Short Story Review – Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora Goss (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 35 pages
Publisher:‎ Tor Books
Release Date: May 4, 2016
ASIN: ‎B01CNT4QG4
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed ebook from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora Goss is a dark fantasy about a kitchen girl obsessed with fairy tales, who upon discovering a ragged woman outside the castle during a storm, takes her in–certain she’s a princess in disguise.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone short story. I borrowed this ebook from the library.

Thoughts: I am a big fan of Theodora Goss, she has a beautiful and very unique writing style. Some of the ideas she comes up with are amazing and creative and she never shies away from the dark aspects of a story either. This is true of this fairy tale as well.

This is the story of a kitchen girl who yearns for fairy tales to be real. Then one night a ragged woman stumbles into the manor and the girl finds out that maybe fairy tales are real, just not in the way she imagined.

This is an incredibly quick read but worth it if you are a fan of fairy tales. I liked that the story was set in a more modern time (during one of the World Wars though I wasn’t clear on which one). This ended up being an interesting blend of fairy folklore and political commentary of the time. I enjoyed how a book of fairy tales given to a young girl spun out into this young girl becoming the woman she becomes.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed this short read. Goss did a wonderful job of blending fairy tales and war politics in a magical and slightly sad way. Goss never disappoints me and I look forward to reading more of her short stories in the future.