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Toil Trouble 15 Tales of Women Witchcraft Tess Sharpe Jessica Spotswood Books

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Toil Trouble 15 Tales of Women Witchcraft Tess Sharpe Jessica Spotswood Books

I received a digital copy of this anthology via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. However, I also purchased a physical copy for myself through Amazon.

I love witches - walking stereotypes with black hats, quiet ones that blend in, ones that keep secrets from their families, ones that keep secrets with their families. Witches are women who walk their own paths and believe in their own power. This lovely book is full of witches, and it makes my soul sing to read their stories.

Toil and Trouble is a short story anthology of stories about young witches, especially queer witches and witches of color. There are fifteen wonderful, unique stories, from a girl living through the witch trials of centuries past to girls trying to survive the ones of a possible near future. There are water witches and star witches and blood witches. I love them all.

That's not to say I loved every story equally - I definitely had some favorites. The Heart in her Hands stole my own heart so thoroughly I had dreams about it two days later. The Gherin Girls made me consider my relationship with my own siblings in a new and yet intimately familiar light. And Why They Watch Us Burn gave voice to feelings and fears that are entirely too real and too current. I have a feeling I'll come back to this book again, in a different frame of mind and with different needs, and find resonance with different stories each time.

This anthology does not pull punches - but I don't think stories about young women finding their power necessarily should. Still, I think it would benefit from some content warnings. In particular, sexual assault, domestic violence, and general gore features in several stories. The sexual assault and domestic violence are treated respectfully, but readers with sensitivities to those topics should be cautious.

This collection has something for everyone - at least, everyone who loves girls finding their own power and using it. As the dust jacket says:

This collection reveals a universal truth: there's nothing more powerful than a teenage girl who believes in herself.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars


Tags : Amazon.com: Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft (9781335016270): Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood: Books,Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood,Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft,Harlequin Teen,1335016279,Fairy Tales & Folklore - Anthologies,Fantasy - Wizards & Witches,Girls & Women,Blessing and cursing,Fantasy.,Magic,Short stories.,Witches,Witches;Fiction.,Young women,10055060,115026X,20180901,707220,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Coming of Age; Contemporary; Contemporary Women; Diverse; Diversity; Fantasy; Feminist; Fiction; Friendship; Historical; Horror; LGBT; Mafia; Magical Realism; Paranormal; Romance; Speculative; Supernatural; Young Adult,FICTION Anthologies (multiple authors),Fiction-Fantasy,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 10-12 Ages 15+,Magic,ReadingsAnthologiesCollected Works,Short stories.,TEEN'S FICTION FANTASY,TEEN'S SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS,United States,Witches,Witches;Fiction.,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fairy Tales & Folklore Anthologies,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Wizards & Witches,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Girls & Women,Young Adult FictionFairy Tales & Folklore - Anthologies,Young Adult FictionGirls & Women,Young Adult;Fantasy;Historical;Horror;Paranormal;Romance;Contemporary;Magical Realism;Coming Of Age;speculative;Diversity;friendship;LGBT;Diverse;Feminist;Supernatural;Mafia;Contemporary Women;Fiction,Young women,FICTION Anthologies (multiple authors),YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fairy Tales & Folklore Anthologies,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Wizards & Witches,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Girls & Women,Young Adult FictionFairy Tales & Folklore - Anthologies,Young Adult FictionGirls & Women,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)

Toil Trouble 15 Tales of Women Witchcraft Tess Sharpe Jessica Spotswood Books Reviews

When I read was this book was going to be about I knew I had to have it. I love anything involving witches and this book was so amazing. The diversity and each story left you heart wrenched. Each authors writing added a unique and amazing story to the book.

I’m going to go through each story and give you a small summary of each one and my rating for each. I won’t do but a small bit about each because I don’t want to give away any big spoilers.

1. Starstrong by Tehlor Kay Mejia – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trigger Warning for drug and alcohol abuse.

This was a cute story about a girl named Luna. She is constantly fighting with her mother after making some bad life decisions with drug and alcohol. She also has made a very big Instagram following and soon she is talking to another girl doing the debate of science vs. magic. The girl is soon questioning Luna wondering if she is gay or not and flirting with her. This was a really cute story and I loved Luna and her love for music and art.

2. AfterBirth by Andrea Cremer ⭐️

I really didn’t like this story or the characters. I didn’t find them engaging in any way, I just didn’t get that connection like I did with the other stories. It was set in New England in the 1600s about a midwife accused of witchcraft after accusing a man of being the father of the unmarried woman’s baby. It was well written, it just wasn’t a favorite of mine.

3. The Heart in Her Hands by Tesse Sharpe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one was a great story about magic and an f/f romance. This had a lot of tea descriptions in it, so I was in heaven, to be honest. It also goes into the ideas and possibilities of what your family wants you to do and what you want to do. I enjoyed this one a lot dealing with my families own expectations. It was such a cute and amazing story. I honestly could read a whole book about these two girls I loved it that much.

4. Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trigger Warning for Bullying, Death, and Dead Bodies.

This was a fun read for me because I have been getting into darker cringe-worthy books for some reason. This story is centered around Mattie who preps dead bodies for the town. She helps them let their unsettled secrets out so that they can Rest In Peace. Someone is using that same power but keeping people alive attempting to build an army out of them. I was kinda hoping towards the end this would turn into an f/f romance, but sadly it did not. I still enjoyed the story and lesson from this one. It is easily one of my favorites in this book.

5. The Truth about Queenie by Brandy Colbert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one is honestly my second favorite in the book. I believe all the characters in this story are black and it talks a lot about difficult it is living in an all-white neighborhood on top of being a witch. Queenie and Webb have my heart and I honestly want a whole damn story about them now. Queenie spends a good portion of the story denying her powers, not wanting to use them because she thinks she hurt a friend. This was a cute contemporary witch story and I’m honestly here for it.

6. The Moonpie Menagerie by Sheveta Thakrar

I’m not going to this give this one a rating because I honestly didn’t read enough of it to feel like I can give it a rating. I just couldn’t get into and ended up dnfing it.

7. The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trigger warning for death and bullying*

Wendy is a descendant of Mary Keegan, a witch. Mary was shunned by the town and died by their causes. She put a curse on the town, so they built a statue in order to hopefully gain her forgiveness. This would be a great Halloween short story as it just has those good creepy vibes. The writing was great, it did have an f/f potential but it was just lacking for me.

8. The One who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Huge Trigger Warning for Rape and Sexual Assault

This one was difficult to read at the time because rape and molestation is a huge trigger for me, but I pushed through it anyway because it was a beautiful story. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is about a group of girls in the woods in the spot where they meet waiting to meet there newest member of their group so that they can help her to take revenge,

9. Divine are the Stars by Zoraida Cordova ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one was confusing for me at first, but it kinda came together at the end for me. The MC goes home because her grandmother is dying. This story shows you what’s it’s like to be a family and shows how horrible certain family members can be. One of the biggest lessons in this story is to know where you come from and who you are in your heart.

10. Daughters of Baba Yaga by Breanna Yovanoff ⭐️⭐️

Trigger Warning for Bullying

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others. It had so much going on that I was confused at times. I was looking for more witchcraft and instead got issues with bullying and bullies, which is just as important just not what I expected on wanted in this book.

11. The Well Witch by Kate Hart ⭐️⭐️

Trigger Warning for severe racism and animal cruelty.

This short story had so much potential and it just went downhill about 3/4 of the way through, that ending sucked. The first half I loved, it talked about a woman whose mother had passed away years ago and her father had been gone for three years. It a potential for a love interest, but it snuffed it out very quickly. It’s just not what I expected at all. I hope those two rot in hell.

12. Beware of the girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was really an over different story than the rest. It talks about three sisters who live by prophecy that one one of them will survive. It is such a great story about love, sisterhood and doing what it takes to make sure of survival. Georgie has the ability of fire, Elle has a the ability for potion and jo (the first we see) has a ability for prophecy that she becomes revolved around making it come even the slightest bit true. The ending kind of left me hanging a bit, so Jessica could we please have a full novel?

13. Love Spell by Anna Marie Mclemore ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Anna Marie never disappoints. I loved her writing in wild beauty and I loved this one too. You have a mc that moves in with her tia to learn about her own magic abilities and share in that bond with her tia, they can both cure heartbreak. I loved this one because it mixed faith and magic. The main character still goes to church and takes part in communion, even though she is shunned by the town and is an outcast. She ends up having a crush On one of the priest and struggles with the fact he will never be hers. This was such a hopeful amazing short story. Loved every minute reading it.

14. The Gherin Girls by Emory Lord ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trigger Warning for abuse (never gets graphic, but it is talked about through most of the story)

I loved this one so much, it talked about the bonds of sisterhood and unconditional love you have for your family. My heart was ripped to shreds with this story. Rosie found herself in a incredibly dangerous relationship with a guy and couldn’t find a way out. Her sisters rallied around her to help her and show her that it is not any woman’s fault for that relationship that it’s his fault for being a monster. This was such a hopeful, loving and amazing story.

15. Why they watch us burn by Elizabeth May ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trigger Warning for rape, nothing is graphic or too visual

This one was honestly a mountain of emotion for me and I’m still thinking about it while writing this review. When I think of this book, this story over all the rest stick out in my head. It talked about the injustice and how even if you speak the truth, the world will make you a liar. That right there spoke volumes to me, sadly because it is the truth. I loved the fact that all 13 women came together as one and stood together and for each other. I honestly don’t think most men would understand this story if they read it, I sadly don’t. It did have a f/f romance which I cheered on. This was my favorite amount all the other stories and I will be checking out all of Elizabeth’s other books now.

Overall I loved this book and gave it 4 Stars. While there were some I didn’t enjoy the 4 and 5-star stories made it completely worth it. I really hope you all preorder this book it makes its way to your favorites. I know it did mine.
I received a digital copy of this anthology via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. However, I also purchased a physical copy for myself through .

I love witches - walking stereotypes with black hats, quiet ones that blend in, ones that keep secrets from their families, ones that keep secrets with their families. Witches are women who walk their own paths and believe in their own power. This lovely book is full of witches, and it makes my soul sing to read their stories.

Toil and Trouble is a short story anthology of stories about young witches, especially queer witches and witches of color. There are fifteen wonderful, unique stories, from a girl living through the witch trials of centuries past to girls trying to survive the ones of a possible near future. There are water witches and star witches and blood witches. I love them all.

That's not to say I loved every story equally - I definitely had some favorites. The Heart in her Hands stole my own heart so thoroughly I had dreams about it two days later. The Gherin Girls made me consider my relationship with my own siblings in a new and yet intimately familiar light. And Why They Watch Us Burn gave voice to feelings and fears that are entirely too real and too current. I have a feeling I'll come back to this book again, in a different frame of mind and with different needs, and find resonance with different stories each time.

This anthology does not pull punches - but I don't think stories about young women finding their power necessarily should. Still, I think it would benefit from some content warnings. In particular, sexual assault, domestic violence, and general gore features in several stories. The sexual assault and domestic violence are treated respectfully, but readers with sensitivities to those topics should be cautious.

This collection has something for everyone - at least, everyone who loves girls finding their own power and using it. As the dust jacket says

This collection reveals a universal truth there's nothing more powerful than a teenage girl who believes in herself.

Rating 4.5/5 stars