Ninestar Press

The latest edition of Ninestar Press's Once Upon a Rainbow series is thoroughly charming. The premise is simple: queer retellings of classic fairy tales, but the execution is, for lack of a better word, magical. I haven't read the first two volumes, but bought them immediately upon finishing this review copy. As with their Into the Mystic anthologies, Ninestar's editorial chops are on full display here - none of the stories stand out as "filler." Yes, there are a few that worked better for show more me than others, but most of that is personal preference, not objective quality issues.

There's something immeasurably satisfying about reading the stories I grew up with, turned into queer happily-ever-afters. Why shouldn't Cinderella be trans? Is that not the perfect story for a trans man? Why shouldn't Pinocchio be a lovingly-crafted sculpture come to life as a lover? And why must the Big Bad Wolf always be a man? Retelling fairy tales from a queer perspective brings something fresh to each of these stories, so much so that I didn't realize there were two Cinderella retellings until I was writing this review.

If you want a bit more on each of the stories, I've written the tiniest of reviews for each of the seven below. TL;DR: If you're looking for a palate cleanser, some delightfully queer fluff, or a story that makes you cry because you feel seen? This is an excellent volume.



Baile de la Marioneta, by W.M. Fawkes

Jose is an art student studying sculpture, and one day he crafts a man out of wood. This is a surprising Pinocchio retelling - when the wooden man lies, it's not his nose that grows. This little detail could have tipped the story from sweet to crass, but it doesn't. I think this was the most emotionally charged of the anthology, with an exploration of consent, ownership, and the power of love to transform.



Loose in the Heel, Tight in the Toe, by Valentine Wheeler

This is the first of two Cinderella retellings, this time with a lesbian Cinderella who wants to go to the ball but really doesn't want to marry the prince. Turns out... he's asexual and more than happy to make an arrangement with his bride-to-be. The author also works in a cast of secondary characters and story elements that make the whole thing come together very well. One of the best in the anthology.



Green Things Grow from Cinders, by A.E. Ross

I adored this story. The hero is a trans man who owns a florist shop and isn't out to his roommates. He has a huge crush on the man hosting a friend's wedding (that he's doing the flowers for) but doesn't want to go in the bridesmaid dress he ordered months ago. Cue the fairy godmother, who steps in to send this Cinderfella off to the ball in style.



The Scent of Magic, by N.J. Romaine

The wolf in this story is a soldier/hunter who's exiled herself to the woods after the kingdom she protected is cursed to go to sleep. A girl with a red cloak is walking through the forest and the wolf offers to escort her. But nothing is quite what it seems...



The Rescue, by Sam Burns

This one has a few twists, so I'll just say that it's the story of a gay knight who really doesn't want to marry the princess he's set off to rescue from the dragon. There's definitely an HEA, though!



The Bremen Town Musicians, by Mark Lesney

The classic folktale, but twisted to be about a ragtag group of teens who've been called by names like "Donkey" and "Hound" all their lives. I had issues with the use of the word g*psy and also with the fact that a band of said Romani were brutally killed by the robbers in the story. Not great to have a persecuted minority group in your book to provide an emotional arc for the main characters, and to refer to them by an ethnic slur... The folk tale itself has always been messed up, right? I knew this was going to be a dark story, with scaring off robbers and so on, but I think the slaughter of 10 innocent Roma could have been left out.

The queer pairing is m/m, in case you're curious.


Gretel on Her Own, by Elna Holst

As you can probably predict from the title, this is a Hansel and Gretel retelling that focuses on Gretel. The story is an f/f romance that explores themes mental illness, magic, and temptation. It was confusing in a wonderful sort of way. show less

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Average rating: 4 stars

Overall thoughts: This was a bit of a mixed bag. There were some stories I really loved, and others I really didn't. I did appreciate that it wasn't only cis LG retellings, and there were ace and trans characters in some of the stories as well. (Well, one of each, really.)

baile de marioneta by w.m. fawkes: cis M/M. A guy carves a naked guy from wood for his class and the wood guy comes to life. The show more moment where I realised this was a Pinocchio retelling (for an older age group, certainly) was during the sex scene where the wooden guy started lying and well, it wasn't his nose that grew. I was going to give it 3 stars on its own, but compared to some of the others it's 2.5 at best for me.

loose in the hell, tight in the toe by valentine wheeler: This story doesn't center romance - it's about a lesbian Cinderella and an asexual prince getting married for their mutual benefit, and also about Cinderella helping her stepsisters and other young girls who are being forced into marriages get away from their abusive family. I also loved that the Fairy Godmother couldn't magically solve everything, so Cinderella stepped up and did it herself. 5 stars.

green things grow from cinders by a.e.ross: trans M/cis M. Another Cinderella retelling, this time in a modern setting and with a trans guy Cinderella and a cis guy "prince", which is certainly a first for me. I absolutely loved this story, and I loved how Roman never really commented on Ash being trans. Also, I love the title. tw: unintentional misgendering (Ash isn't out to his friends at first). 5 stars.

the scent of magic by n.j. romaine: cis F/F. This story had everything. It's a Little Red Riding Hood retelling where the Red/Wolf/Hunter trio isn't what you'd expect, but it also has a Sleeping Beauty sideplot with a nonbinary Sleeping Beauty (kudos for introducing me to the word "princet"), and also lots of faeries and fae court politics. My only complaint is that it wasn't a full-length novel: I would have loved to see the rescue of the prince itself. 5 stars.

the rescue by sam burns: cis M/M. "Saving princesses is hard work. Getting out of marrying them is harder." This was a little funny because I was /so sure/ that I knew the twist but then the twist ended up being something completely different. It's a M/M romance between a knight and... the friend of a princess. I'm giving 4.5 stars in comparison to the others, because it didn't quite measure up to the ones I rated 5 stars, but it was still great.

the bremen town musicians by mark lesney: cis M/M. Ehhhhhhh. So like, this is a retelling of a tale with animals, where the characters are actually humans this time but they're still kind of treated as animals. Also, you know that thing in fairytales when there's some really fucked up abuse or violence going on but you never really question it as a kid, especially with animal characters? Well, this story has that too, but either because of my age or the human characters it's more difficult to overlook. tldr; I didn't enjoy reading this. There is a m/m romance sideplot but it's not really central. tw: abuse, casual discussion of rape, gy*psy slur used several times. 2.5 stars

gretel on her own by elna holst: This is a cis F/F story where I couldn't decide whether it's supposed to be a mystery/horror or a romance, and for most of the story I wondered if there was going to be a positive ending at all. Constant suspicion of the love interest isn't really what I want in a romance, but I suppose the constant suspicion/questioning was the point. 3.5 stars. show less