Burning Girls and Other Stories features dark, relatable stories of girls and ladies I both connected and identified with.

I love stories that kind if defy genre, particularly that feature strong female characters outside of the mainstream. Themes of vengence, the immigrant experience, escaping situation, and danger abound. If you enjoy contemporary fiction with notes of fantasy and speculation, you might enjoy this collection, too. It’s out on Marxh 2nd.

I did it partly in print and partly via audio. Narrator Cassandra Campbell does an excellent job bringing many different characters to life. She keeps the fiery spirit of the girls constant throughout but offers nuanced readings to make each story stand out and their characters shine.

This one is out on March 2nd, so keep an eye out for it if you, like me, are looking to add more short story collections to your reading routine.

I'll be honest, I didn't understand all of the stories, but oh man, did I enjoy them.

These short stories are MAD. They are dark and creepy and they made me say "what the actual fuck" out loud several times. I felt all kinds of emotions reading this book, and now I have to go and find more work by Veronica Schanoes.

Also, I've read this as an e-book too and I enjoyed as an audio book much more. Cassandra Campbell did a good job!

This interesting collection comprises retellings not just of popular fairy tales or folklore but also of lives of pop culture icons, with a dark and/or fantastical twist. The name of the original tale/person isn't always revealed at the start so you can only guess what it could be as the story progresses. The stories are all from speculative fiction or dark fantasy.

In most anthologies, the stories fall in three categories. Most stories would be fantastic or average, with just a few being really bad. In this anthology though, the second category is missing. So the stories either really hit the mark or they go completely off tangent, leaving us confused.

Of the 13 stories, I really enjoyed Among the Thorns, Ballroom Blitz, Lily Glass, Rats, Swimming, The Revenant, and the title story. That makes it 7/13. Some of the remaining stories begin well but soon become too twisted for my liking. Maybe those who enjoy much darker or gory stories will enjoy that too. I think this indicates my shortcoming as a reader than a problem with the story itself as I don't enjoy excessive animal abuse or child abuse in my reading.

The writing though is absolutely gripping. Veronica Schanoes seems to have a firm grip on the language and she knows how to keep the momentum going. No story seems slow-paced.

The narrator, Cassandra Campbell, does justice to the audiobook. Her enunciation is wonderful, and her voice clear.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tantor Audio, for the Advanced Audio Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.