cavernism's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
reading_brooks's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
axel_p's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
My Ranking of the Short Stories
Bride-Heart by Marie Rutkoski
Katrine and Rowan's Exit Interview by Sarah Gailey
Who Will Save Me by Julian Winters
Undead Ghoul Meet-Cute by Kendare Blake
Bloody, Lovely by Casey McQuiston
A Thousand More by Chloe Gong
Once Upon a Time in Charleston by Melissa de la Cruz
Kiss the Boy by Adib Khorram
Banes and Blessings by Hafsah Faizal
If You Give an Asura a Cookie by Akshaya Raman
In the Eyes of Angels by Alexis Henderson
Pierce My Soul by Kat Cho
My Demon Prince Charming by Sandhya Menon
Piano Sonata No. 13 by Kalynn Bayron
La Bruja y la Sirena by Anne-Marie McLemore
Bride-Heart by Marie Rutkoski
Katrine and Rowan's Exit Interview by Sarah Gailey
Who Will Save Me by Julian Winters
Undead Ghoul Meet-Cute by Kendare Blake
Bloody, Lovely by Casey McQuiston
A Thousand More by Chloe Gong
Once Upon a Time in Charleston by Melissa de la Cruz
Kiss the Boy by Adib Khorram
Banes and Blessings by Hafsah Faizal
If You Give an Asura a Cookie by Akshaya Raman
In the Eyes of Angels by Alexis Henderson
Pierce My Soul by Kat Cho
My Demon Prince Charming by Sandhya Menon
Piano Sonata No. 13 by Kalynn Bayron
La Bruja y la Sirena by Anne-Marie McLemore
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Addiction, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Slavery, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Grief, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Murder
raavenreads's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVE anthologies and I’ve been dying to read this one for months. I was so happy when it was finally available to order at my library. The author list is slam-packed full of favorites.
My top 5 of these were:
Undead Ghoul Meet Cute- Kendare Blake
Who Will Save Me- Julian Winters
If You Give an Asura a Cookie- Akshaya Raman
Kiss the Boy- Adib Khorram
Bloody, Lovely- Casey McQuiston
Honestly, even though I liked those more then the others, they were all so much fun to read. I appreciated that they didn’t just use basic supernatural creatures in this book like vampires and werewolves. I learned a lot about different types of supernatural creatures from different countries and lore I’d never heard of before. I highly enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to more from the authors that I wasn’t familiar with.
My top 5 of these were:
Undead Ghoul Meet Cute- Kendare Blake
Who Will Save Me- Julian Winters
If You Give an Asura a Cookie- Akshaya Raman
Kiss the Boy- Adib Khorram
Bloody, Lovely- Casey McQuiston
Honestly, even though I liked those more then the others, they were all so much fun to read. I appreciated that they didn’t just use basic supernatural creatures in this book like vampires and werewolves. I learned a lot about different types of supernatural creatures from different countries and lore I’d never heard of before. I highly enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to more from the authors that I wasn’t familiar with.
allebasi80's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-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? It's complicated
4.25
1) Undead Ghoul Meet-Cute by kendare blake - 3/5; ghoul ghoul hunter; not bad, but not my type - struck me more as weird than anything else
2) A Thousand More by chloe gong - 4.5/5; reincarnated Chinese soulmates; kinda silly tone but also sweet and the actual lore was emotional
3) Who Will Save Me by julian winters - 3.75/5; guardian angel in love w/ charge's brother; enjoyable story with likeable characters but rather simple plot
4) In The Eyes of Angels by alexis henderson - 2.5/5; angel covered in eyes drops in; not my cup of tea
5) My Demon Prince Charming by sandhya menon - 3.5/5; summons demon as her date; not bad but not my type
6) Katrine and Rowan's Exit Interview by sarah gailey - 5/5; shipwrecked sailor and "sirens"; really cool structure (interviews), enjoyable characters and interesting plot
7) Bride-Heart by marie rutkowski - 4.25/5; marries a bride-heart monster; pretty good, very fairytale-feeling; built up a good story in a short time
8) If You Give an Asura a Cookie by ashkaya raman - 4/5; they're two asuras (like a demon), liked it a lot, esp the idea of feeling like an outsider; portrayed well
9) Kiss The Boy by adib khorram - 4.25/5; mermaid story; liked it a lot, rather simple feel-good story
10) Piano Sonata No.13 by kalynn baron - 5/5; demon summoned by music; this one was really cool, and I liked how it didn't pull punches by trying to make the characters "good"
11) Once Upon a Time in Charleston by melissa de la cruz - 4.5/5; really good atmosphere and interesting characters
12) Pierce My Soul by kat cho - 2.75/5; vampire hunter in love with vampire; fine but not my type
13) Banes and Blessings by hafsah faizal - 4/5; siren lures and drowns men; pretty cool as a supernatural story, not really good as a romance
14) Bloody, Lovely by casey mcquiston - 5/5; bloody Mary retelling; really weird premise but I loved the characters and the story was really engaging
15) La Bruja y la Sirena by anna-marie mclemore - 5/5; sea witch and mermaid retelling; love love love - great retelling, great characterizations, great plot, cool structure (alternating perspectives)
2) A Thousand More by chloe gong - 4.5/5; reincarnated Chinese soulmates; kinda silly tone but also sweet and the actual lore was emotional
3) Who Will Save Me by julian winters - 3.75/5; guardian angel in love w/ charge's brother; enjoyable story with likeable characters but rather simple plot
4) In The Eyes of Angels by alexis henderson - 2.5/5; angel covered in eyes drops in; not my cup of tea
5) My Demon Prince Charming by sandhya menon - 3.5/5; summons demon as her date; not bad but not my type
6) Katrine and Rowan's Exit Interview by sarah gailey - 5/5; shipwrecked sailor and "sirens"; really cool structure (interviews), enjoyable characters and interesting plot
7) Bride-Heart by marie rutkowski - 4.25/5; marries a bride-heart monster; pretty good, very fairytale-feeling; built up a good story in a short time
8) If You Give an Asura a Cookie by ashkaya raman - 4/5; they're two asuras (like a demon), liked it a lot, esp the idea of feeling like an outsider; portrayed well
9) Kiss The Boy by adib khorram - 4.25/5; mermaid story; liked it a lot, rather simple feel-good story
10) Piano Sonata No.13 by kalynn baron - 5/5; demon summoned by music; this one was really cool, and I liked how it didn't pull punches by trying to make the characters "good"
11) Once Upon a Time in Charleston by melissa de la cruz - 4.5/5; really good atmosphere and interesting characters
12) Pierce My Soul by kat cho - 2.75/5; vampire hunter in love with vampire; fine but not my type
13) Banes and Blessings by hafsah faizal - 4/5; siren lures and drowns men; pretty cool as a supernatural story, not really good as a romance
14) Bloody, Lovely by casey mcquiston - 5/5; bloody Mary retelling; really weird premise but I loved the characters and the story was really engaging
15) La Bruja y la Sirena by anna-marie mclemore - 5/5; sea witch and mermaid retelling; love love love - great retelling, great characterizations, great plot, cool structure (alternating perspectives)
redwhiteandroyalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a fun read overall. I enjoyed the paranormal vibes and I hadn't read any paranormal romance in a while so that was fun to experience again through these stories. I had only read from 4 authors in this before and had books on my TBR from others, so it was cool to read from some new authors. My favorites were A Thousand More by Chloe Gong, Katrine and Rowan's Exit Interview by Sarah Gailey, and Bloody, Lovely by Casey McQuiston. I have read from and enjoyed the last 2 authors, so those were expected. I also have been meaning to read These Violent Delights for a while so hopefully enjoying that story will push me to do that. There was nothing below a 3 star in this for me, but the majority of the stories were threes and I only had 3 fives so thats how I settled on that rating.