Rating: 
Summary: The best of this series I've read yet...
Review: ...Now, admittedly, I'm only halfway through the series. I've read _Black Heart, Ivory Bones_ and _Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears_, liked them both for the most part, and yet this volume (second in the series, chronologically) tops them both. There are so many wonderful stories...here are some of the highlights:"Stronger Than Time", a poignant take on Sleeping Beauty, sad yet hopeful. "Somnus' Fair Maid", Sleeping Beauty again; this time it's a delightful Regency romp. No supernatural elements, but plenty of magic. "The Brown Bear of Norway", a touching teen romance between a lonely girl and her mysterious pen pal. "Tattercoats"--this is what comes _after_ "happily ever after". The Princess has been married to her beloved for ten years, and their marriage has become a dull routine...but she is going to fight for it, with the help of three magical gifts. Sexy, sexy, very sexy, and also made me cry. "Godson", in which a young man has the Grim Reaper himself as a mentor. They fall out over whether certain people should be spared. Darkly comic; the ending is hilarious. "The Black Swan"--seems to be a blend of Cinderella, Swan Lake, and Pygmalion. A pretentious serving-man trains an awkward princess in social graces and gives her a makeover; this story is both a heartbreaking tale of shapeshifting, and a barbed commentary on beauty standards of any time. And the trouble is, I just know I'm going to think of three more stories I loved as soon as I log off the computer. BUY THIS BOOK. All these incredible stories, and cheap! LOL...
Rating:
Summary: The best of this series I've read yet...
Review: ...Now, admittedly, I'm only halfway through the series. I've read _Black Heart, Ivory Bones_ and _Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears_, liked them both for the most part, and yet this volume (second in the series, chronologically) tops them both. There are so many wonderful stories...here are some of the highlights: "Stronger Than Time", a poignant take on Sleeping Beauty, sad yet hopeful. "Somnus' Fair Maid", Sleeping Beauty again; this time it's a delightful Regency romp. No supernatural elements, but plenty of magic. "The Brown Bear of Norway", a touching teen romance between a lonely girl and her mysterious pen pal. "Tattercoats"--this is what comes _after_ "happily ever after". The Princess has been married to her beloved for ten years, and their marriage has become a dull routine...but she is going to fight for it, with the help of three magical gifts. Sexy, sexy, very sexy, and also made me cry. "Godson", in which a young man has the Grim Reaper himself as a mentor. They fall out over whether certain people should be spared. Darkly comic; the ending is hilarious. "The Black Swan"--seems to be a blend of Cinderella, Swan Lake, and Pygmalion. A pretentious serving-man trains an awkward princess in social graces and gives her a makeover; this story is both a heartbreaking tale of shapeshifting, and a barbed commentary on beauty standards of any time. And the trouble is, I just know I'm going to think of three more stories I loved as soon as I log off the computer. BUY THIS BOOK. All these incredible stories, and cheap! LOL...
Rating: 
Summary: Another Great One
Review: Another great one from the team of Datlow and Windling. The magic and beauty of popular fairy tales with new twists and adult themes. I especially liked Midori Snyder's "Tattercoats". For some reason, of all of this 'series" I would say this is my least favorite, with many stories being confusing, but being the least favorite of these books still places it high above many others.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great One
Review: Another great one from the team of Datlow and Windling. The magic and beauty of popular fairy tales with new twists and adult themes. I especially liked Midori Snyder's "Tattercoats". For some reason, of all of this 'series" I would say this is my least favorite, with many stories being confusing, but being the least favorite of these books still places it high above many others.
Rating: 
Summary: More information:
Review: BLACK THORN, WHITE ROSE was a finalist for the 1995 World Fantasy Award. For more information on this and other "adult fairy tale" collections, please visit the Endicott Studio web site.
Rating:
Summary: Adult Fairy Tales... are Good!
Review: Black Thorn, White Rose, is an interesting book. I am a big fan of authors that have enough creativity to create adult books by using our childhood fairy-tales. If you are a fan of fairy tales then I would recommend you read all of Ellen Datlow's books. They are interesting stories with characters that we have all grown up with but with an adult twist and a little adult humor. I would not recommend that children read this book. I hope that this helps... =-)
Rating:
Summary: Adult Fairy Tales... are Good!
Review: Black Thorn, White Rose, is an interesting book. I am a big fan of authors that have enough creativity to create adult books by using our childhood fairy-tales. If you are a fan of fairy tales then I would recommend you read all of Ellen Datlow's books. They are interesting stories with characters that we have all grown up with but with an adult twist and a little adult humor. I would not recommend that children read this book. I hope that this helps... =-)
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the first effort
Review: Having read Snow White, Blood Red, I couldn't wait to pick up the second volume of this magical series. Black Thorn, White Rose, while wonderful and disarming, wasn't up to the first book's par. However, there is a saving grace in this book. Jane Yolen's retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" is quite brilliant - it does Nancy Kress's original story justice. I must say that the other retellings are rather weak. I haven't given up on this series, but I hope that the third volume is as good as Snow White, Blood Red.
Rating:
Summary: OK
Review: I have to say I liked "Snow White, Blood Red" a lot more than this one. SWBR was edgier, more chilling, and with more beautiful storytelling. I was bored during a lot of this book, disappointingly, and only a few stories stuck out. And the stories were so different from each other, there was no "theme" to the book, which I guess is the point. But placing beautiful, heart-wrenching stories like "The Black Swan","The Brown Bear of Norway", and "Tattercoats" with disgusting, obnoxious tales like "Ashputtle" and dull, monotonous stories like "The Sawing Boys" was too much of a contrast for my taste. I'm going to keep collecting the series, but I hope the other books are better than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Once upon a time fairy tales were for adults
Review: Many people don't realize that the fairy tales we grew up on were not always stories aimed at children. As is discussed in the forward of this book, the original fairy tales were frequently much darker and disturbing than the ones we are familiar with today. Sleeping Beauty, for example, is not brought awake by the chaste kiss of Prince Charming but rather the suckling of the twin babies she has born, having been impregnated by the less-than-charming prince while she slept. It was only during the Victorian period, when realism became the fashion, that these stories were relegated by men to the domain of women and children, being sanitized in the process so as not to upset the more delicate sensibilities. This anthology, along with its companion volumes, returns the fairy tale to its roots. In doing so it strikes a chord deep within us. The stories contained within are both familiar and strange at the same time. Because of this they are sometimes eerily disturbing, sometimes heart-wrenchingly poignant, always entertaining. The one drawback of this collection, as with any anthology, is that style and quality vary according to author. The good news is that most of these stories are very well written and if you run across one you don't like, you can always move on to the next. If you're looking for something enjoyable to read, you could do far worse than this collection. Overall I strongly recommend this book.
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