It was okay? some of it was so wierd and slightly ridicilous.
So it was a bit hard to enjoy some of them, and i felt like we did not get enough time to get to now the characters, wich often happends in short stories.

My second book by Andrew J. Peters and I'm anxiously awaiting whatever this wonderful author sends us next. The stories in Slashed and Mashed are creative retellings of some classics, and makes a terrific anthology.

A slow read which surprised me. Failed to.capture my imaginations like some other books . I cant say that I particularly enjoyed reading this.

First story Theseus and the Minotaur. To the point, sweet and a little innocent. 3 stars.

Karoly was probably the most fairytale I’ve ever read. It was interesting but the guy was either a saint or an idiot. 3.5 stars.

Peach boy wasn’t quite what I was expecting and had the least going on. 3 stars.

The vain prince was my favourite at this point. Reads like a short fairytale. 4 stars.

I didn’t like the fifth story. The characters were okay but it was a pretty miserable one. 2 stars.

Sixth story made me rage. I felt sorry for the guy. The amount of people I liked in this one can be counted on one hand. 4 stars.

Final story packed a bit of a punch. Felt sorry for the mc. 4 stars.

After reading so many complete sub-par anthologies lately it's nice to finally find a good one! I liked that there was a lot of variety in this one in terms of where and when the stories were set as well as the source material that they were based on. The only story I was actually familiar with was Theseus and the minotaur but I didn't feel that I was ever really lost with the other ones and still enjoyed all of them. Well, the last one did seem to end a bit abruptly so that was weird, but it was still an interesting story and I would still say I liked it. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for M/M retellings of classic stories or just some interesting M/M short stories.

This had all of the components necessary to be a hit for me, but it fell a little short. Overall, I really enjoyed it. The theme, the way the premises were set up, etc. Some of the stories seemed to end extremely abruptly, though. I was left confused and sometimes wondered if knowing the fairy tale it was based on was necessary to really enjoy the book. None of these are ones the general public is normally familiar with, though some elements are more known than others. The last story left me particularly perplexed so that is the feeling I carried out of the book most. Maybe if that had been a middle story and something less confusing at the end I would think differently?

I thought each story was very thought provoking and unique. There was a perfect blend of happiness and angst throughout the stories.

This is a collection of seven retellings. The only story I was familiar with was Theseus and the Minotaur and I have to say I did like how that story was subverted. They are all really enjoyable reads and I recommend it.

I really enjoyed how this was written and it reminded me of reading fairytales for the first time. If you want a short story collection which have gay characters in then this is the collection for you. I enjoyed seeing the diversity in the book and how the stories were different to what I expected.

My top three strokes were,

Theseus and the Minotaur - The tale starts like the original and then Theseus meets the Minotaur and doesn't kills him, instead he hears his story. I liked how it changed from the original tale and I think I prefer this version. 4/5

Károly, Who kept a secret - This is a story about a boys journey to become king by keeping a secret. It has heartbreak, betrayal, magic and more. I really enjoyed this story and I liked the relationship Károly had with others in the book. 5/5

The vain prince - I really enjoyed this one, it sort of reminded me of beauty and the beast with a little red riding hood mixed in. A spoilt young prince looks for his true love but doesn't find it. Magic is used and he finds the one for him. 4/5

The others I rated

The Peach Boy - There wasn't much to this story but I still liked it. 3/5
The Jaguar of the Backward Glance - i couldn't get into this one. 2/5
Ma'aruf the Street Vendor - Egyptian man in America who wants a man to love and finds a Jinn 3.5/5
A Rabbit Grows in Brooklyn - I thought this was okay. 3/5

(Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review -- thank you!)

I'm not familiar with the original stories (save for Momotarou) but I love these subversions! The list is available in the summary, so I won't write them all out. They're all super enjoyable reads!

My favourite was surely poor Károly's story. He suffered so much betrayal but it worked out -- HAPPY ENDING ALERT!
I'm trying not to spoil anything just in case what I thought was in the originals is actually a twist in the new ones. Oof writing reviews is hard.

I adore the writing style; it's very once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-prince-y and took me back to the time I devoured Hans Christian Andersen's work, except my copy of the book was geared towards children and didn't have the allusions to sex that this book does.

I heartily recommend this collection of (lovely) stories! I'll be coming back to it a few months later, I'm sure.