Kirsty Logan's debut collection of short stories combines magic, fantasy and sexuality, all related in lush, descriptive prose. Across twenty stories, the author uses a wide range of narrative techniques, settings and time periods; some of the tales are a few paragraphs long, others far meatier. There is always an element of the fantastic, but Logan always links this to more recognisable depictions of love and lust. The collection reminded me of Lucy Wood's Diving Belles, which also splices mode...

Not read a short story collestion in ages.Really enjoyed this book.Great stories.

For me this book got better and better...or maybe I became more open minded to the alternative love fables. Some dark and some a clever twist on a classic. A collection of short stories, with some I adored (Tiger palace, Una and Coll are not friends, feeding,matryoshka) and some I could leave. Kirsty Logan has a magical way of describing a scene and a beautiful way of creating imperfectly perfect characters.

3.5 stars. I borrowed this from the Mitchell Library (which is, frankly, the most incredible bookish place I’ve ever visited). Having read both The Gracekeepers and A Portable Shelter, I already knew that I really enjoy Logan’s writing; she is creative and inventive, qualities which are often difficult to achieve, particularly in the field of contemporary fiction.As with a lot of the strong short story collections which I have come across, I did not adore every tale here, but I did admire them a...

This is my first book by Kirsty Logan, and I'm glad I decided to pick up this collection first. If I'm new to an author, I attempt to read their work chronologically, and this was a wonderful debut collection of short stories.I don't normally read much in the way of fairytales or magical realism, so this collection was a breath of fresh air. I thought it was very well written, with some really beautiful turns of phrase, and I tried to savour it because really I could have read through it in one

This was just so lovely! I liked all the stories :) coin operated boy and tiger palace were my favourites! :)

This relatively short book is packed full of stories. I wouldn't call them all fairytales though. Some are fairytale-like, some just have interesting magical elements, some remind me of Angela Carter's short stories. I really enjoyed this collection! The author has quite an imagination. Individual story ratings:- The Rental Heart - 3*Underskirts - 5*A Skulk of Saints - 3*The Last 3600 Seconds - 5*The Broken West - 4*Bibliophagy - 2*Coin-Operated Boys - 4*Girl #18 - 3*Una and Coll Are Not Friends...

‘’The more I loved him, the heavier my heart felt, until I was walking around with my back bent and my knees cracking from the weight of it.’’ Twenty stories, twenty masterpieces by one of the finest writers of our times. Twenty gems of self-discovery, sexuality, disillusionment, loss, womanhood, youth, and love. Love above all. Love in all its wonderful, adventurous, exciting, shuttering, violent, exhausting, tragic, hopeful forms. ‘’The hearts just clipped in, and as long as you remembere

Disconcerting, imaginative, diverse and unforgettable - I am not usually a fan of short stories, but Kirsty Logan’s writing is irresistably readable.

In her debut collection, The Rental Heart, Kirsty Logan mixes a steampunk aesthetic with magical realism and a raw sexual energy. The stories move backwards and forwards through time, taking in modern Scottish estates, fin-de-siecle Paris and medieval castles, offering multiple viewpoints and narrative styles. Above all, The Rental Heart is characterised by an audacious imagination.Logan’s prose is filled with vivid descriptions. One character is introduced as ‘dreadlocked, greeneyed, full of ve...

This was a wonderful read. It's kind of hard to explain or categorise this book - the words macabre, sinister and dark come to mind, but none are really accurate or sufficient.It's a strange, twisty mix of tales. There are dark tales peppered with happier ones. There's a sense of urgency and sadness about a lot of them. I don't really know how to explain them, but if you like fairytale-esque stories with a dark, modern twist, or if you're a fan of Angela Carter then you'd enjoy this book.

4.25/5. Kirsty Logan can do no wrong! I absolutely loved her other two books, The Gracekeepers and A Portable Shelter, and after now having read this one, her first short story collection, I can safely say that she's one of my absolute favourite authors.All of her stories incorporate some sort of fairytale element, a few read like rewrites from well-known fairytales, but most stem entirely from her own imagination, a few could be considered lesbian erotica (which isn't what I usually read, but s...

Some exquisitely lovely little tales in this collection. I would especially love to see the Disney film of Tiger Palace, where no one is "rescued" and the two women live happily ever after. The unrequited love retelling of Cinderella is also a hidden gem - a fresh retelling of Cinderella? Really? Could it be? (yes!) - though to be honest there is not a sour note to be found in the whole collection. Bittersweet, yes, and heartbreaking, but not sour. Some tales are better than others, and some are...

3.5-I thought this was beautifully written and some of the stories were gorgeous, but in general the collection didn't move me. This might be another case of hype raising my expectations too much. Sleeping Beauty, Coin-Operated Boys, and Matryoshka were probably my favorites.

4.5 stars. Delightful, sensual and mysterious. A fantastic collection.

Update March 12th: I am still thinking about some of the stories in this book a LOT, I just loved them so much .. Even thought about making the ranking higher but there were just too many stories I didn't like as much in here ..-----There were 5 star stories in here, and 2/3 star stories in here. I'm giving it 4 stars because I believe that even the 2/3 star stories will stick with me for a while, and I like that, and most of the stories were 4 to 5 stars.My favourite stories were the title stor...

About: The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales was written by Kirsty Logan and published in 2014. This is her debut collection of short stories and all have a touch of the magical and fairytalesque. They all feature tales of longing, lust or love in its various forms. Did I like it?: Sadly, I wasn’t totally thrilled with this collection. Although there were still stories that I liked. I had read The Gracekeepers previously which I adore, but this didn’t live up to that. However, this short story c...

Followers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of Kirsty Logan’s novel The Gloaming and when I am interested in an author, I try to buy everything they’ve published. Hence the reason why I’m reading The Rental Heart, which is Logan’s first short story collection.The problem is that I had high expectations and I was disappointed.It’s not that the stories are bad. Themes such as sexuality, notions of gender and general kookiness are present. Also these stories are tight and deliver, even the sho...

This is my favorite book I've read in a long time. Logan's prose is magical, gritty, and sexy. I was enraptured from the first page.

Torn between 3 and 4 stars with this book; it's difficult reviewing short story collections! Some were wonderful and definitely worthy of more, but others didn't do it for me. Overall some really enjoyable storytelling that included some great queer fairy tales.