Mildly interesting stories - we don't get much of the world, really. What do Luckstones do, aside from being jewelry invested with importance? I kind of liked the kid with the pirates - especially how she expected things to go vs how they did. The sapphire was kind of boring, everyone (including the protagonist) were rather out of their depths, and only the protagonist was interesting to me. And - really? She's interested enough in this idiot to pursue matters? I dunno. Walnut or not, I'd avoid her. The last one, with the marriage, was amusing, with the thwarted parents at the end. I don't know how well things will work out - but they are the heirs. If they're willing to actually learn how to handle what they'll inherit, it might end up being very good for both families (though not for the current rulers!). Or they could outrage society and end up with very little. Don't know, but I'd be interested in seeing more of them. ( )

I really enjoyed these three stories set in the high fantasy world of Meviel. The characters were likeable, the worldbuilding was done with a light but efficient touch, and the pace and plotting were perfect for short stories. My only complaint was the 30% of this edition is taken up with an ad and sample chapters for another book, when what I really wanted was another 30% of Meviel. The collection was crying out for something a little longer for readers to get their teeth into. ( )

I love Robins' novels about Sarah Tolerance, Fallen Women and Detective (beginning with "Point of Honour"), set in London in the 1800s, so I was hoping hard that I would similarly like these short stories set in the fantasy world of Meviel, a land where luck, as much as status and gender, is crucial to a person's place in that society. These short stories are about young women who break out of the stagnant mold society has cast for them, making their own luck while disregarding their status and reversing the gender restrictions that are suppressing them. Using only their wits and courage, these young women seize their own destinies.

In "A Wreath of Luck," a somewhat timid young girl whose ship has been captured by pirates learns courage, even fighting to try and rescue the member of the pirate crew who had helped her hide from the vain and capricious captain. In "Writ of Exception," two very different young women try to escape a socially advantageous marriage to each other that their parents have arranged for them, which marriage neither wants. In "Virtue and the Archangel," a silly socialite calls on a former disgraced classmate, now working as a fencing instructor, to retrieve her family's famous and irreplaceable luckstone that she managed to lose during an ill-advised one-night stand. ( )

luckstones
by Madeleine Robins
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I was lucky enough to win this delightful little book of short stories in LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

I liked all three tales very much, and the world of Meviel. Perhaps my favourite was the second one, which is very empowering for women, and poses a lot of questions to think about (marriage for interest between two GIRLS, and how they end up making good of it), but as I also like pirate stories and women pirates, and "epoch" inquiries and sword-wielding fencing master girls, I loved the other two too.

Besides, they are short and I read then with gusto in a little over two hours (less than 70 pages).

Each of the stories could have made for a longer one, with more detail, but "the good, if brief, is twice as good".

There is also a little "subtext", specially in the third story, and a little bit but less in the other two, but nothing to be afraid of, anyone can read them. They are for teenagers as well as adults.

The tales are quite "cinematic" too, with a lot of action, and I liked to imagine the casting of the characters for a movie. ( )

Luckstones features three stories of smart young women's derring-do, all set in an interesting locale and featuring a subversive overturning of women's expected gender and sexuality roles. Plus, there's swashbuckling. Robins' young women make their own way, disregard their inherited social status, and subvert their society's gender containment. In the city-state of Meviel, luckstones may afford you status, but pluckiness will net you independence (and maybe even romance). ( )