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nowthiskid's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
chaoticrebxl's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
pineapple_queen's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
carrionkid's review
4.0
Definitely one of the better anthologies I've read this year and I enjoyed the vast majority of the short stories. I think the roster was very carefully cultivated and I felt the editors did a great job of selecting the pieces.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Car accident, Death, Dysphoria, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
entamewitchlulu's review
5.0
Every so often I try to read an anthology again, which usually ends with me feeling vaguely disappointed. Luckily, this one didn't disappoint, which means I need to find better anthologies because this one was amazing.
My top three from this collection are The Ashes of Vivian Firestrike, Portrait of Three Women with an Owl, and 8-Bit Free Will, with an extremely close honorable mention from Monsters Never Leave You. All in all a very powerful collection full of some very thought-provoking stories.
My top three from this collection are The Ashes of Vivian Firestrike, Portrait of Three Women with an Owl, and 8-Bit Free Will, with an extremely close honorable mention from Monsters Never Leave You. All in all a very powerful collection full of some very thought-provoking stories.
mitchf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
balladofreadingqueer's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I wanted to like this short story collection more! Queer speculative fiction sounded amazing and some of it was but overall I didn’t love it. I really liked 3 of the stories. My favourites were A Voyage to Queensthroat, Thin Red Jellies and Monsters Never Leave you. voyage to queensthroat discusses fantasy worlds where there were planets that trans people could go to support their transition but rulers took over and saw them as unnatural. It follows to trans women as they try to save themselves, leave the planet they are on and go to Queensthroat. Thin Red Jellies follows to queer women in a relationship after one dies in a crash they inhabit the same body. The feeling of being trapped, not in control of your own body and more are explored. Finally the Monsters Never Leave You, feels like a Hansel and Greta fanfic where the house is enchanted the sister grows up and lives in the house and helps anyone who comes to her door including 2 young witches, one dead and one living.
readingsofaslinky's review
5.0
What an excellent book! Best read of 2021! This quenched my thirst for all things sci-fi, fantasy, and queer and filled spaces in my heart that I didn’t know were there. I recommend this to anyone and everyone. The writing is truly spectacular, and I thank each of the authors for the gifts they have given me w/ these stories.