Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart was exactly what I was looking for in a compilation of short stories. These are fantastical and somewhat creepy, this was the perfect read for fall. I also just enjoy how you can stop and restart reading this at any time because of the short stories.

I did not know what to expect from this title, but I wasn't disappointed at all. Some of the stories were just entertaining, but some of them were creepy and eerie and made me afraid to look over my shoulder. That's exactly what I want from a compilation of short stories like this. The only thing I didn't like were the illustrations, because they were startling.

WARNING: This is Probably Not Your Kind of Book. Think Before Proceeding.

At first didn't think it was my kind. . .until I started in and was flipping pages as fast as possible - had to get a hold of myself, and limited myself to 1 story, or not more than 10 pages. That lasted one day, 40 pages.

These are fractured fairytales at their best. . .dark, devious and not a bit sorry about it. No regret here. I've turned total fangirl for this author, and that's really not becoming at this late date in my journey here, but I'm going with it. You'll need to deal. If you're wincing at that, then my first sentence stands. Here's the bones (TOC) and a drop of my favorite bits in each:

Sundown at the Eternal Staircase
Rules, warnings and cautionary tales about the Eternal Staircase (Heaven? Hell? Limbo? Amusement Park?)

A Diviner's Abecedarian
Divination methods described by and through sassy, spell-casting students

The Thread Boy
MY FAVORITE - if you only read one. . .read this one. . .

Fox Jaw
A steamy tail. Tale.

The War of Fog
This must have been pulled from a larger archived catalog of Named Wars (as opposed to Numbered Wars). Most interesting - having only lasted 9 days, but such damage. . .

Drowning Lessons
Sibling power here, for sure!

The Autumn Kill
Beware this one. . .still. . .we should appreciate the warning words, advice for what's ahead.

Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart
A whimsical collection of 50 - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS! Huzzah! I'm intrigued by the Corvosts, Lylits, and Rausts.

A Lily is a Lily
Just another quirky relationship tale. . .or maybe something a lot darker. . .

Dear Henrietta
Surely a welcome letter from an old friend. . .or. . .

Possessions
A swiss knife is involved, as well as a rooster who expressly denies being cocky.

Homebody
Paint, painting and considerations thereof, and the remarkable consequence thereby. (Keep your Office Jobs, people!)

A Haunted Calendar
Specifically, a 31-day month. Would be a different tale entirely for a 30-day month, I suspect.

The Plums at the End of the World
Just what you long for - a 12-chapter tale with a needy yet alluring goat, an understanding vampire who fixes everything, and plums for the taking. (I just ate one myself, as the story seemed to require it.)

If you had the least bit of interest, I dare you. Probably a perfect book for one of your Halloween reads. . .or Samhain Festival. From me, to GennaRose? All the stars. Odd Perfection 'tis. Awl the Stars. . .

*A sincere thank you to Gennarose Nethercott, Vintage Anchor, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #FiftyBeaststoBreakYourHeart #NetGalley

I feel like maybe I’m not the correct Audience, or that these are just too abstract for me. DNF at 50%

I think it's safe to say I have a bit a love/hate relationship when it comes to short stories it would seem - as I just want MORE and this was definitely the case with this collection.

Eerie and whimsical in all the right ways, but didn't quite hit the mark for me and I found myself not really resonating with or loving any of them, instead all were just 'fine' which for a collection of stories is sometimes all you can ask for!

Thanks so much for the ARC - I think I'll keep to full length stories. I will say I will 100% be reading other work from this author in future though as I did really enjoy her prose.

Dark fairytale short stories. An excellent book you can pick up and put down at any time. The illustrations are crazy creative and engrossing.

I liked this a lot. I expected to like it since I liked Thislefoot so much, but I liked it even more. It’s cozy and magical. I got sucked in and got to read my way out! Loved this.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart by Gennarose Nethercot. Despite the intriguing premise, I struggled with the book's abstract nature and nebulous plotting. The fourteen stories are highly conceptual, which made it challenging to grasp their meaning or narrative direction. While the concept had great potential, the execution left me feeling lost and disconnected. This might appeal to readers who enjoy highly abstract storytelling, but it wasn’t a good fit for me.

Although I loved Nethercott’s book, Thistlefoot, this collection of stories was definitely not for me. It’s a bunch of very weird stories, most of which (all?) end abruptly. The title story, Fifty Beasts To Break Your Heart, is just a list of imaginary beasts, with short descriptions of each. Others were actually stories, but most were so odd that I just felt lost.

I think that the publisher’s description (“a collection of dark fairytales and fractured folklore exploring how our passions can save us—or go monstrously wrong”) is misleading. These stories are just weird.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart is a collection of short stories that read more like poetry. Each story is a story of a heart break shown through a new format in the story telling method with some being more like a traditional short story and some being more poetry based.

This is not a collection I would recommend you pick up for anything nearing a happy or pleasant emotion, however if you desire extremely well written and creatively presented stories of heartbreak and sorrow then this will be perfect for you. Each story was like a gem of sadness or rage over the feelings that come along with heart break in all its forms from death to love to loss.

I would recommend this book for those who:
- Enjoy Poetry
- Are okay feeling life's hard emotions
- Are looking for a fairy tale feeling short story collection with no Faries
- Can read between the lines of stories
- Are looking for stunning prose
 
I received an advance review copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.

Actual Rating 3.5

This is a collection of 14 short stories by the author that is advertised as a collection of dark fairytales and fractured folklore. I don’t know if I particularly agree with this description. I feel like calling them a collection of abstract magical realism may be less misleading. That being said, I did quite like the stories overall. They were unique and quite odd, varying much between stories. I had one five-star story, two two-star stories, and the remainder were either three- or four-star tales. My favorites were:

A Diviner’s Abecedarian – This story is told by describing a type of magic for each letter of the English alphabet (26). There’s a short paragraph under each letter to describe the magic types, and I loved how creative many of them were. But my favorite aspect was that each of these paragraphs came together to form a cohesive, dark, magical tale. This was a clever short story and by far my favorite of the collection.

Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart – A bestiary compiled by florists. Each entry has an associated sketch of the creature and brief descriptions of what the authors were able to learn. This probably won’t be a favorite for most folks, but as someone who loves playing tabletop RPGs, this was right up my alley. The drawings were fun, and I loved how well the authors’ personalities came through the entries.

The Plums at the End of the World – A passionate act leads to the creation of a monster, but are all things that look monstrous truly evil? This was one of the weirdest tales in the collection, but I couldn’t help but enjoy it. The characters were wonderfully written and developed for such a short story, and it was a fascinating and creative tale.

While this collection won’t be for everyone, if you enjoy odd tales that are generally abstract and somewhat dark, then you’ll probably enjoy this one. The author’s writing is lovely but these stories generally aren’t plot-driven, so keep that in mind before picking it up. My thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Anchor for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Fun and experimental collection from a talented writer that brings you confidently through the lands of fairy tale and myth. A solid collection worth thinking about

Perfect read for fans of folklore. This story collection is filled with odd tales. Beautiful writing style. Read this is you enjoy old folklore and anthology collections.

Each story is beautifully written, dark and feels like a fever dream. The abstract nature of the stories might not appeal to some readers, but on the whole, I loved it. I will say a couple of the stories were a little abstract even for me, but I wouldn’t expect to enjoy every single story in a collection, so I didn’t mind too much.

Particular favourites were A Diviner’s Abecedarian, The Autumn Kill, and the titular Fifty Beasts to Break your Heart (complete with pictures!!!)

Some of these stories were such a hit and then some of them were such misses that I struggled to finish the book. The story about the stairs and the other about the red string were great, I really liked them. I stalled out on the one about the war.

What an absolute delight! Perfect, twisted stories for Valentines day! Short, small treats that are beautifully, darkly written.

The prose in Fifty Beasts... is absolutely beautiful. The stories themselves are inconsistent and occasionally obtuse; my favorites were "Sundown at the Eternal Staircase" (I want to go there, even though the story warns against it), "A Diviner's Abecedarian", and "Homebody". I'm excited to read more from Nethercott!

This is a book that requires an imagination which hopefully, you have. As Einstein once said, “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” In this book of short stories, there is the son of a witch who is made of thread. His thread makes connections with people he meets. In The War of Fog, a daughter tries to make sense of her father’s written notes during his time in war. Don’t expect these stories to be straightforward and clear. They go this way and that and sometimes appear to be a puzzle. That’s where your imagination comes into play. Make good use of it.

I love this author so much. I loved Thistlefoot. It was my favorite read of 2023 and this book did not disappoint either. It was very fun and whimsical at parts. It’s worth the read.

Stories full of nebulous yearnings, be they hungers, inhibitions, vices, or regrets. At times I seriously wondered if the author is taking some sort of psychotropic drug or just browsing off of fungi in the wood.

Thought provoking stories full of love, loss, regret and the making of oneself ‘other’ in a vain attempt to belong, to form or hold a connection.

Not a bouquet for everyone, but there is sure to be at least ONE story or creature that hits uncomfortably close to a hidden place in the reader if they brave a journey alongside 50 beasts.