Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold

Whoever gave this less than 5 Stars… What in Sam *expletive* are you reading? That first chapter alone needs to be made into a movie or a book of its own! Honey this child can write! And I like the pieces that she took from folklore you had to grow up with or was taught! God dang that first chapter though! That first chapter is just G.O.A.T! I know Edwidge Danticat and Julia Alvarez better watch it! I need more from this woman! Woman what else have you written because that first chapter of this book was just too good! You have just got to be a person with no heart and no sense of compassion to not like this book! I mean your boyfriend or husband or girlfriend or why must have cheated on you to no end until you had literally no heart left! I love this book! Re-read the first chapter like three times… While I was on vacation! So I need some more of what she has written! And that first chapter needs to be turned into a movie! The look on Shango’s face would have been priceless!!!

Delectable & delightfulpoetic & mysteriousintriguing & evocativea mosaic of inventive heart storiesat times dangerous & at times serene, but always sublime.

I loved everything about this book. I’m blown away but truly happy I found this book. I’ve never read a collection of short stories that didn’t include a throw away story that wasn’t up to par with the other stories. This book was GOODT, cover to cover.

All of the pages were out of order… DO NOT purchase this book from here.

I adore fairy tale retellings and I was already familiar with the author from following her on Twitter, so of course I wanted to read this book. Add in the gorgeous cover art and I was completely sold. And this anthology is excellent, full of thoughtfully reimagined tales with strong women and varied settings, and how love unites us all.

So, what was our beginning? When we first met? When we first fell in love? But falling in love is continuous and perpetual, an activity that abides under the aegis of capital letter Love.

While I wasnt familiar with the source material for many of the tales, I didnt find it affected my enjoyment of them, though Im sure I missed nuances. For the ones I was, I loved the way the retellings bent the tale, Scheherazade being my personal favorite. In this version, her storytelling is for the benefit of fixing politicians messes, and it takes 1001 nights for her to let herself fall in love, to accept the protection and possible heartache that comes with that. Nefertiti, the sole f/f story, was another gem, setting her as the widowed owner of a cabaret and all-women gang, dedicated to protecting women from the corrupt government and the men who would prey on them (often one and the same). Psyche sets Mt. Olympus as a Devil Wears Prada situation in a skyscraper and involves a sweet friends-to-lovers trope. Yaa explores the main character freeing herself from parental and societal expectations. To be completely honest, there werent any stories that I didnt like.

Im pretty sure youre the love of my life. I, uh, like your face and I like when words come out of your face. Sorry, that didnt sound romantic at all.

This collections biggest strength is also its weakness: so many of the stories are about powerful women being truly seen, about owning that power, about their partner respecting that power and seeing them. Gobbling up all thirteen stories in a row is probably not the best way to read this. I wish Id had the willpower to put the book down between tales and reflect on each individually. The author has an amazing way with words, just the most gorgeously evocative prose, and a great ability to pack a books worth of feelings into a short story. Id love to see what she could do with a full length novella or novel!

We of all people cant afford distraction.
Maadi shifted closer. With all due respect, Siya, Im not distracted. Im focused on what matters most.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this anthology and will be looking forward to wherever the author goes next!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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