Tales of the Fae: Enchanting Stories of Fairies, Elves, and Sprites

by Chronicle Chronicle Books, Lou Benesch (Illustrator)

160 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 7, 2026

Reviews

[Little Batties · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted it like this book; I really did, but it was so dreadfully boring that I only finished this book out of sheer stubbornness. My time would've been better spent watching snow melt off my roof than to read this, but here we are.

Tales of the Fae: Enchanting Stories of Fairies, Elves, and Sprites is as deceiving of a title as the beings these stories are supposed to be about. There was nothing enchanting about the stories in this book. It is a hodgepodge of older tales, retold in away that feels like I just wasted time in my life that I am never going to get back. There was a lot of familiarity to these stories, which actually hurt this book more because the other stories I remember were better than this.

Honestly, the only saving grace of the stories was the illustrations. It was the only part of this book that was worth the time of reading this book. There are some morals and themes you could pull from and use in a classroom if you really wanted, but I would encourage you to look to other alternatives.

Thank you NetGalley and Chronicle Books for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Tales of the Fae is a perfect gift and collectible edition for anyone that loves fairytales, fae and folklore. The majority of the stories are short and pulled from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England; but in the last part of the book the editors brought in some more intriguing fae stories from around the world. The stories that were from the United Kingdom got a bit repetitive (probably because I’ve heard versions of these stories), but I really enjoyed the longer stories at the end that came from other parts of the world that I wasn’t as familiar with. I read through this entire book in a couple of hours, but I think it’s one of those books that you should sample a few stories at a time, rather than binge them. With the artwork , this is definitely a book that a collector of small books and fairytales is going to want in their library. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

[Kuu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was interesting, as I hadn't read a lot of British fairy and fae tales before, so this was a very nice introduction. However, the writing style was inconsistent, which bothered me a bit, and many of the tales were very short, so I don't always feel like I fully understood what happened in a specific tale, if it was only two pages long, for example. Also, some of the "pronunciation guides" were... fairly useless. I understand wanting to bring Welsh phonetics closer to an Anglophone reader, but when you barely change anything except maybe a C to a K or the preposition y to e, I don't feel like that helps. Keeping the Welsh Ll in your English "romanisation", while changing y to e, just feels a little silly.

I personally did like the art. Not my favourite, but it was nice.

3.5 stars total

[Bad Cat Behaviour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle, Chronicle Books for providing a copy of Tales of the Fae: Enchanting Stories of Fairies, Elves, and Sprites. This book has beautiful illustrations! I wish more illustrations adorned the pages of this fairytale compilation because the stories are very much directly transcribed or translated and can be somewhat lacking and dry. However, I love a fairytale, for fairytales are the heart, the very foundation of narrative fiction. Some of these stories are a bit dark and thought provoking others silly. My personal favourite is the tale of the Scottish selkie wife.

[Brianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book of tales of the Fae and magic. The stories are taken from older sources, and so the writing and language feels of that time.

The artwork is beautiful, and I wish there was more of it. There is a full page illustration before each story, but it would have been nice to have a couple of additional illustrations for the stories.

I think this could be an enjoyable read if you're curious about the Fae, and I would recommend taking your time and only reading one or two tales at a time.

Personally, this felt a bit slow, and it wasn't my favorite read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read an ARC.

[Giniro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrations by Lou Benesch, the end.

This is a short book full of illustrations and myths. Each story getting an illustration page that is beautiful and I love looking at.

I've been a long time fontasy reader but I haven't actively searched for the origins of myths. The stories are organized into categories of theme and then before each is a mention of country of origin. There are small footnotes in the stories to give as much detail and modern context which is very helpful.

My favorite is 'The Fairies of Merlin's Crag' or 'Fairy Cows'

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy!

A collection of old tales about the Fae. They are presented very much as is from the older sources, but I would have liked some re-writing to slightly modernize some of the language and bring some of the subtext to the text. Also, I thought there would be more illustrations, but instead its just a simple portrait of the characters, no actions, before each story. Its good if you are looking for older versions of some Fae stories, such as Tam-Lin, but not an exciting re-telling of any of the old tales.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of fantasy stories selected from late nineteenth and early twentieth century fairy tale collections.

There's nothing wrong with this collection, but since most of the stories are from two regions—Britain and Ireland—a lot of the stories have a similar feel to them.

I do like the illustrations—and wish there were more—and appreciate that the stories were lightly edited to modernize spelling and to remove archaisms. I was also happy to see the list of sources provided links to digitized editions of the collections from which the stories were taken.

Received via NetGalley.

[Val 𓍯ᥫ᭡.ִֶָ𓂃 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each story in this book has its own illustration in full color and full page. I would have loved more illustrations from the artist though!

At the end you’ll find the source for each tale. I think it would make a great gift.

Thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy of Tales of the Fae, to be published on April 7th, 2026.

[The Nerdy Bookshop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle, Chronicle Books for providing an advanced reader copy of Tales of the Fae: Enchanting Stories of Fairies, Elves, and Sprites in exchange for an honest review.

This book is comprised of short stories of folklore and fae mostly from Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland, with a few selections from other parts of the world. The illustrations in this book were absolutely beautiful. The stories themselves read as old tales, slow and reflective, and quant with history. If you enjoy classic fairy lore and historical storytelling, this would make a lovely addition to have on your bookshelf.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations were gorgeous. The stories were the usual assortment, which, for me, meant some were a delight and some left me with some ick (I'm looking at you, selkie assaulter).

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free e-copy to review!

[Tiffany Seward · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐ Fantasy

Thank you to Chronicle Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Tales of Fae is an illustrated collection of short fantasy stories featuring magical creatures and whimsical settings. The artwork has a painted quality. The illustrations placed between stories are especiall help set the tone for the world.

The text is on the smaller side, though there is some typographic variety that helps with readability. While the visuals are captivating, none of the individual stories fully resonated with me on a personal level.