I apologize but this title did not work for me. I’ve discovered that I don’t enjoy short stories collections and rather than harm the authors I chose not to rate it.

I did not get the chance to review this book prior to publication, but I did purchase it for our collection. Our book club chose this anthology for their short story collection meeting.

I have heard wonderful things about this anthology. And it includes some of my favorite authors. However, I didn't get much beyond the first story, which is steeped in magical realism. I get that that is Anna-Marie McLemore's MO, and that's her prerogative, but it's not my reading preference. I know many teens struggle with magical realism, so they may also have found it to be a stopping place. As such, the editor, I think, should not have made that the first story.

Absolutely wonderful and refreshing read. While not every story was probably worthy of five starts, the collection as a whole was very diverse and does a great job representing a variety of relationships.

For an anthology dealing with the queer community and its hardships and gains throughout history, this was a great addition to literature. It had varying tales that looked at different aspects of the community, with different characters in different situations, so that most readers could find at least one story to connect to. This was great for young readers still finding out who they truly are or are looking for more characters that showcase the queer community.
As a general reader, this anthology fell somewhat flat for me. While it encompassed the community throughout history, it lacked a lot of cultural diversity that I felt should have gone along with it. The stories themselves were underdeveloped, even for the short stories that I was expecting. While there was a variety of different queer characters (gay, transgender, asexual), the plot lines mostly followed the same theme: find someone, fall for them, struggle, find a way. This is an uplifting scenario, and good for the community, but became stale after the first few stories and took away from the rest.
On the whole, it is a good anthology to have on hand, as our library will, yet is not the most literary of writings and lacks at some points.

Every single story in here is good. I loved some more than I loved others, but there isn't a single bad one. The breadth and depth covered in this anthology is astounding and would be basically impossible to get elsewhere. The stand out stories/authors for me were Anna-Marie McLemore, Marie Lu, Mackenzi Lee, and Elliot Wake. Wake's Robin Hood about broke me and definitely needs its own novel.

However, I did wish there were more stories where the character's identity wasn't so wrapped up-in/defined by a romantic relationship. I hope there will be a second anthology (like how The Radical Element is a kind of follow up to A Tyranny of Petticoats) still featuring queer characters and still historical, but have these characters exploring their identity through something that's not a romantic relationship or going on adventures of any kind already in an established relationship.

Overall, the book is fantastic and deserves a spot on every library's shelves.

I occasionally have a hard time getting into short story collections, because I need time to become familiar with the characters. However, I did enjoy the majority of these stories (I'm a sucker for historical fiction) and the fact that it's a collection of LGBT romance stories really overrides any hesitation I might have had, since I feel like this particular cross-sections of genre and form have never really been explored (that I've seen). The intersections that are explored are widely varied, which I appreciate, but don't make it seem like the stories don't go together-- it almost makes it an even more cohesive collection. I really want more books like this, and not just for teenagers but across all age groups. This collection fills an important gap, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to people.

4.5 of 5 stars
One of the problems of growing up as a queer kid was that the idea still sort of felt new. I had heard about Stonewall and Harvey Milk, but as far as history textbooks and common knowledge were concerned, queerness didn’t become a widespread thing until the mid 1900’s. Of course this is entirely false, but growing up it can make you wonder if queerness really is a new, unnatural phenomenon. It can make you feel isolated and detached from history.
This anthology is the antithesis of that problem and these are the stories I wish I’d had as a teen. Even if people didn’t use the same words we use now or their identities had to be hidden, this anthology places queerness in the context where it had always belonged. The diversity covers a range of sexualities (or lack thereof), skin colors, and time periods. There are realistic stories, stories with magic, and stories that take a new spin on old favorites.
Even if it gets close, the anthology isn’t completely perfect. In some of the stories, the conflict felt a little too simple or easily solved. That being said, though, it was such a relief to read story after story where the queer characters don’t die and (mostly) get happy endings. (I had to throw that mostly in there because there’s one story in which the ending is ambiguous, but it’s not outright tragic.)
There were a couple of stories that I would give three stars, but none lower than that. I would give the majority of these stories four to five stars. I especially loved the additions that included an afterward with historical facts that inspired the author.
Through my experience as a librarian, I know anthologies don’t usually do well. That being said, though, if you’re going to get an anthology I highly recommend this one. It had something for everyone and over and over again reminds the reader, “You’re story doesn’t have to be tragic. Others before you were happy, and you can be too.”

As with all anthologies, there were some hits and misses with this anthology, but the hits far out number the misses and I'm so glad that this is an anthology that exists. Before I finished reading it I had already placed an order for my library because it's going to be so important for teenagers to see themselves and others like them in this anthology. My favorites included: Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore, Burnt Umber by Mackenzi Lee, Molly's Lips by Dahlia Adler, The Girl with the Blue Lantern by Tess Sharpe, and The Inferno and the Butterfly by Shaun David Hutchinson - although I greatly enjoyed many more of the stories as well. If you're a fan of anthologies, this is one you don't want to miss.