Thank you for the chance to read this book. I'd been interested in it for several months after seeing it listed in an article online about upcoming LGBT releases.

While I appreciated stories featuring so many nonbinary characters, the stories themselves as a whole didn't interest me. I do love fantasy and science fiction, but so many of these stories seemed to be speculative fiction outside of my realm of interest. I just didn't find them accessible. For example, I liked the concept of a group of prisoners having to mine and work construction on an alien planet that will be inhabited by rich space travelers in the future, but it was a bit "out there" to read about them forming romantic relationships with comets. And another story was about the main character literally falling in love with a star, but the star was described in a sort of grotesque, zombie manner that I felt repulsed, rather than enamored by. I couldn't tell if the stories were supposed to be literal or metaphorical. Maybe it was all just a little bit over my head. I didn't like that feeling.

I did enjoy some of the selections ("Awry With Dandelions" was much easier to grasp), but on the whole they seemed to be just too intangible to be enjoyable for me, as a nonbinary reader who typically loves science fiction. I stopped reading after "Awry" (50% through the book) because I just wasn't having fun with the stories. After reading these selections I have actually decided not to preorder the book when I had really been looking forward to it.

All of the stories fit very nicely into one another. This anthology definitely introduced me to a bunch of new authors and I feel inspired to check out their other books.

My review will be posted on my blog on January 31, 2020... everywhere else asap

-=-=-=-

This is a great collection of works! I loved the way there was such a tapestry woven of all the different characters. What a pleasure it was to read stories in which a variety of pronouns were used without great fanfare or explanation

This book is a collection of stories by some well-known authors in the genre. Some names made me immediately interested: Brooklyn Ray and Anna Zabo in particular. I think that Brooklyn's story was one of my favorites. In their story, Hollis Griffen meets Zaniah... a celestial body in an ever-evolving form. Zaniah may be the one being who can love Hollis Griffen in their true form.

There's a theme of searching, finding and being found in these stories. It doesn't matter what the subject matter is.... all these characters are on journies. The worlds that are created are vibrant and rich, unique and enticing.

In particular, if you're a short story enthusiast I would suggest getting this! You'll enjoy it!