The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror

01/29/2018
3.5 stars, RTC

03/15/2018
(This review can also be found on my blog.)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I know that retellings are getting old for some people, but Daniel really does a magnificent job with this collection. As with any short story compilation, some fell a little short for me, but overall I was highly impressed with what he had done. All of the stories here are inspired by “fairytales” of some kind, but they aren't necessarily what you'll be expecting. They're the perfect blend of creepy and thoughtful.

“Someday, I think,” she said, her voice muffled under the tub, “I would like to meet someone I have not caused any pain.”

My rating for each story:

The Daughter Cells ⭐⭐⭐
The Thankless Child ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fear Not: An Incident Log ⭐⭐⭐
The Six Boy-Coffins ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Rabbit ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Merry Spinster ⭐⭐⭐
The Wedding Party ⭐⭐⭐
Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Mr. Toad ⭐⭐
Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters ⭐⭐⭐
The Frog's Princess ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors ⭐⭐⭐⭐

She was beginning to learn the danger of silence, and that someone who wishes to hear a yes will not go out of his way to listen for a no.

In total, these scores averaged out to 3.36, which I've rounded up to a 3.5. I thought they were very well-written, and was particularly excited to see a lot of gender non-conformity in the stories. Gendered pronouns and titles were essentially meaningless in some of the stories, which was an interesting and much appreciated route to take. I'd definitely recommend this collection to anyone interested.

She was reluctant to offer any of her children, even Beauty, to something so monstrous and polite but she was even more reluctant to be shot, and mothers have given their children to monsters before.