noctadea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Sexual content
tornasunder's review against another edition
challenging
2.0
There was a lot of chaf to sort through to find a few lovely grains of wheat in this collection. On the whole not a very enticing or enjoyable experience, but there was a few standouts that I enjoyed.
If you have this in your TBR my advice is to listen to the reviews and pick out the key ones to read, or just skip it entirely.
My favourites were 'What Cheer' and 'No Comment'.
If you have this in your TBR my advice is to listen to the reviews and pick out the key ones to read, or just skip it entirely.
My favourites were 'What Cheer' and 'No Comment'.
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
I haven’t tried to read a short story anthology in quite a while. I’d’ve thought, given my fragmented ADHD attention span, that it would be right up my alley. Instead, without the heft of a novel or the coherent voice of a single-author collection, I just couldn’t grab onto anything here.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual harassment and Homophobia
ellie_gard_1998's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
2.5
Anthologies are difficult for me--the variety of included stories is so wide, and I felt that the compilers of this particular collection were not selective enough about the quality of the stories. At best, they were ingenious, clever, punchy; most were frankly mediocre and some were outright sloppily written and edited. I'll be honest and say I did not read every story included, but I feel I spent enough time with this anthology it can be marked "finished."
Favorites (4 stars and above):
"What Cheer," by RJ Edwards
"Satan, Are You There? It's Me, Laura," by Aisling Fae
"Imago," by Tristan Alice Nieto
Favorites (4 stars and above):
"What Cheer," by RJ Edwards
"Satan, Are You There? It's Me, Laura," by Aisling Fae
"Imago," by Tristan Alice Nieto
lokes's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
knitcowboy's review
adventurous
3.5
I wish this book had been better edited. Some of the stories are simply amazing, very well written, and thought provoking. Others are riddled with typos, are unreadable, or otherwise bad. Of course there are some stories that are kinda just meh.
The biggest problem really are the very bad stories, that are clearly written by someone who's not done a lot of writing, and have not received the help of a good editor who could guide them to write better. Or at least fix the very obvious typos. Really, I don't think I've ever read a book that has this many writing mistakes in it. Or mentions Tumblr so often (whats up with that lmao).
I wish I could give this a better rating, seriously some of the stories in here are amazing! But I just can't forgive the oh so very bad stories included too. I genuinely believe this book would have been so much better, if the editors had 1) been stricter about who gets to be included and 2) actually proofread anything.
My advice for people reading this book is to just skip the stories you find annoying to read, which are unreadable, or otherwise unenjoyable. Don't waste your time on the bad ones, because there are some genuine pearls within as well, and those are the ones this one is still worth reading!
The biggest problem really are the very bad stories, that are clearly written by someone who's not done a lot of writing, and have not received the help of a good editor who could guide them to write better. Or at least fix the very obvious typos. Really, I don't think I've ever read a book that has this many writing mistakes in it. Or mentions Tumblr so often (whats up with that lmao).
I wish I could give this a better rating, seriously some of the stories in here are amazing! But I just can't forgive the oh so very bad stories included too. I genuinely believe this book would have been so much better, if the editors had 1) been stricter about who gets to be included and 2) actually proofread anything.
My advice for people reading this book is to just skip the stories you find annoying to read, which are unreadable, or otherwise unenjoyable. Don't waste your time on the bad ones, because there are some genuine pearls within as well, and those are the ones this one is still worth reading!
chrismologos's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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
zabouncer's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25