A review by heresthepencil
Into the Mystic, Volume Three by M. Hollis, Artemis Savory, L.J. Hamlin, Lis Valentine, Michelle Frost, Bru Baker, K. Parr, Ava Kelly, Ziggy Schutz
2.0
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 ☆
I actually hate reviewing anthologies by different authors because it's always so hard to make some general points about the book as a whole. All I can tell you this time, is that it's very much a hit-and-miss. More of a miss, if you're like me...
So we have 9 sapphic short stories, all with supernatural elements. We get vampires, werewolves, sirens, muses, ghosts... The diversity in that department is great and it's really refreshing to see so many totally different stories and all of them being effortlessly sapphic. And yet!
Let's talk about the good first, though. I really enjoyed "It Started Before Noon" by Ava Kelly & "The Hunt" by M. Hollis, and "By Candlelight" by Ziggy Schutz was pretty solid, too. What's special about those three is that the authors actually took time to develop the characters, put some thought into worldbuilding and - most importantly - made the relationships feel real. Especially the first two were extremely soft and lovely, honestly making me want to read more by Kelly and by Hollis.
That leaves us with 6 more stories. And, well. A few of them were honest to god just porn with some mediocre plot put there because you kind of need plot. The rest was just weak, both in the way of writing & the idea itself. It's so incredibly disappointing. You get a whole anthology tailored specifically to your fantasy-loving lesbian needs, and you can't even enjoy it!
2.5 ☆
I actually hate reviewing anthologies by different authors because it's always so hard to make some general points about the book as a whole. All I can tell you this time, is that it's very much a hit-and-miss. More of a miss, if you're like me...
So we have 9 sapphic short stories, all with supernatural elements. We get vampires, werewolves, sirens, muses, ghosts... The diversity in that department is great and it's really refreshing to see so many totally different stories and all of them being effortlessly sapphic. And yet!
Let's talk about the good first, though. I really enjoyed "It Started Before Noon" by Ava Kelly & "The Hunt" by M. Hollis, and "By Candlelight" by Ziggy Schutz was pretty solid, too. What's special about those three is that the authors actually took time to develop the characters, put some thought into worldbuilding and - most importantly - made the relationships feel real. Especially the first two were extremely soft and lovely, honestly making me want to read more by Kelly and by Hollis.
That leaves us with 6 more stories. And, well. A few of them were honest to god just porn with some mediocre plot put there because you kind of need plot. The rest was just weak, both in the way of writing & the idea itself. It's so incredibly disappointing. You get a whole anthology tailored specifically to your fantasy-loving lesbian needs, and you can't even enjoy it!