Well I'm super disappointed on this one. I am not going to review it because it is no longer available for purchase. Upon a Thrice Time was the third in a set of anthologies. Unfortunately it was only available via a Kickstarter. I expected to see the publisher come out with at least an ebook copy after the Kickstarter was fulfilled but that never happened.
I won't post about books my followers have no chance of finding a copy of. I literally couldn't even find a used copy anywhere to purchase. Disappointing.

This is the third in a series of fairy tales retold with a sci-fi/fantasy flair. Each story is a mash-up of two distinct fairy tales, some of which were familiar to me (like “Goldilocks” and “The Three Little Pigs”), while others were more obscure legends that I had never heard of. Most of the stories in this collection are excellent, although they don’t get really good until about a quarter of the way into the book. Overall it’s a great read with a diverse grouping of styles and genres.

An interesting and creative collection of short stories. In some cases I wasn't aware of the original tale. I can't decide if I enjoyed being caught unaware or not.

These stories are entertaining and beautiful and this collection is wonderful. There's a nice collection of genres and each story is a really unique and imaginative.

I read this without reading the previous anthologies, so I did not know what to expect from these stories. I love retellings and I was quite excited for these!

They are most certainly unique and worth reading, I appreciated how each author interpreted the stories. Most of the works tend to have a bit of a rambling feel but overall I did enjoy this!

Once again, well, thrice again these stories prove to be so entertaining, keeping your eyes wide open to spot the distinctive elements of each story but enjoying the new product very much!
So so cool!!

This is the third and final instalment in the “Upon a …. Time” series by Air & Nothingness Press. As in the first two books (“Upon a Once Time” and “Upon a Twice Time”), this anthology contains SFF stories, with each being a mash-up of two well-known folktales/legends/lore/fairy tale. Of course, the word ‘well-known’ is very relative here as some of the original source tales were quite obscure to me though they might be familiar to some others. It helps that before each story, there is a mention of which two tales have been combined to create this blended retelling.

The collection covers a nice variety of genres, though most of the 23 tales are from SFF. You have a wonderful mix of science fiction, dark fantasy, horror, gothic fantasy and so on. (The specific genre is mentioned before each story.) The tales take a unique approach to traditional fairy tales and in many cases, they leave you stunned with their unusual spin on the original.

I didn't know the original tale in many of the cases. That hindered the enjoyment of a few of the retellings as the lack of context created a vacuum in appreciating the beauty of the retelling. (I had faced this same problem for the second book, but not for the first.) In cases where I was aware of the original tale, my admiration of the retelling was far greater as I could understand the novel nuances incorporated by the author.

The one thing in common to all these stories is that they are creative. Try writing a double fairy tale mash-up and you'll understand the difficulty of the task. But as happens with every anthology, some stories shine brighter than the others. The problem with this specific collection is that while I still enjoyed many of the stories (I always rate individual stories when I am reading anthologies, and 14 of the 23 stories received 4 stars or more), most of the best stories are in the middle of the book. So the start is pretty lacklustre, and the end is quite boring (with the last four stories all getting 2 or less stars from me.)

My favourites from this collection were the following:
Flowers For Esper - R.C. Sydney - Sci-Fi - ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (<i>Would have been 5 stars were it not for that abrupt ending.</i>)
Black Sword, Red Hood - Danna Petersen-Deeprose - Heroic Fantasy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Flowers Without Perfume - Jolie Toomajan – Horror - ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
A Manticore Among Sunflowers - Dexter McLeod - New Weird - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (<i>What a fabulous imagination!</i>)
The Ravens and the Tower - Isobel Granby – Fantasy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
The Rose-Red Ghost - Emily Jarzembski – Horror - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sienna - Olivia Frias – Fantasy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Elver Pass - Chloe Lauter - Eco-Gothic - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Blackberries - Anne Leonard - Fantasy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hearts Wreathed in Ivy - M. Elizabeth Ticknor - Urban Fantasy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Goldie by Gaslight - Kyle L. Grubb - Dickensian Thriller - ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
The Merrow’s Cap - Sarah Fannon - Dark Fantasy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How Do Wolves - Jon Lasser - Noir Romance - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Alchemy of Tears - Natasha Rogers – Fantasy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall, this is a really interesting and eclectic collection. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had loved “Upon a Once Time”, but it has some fabulous gems hidden within its pages. Recommended for SFF lovers who want to try a different kind of anthology.

3.75 stars.

My thanks to Air and Nothingness Press and NetGalley for the ARC of “Upon a Thrice Time”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This was another book I just couldn't get into. I would not enjoy one story, so go to the next, and nothing really grew on me. Just not for me. But the cover is gorgeous.

Thank you to NetGalley/Publisher for an ARC of this book.