Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

DNF @ 10%

I didn't realise this book was still in my to be reviewed shelf on NG until I done some shelf tidying today! I knew early on in the book that this one wouldn't be for me, I didn't love the writing style and I wasn't hooked, once I put it down I didn't feel any motivation to pick it up again. However, I would still recommend this one to people looking for sapphic fantasy, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

A very well written fantasy sapphic romance. Recommended to readers looking for a good, fun time and a little magic.

This is the first book I have read by Brey Willows.

Spinning Tales is about Maggie who is I need of some magic in her life. There are all the elements in this book to make it quite interesting.

Love the characters, especially a shape shifting cat. How can you not love it. Can she fix the fairy tale world before it’s too late?

Definitely recommend Spinning Tales.

I honestly loved this so much. It kept me interested from the beginning and was pretty well written. I enjoyed the storyline a lot and could relate.

Maggie McShay was floundering in her own life, and responded to a want ad to take care of a fairy tale cottage. It upends her life, introducing a whole new past she didn't know about, as well as people who had been watching over her long before she was aware of it. Her new role is not only to be caretaker of this cottage, but to repair the damage done to the fairy tale world with her new allies.

There are many stories based on changelings and fairies, so this book is in good company. The cottage has a back door that serves as a gateway between worlds, which has gone unattended for at least a year, and villains of various storybook areas have gone rogue. Maggie has to figure out how they got through and sort out where they're supposed to go, like a supernatural police officer. That's a fun concept to play with, and we're gradually introduced to her new reality and the role she is taking on. It's obvious from the start that she would be attracted to Kody, who isn't painted in a very flattering light. As we learn about her back story, it explains some of her difficulties.

We see a lot of the Celtic lands and learn about the magic and culture of the place as Maggie does, which is fascinating. Every spinner would have their own magic, and something they have to discover for themselves. This of course makes for errors and the potential to offend different groups of fairy tale characters, though they're all overjoyed that she's alive and realize she's naive to their ways. There is a lot of focus on world building and establishing relationships.

It took me longer than I expected to finish this book. Not because it was tedious or boring. If anything, it was the opposite! There was so much detail, I kept slowing myself down to really absorb the details that were in it and to try to imagine the action as it was going. It ends neatly, but with enough potential threads for future stories. I would love to see the team working on stories in future novels if this is a series.

As usual, this author spins a tale worth reading. I know any book written by her will be good. I enjoyed this book for it's change of pace. This is not a typical genre pick for me but it helped me see what I've been missing.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the book (Fairytale meets modern day New York). The characters are great and well written. The romance could have been a little more, otherwise I can't complain

<k>I voluntarily read and reviewed and advanced copy of this book, received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.</k>

As a big fan of the Once Upon a Time tv series, the idea of a book about a a woman who realises fairy tales are real and makes it is her job to keep the stories and its characters in-line seemed very promising from the first time I read the summary. And, at the same time, the story itself seemed unique and not like any other book I have read.

One of the things I liked the most was the little references to different fairytales. The characters had these expressions and sayings or jokes that very so cleverly related to their own universes that it was truly enjoyable to read. On the downside, while I felt like the book's universe was carefully built, there were also some moments that were a bit rushed. Some of the storylines were wrapped up very quickly and it felt a bit undeserving. Maybe if some of these characters would be a bit more developed it wouldn't feel this way.

About the romance plot, I feel a little disappointed. While it nos not necessarily bad, I feel like the lighthearted, fun flirting went suddenly into a fully committed relationship. It was such an abrupt change that I felt like I messed something, some key moment that made the characters decide to make that decision. However, both characters had good chemistry, it felt like they clicked and it was such a fun thing to read them banter and interact.

All in all, I would still recommend this book. Even if it has some minor issues, the main plot is original and the author has put great care into building it.

I tried reading this book but found it was not for me. I just could not get into the story at this time. Maybe I just didnt understand the genre.

Stevie‘s review of Spinning Tales by Brey Willows
Lesbian Fantasy Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 12 Mar 19

I’m a great fan of fairy tale retellings and reimaginings, as well as always being keen to learn new traditional stories and fables. Having enjoyed the Afterlife, Inc series, I was keen to see how Brey Willows would handle a very different type of mythology. And she certainly delivered this time. New York accountant Maggie McShay enlivens her relatively unexciting life by reading the personal ads and picturing the sort of people who place and answer them, until one day she sees one that she can’t resist replying to herself: a job opportunity for someone to take care of a fairy tale cottage for a year. But neither the ad, the cottage, nor Maggie’s newly taken-in cat, are quite what they seem at first glance.


For a start, the cottage is located on top of a high-rise building, and the cottage keeper’s job entails ensuring that nothing from the world of fairy tales escapes through the cottage into our world – oh, and anything that’s already here needs to be sent back, one way or another. Meanwhile, the cat is a shape-shifter, sent to aid Maggie in her new jobs, firstly as cottage keeper, then later as the last of the tale spinners: people entrusted with ensuring that fairy tales run according to their correct plans. She’s going to need all the help she can get. Some of the fairy tale villains have grown bored with their roles and have been creating chaos in both worlds as they attempt to wrest control of their own and others’ tales and extort money from fairy tale folk who want to go about their lives as always, as well as from those who long for something different.

Fortunately, others are waiting to help Maggie along her path, including Kody Wilk, a shepherd – whose job is to assist the tale spinner – and various other good guys who have been loitering around New York waiting for Maggie to discover her destiny. There’s a mysterious book located in the cottage and various other magical items waiting to be discovered and for Maggie to put to good use as she seeks out the bad guys and attempts to return them to their correct places in the stories. It’s not all straightforward, of course. Some of the villains just want to expand their horizons, and at times it’s easy for Maggie and for us readers to sympathise with their wishes. Fortunately, one of the tale spinner’s talents is to rewrite the stories in ways that preserve their basic morality, even if some of the players in them are lost or changed.

There’s still a big bad to be defeated, though. At least one of the villains has definite ambitions to rule over all the others, and Maggie and Kody need to stop them before the women can achieve a happy ever after of their own.

I loved all the thought and imagination that went into creating the characters and worlds of this book. Everything fitted neatly into place as secrets were revealed, and pretty well everyone gets what they deserve, in true fairy tale fashion. And I did like the Big Bad Wolf. I have one other book by the author waiting to be read, and then I’m looking forward to learning what adventures she might be taking us on in the future.

Grade: A

This is a fantasy tale. A woman, Maggie answers a want ad and becomes the caretaker of a magical cottage. It seems she is a Spinner who was hidden in the real world to save her life as a baby. A shapeshifting cat, a homeless "man" and a shepherd have been watching over her. Now she must breach the two worlds and catch the bad guys who are stealing the magic of the fairy tale characters who pass between through the cottage. For mature readers, sexual content. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book for me was 3.5 stars. Although i wasn't a massive fan of the cover the synopsis of the book sounded interesting so i thought i would give it a go!

This book started off really well, i enjoyed it a lot and liked the fairy tale references but i wanted more!
It did get a bit slow in the middle of the book and i didn't feel like much happened but it did pick up
The only thing i really didn't enjoy was the sexual references in the book, i like the romance but some of the comments about Maggie's clit and orgasms i felt was a bit crass and unnecessary and i didn't understand how Maggie and Kody were unsure about how the other felt when they could feel each others emotions, they clearly knew how they felt about each other so i didn't buy into them being uncertain

Overall it was a fun and easy read but being in a fairy tale world i do wish there was more references to fairy tale characters as the options were limitless

A brand new Brey Willows and this time she takes us to the land of fairy tales. The beginning of Spinning Tales had some similarities with the tv show Once Upon a Time.

Maggie McShay is a 30 something accountant living in New York City. As an orphan she feels no close connection to her job or her adopted family and her drab life is passing her by. That all changes when she answers a want ad.

Enter Kody Wilk, fairy tale shepherd without a tale spinner to guide and protect. She hides decades of guilt and sorrow behind booze and lots of women. When Maggie gets the job it opens the door to a new world and slowly it becomes clear that her old life is gone forever. Fairy tales are real and the balance in the magical world has been disturbed by evil forces. Those evil forces that killed her real parents and basically all of the other spinners have taken control and are bleeding into our world. It‘s up to Maggie, Kody, a dwarf and a shape-shifting cat to save us all.

The premise was highly imaginative and it was off to a good start, but somewhere in the middle of this (what felt like an) ongoing road trip it began to falter. I think what failed me most was Maggie. She goes through this big transformation and as the reluctant savior she carries a lot on her shoulders. But all of her decisions are made ‘off screen’, we are not part of her inner world. Furthermore there are too many magical MacGuffins in the plot and the truly evil beings are not so hard to conquer after all. It muted my initial excitement and turned it into a snooze fest.

Maggie and Kody’s romantic arc was missing a few steps and was suffering from a very busy script with lots of players. There is some mutual flirting and then they give off this we’re-a-couple-now vibe for the rest of the journey. The money shot is in one of the last chapters.

f/f

Themes: New York City, fairy tales are real, magic, she is a different kind of spinner, a big bag of magic tricks, let’s paint our way out of a jam.

3.5 stars

* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for an honest review.

Excerpted from my review over at FanSciHist Romance Reviews (https://fanscihist.wordpress.com/2019/04/14/spinning-tales-by-brey-willows/)

My Rating: 4 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library Romance, Urban Fantasy, and/or LGBTQIA cllections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.





Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Insta-attraction, slow burn romance

Relationship dynamics: The Strong, Sword-wielding Sex Pot (h1) /The Tall, Artistic New Yorker with a Birthright (h2)

Sexual content: A smidge; explicit, but not overly so

Triggers: child death; extreme forms of violence

Grammar/Editing: A couple of typos and imprecise pronoun references, but otherwise clean grammar and editing.

Review: While not marketed as such, this book reads as if geared toward an NA audience. The tale is spun at a fairly quick pace, and is a unique blend of urban fantasy and a variety of fairy tales from different cultures and time periods. That being said, the author cleverly incorporates enough detail so that you do not need a guide book or glossary to keep the fairy tale creatures straight in your mind as you read.

Maggie and Kody are fascinating and engaging characters with complex backstories involving deep-seated emotional traumas. The progession of their relationship feels natural and their unique bond adds an intriguing facet to the relationship, helping to even out some of the will-they-or-won’t-they tension. The supporting characters didn’t steal the show, but came close. They are fun, funny, and just what you could ask for in fairytale sidekicks. Although this is a standalone novel, a short story featuring Blech/Shamus and Brenda would not go amiss.

Potion version:

For a powerful Love Potion promising a solid partnership and sizzling sheets.

In a cauldron, add:
1 vial Blood of Thor
1 vial Sweat of Valkyrie
5 strands Hair of Venus
1 vial Blood of a New Yorker

Stir thrice clockwise with a paintbrush in an enchanted cottage and the potion is ready.

Don’t go swimming after for at least an hour, and have fun storming the castle.*


*There’s a Princess Bride reference for every occasion.



Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. The author has a wild imagination and painted the fairytale world beautifully. The characters were likeable and each interesting in their own way, and the storyline was unusual and gripping.

My only criticism is there could have been a bit more action. The story has the potential to be darker, I’d love to see Maggie and Kody wielding their powers more forcefully against the forces of evil.

I hope this is the start of a series!

3.5 to 3.75.
When I was about a third of the way through I thought "goddamnit this is going to be another trilogy". When I was three quarters through I thought "goddammit this is a standalone." Don't get me wrong - I love series, but I hate having to wait for the next book. But I also want to stay with characters and their stories long enough for everything to play out.

There was lots to enjoy in the book, but I found things wrapped up a bit too quickly and I really wanted to spend more time with the characters, worlds and ideas Willows introduced. Similar to the Fury series, Willow has inserted the idea of myth or fairy/folk tales being real and inter-related with the "real world". It reminded me a bit of the Fable comic series -but only in the idea that fairy tales/fable characters are real. The premise was interesting and, due to my own fascination with myths/folk/fairytales, I was sucked in quickly.

Willows has a great knack of blending worlds and I do love her stuff. Hopefully all is not happily ever after and we'll get a chance to read another book about Maggie, Kody and the rest.

I did not finish this book. I was really excited about this book. I started out really liking Maggie but the story had me bored. I feel it went too slow and there were too many unnecessary details.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read this book.

I'm really not a fantasy person, but as a lesbian who loves fairy tales, I thought I'd give this a try. I'm so glad I did - it's one of the most engrossing books I've read in a while.

The tension between two conflicting realities, and protagonist Maggie's resultant confusion from having to exist between them, is done well, as is the issue of how the fairy tale characters disguise themselves in the human world: a cat sith as a stray cat, a leprechaun as a little person, a trickster fox as a TV producer. There is some sense of magic and wonder, but still grounded in Maggie's real, genuine feelings and beliefs. The Night Circus by way of Ally McBeal, in a way, though the closest comparison might be the Will Ferrell movie Stranger Than Fiction. (I was also frequently reminded, setting-wise, of the video game Tales of Berseria.)

Willows' handling of grief is also commendable, both realistic and kind, as are her treatments of found families and of romantic jealousy. She actually interrogates internalized misogyny, if only implicitly, as Maggie comes to befriend a potential romantic rival, even as she continues to feel jealous of her. And that romantic rival, a succubus, is not only one of the most fun characters in the book, but allows for my personal favorite exchange, between Maggie and her love interest, Kody: "A sex demon? You had sex with a sex demon?" "Wouldn't you, given the chance?"

If I were to make any criticisms, they would be the lack of diversity and the pacing. This is far from the only fantasy novel with a stunning lack of racial diversity, but it's especially noticeable given the frequent references to the wide world of fairy tales, contrasted with nearly every character appearing in the book being Irish. (Those who aren't are still European.)

And throughout the book, the pacing is uneven, but it's not a problem - it actually fits Maggie's frame of mind and the distortion of time she feels as she shifts from her slow and steady life as an office worker to the breakneck pace of saving the world. In the last 10% or so, however, things start happening really fast, and important plot points that should have had big build-ups happen with little to no warning. (For example, the final battle is over in the blink of an eye. It took Harry Potter longer to disarm Voldemort.)

In spite of those criticisms, I really feel that 4 stars would be too low for the first book I've read in a long time that had me grabbing my e-reader to finish it at every opportunity. While this is the first book I've read from this author or this publisher, I doubt it will be the last. I eagerly recommend it to my fellow queer fairy tale fans... especially those who, like me, secretly hope someday we'll be told we're actually fairy tale characters and be given hot lesbian sidekicks to help us on our way.

This is such a unique take on a classic fairy tale fantasy. It did my favourite thing a book can do: it made me genuinely care about the characters, the dialogue felt real (but certainly more entertaining than my own). I really dug the lesbian romance, and the "Wanted Ads" were kidney-clutching hilarious.

Spinning Tales is a very unusual take on the fairy tale, and a book that was overall enjoyable to read. It starts off in true fantasy fashion, where the apparently mundane human gets caught up in a web of intrigue and mystery. As the story develops, the reader gets taken to a new interpretation - and an interesting and well-thought interpretation - of a fantasy staple - how our Mundane World and the magical, mysterious Otherworld are intertwined and co-dependant.
Unfortunately I think the book lost some focus in the second half. Without spoilers, I can say that all the planning and action was rushed, the romantic build-up started nice and slow but suddenly developed, and the book's resolution appeared too quickly. Perhaps this book suffered from a common complaint I have - fantasy and science fiction works best with short stories or deep world building, perhaps over a series. The "standard length" romance novel format just doesn't seem to work for me.
So, overall an enjoyable four star read, I liked it and will recommend it, but didn't completely love it.