I was very excited about this because I love anything to do with witches. However, I think I’m seeing that anthologies aren’t for me. I didn't really get to connect with the characters since these are more along the lines of short stories.

I did enjoy some of these stories and then some I didn’t. The ones that stood out to me where Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May and Beware of the Girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood. My favorite of the stories was Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore!

So while I didn’t fall in love with it, I did enjoy some of the stories. If you love witches, then get this one when it comes out!

I was not as enchanted by this anthology as I thought I'd be.

I'm not sure why I didn't love it more, but I didn't. Some of the stories were stand outs but most of them were just okay for me. None were bad, but the pacing was so slow in several and when I was through I wasn't sure what the point of the story was or what I was supposed to take away from it.

There is an awesome amount of representation here in regards to race, ethnicity, class, religion, and sexuality and in the types of stories and the types of witchcraft presented. Some were historical, some were modern day, and it was fun to have all of that.

My favorite stores were:

The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley
The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma
Divine are the Stars by Zoraida Cordova
Daughters of Baba Yaga by Brenna Yovanoff
Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer
The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord
Why They Watch Us Burn by Emily May (this is by far my absolute favorite of the anthology and is the perfect closer for a book like this)

Overall, this is a good book, especially for someone who wants something maybe a little creepy but not too much as all the stories are really about the girls taking back their own powers and the subtle acknowledgement that pretty much every "witch" in history was a woman with power and agency who did not act the way her society wanted her to.

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft is a YA anthology of short stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era. History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations - bold, powerful, and rebellious. From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together - magically or mundanely - has long frightened society, to the point that women’s rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world. This collection delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored.

I was so excited when I was approved for this YA short story anthology all about witches. I mean, it's edited by Tess Sharpe and Jessica Spotswood and features stories by them as well as Brandy Colbert, Zoraida Córdova, Andrea Cremer, Kate Hart, Emery Lord, Elizabeth May, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Lindsay Smith, Nova Ren Suma, Robin Talley, Shveta Thakrar, and Brenna Yovanoff. I'm familiar with the work of some of these authors, but others are entirely new to me. Either way, I've had quite a bit of good luck lately with YA short story collections even though they aren't my go-to and I was hoping that would be the case here, too. Unfortunately, I found this to be slightly underwhelming as a whole. The first couple of stories weren't quite my thing, so it took me a bit longer than I was hoping to get into the swing of the anthology. I will say, though, that I particularly enjoyed the following stories: "The Legend of Stone Mary" by Robin Talley, "The One Who Stayed" by Nova Ren Suma, "Divine are the Stars" by Zoraida Corova, "Daughters of Baba Yaga" by Brenna Yovanoff, "The Well Witch" by Kate Hart, and "Why They Watch Us Burn" by Elizabeth May. Of those favorites, May's story is easily the standout of the entire collection.

Finally, Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft is a unique YA witchy anthology featuring complex and diverse characters. While I wasn't the biggest fan of every story, there were still some truly great tales in this collection. Some of these stories really gave me a great taste of the author's work and have made me want to try more of their writing, and perhaps wish that some of these stories were expanded into a full novel. If you are interested in bold witches of YA, you may want to give this collection of stories a try.

What is it about?

This is an anthology that includes stories about all sorts of witches. Each one has something unique about them. Some witches can read bones, others can find water, still others can heal or poison. Some witches come from generations of witches and others are just discovering that they have power inside them. Each one is learning just how strong she is, with or without her power.

Was it good?

I don’t normally read short stories. I think I’m afraid of getting confused or not being able to fall in love with something so short. (My husband is tall, in case you are wondering.)

With that in mind… I REALLY ENJOYED THIS ANTHOLOGY!

The Details

3/5 – Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia – Astrology vs Astronomy
5/5 – Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer – Midwife is witness in witch trial. I did not want this one to end. It’s probably my favorite.
4/5 – The Heart in Her Hands by Tess Sharpe – Healer witch vs. Fate
4/5 – Death in the SawTooths by Lindsay Smith – Witch who can read bones to release people’s soul, but not everyone thinks her magic is good.
3/5 – The Truth about Queenie by Brandy Colbert – mostly a teenage love story with a touch of witchery
3/5 – The Moonapple Menagerie by Shreta Thakrar – Witches put on a play
2/5 – The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley – Descendant of a witch who cursed the city wonders if she is a witch, too. This one made me kind of dizzy to read, with the way the flashbacks/history was explained.
5/5 – The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma – Girls who have been hurt find comfort and friendship in their coven of witches. This one was so beautifully written. Maybe this one is my favorite?
4/5 – Divine are the Stars by Zoraida Cordova – Grandma is turning into a tree.
3/5 – Daughters of Baba Yaga by Brenna Yovanoff – Teenage witch vs. bullies in high school.
5/5 – The Well Witch by Kate Hart – These three strangers are NOT welcome in her oasis.
4/5 – Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood – You can’t live with your sisters, you can’t live without them.
4/5 – Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore – Witchy romance between a witch and a priest in training.
5/5 – The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord Nova – 2 sisters pull together to protect the third from an abusive ex boyfriend. This was really well told and I love the different affinities these sisters had, especially the big sister whose power was cooking the right food/drink to help soothe.
4/5 – Why they watch us Burn by Elizabeth May – What happens to a girl who tells the truth about being taken advantage of? They call her a witch and they make her burn. (Unless she’s young and strong, and then they make her go chop wood.)

4.5/5 Stars

Anthologies and short stories never truly capture my interest like novels do but I appreciate the change of pace. Plus I get to read more from my favorite authors as well as discover new to me writers which is always a win. Toil & Trouble though has the added bonus of focusing on women and witchcraft so it actually passed the four star threshold that most other collections I read get stuck at.

While I enjoyed must of the stories and I did have some prominent favorites that I am absolutely head over heels for. The first two come from authors I know and love. Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore wove religion and magical realism into a gorgeous tale and I will shout my adoration for her always. Zoraida Córdova's Divine are the Stars was another magical realism story focus on family, belief, and the messiness that ensues.

Other faves include Tess' Sharpe's The Heart in Her Hands which deals with being controlled, making your own choices, and openly loving; The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord was much more slice of life, sisterhood, and dealing with emotional abuse; and Elizabeth May's Why They Watch Us Burn was a powerful declaration of womanhood and truth that was utterly gripping.

Overall Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of of Women & Witchcraft was an incredible compilation of authors and stories. With a dynamic and diverse cast of characters and settings, this collection delved into a whole host of issues, lessons, and morals that left me reeling from all the emotion. Without a doubt this anthology is a must read especially as autumn approaches.

“On Wednesday’s we wear black.” That has pretty much been my motto since 2013 after watching AHS Coven. I’ve been obsessed with witches and fantasy ever since I first laid eyes on the Sanderson Sisters back in the 90’s. I saw the ARC was available on NetGalley, so I clicked on request and crossed my fingers. Luck was on my side with this one and this is my honest review.

Toil and Trouble is a collection of 15 short stories of different women, ages and time periods. These stories feature a great range of diversity, ethnicity and sexual orientation. I’m extremely happy at how deeply these stories were with touching all three subjects. There were covens of witches, brujas and healers. Family curses and self discovery. And at one point I found myself googling the word “Churel.”

Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer was my favorite. It was a story telling of an apprentice and a witch trial fading in and out of the midwife she worked for who was accused of witchcraft. I loved that it was written in a historical time period with testimonials given from those who witnessed the event.

Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood is another favorite. The Campbell sisters have a dreadful curse on them, “only one in each generation survives to old age.” After Jo gets a vision of the outcome within the three sisters, she sets out to make it come true. I don’t want to give any spoilers to this story, but this one broke my heart a little. I felt the story ended too soon and I’m itching for more details! Perhaps an extended version could be released?

All in all this was a great book! I completely devoured this anthology and found myself reading it at work when I was alone. I can’t wait to add this to our collection. This will be a perfect autumn read. The seasons are changing and fall awaits us sisters!

First of all, let me just say how much I appreciated this collection of short stories. The authors are so diverse and I absolutely loved the amalgamation of cultures represented here. There is so much rep for LGBTQIAP+, POC, religions, social classes — just, everything! And while I tended to enjoy the spookier stories, I came to realize that this anthology isn’t just about scary-witchy-things, rather it’s about highlighting powerful women throughout mythos and history. I may have not loved all the stories but I believe they each carried significant themes and should be shared with everyone.

My overall rating actually came out to be 3.5 stars (70% once I did the math) but I’m rounding it up to 4 stars because I believe this book is important and relevant, and I know several of them will stick with me forever. My favorites were Beware of the Girls With Crooked Mouths, The Gherin Girls, and Why They Watch Us Burn. I could seriously read full length novels of those stories!

Since each story is only 20-30 pages long, I’m hesitant to talk too much about them without giving away anything! So here are my quick thoughts and opinions. I think some just had a slower pacing than others, which affected my overall rating for that particular story.

1) STARSONG by Tehlor Kay Mejia: ★★

I really thought the budding romance was cute, but I had a hard time connecting with the story. I think I was expecting a more witchy tale to kick off this book, but it was mainly centered around a bruja DM-ing with someone on Instagram. However I genuinely loved the debate between science and magic, how it’s an own voices Latinx story, and the f/f romance!

2) AFTERBIRTH by Andrea Cremer: ★★★★

I really loved the interview format in this story, and the demon-centered plot had me on the edge of my seat. If you’re looking for a witch trial set in 1600’s New England then this is the story for you!

3) THE HEART IN HER HANDS by Tess Sharpe: ★★★

This story really touched my heart and I loved the theme about fate and soulmates (and tea!) The witchcraft is strong in this story and there’s such a wonderful f/f romance.

4) DEATH IN THE SAWTOOTHS by Lindsay Smith: ★★★★

This story is what finally really got my interest in this anthology. It felt like I was reading an actual story about witches (and warlocks!) and the overall tone was dark and spooky.

5) THE TRUTH ABOUT QUEENIE by Brandy Colbert: ★★★★

This is one of my favorites. It reads like a contemporary, but I do wish it had more witchy elements. However, it flowed so beautifully and I loved the friendships. This needs to be a full length novel!

6) THE MOONAPPLE MENAGERIE by Shveta Thakrar: ★

Sadly this was my least favorite story. This is a story about a group of shapeshifter friends who make a deal with a demon, and the demon wants to be in their play. To be honest I wanted more story about the shapeshifters and less about the play they were writing. I just didn’t love it, I’m sorry!

7) THE LEGEND OF STONE MARY by Robin Talley: ★★★★

This is a fantastically creepy one! I love the legends and the twists all wrapped up in this wonderful little story. I am just a sucker for anything that has to do with small towns and their local spooky lore.

8) THE ONE WHO STAYED by Nova Ren Suma: ★★★

This story is so beautifully written yet very haunting. Overall it’s so powerful and feminist. There is rape and sexual assault, so please take caution before starting this one. While I may not have connected with the story I truly loved the writing and I am looking forward to reading more books by Nova!

9) DIVINE ARE THE STARS by Zoraida Córdova: ★★★★

I’m not usually a huge fan of magical realism but Zoraida Córdova’s writing always pulls me in. I loved the family dynamic and tension presented here, and that it’s an own voices Latinx story.

10) DAUGHTERS OF BABA YAGA by Brenna Yovanoff: ★★★

This was another wonderful feminist story about witches and friendships. It was dark but I usually like my stories that way! I also love any sort of Baba Yaga retelling.

11) THE WELL WITCH by Kate Hart: ★★

I was totally immersed in most of this story but I so did not love the ending. It had such great potential. I was loving our POC main character who was so generous, kind, yet stern and self-sufficient. Then the story took a really bad turn and I just got angry.

12) BEWARE OF THE GIRLS WITH CROOKED MOUTHS by Jessica Spotswood: ★★★★★

I LOVED this story so, so much. It had everything I wanted: a family of witches who each have their own powers, a curse they want to break, and visions/destiny. I truly need this to be a full length book because I felt so invested in each of the sisters.

13) LOVE SPELL by Anna-Marie McLemore: ★★★★

This was another beautiful own voices story about star-crossed lovers: a girl who falls in love with a trans boy (who also happens to be an acolyte at her church.)

14) THE GHERIN GIRLS by Emery Lord: ★★★★★

This story is another favorite but it broke my heart. I felt so connected with these sisters and my heart broke over the abuse one of them had to go through. The writing is stunning and the bonds between these sisters just about made me cry.

15) THE ONLY WAY BACK by Tristina Wright: N/A

The Only Way Back will not be included in the final publication, thus the title will say 15 Tales instead of 16 Tales. The publisher has decided to redact the story after sexual assault allegations were brought on the author.

16) WHY THEY WATCH US BURN by Elizabeth May: ★★★★★

I think they saved the best for last because WOW. This one is so freakin’ powerful. Like, no words. No words. This is a story about women who are exiled and punished (aka accused of witchcraft) for tempting men into sin. It is so important, relevant, eye-opening, heartbreaking, and haunting. I need to give it all the stars.

Overall this was such an amazing collection and I believe Toil & Trouble will be the perfect read come Halloween. It releases on August 28th!

I am so-so on short stories. I read about two collections a year and that seems to be my limit. On one hand, I love how short they are because they are... well, short. Quick, easy, if I hate them they are over quickly. But if I love them, I feel short changed when they end, I want more! This is bad because I hate wanting more and not getting it, but good because I always seek out more from that particular author. Anyway.

I liked the Tyranny of Petticoats collection so when I saw this on netgalley, I thought why not. My ARC did have the 15th story that will be omitted from final publishing, but I skipped it.

I don’t know if it was because it was a different type of collection but I’m sad to say I did not enjoy this one. I didn’t click with any of the stories. I was going to break them all down, but I got a bit repetitive. Every time I was like ‘ooh, I like this one!’ it went a way I did not like and then I didn’t like it anymore. Womp. Overall, I am super bummed but I did not enjoy this.

There’s been a lot of misconception when it comes to witches. I strongly believe anything that empowers young women to explore their powers and then use these powers to create change is viewed as a threat and therefore must be stopped. I feel just the opposite and I applaud women who are blessed with wicca power.



Toil and Trouble is a collection of fifteen stories exploring the mythology of witchcraft, the spectrum of good, bad and a little bit of both magic and how there’s a little bit of witchery in every female. From the healing arts to first kiss to revenge, Toil and Trouble is a must read for all paranormal readers. I was captivated from the first page and didn’t stop reading until I read the last sentence. Powerful, uplifting stories that will open your eyes to the world around us, both what is seen and unseen. A must read!



Disclaimer: I received an ARC from Harlequin Teen via Netgalley in the hopes I’d review it.



Favorite Story: Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May. This story seared my soul and I got very emotional while reading it. Brilliant! This quote is just a sampling of the empowering message in this story:



“Here’s how to fulfill a prophecy: you are a woman, you speak the truth, and the world makes you into a liar.”



My Rating: 5 stars

What I Liked

Both Tess Sharpe and Jessica Spotswood did an amazing job editing this short story collection together. I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single short story that I read. Normally, in a short story collection there are one or two duds that just lay flat or I disliked the authors writing style, but that is far from the case with this collection. 

This collection of stories that revolves around witches was amazing for multiple reasons. The first being that each author had their own view of what a witch was. You can see that these authors come from different backgrounds and have heard myths from their cultures about witches. I loved this. Not only did I get to read about witches, but I got to read about different interruptions on what a witch is. 

On top of there being different takes on what a witch is the stories in this collection are not just modern, but also some are written in the past. Being a history lover myself I loved that some of the stories were from along ago when in the United States were just colonies. Even if history is not your thing I feel like you would love those stories anyway due to the plots of the stories themselves. Even though these stories are short I felt connected with the characters I rooted for them.

What I Didn’t Like

The only fault I have with this collection is the fact that it ended. I wanted the book to keep going and going. 

Overall Thoughts

I adored this collection of short stories so much. I have to openly admit that this short story collection has truly been a winner in my eyes. There was not a single short story that I did not love. All the authors writing was wonderful and the varying takes and time periods that their stories took place in were all done so well. Each story was its own and was wonderful.  I even loved that there was LGBTQ+ elements to this collection.  I know that I am going out to the store and buying this collection when it comes out in stores. I will be rereading it and annotating it so much. I highly recommend this collection of you love reading stories about witches from long ago to modern times.

ARC provided by Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review.

Toil & Trouble:15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

Inside this anthology is 15 stories that will blow you away. They each tell a different story but their premise is rooted in the same garden: Witches & Women. Taking the theme into mind each author exceeded my expectations for this book as they put so much work into making their stories beautiful, heartfelt, and magical.

I will admit at first i wasn’t to sure how much i’d like this book. I don’t know much of witchcraft, besides what i have seen in media, so i was not sure what i was getting myself into. I thought maybe i’d be lost and confused and have to google everything i didn’t know. But to my surprise, I happily followed this book, easy as can be. With each story I was taken in to new worlds, each better than the last.

The stories were beautifully written and had so much representation that we need to see more of. We have characters who are diverse women who are exploring their sexuality and their identity within that, we have sisters and mothers, we have different cultures and mythology set in the present as well as the past. A couple of my favorites are The Heart In Her Hands by Tess Sharpe, The Truth About Queenie by Brandy Colbert, Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May, and Beware Of Girls With Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood.

Toil & Trouble:15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft is a really great place to start if you’re unfamiliar with witchcraft in general. It’s easy to read, relatable and entertaining too. Each of the stories are very different from each other and it goes to show the range of which an anthologies can explore. Plus this is pretty much a book of 15 author recommendations. What's not to love about that? I can honestly say this is one of my favorite anthologies, and i am excited to get more like this in the future.

Overall i give this ⅘ stars

Be sure to check this out August 28th 2018!

Between the theme of this anthology and the authors who wrote stories, I was all in.

I really enjoyed this collection. All of the stories were so varied and the voices were fantastically diverse and different. I especially loved the stories from Tess Sharpe and Anna-Marie McLemore.

**Huge thanks to Harlequin Teen for providing the arc free of charge**

This is an anthology of stories about witches. The stories are set in past, present, and future, and contain a wide, diverse collection of characters. This is a perfect book to read throughout the fall. Being able to spread it out and read one story a day allows the reader to get their filling of a story quickly.

As it happens with anthologies not all of the stories will be your favorite, but I was disappointed with the stories that I actually did like. Almost all of the endings are ambiguous or she's off to find this person, but it never says if she actually does. Don't expect all happy endings, because you have no idea if that's what happened. Some people might like that, but I like to have a complete end and know exactly what happened, even if the author just summarizes it. The whole girl power is nice, but does it get them what they want?

There were <b>so</b>many stories in <i>Toil & Trouble </i>that I did not want to end!!!! Amazingly captivating, every single book made me feel all the feelings. All of them. I cried when I read “Why They Watch Us Burn” by Elizabeth May because it was so moving. It’s about girls being sent to a work camp for being witches/sinful. There, they form their own families—every race, lesbian, straight, queer, trans, witch-it didn’t matter. It was just so moving.

Another standout to me was “Beware if Girls With Crooked Mouthes” by Jessica Spotswood. This one reminded me of an Alice Hoffman novel, similar to “Practical Magic”. Each of the 3 sisters has a special gift—one can see the future, one can play with fire and one can play with poison. Every generation of the family, only one female survives and we start the story off with Jo, seeing the future of the family and spending the story trying to make it into a reality. Spotswood’s writing is captivating and I did not want this book to end, especially in the manner it did. I could read her stories all day.

This book, in its entirety, had mostly 4-5 star stories. All were about strong, empowering young women. I believe and would recommend this to ANYONE, but especially any teenager. There are some triggers (rape, abuse, sexual assault, sexual situations) but I think the content is still a powerful read and the choice of authors and stories was nearly perfect.

Toil and Trouble is a pretty solid and diverse collection of stories about witches from a handful of popular YA authors. The witches featured are both contemporary and historical, with differing voices, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. There were some duds for me, but overall this collection is a worthwhile read and many will find something to love here and perhaps even discover a new favorite author. I don't want to say too much about the plots of the short stories, as being short there's not much you can give away without spoiling the reader, but multiple genres including historical fiction, romance, fantasy, horror, and contemporary are represented. A few of my favorite stories were "The Heart in Her Hands" by Tess Sharpe, "Death in the Sawtooths" by Lindsay Smith, "Divine are the Stars" by Zoraida Cordova, and "Love Spell" by Anna-Marie McLemore. Some of the stories do reference sexual assault, but it in each instance it's handled respectfully.

A very unique book with interesting stories about witches. It’s cultural and diverse so this is a great way to show everyone different perspectives on witches. We don’t really know how a witch is suppose to be. Stereotypically, we see witches as old, green, and covered with warts. But being in a millennial time, we can say the way we think way differently about witches now.
15 stories of witches. It’s a lot to take in. Main reason it took me some time to finish it was because you cannot simply grasp all of the short stories at one time. They are different plots, characters, and themes. It’s best to take your time with it.
The majority of the stories were too pg 13 for me. It was good don’t get me wrong. But I was anticipating something more darker and more climax to their plots. Most of their plots were very adequate at its best. Some stories were good and some were meh. I did enjoy that they had different cultural perspectives on the witches and some were diverse couples that found it enjoyable to read.

**This book was provided to me as an advanced reader's copy via Netgalley. All opinions contained within this review are my own.** Every girl and woman needs to read this book. It is so strong and feminine. It bolsters my hope in ways that I have so desperately needed. The writing is nothing short of masterful, each story with its own voice and world contained within. Simply magical.

I originally thought about reviewing this story by story, but they're all so magical and wonderful that each one would end up needing its own page-long review. I will go ahead and say my ARC did have Tristina Wright's story included, and that won't be in the finished hardcover. So big props to editors and Harlequin for not giving voices to abusers.

This anthology is so important in so many different ways. There are own voices stories, there are stories with queer rep, Latinx rep, Asian rep...there are so many good things in this anthology, making it absolutely PERFECT for upcoming spooky-time reads.

The quote from the review title came from one of my favorite stories, A Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith. So many various "types" of witches are covered. Sawtooths features a necromancer of sorts, who just wants to do her job of settling a body's last affairs in peace. The only story I wasn't as fond of as the others was Moonapple Menagerie by Shveta Thakrar. There wasn't anything "wrong" with it at all, I just found myself losing interest and not really feeling invested in the characters. It felt to me more like a story that should be a novella, with these great characters and a story that definitely had more to it than what could fit in a short story format.

A great, diverse anthology with some very important themes, I give Toil & Trouble 4.5 out of 5 brooms.

What a great collection of stories! I loved every moment of this anthology, and I'm excited to share with my students!

Did you love Radical Element, with its historical fiction tales of young women breaking conventions and being amazing? Then you'll love Toil & Trouble, an anthology loaded with tales of women and witchcraft. And not the Hocus Pocus, "I Put a Spell on You" type of witchcraft, either: these witches are in touch with nature and themselves; they're multicultural, they're queer, they're angry, and they're very, very human. Wild Beauty's Anna-Marie McLemore weaves a story about faith in "Love Spells"; Brooklyn Brujahs author Zoraida Cordova writes about the wisdom of age and the passing of generations in "Divine Are the Stars". Robin Talley's "The Legend of Stone Mary" goes the historic route, with the legend of a dead witch haunting a local community. Elizabeth May's "Why They Watch Us Burn" is a chilling companion story to readers of The Handmaid's Tale, simmering with rage and rebellion. The women in these stories are never victims, even while others may try to victimize them: they own their power, no matter what the circumstances may hold.

Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe have curated a strong collection of short stories written by strong authors here. There's something for everyone in this volume, with strong, solitary characters who defend their homes to women who form a collective to survive. There are non-binary, LGBT, and cis characters, and there are characters from world cultures throughout. Characters confront big issues including sexual assault and emotional abuse. As Kirkus writes in its starred review, "No damsels in distress to be found here". Toil and Trouble has starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist.

Find more books about witches in this great BookRiot feature.