I'm participating in the buzzword readathon this week. The words for the readathon are Who, What, Where, When Why, and How. Due to that, I recently decided to pick up How Saeter Robbed the Underworld, which had been on my TBR for a long time. I thought it was a really cute short story.

How Saeter Robbed the Underworld has one of my favorite tropes in it. I like it when books tell a story within a story. It was interesting to meet the different characters, and see how everything connected in the end. The story that Eirik's father told was cute, yet meaningful. I also very much appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation. It's hard to find short stories that pull that off well. I do have to admit that I saw the plot twist at the end. Even though I thought it was a cute short story, there was nothing that really made it stand out, or for me to think it was worthy of five stars.

I do have to admit, I really liked Eirik. I would love to have a full book about his friendship with Leif, their fight, and what happens after. I want more of his character. I always think it would be interesting to see him interact with his siblings more, especially because he is the oldest one. I think it would also be great to learn about the ceremony he went through.

I thought that How Saeter Robbed the Underworld was a cute short story. I enjoyed reading it. Even though I enjoyed it, it was more of a three star read. I think that's because I just wanted more details, especially about Eirik. I will definitely read more of this author's other works, especially any longer LGBTQ+ fiction that she might have written. I look forward to it.

If MM relationships bother you then you need to pass this one by.
This was an interesting fable style story that has a message/ lesson. I did find myself engrossed in the crone's description as I don't have much experience with this.

How Saeter Robbed the Underworld is a short story, which is a fantasy based loosely on Norse mythology with demigods and shape-shifting and a daring rescue. It's told in a story within story way; Eirik is in a bad mood night before his coming-of-age ceremony, so his fathers tell a story to Eirik and his two adopted siblings a tale of two demigods, the sons of the god of Love and son of the god of Envy.

I loved the story of two travelling warriors, who had adopted Eirik and two other orphans, and the domestic feel that the story had when they started to tell a tale on the camp fire. More than that, I absolutely loved the tell they told; of Saeter, who's son of the god of Envy and who always felt pain and envy, and of Skault, who's son of the god of Love and who never felt any pain because everyone loved him and were unable to harm him. Oh, how bittersweet the story seemed with Saeter feeling so alone and hated while his friend Skault was loved by everyone. Skault's a sweetheart but it was Saeter's pain and anguish that I was able to feel. Of course, everything changed when something tragic happened and a daring rescue to the Underworld happened, and it was just so thrilling and captivating from beginning to the end.

How Saeter Robbed the Underworld is a perfect example of a short story that works within the limited word limit beautifully. It's captivating, charming and unique story that is fully fleshed out with nicely paced plot and plenty of character development. I'm amazed how well the story worked, and while I'd love to read full novel, this was enough. This might just be the best executed short story that I've ever read.

I highly recommend How Saeter Robbed the Underwold, because it's a captivating and stunning story with complicated characters and relationships, and it's simply so beautiful.

I enjoyed this book so, so much. I love stories within stories and found family set-ups, and How Saeter Robbed the Underworld combined these two in the best of ways, resulting in a beautifully crafted, heartfelt and moving story. The scenes of Eirik's family interspaced between the story told by the fathers are full of warmth and sincerity; the safe and comforting atmosphere is present throughout even despite Eirik's predicament with his friend and the effect it has had on him. There is a clear sense of how important Eirik's family is to him, how the words from his friend hurt, and how he connects with the tale of Saeter and Skault. 

I enjoyed the tale itself just as much (despite being very worried about them in places) and loved how through their conflicts, you could consistently feel the affection they had for each other. It was a perfect bedtime story, from the way it was told to the interlude of reassurance that things would end well. 

The breaks between the different sections were excellently timed and balanced and I loved Eirik's candid and analytical commentary, in both the narration and his direct responses to his fathers asking him about it. There were many small details, such as certain reactions from the fathers about parts of the story and the recurring animal symbolism in the tale, that made everything feel all the more satisfying and well-rounded.

Just as with The Cybernetic Teashop, I desperately want an audiobook version of this book too. It would be a great experience to hear the tale of Saeter and Skault actually narrated in the way Eirik's fathers tell him the story (and for this reason, I plan to read the story to my fiancé so we can both enjoy it in this way).

Meredith Katz crafts wonderful, heartfelt novellas, bringing to life characters you can't help but feel connected to even in the short space of time you get to know them. I can't wait to read more of her works in the future.

This was so cute! The format is a 'story within a story' where a kid is upset because he had a fight with one of his friends so his dads tell him a story about a pair of demi-gods to help him realize what he needs to do. I'll admit that at first I was kind of like 'do we really NEED the part about the family telling the story' because it didn't take up very much of the page space, but at the end it all really ties together and I was very happy with it.

According to the author's Goodreads page this book has:
* A fantasy-mythological setting loosely based on Norse mythology
* Cute demigods with feelings firmly in It's Complicated territory
* A shape-shifting trickster
* A daring rescue
* Found family feels

And I definitely think that pretty much covers it all. Also glad to know that all the Norse mythology stuff I was picking up was intentional because I was sitting here like 'ok there are obviously some similarities but also I'm OBSESSED with Norse mythology so am I imagining a bit of it?'. Saeter is definitely a very Loki-esque character and the main story this one seems to draw on is the Loki/Baldur/mistletoe one, although I definitely caught snatches of other influences as well. It was a really fun short story and I would definitely recommend it to any Loki fans that are running out of books to read ;) or just anyone who likes a cute M/M fantasy short.

This was a fairly predictable story. I mean it's a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, but with a happy ending and some Loki/Coyote thrown in. None of this is a complaint though, sometimes you want predictable and I enjoy queer'd myth retellings. The story is a little awkward at times in the transitions but in the main bulk of the narrative it runs smoothly and is engaging. It's a super short novella, took me about an hour total to read and was exactly what I expected.

A bittersweet and unusual story, entertaining, charming, with a lot of emotions and beautiful characters.

After having a fight with his best friend, Eirik is not in the mood to listen to the story his father is telling. But getting to know about the son of the god of Love who has never felt pain, and the son of the god of Envy who always does, start being more related to his own story than he could expect.

It is really hard to tell what it is about without giving much away. I'm just saying there's more to the story than the blurb gives away. It's fast paced and easy to read, enjoyable and with a writing style that remind me of fairy tales. I loved the way it was written but most of all I loved the characters. Among them, the one that I liked the most was Saeter. He wasn't good. He did bad things, but I think getting to know what was on his mind made him a more likable character. I do think there was a lot of love in him and even though the story wasn't extremely romantic, it did have some lovely moments.

Recommended to readers who like fantasy books with low heat level and M/M pairing.