I saw this on April 5. 2024; some books I wait a little before requesting - others I don’t, this was definitely one of the latter. The powers that be over at Random House Del Rey smiled upon me and gifted me this ❤️

Naomi Novik is one of those authors whose writing really really works for me. Growing up I loved The Chronicles of Narnia, and then Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon - I’ve loved other fantasy novels and series but those were the original two for me. I still love them (even though I have some issues with TCoN) and Naomi Novik’s work hits me the same way. Discovering her books (the first I read was Spinning Silver) was just like how I felt when I first read the Lewis and King stories - like I had discovered something I would love forever. Reading these short stories I felt all that magic once again.

Excellent to read through (you might not want to go quickly - these are long enough to really take your time to savor each one individually) - these ranged from fun to funny to heartrendingly beautiful.

This was a stellar short story collection - Ms Novik’s powerful storytelling talent truly shines in these brightest of gems. This has my strongest recommendations.

Will be preordering the audiobook.



Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the DRC

Naomi novik really owns the ethereal put you in a chokehold and make you bed for mercy vibe. You pick up one of her books and you're just in the world and feel the magic. I like books like this where it's just a quick intro into a world without major commitment sometimes

I am always a sucker for short stories, especially good ones. I loved that this contained unique stories as well as stories that were a twist on familiar ones. Thank you netgalley for the arc

It was nice to revisit some familiar settings like those of the scholomance and spinning silver. I especially loved being back in the scholomance and seeing the aftermath of the series. The mushroom witch was probably my favorite character in the entire anthology. I have yet to read Naomi Novik’s dragon series but, the short story in this was so good I might just have to look into it more. Who doesn’t love dragons, especially one that talks? I have never read Sherlock Holmes, but the short story involving Irene was very engaging and easy to follow. This collection of short stories demonstrates Novik’s knack for fairytale writing. Her impactful writing is showcased best when she is able to create a heart wrenching story about something as simple as a teapot. The stories I disliked were merely due to personal preference, not the writing or execution. In my opinion, the best story in this anthology is the one that combines Pride & Prejudice and dragons. What more could I ask for? I appreciated how Novik introduced each short story, giving the reader some context as to the origin of the story. The inclusion of a sneak peak to her current work in progress has me eager for more of her writing and world building.
Overall, felt like a mixed bag of good and just okay. But the good most definitely left me wanting more, even if it was from stories I had yet to read.

Naomi Novik never disappoints! It was mesmerising. This anthology offer immersive fantasy worlds, complex characters, and amazing word building and exquisite story telling. I absolutely cannot put it down.

I really like it when authors who usually write book (novel) series will release an anthology or contribute to one because it gives readers who want to sample their work a shorter format to try it out or, as in this case for me, someone who has enjoyed the author's work before, another taste of something they appreciate. This anthology is a true sampler as it touches several of the author's well known series/novels, (though you can easily understand the stories without prior reading of the longer works); there are a few stories based on writings of others, taking a different spin on a familiar work; and there is even a glimpse into an upcoming series. All of the stories were interesting, and as a collection gave a good breadth of storytelling. I really appreciated the anthology and recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed Naomi Novik's work in the past, anyone who has heard about one of her series or novels but hasn't quite gotten around to committing to something longer, or anyone looking for a fantasy story (or dozen) to read in between their longer reads.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.