tamimae's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Collection of Short Stories? Check. Stories about magical food or the love of food? Check. Filipino witches who cook sinigang?? CHECK. This book was tailor made for me. Filled with stories about love, magic, and most importantly… food.
renel's review against another edition
First of all, not going to rate the book as a whole because some stories were a big hit and others just a miss. I really liked that the characters of the different stories kept reappearing throughout the different stories in the book.
What I didn’t like was that the stories were different genres. I expected contemporary stories but there were also fantasy and mystery-ish stories as well. Most were contemporary but there were a few other genres and they just felt SO out of place. These weren’t bad necessarily but for me personally I dont think they belonged in this this anthology.
I’m either rating these 5, 3 or 1 stars (so a simple like, mediocre or dislike) because they’re short stories so there isn’t enough content to make these more specific and I dont have time for that
Rain ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kings and queens ⭐️
The grand ishq adventure ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sugar and spite ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Moments to return ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The slender one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gimme some sugar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The missing ingredient ⭐️
Hearts a la carte ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bloom ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A beautiful film ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Side work ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Panaderia pasteleria ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What I didn’t like was that the stories were different genres. I expected contemporary stories but there were also fantasy and mystery-ish stories as well. Most were contemporary but there were a few other genres and they just felt SO out of place. These weren’t bad necessarily but for me personally I dont think they belonged in this this anthology.
I’m either rating these 5, 3 or 1 stars (so a simple like, mediocre or dislike) because they’re short stories so there isn’t enough content to make these more specific and I dont have time for that
Rain ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kings and queens ⭐️
The grand ishq adventure ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sugar and spite ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Moments to return ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The slender one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gimme some sugar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The missing ingredient ⭐️
Hearts a la carte ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bloom ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A beautiful film ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Side work ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Panaderia pasteleria ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
venusfawn's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to love this book; I mean it’s an anthology based around food. Sadly, most of the stories felt very flat to me but what really ruined this anthology was the wild lack of cohesion.
Once I began reading I realized that all the stories were set in the same town, and were supposed to be interconnected. Every story referenced a person or place from another story. This in itself is a really cool idea for an anthology, but the genres in this book were all over the place. There was magical realism and straight contemporary, and then horror and fantasy and violent drama. This would’ve been fine if the goal wasn’t an interwoven collection of stories. There was a story featuring ghosts, and another that had honest to god superheroes. It felt completely out of left field and was a bit confusing to read among the other stories.
My very favorite stories in this were Kings and Queens by Elsie Chapman and The Missing Ingredient by Rebecca Roanhorse; though as much as I liked them I have to admit they didn’t quite fit in with the other stories that well either. They were the best written and most interesting of them all though, in my opinion. Rain by Sangu Mandanna was also very good. The rest to me were either a bit “meh,” and there were a couple I didn’t enjoy at all. I’m so disappointed that I didn’t love this, since I was really excited to read it.
Once I began reading I realized that all the stories were set in the same town, and were supposed to be interconnected. Every story referenced a person or place from another story. This in itself is a really cool idea for an anthology, but the genres in this book were all over the place. There was magical realism and straight contemporary, and then horror and fantasy and violent drama. This would’ve been fine if the goal wasn’t an interwoven collection of stories. There was a story featuring ghosts, and another that had honest to god superheroes. It felt completely out of left field and was a bit confusing to read among the other stories.
My very favorite stories in this were Kings and Queens by Elsie Chapman and The Missing Ingredient by Rebecca Roanhorse; though as much as I liked them I have to admit they didn’t quite fit in with the other stories that well either. They were the best written and most interesting of them all though, in my opinion. Rain by Sangu Mandanna was also very good. The rest to me were either a bit “meh,” and there were a couple I didn’t enjoy at all. I’m so disappointed that I didn’t love this, since I was really excited to read it.
bheidok15's review against another edition
1.0
The dullest anthology I've ever read. Definitely not nearly as good as I thought it would be.
jordancsmith16's review against another edition
4.0
A solid collection with the majority of the stories being enjoyable and memorable. The criss-crossing of the stories could get a little confusing, but also made it more fun.
linaria's review against another edition
3.0
It's not a BAD book, but it is an anthology so there are some caveats you should be aware of.
1. The quality of the writing varies a LOT between the authors. Some stories are definitely better than others. I really loved Rin Chupeco's story, but most of the others were just alright.
2. The writing reads pretty young in a lot of the stories. Some were a lot more middle grade than YA in my personal opinion.
3. Don't expect all the stories to be light and heart-warming. There are plenty that are not super happy stories.
4. It's an anthology, so the stories are SHORT, I've never been a huge fan of short stories since I'm here for the characters.
5. The depictions of food are probably the best part of the book, but the Hungry Hearts row seemed pretty unnaturally inserted into some of the stories.
6. The book definitely needed a much stronger editor. It doesn't come together very well, and the stories themselves are, at times, awkward.
All that being said, it was nice to see an anthology focused on diversity (and included food!). I didn't hate reading it, but I doubt I would want to read it again, other than a story or two. Your mileage may vary though.
1. The quality of the writing varies a LOT between the authors. Some stories are definitely better than others. I really loved Rin Chupeco's story, but most of the others were just alright.
2. The writing reads pretty young in a lot of the stories. Some were a lot more middle grade than YA in my personal opinion.
3. Don't expect all the stories to be light and heart-warming. There are plenty that are not super happy stories.
4. It's an anthology, so the stories are SHORT, I've never been a huge fan of short stories since I'm here for the characters.
5. The depictions of food are probably the best part of the book, but the Hungry Hearts row seemed pretty unnaturally inserted into some of the stories.
6. The book definitely needed a much stronger editor. It doesn't come together very well, and the stories themselves are, at times, awkward.
All that being said, it was nice to see an anthology focused on diversity (and included food!). I didn't hate reading it, but I doubt I would want to read it again, other than a story or two. Your mileage may vary though.
holls_marie28's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I really love the idea of this short story collection and how all the stories connected in small ways or overlaps. I personally was drawn towards more of the spooky and twisty stories compared to the more coming of age ones but overall I really enjoyed reading it and it was a great way to try out a bunch of new to me authors
mora55's review against another edition
First of all, I now want to go out and try all the foods mentioned here, as well as like... every different cuisine I've never tried, full stop. I loved the exploration of how food can be magical and have so much meaning, and how it's so important to cultures and connection.
I didn't know going in that these stories were all interconnected and set in a neighborhood called Hungry Hearts Row, and I though that was so cute and fun! I liked seeing mentions of different characters popping up in different stories and wonder how much work it took to weave these authors' stories together like that, especially since there are so many different genres in here as well.
As with most anthologies, I liked some of the stories more than the rest, and some of them just didn't do it for me. Overall, though, I enjoyed it! My favorite story was "Side Work" by Sara Farizan.
(Also, CW at The Quiet Pond actually went out to try different foods from this book, and it was a delightful blog post to read! https://thequietpond.com/2019/06/25/welcome-to-cws-hungry-hearts-food-crawl-where-i-tried-food-and-cuisine-from-this-delicious-anthology/)
I didn't know going in that these stories were all interconnected and set in a neighborhood called Hungry Hearts Row, and I though that was so cute and fun! I liked seeing mentions of different characters popping up in different stories and wonder how much work it took to weave these authors' stories together like that, especially since there are so many different genres in here as well.
As with most anthologies, I liked some of the stories more than the rest, and some of them just didn't do it for me. Overall, though, I enjoyed it! My favorite story was "Side Work" by Sara Farizan.
(Also, CW at The Quiet Pond actually went out to try different foods from this book, and it was a delightful blog post to read! https://thequietpond.com/2019/06/25/welcome-to-cws-hungry-hearts-food-crawl-where-i-tried-food-and-cuisine-from-this-delicious-anthology/)
lilia493's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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
5.0
emerrick's review against another edition
4.0
This was really good!!! Highly recommend.
Diverse characters and authors talking about the various forms of love in their lives. More than one made me cry, and others I'm still thinking about almost a week later
Diverse characters and authors talking about the various forms of love in their lives. More than one made me cry, and others I'm still thinking about almost a week later