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Pick Your Potion
Magic, mystery, and the macabre collide in Pick Your Potion, a mesmerising collection of genre-blending fantasy, science-fiction, and horror stories from award-winning Australian author Ephiny Gale.
The 26 weird tales in Pick Your Potion are female-centric, mostly queer, and always intriguing.
Within these pages, you'll
A deadly and addictive magical board game.
A time-loop demon apocalypse.
A dimension-jumping cruise ship.
A competition to win a magical orchard.
A collection of murder victims' last texts.
Heartwarming, heart-stopping, and heartbreaking in turn, Pick Your Potion offers a full apothecary of speculative stories to serve the curious reader.
The 26 weird tales in Pick Your Potion are female-centric, mostly queer, and always intriguing.
Within these pages, you'll
A deadly and addictive magical board game.
A time-loop demon apocalypse.
A dimension-jumping cruise ship.
A competition to win a magical orchard.
A collection of murder victims' last texts.
Heartwarming, heart-stopping, and heartbreaking in turn, Pick Your Potion offers a full apothecary of speculative stories to serve the curious reader.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 3, 2024
5 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Ephiny Gale
22 books18 followersEphiny Gale was born in Victoria, Australia, and is still there, alongside her lovely wife and a small legion of bookcases. She is the author of more than fifty published short stories and novelettes, which have appeared in publications including PseudoPod, Constellary Tales, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Her stories have won the Best of the Net award for fiction and have been finalists for multiple Aurealis Awards.
She has also written several produced stage plays and musicals, including the sold-out How to Direct from Inside at La Mama and Shining Armour at The 1812 Theatre. Her script Time Scraps was a finalist in St Martin’s National Playwriting Competition, and Hearts up Sleeves won the Five Minute Play award at Dante’s.
When not writing, Ephiny currently works as a Senior Project Manager for a website development company. Her previous roles have included: Executive Assistant; coordinating a major arts festival; Association Secretary for the Green Room Awards (Melbourne’s premier performing arts awards); nine months as a professional wedding DJ; and working as an executive of a university student association.
Ephiny has a Masters in Arts Management, a red belt in taekwondo, and a passion for psychology, gaming, and storytelling in all its forms. She also especially enjoys Italian greyhounds, playing board games with friends, and eating raspberries in the sunshine.
She has also written several produced stage plays and musicals, including the sold-out How to Direct from Inside at La Mama and Shining Armour at The 1812 Theatre. Her script Time Scraps was a finalist in St Martin’s National Playwriting Competition, and Hearts up Sleeves won the Five Minute Play award at Dante’s.
When not writing, Ephiny currently works as a Senior Project Manager for a website development company. Her previous roles have included: Executive Assistant; coordinating a major arts festival; Association Secretary for the Green Room Awards (Melbourne’s premier performing arts awards); nine months as a professional wedding DJ; and working as an executive of a university student association.
Ephiny has a Masters in Arts Management, a red belt in taekwondo, and a passion for psychology, gaming, and storytelling in all its forms. She also especially enjoys Italian greyhounds, playing board games with friends, and eating raspberries in the sunshine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
August 7, 2024
In a Nutshell: An imaginative speculative story collection. I’m astounded by the author’s creativity! A few of the endings were not satisfying to me, but overall, I had a lot of fun reading this collection. Recommended to SFF fans!
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This indie story collection has twenty-six stories over 226 pages. Thus there is a good number of stories and they don’t drag in tempo.
The introduction is presented in the form of a drinks menu, allowing us a glimpse into each story so that we can “Pick our potion.” The menu has the story title, a drink that goes with it, and a brief background to how and why the story was written. I appreciate that the author warns us that this section contains spoilers, but at the same time, I wonder why this creative menu had to include spoilers. Many of us don’t like reading spoilers, so there is no way for us to pick something from the menu while trying to jump over the unwanted bits. I’d have preferred this content to be present at the end of its respective story – ease of reading, direct connection with the story, and no worry of spoilers.
Continuing in the spirit of shuffling things around, I’d have loved for the content warnings to be present at the start than at the end of the book, though the Table of Contents does mention its being located at the end.
Now to the actual stories!
The twenty-six entries of this collection are genre-bending and genre-blending, spanning a range of SFF categories such as horror, sci-fi, epic fantasy, magical realism, speculative, and weird fiction. A majority of the tales have lesbian subplots, though none of the stories focuses solely on the romance. Every story has a strong woman protagonist, though not necessarily in a typical feminine role. Some of the tales are heartwarming, and some horrifying.
A majority of the plots had such unique concepts and such wondrous world-building that I’d love to an extended version of them, perhaps even a full-length novel. Some of the stories are presented in a different structure, such as research reports or journal entries. The writing is beautiful and lyrical, which is not a common feature of a speculative collection.
While I loved the plotlines and the imaginativeness of every story, some of the endings weren’t satisfying enough. I wanted more closure, or more continuation. Quite a few endings left me going 'Aargh! Tell me more! Don't leave me dangling here!'. The plot closures weren’t abrupt, but they didn’t allow me the feeling of relaxation, of knowing that the characters were happy/safe/fulfilled. (If the author is reading this: I NEED a continuation at least for 'Smol Animaux'!)
Every story is exceptional in its creativity. Even when a specific tale didn’t click that much with me, I was still mesmerised by the author’s wild imagination. A few of the stories in this collection can be read free on the author’s site. Perhaps you can try out some tales from there and see the brilliance of her mind.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the twenty-six stories, thirteen reached or crossed the 4-star mark. Most of the rest hovered between 3-3.5 stars. Some of these would have scored even higher had the finale clicked better with me. These were my top favourites with 4.5+ stars:
Honourable mentions with 4 stars:
All in all, a highly recommended collection to every speculative short fiction lover. This indie novel will blow you away with its fantastical concepts. I can’t wait to read more by this author.
3.8 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.
My thanks to Foxgrove Press for providing the DRC of “Pick Your Potion” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || X/Twitter || Facebook ||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This indie story collection has twenty-six stories over 226 pages. Thus there is a good number of stories and they don’t drag in tempo.
The introduction is presented in the form of a drinks menu, allowing us a glimpse into each story so that we can “Pick our potion.” The menu has the story title, a drink that goes with it, and a brief background to how and why the story was written. I appreciate that the author warns us that this section contains spoilers, but at the same time, I wonder why this creative menu had to include spoilers. Many of us don’t like reading spoilers, so there is no way for us to pick something from the menu while trying to jump over the unwanted bits. I’d have preferred this content to be present at the end of its respective story – ease of reading, direct connection with the story, and no worry of spoilers.
Continuing in the spirit of shuffling things around, I’d have loved for the content warnings to be present at the start than at the end of the book, though the Table of Contents does mention its being located at the end.
Now to the actual stories!
The twenty-six entries of this collection are genre-bending and genre-blending, spanning a range of SFF categories such as horror, sci-fi, epic fantasy, magical realism, speculative, and weird fiction. A majority of the tales have lesbian subplots, though none of the stories focuses solely on the romance. Every story has a strong woman protagonist, though not necessarily in a typical feminine role. Some of the tales are heartwarming, and some horrifying.
A majority of the plots had such unique concepts and such wondrous world-building that I’d love to an extended version of them, perhaps even a full-length novel. Some of the stories are presented in a different structure, such as research reports or journal entries. The writing is beautiful and lyrical, which is not a common feature of a speculative collection.
While I loved the plotlines and the imaginativeness of every story, some of the endings weren’t satisfying enough. I wanted more closure, or more continuation. Quite a few endings left me going 'Aargh! Tell me more! Don't leave me dangling here!'. The plot closures weren’t abrupt, but they didn’t allow me the feeling of relaxation, of knowing that the characters were happy/safe/fulfilled. (If the author is reading this: I NEED a continuation at least for 'Smol Animaux'!)
Every story is exceptional in its creativity. Even when a specific tale didn’t click that much with me, I was still mesmerised by the author’s wild imagination. A few of the stories in this collection can be read free on the author’s site. Perhaps you can try out some tales from there and see the brilliance of her mind.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the twenty-six stories, thirteen reached or crossed the 4-star mark. Most of the rest hovered between 3-3.5 stars. Some of these would have scored even higher had the finale clicked better with me. These were my top favourites with 4.5+ stars:
🌿 Overnight, a Forest Grew - A beautiful story that would even have made a wonderful fantasy novel. Loved the use of perfumes in this. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🌿 Light and Sleek and Strong - Weird and wacky and wonderful! - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🌿 When The Ice Comes In - Such a beautiful, bittersweet story! I could actually feel the chill of the protagonist. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌿 This Is (Not) My Beautiful Cat - A cat story. With a surprise at the end. Loved the narrative structure and the ending. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🌿 Lovely Lilacs - Rarely does a sci-fi android story feel so heartwarming. An extra half-star for that last line. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌿 The Orchard - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibes, but with more and better magic. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🌿 Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner – A horror groundhog-day story! I want to know so much more about the how’s and why's of this! - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
Honourable mentions with 4 stars:
☘️ CurioQueens - Jumanji vibes but even more dangerous and visceral
☘️ All the Times I'm Ten - A bittersweet story about a young human who just wants to be ten and normal. Would have loved this to be longer.
☘️ The Candle Queen - Another story that I wish had been longer. I'd have loved to know more about this world of magical wax and candle queens.
☘️ Last Text - That certainly didn't go the way I thought it would! 👀
☘️ La Vie En Mer - The travels of a space "ship" across many universes. Yet another example of the author's out-of-the-box imagination.
☘️ Smol Animaux - Such a fabulous story! Such a frustrating ending!
All in all, a highly recommended collection to every speculative short fiction lover. This indie novel will blow you away with its fantastical concepts. I can’t wait to read more by this author.
3.8 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.
My thanks to Foxgrove Press for providing the DRC of “Pick Your Potion” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || X/Twitter || Facebook ||
April 4, 2024
I was already a fan of Ephiny Gale's fiction before this, having read her short fiction in various magazines, and also having read her previous short story collection Next Curious Thing. Gale’s short fiction has an unsettling beauty, and, in this collection, warmth and closeness mingle with deep, dark, and decidedly uncanny undercurrents. Pick Your Potion is full of stories that will snag your mind and work their way underneath your skin, maybe even into your dreams.
August 13, 2024
I was given an arc of this book by BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
This was everything the blurb promised, short fantasy, sci-fi and horror stories written from the perspective of mostly queer women.
I enjoyed this book a lot and can definitely say that I have never read anything like it before. The stories never failed to surprise me and I always found myself thinking how incredible and new thinking it all was. Every short story was unique in its own way with different world building and characters. Sometimes you were in the dark about what happened and had to do your best to follow what was happening, and sometimes you got things explained to you well enough that you understood what was going on.
If I only had to use one word to describe this I’d use ‘bizarre’. Bizarre both in a positive and negative way, because some of these stories were truly amazing and filled to the brim with things my brain would never conjure up. But some of the stories were almost too much and sometimes even disgusting or disturbing. I really recommend that you read the content warnings, which currently exist in the end of the book, to be prepared for what is to come.
This was everything the blurb promised, short fantasy, sci-fi and horror stories written from the perspective of mostly queer women.
I enjoyed this book a lot and can definitely say that I have never read anything like it before. The stories never failed to surprise me and I always found myself thinking how incredible and new thinking it all was. Every short story was unique in its own way with different world building and characters. Sometimes you were in the dark about what happened and had to do your best to follow what was happening, and sometimes you got things explained to you well enough that you understood what was going on.
If I only had to use one word to describe this I’d use ‘bizarre’. Bizarre both in a positive and negative way, because some of these stories were truly amazing and filled to the brim with things my brain would never conjure up. But some of the stories were almost too much and sometimes even disgusting or disturbing. I really recommend that you read the content warnings, which currently exist in the end of the book, to be prepared for what is to come.
September 14, 2024
This is a wonderful collection of stories, ranging from sweet and magical to downright horrific and spooky. A few that still stick with me include The Candle Queen, Overnight a Forest Grew, and The Orchard. I took my time with this book, savoring just one or two stories per sitting. They’re incredibly creative, and the writing is consistently strong throughout. If you enjoy the short story format and love the intersections of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, you’ll definitely find something to enjoy here.
Thank you NetGalley for supplying an ARC
Thank you NetGalley for supplying an ARC
July 9, 2024
Thank you Ephiny Gale and Booksirens for providing me with an ARC for review.
What can I say?
I loved simply every single short story in this collection. Every single story was well-thought out, magical, enchanting. More than once I wished that there was more - more story, more world, more for me to read.
That is not to say there wasn't enough. However short, every single story told its tale perfectly, said everything it meant to say. But, I would have read more, in an instant, would have loved to know more about these worlds, these characters, these romances and loves and lives and…
I do think that this collection would read better if you actually took it in bits, read a story a day, sit down, let your mind be transported elsewhere, exist somewhere entirely different for a couple minutes, half an hour, rather than bingeing the entire collection in one go as I've done it. Take your time when you read this, let the magic touch yuo as it is intended, feel the love and the longing, the hurt, the pride, the anticipation.
This is a journey. Enjoy it.
What can I say?
I loved simply every single short story in this collection. Every single story was well-thought out, magical, enchanting. More than once I wished that there was more - more story, more world, more for me to read.
That is not to say there wasn't enough. However short, every single story told its tale perfectly, said everything it meant to say. But, I would have read more, in an instant, would have loved to know more about these worlds, these characters, these romances and loves and lives and…
I do think that this collection would read better if you actually took it in bits, read a story a day, sit down, let your mind be transported elsewhere, exist somewhere entirely different for a couple minutes, half an hour, rather than bingeing the entire collection in one go as I've done it. Take your time when you read this, let the magic touch yuo as it is intended, feel the love and the longing, the hurt, the pride, the anticipation.
This is a journey. Enjoy it.
December 28, 2024
3.5? A lot of great concepts in this collection of worlds I would love to explore and stories I would love to get to know better—but a lot of them just feel like that, only concepts. A flutter of an idea that would make a compelling story, but falls short of doing so in this collection. I genuinely enjoyed everything that I read, but also most left me wanting more. I would love to see these concepts fleshed out into more robust stories, maybe still short stories but some are only a page long and deserve more than that.
The writing itself is beautiful, often in an eerie way, and it kept me reading even when I felt frustrated by lack of details or solid conclusions. For that alone, I would recommend this and will keep an eye out on more by the author.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
The writing itself is beautiful, often in an eerie way, and it kept me reading even when I felt frustrated by lack of details or solid conclusions. For that alone, I would recommend this and will keep an eye out on more by the author.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
November 7, 2024
There's something for everyone in this short story collection, especially if you're looking to read more sapphic fiction. It's refreshing to see queer fiction weaved in so flawlessly and without drawing too much attention to it, which this collection does so well. I particularly enjoyed the story about rebirth at the age of ten.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.
September 10, 2024
Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from netgalley in exchange for a review.
A short story collection featuring mostly SFF stories, including horror, magical realism, epic fantasy, speculative fiction and weird fiction, the stories here vary not just in genre, but also in lenght (the shortest one is 200 words I think).
I really enjoyed the introduction which is presented as a little menu that introduces each short story. Even if it lead to a lot of flipping around in my ebook copy I wanted to always reread the little menu entries before reading the short stories. It made them more interesting to me. (If you dislike spoilers skip the introduction in this case, the author has included a warning though). I also enjoyed that the author included trigger warnings at the end of the book.
My favorite stories in here where All the Times I'm Ten, a short story about a chosen one that keeps being reborn and has to save the world over and over again, La Vie En Mer, a story told in the summaries of a sci fi show about a universe jumping cruise ship, Rewind, a story told from the end forward and reveals a really messed up world in the process and Smol Animaux, a short story set during covid about finding companionship in little nanobot created animals.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy all the stories and many of them felt like unfinished ideas for longer stories, ending often just when the story became interesting. I also found some of the twists came a bit unexpected and I think if the stories had been extended a bit in the beginning, they could have worked better for me.
All in all however, I am still glad I picked up this short story collection, particularly since the author's writing style is interesting and the ideas are also quite intruiging and if you enjoy SFF short stories I would advise you to check it out, if only because I really enjoyed the four stories that I found to be my favorites.
Below you can find a short listing of all short stories, a short description, my thoughts and opinions, as well as content warnings specific to each story:
CurioQueens: A cardgame which can have deadly consequences, follows a girl, then woman, throughout her life after she plays it the first time with her parents, very interesting and fun, tw: death, amputation
Restoration: A very short story (apparently 200 words according to the intro) about a couple trying to survive in a futuristic world, tw: illness
The Magic in Our Hands: A story where some people have magic and some can even pick which magic they want by changing the skin on their hands through specially grown skin gloves, interesting and really not as gorey as I imagined it, but fun tw: body horror, suicidal references
*FAV* All the Times I'm Ten: A story following a chosen one, who keeps being reborn. Heartbreaking, but very interesting. tw: child soldier
Nowhere, Australia: A little short story about a group of people lost in Australia, unable to remember most things and losing memories again as time passes, very nice creeping dread tw: sexual assault, bullying
The Candle Queen: A young woman raised and trained to hold up a crown of candles, which are never supposed to go out or the world ends and the girl that wants to free her, interesting and sweet, tw: (technically consensual, but there is a lot of outside pressure) imprisonment
Solace: A mishap with a needle leaves a seamstress stuck in the home of the woman she was sewing clothes for, but maybe it's not that bad, interesting sci fi concept, but I would have loved some more exploration of it, tw: genetic warfare, infectious disease, vomiting
Last Text: A woman who receives people's last texts and the woman who falls for her, heartbreaking, but very short. tw: allergy death, suicidal references (the character takes actions to quicken their death when they would have died anyway, but a trigger warning still feels right)
*FAV* La Vie En Mer: A story told in summaries of a sci fi tv series about a luxury cruise ship that manages to travel through various universes, interesting and I liked the characters, it felt very star trek but on the ocean, which was a bonus tw: amputation, cancer, domestic violence
*FAV* Rewind: A story that starts at the end, where a ghost hunter meets a ghost and then rewinds in time to show what happened before revealing a really messed up death-obsessed world, quite interesting, tw: forced marriage, murder, suicide
Overnight, a Forest Grew: As the title suggests a forest grows overnight and the main character, who works as assistant to a guy who makes perfume that makes you smell like famous people, has to deal with the fallout. Interesting, but I would have liked some more exploration of the characters (like why is our main character turned more and more masculine by the perfume guy? Forcemasc swag?) tw: death
Watchhouse: A world were a very rich family locks up their daughter in a house for being queer and then brings two other queer girls (from less rich family's but not poor) and if they could be seen from the other house an AI shoots them to kill the queer? I don't quite understand that short story, it is too short to really pull off that level of convoluted world building, tw: homophobia, murder, imprisonment, kidnapping, suicide implication
Light and Sleek and Strong: After a person's top surgery (not sure if trans or just wanted the H cups removed, it's not really discussed) suddenly apocalypses start, they start to suspect is has to do with them. Okay, but a bit confusing. tw: apocalyptic events, mass death, unsanitary, suicidal references
Faewild: A pokemon/dnd crossover where creatures from the Faewild can pass over to the human world and tend to end up captured by humans and after some schooling also faught with, interesting and one of the longer stories, but one I think could have been more interesting if it was even longer, still fun, tw: bullying, animal abuse/injury to animal, amputation
The White Factory: A short competition for Nicoles where they need to find keys. Fine, but it wasn't that interesting and I had hoped for something interested in the end, instead of a Bachelorette ending.
Neuro: A world in which people can record themselves and their experiences/dreams and then other people can experience the recordings as if they were there themselves. For the most part pretty standard "new tech and what it does", but I enjoyed the part where doctors can use it to understand their patient's pain if they are unable to perform it "right" or express it in a way the doctor understands (if they f.e. have chronic pain or autism, both if which can skew how you express your experience of pain).
When the Ice Comes In: During a prolonged cold snap in Australia, the protagonist finds some matches and a tiny woman appear when she lights one. Okay, but I didn't really feel the desperation got across enough to explain the ending. tw: suicide, fire
*FAV* Smol Animaux: An expecting mother finds a way to deal with the isolation during covid lockdowns thanks to a neighbor giving her small animal companions made lifelike through nanobots. Horrifying ending, interesting, messy. tw: child death
The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville: A small town of witches isolated from the outside competing for who's the most powerful witch, it's okay? Interesting concept, but I feel like the tension was a bit sucked out of it for being such a short story. I feel this one might have worked better as a full novel.
This Is (Not) My Beautiful Cat: A sweet story about a time-travelling cat returning to the same person, it's cute
Lovely Lilas: A woman has her personality copied for companion-androids. Interesting, but very short.
The Orchard: A competition to inherit a magic orchard. I liked the romance aspect, but I wish it had explored the child characters in more depth. tw: loss of body part
Inheritance: A very short story about inheriting the memories of your ancestors, interesting concept
Marina, Hel and Cady Save the Universe: After a birthday party portals to different worlds start popping up and three kids explore them, it is interesting and I liked the twist of why they weren't affected at the end, but the way they solved it was again rather bland? tw: amputation, suicide
As Long as We Both Shall Live and After, Too: A short story about a dead wife being reincarnated as a clone baby, while the other wife keeps her body intact through becoming an android, interesting, albeit a bit creepy as well, but I wish it had continued on instead of stopping just when the story got interesting, as that could have explored the weirdness of the situation better
Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner: On the one year anniversary of her fiancee's death, a woman is invited to another wedding. It is an unpleasant affairs as can be expected in such cases until the Demons Attack. Interesting time loop story. tw: death, amputation
A short story collection featuring mostly SFF stories, including horror, magical realism, epic fantasy, speculative fiction and weird fiction, the stories here vary not just in genre, but also in lenght (the shortest one is 200 words I think).
I really enjoyed the introduction which is presented as a little menu that introduces each short story. Even if it lead to a lot of flipping around in my ebook copy I wanted to always reread the little menu entries before reading the short stories. It made them more interesting to me. (If you dislike spoilers skip the introduction in this case, the author has included a warning though). I also enjoyed that the author included trigger warnings at the end of the book.
My favorite stories in here where All the Times I'm Ten, a short story about a chosen one that keeps being reborn and has to save the world over and over again, La Vie En Mer, a story told in the summaries of a sci fi show about a universe jumping cruise ship, Rewind, a story told from the end forward and reveals a really messed up world in the process and Smol Animaux, a short story set during covid about finding companionship in little nanobot created animals.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy all the stories and many of them felt like unfinished ideas for longer stories, ending often just when the story became interesting. I also found some of the twists came a bit unexpected and I think if the stories had been extended a bit in the beginning, they could have worked better for me.
All in all however, I am still glad I picked up this short story collection, particularly since the author's writing style is interesting and the ideas are also quite intruiging and if you enjoy SFF short stories I would advise you to check it out, if only because I really enjoyed the four stories that I found to be my favorites.
Below you can find a short listing of all short stories, a short description, my thoughts and opinions, as well as content warnings specific to each story:
CurioQueens: A cardgame which can have deadly consequences, follows a girl, then woman, throughout her life after she plays it the first time with her parents, very interesting and fun, tw: death, amputation
Restoration: A very short story (apparently 200 words according to the intro) about a couple trying to survive in a futuristic world, tw: illness
The Magic in Our Hands: A story where some people have magic and some can even pick which magic they want by changing the skin on their hands through specially grown skin gloves, interesting and really not as gorey as I imagined it, but fun tw: body horror, suicidal references
*FAV* All the Times I'm Ten: A story following a chosen one, who keeps being reborn. Heartbreaking, but very interesting. tw: child soldier
Nowhere, Australia: A little short story about a group of people lost in Australia, unable to remember most things and losing memories again as time passes, very nice creeping dread tw: sexual assault, bullying
The Candle Queen: A young woman raised and trained to hold up a crown of candles, which are never supposed to go out or the world ends and the girl that wants to free her, interesting and sweet, tw: (technically consensual, but there is a lot of outside pressure) imprisonment
Solace: A mishap with a needle leaves a seamstress stuck in the home of the woman she was sewing clothes for, but maybe it's not that bad, interesting sci fi concept, but I would have loved some more exploration of it, tw: genetic warfare, infectious disease, vomiting
Last Text: A woman who receives people's last texts and the woman who falls for her, heartbreaking, but very short. tw: allergy death, suicidal references (the character takes actions to quicken their death when they would have died anyway, but a trigger warning still feels right)
*FAV* La Vie En Mer: A story told in summaries of a sci fi tv series about a luxury cruise ship that manages to travel through various universes, interesting and I liked the characters, it felt very star trek but on the ocean, which was a bonus tw: amputation, cancer, domestic violence
*FAV* Rewind: A story that starts at the end, where a ghost hunter meets a ghost and then rewinds in time to show what happened before revealing a really messed up death-obsessed world, quite interesting, tw: forced marriage, murder, suicide
Overnight, a Forest Grew: As the title suggests a forest grows overnight and the main character, who works as assistant to a guy who makes perfume that makes you smell like famous people, has to deal with the fallout. Interesting, but I would have liked some more exploration of the characters (like why is our main character turned more and more masculine by the perfume guy? Forcemasc swag?) tw: death
Watchhouse: A world were a very rich family locks up their daughter in a house for being queer and then brings two other queer girls (from less rich family's but not poor) and if they could be seen from the other house an AI shoots them to kill the queer? I don't quite understand that short story, it is too short to really pull off that level of convoluted world building, tw: homophobia, murder, imprisonment, kidnapping, suicide implication
Light and Sleek and Strong: After a person's top surgery (not sure if trans or just wanted the H cups removed, it's not really discussed) suddenly apocalypses start, they start to suspect is has to do with them. Okay, but a bit confusing. tw: apocalyptic events, mass death, unsanitary, suicidal references
Faewild: A pokemon/dnd crossover where creatures from the Faewild can pass over to the human world and tend to end up captured by humans and after some schooling also faught with, interesting and one of the longer stories, but one I think could have been more interesting if it was even longer, still fun, tw: bullying, animal abuse/injury to animal, amputation
The White Factory: A short competition for Nicoles where they need to find keys. Fine, but it wasn't that interesting and I had hoped for something interested in the end, instead of a Bachelorette ending.
Neuro: A world in which people can record themselves and their experiences/dreams and then other people can experience the recordings as if they were there themselves. For the most part pretty standard "new tech and what it does", but I enjoyed the part where doctors can use it to understand their patient's pain if they are unable to perform it "right" or express it in a way the doctor understands (if they f.e. have chronic pain or autism, both if which can skew how you express your experience of pain).
When the Ice Comes In: During a prolonged cold snap in Australia, the protagonist finds some matches and a tiny woman appear when she lights one. Okay, but I didn't really feel the desperation got across enough to explain the ending. tw: suicide, fire
*FAV* Smol Animaux: An expecting mother finds a way to deal with the isolation during covid lockdowns thanks to a neighbor giving her small animal companions made lifelike through nanobots. Horrifying ending, interesting, messy. tw: child death
The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville: A small town of witches isolated from the outside competing for who's the most powerful witch, it's okay? Interesting concept, but I feel like the tension was a bit sucked out of it for being such a short story. I feel this one might have worked better as a full novel.
This Is (Not) My Beautiful Cat: A sweet story about a time-travelling cat returning to the same person, it's cute
Lovely Lilas: A woman has her personality copied for companion-androids. Interesting, but very short.
The Orchard: A competition to inherit a magic orchard. I liked the romance aspect, but I wish it had explored the child characters in more depth. tw: loss of body part
Inheritance: A very short story about inheriting the memories of your ancestors, interesting concept
Marina, Hel and Cady Save the Universe: After a birthday party portals to different worlds start popping up and three kids explore them, it is interesting and I liked the twist of why they weren't affected at the end, but the way they solved it was again rather bland? tw: amputation, suicide
As Long as We Both Shall Live and After, Too: A short story about a dead wife being reincarnated as a clone baby, while the other wife keeps her body intact through becoming an android, interesting, albeit a bit creepy as well, but I wish it had continued on instead of stopping just when the story got interesting, as that could have explored the weirdness of the situation better
Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner: On the one year anniversary of her fiancee's death, a woman is invited to another wedding. It is an unpleasant affairs as can be expected in such cases until the Demons Attack. Interesting time loop story. tw: death, amputation
July 19, 2024
Disclaimer: I requested this book from book sirens. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Pick Your Potion by Ephiny Gale is a darkly whimsical collection of sapphic short stories. Fuck, there's just so much to say and I'm struggling with finding the words. Each story has its own genre and its own levels of darkness or whimsy. Some of the stories were truly heartwarming and made me smile so big by cheeks hurt. Others left me with an ache in my soul. However, there were some that did both. Honestly there is such a nice spread of stories that I believe there is a story for everyone. Every reader has the possibility to love a least one story in this book.
But, odds are that you'll love more than just one story I know I did. I can't choose my favorites from the bunch. It's so rare for me to find a short story collection where I enjoyed all the stories. Even when the stories are all by the same author. So I think with this review I want to do something different. I'm going to list the stories and tell you what I thought of each. Because reviewing this book as a book feels like an injustice to the author. That and I wrote and read the review where I treated it as a book and it reads like nonsense. I will also say here that the amount I write for each story varies because the stories are all different lengths. I don't want to spoil any of them.
Here are the stories including the introduction because it was interesting:
Introduction: I loved the way this set up the book. The idea of a menu of stories and accompanied drinks is ingenious. I also appreciated the inclusion of why, when, or where each story was written. I did read that part after finishing the book though, because of a spoiler warning. (I will always appreciate a spoiler warning.
CurioQueens: This is such a cool concept, the world needs more cursed board games. The story is dark, whimsical, and queer. I loved the way Ephiny Gale chose not to shy away from the darker sides of cursed objects. I also loved the main character.
Restoration: This story is short but poignant. I understand what happened without it ever being truly mentioned. Ouch my heart.
The Magic in Our Hands: The title is very literal, the concept is so interesting. I hope the main character gets what she wants.
All the Times I'm Ten: This story is bittersweet. I couldn't imagine being the main character, it sounds like such a painful life.
Nowhere, Australia: One, pancake toss sounds like a terrible game. Two, I want more, I want to know what happens after the end.
The Candle Queen: The art included at the beginning of this story is beautiful. It gives "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" vibes but less dark and not about children. Honestly this story is decadent and reminds me of the feeling of first coming out. (I'm queer and from the bible belt for context). ( I would be happy to elaborate once the book is released).
Solace: This story made me so happy. It has my favorite quote of the book "You would be disabled in that society, wouldn't you? It wasn't built for you." ( I can't give an exact page number because I have my font set to large. My page numbers are very inaccurate). Fuck I love that quote and this story. I'm holding back so much I want to say because I will say too much.
Last Text: I was not expecting that ending. Truly heartbreaking, I cried for at least an hour.
La Vie En Mer: I'd 100% watch this if it was a TV show. (You will understand that more after reading the story). More proof that queer people just do it better.
Rewind: The world in this story is so strange, I guess to death do us part is not in the vows. I enjoyed the way Ephiny Gale wrote this story. It's one of my favorites. And a statement out of context ( you will have to read it to get the context) honestly I'd probably do the same thing, if I was in the same situation and if I was brave enough.
Overnight, a Forest Grew: This one was hard for me, it really broke my heart. It hit one of my soft spots, hard. I think one of my favorite tropes is when something mundane becomes precious.
Watchhouse: When I read the title my first thought was...Hmm I wonder what they're watching? After finding out what they were watching I thought... Thanks I hate it. I didn't have the story just some of the characters. I feel like this is a great allegory for being queer in dangerous places.
Light and Sleek and Strong: I love that the authors only notes in the menu about this story were "This is the result of daydreaming in the shower. It's weirder that I remember. Sorry?" (can be found in the introduction). Because when I read the story I was like dafuq. It's definitely an interesting story weird but interesting.
Faewild: What a fascinating world. I need to see fanart for this story, I would make it myself but I'm terrible at turning descriptions into art. (though it is something I want to get better at. So, we'll see.)
The White Factory: The title made it seem like it was going to be darker and about racism. But its not. It was much cuter than I expected! I enjoyed it.
Neuro: I fucking loved this story. One of my favorite things in sci-fi is the fantasized future technology. But it is so much better when its used for the treatment and diagnosis of disabling conditions. There is a lot more to the story than just that aspect but that's the one that stuck with me.
When the Ice Comes In: This story reminded me of "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen. Which is ironic only because I read the menu after finishing the book. I also want to say that the two stories are very different. Regardless, if you are like me (soft) be ready to cry.
Smol Animaux: Dear author, From a reader. Respectfully how dare you. I'm just kidding I read the content warnings I knew what I was getting into to. This story just hurt me more than I expected. I'm sure you are a very lovely person and you are definitely a wonderful author.
The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville: I'm not really sure what to say about this story. All the things I want to say, that I've written down would spoil aspects of the story. Hmm. I'll just say this story is good and you should read it.
This is (Not) My Beautiful Cat: My heart! This story made me want to hug my cats. It's so heartwarming. I also love that the author not for this story in the menu is simply "For all the cats I've loved". I want to cry now but not from sadness.
Lovely Lilas: What an interesting way to learn to love yourself.
The Orchard: The art included with this story's title is also beautiful. This is such a cool and sweet story. That ending! I loved it. It oddly makes me want to dance with a partner in a field. Or to go pick apples with them, even though I can't eat apples.
Inheritance: Simple, short, and interesting.
Marina, Hel and Cady Save the Universe: Neurodivergence for the win! I liked the title. It was an interesting adventure.
As Long as We Both Shall Live and After, Too: I have so many questions.
Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner: This is such a good story. That ending just grips the heart like a vice.
Overall, I think this is one of my favorite short story collections I've read. However, I did have one issue with it. I wish the content warnings were at the beginning of the book. I know that they're shown in the table of contents. But I also know that e-reader apps tend to skip the table of contents and such. I guess that is more of an issue with e-readers and apps though. Anyway, this was a delightful read and I'm so excited for whatever Ephiny Gale writes next.
Pick Your Potion by Ephiny Gale is a darkly whimsical collection of sapphic short stories. Fuck, there's just so much to say and I'm struggling with finding the words. Each story has its own genre and its own levels of darkness or whimsy. Some of the stories were truly heartwarming and made me smile so big by cheeks hurt. Others left me with an ache in my soul. However, there were some that did both. Honestly there is such a nice spread of stories that I believe there is a story for everyone. Every reader has the possibility to love a least one story in this book.
But, odds are that you'll love more than just one story I know I did. I can't choose my favorites from the bunch. It's so rare for me to find a short story collection where I enjoyed all the stories. Even when the stories are all by the same author. So I think with this review I want to do something different. I'm going to list the stories and tell you what I thought of each. Because reviewing this book as a book feels like an injustice to the author. That and I wrote and read the review where I treated it as a book and it reads like nonsense. I will also say here that the amount I write for each story varies because the stories are all different lengths. I don't want to spoil any of them.
Here are the stories including the introduction because it was interesting:
Introduction: I loved the way this set up the book. The idea of a menu of stories and accompanied drinks is ingenious. I also appreciated the inclusion of why, when, or where each story was written. I did read that part after finishing the book though, because of a spoiler warning. (I will always appreciate a spoiler warning.
CurioQueens: This is such a cool concept, the world needs more cursed board games. The story is dark, whimsical, and queer. I loved the way Ephiny Gale chose not to shy away from the darker sides of cursed objects. I also loved the main character.
Restoration: This story is short but poignant. I understand what happened without it ever being truly mentioned. Ouch my heart.
The Magic in Our Hands: The title is very literal, the concept is so interesting. I hope the main character gets what she wants.
All the Times I'm Ten: This story is bittersweet. I couldn't imagine being the main character, it sounds like such a painful life.
Nowhere, Australia: One, pancake toss sounds like a terrible game. Two, I want more, I want to know what happens after the end.
The Candle Queen: The art included at the beginning of this story is beautiful. It gives "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" vibes but less dark and not about children. Honestly this story is decadent and reminds me of the feeling of first coming out. (I'm queer and from the bible belt for context). ( I would be happy to elaborate once the book is released).
Solace: This story made me so happy. It has my favorite quote of the book "You would be disabled in that society, wouldn't you? It wasn't built for you." ( I can't give an exact page number because I have my font set to large. My page numbers are very inaccurate). Fuck I love that quote and this story. I'm holding back so much I want to say because I will say too much.
Last Text: I was not expecting that ending. Truly heartbreaking, I cried for at least an hour.
La Vie En Mer: I'd 100% watch this if it was a TV show. (You will understand that more after reading the story). More proof that queer people just do it better.
Rewind: The world in this story is so strange, I guess to death do us part is not in the vows. I enjoyed the way Ephiny Gale wrote this story. It's one of my favorites. And a statement out of context ( you will have to read it to get the context) honestly I'd probably do the same thing, if I was in the same situation and if I was brave enough.
Overnight, a Forest Grew: This one was hard for me, it really broke my heart. It hit one of my soft spots, hard. I think one of my favorite tropes is when something mundane becomes precious.
Watchhouse: When I read the title my first thought was...Hmm I wonder what they're watching? After finding out what they were watching I thought... Thanks I hate it. I didn't have the story just some of the characters. I feel like this is a great allegory for being queer in dangerous places.
Light and Sleek and Strong: I love that the authors only notes in the menu about this story were "This is the result of daydreaming in the shower. It's weirder that I remember. Sorry?" (can be found in the introduction). Because when I read the story I was like dafuq. It's definitely an interesting story weird but interesting.
Faewild: What a fascinating world. I need to see fanart for this story, I would make it myself but I'm terrible at turning descriptions into art. (though it is something I want to get better at. So, we'll see.)
The White Factory: The title made it seem like it was going to be darker and about racism. But its not. It was much cuter than I expected! I enjoyed it.
Neuro: I fucking loved this story. One of my favorite things in sci-fi is the fantasized future technology. But it is so much better when its used for the treatment and diagnosis of disabling conditions. There is a lot more to the story than just that aspect but that's the one that stuck with me.
When the Ice Comes In: This story reminded me of "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen. Which is ironic only because I read the menu after finishing the book. I also want to say that the two stories are very different. Regardless, if you are like me (soft) be ready to cry.
Smol Animaux: Dear author, From a reader. Respectfully how dare you. I'm just kidding I read the content warnings I knew what I was getting into to. This story just hurt me more than I expected. I'm sure you are a very lovely person and you are definitely a wonderful author.
The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville: I'm not really sure what to say about this story. All the things I want to say, that I've written down would spoil aspects of the story. Hmm. I'll just say this story is good and you should read it.
This is (Not) My Beautiful Cat: My heart! This story made me want to hug my cats. It's so heartwarming. I also love that the author not for this story in the menu is simply "For all the cats I've loved". I want to cry now but not from sadness.
Lovely Lilas: What an interesting way to learn to love yourself.
The Orchard: The art included with this story's title is also beautiful. This is such a cool and sweet story. That ending! I loved it. It oddly makes me want to dance with a partner in a field. Or to go pick apples with them, even though I can't eat apples.
Inheritance: Simple, short, and interesting.
Marina, Hel and Cady Save the Universe: Neurodivergence for the win! I liked the title. It was an interesting adventure.
As Long as We Both Shall Live and After, Too: I have so many questions.
Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner: This is such a good story. That ending just grips the heart like a vice.
Overall, I think this is one of my favorite short story collections I've read. However, I did have one issue with it. I wish the content warnings were at the beginning of the book. I know that they're shown in the table of contents. But I also know that e-reader apps tend to skip the table of contents and such. I guess that is more of an issue with e-readers and apps though. Anyway, this was a delightful read and I'm so excited for whatever Ephiny Gale writes next.
August 9, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
As always I’m going to talk about the novel as a whole as well as discuss the individual stories within! I think this is only the fourth anthology series I’ve read that’s all been written by one person. Most of the time I read collections of stories from many authors but the premise of this one intrigued me because there was no set genre like I feel most anthologies have. The synopsis promised stories from the fantasy, sci-fi and horror genre so I wanted to see this authors take on all of them! What I really liked was that there were illustrations throughout this novel to go with the stories. I also enjoyed how short many of the stores were. My brain sometimes can’t handle long short stories so I appreciated the ones that were only a page, or less.
1.CurioQueens: By far my favorite one of the bunch. It got me excited for the rest of the stories inside and was generally just a really good short story. I wish there was more of it honestly.
2.Restoration: VERY short but also scared me when I thought about it harder.
3.The Magic In Our Hands: This one was very interesting. A world where you get to pick your magic is a very interesting concept. I was excited to see where it would go but then it stopped short. I wish there was more for this story.
4.All The Times I’m Ten: Oof this reincarnation story was sad and kind of adorable but mostly sad.
5.Nowhere, Australia: I’ve never been frightened by the idea of horses and cows before but I am now. This almost felt like it could be the premise of a Doctor who episode. People are stuck somewhere with hardly any memory and something that’s not necessarily scary starts to surround them. Perfect Doctor Who fodder.
6.The Candle Queen: Love a good cult. I’m not sure if I can call the Candle Queen a cult because it also felt more like a religion but… it was having girls sit forever in a dress carrying candles on their head so… cult in my opinion. This was a really good story too. I enjoyed how Anne helped her see that she could live a different life.
7.Solace: I gotta admit I was very confused on what was happening in this one. I didn’t know what Cora was trying to alter about herself (getting a tail?) but I did find the romance between the two women cute.
8.Last Text: Another one where I don’t know what was happening??? Why did she have Steve do that?? Or why did she want to do that instead of just talking to Mikayla? I’m very confused.
9.La Wie En Mer: Oh I loved the one so much. It was in the format of like a synopsis for a TV Show except it kidnaps of spoils the plot of the episode. Either way, I want to watch this so badly. It had such a fun premise and almost reminded me of the 100 in a way (another sci-fi show about the end of the world). It was very intriguing!
10.Rewind: This was interesting. I don’t know what to make of it. It made me start to wonder if I should trust Juliette or not but I don’t know why I would trust her since I don’t know much about her lol.
11.Overnight A Forest Grew: This was surprisingly sweet in an odd capitalistic way.
12.Watchhouse: ?? Another confusing one and slightly scary one. Why were people trying to kill her???
13.Light and Sleek and Strong: This was fun and kind of hilarious honestly. I didn’t expect all of the world ending apocalypses to be happening at once, nor did I expect to read about someone foraging through there own waste lol
14.Faewild: This one was really cool and also a little scary with some of the body horror going on. I liked how the Fae world seemed to be only animals and not like a sub-group of some human species that lived there too. I was also interested in the world building. What do you do with the Faewild creatures in their world? What do they go to school for? They talked about a fighting ring but I don’t know why people would want to hurt their Faewild’s like that.
15.The White Factory: This was fun! I thought it’d turn into a horror story but I was glad to see the it didn’t. A competition disguised as finding your soulmate is kind of funny.
16.Neruo: This was such an interesting concept. I first thought it was a machine to record your dreams but it wasn’t. It’s more like VR but you actually have all the sensations of what’s happening in it. I thought this was a really cool story.
17.When the Ice Comes In: Well that was stressful. That almost reminds me of the old Twilight Zone episode where the Earth is apparently getting too close to the sun and the woman feels like she’s burning up. The episode then kind of pans out though and you find out that the woman is unconscious with a fever and the world is actually going through an ice age. Both the episode and this story are my worst nightmares lol
18.Smol Animaux: ABSOLUTELY WILD LIKE?!?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN??? SHE WAS ACTUALLY PREGNANT RIGHT?! WHERE’S THE BABY!!
19.The most Powerful Witch in Witchville: This was kind of sad in an odd way. Coal spent all this time trying to be the Best Witch and was still beat out by the system and by someone older than her who couldn’t stand to let her have the spotlight. It’s like actual society unfortunately.
20.This Is (Not) My Beautiful Cat: Not the cat finding a crack in the space time continuum just so it can spend time with her as an adult and a child
21.Lovely Lilas: A very short and cute story that sort of fells like its a message about loving yourself
22.The Orchid: Magical tress that kids grow, sign me up. This story was really sweet and cute. I also thought this was going to be a bit of a horror story based off the illustration of the trees at the beginning but it was nothing of the sort.
23.Inheritance: Very short and simple. Kind of reminds me of like a reverse Giver scenario. Where instead of one person holding all the memories, you get the memories of your ancestor. Honestly, I feel like I need that wisdom to navigate daily life.
24.Marina, Hel and Cady Save the Universe: A very odd story about portals and aliens. I’m not sure how they defeated the alien either. Something about cookie dough?
25.As Long As We Both Shall Live, And After Too: I didn’t like this one. It was too odd for me that this person couldn’t get over the loss of someone they loved. I know they had no interactions with this clone of their wife when they were a child but… still the thought of it is creepy.
26.Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner: The scariest one of the bunch!!! I’m surprised this one was left as the last story instead of somewhere in the middle maybe. I did enjoy it though because I always love time loops but this one didn’t sound like it could be broken so I’m wondering if the demons are all in her head or if it’s actually real.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
As always I’m going to talk about the novel as a whole as well as discuss the individual stories within! I think this is only the fourth anthology series I’ve read that’s all been written by one person. Most of the time I read collections of stories from many authors but the premise of this one intrigued me because there was no set genre like I feel most anthologies have. The synopsis promised stories from the fantasy, sci-fi and horror genre so I wanted to see this authors take on all of them! What I really liked was that there were illustrations throughout this novel to go with the stories. I also enjoyed how short many of the stores were. My brain sometimes can’t handle long short stories so I appreciated the ones that were only a page, or less.
1.CurioQueens: By far my favorite one of the bunch. It got me excited for the rest of the stories inside and was generally just a really good short story. I wish there was more of it honestly.
2.Restoration: VERY short but also scared me when I thought about it harder.
3.The Magic In Our Hands: This one was very interesting. A world where you get to pick your magic is a very interesting concept. I was excited to see where it would go but then it stopped short. I wish there was more for this story.
4.All The Times I’m Ten: Oof this reincarnation story was sad and kind of adorable but mostly sad.
5.Nowhere, Australia: I’ve never been frightened by the idea of horses and cows before but I am now. This almost felt like it could be the premise of a Doctor who episode. People are stuck somewhere with hardly any memory and something that’s not necessarily scary starts to surround them. Perfect Doctor Who fodder.
6.The Candle Queen: Love a good cult. I’m not sure if I can call the Candle Queen a cult because it also felt more like a religion but… it was having girls sit forever in a dress carrying candles on their head so… cult in my opinion. This was a really good story too. I enjoyed how Anne helped her see that she could live a different life.
7.Solace: I gotta admit I was very confused on what was happening in this one. I didn’t know what Cora was trying to alter about herself (getting a tail?) but I did find the romance between the two women cute.
8.Last Text: Another one where I don’t know what was happening??? Why did she have Steve do that?? Or why did she want to do that instead of just talking to Mikayla? I’m very confused.
9.La Wie En Mer: Oh I loved the one so much. It was in the format of like a synopsis for a TV Show except it kidnaps of spoils the plot of the episode. Either way, I want to watch this so badly. It had such a fun premise and almost reminded me of the 100 in a way (another sci-fi show about the end of the world). It was very intriguing!
10.Rewind: This was interesting. I don’t know what to make of it. It made me start to wonder if I should trust Juliette or not but I don’t know why I would trust her since I don’t know much about her lol.
11.Overnight A Forest Grew: This was surprisingly sweet in an odd capitalistic way.
12.Watchhouse: ?? Another confusing one and slightly scary one. Why were people trying to kill her???
13.Light and Sleek and Strong: This was fun and kind of hilarious honestly. I didn’t expect all of the world ending apocalypses to be happening at once, nor did I expect to read about someone foraging through there own waste lol
14.Faewild: This one was really cool and also a little scary with some of the body horror going on. I liked how the Fae world seemed to be only animals and not like a sub-group of some human species that lived there too. I was also interested in the world building. What do you do with the Faewild creatures in their world? What do they go to school for? They talked about a fighting ring but I don’t know why people would want to hurt their Faewild’s like that.
15.The White Factory: This was fun! I thought it’d turn into a horror story but I was glad to see the it didn’t. A competition disguised as finding your soulmate is kind of funny.
16.Neruo: This was such an interesting concept. I first thought it was a machine to record your dreams but it wasn’t. It’s more like VR but you actually have all the sensations of what’s happening in it. I thought this was a really cool story.
17.When the Ice Comes In: Well that was stressful. That almost reminds me of the old Twilight Zone episode where the Earth is apparently getting too close to the sun and the woman feels like she’s burning up. The episode then kind of pans out though and you find out that the woman is unconscious with a fever and the world is actually going through an ice age. Both the episode and this story are my worst nightmares lol
18.Smol Animaux: ABSOLUTELY WILD LIKE?!?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN??? SHE WAS ACTUALLY PREGNANT RIGHT?! WHERE’S THE BABY!!
19.The most Powerful Witch in Witchville: This was kind of sad in an odd way. Coal spent all this time trying to be the Best Witch and was still beat out by the system and by someone older than her who couldn’t stand to let her have the spotlight. It’s like actual society unfortunately.
20.This Is (Not) My Beautiful Cat: Not the cat finding a crack in the space time continuum just so it can spend time with her as an adult and a child
21.Lovely Lilas: A very short and cute story that sort of fells like its a message about loving yourself
22.The Orchid: Magical tress that kids grow, sign me up. This story was really sweet and cute. I also thought this was going to be a bit of a horror story based off the illustration of the trees at the beginning but it was nothing of the sort.
23.Inheritance: Very short and simple. Kind of reminds me of like a reverse Giver scenario. Where instead of one person holding all the memories, you get the memories of your ancestor. Honestly, I feel like I need that wisdom to navigate daily life.
24.Marina, Hel and Cady Save the Universe: A very odd story about portals and aliens. I’m not sure how they defeated the alien either. Something about cookie dough?
25.As Long As We Both Shall Live, And After Too: I didn’t like this one. It was too odd for me that this person couldn’t get over the loss of someone they loved. I know they had no interactions with this clone of their wife when they were a child but… still the thought of it is creepy.
26.Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner: The scariest one of the bunch!!! I’m surprised this one was left as the last story instead of somewhere in the middle maybe. I did enjoy it though because I always love time loops but this one didn’t sound like it could be broken so I’m wondering if the demons are all in her head or if it’s actually real.
August 12, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Foxglove Press for my digital review copy!
Overall rating is 3.5 for the whole anthology.
Before I start my review of all of the stories, I first want to mention how charming the introductory chapter is. I love the whole narrative of this (It's given to you like a menu and the descriptions of the items are the author's thoughts/feelings on each of the stories and why they are in the anthology.) I found this a lovely way to link all these otherwise unlinked stories together!
Some of my favourites:
CurioQueens,
Last Text,
Overnight, A Forest Grew
This is (not) My beautiful Cat
Faewild
When the Ice Comes In
The Orchard
Inheritance
My overall rating for the anthology is given by taking the average of the ratings I give each story. Overall, this anthology has a rating of 3.5 - we had a lot of good solid tales, with only a handful that I weren't my favourite. There were quite a few ones that I really enjoyed and that stood out to me (even if I rated a story a 3/5, it doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy reading it).
In this anthology, Ephiny shows that she can create tales from a wide array of genres and tropes and that they can each stand up on their own. I am very glad that I decided to read this anthology and I would recommend it if you want a mix of tales that cover a plethora of bases.
Below are my individual thoughts on all the tales in the anthology, along with a rating for each one:
CurioQueens: who wouldn't love a magical board game? I genuinely could have read an entire anthology about the matches people playing CurioQueen. This was a very strong start to the collection. 4/5
Restoration: very short, so I don't really have many thoughts on it but quite impactful. 2.5/5
The Magic in Our Hands: I really liked this one. It had interesting magic and I could easily have read more! 4/5
All the Times I’m Ten: this was short and enjoyable, though I don't really have much to say on it. 3/5
Nowhere, Australia: this one had a good unsettling vibe. I did wish it was longer. 3/5
The Candle Queen: who doesn't like a sapphic handmaiden x queen? I sure do. This was such a tender story. 4/5
Solace: another sapphic tale! I loved how rich the depictions of the fashion were. The whole idea of a section of a spaceship allergic to light and how they made a community for themselves was such a good concept. And how Cora learned to deal with her circumstances and her relationship with Meadow! 4/5
Last Text: probably has my favourite opening line in the anthology. For how short this was, it packed a punch. This one had me thinking about what would happen to the characters after the end (specifically how Mikala would feel about the ending). 5/5
La Vie En Mer: I loved how this was set up - summaries of a TV show. Episode 1.5 would be chilling to watch. 1.10 would be a chilling series finale, setting up s2. Fresh meat pt 1 and 2 are a great way to start the second series. I knew the death in series beginning wasn't as it seemed. S3 had the best overarching storyline. I know I really enjoy atypically structured short stories. 5/5
Rewind: such a cool concept that I would have looked to read even more of! I really love a cyclical structure and this one worked brilliantly! 4/5
Overnight, A Forest Grew: this one surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. I think it was to do with the surprising importance of the job of one of the characters and how important it would be to make people feel comfort if we went though an apocalyptic event. 4/5
Watchhouse: okay, I know I said that Last Text had my favourite opening, but this one is a contender. This one has a horrorific premise that would be hell to live in. I am glad that it ended happily. I would have liked more reason as to why the watchtowers existed though. 3/5
Light and Sleek and Strong: this was probably the most bizarre one in the anthology. It did have a good concept, though I found parts of the story concerning. 3/5
Faewild: I enjoyed this one! It was vaguely Pokémon esque with the creatures. It had some good adventure in it. 3/5
The White Factory: This one was a quick read and it left me thinking about the implications of the last line - my brain was thinking about how this could be interpreted as a psychological horror and I really enjoyed it. 4/5
Neuro: I loved how this one was structured, with it being akin to an article. It was a fun read as it wasn't a typical prose structure (I know I do enjoy reading atypically structured media). 4/5
When the Ice Comes In: This one felt incredibly fairytale eqsue, complete with the morbidity in the original tales. I really liked this one. 5/5
Smol Animaux: kind of a horror story. Very much enjoyed this one. 3/5
The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville: I know I'll love any of the stories with magic. I would love to know more about Witchville. 4/5
This is (Not) My Beautiful Cat: A story about a cat, what's not to like? I don't want to spoil this one, but I really, really enjoyed this. 5/5
Lovely Lilas: this was a sweet tale. Truly lovely, though for the short length of it, I don't really have too much to say. 3.5/5
The Orchard: another gay witchy tale! I loved this. The description of the trees was so vivid! I am absolutely not biased towards gay witchy tales at all... 4/5
Inheritance: for how short this one is, it packed a punch. It had one of my favourite lines in it. 4/5
Marina, Hel and Cady save the Universe: Neurodivergency rep! And gays! And they save the universe! 3/5
As Long as We Both Shall Live and After, Too: sci-fi androids. Sadly, I came away from this one wanting slightly more. 2.5/5
Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner: I liked this one! Time loops and apocalypses. Seeing yourself being able to live out variations of the same day. This had some good body horror and was a solid way to round the collection off. 3/5
Overall rating is 3.5 for the whole anthology.
Before I start my review of all of the stories, I first want to mention how charming the introductory chapter is. I love the whole narrative of this (It's given to you like a menu and the descriptions of the items are the author's thoughts/feelings on each of the stories and why they are in the anthology.) I found this a lovely way to link all these otherwise unlinked stories together!
Some of my favourites:
CurioQueens,
Last Text,
Overnight, A Forest Grew
This is (not) My beautiful Cat
Faewild
When the Ice Comes In
The Orchard
Inheritance
My overall rating for the anthology is given by taking the average of the ratings I give each story. Overall, this anthology has a rating of 3.5 - we had a lot of good solid tales, with only a handful that I weren't my favourite. There were quite a few ones that I really enjoyed and that stood out to me (even if I rated a story a 3/5, it doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy reading it).
In this anthology, Ephiny shows that she can create tales from a wide array of genres and tropes and that they can each stand up on their own. I am very glad that I decided to read this anthology and I would recommend it if you want a mix of tales that cover a plethora of bases.
Below are my individual thoughts on all the tales in the anthology, along with a rating for each one:
CurioQueens: who wouldn't love a magical board game? I genuinely could have read an entire anthology about the matches people playing CurioQueen. This was a very strong start to the collection. 4/5
Restoration: very short, so I don't really have many thoughts on it but quite impactful. 2.5/5
The Magic in Our Hands: I really liked this one. It had interesting magic and I could easily have read more! 4/5
All the Times I’m Ten: this was short and enjoyable, though I don't really have much to say on it. 3/5
Nowhere, Australia: this one had a good unsettling vibe. I did wish it was longer. 3/5
The Candle Queen: who doesn't like a sapphic handmaiden x queen? I sure do. This was such a tender story. 4/5
Solace: another sapphic tale! I loved how rich the depictions of the fashion were. The whole idea of a section of a spaceship allergic to light and how they made a community for themselves was such a good concept. And how Cora learned to deal with her circumstances and her relationship with Meadow! 4/5
Last Text: probably has my favourite opening line in the anthology. For how short this was, it packed a punch. This one had me thinking about what would happen to the characters after the end (specifically how Mikala would feel about the ending). 5/5
La Vie En Mer: I loved how this was set up - summaries of a TV show. Episode 1.5 would be chilling to watch. 1.10 would be a chilling series finale, setting up s2. Fresh meat pt 1 and 2 are a great way to start the second series. I knew the death in series beginning wasn't as it seemed. S3 had the best overarching storyline. I know I really enjoy atypically structured short stories. 5/5
Rewind: such a cool concept that I would have looked to read even more of! I really love a cyclical structure and this one worked brilliantly! 4/5
Overnight, A Forest Grew: this one surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. I think it was to do with the surprising importance of the job of one of the characters and how important it would be to make people feel comfort if we went though an apocalyptic event. 4/5
Watchhouse: okay, I know I said that Last Text had my favourite opening, but this one is a contender. This one has a horrorific premise that would be hell to live in. I am glad that it ended happily. I would have liked more reason as to why the watchtowers existed though. 3/5
Light and Sleek and Strong: this was probably the most bizarre one in the anthology. It did have a good concept, though I found parts of the story concerning. 3/5
Faewild: I enjoyed this one! It was vaguely Pokémon esque with the creatures. It had some good adventure in it. 3/5
The White Factory: This one was a quick read and it left me thinking about the implications of the last line - my brain was thinking about how this could be interpreted as a psychological horror and I really enjoyed it. 4/5
Neuro: I loved how this one was structured, with it being akin to an article. It was a fun read as it wasn't a typical prose structure (I know I do enjoy reading atypically structured media). 4/5
When the Ice Comes In: This one felt incredibly fairytale eqsue, complete with the morbidity in the original tales. I really liked this one. 5/5
Smol Animaux: kind of a horror story. Very much enjoyed this one. 3/5
The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville: I know I'll love any of the stories with magic. I would love to know more about Witchville. 4/5
This is (Not) My Beautiful Cat: A story about a cat, what's not to like? I don't want to spoil this one, but I really, really enjoyed this. 5/5
Lovely Lilas: this was a sweet tale. Truly lovely, though for the short length of it, I don't really have too much to say. 3.5/5
The Orchard: another gay witchy tale! I loved this. The description of the trees was so vivid! I am absolutely not biased towards gay witchy tales at all... 4/5
Inheritance: for how short this one is, it packed a punch. It had one of my favourite lines in it. 4/5
Marina, Hel and Cady save the Universe: Neurodivergency rep! And gays! And they save the universe! 3/5
As Long as We Both Shall Live and After, Too: sci-fi androids. Sadly, I came away from this one wanting slightly more. 2.5/5
Traces of Us, Hot Enough for Dinner: I liked this one! Time loops and apocalypses. Seeing yourself being able to live out variations of the same day. This had some good body horror and was a solid way to round the collection off. 3/5
August 14, 2024
Pick Your Potion by Ephiny Gale is a smorgasbord of short stories, delighting in the weird, the queer and the nerdy. While I found some stories ended a little too abruptly, overall I had a wonderful time seeing the myriad scenarios Gale brings to life.
The stories in this collection are mostly on the shorter side (as you’d expect when 26 stories are packed in 200 pages) although Gale manages to pack in a lot of character into each one. A variety of nerdy topics are covered including time loops, a magical card game, a chosen one being constantly reborn, the synopses of a sci-fi TV show I kind of wish was real, a cross between Pokémon and the Fae, augmented reality, cats and more. There’s so many great little ideas in here written in a delightfully curious way, and Gale knows how to do a lot with a small amount of words.
Romantic love is a common theme in these stories (mostly or exclusively between queer women) especially those of budding relationships or those experiencing loss. One of my favourite examples of the former is a woman chosen to compete against children (for reasons that are clear in the story) for a chance at inheriting a magical orchard that grows other worldly trees with properties based on what you plant there. She finds more meaning in her growing relationship with the orchard owner than the orchard itself. On the flip side a woman who lost the love of her life a year ago exactly tries to escape death by demon in a time loop in another story.
I want to highlight Curioqueens, a story about a magical card game that forces you to play five cards on yourself or your opponent that alter reality. Most cards are positive or neutral, but some contain truly terrible effects that must be played in secret – and change the trajectory of the protagonist’s life forever. It’s one of the darker stories in the collection – and there are a fair few that are similarly dark, with the pain of not knowing whether a terrible thing happened because you chose to play the game with a person you loved.
Another strong entry was La Vie En Mer, a series of episode synopses for a sci-fi TV series of the same name, telling the story of a dimension hopping cruise ship full of people trying to find a better world. It’s a novel way to tell a longer story in a short form, and honestly I kind of wish someone would make it for real.
Now some of these stories do end a little earlier than I would have expected, drifting into an ambiguity more vague than I would like. And certainly there’s some variance in quality, as is usual for collections – although I found that variance to be a lot less than some other books.
Overall I really enjoyed Pick Your Potion and it’s passionate characters and strange worlds. If you like frequent bursts of imagination and stories sweet and dark, I highly recommend it.
Rating: 8.75/10
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For reviews like this and more, visit my blog
August 25, 2024
Pick Your Potion by Ephiny Gale was a leap into the unknown for me, drawn in by the intriguing label of "Australian horror." As someone who chooses their next read based on instinct and description, without the influence of reviews, I was eager to see what this collection had to offer. What I found was less horror and more of an enchanting journey into magical realism, and I loved every moment of it.
This was my first encounter with Australian horror, and while it leaned more towards the mystique and magic than outright terror, the subtle, almost trance-like quality of these stories was mesmerizing. Each story felt like a mirage, an illusion that pulled me in and held me captive. I'm an emotional reader, always attuned to how a book makes me feel, and this collection cast a spell on me, much like the works of Haruki Murakami.
Ephiny Gale has a unique voice, one that I can only describe as a modern-day tale caster. There's an atmospheric, almost tribal feel to her writing, as if I were sitting by a fire in the Australian desert, listening to ancient stories passed down through generations. Each tale in Pick Your Potion carries this sacred, timeless quality, making it a truly immersive experience.
While the stories vary in genre and theme, they are all beautifully crafted, showcasing Gale's skill as a fully-formed, professional author. I especially appreciated the inclusion of sapphic characters, which added depth and relevance to my own research on LGBTQ+ representation. And of course, the distinct Australian flavor throughout the collection was a delightful bonus.
Pick Your Potion is a collection I would recommend to anyone open to exploring a different culture through writing, and to those who appreciate the blend of magic, mystique, and a touch of the otherworldly in their stories. Ephiny Gale's work is a treasure trove of unique and powerful storytelling.
This was my first encounter with Australian horror, and while it leaned more towards the mystique and magic than outright terror, the subtle, almost trance-like quality of these stories was mesmerizing. Each story felt like a mirage, an illusion that pulled me in and held me captive. I'm an emotional reader, always attuned to how a book makes me feel, and this collection cast a spell on me, much like the works of Haruki Murakami.
Ephiny Gale has a unique voice, one that I can only describe as a modern-day tale caster. There's an atmospheric, almost tribal feel to her writing, as if I were sitting by a fire in the Australian desert, listening to ancient stories passed down through generations. Each tale in Pick Your Potion carries this sacred, timeless quality, making it a truly immersive experience.
While the stories vary in genre and theme, they are all beautifully crafted, showcasing Gale's skill as a fully-formed, professional author. I especially appreciated the inclusion of sapphic characters, which added depth and relevance to my own research on LGBTQ+ representation. And of course, the distinct Australian flavor throughout the collection was a delightful bonus.
Pick Your Potion is a collection I would recommend to anyone open to exploring a different culture through writing, and to those who appreciate the blend of magic, mystique, and a touch of the otherworldly in their stories. Ephiny Gale's work is a treasure trove of unique and powerful storytelling.
October 4, 2024
When I saw the teaser for "Pick your Potion" by Ephiny Gale of queer short stories I was pretty excited and I wasn't disappointed!
The introduction to the collection is captivating and sets the perfect mood for what follows. We enter a bar and the menu includes drinks as well as brief highlights of each story. As a CW, and in general, I thought this idea and overview was fantastic.
The collection as such read like a little adventure to me and felt a bit like a sketchbook. Some of the stories were more raw, others more polished, but overall I found them all exciting and wanted to stay with them longer than their length allowed.
Ephiny Gale plays with a lot of cool and fresh ideas. The magicians who get new hands to master their craft, the neuro that allows you to dive into an emotional level of others that makes language obsolete, the girl who wears candles on her head so the world doesn't end, the most powerful witch in Witchville who has to pay a high price for her mercy, or the cat that jumps between worlds...
There are a few stories that really touched me. These include 'The Magic in Our Hands', 'The Candle Queen', 'Smol Animaux' and 'The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville'. Neuro' was also very captivating and is the story I would have liked to spend more time with the most, simply because the abyss of this technology has so many potholes in store. The story was good, but a little too shallow and sweet for my liking. Overall, though, I was impressed by the presentation and the variety of all the stories. It definitely doesn't get boring!
I think this collection of short stories is a balanced mix of serious, tragic, funny and queer, and I loved the visuals (the pictures for some of the chapters are wonderful! Kudos to the illustrator Margot Jenner!) and the storytelling was a lot of fun!
Thank you to Foxgrove Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The introduction to the collection is captivating and sets the perfect mood for what follows. We enter a bar and the menu includes drinks as well as brief highlights of each story. As a CW, and in general, I thought this idea and overview was fantastic.
The collection as such read like a little adventure to me and felt a bit like a sketchbook. Some of the stories were more raw, others more polished, but overall I found them all exciting and wanted to stay with them longer than their length allowed.
Ephiny Gale plays with a lot of cool and fresh ideas. The magicians who get new hands to master their craft, the neuro that allows you to dive into an emotional level of others that makes language obsolete, the girl who wears candles on her head so the world doesn't end, the most powerful witch in Witchville who has to pay a high price for her mercy, or the cat that jumps between worlds...
There are a few stories that really touched me. These include 'The Magic in Our Hands', 'The Candle Queen', 'Smol Animaux' and 'The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville'. Neuro' was also very captivating and is the story I would have liked to spend more time with the most, simply because the abyss of this technology has so many potholes in store. The story was good, but a little too shallow and sweet for my liking. Overall, though, I was impressed by the presentation and the variety of all the stories. It definitely doesn't get boring!
I think this collection of short stories is a balanced mix of serious, tragic, funny and queer, and I loved the visuals (the pictures for some of the chapters are wonderful! Kudos to the illustrator Margot Jenner!) and the storytelling was a lot of fun!
Thank you to Foxgrove Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 13, 2024
I picked up Pick Your Potion because a collection of spooky, witchy, queer short stories sounded right up my alley. I was so excited to jump into this but despite a handful of stand out stories, the collection as a whole didn't deliver.
I love short story collections despite their common pitfalls and am very comfortable with short stories that don't resolve themselves cleanly or that require more attention from the reader to understand. My struggle with some of the stories in this collection was that they didn't give me enough to feel like they had a point. They felt unfinished in a way that was very unsatisfying as a reader. Some of these might have worked as slightly longer short stories or novellas, whereas others felt like they really needed a full novel to properly explore what was being presented.
Others, like La Vie En Mer, were absolute gold (I loved the way this one felt like it could be in conversation with Carmen Marie Machado's SVU-themed short story of similar structure). Faewild was another favorite (this one felt a bit like The Magicians by Lev Grossman - might be something to interrogate that my favorite stories tended to feel like they were in conversation with something else). This is (Not) My Beautiful Cat was simple yet heart-warming - as a cat-owner, it made me want to give my cats an extra kiss.
I'm glad I picked this up because I did find some stories I really enjoyed in here and, ultimately, it was a quick read. However, I would struggle to recommend it to anyone because I don't think the number of stories I really enjoyed outweighs the ones I was frustrated or disappointed by.
Thank you to Foxgrove Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I love short story collections despite their common pitfalls and am very comfortable with short stories that don't resolve themselves cleanly or that require more attention from the reader to understand. My struggle with some of the stories in this collection was that they didn't give me enough to feel like they had a point. They felt unfinished in a way that was very unsatisfying as a reader. Some of these might have worked as slightly longer short stories or novellas, whereas others felt like they really needed a full novel to properly explore what was being presented.
Others, like La Vie En Mer, were absolute gold (I loved the way this one felt like it could be in conversation with Carmen Marie Machado's SVU-themed short story of similar structure). Faewild was another favorite (this one felt a bit like The Magicians by Lev Grossman - might be something to interrogate that my favorite stories tended to feel like they were in conversation with something else). This is (Not) My Beautiful Cat was simple yet heart-warming - as a cat-owner, it made me want to give my cats an extra kiss.
I'm glad I picked this up because I did find some stories I really enjoyed in here and, ultimately, it was a quick read. However, I would struggle to recommend it to anyone because I don't think the number of stories I really enjoyed outweighs the ones I was frustrated or disappointed by.
Thank you to Foxgrove Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 8, 2024
I was given this book complimentary from Book Sirens in e-book form in return for my honest review. Everything stated in this review is of my own opinion and I was not compensated monetarily for providing this review.
First let me state that I ma not a fan of the short story format and although I would not go so far as some folk and state that the art has been in decline since the great masters of the short story of 100 or so years ago it is not far off the mark. So why pick this collection to read and review - the description and a gut feeling and I was right to go with that feeling as this author has mastered the difficult art of the short story and produced a collection that is really worth reading and can certainly stand in the company of past masters.
As with any collection the standard of the works varies but the standard id high and there are appear to be no stories there for filling space. There is an FF thread tying the stories together but it is NOT a collection of lesbian short stories it is more of a background hum, this is no cookie cutter collection - every story is unique and most are thought provoking.
I have no intention in going through these story by story as it would inevitably involve spoilers and take from the readers enjoyment - all I will say is don't skip any, they are all worth reading.
I recommend this collection to everyone but especially to those who like me may be put off by the short story format. A few more like his could see me revising my opinion of the particular art form
First let me state that I ma not a fan of the short story format and although I would not go so far as some folk and state that the art has been in decline since the great masters of the short story of 100 or so years ago it is not far off the mark. So why pick this collection to read and review - the description and a gut feeling and I was right to go with that feeling as this author has mastered the difficult art of the short story and produced a collection that is really worth reading and can certainly stand in the company of past masters.
As with any collection the standard of the works varies but the standard id high and there are appear to be no stories there for filling space. There is an FF thread tying the stories together but it is NOT a collection of lesbian short stories it is more of a background hum, this is no cookie cutter collection - every story is unique and most are thought provoking.
I have no intention in going through these story by story as it would inevitably involve spoilers and take from the readers enjoyment - all I will say is don't skip any, they are all worth reading.
I recommend this collection to everyone but especially to those who like me may be put off by the short story format. A few more like his could see me revising my opinion of the particular art form
August 4, 2024
Thank you to Ephiny Gale, Foxgrove Press and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The cover of Pick Your Potion really spoke to me with its vibrant purple background and bright green leaves. What soon followed was intrigue once I've read the description. This contains a whopping 26 stories combined in a collection of various genres. I will not be reviewing each story separately.
The introduction contains spoilers, and the author warns you about those, which is appreciated. I did go ahead and read it before diving into the stories and was genuinely intrigued by the menus provided. Some of them sounded delicious.
As for the short stories themselves, they vary in length. Some are short and sweet, others are lengthier and dark. Some had clear endings, others left me with confusion and a plethora of questions. Regardless, they are a good mix of genres and topics with plenty of imagination from the author. A few of my favourites are Faewild, Smol Animaux and This is (Not) My Beautiful Cat. I might have a theme. Close follow-ups are The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville and The Magic in Our Hands. Certain stories will not be up your alley, others will. If you are unsure, at the end is a content warning if you want to avoid certain topics. This is the first time I've seen this, but I understand how this can be appreciated by readers.
Overall, I've enjoyed the collection of stories and can recommend it to anyone with interest in the genres. Pacing yourself might be a good idea though.
The cover of Pick Your Potion really spoke to me with its vibrant purple background and bright green leaves. What soon followed was intrigue once I've read the description. This contains a whopping 26 stories combined in a collection of various genres. I will not be reviewing each story separately.
The introduction contains spoilers, and the author warns you about those, which is appreciated. I did go ahead and read it before diving into the stories and was genuinely intrigued by the menus provided. Some of them sounded delicious.
As for the short stories themselves, they vary in length. Some are short and sweet, others are lengthier and dark. Some had clear endings, others left me with confusion and a plethora of questions. Regardless, they are a good mix of genres and topics with plenty of imagination from the author. A few of my favourites are Faewild, Smol Animaux and This is (Not) My Beautiful Cat. I might have a theme. Close follow-ups are The Most Powerful Witch in Witchville and The Magic in Our Hands. Certain stories will not be up your alley, others will. If you are unsure, at the end is a content warning if you want to avoid certain topics. This is the first time I've seen this, but I understand how this can be appreciated by readers.
Overall, I've enjoyed the collection of stories and can recommend it to anyone with interest in the genres. Pacing yourself might be a good idea though.
August 4, 2024
I received an ARC through NetGalley, and this is my voluntary and honest review.
Pick Your Potion has a very accurate title, and a corresponding introduction - you feel like you're standing in a magic shop and picking from all the different, weird-colored potions. 26 stories focusing on women, many of them queer women, ranging from fantasy to sci-fi and sometimes just... weird. You're probably not going to like every story, but you'll almost definitely have at least a few that you do.
For me, I admit there were a couple that just went past my weirdness meter, and I still wonder what they were even about (and the introduction did not give enough context). But most of them were enjoyable, and just genuinely really fun and colorful ideas. I would read full-length novels based on some of them. There is also a list of content warnings for all the stories at the end.
Some of my favorite story ideas were:
- A magical/cursed board game that can make your wishes come true, but it might have a price you're not prepared to pay.
- The "little kid being the Chosen One" trope in a new coat.
- A new technological marvel that lets you experience somebody's memories and live vicariously through them.
- Virtual pets that feel like real ones and only you can see them and wow it's kind of messed up.
- Three girls save the world with the power of AUTISM.
Pick Your Potion has a very accurate title, and a corresponding introduction - you feel like you're standing in a magic shop and picking from all the different, weird-colored potions. 26 stories focusing on women, many of them queer women, ranging from fantasy to sci-fi and sometimes just... weird. You're probably not going to like every story, but you'll almost definitely have at least a few that you do.
For me, I admit there were a couple that just went past my weirdness meter, and I still wonder what they were even about (and the introduction did not give enough context). But most of them were enjoyable, and just genuinely really fun and colorful ideas. I would read full-length novels based on some of them. There is also a list of content warnings for all the stories at the end.
Some of my favorite story ideas were:
- A magical/cursed board game that can make your wishes come true, but it might have a price you're not prepared to pay.
- The "little kid being the Chosen One" trope in a new coat.
- A new technological marvel that lets you experience somebody's memories and live vicariously through them.
- Virtual pets that feel like real ones and only you can see them and wow it's kind of messed up.
- Three girls save the world with the power of AUTISM.
September 2, 2024
Wow, this was such a big mix of genres, styles, and stories, and I enjoyed reading it cover to cover. The stories vary in length, from the very short, to longer, but all fall under the short story category. Some of the stories I liked more than others, and while I can't talk about them all, I will talk later about my favorite one after I give my review of the entire collection. Although the style/format isn't the same across each story, you can see a bit of Gale as a connecting thread through it all. There's vivid imagery, and you can see it unfold before you as you read. I do have to admit I'd love to see La Vie En Mer turned into an actual TV show (even though it isn't my favorite in the collection). The shortest story you could have read in line at the market, and is probably, without a doubt, my favorite one in the collection - Restoration. Even after I'd moved on to reading the other stories, that one kept bubbling up again in my mind. There was just something so haunting about it, and it was so insanely short, and I can't explain why, that even now, I can feel it lurking there. It's like a gut punch in the best way possible. You'll have to read it to understand. Overall, there's a little something for anyone who loves fantasy and sci-fi in these pages, along with a little horror.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 15, 2024
DNF at 22%. I read 5 stories.
To be honest, I should have DNF’ed after the first story. The book is labelled as LGBTQ on Netgalley. However, the first story (Curioqueens) felt transphobic and non-binary exclusionary. The main character described another character at some point in the story as ‘the woman/man/boy/girl behind the bar’ and in the sentence after as ‘sir/ma’am’. This made me very uncomfortable because the author could have literally written ‘the person behind the bar’. Why the emphasis on either man or woman. It’s an LGBTQ book and non-binary people are completely left out.
The story called ‘All Times I’m Ten’ also left a weird taste. It's about someone first born as a boy, when he was a young man he died and reborn as a girl. This story talks again only about girls and boys and in very traditional gender roles. Some quotes: ‘The girl who could speak to angels and the boy who pulled the enchanted sword from amber’. ‘The girl was a seamstress’, ‘The boy was the general who drove monsters underground’. It was all incredibly binary and stereotyped.
The first story had potential, but when a story disregards trans/non-binary people like that I am done. The other stories I read felt very unfinished. They ended suddenly and didn’t really have a point.
Thank you Netgalley and Foxgrove Press for giving me the possibility to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
To be honest, I should have DNF’ed after the first story. The book is labelled as LGBTQ on Netgalley. However, the first story (Curioqueens) felt transphobic and non-binary exclusionary. The main character described another character at some point in the story as ‘the woman/man/boy/girl behind the bar’ and in the sentence after as ‘sir/ma’am’. This made me very uncomfortable because the author could have literally written ‘the person behind the bar’. Why the emphasis on either man or woman. It’s an LGBTQ book and non-binary people are completely left out.
The story called ‘All Times I’m Ten’ also left a weird taste. It's about someone first born as a boy, when he was a young man he died and reborn as a girl. This story talks again only about girls and boys and in very traditional gender roles. Some quotes: ‘The girl who could speak to angels and the boy who pulled the enchanted sword from amber’. ‘The girl was a seamstress’, ‘The boy was the general who drove monsters underground’. It was all incredibly binary and stereotyped.
The first story had potential, but when a story disregards trans/non-binary people like that I am done. The other stories I read felt very unfinished. They ended suddenly and didn’t really have a point.
Thank you Netgalley and Foxgrove Press for giving me the possibility to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 19, 2024
I've read the introduction and the first couple of stories, and I know I'm going to love this collection.
I tend to dip in and out of anthologies, so I plan to keep reading these over the weekend. It's hard to review short story collections, so I'm going to review the introduction and writing as a whole.
The introduction was really quirky and fun to read. I liked that it was added as it gives some insight into each short story and why it was written. The addition of cocktails at the beginning of each is something I haven't seen before in this type of work.
I love the representation in the first story, and the story itself worked really well. I could picture everything, and for what was little over 10 pages, it packs a lot in.
I've read the second story a few times, and I'll admit I am confused, but going from the title, I'm thinking it's about finding a cure for something?
I eagerly look forward to reading the rest 😊
Thank you to Netgalley and Foxgrove Press for providing the ARC.
I tend to dip in and out of anthologies, so I plan to keep reading these over the weekend. It's hard to review short story collections, so I'm going to review the introduction and writing as a whole.
The introduction was really quirky and fun to read. I liked that it was added as it gives some insight into each short story and why it was written. The addition of cocktails at the beginning of each is something I haven't seen before in this type of work.
I love the representation in the first story, and the story itself worked really well. I could picture everything, and for what was little over 10 pages, it packs a lot in.
I've read the second story a few times, and I'll admit I am confused, but going from the title, I'm thinking it's about finding a cure for something?
I eagerly look forward to reading the rest 😊
Thank you to Netgalley and Foxgrove Press for providing the ARC.
July 29, 2024
‘Pick Your Potion’ by Ephiny Gale is a collection of short stories that I was privileged to receive an ARC from Foxgrove Press via NetGalley. Gale’s imagination will both unsettle and intrigue you.
For example, one story is contains a magic system that a teen has to have gloves made just for them, and then the gloves basically become a part of their skin with crystals growing out. And this is completely normalised by the characters’ POVs ! In another story, girls are kidnapped and made to live in a rich girl’s bedroom, all the while the rich girl’s family will shoot arrows at the kidnapped girls if they spot them 👀. There’s also some lighter stories mixed in, such as the episodic space adventure of a ship deciding on what planet to live on. It had Futurama vibes, and I could totally picture a full blown cartoon series of them. George fawning over all the alien women made me chuckle !
I had a wonderful time reading all these unique settings, I loved the LGBT+ representation, and look forward to reading more of Gale’s work.
For example, one story is contains a magic system that a teen has to have gloves made just for them, and then the gloves basically become a part of their skin with crystals growing out. And this is completely normalised by the characters’ POVs ! In another story, girls are kidnapped and made to live in a rich girl’s bedroom, all the while the rich girl’s family will shoot arrows at the kidnapped girls if they spot them 👀. There’s also some lighter stories mixed in, such as the episodic space adventure of a ship deciding on what planet to live on. It had Futurama vibes, and I could totally picture a full blown cartoon series of them. George fawning over all the alien women made me chuckle !
I had a wonderful time reading all these unique settings, I loved the LGBT+ representation, and look forward to reading more of Gale’s work.
August 7, 2024
4.5/5
Thanks Netgalley for providing me this arc.
Whimsical, nostalgic, queer, unique and dark. Exactly the sort of stories i like. Every single story was a whole new world with it's little quirks and that's what made me excited to keep on exploring further on. Few stories were either hit or miss which mostly were a miss for me but overall i enjoyed reading them. The illustrations at the top of few chapters added a sort of eerie vibe to it and i might have stared at some for too long. Many stories left a long lasting impression in my brain such as 'Light and sleek and strong', 'the magic in our hands' and 'smol animaux'. I'd definitely recommend giving this short story collection a try.
Anyway, I'm gonna list down all the potions that I'd pick in no particular order ;)
+ Curioqueens
+ Restoration
+ The magic in our hands
+ The candle queen
+ Solace
+ Last text
+ La vie en mer
+ Light and sleek and strong (very amusing)
+ When the ice comes
+ Smol animaux
+ This is (not) my beautiful cat
+ The Orchard
+ Inheritance
+ Traces of us hot enough for dinner
Thanks Netgalley for providing me this arc.
Whimsical, nostalgic, queer, unique and dark. Exactly the sort of stories i like. Every single story was a whole new world with it's little quirks and that's what made me excited to keep on exploring further on. Few stories were either hit or miss which mostly were a miss for me but overall i enjoyed reading them. The illustrations at the top of few chapters added a sort of eerie vibe to it and i might have stared at some for too long. Many stories left a long lasting impression in my brain such as 'Light and sleek and strong', 'the magic in our hands' and 'smol animaux'. I'd definitely recommend giving this short story collection a try.
Anyway, I'm gonna list down all the potions that I'd pick in no particular order ;)
+ Curioqueens
+ Restoration
+ The magic in our hands
+ The candle queen
+ Solace
+ Last text
+ La vie en mer
+ Light and sleek and strong (very amusing)
+ When the ice comes
+ Smol animaux
+ This is (not) my beautiful cat
+ The Orchard
+ Inheritance
+ Traces of us hot enough for dinner
September 23, 2024
I loved Ephiny Gale’s first collection of short stories, Next Curious Thing, and so I jumped at the chance for a review copy of her second, Pick Your Potion. It’s a worthy follow-up of strange and beautiful stories, by turns gentle and warm and then harrowing and brutal. The book’s back cover copy describes it as “a full apothecary’s bar of speculative stories,” and it’s an apt description. Gale showcases a range of moods, styles and genres in this book, ranging from science fiction to fantasy to horror and hybridities among these three.
Some of my favorite stories in this collection embrace warmth and comfort. New lovers find one another on a divided generation spaceship in “Solace” and in a magical orchard in “The Orchard.” In other stories, old lovers find one another in different forms, or friends finally recognize the romantic spark between them. One of my favorites was “All the Times I’m Ten,” a twist on the “chosen one” trope that manages to feel both fresh and poignant.
Other tales lean heavier into darkness, even they invoke images of startling beauty. “The Candle-Queen” presents us with the image of young woman charged to forever carry a crown of sacred candles on her head, lest the world end. And “When the Ice Comes In” is a chilling take on the tale of “The Little Match Girl,” which, like the original, contrasts images of cold and suffering with illusions of beauty.
Gale is also exquisite in evoking a sense of quiet unease. This is showcased in the collection’s opening tale, “CurioQueens,” in which a young girl is introduced to an addictive yet potentially deadly game. The narrative style remains mostly understated even as disasters occur, and it’s a quietly unsettling tale. This sense of unease is ratcheted up in the incredibly creepy “Nowhere, Australia,” a bizarre apocalyptic tale about a young group of people stranded in a desert compound with no memory of how they got there or where they were before. And unease explodes into full-blown horror in stories such as "Watchhouse,” an incredibly disturbing tale where lesbian women are abducted and hunted down for sport by disapproving, wealthy and powerful families.
Horrific dystopias, bizarre apocalypse tales, demons and witches and gentle tales of love. . . Gentleness coexists with horror and trauma, and sometimes lie close together in the very same story. Gale’s work is fresh, imaginative, and unique. She’s provided an Introduction chapter to this collection that offers commentary and inspiration notes for each story (something I love as a reader, as I’m always curious about author inspirations), as well as recipes for drinks to accompany each tale. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the lovely interior illustrations in this book, created by Margot Jenner. In summary, this is a wonderful collection by a fresh, wildly imaginative voice, and a superb introduction to Ephiny Gale’s work if you’re not already familiar with it (and you should be!)
Some of my favorite stories in this collection embrace warmth and comfort. New lovers find one another on a divided generation spaceship in “Solace” and in a magical orchard in “The Orchard.” In other stories, old lovers find one another in different forms, or friends finally recognize the romantic spark between them. One of my favorites was “All the Times I’m Ten,” a twist on the “chosen one” trope that manages to feel both fresh and poignant.
Other tales lean heavier into darkness, even they invoke images of startling beauty. “The Candle-Queen” presents us with the image of young woman charged to forever carry a crown of sacred candles on her head, lest the world end. And “When the Ice Comes In” is a chilling take on the tale of “The Little Match Girl,” which, like the original, contrasts images of cold and suffering with illusions of beauty.
Gale is also exquisite in evoking a sense of quiet unease. This is showcased in the collection’s opening tale, “CurioQueens,” in which a young girl is introduced to an addictive yet potentially deadly game. The narrative style remains mostly understated even as disasters occur, and it’s a quietly unsettling tale. This sense of unease is ratcheted up in the incredibly creepy “Nowhere, Australia,” a bizarre apocalyptic tale about a young group of people stranded in a desert compound with no memory of how they got there or where they were before. And unease explodes into full-blown horror in stories such as "Watchhouse,” an incredibly disturbing tale where lesbian women are abducted and hunted down for sport by disapproving, wealthy and powerful families.
Horrific dystopias, bizarre apocalypse tales, demons and witches and gentle tales of love. . . Gentleness coexists with horror and trauma, and sometimes lie close together in the very same story. Gale’s work is fresh, imaginative, and unique. She’s provided an Introduction chapter to this collection that offers commentary and inspiration notes for each story (something I love as a reader, as I’m always curious about author inspirations), as well as recipes for drinks to accompany each tale. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the lovely interior illustrations in this book, created by Margot Jenner. In summary, this is a wonderful collection by a fresh, wildly imaginative voice, and a superb introduction to Ephiny Gale’s work if you’re not already familiar with it (and you should be!)
September 16, 2024
Pick Your Potion is a collection of primarily speculative fiction short stories that vary in length from as short as one page to as long as twenty-six. The tone also varies, with some quite humorous while others are twisted and dark and a bit unsettling. While a number of them were well-rounded, others felt incomplete, more like they should have been the start of something bigger rather than the short stories they were.
It can be difficult to rate or review something that’s so varied, and it’s hard to rate individual stories without giving away too much when they’re so short. There were some stories that I really loved, some that I found interesting and enjoyed even if I didn’t love them, and some that just didn’t work for me or maybe I just didn’t get. I’ve been debating a lot about my rating for this anthology and I think overall it’s probably around 3.5 for me, but I’m going to round up to 4 for the overall rating since there were more stories that fall into those first two groups.
I received a free ARC from BookSirens, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.
It can be difficult to rate or review something that’s so varied, and it’s hard to rate individual stories without giving away too much when they’re so short. There were some stories that I really loved, some that I found interesting and enjoyed even if I didn’t love them, and some that just didn’t work for me or maybe I just didn’t get. I’ve been debating a lot about my rating for this anthology and I think overall it’s probably around 3.5 for me, but I’m going to round up to 4 for the overall rating since there were more stories that fall into those first two groups.
I received a free ARC from BookSirens, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.
July 4, 2024
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This short story collection is fascinating in parts – if you're looking for a collection of atmospheric, immersive, queer fantasy/sci-fi stories, most of which are bite-sized, this is perfect. The stories are fun and don't take themselves too seriously, and the vibes and world building are excellent. The concepts and world building is what makes this collection great, but it's a little bit too conceptual for me: most of the characters aren't fully realized. This is fine in a one page flash story, but in some of the stories you're on page 15 and the narrator still feels like a blank page.
Most if not all stories have a queer/lesbian element. This never feels forced, and most stories have a reasonably happy ending.
My favourite story is the one with the orchard.
This short story collection is fascinating in parts – if you're looking for a collection of atmospheric, immersive, queer fantasy/sci-fi stories, most of which are bite-sized, this is perfect. The stories are fun and don't take themselves too seriously, and the vibes and world building are excellent. The concepts and world building is what makes this collection great, but it's a little bit too conceptual for me: most of the characters aren't fully realized. This is fine in a one page flash story, but in some of the stories you're on page 15 and the narrator still feels like a blank page.
Most if not all stories have a queer/lesbian element. This never feels forced, and most stories have a reasonably happy ending.
My favourite story is the one with the orchard.
August 3, 2024
Rating: 3.75 / 5 stars, (rounded up to 4)
Thank you to NetGalley & Foxgrove Press for providing me with an eARC copy of this story collection, in exchange for my honest review.
I thoroughly LOVED nearly all of the stories contained within this collection; which is not usually my experience with anthology-esque books.
Each story is intricately woven into it's own world; a world that is laced with magic/magical realism, LGBTQ+ representation, humor, adversity, grief, love, and various triumphs throughout the experience of life.
Ephiny Gale has such beautiful prose and I loved that its evident how they put their entire heart into building this collection.
I really have nothing too negative to say, overall, there were just a couple stories I didnt connect with as much as others - but I definitely recommend that you get your hands on this book!
Thank you to NetGalley & Foxgrove Press for providing me with an eARC copy of this story collection, in exchange for my honest review.
I thoroughly LOVED nearly all of the stories contained within this collection; which is not usually my experience with anthology-esque books.
Each story is intricately woven into it's own world; a world that is laced with magic/magical realism, LGBTQ+ representation, humor, adversity, grief, love, and various triumphs throughout the experience of life.
Ephiny Gale has such beautiful prose and I loved that its evident how they put their entire heart into building this collection.
I really have nothing too negative to say, overall, there were just a couple stories I didnt connect with as much as others - but I definitely recommend that you get your hands on this book!
September 3, 2024
What a selection of short stories! They cover sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian, horror and LGBTQIA romance. I loved this selection. Some of the stories left me wanting more. I particularly loved how Ephiny Gale packs so much world building and detail into the short stories, it’s a fantastic talent. I like the introduction where the stories were presented as a cocktail menu with some background behind each story.
My favourites include:
Curioqueens - a story about a cursed board game.
The Candle Queen - about a queen who must not let the candles go out else the world will end.
Faewild - think Pokémon crossed with Hogwarts.
Smol Animaux - a very dark story set in lockdown.
I loved all the stories in this book, I will definitely seek out more writing by this author. I enjoyed visiting each world throughout the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Foxgrove Press for the opportunity to review this ARC.
My favourites include:
Curioqueens - a story about a cursed board game.
The Candle Queen - about a queen who must not let the candles go out else the world will end.
Faewild - think Pokémon crossed with Hogwarts.
Smol Animaux - a very dark story set in lockdown.
I loved all the stories in this book, I will definitely seek out more writing by this author. I enjoyed visiting each world throughout the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Foxgrove Press for the opportunity to review this ARC.
September 24, 2024
Read from September 3rd, 2024 to September 9th, 2024. Written on September 24th, 2024.
I do have to apologise for the delay but work has been tough and I barely have time to breathe.
Now, I did enjoy this book, its illustrations, stories, insane storylines and crazy plots. I loved it. Some were better than others, but that always happens. In general, it was a great book to spend the time and I am definitely going to give a try to the drinks in the menu (ifkyk). Also, reading the idea behind each story was so cool, it really creates a connection between the author and the reader.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this before it came out, just wish I had devoured it BEFORE it came out.
Signing off,
B.
(Free ARC from NetGalley and Foxgrove Press that I chose to review after reading - Cross-posted on Goodreads on September 24th, 2024)
I do have to apologise for the delay but work has been tough and I barely have time to breathe.
Now, I did enjoy this book, its illustrations, stories, insane storylines and crazy plots. I loved it. Some were better than others, but that always happens. In general, it was a great book to spend the time and I am definitely going to give a try to the drinks in the menu (ifkyk). Also, reading the idea behind each story was so cool, it really creates a connection between the author and the reader.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this before it came out, just wish I had devoured it BEFORE it came out.
Signing off,
B.
(Free ARC from NetGalley and Foxgrove Press that I chose to review after reading - Cross-posted on Goodreads on September 24th, 2024)
July 18, 2024
I am not sure how I had managed not to read anything by Ephiny Gale before now, but this was clearly a mistake!
This short story collection is a great read for those who love horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the weird. The mix of content is nicely underpinned by the women-loving-women cast who feel real and three-dimensional.
The topic and style of each story is diverse, and the stories vary in length. This makes each story a wonderful surprise and keeps the reading of the collection interesting.
Whilst I am not going to add any spoilers, my favourite stories in the collection were 'CurioQueens', 'All the Times I'm Ten', and 'La Vie en Mer'.
*I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review. *
This short story collection is a great read for those who love horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the weird. The mix of content is nicely underpinned by the women-loving-women cast who feel real and three-dimensional.
The topic and style of each story is diverse, and the stories vary in length. This makes each story a wonderful surprise and keeps the reading of the collection interesting.
Whilst I am not going to add any spoilers, my favourite stories in the collection were 'CurioQueens', 'All the Times I'm Ten', and 'La Vie en Mer'.
*I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review. *
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