Title: Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025 (Hearth Stories Book 4)
Author: J.C. Pillard, Erin Keating, Amanda Fetters, Alicia Adams, T.R. Steele, Kendra Recht, T.S. Weaver, and Christian Emecheta
Publisher: Heart Stories
Publication Date: June 18, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBTQ+, Romance, Historical
Length: About 110 pages.
Source: I received a free copy from the publisher.
Rating: 5 Stars
Blurb:
Hearth Stories is a speculative fiction magazine focused on cozy fantasy stories. Each issue features a letter from the editor, author bios and interviews, and wonderful stories focused on family, home life, connection, and the natural world.
This issue features the following stories:
A Different Kind of Worship by J.C. Pillard
The Washing Witch by Erin Keating
The Braided Lintel by Amanda Fetters
To the Scribe Who Reads This by Alicia Adams
No More Walls by T.S. Weaver
An Ordinary Love Story by Christian Emecheta
Content Warning: A terminal illness, aging, grief, and death.
Review:
Anything is possible when the forests are filled with the energy and life that summer brings.
In “A Different Kind of Worship,” a minor god named Salix sat at the bedside of his last worshipper, Ruldi. When Ruldi died, so would Salix, but for now they shared the same peaceful existence in a small home together. I adored Salix’s gentle and kind personality and was curious to discover how he would spend his final days. While I can’t discuss the plot twists in this story without sharing spoilers, I can say they were just as beautiful and meaningful as the protagonist was and I finished the final paragraph with a tear gleaming in my eye and a smile on my lips. This would have made an incredible short film!
The first sentence of “Fully Formed” in which the narrator explained that nobody wanted to let Rowan bury his golden apple beetle pupae in their gardens immediately piqued my curiosity. It seemed like such a minor favour to give that I couldn’t imagine saying no to it, but I wanted to learn more. This was an excellent example of how to include world building into a short story that entices the reader to keep going. While I can’t go into much detail about it without sharing spoilers, I can say that the folklore surrounding beetles and apple trees was particularly lovely.
The relationship between Linden and Marna in “An Ordinary Love Story” was sweet and gentle, but what drew me into this chapter of their lives even more deeply was the time they spent learning how to be healers. It was an apprenticeship that lasted about a year and included both herbal and magical remedies. This was the perfect combination of themes in my opinion, especially as their friendship began to evolve into something more than that and they needed to figure out how to break the news to their mentor.
Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025 was a well-written anthology that made me yearn for summer to begin.
Title: A Hundred Julys
The Ooze was a Christian message board created by Spencer Burke that existed about 20 years ago when the Internet was quite different from how it is today. It was a gathering place for all sorts of people who were trying to come up with better ways to live out their faith. I met some incredible people there, including my spouse!
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