DNF. McKinley continues to just not work for me.

Robin McKinley has always been a favorite of mine (Deerskin is a book I reread every few years), so when I saw this on sale, I leapt at the opportunity, and I was not disappointed. Every single story I found myself getting hopelessly sucked into. If you enjoy her books you'll enjoy this little collection!

I think i am...... underwhelmed.
I have never read anything by Robin Mckinley before but i have heard a lot of praise, so i had high hopes of liking this collection of short stories. But i didn't.
The short stories are not exactly bad, but they are not remember able either. They didn't leave a lasting impression.
"The Stagman" was the only story i was excited to read. Other than that, i wasn't impressed.
But i do plan to read The Blue Sword sometime. *fingers crossed*

The stories were written like fairy tales which I liked. The first couple seemed to end very abruptly. The remaining three seemed to be more cohesive. Butterups was fantastic and my absolute favorite. It was a great example of what can happen when you take what appears to be a terrible hardship and make the best of it. I especially liked the honesty and communication between the main characters. It was an excellent and very positive story that leaves you feeling good and hopeful.

I enjoyed McKinley's writing and she was fantastic at drawing you in during the first few pages. It made her writing very easy to read. I especially enjoyed the female characters not being helpless or pushovers. It was a good introduction into McKinley's type of storytelling and I will definitely read more by her.

Kindle Unlimited Free Trial | Quite well written, but lacking joy. | This was my first experience with McKinley's work, and the talent is obvious, but there's an underlying sadness to all the stories in this collection. I enjoyed all of them, but I didn't feel that any of the characters were truly happy, even the ones that had the endings they wanted.

A very well written collection of unique stories

Each of the stories in this collection has its own flavor. There is a ribbon of common theme in two of the stories which feature a mage name Luthe. Luthe is also in at least one of the author's novels. Though each story is otherwise different and unique, the writing is very much the same. The only thing I can compare the writing to is a moving body of water. It flows, it bubbles, it even soothes. This reader felt like she was floating on her back on a warm sunlit day in a river that was going everywhere and nowhere. Very pleasant.

Maybe more like a 2.5 star to me. I liked certain stories much more than others, couldn't get through the last one. I much prefer the other Damar full length books.

I loved this, but I did so want the first story to keep going for much, much longer.

This was an enjoyable collection of short stories by Robin McKinley, several of which take place in the land of Damar (known from her series with The Blue Sword). As an author, McKinley paints a vivid picture but doesn't overexplain, which is refreshing and adds an aura of magic and mystery. I appreciated having some short stories to turn to in between other reads.

Maybe more like a 2.5? I liked a couple of these stories more than the others, but overall they didn't do much for me. But I am also intrigued at the idea of new/different fairy tales.

There’s mute Lily, in “The Healer,” who has the power to help others, and receives a startling opportunity to find her voice when a mysterious mage stumbles into town. And Queen Ruen, who is at the mercy of a power-hungry uncle until she encounters a shape-changer in “The Stagman.” In “Touk’s House,” a maiden who has grown up with a witch and a troll has a chance to become a princess, but she must decide whether she would really live happily ever after. When a curse follows Coral to her new husband’s farm in “Buttercups,” the pair has a choice: Succumb to defeat or find a way to turn a disastrous enchantment into a fruitful new venture.
Finally, travel to upstate New York with Annabelle. In the title story, her family moves shortly after her sixteenth birthday, and just as she starts to adjust to her new life in a small town, a plan to build a superhighway threatens her new home. But a strange box hidden in a secret attic in the new house may be the answer.

Heather's Notes
I enjoyed most of the stories in the book. My favorite where the first two. Unfortunately, my least favorite was the last one, which is the name of the book. It didn't really have a plot and so I finished the book feeling unsatisfied. However, I will be looking up the series that the first two were out of. I really want to know more about Luthe.

All of McKinley's stories are good, and this is a nice collection of them.