ladyluan's review against another edition
2.0
1) Blood of Imuriv by Renee Ahdieh - 3 stars, kind of boring but good writing. The challenge was too specific and gave a good author not much to work with.
2) Jack by Ameriie - 3.5 stars, clever! A nice twist at the end.
3) Gwen & Art & Lance by Soman Chinani - 1 star. God this was beyond stupid and annoying.
4) Shirley & Jim by Susan Dennard - 3 stars, never really been a fan of the Holmes stuff but it was entertaining if a little dumb.
5) The Blessings of Little Wants by Sarah Enris - 3.5 stars, enjoyable! Almost gave it 4 stars but couldn't really care about the main characters enough.
6) The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer - 2 stars. Predictable, same as ever. Read "The Seafarer's Kiss" instead if you actually want a good retelling of this story.
7) Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon - 4 stars. This was so good! Really hit the nail on the head.
8) Death Knell by Victoria Schwab - 4.5 stars. The star of this anthology (but it's Victoria Schwab so duh).
9) Marigold by Samantha Shoman - 3.5 stars. Decent, entertaining.
10) You, You, It's All About You by Adam Silvera - 2.5 stars. I was going to give it 1.5 but the little twist at the end saved it a bit.
11) Julian Breaks Every Rule - 1.5 stars. Boring. Never made any sense.
12) Indigo & Shade by April Genevieve Tucholke - 3 stars. Nice take on the tale, little annoying though, I thought the setting was a bit misplaced.
13) Sera by Nicola Yoon - 2 stars. Juvenille, didn't make much sense.
Also, hate me if you want, but I didn't read any of the Booktuber's little inputs/useless insights after each story. They were truly pointless. Still rubs me the wrong way that they got to publish something like this in the first place without really any work behind it.
2) Jack by Ameriie - 3.5 stars, clever! A nice twist at the end.
3) Gwen & Art & Lance by Soman Chinani - 1 star. God this was beyond stupid and annoying.
4) Shirley & Jim by Susan Dennard - 3 stars, never really been a fan of the Holmes stuff but it was entertaining if a little dumb.
5) The Blessings of Little Wants by Sarah Enris - 3.5 stars, enjoyable! Almost gave it 4 stars but couldn't really care about the main characters enough.
6) The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer - 2 stars. Predictable, same as ever. Read "The Seafarer's Kiss" instead if you actually want a good retelling of this story.
7) Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon - 4 stars. This was so good! Really hit the nail on the head.
8) Death Knell by Victoria Schwab - 4.5 stars. The star of this anthology (but it's Victoria Schwab so duh).
9) Marigold by Samantha Shoman - 3.5 stars. Decent, entertaining.
10) You, You, It's All About You by Adam Silvera - 2.5 stars. I was going to give it 1.5 but the little twist at the end saved it a bit.
11) Julian Breaks Every Rule - 1.5 stars. Boring. Never made any sense.
12) Indigo & Shade by April Genevieve Tucholke - 3 stars. Nice take on the tale, little annoying though, I thought the setting was a bit misplaced.
13) Sera by Nicola Yoon - 2 stars. Juvenille, didn't make much sense.
Also, hate me if you want, but I didn't read any of the Booktuber's little inputs/useless insights after each story. They were truly pointless. Still rubs me the wrong way that they got to publish something like this in the first place without really any work behind it.
imashamedofmyoldreviews's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/4 stars in all
The Blood of Imuriv- 3.75/5
Jack- 3.5/5
Gwen and Art and Lance 1.5/5
Shirley and Jim- 1.5/5
The Blessing of Little Wants- 3.5/5
The Sea Witch- 5/5
Beautiful Venom- 2.75/5
Death Knell- 4.5/5
Marigold- 5/5
You, you, it's all about you- 4/5
Julian Breaks Every Rule- 3.75/5
Indigo and Shade- 1.5/5
Sera- 5/5
The Blood of Imuriv- 3.75/5
Jack- 3.5/5
Gwen and Art and Lance 1.5/5
Shirley and Jim- 1.5/5
The Blessing of Little Wants- 3.5/5
The Sea Witch- 5/5
Beautiful Venom- 2.75/5
Death Knell- 4.5/5
Marigold- 5/5
You, you, it's all about you- 4/5
Julian Breaks Every Rule- 3.75/5
Indigo and Shade- 1.5/5
Sera- 5/5
jillselwyn's review against another edition
3.0
This anthology was.... ok. I really wish I could have enjoyed each of the stories but I will specify which ones I really enjoyed and wanted more of:
Death Knell by Victoria Schwab
Marigold by Samantha Shannon
Indigo and Shade by April Genevive Tucholke
Everything else was fine or I strongly disliked. Funnily enough I've only read (well specifically listened to) one book of Victoria Schwab's and have yet to read either of the remaining authors on this small list.
I was surprised it took me so long to catch onto the fact that Indigo and Shade was a Gaston's POV Beauty and the Beast story and was even more surprised to nearly find myself crying at the end of the story. Marigold was just the kind of story I love and I found it hauntingly beautiful and brilliant at the same time. Death Knell was honestly simply fascinating.
If I were reviewing this book based on these three stories alone, five stars. But alas, I'm reviewing ten others alongside them and these were the ones that stood out.
Death Knell by Victoria Schwab
Marigold by Samantha Shannon
Indigo and Shade by April Genevive Tucholke
Everything else was fine or I strongly disliked. Funnily enough I've only read (well specifically listened to) one book of Victoria Schwab's and have yet to read either of the remaining authors on this small list.
I was surprised it took me so long to catch onto the fact that Indigo and Shade was a Gaston's POV Beauty and the Beast story and was even more surprised to nearly find myself crying at the end of the story. Marigold was just the kind of story I love and I found it hauntingly beautiful and brilliant at the same time. Death Knell was honestly simply fascinating.
If I were reviewing this book based on these three stories alone, five stars. But alas, I'm reviewing ten others alongside them and these were the ones that stood out.
bookwxrmvictoria's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.25
xalai's review against another edition
3.0
"The Blood of Imuriv" - 3 stars
"Jack" - 5 stars
"Gwen and Art and Lance" - 3.5 stars
"Shirley & Jim" - 3.5 stars
"The Blessing of Little Wants" - 2 stars
"The Sea Witch" - 3.75 stars
"Beautiful Venom" - 3 stars
"Death Knell" - 4 stars
"Marigold" - 3.5 stars
"You, You, It's All About You" - 3 stars
"Julian Breaks Every Rule" - 3.5 stars
"Indigo and Shade" - 3 stars
"Sera" - 4 stars
"Jack" - 5 stars
"Gwen and Art and Lance" - 3.5 stars
"Shirley & Jim" - 3.5 stars
"The Blessing of Little Wants" - 2 stars
"The Sea Witch" - 3.75 stars
"Beautiful Venom" - 3 stars
"Death Knell" - 4 stars
"Marigold" - 3.5 stars
"You, You, It's All About You" - 3 stars
"Julian Breaks Every Rule" - 3.5 stars
"Indigo and Shade" - 3 stars
"Sera" - 4 stars
natalia_c's review against another edition
3.0
“Villains take risks our heroes can’t afford to take and make the choices our heroes are too afraid to make.”
So I gave five stars to 4 out of the 13 stories in this anthology. Overall, I thought it was a unique opportunity for multiple authors to gain quick exposure along with the booktubers out there. I am a little disappointed that this focused on the more “popular” booktubers, because I think it might have helped the not as well known people on booktube to gain a wider audience. But overall, it was a nice way to get to know the writing styles of authors I haven’t had the time to check out on my own; Renée Ahdieh, Cindy Pon, Soman Chainani specifically stood out as some of my favorite new authors.
“The Blood of Imuriv” gets 5 stars for me: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, and was a wonderful way to kick off this anthology. I fell in love with the world Renée created and I’m absolutely blown away with how she came up with that story based on Christine’s prompt. I loved the hierarchal system based on matriarchy, I loved that it seemed like an unfair system similar to the patriarchy, I loved the game d’jaryek and I loved the toxicity between Rhone and Altais. This is the first work of Renee’s that I’ve read, and my goodness is she a masterful world builder! Usually I get uncomfortable in galactic-set worlds, but I didn’t mind the way Renee fleshed out this planet Isqandia in the Byzana system. It wasn’t overwhelming, and had me eager to reach the end. What an ending it was! I never would have guessed that the tension between Altais and Rhone would escalate to the point where Altais ends up dead and Rhone is relieved to see it. Well done Renee, and thank you Christine for that out of this world prompt.
“Jack” was one of my least favorite stories in this collection and gets 2 stars ⭐️⭐️. It didn’t help that at the onset, I don’t particularly care for the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Something that annoyed me throughout this story was that we never knew the “she” who ended up being our main character by a name. At some point in the story, I think I was trying so hard to like it that I began shipping the giant and Jack. Just as I was beginning to come around to the characters, the giant ended up cooking him and I was just so baffled. I’m still baffled by how much I disliked that story.
“Gwen and Art and Lance” was absolutely wonderful and gets a full 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I honestly enjoyed this story so much, and because of this I want to check out everything Soman Chainani has written and will ever write. What a unique and informed take on the classic story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I loved that the story took the classic characters and placed them in a modern high school, with modern lingo and modern issues. I was laughing and smiling and loving every second of this story. It was honestly such a refreshing read and I’m so glad it was created. I totally have to side-eye Gwen though, like honey you’re playing games with so many hearts. I loved this story so much.
“Shirley and Jim” was a story in this collection that I was pretty nonchalant about. I decided to give it 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ because I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. The back and forth between Shirley and Jim was pretty cute at first, but it was pretty underwhelming compared to the previous story. There were definitely cute moments where I found myself shipping Shirley and Jim, but overall this story just didn’t grab me in the way I would’ve liked. I also kept getting confused as to which villain this story was referring to and how it related to a classic villain/hero duo.
“The Blessing of Little Wants” was such a surprise to me, it gets 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This is one of the few stories that really made me think, it made me question what truly makes a villain, throughout the story I didn’t want to believe that Sigrid was the villain. I really enjoyed the magic system in this world, and I loved the relationship between Thomas and Sigrid.... in the beginning. This story also had a eerie air about it, like I was reading something that was going to jump scare me, and I really liked it for some reason. I wanted so badly for Sigrid and Thomas to be on the same side in this mystery hunt for Alice Gray, but of course they weren’t and decided to betray each other for the ultimate source of knowledge. The ending had me tripping up, because..... Thomas wasn’t even real? He was just a figment of Sigrid’s imagination used as a way to push herself to grow in her magical skills? Girl, nice drive but omg chill. Like, this was just a great little story. Thank you.
“The Sea Witch” was a story I wanted to like, but ultimately I give this story 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️. The Little Mermaid has such sentimental value to me, and I’ve enjoyed Marissa Meyer’s other books, but this was just ok for me. It was even a little underwhelming at times. I think it’s interesting that the Ursula I know started out as a mermaid in this story, and that she went on a quest to find love just like Ariel does in Disney’s version. Of course, Ursula is Nerit in this tale and her prince is an awful person. I was definitely pissed when Samuel turned on her and ended up trying to use her as a ways of making a profit. I felt bad for Nerit, but something I noticed about this anthology is that I was drawn to stories that didn’t have ties to something I already knew. Because of this, I was a little bored with this story, but I was glad that Nerit got her revenge on Samuel.
“Beautiful Venom” was such a triumph of a story. A+ all around. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, just wow. Thank you Cindy Pon. Thank you. I loved this story so much and loved that at the end, I didn’t think the “villain” was truly villainous at all. I never would have thought that a story about Medusa would have captured my heart, but here I am, loving and loving it all. I loved that there were people of color in this story!!! There were Asians!!! I adored it so much, and changing the name to Mei Du like Medusa was just 👌🏽. Do you know what else I loved? This story talked about Rape Culture. Bravo Cindy Pon, thank you for touching on such an important topic while giving representation to one of the Asian cultures. I found myself actually rooting for this “villain”. I loved it. Plain and simple. The whole mystery behind Hai Xin entranced me at first in the same way it did for Mei Feng, but then he went and revealed himself for the piece of sh*t he is and assaulted her. I was so mad. AND THEN THE GODDESS OF PURITY VICTIM BLAMES HER. AND SHE CURSES HER TO LOOK UGLY BECAUSE SHE THINKS MEI BROUGHT IT ON HERSELF FOR THE WAY SHE LOOKED. Cindy Pon did a fantastic job at demonstrating the terrible truths about rape culture and I thought it was so beautiful. And I loved that the first times Mei Du turned people to stone, they were accidental. I loved Mei, and I was so sad to see her go at the end. Cindy Pon y’all. Cindy Pon.
“Death Knell” was a story I highly anticipated in this anthology, and it did not disappoint. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five stars to one of my favorite authors, simply because I love the poetic and hypnotic quality of Victoria Schwab’s writing. Honestly, what a perfect “villain” for her; no one would’ve handled Death better. The descriptions throughout this story stole my heart; from Death’s bone hand, to the wilted flower crown he wears later, to his searching out souls to take by measuring the light in their faces. I loved it. I loved Death’s relationship with Grace, I loved the festival they went to that night, I loved the painful truths about life and it’s uncertainty. I loved the way Grace tried to bargain for her life, thinking with a logic I think most would us: if Death takes our life, what do we gain in return for the exchange? It seems so simple, until it isn’t. I loved the poetic way Victoria examined life inside of one who isn’t alive. I loved that Grace tried to escape the cold grasp of inevitability and found herself tripping, falling and cracking her head on a tombstone of all things. I loved that even in death, there was a cycle and that Grace became the next one.
“Marigold” was another story similar to “Beautiful Venom” in it’s rich sense of women empowerment. I really enjoyed it, giving it 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ overall. I will admit that I wasn’t entirely interested in the Erl folk story at the beginning, but as this tale progressed I began a little more invested. The kids disappearing had me interested, and then this story followed that of Alice, a girl who disappeared at 7 years old. The Erl Queen’s son then made a trade for Alice by way of Marigold. Once we are introduced to Isaac, I became very suspicious of him. It seemed that throughout this whole story, Isaac treated Marigold like she was his prize and his property. I kept waiting to see that Marigold reciprocated his feelings, but she never did and that lead to my dislike of Isaac. And then George, Marigold’s brother, literally planned on selling her into a marriage that would have secured him financial stability for the rest of his life. I hated both of them. I liked that this story of girls going missing wasn’t the truth, I liked that the Erl Queen offered these girls sanctuary and that the story of these men coming to rescue Marigold was a look at the importance of feminism for women’s protection. And even as George is threatening Marigold and begging Isaac to save her, he tells her that he can’t because he wants her too much. Like wow, what a relevant story.
“You, you, it’s all about you” disappointed me. I didn’t really have expectations for this, but I was excited to finally read something by Adam Silvera. Unfortunately, it only gets 2 stars ⭐️⭐️. It was difficult for me to see the connection between this story and the prompt. Initially, I thought the idea behind different drugs giving people different things was cool but it never seemed to go anywhere worthwhile. I think it was a different sort of twist to have Karl, this guy she’s kidnapped and tricked into staying with her through her drugs. It came a little too late for me though because by this point in the story I was over it. And then she just continues to drug him with Trance to continue the facade..... eh, it wasn’t really how I wanted my first encounter with Mr. Silvera.
“Julian Breaks Every Rule” was..... fine. I liked it enough to not hate it, but I didn’t see the connection to the prompt, so this one gets 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️. The thing that immediately bugged me about this is that I didn’t get the main character’s name, I could have guessed it was Julian, but I just wanted it stated outright. This story definitely felt slightly juvenile, which isn’t a bad thing if that’s what you’re looking for, but I think that I expected a certain level of maturity from the characters in a villain anthology. I think it could have been a really interesting story if Julian had used his insane luck to wish for some outlandish things and drive the plot from there, but that’s honestly not what happened. In some instances, teen drama works, in this one it didn’t. Julian keeps wishing for these people to die, and they usually do. I kind of wanted this to go in the Death Note direction, but it just wouldn’t. I did like Julian’s voice at the audacity of Denic for inviting all these people for a party at Julian’s house. And wow, I can’t believe that his parents didn’t say anything when they got home.
“Indigo and Shade” is the first time I’ve encountered April Genevieve Tucholke, and while I had no issues with her writing style, this wasn’t a story that grabbed my attention. I ended up giving this one three stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked that this took place in a modern location, like up in Colorado. I picked up pretty quickly that this was a beauty and the beast inspired story, but I didn’t guess that Indigo was the “beast”. And I definitely hated Brahm. The main thing that I liked about this story was the lore behind the women who were hanged as witches, and I wish that it would have dove deeper into that aspect than Indigo’s being the beast. The ending was a cool twist that I wasn’t expecting, but this story just wasn’t my cup of tea.
“Sera” was the final story in this anthology and I enjoyed it. 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the god of war. I really loved that this story had such a familial vibe to it. Being told from the perspective of a mother who is concerned that her newborn daughter is more destructive than other children her age is compelling to me. I liked that this was an examination of Sera throughout her childhood and we got to see her grow up. I enjoyed watching Kareena struggle with her parenting of Callie and Sera, and that Sera was just out to do what her heart was telling her. I liked that Sera felt alien in her home, it made for good storytelling. I was really upset that Callie ended up dying though, but after she treated Sera that way..... it’s a difficult situation, because as the god of war, Sera stirs unrest and discord. It only makes sense that her family fell apart when she came into the mix, but I kind of just want happiness for all of them.
I honestly thought this anthology was cool, and wouldn’t mind reading another. It was a nice opportunity to check out authors I haven’t had time to look into yet.
So I gave five stars to 4 out of the 13 stories in this anthology. Overall, I thought it was a unique opportunity for multiple authors to gain quick exposure along with the booktubers out there. I am a little disappointed that this focused on the more “popular” booktubers, because I think it might have helped the not as well known people on booktube to gain a wider audience. But overall, it was a nice way to get to know the writing styles of authors I haven’t had the time to check out on my own; Renée Ahdieh, Cindy Pon, Soman Chainani specifically stood out as some of my favorite new authors.
“The Blood of Imuriv” gets 5 stars for me: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, and was a wonderful way to kick off this anthology. I fell in love with the world Renée created and I’m absolutely blown away with how she came up with that story based on Christine’s prompt. I loved the hierarchal system based on matriarchy, I loved that it seemed like an unfair system similar to the patriarchy, I loved the game d’jaryek and I loved the toxicity between Rhone and Altais. This is the first work of Renee’s that I’ve read, and my goodness is she a masterful world builder! Usually I get uncomfortable in galactic-set worlds, but I didn’t mind the way Renee fleshed out this planet Isqandia in the Byzana system. It wasn’t overwhelming, and had me eager to reach the end. What an ending it was! I never would have guessed that the tension between Altais and Rhone would escalate to the point where Altais ends up dead and Rhone is relieved to see it. Well done Renee, and thank you Christine for that out of this world prompt.
“Jack” was one of my least favorite stories in this collection and gets 2 stars ⭐️⭐️. It didn’t help that at the onset, I don’t particularly care for the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Something that annoyed me throughout this story was that we never knew the “she” who ended up being our main character by a name. At some point in the story, I think I was trying so hard to like it that I began shipping the giant and Jack. Just as I was beginning to come around to the characters, the giant ended up cooking him and I was just so baffled. I’m still baffled by how much I disliked that story.
“Gwen and Art and Lance” was absolutely wonderful and gets a full 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I honestly enjoyed this story so much, and because of this I want to check out everything Soman Chainani has written and will ever write. What a unique and informed take on the classic story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I loved that the story took the classic characters and placed them in a modern high school, with modern lingo and modern issues. I was laughing and smiling and loving every second of this story. It was honestly such a refreshing read and I’m so glad it was created. I totally have to side-eye Gwen though, like honey you’re playing games with so many hearts. I loved this story so much.
“Shirley and Jim” was a story in this collection that I was pretty nonchalant about. I decided to give it 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ because I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. The back and forth between Shirley and Jim was pretty cute at first, but it was pretty underwhelming compared to the previous story. There were definitely cute moments where I found myself shipping Shirley and Jim, but overall this story just didn’t grab me in the way I would’ve liked. I also kept getting confused as to which villain this story was referring to and how it related to a classic villain/hero duo.
“The Blessing of Little Wants” was such a surprise to me, it gets 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This is one of the few stories that really made me think, it made me question what truly makes a villain, throughout the story I didn’t want to believe that Sigrid was the villain. I really enjoyed the magic system in this world, and I loved the relationship between Thomas and Sigrid.... in the beginning. This story also had a eerie air about it, like I was reading something that was going to jump scare me, and I really liked it for some reason. I wanted so badly for Sigrid and Thomas to be on the same side in this mystery hunt for Alice Gray, but of course they weren’t and decided to betray each other for the ultimate source of knowledge. The ending had me tripping up, because..... Thomas wasn’t even real? He was just a figment of Sigrid’s imagination used as a way to push herself to grow in her magical skills? Girl, nice drive but omg chill. Like, this was just a great little story. Thank you.
“The Sea Witch” was a story I wanted to like, but ultimately I give this story 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️. The Little Mermaid has such sentimental value to me, and I’ve enjoyed Marissa Meyer’s other books, but this was just ok for me. It was even a little underwhelming at times. I think it’s interesting that the Ursula I know started out as a mermaid in this story, and that she went on a quest to find love just like Ariel does in Disney’s version. Of course, Ursula is Nerit in this tale and her prince is an awful person. I was definitely pissed when Samuel turned on her and ended up trying to use her as a ways of making a profit. I felt bad for Nerit, but something I noticed about this anthology is that I was drawn to stories that didn’t have ties to something I already knew. Because of this, I was a little bored with this story, but I was glad that Nerit got her revenge on Samuel.
“Beautiful Venom” was such a triumph of a story. A+ all around. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, just wow. Thank you Cindy Pon. Thank you. I loved this story so much and loved that at the end, I didn’t think the “villain” was truly villainous at all. I never would have thought that a story about Medusa would have captured my heart, but here I am, loving and loving it all. I loved that there were people of color in this story!!! There were Asians!!! I adored it so much, and changing the name to Mei Du like Medusa was just 👌🏽. Do you know what else I loved? This story talked about Rape Culture. Bravo Cindy Pon, thank you for touching on such an important topic while giving representation to one of the Asian cultures. I found myself actually rooting for this “villain”. I loved it. Plain and simple. The whole mystery behind Hai Xin entranced me at first in the same way it did for Mei Feng, but then he went and revealed himself for the piece of sh*t he is and assaulted her. I was so mad. AND THEN THE GODDESS OF PURITY VICTIM BLAMES HER. AND SHE CURSES HER TO LOOK UGLY BECAUSE SHE THINKS MEI BROUGHT IT ON HERSELF FOR THE WAY SHE LOOKED. Cindy Pon did a fantastic job at demonstrating the terrible truths about rape culture and I thought it was so beautiful. And I loved that the first times Mei Du turned people to stone, they were accidental. I loved Mei, and I was so sad to see her go at the end. Cindy Pon y’all. Cindy Pon.
“Death Knell” was a story I highly anticipated in this anthology, and it did not disappoint. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five stars to one of my favorite authors, simply because I love the poetic and hypnotic quality of Victoria Schwab’s writing. Honestly, what a perfect “villain” for her; no one would’ve handled Death better. The descriptions throughout this story stole my heart; from Death’s bone hand, to the wilted flower crown he wears later, to his searching out souls to take by measuring the light in their faces. I loved it. I loved Death’s relationship with Grace, I loved the festival they went to that night, I loved the painful truths about life and it’s uncertainty. I loved the way Grace tried to bargain for her life, thinking with a logic I think most would us: if Death takes our life, what do we gain in return for the exchange? It seems so simple, until it isn’t. I loved the poetic way Victoria examined life inside of one who isn’t alive. I loved that Grace tried to escape the cold grasp of inevitability and found herself tripping, falling and cracking her head on a tombstone of all things. I loved that even in death, there was a cycle and that Grace became the next one.
“Marigold” was another story similar to “Beautiful Venom” in it’s rich sense of women empowerment. I really enjoyed it, giving it 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ overall. I will admit that I wasn’t entirely interested in the Erl folk story at the beginning, but as this tale progressed I began a little more invested. The kids disappearing had me interested, and then this story followed that of Alice, a girl who disappeared at 7 years old. The Erl Queen’s son then made a trade for Alice by way of Marigold. Once we are introduced to Isaac, I became very suspicious of him. It seemed that throughout this whole story, Isaac treated Marigold like she was his prize and his property. I kept waiting to see that Marigold reciprocated his feelings, but she never did and that lead to my dislike of Isaac. And then George, Marigold’s brother, literally planned on selling her into a marriage that would have secured him financial stability for the rest of his life. I hated both of them. I liked that this story of girls going missing wasn’t the truth, I liked that the Erl Queen offered these girls sanctuary and that the story of these men coming to rescue Marigold was a look at the importance of feminism for women’s protection. And even as George is threatening Marigold and begging Isaac to save her, he tells her that he can’t because he wants her too much. Like wow, what a relevant story.
“You, you, it’s all about you” disappointed me. I didn’t really have expectations for this, but I was excited to finally read something by Adam Silvera. Unfortunately, it only gets 2 stars ⭐️⭐️. It was difficult for me to see the connection between this story and the prompt. Initially, I thought the idea behind different drugs giving people different things was cool but it never seemed to go anywhere worthwhile. I think it was a different sort of twist to have Karl, this guy she’s kidnapped and tricked into staying with her through her drugs. It came a little too late for me though because by this point in the story I was over it. And then she just continues to drug him with Trance to continue the facade..... eh, it wasn’t really how I wanted my first encounter with Mr. Silvera.
“Julian Breaks Every Rule” was..... fine. I liked it enough to not hate it, but I didn’t see the connection to the prompt, so this one gets 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️. The thing that immediately bugged me about this is that I didn’t get the main character’s name, I could have guessed it was Julian, but I just wanted it stated outright. This story definitely felt slightly juvenile, which isn’t a bad thing if that’s what you’re looking for, but I think that I expected a certain level of maturity from the characters in a villain anthology. I think it could have been a really interesting story if Julian had used his insane luck to wish for some outlandish things and drive the plot from there, but that’s honestly not what happened. In some instances, teen drama works, in this one it didn’t. Julian keeps wishing for these people to die, and they usually do. I kind of wanted this to go in the Death Note direction, but it just wouldn’t. I did like Julian’s voice at the audacity of Denic for inviting all these people for a party at Julian’s house. And wow, I can’t believe that his parents didn’t say anything when they got home.
“Indigo and Shade” is the first time I’ve encountered April Genevieve Tucholke, and while I had no issues with her writing style, this wasn’t a story that grabbed my attention. I ended up giving this one three stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked that this took place in a modern location, like up in Colorado. I picked up pretty quickly that this was a beauty and the beast inspired story, but I didn’t guess that Indigo was the “beast”. And I definitely hated Brahm. The main thing that I liked about this story was the lore behind the women who were hanged as witches, and I wish that it would have dove deeper into that aspect than Indigo’s being the beast. The ending was a cool twist that I wasn’t expecting, but this story just wasn’t my cup of tea.
“Sera” was the final story in this anthology and I enjoyed it. 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the god of war. I really loved that this story had such a familial vibe to it. Being told from the perspective of a mother who is concerned that her newborn daughter is more destructive than other children her age is compelling to me. I liked that this was an examination of Sera throughout her childhood and we got to see her grow up. I enjoyed watching Kareena struggle with her parenting of Callie and Sera, and that Sera was just out to do what her heart was telling her. I liked that Sera felt alien in her home, it made for good storytelling. I was really upset that Callie ended up dying though, but after she treated Sera that way..... it’s a difficult situation, because as the god of war, Sera stirs unrest and discord. It only makes sense that her family fell apart when she came into the mix, but I kind of just want happiness for all of them.
I honestly thought this anthology was cool, and wouldn’t mind reading another. It was a nice opportunity to check out authors I haven’t had time to look into yet.
kaymoon's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars. As with most anthologies, some stories were stronger than others. Will edit to review each short story at a later time.
alma_mary's review against another edition
2.0
The plot ideas given were truly unique and the authors really ran with them and wove a brilliant story.
louandlife's review against another edition
3.0
3.7 Stars
Goodreads is cruel because I was in the middle of writing my review when I accidentally pressed a button and it went back to the last page. I am so mad, I had spent about 2 hours writing it up, and I wasn't even finished. So this review will be a lot shorter. That rating is the average of all the stories.
I did think that this book was overhyped, because of who the authors were, and the popular booktubers. It did feel like a money grab in the beginning of the anthology when I disliked some of the short stories, but I don't mind this book now. I did think that some of the booktubers contributions were unnecessary, but I did enjoy some of them. I think I'm going to do a ranking system of the best 8 stories in this anthology, and leave it at that.
My favourites were: (all of these were 5/5 or 4/5 Stars)
You, You, It's All About You by Adam Silvera
The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer
Death Knell by Victoria Schwab
Julian Breaks Every Rule by Andrew Smith
Gwen And Art And Lance by Soman Chainani
Shirley and Jim by Susan Dennard
Marigold by Samantha Shannon
Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon
The rest of the stories, I didn't enjoy as much and were either 2/5 or 3/5 Stars.
I wouldn't recommend this anthology unless you were a fan of these popular authors.
Goodreads is cruel because I was in the middle of writing my review when I accidentally pressed a button and it went back to the last page. I am so mad, I had spent about 2 hours writing it up, and I wasn't even finished. So this review will be a lot shorter. That rating is the average of all the stories.
I did think that this book was overhyped, because of who the authors were, and the popular booktubers. It did feel like a money grab in the beginning of the anthology when I disliked some of the short stories, but I don't mind this book now. I did think that some of the booktubers contributions were unnecessary, but I did enjoy some of them. I think I'm going to do a ranking system of the best 8 stories in this anthology, and leave it at that.
My favourites were: (all of these were 5/5 or 4/5 Stars)
You, You, It's All About You by Adam Silvera
The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer
Death Knell by Victoria Schwab
Julian Breaks Every Rule by Andrew Smith
Gwen And Art And Lance by Soman Chainani
Shirley and Jim by Susan Dennard
Marigold by Samantha Shannon
Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon
The rest of the stories, I didn't enjoy as much and were either 2/5 or 3/5 Stars.
I wouldn't recommend this anthology unless you were a fan of these popular authors.
owlieowlies's review against another edition
3.0
Actual Rating- 2.8
The Blood of Imuriv- Renee Ahdieh: 2/5
Jack- Amerie: 2/5
Gwen And Art And Lance- Soman Chainani: 1/5
Shirley and Jim- Susan Dennard: 2.5/5
The Blessing of Little Wants- Sarah Enni: 1/5
The Sea Witch- Marissa Meyer: 5/5
Beautiful Venom- Cindy Pon: 3/5
Death Kneel- Victoria Schwab: 4/5
Marigold- Samantha Shannon: 4/5
You, You It's All About You- Adam Silvera: 3/5
Julian Breaks Every Rule- Andrew Smith: 2/5
Indigo and Shade- April Genevieve Tucholke: 2/5
Sera- Nicola Yoon: 4/5
The Blood of Imuriv- Renee Ahdieh: 2/5
Jack- Amerie: 2/5
Gwen And Art And Lance- Soman Chainani: 1/5
Shirley and Jim- Susan Dennard: 2.5/5
The Blessing of Little Wants- Sarah Enni: 1/5
The Sea Witch- Marissa Meyer: 5/5
Beautiful Venom- Cindy Pon: 3/5
Death Kneel- Victoria Schwab: 4/5
Marigold- Samantha Shannon: 4/5
You, You It's All About You- Adam Silvera: 3/5
Julian Breaks Every Rule- Andrew Smith: 2/5
Indigo and Shade- April Genevieve Tucholke: 2/5
Sera- Nicola Yoon: 4/5