From the Bookshelf of Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror…

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

Jessica Spotswood (Editor)

Start date: September 15, 2019

Finish date: October 14, 2019

Discussion: Previous Books of the Month

Discussion leader: Shomeret

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 76 topics — 4,855 comments total

Previous Books of the Month

The Mammoth Book of Fantasy (April 2024)
By Lena , Of the Short Story Kingdom · 48 posts · 17 views

last updated Jan 03, 2025 08:12AM

Twenty-First Century Science Fiction: An Anthology (January 2024)
By Lena , Of the Short Story Kingdom · 72 posts · 15 views

last updated Dec 29, 2024 04:17PM

What Members Thought

Sep 30, 2019 D Dyer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: works-not-part-of-series, works-part-of-series, short-stories-and-novellas, bipoc-main-character, young-adult-new-adult, owned, available-from-nls-bard, fat-rep, contemporary, 2019-reads

4.5 stars
I absolutely loved this collection which introduced me to quite a few new authors, featured some darker subject matter, most dealt with in a fashion that was delicate enough not to be too bracing, and also offered lots of awesome queer characters and some lighter, fluffier fair. The collection starts off light and fluffy and ends on a somewhat dystopian, though not hopeless, note. The beginning and ending stories and some of the collections more historically set pieces proved to be some ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Dec 25, 2018 Tyler Gray rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, lgbtqia, favorites, own-kindle, netgalley

1- Starsong by Tehlor Kay Meja- 5 stars
2- Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer- 5 stars
3- The Heart in Her hands by Tess Sharpe- 5 stars
4- Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith- 5 stars
5- The Truth About Queenie by Brandy Culbert- 1.5 stars
6- The Moonapple Menageries by Shveta Thakrav- 2 stars
7- The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley- 1.75 stars
8- The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma- 4.25 stars
9- Divine Are the Stars by Zoraida Cordova- 3 stars
10- Daughters of Baba yaga by Brenna Yovanoff- 3.5 stars
1 ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Sep 15, 2019 Latasha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, books-i-own, witches, fantasy

Overall i enjoyed this collection. My favorite stories are: Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer, The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley, The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma.
all the stories were at least a 3 Star. i didn't hate any of them and i would more by any of these authors any day. ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2019 Shomeret rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, anthology

I read all but one story in this anthology which is unusual for me. I usually DNF quite a number of stories. I graded each story I read, and they averaged to three stars which means it's a good anthology.

My favorite in the collection is "The Heart in Her Hands" by Tess Sharpe. I thought it was original and powerful. I loved the defiant Bette and the twist in the tail of the story.

My second favorite was "The Legend of Stone Mary" by Robin Talley which I found moving. It was the story of a histo ...more

3 likes · Like · see review