Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah 
 - - - 
 As the title suggests, this book is a collection of twenty short stories; twenty dark retellings of Mother Goose rhymes. Some are darker than others, but the title is spot on, I promise you. 
 When I review an anthology I like to talk about my top three and my bottom three. I don't choose to review every single story, but that doesn't mean I disliked them. They just landed somewhere in the middle for me. :) 
 - - - 
 **Some spoilers ahead!** 
 I'll start off with my bottom three. 
 "Little Miss Muffet" by Georgia McBride - Okay, it's inspiration is obvious. The story... is disturbing. It's definitely one of the darker tales in this anthology. A family of shapeshifting spiders. The Muffets. Two sisters. One good, one not. One ends up turning human and eating her mother in spider form. It's gross and disturbing and just yuck! Cringe! There was, however, a little thread of romance woven in that I did enjoy. 
 "Blue" by Sayantani DasGupta - Inspired by Little Boy Blue. Interesting. Nice prose. Definitely had potential. It's about a mysterious spirit who writes stories into peoples' skin. It was a bit confusing and ended in a weird spot. It was too abrupt and left with with a question mark over my head. It wasn't really what I would call "dark", either. 
 "The Well" by K.M. Walton - Inspired by Jack and Jill. This was one I could have easily liked. It's got a dystopian twist. Set in a post-virus ridden world. The siblings hate each other for different reasons. It's definitely one that was much too dark for me. It was almost sick. The only thing I enjoyed was the eerie feel to the story because the siblings believed they were the only humans remaining alive. 
 Now for my top three. It was hard to choose, because I liked ALL of these stories to some degree, even my bottom three. This book was really fantastic. 
 "As Blue as the Sky and Just as Old" by Nina Berry - This is the first tale in the novel. Inspired by Taffy and the Welshman. I noticed that many reviewers didn't enjoy or were confused by this one. It saddens me because I think the symbolism is so so beautiful and the story presents an eerie twist. For a short story, there is a LOT of detail. I think it was a perfect opening for this book. I don't want to say too much and spoil this one, but it is so so beautiful and definitely surprising. 
 "One for Sorrow" by Karen Mahoney - Inspired by a nursery rhyme of the same title. A strange tale, this one. An extremely lonely girl forms a bond of sorts with a lone crow that comes into her bedroom window at night. She later learns a world-shaking secret about said crow. This story is lyrical. This story is romantic and beyond beautiful. It's a bit eerie, a bit thrilling. It's about magic, love, destiny, and companionship. I really loved this one. 
 "Wee Willie Winkie" by Leigh Fallon - Inspired by a nursery rhyme of the same title. Oh, I LOVED this one! It's definitely the creepiest one of the bunch. About a girl who moves to a Scottish village where teens under the age of 16 are being targeted by a villainous presence. If not in bed by 8 o'clock, it comes for you. The atmosphere of this one is dark and spooky. The writing was fantastic and the ending was perfection! 
 Overall? I enjoyed this book immensely! Some of the stories were a bit long-winded; some too dark, but ALL of them were enjoyable, even the ones I didn't care for. Some of them were spooky. Some of them were romantic. Some magical. Some downright icky! The authors explore a wide range of rhymes. Some very well known, others you've probably never heard of. In the beginning of each story, though, they show you the rhyme that has inspired the retelling. It's a great book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a retelling, a chilling tale, or a really great anthology. 
 - - - 
 Book source: NetGalley 
 Publisher: Month9Books