If you follow me, you know I'm a sucker for fairy tale retellings. This was a unique twist on that, and I absolutely loved each story. I'm not going to break down every story, but I thought the authors all did justice to the fairy tale they chose. I loved getting to see the stories I'm familiar with from the fairy godmother's side. Furthermore, I fell in love with each and every fairy presented in this anthology, and it's definitely going on my read again list! ( )

Fantastic collection of reimagined fairy tales, centering the Fairy Godmother character in each story. Great variety of stories, settings, and characters made it a pleasure to read.

Highlights include:

A Story of Soil and Stardust by Kelly Jarvis, a Russian Cinderella tale in which our heroine finds that perhaps living as her Godmother has more appeal than life in the palace.

Returning the Favor by Lynden Wade, in which the Godmother relates how she came to the role, and glimpses her replacement.

My Last Curse by Elise Forier Edie, a Sleeping Beauty-esque tale in which the "curse" has a deeper goal.

In the Name of Gold by Claire Noelle Thomas, a Rumplestiltskin tale in which the real villain is not the one who claims the baby. ( )

I did not receive this book. Somehow I chose the ebook version and I cannot read that because I don't have the device to do it. I will search out the hardcover book at the library.

I love Fairy Godmothers and am always on the search for new ones, either old favorites presented in new ways or brand new ones. This set of stories had both! I fell, for the moment, happily full from all the love. But, I will soon want the next set of stories please!!!!! ( )

Mothers of Enchantment, edited and collected by Kate Wolford, founder of Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine and featuring a stunning handful of talented authors, explores the character often residing in the background of the story, furthering the narrative but never featured in it, the illusive fairy godmother. In a compelling mix of serious and surreal, eccentric and earnest, solemn and silly, this collection is as much intriguing as it is entertaining, a necessary and unique smattering of stories for fans of modern retellings with thematically relevant twists.

A perfect beginning to the collection, Michelle Tang’s “Wishes to Heaven” is a tender homage to the narrative reward of unexpected kindness — our heroine saves a moth and finds that she’s rescued a fairy god(moth)er in doing so. This clever play on words and deeply personal spin on a familiar tale reaches into the depths of poignancy to convey a story that is both moving and fascinating.

Kelly Jarvis’s “A Story of Soil and Stardust” skews dark and heart-wrenching both, peering into the depths of feminine rage in the conglomerate vein of various Cinderella and Baba Yaga tellings wrapped into one, spinning a story of witchery that begs the necessary question: “What would you give up for autonomy?”

An apt follow-up to this is “Real Boy” by Marshall J. Moore, which explores the legend of Pinocchio through the eyes of the magical being who grants Pinocchio his livelihood and clears up the finer details of this well-known fable with ponderings on the nature of immortality and personhood in an incredibly intriguing and fresh narrative. Autonomy and our heroine’s ability to control her future vs the fate that seems to guide it follows the reader into “My Last Curse” by Elise Forier Edie, a stunning and occasionally comical introspection into the minds of the fairies who bestow gifts on the royal children as they attempt to save young princess after young princess from “wedlock and slavery”, as the tale gracefully examines the role of the Patriarchy throughout fairytale tradition.

“Face in the Mirror” by Sonni de Soto seals the Prince-turned-Beasts fate in a similar manner — the curse bestowed with the final straw being his treatment of the women around him. With a witty narrator and a flair for the dramatic, this tale examines not only the Prince’s failings, but the systemic failings of those around him, trusted with his care. This tale also flips the stereotypes about romantic love and makes a wonderful case for found family!

Following this, the ethereal and compelling “Forgetful Frost” by Vivica Reeves follows divinity in the seasons and the depth of grief in a fully original tale that speaks to a dark fate in the tradition of figures like Jack Frost or Mother Nature. Fun and fantastical, “Modern Magic” by Carter Lappin aptly juxtaposes this seemingly ancient story with a flippantly modern, extraordinarily human and relatable tale that explores the compulsive desire to impress our peers, featuring an updated-for-the-times fairy godmother and contemporary conveniences to boot, all wrapped in a ponderous “coincidence or not?” ending.

“In the Name of Gold” by Claire Noelle Thomas again approaches the confines of the patriarchy, the consequences of a father’s proud boasting on behalf of his daughter in the familiar tradition of Rumpelstiltskin, and the kindness that follows as these two characters in vastly different social standings find comfort in one another’s aid and learn the meaning of sacrifice.

For fans of stories in the spirit of “Ella Enchanted”, “Of Wishes and Fairies” by Maxine Churchman explores the failings of a Fairy Godmother unaware of the chaos she causes, dipping in and out of other familiar tales to weave a lighthearted lesson about the price of power and the importance of persistence in knowledge, with an aura of warmth all around!

Echoes the relatable humanity and modernity of “Modern Magic”, “Flick: The Fairy Godmother” by Kim Malinowski follows a fairy with crippling anxiety, set to be the next Fairy Godmother and lacking guidance. This is another deeply relatable tale that gives a contemporary twist to the idea of godmothers and magic, and speaks to the crippling nature of imposter syndrome aside as we follow Flick in her perilous journey to save the world. No small task, this tale winds around corners in the most endearing and exciting ways.

A gorgeous and tenderly conveyed completion to the collection, “The Venetian Glass Girl”, conveyed skillfully as the narrator directly address the audience, again creates an original tale tied with magic and familiar facets of fables and fairy tales alike. This story is a beautiful exploration of the feeling of otherness in the vein of Pinocchio, featuring a main character made of Venetian glass.

From anthologist Kate Wolford’s skill in collecting these tales, to the diverse and talented authors that make up this collection, this was a wonderful and all-around lovely read. The range of emotions and voices in these tales guaranteed that each story would stand alone in its beauty and artistry, that each piece would not run together and would yet complement one another both in theme and arrangement. I’m grateful to have been able to explore each carefully constructed piece in this work, and would highly recommend it especially to the Sword & Kettle audience and truly, to all fans of retellings with a relationship to our own modern understanding of the original texts. ( )