As someone who isn’t familiar with the authors other works, I fear I wasn’t the target audience here. I would still recommend to fantasy lovers and those who enjoyed the authors previous series!

Thank you to Naomi Novik and Del Rey via NetGalley for the eARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I love Novik’s writing and enjoyed getting to explore so many worlds and stories in this collection. I felt extremely connected to many characters even after just 20 or so pages. My favorite stories were “Buried Deep” and “Castle Coeurlieu”. I also enjoyed her last story that, from her introduction, seems to be a first look at an upcoming novel by her. I can’t wait to see how the world evolves when she finishes whatever she is working on.

I sometimes have a hard time getting invested in anthologies, as not all the stories will be for everyone, and the stories I enjoy are never long enough.

In this anthology, Naomi Novik's short stories are set in the worlds of her published books, such as Scholomance and Temeraire. I really enjoyed the Scholomance one. However, I haven't read her Temeraire series and found I didn't love those stories. At some point, I would love to read those so maybe after I do I would enjoy these stories more.
A few of her standalone stories I enjoyed a lot and would have loved to be expanded. Like in most anthologies, we have some hits and some misses, but I love Naomi Novik's writing, so I'll continue to read whatever she comes out with.

These stories were not what I was expecting, but were excellently written. I was expecting fairy tales with happy endings. What I read was surprising and deeper and richer, and sometimes very funny. Sometimes not. It's hard to pick favorites but the story of Araminta and the pirates was hilarious and completely unexpected. I'm still thinking about the story of the Minotaur. I suspect that one will take more than one read to properly digest it.

I received an e-arc from the publisher via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

I received an ARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

Reviewing short story collections can be tricky since each different story is going to fall somewhere different on your ratings scale. So when I look at short story collections I'm looking at the aggregate. I'm also a much bigger fan of novels rather than short stories. One of my favorite parts about reading is seeing the characters develop throughout the span of the novel, and you typically don't get as much character growth in short stories. This collection has a lot of different types of fantasy stories ranging from one-shots set in the world of Novik's previous novels/series (Temeraire, Spinning Silver, and Scholomance), to some fanfiction pieces of classic novels (Pride & Prejudice and Sherlock Holmes), to standalone vignettes, and finally the last story is an introduction to Novik's upcoming no fantasy series. I found most of the stories quite interesting. My favorite story was the one that was the precusor the Spinning Silver. It's been awhile since I read Spinning Silver, so it was nice to revisit it. I kind of wish she'd write spin-off her Pride & Prejudice/Temeraire story into a novel. There were certain parts of it that I liked, but the story suffered from the lack of character development due to the constraints of being a short story. The sneak-peak into her new series was interesting but left a lot of questions unanswered. It was giving me strong Stormlight Archives vibes.

Overall, I'd give this collection a 4 out of 5 stars.

Naomi Novik is an absolute master of her craft, and I am truly blown away at the diversity of Novik's stories. Buried Deep and Other Stories is composed of 13 short stories ranging from fantasy to sci-fi to mystery. While not all stories were for me, I loved/enjoyed the majority and found all stories to be well written. The ratings below are solely based on my enjoyment.

Araminta - 3/5
After Hours - 1/5
Vici - 3/5
Buried Deep - 5/5
Spinning Silver - 5/5
Commonplaces - 2/5
Seven - 5/5
Blessings - 4/5
Lord Dunsany's Teapot - 1/5
Seven Years from Home - 4/5
Dragons and Decorum - 3/5
Castle Coeurlieu - 4/5
The Long Way Round - 4/5

I received an ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had really high hopes for this, but there’s not much to be excited about here.

You can almost always tell the difference between a story collection where each story is a lovingly-crafted, individual piece of art, and the ones that feel more like the author was approached to do a collection and essentially said “here’s what I had laying around.”

I’m a huge fan of most of Naomi Novik’s novels, and her writing is lovely here just like always is, but there wasn’t a single story in this collection that felt satisfying to me. The stories that come from the same world as her previous novels feel redundant, and the standalones all felt pretty half-baked.

As always I look forward to Novik’s next novel, but this was disappointing.

I have enjoyed the novels I have read my Naomi Novik, but I did not feel that this collection of short stories stood up to my expectations. The stories often felt like writing exercises rather than fully formed tales.

I LOVE short stories. The weirder they are the better in my opinion. I thought this collection was good, not great. I was disappointed that we visited the same worlds as in her other books, however I did like the differentiation. Overall the way I read it was a story at a time and broke it up reading other things and I enjoyed it.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I always love Naomi Novik, and this collection was largely the same. Like many anthologies, there were stories I liked a lot (the one following the events of The Scholomance had me smitten) and ones I liked a lot less (I've never been a Pride and Predjuice person so Lizzy Bennet as a dragon rider just didn't do it for me).

If you too love Novik's works, you definitely need to pick this up. Be smart about your reading though, because there are some instances of spoilers for her other works, and even if they don't contain spoilers, many of the stories require and understanding of her novels to best understand the stories. S0 while I am confident many people will love this, I recommend picking it up after you've read some of Novik's other works.

This was a collection of stories that were all magical. Some were retellings and some were similar to her other stories but a little different. They were all entertaining. I would totally read them if they were full length stories.

On the whole, one of the better anthologies I've read. I love her writing in most cases, and ratings would be even higher on a few of the stories were it not for some sexual content additions.

Araminta - I did in fact DNF this due to the off-putting sexual content. A pity, because otherwise it was going alright.

After Hours - 4 stars. Scholomance short story, set after the trilogy, and it was lovely returning to this world, despite the horrors it holds. But now there's a bit more light to be seen, and his name is Orion Lake.

Vici - 2.5 stars. I read this one once and hated it. Read it again and tolerated it. Roman settings are historically not my thing, but the addition of the dragon made it bearable.

Buried Deep - 3.5 stars. Mythology based. I want more of this story and more of this world, thanks!!

Spinning Silver - 4 stars. Really enjoyed this one. It's been ages since I read the novel of the same name, but at this very moment, I like the short story more.

Commonplaces - 1 star. I don't actually like most Irene fanfiction, and this was no exception.

Seven - 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the writing and the characters here, the plot lost me a little.

Blessings - 3 stars. Fairly standard christening party with perhaps more gifts than expected. Not especially noteworthy.

Lord Dunsany's Teapots - 2.5 stars. Didn't really follow along with the story all that well.

Seven Years From Home - 1.5 stars. Didn't care for this in the telling or the characters or the world or really anything.

Dragons and Decorum - 2.5 stars. I enjoyed it for what it was, not taking things too seriously but did she just imply that her Darcy and Lizzie had sex?? For shame, I can handle flying dragons and woman lieutenants but many of the customs seem to be the same and you absolutely lose me there.

Castle Coeurleiu - 2 stars. The latter half of the story lost me.

The Long Way Round - 3.5 stars. I liked the writing, the world overall, even the characters but I DO wish we had less romantic entanglements taking place. WHY are we always proposing open or polyamorous relationships or whatever? Could we please stop?

This collection of short stories offers a diverse range of settings, from ancient Rome to reimagined fairy tales, showcasing Naomi Novik's creativity. While some stories stood out with unique premises, others felt a bit rushed or disconnected. Fans of Novik’s previous works will likely appreciate the nods to familiar worlds, but as someone new to her writing, I found it harder to fully engage with all the stories. Still, the variety of genres and the sneak peek into her upcoming series are intriguing. A decent read, though not all stories resonated equally.

A solid and enchanting collection of short stories! Some I clicked with more than others, but the ones that hooked me really piqued my interest to read more of Novik’s full-length works - especially Spinning Silver and Temeraire!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc!

Naomi Novik never disappoints!
Enthralling and engaging, Novik spins each narrative with care and mastery. Each story had something for a wide audience of readers, I would highly recommend this book to a readers group or library for purchase. While I wished each story were longer for my own pleasure, the short story format made the book more enjoyable and digestible for short sittings.

Thank you so much for the arc of this book to review! This was a grand collection of stories and I was thrilled from beginning to end with it. It was a wonderful read for someone who is a long time fan of Naomi Novik.

This was a great short story collection. It makes me want to read her whole back catalog. I loved the Elizabeth Bennet story the most!

Buried Deep is a collection of 13 short stories - some from existing Naomi Novik works like Temeraire, the Scholomance, and Spinning Silver and some new stories.

While several of the stories are from established works already, I do feel that you can read them without prior knowledge and find them enjoyable, particularly the Temeraire stories. The Scholomance story might leave one a little confused if you hadn’t read the series but would still be, overall, a good read.

There were definitely some standouts in this collection, and my favorites were:
* Araminta, or the Wreck of the Amphidrake
* Spinning Silver
* Seven
* Dragons & Decorum
* Castle Coeurlieu

Even in the standalone tales, Novik’s knack for world building is present, making them feel rich and developed in a short time. Her characters are well written and even when she is writing about a well known existing property she finds a way to make the characters feel like hers.

If you’re a fan of her works, I definitely recommend checking out this collection - not only do you get bonus content from the existing series but some of these other tales are truly a joy. I’d also say that this could be a really good intro into Naomi Novik’s work for the unfamiliar.

This is a great collection for Naomi Novik fans and those new to her novels. As with all short story collections there were some hits and misses. Spinning Silver is my favorite Novik novel, so the short story version that led to it was fun to read. I also enjoyed the Scholomance tidbit, I could back to that world over and over again. I am now more eager than ever to start my Temeraire journey and if that last story was in indicator we are in for something special with Novik's next novel!


I will definitely be using this collection to introduce some friends to Novik's writing so I can start pressing even more of her books into there hands.

This anthology of short stories is a must have for any fans of Naomi Novik's work. It it s a little bit of everything!For fans of Spinning Silver, she includes the original short story that eventually became the novel. For fans of Scholomance, she includes a new story set after the events of the trilogy that allows us to see life at school after those events For fans of greek mythology and Sherlock Holme's she gives us a spin on both, and for fan's of pride and prejudice, she gives us a retelling, but add dragons.

Short Stories are not usually my thing. I struggle to get invested and I just prefer longer form novels. However, I still enjoyed this collection a great deal. I only read one story a day, which helped a lot! It also is a great way to dab your toe into the lake that is Naomi Novik's writing. If you have not read her previous work, this collection will give you a great sense of her writing style, her humor, and an introduction to many of her worlds. The collection displays her versatility amidst her own distinct tone. It is a fabulous trip!