Reviewed by ANON

Genre: fantasy (fairy tale)
Pairings: f/f, m/m
Queer Representation: cis gay, cis lesbian, aromantic, asexual, trans
Warnings: none
Rating: 3.5 stars

Review
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Generally, this was a decent anthology. It started slow, and some of the first stories had pacing issues and/or failed to grab me. The real meat of the anthology came at the end, where the stories got longer, better written, and had much better character arcs. It actually took me longer than usual to get through this book, due to the slower stories at the start, but it was well worth continuing. Some specifics on each story follow.
 
Coming Home by Jennifer Cosgrove
A M/M (cis) modern Cinderella. I didn’t have any strong feelings one way or the other on this one, likely because the writing was fine but I don’t generally get into m/m stories. I do always enjoy a good Cinderella retelling, though.
 
Snow Fox by Sara Codair
Modern Snow White (F/F, trans) with a neat social media bent. Rosa is a poor college student trying to make ends meet through ad revenue via her instagram and YouTube videos. Another social media darling wants her dead so she can be number one. Thank goodness for Cara, the hot EMT who is always around to do some saving.
I really enjoyed the very different take on this Snow White story. Unfortunately I don’t think I know enough about social media to really get all the jokes in it, but I was amused, nonetheless.
 
Deathless by Emmalynn Spark
M/M (cis) fairy tale of an origin I am unfamiliar with (or possibly a mashup). Vanya, third in line for the throne, is sent to rescue his betrothed princess from an evil wizard. He trades places with the princess (sort of Beauty and the Beast like), and in his confinement, falls for the wizard. This was one of the longer shorts in the book and the romance developed at an even pace. It had a good mixing of stock fairy tale elements and traditional imagery.
 
At Her Service by K. S. Trenten
F/F (cis) cinderella retelling, with a fun twist on the saint/slut narrative. Instead of the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, we get a ‘mistress’ Ariella (around the same age as Cinders, and it’s hinted they were raised together), and the Cinderella character. Some good twists in this one, and a number of good trope-turning changes. The romance was also very palpable, although the writing could have been tightened.
 
Shattered Glass by Lina Langley
This is one of the better written (and longer) shorts in the anthology, although I am not familiar with the fairy tale it draws from. M/M (cis). It didn’t capture my attention like some of the others, but it was a very smooth read.
 
Finding Aurora by Rebecca Langham
F/F, asexual (cis) Sleeping Beauty. Talia, a master spell caster, must accompany Prince Amir on a quest to find and wake Aurora Rose, and her kingdom, else he will be disinherited. Spirits, goblins, dragons, and magic pop up everywhere in this well-paced, well-written short that would have been far better served at the start of the book than at the end. Bonus–no damsels in distress in this short, and Aurora is just as much a hero as is our master caster.
 
Master Thief by Sita Bethel
M/M, but a fairy tale I don’t recognize. Tyv is one of three brothers who sets off to find his fortune, He falls in with a group of thieves, who teach him the way of things. Although this story was well written, I failed to connect with Tyv and found him arrogant and unlikable. This is the first short in the series to have erotic content, however, so if you’re reading for a sex scene, this is where you’ll want to start.
 
The True Love Curse by Tray Ellis
F/F, M/M,aro/ace (cis) fairy tale mashup (I think). This one is definitely my favorite. Smoothly written, intricate, and all the right fairy tale elements blended together to make a really enjoyable tale. The romance is brief but strong, the characters rounded, and just enough trope boxes checked to make this comfortable, but not silly.

Genre: portal fantasy
Pairings: none
Queer Representation: trans, ace
Warnings: potential tooth decay
Rating: four stars

Review
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This is the third book in the Wayward Children series, which started with Every Heart a Doorway, which won, in no particular order, the 2017 Hugo, the 2017 Alex Award, the 2016 Nebula Award, and was nominated for the 2017 World Fantasy Award, the 2017 British Fantasy Award, and was on the 2016 Tiptree Honor List.
I still need to write reviews for the first two, so when they’re done, you’ll find the review for Every Heart a Doorway here and Down Among the Sticks and Bones here.

In this third installation is told mostly from the perspective of new student Cora, former resident of the Trenches and former mermaid. Cora happens upon Rini, daughter of the deceased Sumi (remember, Sumi is from a nonsense world, so having a kid after you’re dead is totes legit). Rini has just found out her mother is dead, and so Rini is starting to disappear. A handful of students set out between realms to bring Sumi back to life, save Rini, and maybe, just maybe, find their own doors again in the process. In doing so they must journey through the Halls of the Dead to find Nancy, and eventually head to Sumi and Rini’s land of sugar and confection to defeat the Queen of Cakes.

Plot

This book lacked a lot of the magical whimsy of Every Heart a Doorway (EHaD), and had a lot less darkness than either EHaD or Down Among the Sticks and Bones (DAtSB). It’s possible that since it primarily dealt with a land of sweets that the author was trying for a lighter feel, but the story came off, well, sugary instead of heavy. More cotton candy than meat pie, which was how I felt after EHaD. Full. Content. This left me with that sort of high fructose corn syrup aftertaste. It wasn’t bad at all. It just wasn’t incredible, which is what I’ve come to expect from this series.

Still, the plot was well paced and the characters rounded. This was the first book in the series I didn’t wish was longer. This one was exactly the right length for the story that needed to be told. The plot, that Sumi needed to be brought back to life so she could create her daughter Rini (who is part of this Scooby Gang), was completely appropriate for both Sumi’s character, and the description of her nonsense world. It was great, too, to get to see Sumi again. Out of everyone who got offed in EHaD, Sumi was the one I was most attached to. It was great to get to see her not only alive again, but to know that she would one day find her door.

Worldbuilding

If you read this book for no other reason, read it for the worldbuilding. The descriptions of Sumi’s world are amazing. I’m not a big sweets fan but I appreciate the artistry that goes into things like gingerbread houses, and the descriptions in this book were like mind crack. I would kill to visit this world, if only for a few minutes, to see the gingerbread castles and candy corn fields, and soda pop oceans. What kid hasn’t dreamed of something like this? What child who has seen Willy Wonka (the trip 1970s version) hasn’t been obsessed with a world made entirely of sweets?

Characters

Cora makes a find addition to the crew and adds a dimension on body positivity to the otherwise very diverse and eclectic school kids. Kade gets a bit more backstory as well (nothing new, just some more intricate rehashing). Seeing Nancy happy in her home is worth the price of admission, and the real emotional punch comes at the end, as one of our students gets their long awaited door home.
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Overall, this was a worthy addition to the Wayward Children series, just not perhaps it’s strongest entry.