Her Magical Pet: Benefit F/F Story Collection

by Elva Birch (Editor, Contributor), Laurie French (Editor), Layla Lawlor (Editor)

Have a shot of concentrated joy, with fourteen stories of women in love... and their adorable magical pets!

All proceeds from the collection will be donated to OutRight Action International, which fights for the rights of LGBTIQ people worldwide.

In this enchanting collection, a flying cat transports love letters, a fox-dog and a pair of watercats help two lonely women launch a post-apocalyptic cat cafe, a baby griffin brings unexpected love to a runaway troll woman, and much, much more!

Includes all-new stories from Yoon Ha Lee, Pamela Dean, Zoe Chant, and more of your favorite authors.

“Deep Spring Farm,” by Romana Clifton. Can Melanie and a friendly ghost dog help a beautiful farmer protect her lettuce from spirits that stomp in the night?

“Lucky Day,” by Yoon Ha Lee. Which is harder, hiding a crush on the gorgeous woman in your role-playing game group, or hiding the unicorn figurine that just came to life?

“Beach Dirt on Bare Feet,” by Louise Long. It’s hard to trust humans when you’re a selkie, especially when a beachside ice cream date could lead to so much more.

“Cute as Hell,” by Caia Winter. You’d think two vampires would be a match for an adorable hellhound puppy, and yet...

“Watercat Cafe,” by Rachel Manija Brown. Ruthie intends to open the first cat cafe in her post-apocalyptic world, but the mysterious, wounded stranger she rescues could doom her dream--or save it.

“How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster),” by Marie Cardno. Trillin has no corporeal form, no mortal cultists ready to tear reality asunder in her name, and no girlfriend. It's tough being an eldritch entity.

“Pawprints in the Snow,” by Zoe Chant. A lost cat leaves a path to love for a lonely snow leopard shifter.

“As if the Sun Came to Shine,” by Damkianna. An injured baby griffin catalyzes the relationship between a lovely changeling and a troll woman in hiding.

“Uncontrolled Variable,” by Sara Joiner. It's hard to investigate magical seagrass when your mischievous teleporting cat keeps becoming part of the data.

“That Magic Touch,” by Hailey Thorne. Vanessa's ex-BFF wants to tear a hole in reality, and it's going to take all of Vanessa's magic--and the help of a gorgeous Demi-Fae with a sword, not to mention a telepathic dog--to stop her.

“Memories of Magic,” by Elva Birch. An emergency vet gets an unexpected visit from a Christmas elf (not really) with a living plastic toy pegasus (really!)

“A Dog’s Chance,” by Celia Lake. Magician Anna keeps crossing paths with the mysterious dog-walking Una while investigating a case of magical hedgehogs on Hampstead Heath.

“Five Quests and the Oracle,” by Pamela Dean. A new Liavek novelette. Dri’s first acting role in a children’s play is complicated by her obstreperous cat, a pair of menacing wizards, and another first-time actress who wants to do more together than just practice their lines.

“The Mating Call of the Teleporting Warbler,” by Aster Glenn Gray. A winged cat flies love letters back and forth between a professor and a naturalist studying teleporting warblers.

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Romance, Short Stories

408 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2020

About the author

Elva Birch is an author of the impossible and irresistible. She is a fire dragon Gemini living in Alaska who belly dances outside at twenty below in the winter and loves to find tiny fairy moss worlds in the summer with her camera.

Elva also writes SHIFTING SANDS RESORT, GREEN VALLEY SHIFTERS, and FAE SHIFTER KNIGHTS as Zoe Chant.

Join her Reader's Retreat on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/elvab... for sneak previews or join her mailing list and get a free novella at: http://www.elvabirch.com/join-the-mai...

Not sure where to start? Take the quiz at her site to find your perfect book! https://www.elvabirch.com/find-a-book/

Reviews

[Stephanie]

The first story in this collection, Rowena Clifton's "Deep Spring Farm," is such a soothing, gentle romantic fantasy about a folklore expert helping a farmer with an issue she's having with the local forest spirits (in the contemporary US). It's just wonderfully immersive and absorbing and has a really cute ghost dog, too! I immediately looked up the author after reading the story, because I wanted to read a LOT more by her - but haven't been able to find any other publications except this story. I hope she'll publish more soon! (And I wondered, because her author bio was a little vague when it discussed her other books and didn't include any website URLs - could Rowena Clifton be a pen name for an author who's already published under another name? I'd love to find out so that I can read more!)

I really enjoyed Yoon Ha Lee's adorable unicorns-and-gamers story, "Lucky Day," all the way up until the very end, which was just a bit too abrupt for me - but other readers may feel differently (and I still liked the story as a whole).

I absolutely LOVED Louise Long's "Beach Dirt on Bare Feet" - by far my favorite selkie story ever, which is saying a lot. I'd never heard of the author before (either under this name or her other writing name, JL George) but I immediately looked her up after finishing! I'm really glad to have discovered her work.

As usual with anthologies, I'll update my review here as I read more of the stories. :)

[Francesca Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very fun anthology, with some outstanding stories and no clunkers (though there were some that were slight or bland--but even those were pleasant). In general I enjoyed the longer offerings more than the short ones--"How to Get a Girlfriend (When You're a Terrifying Monster)" by Marie Cardno was possibly my favorite, but I also really loved "Watercat Café" and "Five Quests and the Oracle." Of the shorter stories, I have a special place in my heart for "The Mating Call of the Teleporting Warbler," but all of the others had things to recommend them.

It was interesting to see which stories foregrounded the romance element (most) and which foregrounded the pet (a few). "That Magic Touch" and "Beach Dirt on Bare Feet" featured animals who were more like allies and associates than pets, which was a variation I enjoyed.

Anthologies like this I feel like it's best to enjoy piecemeal, over a long time, rather than reading them solidly straight through, the way I did. Doing it the way I did, I felt more aware of the parameters and strictures of the organizing theme (lesbian romance, magical pet/animal associate, nontraumatizing) than I wanted to be. I think that's partly why I enjoyed the longer stories more--those elements were just part of the overall story as opposed to seeming to be the whole point. But I think I could have avoided that over-awareness by just reading the anthology more casually... but I wanted to finish it so I could do a review. Which is a very roundabout way of saying that I hope that people who *do* read it in a more relaxed way will also post reviews. It's a **good** collection of stories and deserves to have people find it. And different readers will have different favorites, so hopefully all the contributors get some attention and love. (And if people want to see my reaction story by story, you can check out my status notes from as I was reading.)

[Athena Andreadis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable stories; most include the standard if super-powered pet (cat or dog) but several happily venture into less-trodden territory (dolphin, snow leopard, bat, unicorn, pegasus, griffin...and teleporting warbler pairs). All are well executed, with interesting worldbuilding and vivid touches; and I, for one, love the cautious, hard-won hope that illuminates them.

[Miss Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

heads up: i got a review copy of this from the editor of the anthology and she did request we consider writing a review. i...took my sweet time about it but it's not like it's out of print or anything so! overall i quite enjoyed it! the general parameters for the collection are stories about wlw involving magical pets somehow but i think it managed a decent range of premises within those strictures. almost no real duds imo which is hard to pull off with a multi-author anthology so kudos for that. you can see my individual story thoughts and rankings in the updates, i'd give the collection overall a 3.5 stars

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great collection of short stories all of which were very sweet and comforting. I will say the further into the book I read the better I felt the stories got and the 2nd and 3rd to last stories were probably my favorite in the book. I also love that all profits from this anthology will go to LGBTQIA+ charity. There are also further books in this collection including m/m focused and poly focused whose proceeds also go to charity and I will be adding those to my collection soon I hope.

[Elicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not positive who is behind publishing these anthologies for Outright Action international (a list of their other titles are in the introduction) but I'm always impressed that I find myself enjoying every story. That doesn't stop me from having favorites, but I enjoyed reading every story. There is consistently two women and their magical pet, but settings, plot and relationships range so that you get a variety of sweet romances. I really enjoyed the romance, but the variety and adorableness of magical creatures also make this a great collection.

I received an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Mely]

A charity compilation of f/f fantasy romances, some very good, none great. My favorites were:

"Watercat Cafe" by Rachel Manija Brown - In the aftermath of ecological and social collapse, an aspiring reinventor of the concept of cafes rescues an injured drifter. Notable for both excellent food values and an examination of what makes a community: a shared location, shared goods and skills, but also shared kindness and support. Magical pets: watercats (what if cats but otters) and a scenthound who can detect a valuable magical substance.

"How to Get a Girlfriend (When You're a Terrifying Monster)" by Marie Cardno - A formless Cthuluan monster budded from the Void falls in love with a) static form b) a bold explorer-slash-mad scientist who has ventured through an interdimensional portal. Magical pet: Another tiny fragment separated from the mass of the Void, more or less in the shape of a rabbit, give or take a few eyes and/or limbs.

"As If the Sun Came to Shine" by Damkiana - A half-troll on the run from a Faerie lord and a human veterinarian care for an injured baby griffin. As in "Watercat Cafe", the characters here exercise a hopeful determination to make themselves a better life; they are bold, but not rash; they sometimes chance on opportunities, but more often deliberately make their own. Magical pet: injured baby griffin.

"Five Quests and the Oracle" by Pamela Dean - Liavek novella. One of the daughters in a very large and an opinionated family is forced by the possibility of coup-related violence to leave her desk job; because she still needs work, she auditions for a play. She falls in love with a fellow actor while still manuveuring to keep herself -- and other members of her community -- out of harm's way. There is a plot, but this is still very much a slice-of-life piece, with the focus more on the details and pleasures and complications and philosophical considerations of ordinary life than on the huge events going on in the background. Magical pet: There is cat, but I am not sure he is any more magical than the usual run. There is a magical chipmunk, but he is a god, not a pet.

"The Mating Call of the Teleporting Warbler" by Aster Glenn Gray - Delightful epistolary exchange between a married or at least long-term cohabiting couple, one an English professor and one an ornithologist on field trip observing the eponymous teleporting birds. Magical pets: There is a flying cat. (The warblers are, of course, objects of scientific study, not pets. Even if Rosemary has unscientifically and anthropomorphically given them names.)

I will pedantically note that the last two don't fit my definition of genre romance, which is more focused on courtship (sometimes re-courtship or re-acquaintance or a significant change in an established relationship). But they have prominent f/f relationships and happy or hopeful endings, so it's not like I mind that they are, respectively, a coming-of-age story and a magicoscientific mystery rather romances per se.

[Sandra Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute set of F/F paranormal romance stories, with likable couples. As is typical in a set like this, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. I did like that each story included a pet that had some paranormal or magical ability -- that was a fun addition.

Most of these stories do not include sex, though some do hint that it may or has occurred. Some of them are just meet-cute stories where the couple first meet and realize they are attracted to each other, and some are about established couples who just happen to have a paranormal/magical pet.

Even though I enjoyed the set of stories, I did wish they were a little longer. Short stories, as a rule, just don't have enough character development for me. That is why I gave the set 3 stars.

My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.

[Cleo]

I read one story in this 7 months ago and never came back to read the others, so I'm officially calling it a DNF for now.

I bought this primarily for the Aster Glenn Gray story. It's the last story but I read it first. It's cute but I wanted to like it more than I did. It's an epistolary short story - a couple separated for the summer writes letters delivered by a flying cat. Aster Glenn Gray tends to write deceptively simple books, but if there are hidden depths to this one, I missed it.

[Patty Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting Anthology

Very interesting anthology. Some tales were really good others kind of left me scratching my head, but they were still interesting to read. Some authors I have read before others I had not heard of before reading this book. I liked the magical aspect of this book. So, if you like whimsical magical female/female short stories then you will like this book.

[angela gunstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her magical pet

Loved some of the storylines but some I found a bit dry but all the the characters very entertaining so it's a well deserved five stars and I would recommend this book to everyone

[Suzanne McNeill Taviner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great compilation

A lovely mix of writing styles make up a great collection of short stories. So heart warming and lovely to read.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! So Good!

Well written stories and well developed characters! Those are the most important things to me in a book! Loved it!

[Loz · Rating 4 out of 5]

These collections are always a nice mix.

[Allison Henle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent anthology. Delivers a consistently high caliber of story at the level of cute-fluffy-low drama that I was looking for.

[Shawna Sears · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of short but cute and sweet reads. Nothing particularly detailed about the love scenes if you're not into that. The pets were all the stars of the show, of course. Loved the watercats.