Laini Taylor

Three short stories about kissing, featuring elements of the supernatural.

three times

Lips touch

zaynah

okay – it’s been insane reading this at the other end of the 'i read this absolutely AGES ago' spectrum where it was less of an i-have-zero-memory-of-this thing and more of an i-would’ve-died-for-this-book-as-a-kid kinda deal. i mean like. first of all it was a little embarrassing i was like omfg there’s kissing this is too stressful for me. like what does it say about me that vaguely compromising social situations are my kryptonite (negative connotation) like i can handle anything in books but this just fucking kills me tbh – ONE TRUE WEAKNESS!! BOOM... FATALITY. but this book was okay like it was nice like i liked it i think it was actually well written and it paid homage to so many interesting things but like 1) i kind of feel the constant comparison to whatever was in my memory dulled it 2) i think only some parts had the kind of lovely, well crafted, synchronous spark that gorgeous poetry/descriptive prose often has. but i am realising that that in itself is closer to the heart of it – i think this book could be read for the beauty of its prose, sure, but sometimes that’s really just surface level and there’s wayyyy more to it. okay i’m actually a little excited to talk about this – now that i’m thinking about it, i do realise there’s a lot more to be said than i’d initially assumed, so:



  GOBLIN FRUIT. 


goblin fruit has this wild wantingness i adore hearing and reading about but it was the shame that initially put me off, like – it's something i can’t relate to anymore and i think that’s a natural progression from the kid i used to be reading this book, and i’m fine with that tbh. and the – type of sexuality present within was also something i think i would’ve related more to back then. and i say this not at all as a criticism (i think taking it as a plus point really elevates the reading experience actually, which i'll get to in a bit) because sure, i genuinely think this book does pretty damn well in terms of diversity, but here it was? heterosexual, too reactionary to the male-gaze, like a sultry version of manic pixie dream girl, too straying to the feminine (in a weird way, like in a strange limbo of liberated but still defined by binary) for me. like it was daring to an extent but still not-like-other-girls. and i deadass think it’s intentional like look i don't know laini taylor’s views on representation in this sense or how she does it normally, but this kind of still-tragic reconciliation to the existence of male desire and the schrodinger’s future transformation of kizzy into a woman who has power, sure, but it’s still subversive, still making her the object of desire with this overwhelming paradoxical un-caringness that cannot be truly free and genuine just by how cinematic, dramatic, constructed it is! the femme fatale, the wild woman, the sexual being! – that is like. both slightly off putting and brilliantly fitting in with the narrative. like this has got to be on purpose, it is so intriguing.

and look: i am not necessarily fond of this story like the rest; it’s interesting, most definitely, but it’s just a little sad to me, a little off putting – and, in my opinion, this discomfort is what makes this story so absolutely brilliant. i think i could go on for ages about this, and how this is not a cautionary tale but one more faithful to kizzy, really, and how this condition – desperate want, power in desperation – is so quintessentially teenage girl, and so deserving of love and kindness. i think being ashamed of what kizzy represents is still falling prey to the same shame she does — being ashamed of what a sphere of your world has made you. i think this story ends on a note completely lacking of any moralising, and one where the onus of thought is passed onto the reader with intention, with clear-sightedness – extoll the constricted safety of the grandmother, or gather up and embrace kizzy’s foolishness, her dreaming, her wild, desperate, petty-but-not desires? i used to wish kizzy hadn’t done it, but like. i’m thinking more and more now that that magnificent selfishness was her taking of power – like i like that she’s giving into desire, like you know, fuck it; a final act of faithfulness to the limitless, hungering girl at the core of her. it’s a concept i’ve found in romeo and juliet – like, why shouldn't the young be extreme, be emotional and reckless and desperate and foolish? why are we so obsessed with maturity being imposed on us when it isn't fair? for all intents and purposes, why shouldn’t kizzy want to kiss a boy who wants her? why shouldn't she be hungry, why not, why not? and okay – as a person, sure, like i don’t agree with these life choices lol like i’m not gonna tell you to be stupid if it puts you in danger BUT but looking at this as a literary work, when everything is theoretical (if still like. representative and real in that sense i guess) then i am so a proponent of kizzy being stupid and daring and bright and tragic and burning and YOU KNOW!! and look at the complexity of the trap she falls/walks into not being kind of a static construction but something that exists in context, right? like is it even a trap? if the end was worth it? was the end worth it – you could argue that it was, isn’t it so transformative, isn't being the recipient of any type of hunger so powerful, so validating for a teenage girl? do the ‘you shouldn’t be, it shouldn’t be this way’s invalidate the realities of actually living in the shape of a teenager (this is why her family is shown with such frustration, such antagonism – there’s this disconnect that isn’t bridged by them as well – look at the wariness her grandmother has for female desire, the nigh suspicion existing alongside love? gosh). in retrospect: i didn't think so at first. but this story is kind of brilliant. 


  SPICY LITTLE CURSES

i liked this one a lot. i thought it was really cute actually. it was sweet, it was emotional, striking, whatever. i liked it. i need to post this review omfg i actually liked this one the most i think but i have no thoughts in my mind i’m gonna reread and come back and edit this review. like i think it was so sweet.


  HATCHLING

this one was SO. IT WAS SUPER GOOD YES BUT GOD. LIKE. THE ISSUE I HAVE WITH IT IS THAT. it was brilliant but also fucking horrifyingggg and i didn't realise it when i first read it and i think taylor does acknowledge that, but like, the horror and grief of it, the sheer greatness of how terrible the events were should have eclipsed the narrative more than it did i think? maybe it’s just the way i read it. i thought it was an immensely powerful piece, but i also feel it could've been like – more cohesively brought full circle. more grounded in its impact, more staggering. like god what happened to mab was heartbreaking and horrifying on the deepest fucking level, and then the blow of the connection between her daughter and you-know-who? (too lazy to mark this review a spoiler lawl). and the complexity of um micah? what is his name omfg … the way he’s actually like. a terrible person but extremely human, and seeing that guy whose name starts with Y i hate this wtf i forgot everyone’s names BUT YEAH seeing how kind and amazingly warmhearted he was is such a brilliant juxtaposition such a complex web of pain and love and tragedy and humanity and the lack thereof, and just irrecoverable, inconciliable rejection or panicked automatic aversion to something like at your CORE but that not being possible and ARGH yeah it’s got that depth of thought that i like. i liked that about it. it did have some weird parts and it just god it didn't shore itself up enough i feel!!! i’m sorry but the scenes post the daughter being taken to that place by that guy? like YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN… those were so freaking weird i was like omfg acknowledge how weird this is but that didn’t happen as explicitly as i would've liked i guess. this is so not eloquent i know i wrote a freakish amount for goblin fruit but it’s just like – everything i can talk about is a spoiler and also even though that whole ecosystem of dynamics is complex it’s still pretty clear about the fact that it’s complicated yaknow? so if you’ve read it you can probably guess what i’m talking about. but i like how time was done – in terms of narrative, in terms of generations, in terms of personal development, etc. i think it’s pretty integral to the story and to the concept of memory, which builds structure, and all of that is so cyclical and so interdependent. like that’s pretty cool.

Jeff James

This is a collection of three novellas with a few common themes: female protagonists, fairy tale creatures and a twist that turns on a kiss.

I read Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone all the way back in 2012, and I’d forgotten how evocative her writing is. Everything feels lush and dangerous and full of import, even if the stakes seem to be nothing more than a teenage crush.

It is long past time for me to finish the DoS&B trilogy, but this collection was an excellent appetizer.

Barbara Kovács

I don't know, what should I say now..
I like the first 150 pages, but I did not liked the ending, and the third story.
I think the second was the best.
When I was reading the first, I thought that Kizzy will die, she did not care about goblins..poor girl.
But the second one was REALLY interesting and exciting. I loved it. I lived it. It was cool.
I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars, because I just liked the second story. Sorry, I thought it will get better. :(

Leah Patton

Well, finished it and first thought, as always, is that I just stepped out of Laini Taylor's three worlds and back into my own yet again. Taylor has a way of thinking of things that I would never ever think of without her book's prodding and writing them in a way that I would never ever write. It works quite well with us as I am constantly getting awed and pulling my eyes from the page to further think on something. I imagine it like opposite writing styles attract. Each story was something that I'm sure you've never read, so if your looking for unique, then this is your book. Also the romance in each book was great.

I don't have much to say about this book, because it was simply excellent.

But if I do have to say something, Ms. Taylor, it would be that your writing is simply gorgeous.

This was definitely better than the first introduction I received to your writing, Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Of the three stores within this book, however, I found myself enjoying the second one the most.

But, yeah. It was great.

Carley Whitehead

With a deep, visceral ache, she wished her true form might prove to be a sleek and shining one, like a stiletto blade slicing free of an ungainly sheath. Like a bird of prey losing its hatching fluff to hunt in cold, magnificent skies. That she might become something glittering, something startling, something dangerous.



  He learned what quickens human hearts, how the touch of lips could make two lovers slip into a niche between moments to time rushes past them. He learned that a kiss could bring his almost-memories closer than anything else, but still not close enough to catch. It was sweet and bitter and maddening.


I'll literally ready anything Laini Taylor writes.

Alaia

I don’t know what to tell you, folks. As a lover of dark, almost-fairytales, I was expecting to love this collection, but I didn’t. 

There was a certain sultry whimsicality Laini Taylor maintained over each story that I liked, but as for the stories themselves, they fell flat to me. They lacked substance to me.

Part of the reason for this could be that they’re very short stories, but short stories can pack a punch when done well, and these were all...eh.

Goblin Fruit was too short to really make me feel anything. Kizzy was okay, I guess? 

Spicy Little Curses was definitely the most forgettable of the three, and I think Laini Taylor tried to pack too much plot and world-building into a short story. Again, I didn’t really feel anything.

Hatchling was....strange. The longest one, the most memorable, but strange. I can’t tell what it is, and I don’t think it knows what it is either. It’s not really a love story, though it may attempt to be. It’s not a cautionary tale, or a dark fairytale, or an adventure. This story is quite bizarrely random and doesn’t have much of a message to it. I don’t know. It’s strange. I didn’t hate it, but I definitely didn’t love it. 

3 stars overall.

Maria

I can't get over two things:

1) How good the writing is. I mean, it's Laini so it's supposed to, but you guys, it's even better than usual. Surprisingly, it's simpler. Doesn't have all these big words you have to look up when you're reading a Laini Taylor's book (if English is not your native language). But yeah, it makes it even better.

2) How smart and well-done the stories are. Well, the first not so much - it's short and kind of obvious, though still really really nice. But the second and especially the third - 'Hatchling' - are like 'wow, how could such a thing come to anyone's head'. Incredibly good.

Everyone dreams of getting the kiss of a lifetime - but what if that kiss carried some unexpected consequences? A girl who's always been in the shadows finds herself pursued by the unbelievably attractive new boy at school, who may or may not be the death of her. Another girl grows up mute because of a curse placed on her by a vindictive spirit, and later must decide whether to utter her first words to the boy she loves and risk killing everyone who hears her if the curse is real. And a third girl discovers that the real reason for her transient life with her mother has to do with belonging - literally belonging - to another world entirely.

Three Times

Lips Touch

Becky

This book was not what I expected when I bought the short story collection. I think after reading Taylor's short story in My True Love Gave To Me I was expecting shorter stories like she did as part of that collection, so when I was reading the stories were not short little twenty minute escapes, they took longer and were more in depth.

One of my biggest complaints with other short story collections is that I want more, that the stories don't give me enough story, you don't have this issue with Lips Touch. There are just three stories to the collection, they are rather in depth, the first is quick and short, a taster of whats to come. And then you get two morw multichapter ventures. One thing I must say to you is if you want nice happily ever afters, this is not the collection for you. These stories are dark, there is no good and bad, just black and white andbad choices or worse ones. The characters can be selfish and they can do the wrong thing and they are human.

After reading the DoSaB trilogy by Taylor you come to expect that nothing is going to be happy and bright, good is not clear, nor is bad. The same is true from these collections, people are just doing the best with what they are given in the stories, and you understand when people act stupidly because people are flawed.

I think my favourite part of these stories is that the explore so many different things, there are folktale elements to the stories, and look at ancient religions and there is a whole world of mythology being used in them. Taylor even acknowledges how she has taken various elements of different religions and manipulated them to how she wished to use them. Whilst it may not all be accurate, it sure makes interesting and unique storytelling.

I really enjoyed the collection, but it certianly isn't what you expect, and that can sometimes be the best thing for books. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys mythology and folktales because you get the best of both in these three stories.

Nikki K

Spicy Little Curses was my favourite! 
I loved parts of Hatchling but the swathes of exposition got a little much for me to enjoy it all. But the end was so lovely.

Emily

Well, well, well, here we are again. Laini Taylor really knows how to transport someone to another world and make it feel real. How she manages to do this within short stories, I cannot fathom, but she does so masterfully. 

The first story, Goblin Fruit is definitely the most basic of the bunch, but the writing truly elevates it from the generic YA paranormal it could be. Seriously.

Kizzy wanted to be a woman who would dive off the prow of a sailboat into the sea, who would fall back in a tangle of sheets, laughing, and who could dance a tango, lazily stroke a leopard with her bare foot, freeze an enemy's blood with her eyes, make promises she couldn't possibly keep, and then shift the world to keep them. She wanted to write memoirs and autograph them at a tiny bookshop in Rome, with a line of admirers snaking down a pink-lit alley. She wanted to make love on a balcony, ruin someone, trade in esoteric knowledge, watch strangers as coolly as a cat. She wanted to be inscrutable, have a drink named after her, a love song written for her, and a handsome adventurer's small airplane, champagne-christened Kizzy, which would vanish one day in a windstorm in Arabia so that she would have to mount a rescue operation involving camels, and wear an indigo veil against the stinging sand, just like the nomads.
Kizzy wanted.

Now THAT is how you portray a character. What could have been a basic human girl vs. goblin story became a true work of art.

The second story was definitely even better. It follows a woman who's the ambassador to Hell, and a girl who has never spoken in fear of killing all those around her. She'd been cursed as a child, due to a deal the ambassador could not pass up to save the lives of many others, and now she can never speak lest she want to risk the death of those she loves. That is, until she meets James, the man who falls in love with her writing and holds no fear of her voice. And from there, chaos ensues.

The depiction of Hell in this story really reminded me of the Underworld in Disney's Hercules; the imagery was truly stunning. And the ending was so, so strong.

The last story however. Wow. This one nearly left me speechless. 

'Is that all souls are for? For when we die?'
'No. They're for living, too.'

This piece, Hatchling is extravagant. It's lush and harrowing and will leave me reeling for the next few days I'm sure. It's about the Druj, a demonlike, immortal people who keep humans as pets and can inhabit them whenever they choose. It follows Esmé and her mother Mab as they fear being hunted by the Druj again, the very people who took so much life from Mab as a child. 

This story drew in some of the most fascinating themes I've ever read about. It discusses the true meaning of humanity, life, souls, and what it means to be fleeting, what it means to remember. Mihai strives to regain the feeling of life after becoming immortal, after becoming Druj, and it's through this journey, and how it intersects with that of Mab and Esmé, that everything is revealed.

You practically fall straight into this reality, into the world of Mihai and the Druj, and may find yourself, in a shocking turn of events, empathizing with demons. Demons who make you come to terms with your own humanity.

On top of all of these incredible stories, this book also features beautiful illustrations done by Jim Di Bartolo. A unique aspect about them is that they come before and after the story, and are essential to the reading experience. They can essentially serve as a prologue of sorts, and pieces fall into place as you read more into the story, connecting the dots to the images you have already seen, enhancing the reading experience even further, essentially "reminding" you of memories you forgot you had. This really made the stories feel real; recalling these images mirror that of the character's realizations. 

If you have yet to read from Laini Taylor, or are a longtime fan, this truly is a must-read. Her writing is extraordinary, and I haven't read anything like it. I cannot wait to see what she does next.

Anastaciya

Laini Taylor's writing is something... flowery, yet not sickly sweet, adds quite nicely to the whimsy of the stories

Elad Schulman

For the most part, I really enjoyed this! Each story was unique, and incredibly whimsical. I loved how the illustrations translated directly to the story, as well. And it didn't hurt that the illustrations were pretty incredible. Laini Taylor's writing is incredibly poetic, and even if the stories sucked, this book would be amazing, if only because of the writing! I am excited to see what else Laini Taylor writes in the future, and I most definitely will be reading it!

Jane Eyre

Vicky  Nuñez 

In Victorian times, goblins offered sumptuous fruits in exchange for maidens' souls... and were usually successful. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy young women? Discover the answer in GOBLIN FRUIT. In SPICY LITTLE CURSES a demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test the curse placed upon her. And in HATCHLING, six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

Lips touch three times

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