Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

A weak 3
This was a little heavy on the young adult for my taste.

Break down of the rating of each story, I skipped the last one

Starsong 3.5
Afterbirth 2.75
Heart in her hands 3
Death in the Sawtooths 3
Truth about Queenie 3
Moon Apple 3
Stone Mary 2.5
The One Who Stayed 2
Divine are the Stars 3.25
Daughters of Baba Yaga almost good 2.75
The Well Witch 3
Beware of Girls with Crocked Mouths 3 the ending :/
Love Spell 3.25
The Gherin Girls 3.5
Why They Watch Us Burn n/a

‘'Scorn the witch. Fear the witch. Burn the witch.''

If we substitute the word ‘'witch'' with the word ‘'woman'', we will be able to understand the reasons and motives behind the terrible witch-hunts that left another bloody mark in History. The complexity of women's psyche, the direct, unbreakable contact, and bonding with Nature, the innate strength to survive, the resilience, the passion, the intelligence. Witches or not, men have always gazed upon women as a possession. If she cannot be ‘'obtained'', if she resists then she has a mind of her own. How dare she? She must be dancing with demons and lying with Satan. Fundamentalism and society have long found a way to justify the wrongs committed by men.

This beautiful collection contains stories of young witches from different eras and nationalities. Focusing on the themes of revenge and injustice, these tales are told through the eyes of young women who try to cope with their gift, their heritage and their feelings in communities that are unable to understand and to accept. Naturally, not every story is a gem and there are some that are too YA influenced for my taste but this is a collection that has a lot to offer to the reader regardless of age or gender.

Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia: A teenage astrologer who uses social media to draw charts and chase her demons away. Beautiful writing, interesting debate between science and magic.

Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer: A story of a birth going horribly wrong for a woman who was a midwife and a healer, set during the era of the Witch Trials. One of the finest stories in the collection.

The Heart In Her Hands by Tess Sharpe: A young witch goes against the will of the Elders in order to remain with her true soulmate. I can't say I enjoyed this story. It seemed too naive and copy-pasted from teenage films.

Death In The Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith: In a city echoing New Orleans, in a community of witches and warlocks, a young woman serving the Lady of Death accepts the confessions of the dead in a macabre role of the Last Messenger. This was a story that started exceptionally well but lost focus and quality along the way. Still, it was very atmospheric and memorable if you overlook the naive, mundane, unnecessary use of certain supernatural creatures that seem to be fashionable because of that atrocious ‘'Walking Dead'' (or whatever it's called...) thing.

The Truth About Queenie by Brandy Colbert: Teenage sentimental problems mixed with racial issues may sound interesting to many readers but not to me. Add cliche dialogue and a predictable, cringe-worthy plot and this easily becomes an ugly piece of writing judged by my personal standards.

The Moonapple Menagerie by Shveta Thakrar: Moonlight and Indian culture is a beautiful combination but the dialogue in this one was jarringly irritating.

Τhe Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley: A story whose roots go back to the Civil War era. A tale of witches, witch-hunters and a frightening statue. But for the silly love plot, it would have been marvelous.

The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma: This story read like a predictable, ridiculous horror film about cruel teenagers with a little bit of ghost revenge to add another cliche in the mixture. No...

Divine Are The Stars by Zenaida Córdova: A story of family, loyalty, magic, and faith mixed with elements of the Mexican culture. Extremely well-written and atmospheric.

‘'I just want to bite a hole in the world. I wish I could stop smiling at things I hate. Sometimes I wish I never learned.''

Daughters of Baba Yaga by Brenna Yovanoff: A story of a powerful witch-girl of Russian heritage. A haunting setting and one of the finest moments in the collection.
P.S. I adored the references on Nikola Tesla.

‘'The moon is full, and even the stars are scared of me.''

The Well Witch by Kate Hart: ‘'But she would leave a light on like she'd promised. If she had to burn the whole thing down.''
This story is so perfect it deserves its own novel. Elsa is a one-of-a-kind character in a tale of ruthless men during the Reconstruction era. A water witch, love, bravery and Comanche traditions. My favourite story in the collection.

Beware of Girls With Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood: A witch family from Scotland, each girl dedicated to an element. But the daughters don't live long except for one. Only one will survive. The witches go mad. They murder their sisters as the Book commands. And they have obeyed for hundreds of years. Now a young witch has decided they must defy the tradition. A brilliant story possibly set in the Regency era.

‘'As I thought of these things, I caught la Virgen in the corner of my vision. Beneath Her blue veil, She cast her eyes to the church floor. But Her lips held a small smile, as though She will always see the love we carry in our hearts long before we understand it to be there.''

Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore: A story rich in Mexican traditions. A tale of a strange love between two seemingly opposing worlds. Beautiful and moving.

The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord: A story of sisterly love, abuse, and isolation set during the fall equinox. The problem is that the writing was so naive, so dull that I just didn't care.

Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May: An alternative USA where rape victims become outcasts, looked upon as temptresses who provoked ‘'honest'' men. They have to be taken away, otherwise, they will contaminate the ‘'purity'' of the society. Although atmospheric and haunting at parts, I felt that this context has been overused to death and I don't believe that its remarks on religion added anything innovative. A story clearly inspired by Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and the awful, ridiculously Hollywood-esque TV series that tried (in vain) to bring an excellent book to life. A mediocre story, in my opinion.

It was lovely to read each writer's favourite literary witch and I was excited to see that Morgan Le Fay was the most popular choice.

My two complaints are the occasional teenage writing that echoed TV series, films and possibly books devoid of quality and substance, and the emphasis on sex as a form of emancipation. I don't agree with the ones who view this as an exploration of sexual identity. This isn't how it's done. In my opinion, sex and sexual preferences do not make us rebels or emancipated, feisty and independent. Our personality, intelligence, and intellectuality do that. Sex has nothing to do with who we are as people. However, I definitely appreciated the diversity and honesty of the themes in the stories. I wish certain tales had made better use of such strong elements.

Apart from these issues, this is a collection to be read by all. And if I ever have a daughter, I will definitely include this book in my recommended reading list to her.

‘'My witch is furious and ferocious. She doesn't grant wishes. But if you do what she says and treat her right, she just might help you. In the stories, there's always a catch, though, right? The catch is this - her way of helping is HER way. Sometimes the way she helps you is by raining fire on all your enemies.''

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com

~Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!~As soon as I saw that Toil and Trouble had a story by one of my favorite authors, [a:Elizabeth May 5303332 Elizabeth May https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520961546p2/5303332.jpg] of the Falconer trilogy, I knew I had to have it. Even if the subject matter hadn't been one of great intrigue and interest to me, I would have bought it for that alone! Then it turned out to also have a story by [a:Zoraida Córdova 4824952 Zoraida Córdova https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495672725p2/4824952.jpg], which was also awesome.The fifteen short stories in Toil and Trouble vary widely. They all have a couple common elements, as one might guess from the subtitle – all involve women, most of them amazingly strong, vibrant characters, and all involve “witchcraft” as defined by each particular author. Some I enjoyed more than others, namely the ones by Elizabeth May, Jessica Spotswood, and Emery Lord. I will definitely be finding books by the latter two and reading them, as somehow I had never come across their work before. For a more detailed review individually, check out The Sassy Book Geek's review. She has an absolutely AMAZING overview of each story in this anthology!The relationships that many of the stories showcase – and in such a short few pages – are beautiful, and heart-wrenching. There are sisters, lovers, friends, mothers and daughters and grandmothers. Reading these made me realize how much I need to value the female friends and caring family members I have in my life, as well as feel a little jealous of a few of them! The sister trio in Emery Lord's story really pulled at my heart strings.“She'd tell her daughters someday: ‘If you don't feel safe enough to yell back, you're not safe enough. My babies, that is not love.'” ~ Emory Lord in Toil & TroubleIf you are looking for an atmospheric collection of stories, this is definitely it! If you are looking for horror, this is NOT it. The hair-raising factor in these is due to the “unnatural” powers and magic, not anything particularly grotesque.Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review!Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+

Toil & Trouble was a much-hyped anthology of YA stories, and I think it lived up to that hype. I really enjoyed almost every story in this book - only one or two of them were less than awesome. And they still weren't bad! Anthologies like this keep introducing me to yet more authors that I want to read, and just keep growing my TBR list! Some of the authors in this book I was familiar with; while I hadn't read her work yet, I met Zoraida Córdova at the Baltimore Book Festival, and she was amazing. I'm familiar with Brandy Colbert's work, and have not yet read Anna-Marie McLemore but desperately want to, and her story in this work (Love Spell) only increases that need.

I read this book just before Halloween, and it was a perfect choice. I'm not a fan of actual horror novels, which seem to be what everyone else is reading this time of year. Give me my strong witchy women! The stories in this book are all young women - teens to early adulthood - learning to rely on themselves. They embrace what family traditions mean to them, or break free of them entirely if they're the wrong path. They break social taboos and fall in love where they will. They FIGHT for what they want.

I think my favorite story in this book involved a woman whose powers had been bound by her coven until she was old enough to use them wisely, but had to watch her father die in an accident when she could have healed him if she'd had access to her magic. She went to an ancient place of power in the mountains and broke the binding, horrifying her coven. The story is actually about her defying them further in refusing her destined soul mate for the girl she's been in love with since she was a child, and Fate's punishment for that. The two girls fighting for each other and for their own magic was amazing. (The Heart in Her Hands, Tess Sharpe.) Unfortunately it doesn't look like it's part of a larger story, I was hoping for more in that world!

As far as I can tell, only one of the stories is part of something larger - I'm pretty sure Zoraida Córdova's story is part of her Brooklyn Brujas world. Other than that, they all appear to be standalones, which is a little sad as I'd like to see more of many of these worlds!

Toil & Trouble is an outstanding anthology of magical women, and I loved it.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

This is a really strong anthology! Almost every story left me wanting more. It's also very inclusive–queer witches, trans witches, witches of color, etc. (In many cases by #OwnVoices authors. Not for the witch part, as far as I know, but for other marginalized identities.)

Shout outs to Tess Sharpe, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Emery Lord for having my favorite stories in this? But truly I enjoyed them all. Highly recommended for fans of witchy stuff.