| Title | : | Les Petites Morts: An Anthology of Dark Fairy Tales and Folklore |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1739611691 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781739611699 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 198 |
| Publication | : | First published June 1, 2023 |
Les Petites Morts: An Anthology of Dark Fairy Tales and Folklore Reviews
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*Note: I have a story in this anthology so I'm not going to give it a star rating, but I had to come shout about how much I loved reading through all of these fun stories!
Evelyn Freeling has put together such a richly dark and lush anthology. I really liked the order of the stories -- building them from the most "tame" to the darkest/more twisted was a brilliant idea.
I truly enjoyed reading each tale and seeing how the authors approached the theme. Some of my favorites include "A Riddle to the Death" by Hailey Piper (a wonderful opening story!), "A Greed of Flesh" by Kelsey Christine McConnell (poignant, and beautifully written), "While She Lost Herself" by Ali Seay (every time I read an Ali Seay story, I emerge heartbroken and enamored; she's SO GOOD), "The Taste of Decay" by Steve Neal (VILE, amazing, I want to read more by Steve ASAP), and the final story, "Cry Handsome" by Joe Koch (one of my new favorite stories by Joe -- what a clever, gorgeous, vicious, and poetic work this was).
Also the cover art by Claire L. Smith -- gorgeous! As are the interior art pieces by various artists (I love how that was included!) -
**Rated 5 stars; but not every story was a 5/5 for me. Reviews are in order in accordance with how the stories appear in the anthology.
Like Agatha Andrews suggests in the foreword, I read one story at a time and really let them linger. Coming back multiple times to further digest the details has been my best decision yet.
A Riddle to the Death ~ Hailey Piper
4/5
“Were your legs hurt? . . . Did you limp along the road above?”
I really enjoyed this story and Hailey Piper’s words kept me captivated the entire time.
While reading, I was eager to see how exactly Iro would traverse her predicament, and how her emotions and relationships would develop.
I feel Iro almost seemed to fall into sex as a way to cope with her emotions, and it’s is so different than my own way of dealing with things, that I feel it truly broadened my viewpoints of sexual experiences in regards to feelings of fear, as an ace-leaning person.
Vicious Fruit ~ S.T. Gibson
5/5
“Don’t you want me, sweet prince?”
Since I read A Dowry of Blood early last year, I absolutely fell in love with S.T. Gibson’s writing. The way she describes how irresistible Teague and Síofra are to Bryn, despite the truly gruesome situation he’d found himself in, really drew me into the world of faeries and their glamor. Watching as the enchanting and alluring world of the faeries crumbled around them, was just as shocking and surprising to me as it was Bryn and his companion.
The story was very cohesive, filled with details and little nods at what was to come, and truly kept me hooked the entire time. I absolutely loved this work, and find myself wishing there was more.
Rites of Reincarnation ~ Avra Margariti
2.5/5
I really wanted to love this story wholeheartedly, as I really thought the concept was interesting, but it was a difficult read for me. There were some aspects I enjoyed, like the use of more unconventional descriptions; and then there were others that ruined the whole experience for me.
I’m not a super high-level reader so I found the use of a bunch of new vocabulary tough to get around because it kept sucking me out to go look them up. And the odd placement of almost random alliteration was just a bit much. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but regardless I just had a hard time.
Snow White and the Seven Sins ~ Sonora Taylor
4.5/5
“There are lots of things lurking in the woods,”
Yet another story I thoroughly enjoyed. I absolutely loved the way Taylor tied societal expectations in with supernatural aspects to really show how much of a villain Lillian was despite her own prejudice and views of herself. This story really helps put into perspective that not everyone who claims they’re all-holy truly is, and not everyone who commits sin is inherently evil.
I loved watching Bianca as she evolved from almost a damsel in distress into a woman with power. I’m definitely going to be looking into more of Sonora Taylor’s works to read in the future!
A Greed of Flesh ~ Kelsey Christine McConnell
5/5
“I’ve never met anyone like you. . . I’m not ready to say goodbye.”
This story caught be surprise and unsettled me in a way I never expected. There is so much more meaning and impact for me when the ‘monster’ of a story ends up being human. It’s cliche to say that reality is much scarier than fiction, but this work combined the two perfectly; bringing the horrors of a disturbing reality into a world where Selkies emerge from the sea.
I can’t wait to read more of McConnell’s works as they’re released and published; she’s definitely an author I’m going to keep up with. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this story and the way it made me feel.
Body of Tears ~ Emerson Seipel
4/5
“You tell me, what do you want?”
I really enjoyed this story and its tie to latinx folklore. The concept and how gender identity was incorporated was really interesting and definitely something new for me. In the beginning the wording was a tiny bit confusing but as I continued on with the story it all made sense and added to the experience.
Overall I really liked the interactions between the characters; and seeing how James’ experience within his new home impacted his life forever.
Sensualis Dismemoria ~ K.P Kulski
4/5
“We know what it is to hunger. There is no draw for us to consume more hunger.”
I enjoyed this story a lot. It didn’t have as many expected horror aspects as some of the other stories, which I initially felt gave it a softer touch but after revisiting, actually gave the opposite vibe. I love how the real monster of the story isn’t the one we are led to believe, and how scary the reality of it is.
Reliving Iseul’s trauma with her was a journey I’m not sure I’ll forget anytime soon, and how K.P. Kulski made it so visual definitely left a lasting impact.
There Once Was A Sparkling City Upon the Sea ~ Jessica Peter
4.5/5
“You’d drown the city.” . . . “I’d drown us too,”
Jessica Peter really did a wonderful job with this story, and she had me hooked from the first page. The gory details that’s surfaced out of acts of passion within the story really got me, and I found myself needing to take a second to reread the sentence and process the words once more.
From the start, Dahut’s immediate and outwardly disdain for her father wasn’t quite expected, but as I read on I quickly realized I was on her side. Her predicament, and the conditions forced upon her by people she once trusted showed true betrayal and villainous behavior.
Lastly, I loved how this story reinforced the idea that the monster isn’t always the one with blood on their hands.
While She Lost Herself ~ Ali Seay
3/5
I liked this story but I had a difficult time seeing how it connected to the overarching theme of the whole anthology. It’s a sad, and incredibly tragic story but was lacking some of the horror aspects the other stories provided that really drew me to the anthology in the first place.
I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a favorite.
Giltine ~ Rae Knowles
4.5/5
“Alas, you know me.”
When I finished this story, I immediately found myself wishing there was more. I want to fully delve into the world of Giltiné and hear the stories of all who encounter the woman in the cemetery.
The way Knowles describes Vladas’ injury made my stomach churn, and what happened later only worsened that feeling, but I can’t help but to admit that I loved it.
As The Serpent Binds ~ Sara Tantlinger
5/5
“Felice.”
Ooooh man I loved this one, I’m so glad one of the stores included witchcraft and the adjacent occult. I loved how whole and put together the story felt.
It was really interesting for me to read from almost the opposite point of view as other stories with a similar theme. Seeing things through Tressa’s thoughts and views made her feel so much less dangerous than she would have if we’d seen her actions through Felice’s. Through and through I loved it and definitely want to look more into Sara as an author and explore more of her works.
Hokopo Kiss ~ Michelle Tang
5/5
“You awakened something illicit and wonderful inside me.”
I really truly enjoyed this story; the way it was written was so intriguing to me and was a nice way to set it apart from the other stories. The imagery, and the sound descriptors kept replaying in my mind as I read and it was honestly unsettling. The ending had me so surprised, and I didn’t expect it at all (probably because I hadn’t heard of the original bit of folklore) but I loved it nonetheless; especially the tragic and heartbreaking undertones.
Really enjoyed Michelle Tang’s writing and look forward to reading more.
The Taste of Decay ~ Steve Neal
5/5
Absolutely revolting and should not have been read while having an already uneasy tummy. I hated reading it but my morbid curiosity will make me read it again. Although I dislike it very much, it was amazingly written and will definitely be haunting my dreams for awhile.
Cry Handsome ~ Joe Koch
3/5
This story was a bit too convoluted for my taste. I found it fairly difficult to determine what was actually supposed to be happening in the scene and what was just a metaphor used to further describe the events. I tried my best to enjoy the story, I just wish it was a bit easier for me to digest and appreciate. -
Some of the stories in this collection were absolutely great, and some of them left me scratching my head. Mostly, I preferred the ones with clear links to established folk and fairy tales, since those were the ones easiest to parse.
Unfortunately, that wasn't true for a solid chunk of the ones in this book. Although all of them were well written, it felt like wading through a mire of purple prose to pick out meaning, on occasion, and I don't think I'll be revisiting this. -
He chose to watch her waste away. So yes, he chose not to let her leave. But did he really choose to keep her?
S. T. Gibson's Vicious Fruit was lovely (expected; I pretty much bought this just to read a story by her!), and I adooored the creepy visceral nature of A Greed of Flesh by Kelsey Christine McConnell. -
2.5 stars
Anthologies can be tricky but one of my goals for 2024 is to make an effort to read more of them, and to continue to read more short fiction in general. I was drawn to try this anthology because there are still a lot of subgenres within horror I haven't tried yet, and erotic horror is one of them. Les Petites Morts is an anthology of erotic horror/dark fantasy inspired by fairy tales and folklore which I decided to pick up when I realised some of the books I loved best in 2023 were other books also inspired by fairy tales.
While so many of us associate fairy tales with childhood, and many of us grew up with them, before the Brothers Grimm collected their tales and removed all of the sex but kept all of the violence, they were tales for all ages. Little Red Cap is one of the best examples, which was a story told by and to women in 17th century France as a way to warn each other of the dangers of straying off the chaste path with a womanising rake. In that way, Les Petites Morts is something of a return to the pre-Brothers Grimm traditional fairy tales.
Having read this I'm not sure if erotic horror is a subgenre within horror that I'll be reaching for again, or at least very often, but it could also be that short fiction wasn't the best way for me to introduce myself to this particular subgenre because, with these stories being intentionally short, I couldn't connect to most of them as much as I might have wanted to. Unfortunately I found most of these stories pretty forgettable, but I did really enjoy the stories by S. T. Gibson, Avra Margariti and Michelle Tang. I've read from both Gibson and Margariti before so I wasn't surprised that their stories were some of my favourites, but Michelle Tang is definitely an author whose other work I'll be exploring. -
Anthologies are always tricky because it's hard to compile them to everyone's taste.
This was a mixed bag for me, some stories I liked, and some I found confusing, too strange for my taste.
However, these are the stories I absolutely love:
"A Greed of Flesh" by Kelsey Christine Mc Connell is a fantastic selkie story, filled with desire, passion, cruelty and rage.
"While She Lost Herself" by Ali Seay is a beautiful story about broken dreams, lies and postpartum depression.
Also, I must mention that the illustrations are fantastic. -
I came here for S.T. Gibson and was not disappointed!
I enjoyed some stories and didn't care for others. I can say they all had horror, spice, and gore. Perfect for a disturbing spooky read during the fall season. -
Loved most of the stories; there were a couple that didn’t do it for me though.
My fave stories:
-Vicious Fruit by S.T. Gibson
-A Greed of Flesh by Kelsey Christine McConnell
-Sensualis Dismemoria by K.P. Kulski
-As the Serpent Binds by Sara Tantlinger -
A really great collection. I enjoyed every single story. Full review to come on
Stranger Sights -
There were some exceptional stories in this collection of erotic horror fairy tales, but a couple of stories missed for me. Overall, definitely worth reading.
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This is one of the most well put together anthologies with the focus on dark fairy tales and erotic horror out there with some of the best authors in the genre. Highly recommended!
