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emily_mh's review against another edition
4.0
This anthology was definitely out of my comfort zone, considering I generally don’t like paranormal romances. But I’m so glad I picked it up! It ended up being a really solid read with lots of creativity. My favourites were A Thousand More and If You Give an Asura a Cookie. My least favourite was Once Upon a Time in Charleston. As a side note, the audiobook was great, apart from for the last story, which I’ll explain.
My individual reviews for each story are as follows:
Undead Ghoul Meet-Cute by Kendare Blake: the age gap was kind of weird and unnecessary. The concept was good though, similar to the movie Before Sunrise. I appreciated that the focus was more on Marie coming to terms with her existence, with the emotions she had about her life being cut short before she had the adventures she wanted.
A Thousand More by Chloe Gong: I love the soulmates trope so this was an instant hit with me. Couple it with demisexual rep and a boarding school setting and it’s understandable why this was one of my favourites! The devotion between Tally and Nate was wonderful, and I loved the glimpses of Chinese history we got through the narration of their past love stories.
Who Will Save Me by Julian Winters: this was another story with a slightly odd and unnecessary age gap. But I liked that even though it was from an angel’s perspective the angel wasn’t stereotypically brooding or something. The romance was fairly cute but the best part was the queer found family, the support Eli, Micah and Zion gave one another. There was also some quick and clever world building regarding fallen angels and The Guide.
In the Eyes of Angels by Alexis Henderson: in terms of editing, I don’t think this should have been placed directly after another fallen angel story. But this was a great instalment in the anthology! I loved the writing style. It was melancholy but the actual story didn’t end that way at all. It had a hopeful and regenerative ending.
My Demon Prince Charming by Sandhya Menon: this was sweet and fun! A very classic YA demon romance vibe. I don’t think it needed the “we were meant to be together” thing, that felt a little forced, and I think it could have done with more plot direction.
Katrine and Rowan’s Exit Interview by Sarah Gailey: okay this was fascinating but I also have no idea what happened. I did think that the love story between Katrine and Rowan was nice though! It seemed very caring. Rowan was also a great character to follow.
Bride-Heart by Marie Rutkoski: Rutkoski is a problematic author in my view, so I’m not reviewing this story.
If You Give an Asura a Cookie by Akshaya Raman: I loved this one. It has a wonderful You’ve Got Mail kind of storyline, and I’m a sucker for secret identity twists! I loved how much the MCs taught each another and grew together. Their connection, built as it was over years, was super believable.
Kiss the Boy by Adib Khorram: I think this would have worked better as a full-length novel because while I loved the concept, I had a hard time believing in their MCs’ connection considering it was only built over two short dates!
Piano Sonata No. 13 by Kalynn Bayron: I thought the ending was kind of abrupt but I loved Bayron’s creativity. I loved how sapphic women were centred and had so much power over predatory men.
Once Upon a Time in Charleston by Melissa de la Cruz: you know the drill. I don’t think stories that build off an author’s other work belong in an unrelated anthology, and that is what this story was. It was also kind of meh and lacking in the supernatural department, although I did appreciate that the narrative showed how you don’t have to stick with tradition for tradition’s sake.
Pierce My Soul by Kat Cho: in terms of editing, this shouldn’t have been place after another vampire story (not that the previous story was particularly supernatural, as aforementioned). But this was nice!! I like a second-chance romance and this was one well done, the supernatural element being central to the story.
Bones and Blessings by Hafsah Faizal: I like Faizal’s writing style, and appreciated that the story didn’t feel rushed in any way. The ending is hopeful but also doesn’t try to assert that the two MCs, who have just met each other, are desperately in love, which I liked. A standout quote for me was: “…the word man was never meant to be synonymous with monster.”
Bloody, Lovely by Casey McQuiston: This is the third and final story with a slightly weird and unnecessary age gap. But it had a really original twist on the Bloody Mary story and a super satisfying conclusion. I liked how the MC underwent character development in figuring out they were trans.
La Bruja and La Sirena by Anna-Marie McLemore: unfortunately this story was ruined for me by the poor audiobook narration. I genuinely did not realise this was dual POV until about halfway through the story, by which point I was utterly confused. And realising the format of the story actually didn’t end up helping, as the issue was that the narrator didn’t audibly differentiate between the two POVs. From what I can gather, this story gave a new take on the siren/sea witch relationship (i.e. reconceptualising the dynamics of Ariel and Ursula), which I thought was cool. I also liked the idea of rapidly switching dual POVs, even if I couldn’t enjoy it here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Violence, Domestic abuse, Murder, Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Classism, Grief, War, Transphobia, Slavery, Car accident, Child abuse, Stalking, Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Deportation, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Sexism, Animal death, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Drug use, Racism, Misogyny, Body horror, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicide, and Vomit
Minor: loss of a loved one, epidemic, mention of foster care, explosion, self injury, menstruation, divorce, drought, childbirthsapphicfog's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
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