Fable

by Stacey Jaine McIntosh (Editor), Zoey Xolton, Beth W. Patterson

It all began Once Upon A Time...Only these aren't the fairytales you grew up with.Featuring 16 stories by 16 authors.Stacey Jaine McIntosh - Zoey Xolton - Beth W. Patterson - Tristan Hurree - Stephanie Ellis - Andra Dill - Jill Hand - Christie-Lee Louis - Violette L. Meier - Aziza Sphinx - Isabella Hunter - Kerry-Lee Holder - D.J Tyrer - Joanna Koch - Cindar Harrell - Shebat Legion

206 pages, Paperback

Published July 2, 2019

About the author

Stacey Jaine McIntosh is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author who hails from Perth, Western Australia where she resides with her husband and their four children.

While her heart has always belonged to writing, she once toyed with being a Cartographer and subsequently holds a Diploma in Spatial Information Services.

When not with her family or writing she enjoys reading, photography, genealogy, history, Arthurian myths and witchcraft.

Reviews

[Charles Reis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll keep this review spoiler-free as much as I can, as one of the best parts of the anthology is the twists and turns several stories take. Overall, the book's tales are different takes on various fairy tales like Beauty & The Beast, Three Little Pigs, and Cinderella. Each story is well-paced and written, making for a good, fascinating read that mixes the familiar tales we grew up with but adds something new. But again, I won't give too many details as I don't want to ruin those surprises.

However, two stories stand out the most that I want to give extra praise for. FEATHERS OF FATE by
Zoey Xolton kept me very intrigued despite utilizing a common fairy tale trope, but luckily it took a different direction in the end that I didn't see coming. Next is BLUEBEARD by Violette L. Meier, which had some Fifty Shades of Grey vibe only more horror and haunting. In my opinion, these were the best stories in the book.

If I had a complaint, is that some stories needed to be longer to flush out the concept. While the story was good and well-written, CHILDREN OF THE WAVES by Tristan Hurree suffered the most from it, as it had this great concept and could have dealt with moral and ethical issues if it had more room to grow and expand. But, that let that hinder you from reading it, as it's just my opinion.

So, in closing, it was a great read and I highly recommend it.

[Marianne Reese · Rating 4 out of 5]

FABLE is a compilation of diverse short stories with a twisted spin on fairytales. They’re all unique in their own twisted way leaving something for everybody.

My top three favorite stories:

STEALING BEAUTY by Stacey Jaine McIntosh;

FEATHERS OF FATE by Zoey Xolton;

CHILDREN of the WAVES - Tristan Hurree

[Dan Kalin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fable is an anthology of short tales with a fairy tale theme, with the stipulation they are not quite the ones we all grew up on. From the beauty who was a beast to a different kind of songbird, the stories cover a lot of entertaining waterfront. I was surprised by the alacrity with which my mind accepted the concept of a gruff heavy metal goat band (why not I suppose; after all, a goat filled in for Stevie Nicks on a USO tour and no one noticed. "Ree-baaaah-in…" No, I can't back that up.) My two favorites were "Take it From the Bridge" and "Cinderella's Fairy Godmother Tells All", but most of the remaining 14 were very close. The book pulls you in and I found myself saying "I'll read just one more.." until quite finished.

In summary, Fable is a worthy addition to your summer reading list and I recommend it highly.

[Stacy Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diverse collection of wonderful shorts

Lots of diversity in this book, but all strong short stories. My favorite was Andra Dill’s straw to gold retelling.