Book Review – Once Upon a Summer: A Folk and Fairy Tale Anthology
Synopsis
A village abandons all they knew in search of water.
A man covets the last roses of summer and pays the price in blood.
Two young monsters seek a peaceful life by the seaside.
A scorching prophecy threatens to destroy all that a princess holds dear.
Once upon a time stories travelled from place to place on the tongues of merchants and thieves and kings alike. Around a crackling bonfire beneath a sky that never grew dark they were shared, and traded, and altered, until every corner of the globe had their own collection of tales.
In the spirit of these age-old stories comes Once Upon a Summer , a seasonal anthology of folk and fairy tales from 15 authors across the globe. It covers everything from summer romances to eco-terror to seaside ghost stories, and features both intriguing twists on classic tales and exciting original stories.
The second of four planned seasonal anthologies from Macfarlane Lantern Publishing, Once Upon a Summer is sure to have a story for just about everyone. Grab your copy in time for the solstice today!
Inside this
The I Scream Van by Caroline Logan
What Big Geese You Have by Adie Hart
The Forest at the End of the World by Josie Jaffrey
It Is Written by S. Markem
These Burning Bones by Laila Amado
Vespertine by Elanna Bellows
The Last Roses of Summer by Kate Longstone
Love, Pride, Virtue and Fate by Bharat Krishnan
Juniper and the Upside Down Well by Ella Holmes
Love in the Time of Volcanoes by Jake Curran-Pipe
Bluebeard’s Beach House by Jenna Smithwick
The Knucker of Lyminster by Katherine Shaw
Summer Dreams by R. A. Gerritse
The Witches of Dogtown by A. J. Van Belle
Contract with a Mermaid by M. J. Weatherall
My rating:
Review
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was on the tour for the first in this series, Once Upon a Winter, and was pleased to be asked to do this one as well!
Anthologies can be very tricky, but this managed to find stories that I largely very much enjoyed while still having a wide range. There were a couple I didn’t quite connect with, but it was overall a great selection.
It kicks off the strong and creepy The I Scream Van by Caroline Logan, which took me a second but then I was SO into, such a fun idea. It’s followed by the brilliantly titled What Big Geese You Have by Adie Hart, which is a cosy and sweet Goose Girl retelling that I honestly adored.
What follows includes stories of heartbreak and hope in Josie Jaffrey’s The Forest at the End of the World, or mythological retellings in These Burning Bones by Laila Amado or Love in the Time of Volcanoes by Jake Curran-Pipe (I particularly liked that this was a little known one). A couple of others that particularly stood out were The Last Roses of Summer by Kate Longstone and Juniper and the Upside Down Well by Ella Holmes. Honestly I could go on, so I’ve forced myself to stop at these!
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection, and encourage you to read and let me know which your favourites were! 4 stars.
I’m on the blog tour for this book, and would love it if you could lookout for the other posts in the tour!
Buy Once Upon a Summer: A Folk and Fairy Tale Anthology from Blackwells.
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