The first story, Can He Bake a Cherry Pie?, by Laurell K. Hamilton is about a princess who would rather take her own destiny in her hands, than be married to someone that she does not want. Instead, she decides to save a prince that was banished from his land, and kept away by a witch, because he did not appreciate women. Although, this is a short story in the book, it's a great one that is filled with a woman who does not fear dieing instead of living a life of hate, distaste, loneliness, and abandonment.
The second story, "The Shadow of Mist," by Yasmine Galenorn, is about a magical world, with selkies, vampires, werecats, werewolves, dragons, etc. I wasn't sure I was going to like this story at first, but as I got more into it I found that I loved the dynamic characters, as well as the main character. A woman who was bound to marriage to a man that had raped her, and instead of live her life disgusted and disgraced, she ran to live a life away from her parents and the man that stole her trust, innocence, and happiness. This story adds more magic than the others, but it's comforting to read about things that are so popular now like vampires and were-animals.
The third story, "The Tangleroot Palace," by Marjorie M. Liu, was a story about a princess that is betrothed to a warlord that is feared among everyone. Her father decides that for the good of the country, he will marry his daughter off to keep peace. The princess does not want to live a life in fear, and leaves to find answers in a place that magic is effervescent, the Tangleroot Forest. She meets three men along the way, and finds that she has feelings for one, but that she still needs to go and find answers. This is probably my favorite story of the four, because of the magic in the story, and the love that grows from the depths of despair.
The fourth story is my second favorite one. "The Wrong Bridgegroom," by Sharon Shinn is a story about a princess who does not want to marry a man she has known her whole life, so her father sets up 3 competitions for men to win to marry her. When two men win, she is set on one of the two, but life never stops with surprises. In this story, there is a lot of love, pride, and changing affections. It's a tale of love but also of learning how to judge and get to know a person.
Although all these stories were tied, because they were about love, princesses, and magic, they also had another common theme, strong women. All of the women in these stories would do anything to have their way, and not be used as just an object, or made to wed a terrible man, they all showed how fierce, strong, and awesome women can be even in the 16 or 1800s. These stories showed the birth of feminism, even though they were fiction, they gave me a reason to say thank you to those women who stood up against the patriarchy, the government, and their dismal status back then. I loved the common thread of powerful women in these stories, and it made me proud to be the stubborn, strong, and willful woman I am today.
Rating: (out of 7 stars)
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