book is an anthology. (less)

Book Review: Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft, edited by Tess Sharpe and Jessica Spotswood

With stories by: Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood, Brandy Colbert, Zoraida Córdova, Andrea Cremer, Kate Hart, Emery Lord, Elizabeth May, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Lindsay Smith, Nova Ren Suma, Robin Talley, Shveta Thakrar, and Brenna Yovanoff

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book site

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft, we are, as expected, treated to fifteen short stories about witchy female protagonists. The protagonists are brilliantly diverse in race, creed, sexuality, and thought, while the stories take place throughout time.

If you’ve been following this blog previously, it’s no surprise that I enjoyed this anthology. YA women-centric anthologies have quickly become one of my favorite genres to read and review. I love the short stories and the leading ladies they create.

Previous books edited by Spotswood have never shied away from magic, but it was nice to let authors who prefer this kind of writing to have the spotlight. One of my favorite things about the stories was discovering what kind of magic was being used and how it shaped the overall story. What surprised me the most was that I found myself preferring the stories where magic was not the driving force of the plot. I really connected to the stories about love, family, and friendship were magic supported but was not an integral part of the story.

That being said, if you would prefer stories that fully lean into the magic, you’ll find plenty in here as well. The beauty of anthologies is that there’s usually something for everyone.

The writing and editing are once again top-notch. So many of these stories could’ve been teased into longer books themselves, but seem right at home with their peers. There was only one story where I felt a bit lost because the transitions between reality and magic were not very clear (though I also think that was the point).

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy magic and fantasy stories, feminist literature, and/or lots of LGBTQ+ representation.

I gave it a 4/5 on my Goodreads account which translates to “I really liked it.”

Instead of doing a review of all of the stories (15 of them) I am only going to review the four that I really enjoyed and gave 5 stars to. Everything else was a case of me going what did I just read, or feeling as if the story in question had too many holes or was incomplete in some way. All together I gave a collection a solid three stars. That is usually the way with anthologies unless the majority of the stories area home run.

Here is a list of the 15 stories in this collection:

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 by Robin Talley

The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma

Divine Are the Stars by Zoraida Córdova

Daughters of Baba Yaga 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

The Only Way Back by Tristina Wright

Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May


My four favorites are:

Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer. This takes place in the 1600s in New England. An apprentice to a midwife is witnessed to a strange birth with a lot of details leaking out that this birth was not a result of the woman in question having sex with the devil, but more like with the master of the house. This is a great callback to the Salem Witch trials and since I just read a book about Salem, this story was uppermost in my mind while reading it.

The Truth About Queenie by Brandy Colbert. Ugh. I wanted more. I was so ready to slap the dude in this story. So we have a story about a family of witches who are African American. The main character, is dealing with a lot of guilt we find because she believes (and is probably right) she threw a hex on a former friend who was bullying the love interest in this story. We also have her dealing with the fact that the boy in question is in love with someone else. When someone needs healing, he comes to her and asks for her help.

The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord. Touches not only upon magic, but about mental and physical abuse. Reading about this family who love each other and won't let one of the daughters/sister disappear with a man that they know can and will hurt her. It was lovely.

Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May. You will cry. You will rage. This is a great short story that feels like it was written in response to the Women's March as well as kind of companion to "A Handmaid's Tale". Considering what is in the news cycle right now you will think that Elizabeth May has a damn crystal ball. Going into why men would want to lock these teen girls up and not allow them to live is soul shaking. That all of the girls are punished for using their real names and then whisper them to each other at night.

“Here’s how to fulfill a prophecy: you are a woman, you speak the truth, and the world makes you into a liar.”

As someone who loves all things witches and magic, Toil and Trouble did not disappoint. I loved this diverse collection of short stories and the way each story highlighted powerful young women as well as tackling relevant and timely themes such as race, class, sexuality etc.

I especially loved Star Song, Divine are the Stars and Why they Watch Us Burn. I will definitely be recommending this breathtaking anthology.

Oh my god, this was fantastic. I don't usually like reading anthologies at all. I usually find that the stories are just too varied in quality and only one or two work for me. I also think a lot of writers struggle with writing a true short story; so much of the time the stories end too abruptly and feel like a first chapter. So I was apprehensive when I picked this up. But it actually blew me away! I don't know if it was just the subject matter that pulled me in immediately, or if this really is the best YA anthology ever, but this was so, so great. It blew me away.

Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia: This was the perfect start to the collection. I knew after reading this that Toil & Trouble was going to be such a good reading experience. Starsong has the perfect blend of magic and spirituality with technology and modern teenage-ness. The texting and flirting were adorable; I shipped the two girls big time and would have gladly read an entire novel about Luna. I can't wait to read Mejia's debut!

Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer: Not gonna lie, this was pretty gross at first. The descriptions were, well, descriptive. I loved the format; it reminded me of reading a play, especially The Crucible. This story definitely served to make me angry about the Salem witch trials all over again. And even though it was bittersweet, I really, really liked the ending.

The Heart in Her Hands by Tess Sharpe: This was really good! There was so much world packed into such a short little story. I always loved stories about girls forging their own paths and Bette was a trailblazer for sure. I do wish we got to see more of her magic, though. There was one scene where a witch was using a skillet as a wand, which REALLY pulled me out of the story. It was just so endlessly silly.

Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith: This was not my thing. If it had been a full-length novel, I probably would have picked it up, but as it stands, there just wasn't enough time to establish the world and the history between the two main characters. We didn't even know the villain, so his impact was entirely diminished. And he gave one of those long, ridiculous monologues.

The Truth About Queenie by Brandy Colbert: I really loved the voice of this one and it makes me want to pick up the rest of Colbert's work. That said, I didn't love this as a whole. I wish there was a bit more magic. I also felt the ending was very rushed; there simply wasn't enough time for Queenie to naturally come around and find herself on her own. I really, really liked the best friendship though.

Moonapple Menagerie by Shveta Thakrar: This was a total case of "it's not you, it's me." I just don't click well with stories when I know there's going to be a heavy-handed lesson to learn by the end. Plus, the story itself was just plain weird and I couldn't get a handle on the setting at all. What I did love was seeing all these creatures and gods and goddesses from a culture I know nothing about; there was a lot of further reading on my end once the story finished.

Stone Mary by Robin Talley: This story had such a strong sense of voice, which pulled me in right away. Plus, a story about small-town legends, family secrets, and bloodlines is sure to be my kind of thing. I do think it went a bit off the rails with the whole witch-hunter thing, and the story would have been just fine without it, but it was still really good.

The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma: Right off the bat I have to say, content warning for rape. It's not graphic or described at all, really, but it's there. That being said, this was still fantastic. I always love Suma's writing and the worlds she creates right inside our very own, very familiar world. I do wish it was longer; the story was just getting started.

Divine are the Stars by Zoraida Cordova: So good. I liked the main character, Marimar, a lot, and her relationship with her cousin Chuy. Cordova packed so much love and history into one small story. I found the magic to be absolutely beautiful, just the kind of magic I love to read about. Another one that started and ended well, but I would have gladly read 300 more pages.

Daughters of Baba Yaga by Brenna Yovanoff: This was also really good! I'm not at all used to this type of magic or this culture. I really, really enjoyed the writing and the revenge. I do think it lacked focus a little bit, and there should have been more time devoted to developing the friendship between the two girls. But still a very solid, fun read.

The Well Witch by Kate Hart: I wanted to like this, but it really wasn't for me. While I enjoyed Elsa, I didn't really love anything else. I didn't believe the romance at all. While the ending was kind of sad, I just found the whole story altogether pointless.

Beware the Girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood: This is the story I'm most bitter about. It had so much wonderful potential, but it felt like I was thrown in halfway through a book, and the ending was just as abrupt as the start. For a historical story with an arranged marriage between two women, a trio of magical sisters, betrayal, heartbreak, and poison, I was left cold at the end. How pointless and unresolved! This absolutely should have been an entire book, with enough time to flesh out the characters and the relationships. Short fiction was just not the right medium for the story.

The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord: So this one is a bit slice-of-lifey, which isn't my favorite thing, but I still ended up enjoying it. I loved the relationship between the two sisters, and their bond and the way they supported one another made me a bit teary at one point. That said, I really wish it had been more witchy.

Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May: This is one I really wanted to love but it felt like there was a wall between me and the story. I couldn't get a handle on time and place at all. At one point it seemed like the girls weren't actually witches at all, but just punished for being women, which is fine with me, but then everything changed and they were performing magic later on. I like the sentiment, but the elements all together as one just didn't come together for me.

So while I wouldn't say Toil & Trouble is the perfect short story collection, it comes damn close. Not every story was magical for me, but they all came together to form one wondrous whole. This was perfectly witchy, amazingly queer, with almost every story featuring an f/f romance along with other wlw side characters. I absolutely loved reading this and was so sad when the ending came; I want to read witchy little stories for the rest of my life, please.

I received a digital arc of Toil & Trouble from NetGalley. I have really been feeling the witch vibes this Fall from other books like The Casquette Girls so I was looking forward to a whole mess of witchy tales! Unfortunately, I found the stories more messy than interesting. There were a few standouts that I enjoyed, keep reading to find out which ones!

The last item promised in the synopsis are stories of witchcraft that are unique and different. I didn’t really find that to be the case. A lot of these witchy tales proceeded exactly how I expected them to with pretty stereotypical characters and plot lines. It was interesting to read about witches from a lot of different time periods. Sometimes, I had a hard time figuring out exactly when a story took place though. There were some short stories I thought suffered from a severe lack of witchyness as well. The first one was especially grating to me and gave a dramatically oversimplified look at a meaningful discussion of modern witchcraft.

Not to dwell on the negatives! The stories I really enjoyed were Death in the Sawtooths, and The one who Stayed. Both of these took a look at established covens of witches and their communication with larger, almost cosmic, forces. It’s hard to say much about any story without giving things away, but if you choose to read just a couple stories from Toil & Trouble, these are the two I would recommend.

In general, I think the anthology is good but I really wanted each story to have more depth. Most were superficial for my taste, and especially when talking about witchcraft I did have the expectation of more depth. With such short stories, it’s understandable that there can’t be a ton of character development, but I think the premise for some stories could have been stronger.

Do you have any witchy recommendations? I would love more to read this Halloween!

This collection includes delightfully spooky stories, each of which will leave you wondering at the end. Each author has a totally different writing style, and the editors have done a wonderful job of weaving the individual stories into a cohesive work.

This is is an engaging and entertaining read for anyone who enjoys spooky stories of magic.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free digital review copy of this title from Net Galley.


#ToilandTrouble#NetGalley

Fall and Halloween and all things witchy are right around the corner! Perfect time to pick up this anthology of stories that feature women and witchcraft!

I wasn’t sure how to write up a proper review since all of the stories are so different (and I don’t quite have the time or energy to write up something on all the stories, although I might do it the next time I read this anthology). But honestly, if you are interested in short stories and diverse characters and discourse on womenhood and autonomy and queerness and magic I guarantee you will find at least one story in this collection to fall in love with.

The only downside, some of these are too short and left me wanting to read more!

**I received an ARC from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review**

When got approved for this ARC I was beyond excited to start reading it. I was excited to read it as I haven't read to many books about witches and I figured it would be the perfect read with Halloween coming up and all. It wasn't quite what I thought it would be but in a good way.

Most of the Stories I really loved and wished that they had been full length novels instead of just short stories. Some of my favourites where The Heart in her hands, The Legend of Stone Mary, The Well Witch, Beware of girls with crooked mouths, The Gherin girls, and lastly Why they watch us burn.

I think one of the reasons why I loved this collection of stories so much is that a lot of them carry really important messages. They talk about and deal with some heavier topics that you don't see being talked about all the time. I also really loved that no two stories where the same, they were all vastly different but they stilled flowed really well together.

Now the only reason I didn't give this book a 5 star rating is because with a few of the stories I found they didn't make a whole lot of sense and usually they left me pretty confused at the end of them but aside from that I would highly recommend this book.

Just a side note, like I mentioned above this book does mention and talk about some heavy topics and could be triggering to some people.

I really enjoyed most of these stories. 

Toil & Trouble is a female-centric collection of short stories about women with magical abilities -- in all their wondrous varieties. These are also tales about women and their relationships primarily with each other, mothers and daughters, grandmothers, sisters and a number of female-female romances. While some are spooky, I did not find any scary.

As with any short story collection, there were some I liked more than others. Stories such as "The Gherin Girls" (Emery Lord), "Heart in her Hands" (Tessa Sharpe), "Death in the Sawtooths" (Lindsay Smith) and "Well Witch" (Kate Hart) were my favourites. While the last line of "Why They Watch Us Burn" (Elizabeth May) sent chills down my spine. 

I discovered a few new authors and a couple more got bumped up my TBR.

Originally posted on Forever Young Adult on 2018 August 21

BOOK REPORT for Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft by various authors, edited by Tess Sharpe and Jessica Spotswood

Cover Story: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
The Charmed: “Starsong” by Tehlor Kay Mejia,“The Heart in Her Hands” by Tess Sharpe,“The Truth About Queenie” by Brandy Colbert, “Daughters of Baba Yaga” by Brenna Yovanoff, “Beware of Girls With Crooked Mouths” by Jessica Spotswood,“The Gherin Girls” by Emery Lord
The Spellbinding: “The One Who Stayed” by Nova Ren Suma, “Love Spell” by Anna-Marie McLemore, “Why They Watch Us Burn” by Elizabeth May
The Spooky: “Afterbirth” by Andrea Cremer, “Death in the Sawtooths” by Lindsay Smith, “The Legend of Stone Mary” by Robin Talley
The Cursed: “The Moonapple Menagerie” by Shveta Thakrar,“The Well Witch” by Kate Hart
Bonus Factors: Diversity x15,Witches
Factor: Trigger Warnings
Break Glass In Case Of: Misandry and Mischief

Cover Story: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

This cover is cute, and fun, and contains pretty much everything we’ve been taught to associate with witches. I personally felt the stories inside were a bit darker and more nuanced than the cover suggests, but it’s pleasing to the eye none the less.

The Deal:

“Eve was the original witch, a woman whose curiosity changed her entire world. And you would have burned her for it.” – Elizabeth May, “Why They Watch Us Burn”

As long as women have existed, so have stories of witches and witchcraft. The 15 stories in Toil & Trouble explore witchcraft through the ages. From the dark, violent histories we’re taught in school to modern day incarnations of spells and magic—there’s a story for everyone.

The Charmed: “Starsong” by Tehlor Kay Mejia,“The Heart in Her Hands” by Tess Sharpe,“The Truth About Queenie” by Brandy Colbert, “Daughters of Baba Yaga” by Brenna Yovanoff, “Beware of Girls With Crooked Mouths” by Jessica Spotswood,“The Gherin Girls” by Emery Lord

Tehlor Kay Mejia’s “Starsong” is a delightful, #ownvoices tale about Luna, a bruja I found so relatable as she obsessed over makeup and skincare while staying up late at night reading people’s star charts. The way Luna finds connections with people via her social media following while she recovers from substance abuse added just the right amount of weight to this story.

“The Heart in Her Hands” by Tess Sharpe had everything my witchy heart desired: magical kitchen and garden witches, soulmates, family connections, tea!, plus a sweet f/f romance.

Colbert’s “The Truth About Queenie” felt more like a love story than a story about magic, but it was charming none the less.

The Craft fans will love Brenna Yovanoff’s “Daughters of Baba Yaga,” a story about three sisters who are ready to make some changes, written in Yovanoff’s signature wry style—the same one I fell in love with in Places No One Knows. (Just beware of some graphic animal corpse descriptions.)

Jessica Spotswood’s Cahill Witch Chronicles is one of my all-time favorite witchy sister series. Her story “Beware of Girls With Crooked Mouths” features a new trio of witchy sisters attempting to outsmart a deathly prophecy. No doubt about it: I was HERE FOR IT.

Real talk: I stan Emery Lord’s writing, and “The Gherin Girls” is no exception. The voice is haunting and beautiful, and follows a trio of sisters whose powers are less magic and more like…special talents. But even the lack of overt witchiness didn’t stop me from loving everything about this story. (Bonus points for an MC who shares my unusual name!)

The Spellbinding: “The One Who Stayed” by Nova Ren Suma, “Love Spell” by Anna-Marie McLemore, “Why They Watch Us Burn” by Elizabeth May

Some stories are too intense to be considered “charming” and three of the tales in this collection fall under that category. Haunting and powerful, Suma’s “The One Who Stayed” cranks the tension and dread up to 100 with a group of women who lean on one another for survival. It’s empowering, to be sure, but you’ll need to walk it off when you finish.

A Latinx story about a bruja learning magic from her tia, Anna-Marie McLemore’s “Love Spell” explores the bypassing of witchcraft and religion, and features a love story with a trans character that will make you feel all the love and heartbreak at once.

I’m dubbing Elizabeth May’s “Why They Watch Us Burn” as the official story of the #MeToo movement—a tale of women who are blamed and punished for the actions of men. It was the perfect ending to this anthology.

The Spooky: “Afterbirth” by Andrea Cremer, “Death in the Sawtooths” by Lindsay Smith, “The Legend of Stone Mary” by Robin Talley

Toil and Trouble wouldn’t be a witch anthology if it didn’t contain at least a handful of spooky stories. Cremer, Smith and Talley excel at weaving tales that are a bit chilling and spine-tingling and perfect for Halloween bonfires.

The Cursed: “The Moonapple Menagerie” by Shveta Thakrar,“The Well Witch” by Kate Hart

I use “cursed” in the loosest sense of the word here—both of these stories had merit, but of the 15 tales in this anthology these two left me wanting.

Bonus Factor: Diversity x15

Truly, this book is about as diverse as it gets in every sense of the word. The sexual, racial, socioeconomic, geographic, and religious representation within these pages is second to none.

Bonus Factor: Witches

I know this bonus factor should come with a big, fat “NO DUH” attached to it, but seriously, I really love stories about witches, and now I have 15 of them bound together in a single book. I’m especially fond of witchy sisters and generational magic stories, and Toil & Trouble delivers on all accounts.

Factor: Trigger Warnings

Many, heck, most of the stories require a trigger warning of some sort. As you dig into this book, know that you’ll be reading about physical and mental abuse, sexual assault, molestation, drug use, death, bullying. These stories do not gloss over the hard topics. It’s hard out there for a witch, y’all.

Break Glass In Case Of: Misandry and Mischief

Whether you’re feeling one with nature, hating men, or just need a little magic in your life, there’s a story for you in this anthology. It’s at times empowering and feminist, scary and sad—some of its stories are sweet and others are gut-wrenching. But they all have one thing in common: bad ass girls and women, which I’m always in the mood for.

Amazing female protagonist led book perfect for Halloween with multiple stories that are built to scare, shatter the stereotypical witch prototype and even make you laugh while you scream in the dark. I truly loved everyone of these unique stories, each for their own reasons. I will definitely reread again and utilize some of my favorites on my blog leading up to and just after Halloween! BOO!

Also, much like a great mix tape and unlike a lot of great compilations this book is put together well in how the stories are ordered. Well edited, well done!

Stories about witches have always fascinated me. The Salem Witch Trials were ushered in because of fear. Fear of the power of women and fear of anyone who was different. The stories in Toil and Trouble embrace this reality and presents a collection of stories that offer both a feminist slant and focus on sisterhood among women in general.

The stories contained within the anthology are as diverse the authors included. There are many different representations found within these pages. They range from sexuality, race, social status, and religion. This stood out while I was reading and I honestly feel it made the collection more well rounded as whole. All of the stories combine the themes of witches and women in power. They fluctuate between being lighter in tone to some darker, more thought provoking stories. All of this ensures that the reading experience is varied, and engaging.

I enjoyed most of the stories over all, but like any anthology there were some that left a more lasting impression on me while I was reading. I feel that in a collection this varied that this is subjective. What impacted me will inevitably be different from the next person who reads it.

The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord was, unsurprisingly, the story I immediately wished was a full novel. The relationship between this group of sibling witches is the primary focus. This is a story that highlights the bonds between women and the sisterhood that exists between them. It's filled with the undeniable charm that makes an Emery Lord novel shine. I instantly fell in love with all there of the sisters and their stories and the ways in each they were both different but also so similar.

Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May was a powerful story of women bonding together and being stronger for it. It advocates helping each other and supporting each other in so many ways. It shouts about how much more powerful we are if we do and the limitless possibilities of what could be accomplished as a result.

Beware Of Girls With Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswoods offers up a darker look sisterhood and the fierceness in which siblings protect each other. It's a story with a darker tone and one that I would have loved to have seen fleshed out more because I fell into the character's and the world Jessica created

Love Spell was a surprising read that didn't quite take the turn I expected it to. It's a love story that was filled with a little bit of extra magic. It also tackles differences in people and what love is capable of overcoming.

Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia offers a more contemporary feeling story that also hints at the possibilities of new love and the kind of magic that holds. It's a great way to start off the anthology and has piqued my interest in anything else this author writes.

This is ultimately a fun read for the Halloween season. It's a great way to incorporate some themed stories into your fall reading and ensures that there is a little something for everyone. If short story collections are something you enjoy I recommend checking this one out.

This anthology was densely dispersed and feminist. The unique voices and stories ranged from fair to good. There is something for everyone. Take your pick and give it a chance.