Unburied Fables by Rachel SharpMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finished on May 16, 2021
Favorite Story: Match Sticks by Minerva Cerridwen
4.2/5 rounded down
This is a collection of works written by, according to the summary, students and seasoned professionals alike. This anthology was set up with the idea of taking fables and fairy tales and adjusting them to fit an LGBTQ+ identity.
There are fifteen stories in this book based on a whole host of stories and fables. I recognized about half of the fables that these stories were based on, but many of them were stories that I’ve never heard of before.
Handsome and the Beast: 4.5/5
This story is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a boy and a Beast who uses gender-neutral pronouns. I thought this was a really nice story and I adored the idea that these two characters would rather read than get married.
The Grateful Princess: 5/5
This is a retelling of The Grateful Prince, a story I never once heard of. I quite enjoyed this book, but I really wish there had been more at the end.
Odd: 4.75/5
This story is based on Rumpelstiltskin and it’s probably one of my favorites in this anthology. I honestly just really liked how this was handle and how the characters were portrayed.
Expectations: 4/5
This story apparently resembles many fairy tales, but is closest to The Prince and the Pauper. I wasn’t thrilled with this story. It’s well-written, but I didn’t care much for the main character. I would have preferred a longer story that diverted to follow Shireen.
Li Chi and the Dragon: 4.5/5
This was a retelling of Li Chi slays the Serpent. This story isn’t bad by any means, but I just couldn’t get into it. It was cute and satisfying, I just wasn’t attached. Personally, I really wish the dragon had been more than just a dragon to kill, but I can deal.
Satin Sheets and Wooden Shoes: 5/5
This is a Cinderella retelling, and I really enjoyed this story. A girl is forced to go to the party by her family, but she has no interest in marrying anyone. When she flees, she winds up at the house of an older woman and her daughter.
Match Sticks: 5/5
This is absolutely my favorite story in this anthology. This is a retelling of The Little Match Girl and I was honestly waiting for something bad to happen. I apparently glossed over the summary mentioning that the stories have Happily Ever After’s. In this story the Little Match Girl is taken care of and the matches are turned into match sticks, sticks that will lead you to your true match.
Princess of the Kingdom of the Dark Wood: 4/5
I never heard of the story this story was based on, so I didn’t know what to expect. I actually really enjoyed this story. It was nice to have a trans main side character that wasn’t invalidated or anything. Instead, the princess was accepted, and it was pure and happy.
Damma and the Wolf: 4/5
This was a Little Red Riding Hood retelling and I enjoyed part of it. It was well-written and focused a lot on words having power in the woods. My issue was that I didn’t enjoy the ending. (view spoiler)[ Words have power so all she had to do was say No and that was it. (hide spoiler)]
Beauty’s Beasts: 4/5
This was a cute story. It is the second Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it had an additional twist. In this story there is the Beast, Belle, and Belle’s friend who happens to be with the Beast. It was a cute story with a polyamorous relationship that included at least one ace-spec character.
Glass Mountains: 3/5
I didn’t enjoy this story very mention. It’s not horrible by any means, but I did not have the attention to figure out what was going on. Some of the story is told in italics and others in plain print, but I just couldn’t get into it.
Brenna: 4/5
This was a really cute story. It was based on a story that I have again never heard of, but I really enjoyed this retelling. Brenna was given a key when she was 7 and she was told that it would unlock a castle door when she was 14.
The Last Lost Boy: 3/5
This is a Peter Pan gay retelling, but I really didn’t enjoy it. It was set in modern times (at least I’m pretty sure it was) and the lost boys seemed to be a group of friends that hung out together. It’s not horrible, but I just really didn’t enjoy any of it.
Dark Matters: 5/5
This is a Goldilocks and the Three Bears retelling where Goldilocks is a ghost looking for a house to inhabit and she comes across the house of The Three Bears (Bears as in the gay term). This was a genuinely cute story.
The Suns of Terre: 3/5
I don’t know Prince Darling, but apparently this is a dystopian sci-fi twist on that story. I didn’t like it. It’s well-written, but I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi and I just couldn’t get into the story.
So, in summary, these stories come from a variety of fables and cover a variety of identities. Some stories were better than others to me. Some stories might be better liked by you. This is an anthology, with all the ups and downs that come with it. The one thing that all these stories have: a happy ending.
4.2/5 rounded down
This is a collection of works written by, according to the summary, students and seasoned professionals alike. This anthology was set up with the idea of taking fables and fairy tales and adjusting them to fit an LGBTQ+ identity.
There are fifteen stories in this book based on a whole host of stories and fables. I recognized about half of the fables that these stories were based on, but many of them were stories that I’ve never heard of before.
Handsome and the Beast: 4.5/5
This story is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a boy and a Beast who uses gender-neutral pronouns. I thought this was a really nice story and I adored the idea that these two characters would rather read than get married.
The Grateful Princess: 5/5
This is a retelling of The Grateful Prince, a story I never once heard of. I quite enjoyed this book, but I really wish there had been more at the end.
Odd: 4.75/5
This story is based on Rumpelstiltskin and it’s probably one of my favorites in this anthology. I honestly just really liked how this was handle and how the characters were portrayed.
Expectations: 4/5
This story apparently resembles many fairy tales, but is closest to The Prince and the Pauper. I wasn’t thrilled with this story. It’s well-written, but I didn’t care much for the main character. I would have preferred a longer story that diverted to follow Shireen.
Li Chi and the Dragon: 4.5/5
This was a retelling of Li Chi slays the Serpent. This story isn’t bad by any means, but I just couldn’t get into it. It was cute and satisfying, I just wasn’t attached. Personally, I really wish the dragon had been more than just a dragon to kill, but I can deal.
Satin Sheets and Wooden Shoes: 5/5
This is a Cinderella retelling, and I really enjoyed this story. A girl is forced to go to the party by her family, but she has no interest in marrying anyone. When she flees, she winds up at the house of an older woman and her daughter.
Match Sticks: 5/5
This is absolutely my favorite story in this anthology. This is a retelling of The Little Match Girl and I was honestly waiting for something bad to happen. I apparently glossed over the summary mentioning that the stories have Happily Ever After’s. In this story the Little Match Girl is taken care of and the matches are turned into match sticks, sticks that will lead you to your true match.
Princess of the Kingdom of the Dark Wood: 4/5
I never heard of the story this story was based on, so I didn’t know what to expect. I actually really enjoyed this story. It was nice to have a trans main side character that wasn’t invalidated or anything. Instead, the princess was accepted, and it was pure and happy.
Damma and the Wolf: 4/5
This was a Little Red Riding Hood retelling and I enjoyed part of it. It was well-written and focused a lot on words having power in the woods. My issue was that I didn’t enjoy the ending. (view spoiler)[ Words have power so all she had to do was say No and that was it. (hide spoiler)]
Beauty’s Beasts: 4/5
This was a cute story. It is the second Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it had an additional twist. In this story there is the Beast, Belle, and Belle’s friend who happens to be with the Beast. It was a cute story with a polyamorous relationship that included at least one ace-spec character.
Glass Mountains: 3/5
I didn’t enjoy this story very mention. It’s not horrible by any means, but I did not have the attention to figure out what was going on. Some of the story is told in italics and others in plain print, but I just couldn’t get into it.
Brenna: 4/5
This was a really cute story. It was based on a story that I have again never heard of, but I really enjoyed this retelling. Brenna was given a key when she was 7 and she was told that it would unlock a castle door when she was 14.
The Last Lost Boy: 3/5
This is a Peter Pan gay retelling, but I really didn’t enjoy it. It was set in modern times (at least I’m pretty sure it was) and the lost boys seemed to be a group of friends that hung out together. It’s not horrible, but I just really didn’t enjoy any of it.
Dark Matters: 5/5
This is a Goldilocks and the Three Bears retelling where Goldilocks is a ghost looking for a house to inhabit and she comes across the house of The Three Bears (Bears as in the gay term). This was a genuinely cute story.
The Suns of Terre: 3/5
I don’t know Prince Darling, but apparently this is a dystopian sci-fi twist on that story. I didn’t like it. It’s well-written, but I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi and I just couldn’t get into the story.
So, in summary, these stories come from a variety of fables and cover a variety of identities. Some stories were better than others to me. Some stories might be better liked by you. This is an anthology, with all the ups and downs that come with it. The one thing that all these stories have: a happy ending.
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