Witches, Princesses, and Women at Arms

Starred review from March 15, 2017

Cleis's newest anthology casts quite a spell, with sexy spins on classic fairy-tale tropes. Poignant, touching submissions abound, including H.N. Janzen's "The Prize of the Willow," about a lonely farm girl's forest foray that leads to a lifetime of happiness with a wood nymph. A.D.R. Forte's lyrical contribution recounts a warrior's epic quest in search of her princess, directed only by a song in the wind. Heavier entries are balanced by playful ones--in Emily L. Byrne's "Toads, Diamonds and the Occasional Pearl," a wannabe knight finds herself reluctantly rescuing caustic Princess Eliann, a childhood crush afflicted with a most interesting curse. Allison Wonderland's punchy "SWF Seeks FGM" portrays courtship from the perspective of the oft-misunderstood evil stepmother, who is turning over a new leaf with a flirty Fairy Godmother. There is one creative hit after another. Familiar themes arise of butch "common" women paired with femme royalty and witches, but each tale is rendered so skillfully as to make any repetition unique. VERDICT An excellent series of Sapphic fantasies. Highly recommended.

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