The Underwater Ballroom Society

The Underwater Ballroom Society is a speculative fiction anthology containing stories with a variety of genres, prose styles, and themes but one shared element: each of them includes some sort of underwater ballroom.

My favorite story is “Spellswept” by Stephanie Burgis, a prequel to her Harwood Spellbook novellas with Amy as the main protagonist. Two stories unfold during a party in the Harwood's underwater ballroom: that of Amy and Jonathan's engagement and that of Cassandra's first public spellcasting. It's a delight from beginning to end, and I actually enjoyed it more than Snowspelled and Thornbound.

There were a few other gems in this anthology:

“The Queen of Life” by Ysabeau S. Wilce, an ode to the growth and wisdom that comes with age and experience with an eighty-two-year old woman as the hero

“Twelve Sisters” by Y.S. Lee, a sequel to the “Twelve Dancing Princesses” fairy tale in which the sisters try to correct their father's mistake in selecting the next king based on his ability to solve one mystery

“Penhallow Amid Passing Things” by Iona Datt Sharma, a well-written story about two women usually on opposite sides of the law who find themselves united for a common cause (with a bit of romance!)

Full Review on My Website