Moonsleep and Other Stories - Liz Tuckwell

-

Author: Liz Tuckwell

Genre: SFF-Horror Anthology
Rating: 3.75 stars.

A wonderful collection of stories from the SFF-Horror genre.

The fifteen stories in this book all have elements of fantasy, ranging from the mild to the bizarre. Every story has something novel. Many of the stories were retellings of fairytales, and I enjoyed the twist the author provided in these. One of the tales was a spinoff of Jane Eyre, narrating a scene from Mr. Mason’s perspective. I loved this one for its imagination.

As in every anthology, some tales work exceptionally and some feel like they could have been rounded off better. But on the whole, I find myself very satisfied with this anthology because none of the stories were bad. I rated the stories individually in 0.5 star increments, as is my usual method. Of the fifteen tales, nine reached/crossed the four star mark. Most of the rest fell between 3-3.5 stars. A few of my top favourites were:

👻 Tully and the Ghost – Gives classic vibes of a poor buy clever guy trumping two villains (one of whom is a ghost) in one shot. Loved it despite the predictability for the fun writing - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

👻 The Mysterious Mr. Fox – I know this is the retelling of some fairy tale I read but I recollect the name of the original. Nevertheless, I loved the spin it gave to that story. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

👻 Mason's Revenge – The Jane Eyre spin-off I mentioned above. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

👻 The Perfect Ham Sandwich – Time travel for the sake of a ham sandwich! - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

👻 The Young Woman in the Yellow Bikini – Could guess a part of the twist but not all. Nicely written. - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

All in all, an anthology worth reading for SFF/Horror fans. It is a marvellous indie work and I would love to try more by this author. Definitely recommended.

3.75 stars, based on the average of my rating for each story.

My thanks to author Liz Tuckwell and BookSirens for the DRC of “Moonsleep and Other Stories”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Comments

Post a Comment

Explore more posts from this blog:

God with Us: Bible Stories on the Road to Emmaus - Matt Mikalatos - ★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: Matt Mikalatos ILLUSTRATOR: David Shephard GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: April 1, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A graphic novel that narrates stories from the Bible, using Cleopas’s encounter with Jesus on the way to Emmaus as the foundation. Innovative in concept and execution. Excellent (and racially-authentic) illustrations. Might be a bit tricky for the target audience of middle-graders as the narrative isn't linear. But adult supervision will help. Recommended. Children are always attracted to books with illustrations. So using a graphic novel to teach them stories from the Bible is a wonderful idea. But this book doesn’t just stop at this basic intent. Rather, its presentation sets it apart from other similar works. The story uses Cleopas’s trip from Jerusalem to Emmaus as the setting. As the Gospel of Luke mentions only Cleopas by name in its references to this journey that takes place on the day of Jesus’s resurrection, this book adds some fiction...
Read More»

Between the Lines - Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer - ★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer GENRE: YA Fantasy RATING: 4 stars. Imagine this. The characters in the book you are reading have a life of their own, beyond what is written for their characters. And they do what they want to every time you close the book, only to be pulled back in their roles when you reopen the book. Unbelievable, right? Goes without saying then that I've never read a story like this before! That doesn't necessarily mean that I loved it. But the concept is mind-blowing for sure. Delilah, a fifteen year old introverted bookworm, is shocked to discover something new appear in the illustrations of her latest favourite read, a fairy tale about a cowardly prince who uses his wits rather than his valour to fulfill his royal duties. Soon, she realises that the protagonist, Prince Oliver, can actually talk to her, that he dreams of getting out of his routine and predictable "plotlife", and that the book world has a life of its own. Can Delilah h...
Read More»

The Invisibles - Susie Bower - ★★★.¾

-
Image
AUTHOR: Susie Bower GENRE: Middle-grade Fantasy. PUBLICATION DATE: June 5, 2025. RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade fantasy-adventure about friendships, mistakes, and magic. Interesting characters, great plotline, some cool magic. A bit confusing in some segments and some unanswered questions. Overall though, it kept me hooked. Recommended. Plot Preview: It’s tough to preview this book without spoiling anything. The GR blurb also reveals too much. So this is just a barebones hint of the storyline and its key elements. ( I’ll keep my review equally vague so that I don’t inadvertently leak out key plot points. ) Land of Magics – friends – egos – libraries – danger – exile – Wasteland – amnesia – rebellion – adventure. The story comes to us in two voices: one in first person from a narrator who has lost her memory and one in third person from the character who initiates the chain of events. Bookish Yays: 🔮 The very first section of the book, titled “Before”. Outstand...
Read More»

Death Row - Freida McFadden - ★★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: Freida McFadden SERIES: Alibis Collection, #1 GENRE: Psychological thriller, Short story. PUBLICATION DATE: June 1, 2025. RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A short psychological drama about a woman on death row. Unreliable narrator, but not in the way you would expect. A fast read, but shouldn’t be read too fast lest you miss the clues. A clever story with a slightly confusing ending that makes brilliant sense once you ponder over it. A great start to the Alibis collection. Plot Preview: ( This preview doesn’t do justice to the plot. But I am keeping this vague as this story is best discovered by going in blind. The GR blurb reveals too much as usual .) Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering her husband Noel. Despite proclaiming her innocence vehemently (she has a rock-solid alibi after all!), no one believes her. Her last hope is her final appeal for clemency, because if that is rejected, she has just two weeks for her execution by lethal injection. As she waits for him, s...
Read More»

Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers' Rights - Edited by Ashley Hope Pérez - ★★★★

-
Image
EDITOR:  Ashley Hope Pérez GENRE: YA Nonfiction Anthology. PUBLICATION DATE: March 4, 2025. RATING: 4.1 stars. In a Nutshell: A YA anthology that focusses on the power of books and the impact of banning them. Mostly nonfiction with entries in the form of essays, comics, and poems. OwnVoices. Inclusive, informative, incisive and inspiring. Most of the write-ups are great; some are also a bit disturbing. Definitely recommended, and not just to the YA audience. I don’t think I need to offer any introduction on why banning books is a ridiculous notion. Even progressive societies opt for book banning, and worse, books are banned for the silliest of reasons. As such, the next generation must understand the futility of such actions and necessity of standing up for everyone’s right to read what they want. Of all book-related social topics, this is the most relevant issue today. Several shocking stats connected to book challenges and bans in the USA are contained in this anthology, and...
Read More»