Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

~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+