White Cat, Black Dog

Kelly Link's White Cat, Black Dog was my first adventure into short form fiction. The seven stories within the collection are all unique and well developed.
They kick of quite strong with The White Cat's Divorce, and personal favourite and end leaving more questions than answers with the powerful Skinder's Veil.
Some stories leave an unsettled feeling within (The White Road & The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear), while this wasn't necessarily bad, some time to decompress between stories was needed.
Overall this was a varied read that is definitely worth adding to your bookshelf.

White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link is a collection of modern fairy tales with inspiration from the classic, well-known fairy tales and other old lore. The stories sometimes blend our modern world with the magic we come to expect with the words “fairy tale”, and sometimes it’s a completely new world we’re entering, like in “The White Road”, which was one of my favourites.

It is no secret that I love, love, Love fairy tales! Especially the ones that are kind of dark and eerie. Short stories, queer themes, and magical realism are some of my other favourite things, so it was no surprise to me that I would end up absolutely loving this book. The stories all pulled me in and I just had to finish one before I could put it back down. And when you finish one short story, the other one is just on the next page – we all know how that goes. But I could ramble on about everything I liked for way longer than I have time for, so I’ll point out my top three favourite elements (in no particular order) and leave it at that.

First off, the writing style. While it changed a bit from story to story, depending on who the narrator is, of course, it was always descriptive enough to satisfy my urge to know more, and fast enough that there was never a stale moment. For those who’ve been following my reviews, you know how important a good (in my opinion) writing style is to my enjoyment, so this was a big plus!

Secondly, the stories themselves. They were original, interesting, and fairy tale-y enough that I could find familiar literary elements in them. I especially enjoyed “The White Road”, as I’ve already said, as well as “The Lady and The Fox”, and “Prince Hat Underground.” They were beautifully written and moving and I thoroughly enjoyed them all.

Lastly, the themes. Themes in books are great, they really tie the whole thing together, and while my level of education caps at high school (for now), I genuinely like searching for themes in the books I read. And there was quite a bit to find here. So if you’re like me, and finding themes and motifs, and all that, is like a treasure hunt with highlights and tabs, this book is perfect for you!

As you could probably guess, I give White Cat, Black Dog five out of five stars. I’ve already put the physical copy on my wishlist and I highly recommend that You do the same!! The book will be released on the 28th of March, this year!

As always, thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Kelly Link for an ARC, I greatly appreciate it!

A year with a new Kelly Link collection is a good year - what a treat it was to read more stories from her. The first two didn't bowl me over, but then it was all postapocalyptic horror, dark creepiness and surprises. I only wish it was longer. I particularly enjoyed "The White Road", with its mounting horror and excellent worldbuilding, and "The Girl Who Didn't Know Fear", with that twist ending. But they're all strong, and not typical retellings of fables but rather contemporary stories taking bits and pieces as starting points.

Very interesting read, I loved all the different short stories with their characters and the plots. It had me guessing for each story. A great read.

White Cat, Black Dog is a beautifully written collection of seven fairytale reimagined with a modern twist. The writing is enchanting and wholly atmospheric. Highly recommended! Be sure to check out White Cat, Black Dog today.

Kelly Links collection of fairytale stories is absolutely fantastic! These classic tales have been adapted beautifully into modern tales, with morals that can still be applied to present day. I just loved it!

Kelly link writes such great stories. This offering is superb, the stories very much having the traditional fairy tale vibe but are something new and fresh. I devoured them.

Magical, surreal and fast-paced, this is a fantastic collection of 7 fairytales that have been rewritten with a modern twist! I have read 5/7 so far and these are PERFECT for getting out of a reading slump. There is such a creepy, other-worldly vibe in each of the tales - especially since they are set in the present.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Kelly Link, @netgalley and Head of Zeus for this e-ARC in exchange for my unbiased review ✨📖

Review written for LoveReading.co.uk, please see site and link for full details. Chosen as a LoveReading Star Book and Book of the Month.