This was absolutely wonderful. Each story was beautiful and had me wanting more and more. This anthology had a wonderful line up of authors from many many different backgrounds, identities and the like, and each story was, obviously, filled with diverse characters and stories and experiences.
I would like to label all of the short stories as my favorites, but instead, I’ll only name a few;
A Royal Affair by VE Schwab was a wonderful addition to the Shades of Magic series, and into Alucard’s life before the events of the trilogy.
The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed was haunting, and a beautiful tale of legacies, remembrance, and the imprints we leave behind
The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton was full of stunning visuals, prose and characters, and left me wanting even more.

What first drew me to A UNIVERSE OF WISHES, admittedly, was the cover; black, skulls, keys, all of it, suitably goth, but it was the list of authors and quality of stories inside that kept me reading. Out of the entire collection, my favorites ended up not being from the most established authors, but from the lesser known. Anna-Marie McLemore’s “Cristal y Ceniza”, Tara Sim’s “A Universe of Wishes”, and Rebecca Roanhorse’s “The Takeback Tango” are my stand-out favorites, and I was over the moon to find a Rhy/Alucard story within! Thank you, Victoria Schwab, for this delightful prequel story.

I love the queerness represented, the beautiful prose—not a single story made me lose interest as sometimes happens with anthologies—and richness of diversity in each story. I look forward to receiving my finished copy so I can feature it in my Bookstagram account! Thank you so much to the publisher for this free review copy.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
A Universe of Wishes is a delightful ownvoices collection, bringing together magical stories by authors of color and LGBTQ+ authors. While it is like the typical anthology in its mix of highs and lows, I still find this to be a solid collection. Favorites include the immersive “The Coldest Spot in the Universe” by Samira Ahmed and VE Schwab’s charming Rhy/Alucard prequel tale, “A Royal Affair.” However, in including works from established series, there is that risk of alienating a reader that is new to an author’s work. For example, while I have an interest in the Gemma Doyle series, I never read it, so the Libba Bray contribution, and a couple others were a bit lost on me.

DISCLAIMER: I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

Let me just start by saying I will never not be impressed by short stories. Somehow an author has the ability to build a world, create a whole life for a character, and break and fix a heart in just a few pages. A Universe of Wishes is truly an astounding collection of short stories that do just that. Be prepared to dive into stunning worlds, fall in love with characters, have your heart broken, and be forced to think about and connect with some really difficult topics all while surrounded by magic and whimsy. This is a book to cherish and one I will most definitely be returning back to time and time again.

A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim
5🌟
Not only does A Universe of Wishes have an incredibly unique premise, the writing is also absolutely stunning. Honestly, I am completely blown away by this story. The author manages to develop a world in five pages, build an epic romance in 20, and tear my heart out in 10 more. This story is an outstanding start to this anthology and I will most definitely be reading more of Tara Sim’s work in the future.

The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker
3🌟
Parker’s writing is truly beautiful in the world she built is gorgeous and thought-provoking, but there were a couple things that were not so great about the story. A significant portion of it is just descriptions of people and clothing with not much thought towards character and plot development. Also I always hate the insta-love trope so the romance didn’t appeal to me. I did really like the concept for the plot, though.

The Scarlet Woman by Libba Bray
4🌟
This short story feels like being dropped into the middle of a book without context. Though this causes the plot to be a bit confusing, the characters are well-developed and I am very intrigued and just have to know more. I’m sure fans of Gemma Doyle will love this story.

Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McLemore
5🌟
So this is the best and most original Cinderella retelling I’ve ever read and it’s only 22 pages?!?? The writing is beautiful and the plot is incredibly interesting and it addresses some very important topics. McLemore quickly pulled me into the world they created and oh my god I want more.

Liberia by Kwame Mbalia
4🌟
I fully did not expect a sci-fi story in this anthology and I love it! The story is intriguing and based around an amazing metaphor that was so interesting to read and attempt to decode. I also enjoyed the characters in this tale.

A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab
5🌟
Welp. My heart is broken. Thanks, Schwab. seriously though, I’m the biggest ADSOM fan and I am always in awe of Schwab‘s writing and storytelling, this being no exception. I am so glad to have this chance to dive back into my favorite world and gain new insights on these characters, no matter how painful those insights may be. I’m just sad I had to leave so soon.

The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse
3.5🌟
This story is so much fun! I mean empowered space criminals? Yes please! While the premise is really interesting, it doesn’t have much of a plot and seems a bit unfinished. The characters are great, though!

Dream and Dare by Nic Stone
5🌟
This is a refreshing, feminist tale in which the princess is the monster and the Lady saves the day. Stone shines a light on the importance of originality and independence despite a world that would cast one out for it. The story is also packed with sweetness to warm your heart and an absolutely adorable romance.

Wish by Jenni Balch
4🌟
This is such a cute and fun take on the traditional idea of a genie. I love the uniqueness and the message behind it and thoroughly enjoyed reading this one!

The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton
5🌟
Whoa. The level of creativity in this story is unbelievable. It’s also such a deep and intricate story that really gets you thinking, I feel like I could analyze this in English class and have fun doing it.

Unmoor by Mark Oshiro
4🌟
For a story about fixing a broken heart, this sure is heartbreaking. This tale of the importance of memories and the process of healing is truly fascinating and the way it’s written is unique and beautiful. I was a bit confused by the ending but I mostly enjoyed the plot.

The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed
4.5🌟
This futuristic story is fairly terrifying in that it could be real and is surely a cautionary tale. I really love how it shows that there is always hope, even when the future looks bleak. Also, Ahmed’s writing is seriously stunning.

The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton
3🌟
The concept of the story is incredibly interesting and Gratton and has created such a vivid world I can practically see it. In all honesty, I was very confused by the plot. Maybe you’ll enjoy this more than I did if you can actually understand it but I found myself struggling. I also found that the romance had very little basis aside from physical attraction, which I didn’t like.

Longer Than the Threads of Time by Zoraida Córdova
4.5🌟
I am in love with Córdova’s writing and I’m in love with Rapunzel retellings so I am really in love with this story. It’s very different from every retelling of this that I’ve heard before, so I would’ve liked a bit more backstory. Also, the plot twist is a bit mind-boggling. The romance moved a little too quickly but was overall super sweet.

Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi
5🌟
Damn. What a way to end this book. Onyebuchi’s story shines a bright light on some of our worlds biggest problems and is such an important tale that so many people need to read. I truly have no words other than please, if nothing else in this anthology, read this story.

Big thanks to Terminal Tours and Random House Children's for the ARC of this book!

A Universe of Wishes is a We Need Diverse Voices anthology that includes some of the best in YA fiction right now. The stories are magical fantasy and interesting sci-fi, all including a diverse cast of characters that kept me turning the page for the next story.

There are truly some really amazing gems here. Every story is well written and interesting. The themes range from a dystopian story where humans have destroyed the earth (Samira Ahmed) to a Dominican rapunzel retelling (Zoraida Cordova). V.E. Schwab revisits her ADSOM world with the telling of the rise and fall of Rhy and Alucard, and Libba Bray beings us a new Gemma Doyle mystery. There's a Cinderella retelling with a trans prince by Anna-Marie Mclemore that was such a good read, and a story by Rebecca Roanhorse about a girl with a spaceship who takes back the ancient artifacts of her people that have been stolen from them to be put in the museums of the elites.

I think my very favorite story is the last one in the book by Tochi Onyebuchi. It's formatted as letters between two boys, one a black prisoner in California and one a protester in prison in Gaza. They're able to exchange letters by some magical happenstance. What comes of it is emotional and heart-wrenching, and left me with chills by the end. It was the perfect way to end the book.

There were a couple I wasn't crazy about, but overall I loved this anthology. There are a few here I would love full books on! If you love YA fantasy and Sci-Fi, this is definitely a must-read!

A delightful anthology of fairytales, futuristic adventures, and what-ifs, "A Universe of Wishes" is a wonderful distraction on an otherwise boring day.

This is one of the best YA anthologies I've ever read. I love speculative fiction and getting to explore all these cool diverse worlds was really awesome. Of course, there were some stories I enjoyed more than others, but there wasn't anything I disliked enough to skip it, which is something I've found myself doing with past anthologies I've read. I did end up skipping a couple of the stories by bigger-name authors like Libba Bray because they were written in universes I'm not familiar with which was a little bit frustrating, but I think the rest of the stories being generally good made up for it. I would totally recommend this anthology, especially for anyone who is looking to explore further into YA speculative fiction.

I greatly enjoyed this read! Anthologies are a weird read for me because some stories are true winners and some are skips. I enjoyed more of this anthology than I thought, and will highly recommend it to anyone working to read more diversity and more inclusive reads. Reviews for each story are listed below!
The
A Universe of Wishes 4/5
A fun, quick story of family and happiness, and what is truly the most important things in life. M/M romance, but very brief. This feels like the opening chapters to a novel, rather than a full story. Very good, but leaves me wanting more.

The Silk Blade 2/5
A very brief blink-and-you-miss-it story of fighting for love, no matter how unrequited. This story drops in the middle of the action, leaving a lot of world building up to the imagination. A fun, quick story, but not one I connected with.

The Scarlett Woman 3/5
While a rejoining of friends seems like it should be a joyous time, there is something brewing in New York to keep it from that. There is so much more to the story here! This stands well enough alone, to someone who has never read the trilogy, but there are so many layers to someone who has.

Cristal y Ceniza 2/5
The royal family holds a ball for the prince to meet suitors, while a girl tries to save her troubled society. This story just didn’t resonate with me. There was so many Spanish terms thrown in that I felt a little lost. The story itself, though, is a beautiful testament to how far people are willing to go for family.

Liberia 4/5
The story of a love for family and ancestors and the marks they leave behind. There were echoes of many great science fiction stories. There wasn’t romance between partners, but rather love of family and I think that is something that many people will resonate with.

A Royal Affair 5/5
A whirlwind, magical romance that weaves threads of Schwab’s ADSOM series while standing independently. Enough details are fleshed out, while there is still places to creatively fill in the rest. A fantastical magic system balancing with a beautiful, dramatic, doomed romance.

The Takeback Tango 5/5
A short tale of robbery and romancing. I loved this story so much’ it was short and cute, and while there was fun moments of cute flirting, the dynamic and drama of the heist took center stage. It was such a fun and quick romp!

Dream and Dare 2/5
A romp of princesses and monsters. This story just wasn’t it for me. While the story itself he’d a lot of promise, the writing style just wasn’t great for me. There was so much repeating of the two girls’ names that I was annoyed! Great concept, not in love with the execution.

Wish 3/5
What people want, and the lengths they are willing to go to get it. This was a cute little story of helping people figure out what they truly want. While it was adorable and I will probably read it again, I just didn’t 100% get it. Cute, but not a showstopper.

The Weight 5/5
Science meddles with love. What a weird and unusual story! Hearts are removed to discover how much love is in them. The unique twist on a love story has me so intrigued and I am wishing this one was longer.

Unmoor 2/5
Magic heals deep wounds. I’m a little lost in the concept here. I like the idea of magical mental health, but I got a little lost. I don’t think the follow through on the magic system is quite there. It was an interesting concept, but just slightly week.

The Coldest Spot in the Universe 2/5
Diary entries chronicling one person’s end of the world. This was such a creative idea and I love that it really brings humanity to a character, but the stories didn’t resonate with me. I couldn’t easily flow from one entry to the next.

The Beginning of Monsters 3/5
Magic and science meddle in humanity. There was a lot of build up here with very little payoff. It felt like the first chapter or two in a new series where you are trying to figure all of the new terms and concepts out.

Longer Than The Threads of Time 3/5
A modern retelling of Rapunzel with a touch of magic. This was such an interesting take on a classic story! It was easy to slip into the story, but nothing so captivating that I had to keep reading. A fun read, but nothing mind blowing.

Habibi 2/5
A prisoner and protester are magical pen pals. What a great concept, but I just didn’t connect with the story. I was almost forcing myself through it. Great concept, great emotions, just not for me.

Wow, this was definitely worth the read! I requested this book by mistake on Netgalley because I didn't think I would like a short story anthology but I was wrong!! This was so good. So if you're like me and used to ignore anthologies, take a chance on this one. It had really good representation and I was really excited about that.

I liked a lot of the stories but my favorites were #2 The silk blade by Natalie C Parker and #6 A royal affair by V.E. Schwab ... I'm shocked at how much I loved them ahah. Some of the others I didn't love but discovering the ones I enjoyed was really worth it. Many times, I found myself wishing for a longer story because I didn't want to leave the characters already.

Overall, this was really interesting and I'll have to pay more attention to anthologies from now on!
To finish this review, I'll just make a quick list of the stories starting from the one I loved most to the ones I liked less.

- A royal affair by V.E. Schwab
- The silk blade by Natalie C Parker
- The weight by Dhonielle Clayton
- A universe of wishes by Tara Sim
- Dream and Dare by Nic Stone
- Cristal y Ceniza by Ana Marie McLemore
- Unmoor by Mark Oshiro
- Longer than the threads of time by Zoraida Cordova
- The takeback tango by Rebecca Roanhorse
- The coldest spot in the universe by Samira Ahmed
- Wish by Jenni Balch
--------------------------
- Habibi by Tochi Onyedbuchi
- The beginning of monsters by Tessa Gratton
- Liberia by Kwame Mbalia
- The scarlet woman by Libba Bray (didn't read this one since this is a Gemma Doyle story and I only read the first book which I didn't like)


(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

A Universe of Wishes brings together a rockstar group of diverse authors who deliver a collection of short stories that is a testament to the beauty of pure imagination. These fifteen short stories are filled with magic, gladiators, space ships, monsters, true love, and an inclusive cast of characters of all races, gender identities, sexual orientations, classes, and cultures. Not only does this anthology give voice to individuals and communities who are criminally underrepresented in literature, but it’s also a fun, binge-worthy read. As one would expect from these award-winning authors, the writing is sharp and the worldbuilding is outstanding, which only makes it easier to dive into these worlds and become invested in the journeys these characters embark on. This is the kind of anthology that has the power to leave young readers saying, “I want to see more stories, heroes, and heroines like this,” and encourage them to come together to forge a more open-minded and tolerant world where diverse perspectives and voices are always welcomed, seen, and heard.

Favorite Stories
“The Coldest Spot in the Universe” by Samira Ahmed
“A Universe of Wishes" by Tara Sim
“Liberia” by Kwame Mbalia

This was a great YA short story collection! Like any short story collection, some stories were hits and a few were misses, and I'm sure which ones are which would be different for everyone. I was most excited to read Libba Bray's, and was doubly excited when I realized it was a Gemma Doyle story! Teens who love fantasy will definitely love this book.

A Universe of Wishes is an anthology from "We Need Diverse Books", an organization that is exactly what it says on the tin, featuring a variety of short stories from prominent "diverse" (usually meaning non White Male here) authors in SciFi/Fantasy writing today and edited by author Dhonielle Clayton. I've enjoyed a few of the authors listed on its manifest - Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Zoraida Córdova - among others, so I was excited to give this one a try when I saw it pop up on NetGalley.

The result is however, even more uneven than I'm used to from short fiction anthologies, with some pretty great stories spread out alongside some pretty big whiffs. Some of the whiffs mind you are because at least two of the stories take place in their authors' preexisting worlds (only one of which I've read), and thus don't feel complete outside the context of those worlds. The anthology also doesn't, oddly to my view, provide an explanation for the background of each author to demonstrate to the reader where their voice comes from (and what makes it "diverse,"), leaving me a bit confused about a few of the authors who were selected for this collection.* Still there's enough good stuff here from really great writers to be worth your time, especially for YA-age readers, even if it's not my favorite anthology of the year.

*It is usually not an author's obligation to explain their background to the reader - it's their private business whether they may in fact be mixed race or queer despite their appearances on the surface for example, and questions to them about these things are kind of icky. But when the anthology is based upon voices being from not the dominant group - a diverse group - it's weird to me when there's not even an attempt at this, especially given at least a few of the authors included seem to be white women, who I don't count myself as "diverse" in the space of genre anymore.*

As always, reviewing anthologies is tricky, because well this one contains 15 separate stories, all independent of each other and by different authors, and all of the stories are short enough that giving summaries of each would lose some of the wonder of what they contain. This one is even trickier, because aside from the 15 authors within containing no white cis men, there really isn't a common theme to the stories other than being (mainly) YA-appropriate genre fiction. Some stories speak about preserving ones own heritage, or their sexuality, or just who they are (a combination of a lot of things) in the face of others who would try to eradicate it or just adversity in general - but not all. Some stories here deal with love, some deal with loss. It's a hard group to grasp as a single collection with a single message, because there really isn't one.

Again, this is not to take away from some of the high quality of some of these stories. The anthology opens with a strong story of love (M-M) and getting over loss, combined with magic in Tara Sim's "A Universe of Wishes" and continues with a cute F-F story by Natalie C. Parker in "The Silk Blade" - in general its queer-love stories are done incredibly well and really strong - Cristal y Ceniza, a riff on Cinderella/The Spanish Inquisition/Fighting for the rights of queerness in a Latinx world by Anna Marie McLemore is another winner, with Dream and Dare by Nic Stone being another lovely story on similar themes.

Real highlights for me include the aforementioned Cristal y Ceniza, along with:
Liberia by Kwame Mbalia (A young man among a group of young people, trained to be experts and carrying supplies from Earth to another colony having left behind the older adults, fights to preserve what's left of his/their heritage);
Unmoor by Mark Oshiro, (about a young man hiring someone to use magic to unmoor his memories of his now ex-boyfriend from the places he might go, only to find the process more traumatic than anticipated for everyone);
Also working well is Samira Ahmed's bittersweet The Coldest Spot in the Universe, (featuring a young woman at the end of a dying world and a future visitor from afar rediscovering her life and discoveries and how much she meant)

I could go on - there's at least 2-3 other stories here that are up there with those 3, including Zoraida Córdova's spin on a modern day Rapunzel, Longer than the Threads of Time, and Tochi Onyebuchi's devastating epistolary tale of two oppressed men in different prisons, Habibi. There's a lot of great quality here, well worth your time.

That said, there's a couple of stories that just feel incomplete and thus miss the mark. Libba Bray's "The Scarlet Woman" and "A Royal Affair" by VE Schwab for example are both part of pre-existing universes by the author - the Gemma Doyle trilogy (which I haven't read) by Bray and the Shades of Magic trilogy (which I have read) by Schwab and neither really feels like a complete story without prior knowledge and justifies its inclusion. Rebecca Roanhorse's "The Takeback Tango" by contrast is an original story (afaict) and a clever take on Indigenous people stealing back their works of their heritage from the Empire that took it - but in space - but just ends at a weird point, leaving me wanting. None of these are bad, but they just left me feeling more, which made them stand out among the truly strong stories in the anthology I mentioned above.

So yeah, this is an anthology worth your time, especially if you're in the YA age group, and its best stories are absolutely worth anyone's time and hit hard. I do however wish it was more tightly focused as to what it was aiming to be, so that its weakest points were shored up, despite all that.

To be honest, I’m here mostly for the Rhy+Alucard story, A Royal Affair. I’m not sure how exactly to review an anthology. I definitely enjoyed some stories more than others. Some were full stories and others felt a little incomplete. Take the Gemma Doyle story, for instance. It felt more like the setup for a sequel rather than a short story. There was no resolution. A Royal Affair doesn’t really have a resolution either but I makes more sense because it takes place in between books 1 and 2 of Shades of Magic. I think my favorite might be The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton. And I’m not just saying that because she’s the editor of the anthology. It felt like a Black Mirror episode, and I thought it had the best writing out of the stories. I also really enjoyed Zoraida Córdova’s and Tochi Onyebuchi’s stories. All the pieces in the collection did a good job with telling stories with diverse characters, and that was the goal of this anthology, so I call it a success.

This collection comes from We Need Diverse Books, and it definitely doesn't disappoint in that regard. There is something for everyone in this collection, though calling it all fantasy-related is a little bit of a stretch. Some of these stories definitely fall into the science fiction genre, which was fine with me, but may not work for all readers.

Some of the stories were definitely better than others; however, I enjoyed most of the stories. Stand outs to me were Mark Oshiro's "Unmoor" and Zoraida Cordova's "Longer Than the Threads of Time." There were a few stories I could not get into at all, but I'll leave those nameless here and give you a chance to check them out and form your own opinions.

I have received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
My star ratings for each short story:
A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim: 4 stars. This story was very enjoyable and I like the idea of wishes coming true.
The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker: 4 stars. I liked the trial and the story.
The Scarlet Woman by Libba Bray: 2 stars. Since I'm not familiar with the story I felt confused about the plot, and would have liked more backstory to understand the story better, but I liked the mystery.
Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McLemore: 5 stars. This was so cute! I would have loved to read more.
Liberia by Kwame Mbalia: 4 stars. I liked this story, but would have liked to know more background,
A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab: 5 stars. This was great and enjoyable to read.
The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse: 5 stars. I would love to read a whole book just to get more from these characters.
Dream and Dare by Nic Stone: 4 stars. I liked the mystery and the cuteness that came afterwards.
Wish by Jenni Balch: 4 stars. This story was cute and intriguing.
The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton: 4 stars. This was an interesting story.
Unmoor by Mark Oshiro: 4 stars. This story was interesting.
The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed: 4 stars. This was heartbreaking and so interesting to read.
The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton: 2 stars. I felt that the plot was very confusing, but the architecture parts were interesting to learn about.
Longer than the Threads of Time by Zoraida Cordova: 5 stars. This was cute and I liked the twist.
Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi: 5 stars. I really liked the two perspectives and to see how they were in similar situations. This was heartbreaking yet cute.
Overall, these stories were so fun to read and I had a great time reading them.

irst of all, thank you so much to Random House Children's and Net Galley for an eARC of this! I love anthologies, and this has some of my favorite authors in it! Because of the nature of anthologies, I'll be rating the book as a whole, but also doing mini reviews for each of the short stories!

A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In a world where no one knows about magic, our MC, Thorn, sneaks into steal it from corpses, hoping to save enough for one big wish. Sage, a boy who works at the funeral parlor, lets Thorn take the magic if he can be granted 3 wishes. This is beautifully written and macabre, and I loved the LGBTQIA+ rep in this!

The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Silk Blade is a contest to be the Bloom Prince's partner, but during said contest, Willador may just be falling for her female contendor. The bisexual rep in this is fantastica, it's lushish and visual, and the ending is just YES. As someone who is bi, this story really called to me.

Scarlet Woman (A Gemma Doyle Story) by Libba Bray ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was actually a bit of a disappointment for me. Unless you have quite literally read the series or remember it perfectly, this was confusing and rather disappointing. I love the Gemma Doyle books, but this just didn't do it for me.If I ever reread the series, I'll try rereading this one.

Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McLemore: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I am not usually a fan of Cinderella retellings, but I really did enjoy this one! Desperate for help, a young woman attends the ball of a transgender prince to plea for her people's safety. I wasn't a huge fan of the pace, but I enjoyed it in every other regard!

Liberia by Kwame Mbalia ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SURPRISE! This is a sci-fi. I honestly had no clue there would be sci-fi in this anthology, and it was a pleasant surprise! This short story follows Kweku who is a research officer on a colony ship, prepping the harvest for the colony. Loved this one so much!

A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well, I'd be lying if I wasn't first grabbed by this anthology because her name was one it, but what can I say? I'm al ittle obsessed. This short story is from Allucard's POV, and I oved seeing a bit of him and Rhy! Definitely a must-read for ADSOM fans!

The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another sci-fi! I loved reading Rebecca Roanhorse's voice in a sci-fi. It's essentially Natives in space taking back their rightful artifacts. Cat burglars, ships, a bit of romance. I love it!

Dream and Dare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is essentially a f/f Beauty and the Beast retelling. I wasn't a huge fan of the character's names or parts of the story, but I loved the ending.

Wish by Jenni Balch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Aridne finds the lamp, and figures out how to make a wish. The genie comes out aboard a Venus research station. Sweet sci-fi story with disorder rep, and the start of friendship?

The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Uhmmmmm did I just read a Black Mirror episode? High school sweethearts to to the heart Scale Center, a place that can check your heart and see how much you love someone, falling out of love, heart scars etc. Loved this one so much, and would make a great Black Mirror episode!

Unmoor by Mark Oshiro ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was powerful and beautifully written. In a land with mages, Felix is using his saves to Unmoor, to disconnect certain memories from things and places to make the heartbreak easier. I really loved this. A full book from the POV of osmeone who unmoors would be really cool!

The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
This is a sci-fi set in a frozen Chicago. They are crashed, trying to survive the tundra. Just didn't find this one all too captivating. I had strange flashes to that movie where they're trapped in a NewYork library during a crazy blizzard~~~

The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I understand what was trying to be done with this one, but the writing and the story didn't grab me. King wants a new body, tired of their female form, and I do believe the story is important, but just wasn't my favorite.

Larger Than the Threads of Time by Zoraid Cordova ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Danaë is locked in a tower in Central Park. Fabian, a brujo with the sight, sees her helps to rescue her. The ending was definitely my favorite part. Question is: was this a retelling of the Greek myth about the mother of Perseus, was it a Rapunzel retelling, or a bit of both???

Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A series of diary entries that are sent between a Black prisoner and a Middle Eastern protestor. I think the format thre me off a bit.

I am in love with the strong literary directions this book took me in. A Universe of Wishes is identity work in the context of fantasy, leading us to new places in stories we know well. These are takes and tales that need to be shared widely, and I highly recommend this book for a wide range of readers and study.

This is an amazing anthology of diverse science fiction and fantasy! I loved that it includes some of my favorite authors like Rebecca Roanhorse and Tochi Onyebuchi while introducing me to snippets of other authors I haven't had the chance to read yet. From royal fantasy retellings of Cinderella to urban fantasy retellings of Rapunzel to brand new tales that I didn't recognize, A Universe of Wishes is everything that an anthology could ever hope to achieve.

A Universe of Wishes is a well-balanced and fantastic collection of emotional and thought-provoking stories which has excellent pacing both as a whole and individually.

I'm in awe of the editor who curated this. Stories with more stressful topics are placed with more relaxing ones between them, but in a way that (for me at least) never felt like mood whiplash. I read this slowly over several days, pausing to let some stories linger in my mind a while longer before moving on to the next one. There's a lot of them, so I've listed one or two sentence reactions with CWs for each. I loved some more than others, but that's just because heists stole my heart long ago and I've never minded since. The whole collection works really well together and while I suppose some other arrangement was possible, this one feels right.

A Universe of Wishes: Funny and sweet with just the right amount of darkness. CW for violence (backstory), gore, parental death (backstory).

The Silk Blade: I’m absolutely blown away, this feels like a perfectly chosen snapshot of much longer book. I’d happily read anything in this style, it conveys so much emotion and context in such few pages. I’m dazzled by the ending, my goodness. CW for violence.

The Scarlet Woman: I haven’t read the trilogy that this story is tied to, but it was engaging and I enjoyed it. It’s definitely made to be read in connection with the original series, as it does great job of introducing the characters but leaves a lot unresolved. As a kind of teaser for the main trilogy it’s pretty perfect. Their personalities are obvious and engaging, their dynamic is interesting, and there’s hints at some pretty dark events that happened before (presumably in the novels). CW for sexism (examined), gore, death.

Crystal y Cenzia: This gracefully handles a setup and payoff in addition to the main plot in just a few pages. I had time to notice a story element, forget about it, then have it circle back around to surprise me and be even better. It’s a small thing but I really appreciate it. CW for queerphobia, racism, classism.

Liberia: Gripping and tense, making me quickly invested in the solution to the crisis which dominates the story.

A Royal Affair: A prologue for a series I haven’t read. It definitely feels like it’s best read in connection with the main series, but I enjoyed it. It’s complete and understandable, but its nature as backstory means it packs a lot of trauma into very few pages. CW for violence (brief), homophobia, abuse.

The Takeback Tango: So good that for a few minutes I forgot I was reading short stories and felt like I was about to dive into a long and heist-filled saga. I already knew I liked this author’s writing, but I love the feel of this particular story and I want more. CW for colonialism (backstory).

Dream and Dare: Packing the feel of a slow-burning mystery into a walk in the woods with an uncertain outcome. CW for queerphobia (backstory).

Wish: Perfectly balanced between what to show and what to imply about the setting, conveying a story which feels deeply impactful to the characters without getting caught up in minutiae.

The Weight: Plays with the tension and uncertainty inherent in desperately needing a question answered but dreading almost every possible outcome. CW for surgery.

Unmoor: A perfectly wound story of the ragged edges of grief and the lingering echoes of heartbreak. I felt winded just from reading it, the ending is very powerful. CW for memory loss.

The Coldest Spot in the Universe: The end and the remnants, and who carries their stories. CW for mass death (backstory), death.

The Beginning of Monsters: Establishes then reframes possibilities for moving and existing. I love stories like this which convey the way it feels to think about a technical topic one knows well, but without the exact details mattering to the audience. CW for child death (not depicted).

Longer Than the Threads of Time: This fits within the world of some of author’s other books, but it works really well by itself if you’re new to this setting. I hope I meet these characters again because I need to know what happens next, and it feels like there's a chance they'll show up later if the author continues setting books here. CW for imprisonment.

Habibi: A pretty perfect way to end the collection. The story touches on a lot of tough topics and ends in way that teeters between hope and despair. CW for imprisonment, suicide (not depicted), war (not depicted), starvation, death (not depicted).

A collection of short stories. With anthologies, its expected that some are hit or miss. There were a few that were amazing and I adored. These stories are great for a short easier reads that don’t take up too much of your time.