Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Ashley's Review, pt. 2)

Since there were so many stories in this collection and the reviews of all of them are probably a lot to read in one post... Here are the next 6 stories! The reviews for the last bunch of stories and a summary of the whole book will be up tomorrow!

Two and Twenty Dark Tales - Part 1

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I Come Bearing Souls: I love when mythology is mixed with contemporary settings, and I think this story was done pretty well. I wish more information had been given about the brother and sister, and how they always ended up back together on Earth, but the main character's story and struggle were well defined. I enjoyed how characters from the beginning related to the overall plot, and the irony of the situation at the end. I wish there had been more after she goes back to the heavens though. What happens next? 3.5/5

The Lion and The Unicorn: Part the First: This story started off really interesting - a girl dressed as a boy, on a mission from the angels. Plus, throw in a king and some witches, and it's got so much potential. I thought the writing was done very well, and the characters and the world are introduced very nicely. However, I wish the second part was in the eARC! I'm so anxious to find out how this story ends. 4/5 for this first part though, especially for making me want to read the second part.

Life in a Shoe: This story was very short. I felt that it could have used so much more detail about the world, and about all of the characters. Why, other than creating more soldiers, were women required to have so many babies? Why wouldn't they be taken care of better if they had so many children? Why don't the older siblings move out when younger ones are able to take care of the youngest ones? I feel like this story had too many unanswered questions and not enough character or plot development. 2/5.

Candlelight: As I was reading this one, I felt like there was very little depth to it. Two sisters are angry with their mother for punishing them and establishing rules... so they decide to run away. It was almost like "ok, here's the nursery rhyme, and here's this story where they pretty much follow the rhyme exactly and end up in Babylon." I didn't like the two main girls, and I wish we had known more about the mother. And Pamela is kind of creepy, and I wish her character had been more developed. Not a huge fan of this one either. 2/5

One for Sorrow: I think I might have known this nursery rhyme at one point in time, but I didn't really remember it when I started this story. I really liked how the crow was incorporated into the story, and especially having one for sorrow and two for joy. I wish we had gotten to know more about the father and about the accident, but I thought that Rose was very well depicted. The plot was interesting and had a pretty good pace. Nothing was really too slow or too fast. 4/5.

Those Who Whisper: I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was a really nice take on the rhyme, and I thought the ending was very fitting. I wish we had seen a little bit more of the main character, but it was a pretty decent amount for a short story. This one was one of my favorite. 5/5


--Ashley