Robyn Sarty

Beauty and the Beast Anthology

This collection pulled together so many of the elements I love about the B&B fairytale. I think the first is my favorite, perhaps because I loved how the author gave authentic motivations to the characters and how Rose's servant's heart came through in her interactions. Even in the situations when there was no comfort to be found, she did what she knew to be right, and that alone is inspiring. There were stories with science fiction influences, corruption, steampunk, and unique takes on both Beauty and Beast characters.
I did skip some stories for content, and the synopsis at the beginning of each story was very helpful toward determining which ones fit my tastes.
All in all, this was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.… (meer)

Well. I finally got around to reading the anthology. Given that this was an ARC, I will not comment on formatting issues as I hope they were rectified before publication. I'll take them story by story.

First in the anthology is my story To Save Her Family. I'm obviously biased but I think it is pretty awesome.

Breagha and the Beast is the second tale. This would come under urban fantasy with a cursed ghost town and an AU setting. It seemed well-written but was not my cup of tea.

Wolf Eyes comes next, in which there is a young man, a cursed town, and a bargain with a wolf. Again, not the kind of genre I like, but the author had a good grasp of atmosphere.

West of the Moon by Mark Hood. Oh yes. Yes. Yes. This one had me from start to finish. I don’t read sci-fi often, but I love a good sci-fi adventure. I didn’t want this one to end!

Fifth in our collection is The Beast. It would be a paranormal fantasy with a wolf shifter. So far the anthology seems very paranormal heavy. Skimming through this one, it was strong on character and personality.

Up next is Beau and the Crone. I had hopes that this would be a medieval tale with sword fights, but again, it is pure fantasy with a witch in a swamp. Atmospheric fantasy but not a genre I enjoy.

Clockwork Hearts left me...puzzled. I think it would qualify as steampunk, but I'm not entirely sure. I had so many questions about the world and the cogwork creatures (people? Artificial intelligence?) that inhabited it.

A Thorny Truth was a fascinating short story where our beauty chooses her family. Robyn Sarty introduced a fascinating setting that I wanted to know more about. I'm not sure what genre this would land in (maybe some kind of contemporary?) but I enjoyed it!

Wolf Moon is a strange one. When I first began reading, I thought it was about Bonnie coming to terms with herself in a dream. Instead, it turned into a fantasy tale with more symbolism than I could follow.

We round out the anthology with Melissa and Zane. This is a sweet, contemporary romance that was a delight to read. How could it not when it pays homage to a classic western writer and has such great characters.

There was a lot of creativity and imagination brought with each story. For readers looking for a wide variety retelling of a classic fairytale and don't mind fantasy, I would recommend this.… (meer)