ARC was provided by NetGalley and Random House Children’s in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published on the release date (December 8th, 2020, Happy Release Day!)


Content/Trigger Warnings: Brief desecration of the dead (A Universe of Wishes), death and talk of death (A Universe of Wishes, The Coldest Spot in the Universe & Habibi), loss of a loved one (A Universe of Wishes, The Takeback Tango, The Weight, The Coldest Spot in the Universe, & Longer Than the Threads of Time), grief (A Universe of Wishes, Liberia, The Takeback Tango, & Wish, The Weight) trauma/PTSD (A Universe of Wishes, Unmoor, & Longer Then the Threads of Time), physical violence (The Silk Blade & A Royal Affair), murder (The Scarlet Woman & The Takeback Tango), mentions of human sacrifice (The Scarlet Woman), homophobia (Cristal y Ceniza, A Royal Affair, & Dream and Dare), kidnapping/abduction (A Royal Affair), talk of colonization (The Takeback Tango & The Coldest Spot in the Universe), mentions of slavery (The Takeback Tango), mentions of genocide (The Takeback Tango), sexism (Dream and Dare), bullying (Dream and Dare), minor themes of misandry (Dream and Dare), chronic illness (Wish), brief mentions of infidelity (The Weight), mentions of cheating (The Weight & Unmoor), manipulation (Unmoor), depictions and talk of acrophobia (Longer Than the Threads of Time), talk of suicide (Habibi), mentions of physical abuse (Habibi)


I feel so blessed that I received an arc of this book. Truly, I fell in love with so many stories within these pages and I can’t wait to see other readers to fall in love with them as well. And can we take a moment to pause and praise the diverse cast of authors this anthology brought together to make this book happen? This line up is absolutely beautiful and there’s so much representation in that fact alone! There’s also a wide diversity within the stories from characters of color to characters not fitting the mold of society, all the way to the diverse relationships. Truly, a plethora of wonderful blessings within this book. This book itself is a blessing that so many readers have waited for. I really loved this book and I’m excited to share my thoughts with you a little more.

As usual, with any anthologies, bind-ups, etc… that find their way into my personal library, I like to do a break down with a mini review for each story that shares my thoughts and feelings! I hope you enjoy!


➵ A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved this story so much! If I could give this 4.5 stars then I would have. There were so many beautiful themes that were laced throughout this book and I think many reader are going to resonate with it. For myself, I was crying for the remainder on the story once I hit one-third of the way through. I also loved the way Thorn and Sage were falling for each other. It felt very slow burn, but with underlying themes of intensity. The only reason I didn’t give this a five star is due to wanting more. It felt short and I feel that if the author wanted to, they could turn this into a true novella or even a full book because there was so much that could be explored, the world sounds incredible and I want to know more about it, and I think readers are really going to want more backstory from both of the characters (though we do get brief backstories within this book).

“It’s sacred, what we do. The dead are to be respected.”


➵ The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker ⭐⭐⭐
I enjoyed this story. It’s very slow burn with themes of discovering ones sexuality/sexual interests underneath. And I love reading stories that have those two elements within it. Also, I loved how the romance between the two female competitors felt very unexpected especially due to the tournament that happens within this short story. However, though I loved these elements, I really wanted more details and the fact that this is a short story, some things felt rushed. The pacing felt quick and for my personal taste, I would have liked a little more world building. If this had been a bit longer, I think I would have enjoyed it more because it truly feels like there’s so much more that needed to be explored or details that needed to be given. However, I really hope this gets turned into it’s own novella because the way it ends makes you wonder what will happen next.

“Something has changed for both of us since crossing the Silk Bridge this morning.”


➵ The Scarlet Woman: A Gemma Doyle Story by Libba Bray ⭐⭐
I know there are some of you who are pulling your pitchforks out right now, but hear me out first. I have never read anything by Libba Bray before. I know, I know! Truly, I loved the writing and I loved what pieces of the world building we received in this book. However, this short story feels like it’s part of a bigger series, a bigger world, or a continuation of a story that has already been created. And that doesn’t sit well with me especially when I read an anthology. Personally, I’m not a fan of novellas or short stories from series that get added into an anthology because it feels like it doesn’t belong, depending on the details more details may need to be added because of a lack of context, characters are harder to connect with if there’s backstories already established, but not included in the story, etc… There were a lot of things that influenced my choice on rating this so low and I will honestly say, that in my opinion, many readers will rate this story low if they’ve never read anything by this author before. I think those who have read works by this author will love this short story, but unfortunately for me, this wasn’t my cup of tea. I think this would have done better if it had it’s own physical novella.

“Like a cat, I am insatiably curious. And, probably, like a cat, my curiosity will be the death of me one day. I do not intend for that day to be today.”


➵ Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McLemore ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love retelling and when I say this feels like a Cinderella retelling, you will know what I mean once you read it. I loved this a lot. If I’m being honest, I would rate this 4.5 stars because I really loved so much about this short story. I loved how the story is about a daughter who’s trying to save her mothers and her family, as a whole, from being torn apart. I love that the love interest is transgender and the way they connect with our main character. I just loved it so much. I wish this would have been longer and I wish we would have received the name of our main character for this story. Aside from those two things, I loved this short story so much!

➵ Liberia by Kwame Mbalia ⭐⭐⭐
I loved a lot about this short story. I love the way the main character is so connected to their family and the way grief is represented in this short story. And I love that I was surprised to find our story follows a research officer for agriculture. I really loved that about this whole story. However, what I didn’t love was how often the main character was treated poorly or seen a lesser, because of their job title, not only by some crew members, but also by their leader. It’s never challenged except for one scene where the main character is pushed to a break point and risks their own life to same something that should of had a higher priority to the crew as a whole. I really wanted our main character to challenge others more on how they were treated, but we never really see that. Aside from that, I would have liked to have seen more of this story because this ends on such a heavy note. I didn’t feel good after this story ended and I think for many readers, it’s going to be a heavy for them as well especially since grief is a theme that’s heavily tied in with the story and main character.

➵ A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab ⭐⭐
Once again, I loved the writing in this short story and this is my first time reading anything written by this author. However, this feels like another short story or novella that should’ve had it’s own physical book and shouldn’t have been included in this anthology. As I mentioned with a previous short story, I feel like many readers who haven’t read anything by this author are going to give this a low rating because it’s obvious this is a short story/backstory from a series and if they’re not familiar with the characters, the backstories, the world, etc… then this can lead to a poor reading experience. For me personally, I had so many questions that I wasn’t getting answers to that it felt almost impossible to focus on the story and it wasn’t the best reading experience for me. I think those who are familiar with the characters, world, series etc… this author created, they will fall in love with it or enjoy this a lot more than someone who hasn’t read the series this comes from.

➵ The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This short story had me in my feelings the whole dang time I was reading it. There are a lot of themes of grief woven through this short story, but what I love most is the theme of reclaiming oneself in the mist of that grief and finding a place for oneself again. This short story reminds me of a mission from Mass Effect 2 with Kasumi Gato and I love everything about this. I think the author did a beautiful job with this short story, the world building, the bits of backstory, and I’m really hoping this gets turned into it’s own novella because I’d love to see more. I would really love to know what happens with Vi and Valerian. It was an all around great short story to read. Definitely wanted it to be longer.

➵ Dream and Dare by Nic Stone ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I think this will be a story that resonates with a lot of readers. I know it made me feel a certain kind of way. The writing was so beautiful and the story line is very captivating, but what I loved most was the love that blooms between the main character and the love interest. I really wish this had been a bit longer because I loved these characters so much and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye when this ended. There’s also a lot of themes of how some women get looked down upon or treated poorly by their friends, family, other women, just for enjoying or wearing more masculine couture. And I think many readers are going to appreciate how this story addresses it and I love how the main character addresses it as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this, but I wish it was a tad longer.

“Dream knows Dare doesn’t need to be rescued. Not in the least.
The monster does.”


➵ Wish by Jenni Balch ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Every person with a chronic illness is going to be hit in the feels when they read this short story and I say that confidently, with my whole damn chest. If I could, this story would have gotten 4.5 or even 5 stars because any story that can pull emotions out of me, right from the gate, deserves all my love and appreciation. I loved this, I loved it so much. Oh, I wish I could go into details with this one, but I truly think going in with very little detail is the best way to read this short story. However, I will say that I can’t speak on the chronic illness (immune thrombocytopenic purpura or ITP) representation in this short story. But, if you’re reading my review and you have an ownvoice review or you know someone with an ownvoice review for ITP, then please link it so I can direct others to that review.

“I can do things; I can’t change people. Because Wishing another person different is never the right answer. Even if you figured out some way to make it happen, it doesn’t end well.”


➵ The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton ⭐⭐⭐
This is an interesting short story. I had a bit of a mixed bag about how I originally felt about this short story, but decided that genuinely I enjoyed the majority of this story. I have to admit, the opening of this short story made me think of something similar to Bioshock or something that felt very steampunk and I loved that. I loved that from the first impression, I was able to feel an atmosphere that was different compared to a lot of the other short stories in this anthology. Also, I thought the concept of how hearts were read was very unique. This is the first time I’ve ever read a book that takes the heart and uses it with a unique concept like the way it tells if you relationship is meant to last or not. It’s incredibly unique. However, my biggest issue with this short story was being unable to connect with either of the characters. Nothing drew my attention to their personalities, Grace’s character felt like it was too much while Marcus faded to the background , and despite the details of both characters’ pasts, I simply didn’t care what would happen to them. As a whole, this short story was enjoyable. I would love to see this world explored further and I would love to know what’s going to happen next because the ending left me curious.

➵ Unmoor by Mark Oshiro ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This short story is truly a gem and the only short story that resonated with me so much, had me crying the entire time, that there was no way I couldn’t give this story five stars. Mark Oshiro has been an author that has snuck up on me and has recently become a new favorite author of mine. So I might be a little bias with giving this short story five stars, but Oshiro has such a powerful way of drawing the emotions out of a reader with their writing. I remember a lot of details from a lot of the short stories in this anthology, but I remember everything that happened this is particular story the most. Truly, this short story is a treasure and this has me eager to read more books by this author.

➵ The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed ⭐⭐⭐⭐
If this short story doesn’t make you appreciate your life or make you want to live it to the fullest, I don’t know what will. When I finished this short story, I had to take a huge pause from continuing my reading of this anthology because this short story left an impact with me. I think the author did an amazing job with the writing of this story because you can feel the encouragement radiating throughout this entire thing. It also has a unique way at looking at humanity and history, and I really loved that about this story. And, the way this short story is written is in voice log form. I have no doubt, that if this were an audiobook novella, it would sound beautiful because it’s one thing to be able to convey hope and encouragement, but it’s another to hear it from someone’s lips. My only complaint is I wish this was longer because I wanted more, so much more and I wasn’t ready for this story to end.

“Somewhere along the way, we decided telling lies to ourselves was the easiest way to live.”


➵ The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tessa Gratton has such a unique way of writing. Even this short story is so unique, but it’s something you can picture this author writing. There’s very much an essence of the author in throughout this story and I thought it was absolutely beautiful. Not only the writing, but the world building is so beautifully crafted. Though this is a short story, the author really conveys the image of this world very well. And the amount of diversity we read throughout this story is absolutely perfection. Truly, another fantastic short story, but it only needed to be longer!


➵ Longer Than the Threads of Time by Zoraida Cordova ⭐⭐⭐⭐
When I said I wanted retellings, Zoraida Cordova said, “Let me show you a retelling!” and put this beautifully written, gut wrenching Rapunzel retelling smack dab in this anthology. This was absolutely everything I wanted in a Rapunzel retelling and I’m a bit upset that this doesn’t have it’s own book. I have always loved the concept of a magical world living alongside the mundane world and I wanted so much more of this world. I want to know what our main character did to get locked up in the tower, I want to know what will happen to this beautiful romance, I have so many questions and not enough answers! Also, this is my first time reading anything by this author and I’m impressed. I really want to read more and experience this writing more. My only complaint is this felt too short and I wanted at least five more pages because it was too good.

➵ Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is another one of those short stories that I would have given 4.5 to because it so well written and I have no doubt that this will bring out strong emotions with many readers. I loved the way that this short story is written in letters between two inmates. Not only is this written between two inmates, this short story brings out so many emotions, shows the importance of having a connection with another person, and how people can save one another whether they realize it or not. Personally, I just wanted a few more pages because I needed to know if these two character got the happy ending they deserved. Truly, this author has a very powerful, moving way of writing and I’m so glad this anthology concluded with this short story.

“If I closed my eyes, I could imagine myself as the main character. And I was the hero who did not destroy things but saved them.”


Overall, I gave A Universe of Wishes four stars because out of a possible 75 stars (5 stars possible for each of the 15 stories) this collection accumulated 54 stars (72%)! Technically this should be a three star rating (3.5 stars actually, if half stars were a thing), but I decided that since I really enjoyed reading this book that I would give it four stars because I truly feel this is a wonderful book to read especially during this time of year.


The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

This fourth anthology produced by the We Need Diverse Books campaign features 15 new stories by 15 diverse YA authors, including Samira Ahmed, Jenni Balch, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, V. E. Schwab, Tara Sim, and Nic Stone. While the three previous volumes have been primarily contemporary realistic fiction, this collection of short stories are all fantasy or science fiction, ranging from deep space to near future dystopian, fairy tale retellings to magical communication via toilet. Some of these authors I had read before, and some were new to me.

After finishing, I went back through to narrow down my favorites, see which stories had spoken most to me, and was surprised and thrilled to find myself highlighting more than half the stories in this book! I could list all these story titles for you, but instead, I'll just mention two, and leave you to discover your favorites on your own.

"The Coldest Spot in the Universe" by Samira Ahmed was the story that left me the most unsettled. Set in dual timelines, one far in the future (though how far is a little unclear due to their different calendar year), and one just ten years from now. In 2031, we are hearing from the journal of Razia, a teenage girl who has seen the devastation of our planet and a cold age set in due to a horrendous miscalculation of a nuclear solution. Later, we hear the voice log of another teenage girl, many many years in the future, who has returned to our planet as part of an archeological mission to determine what happened to humanity and if the planet is stable to return. The horrifying and tragic picture of our planet painted by Ahmed is disturbing to say the least, and not that unrealistic, and the connection between these girls many generations apart was incredibly powerful.

The last story of the collection, "Habibi" by Tochi Onyebuchi, is an epistolary story between two young men trapped in solitary confinement across the globe from each other. While their cultures, languages, and environments are about as far as they could be from each other, their experience is startlingly the same. Somehow, through some mysterious magic involving bodily processes (yes: through their poop.), they are able to send each other letters. Through their communication, they find connection where they had none, hope where they had none, love where they had none. It's beautiful and devastating.

I'm only now seeing, through discussing each of these stories, how many similarities there are between them. I guess I know what themes were speaking to me this week.

This beautiful book comes out tomorrow and should appeal to any YA speculative fiction lover you know! Once again, I find myself loving these anthologies and seeing the need to include more of them on my tbr. I will be posting this review on my blog at the link listed below and my bookstagram account (@shecantstopreading) tomorrow morning. Thank you to Crown and Netgalley for the early review copy!

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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4,5*
A truly fantastic collection of short stories from various authors, featuring different ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, genders, and beliefs. From historical fiction, to fantasy, to sci-fi, we have a thoughtfully curated selection of beautiful stories written by many of our favourite authors. However, many are connected to their ongoing series and existing books, and therefore contain spoilers. But they are still enjoyable to read regardless, without needing much context.

I wish I had the forethought to rate each story in this anthology, because it was a very mixed collection. Some stories were amazing 5 star reads, some average, others left me wondering how they made it through the editing process... For now, “A Universe of Wishes” gets three stars for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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If you are looking for new authors, want to support a favorite author, or add lgbt and other rep to spice up your shelves, I would recommend this anthology.
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Although I didn’t like each story in this collection, I can say that they blended nicely. This book had a vibe, and all of the stories fit together well.
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Thank you NetGally and Random House for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Releases Dec 8th, 2020!
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I am still new to reading anthologies, but this one wowed me for sure. Each story felt like a precious gem I read, then paused to savor. I love fantasy and was amazed how each story had its own voice and world that stood out to me. I read a lot of this genre but each of these stories felt like something new.

This collection put out by We Need Diverse Books truly has something for everyone. Boasting that it "contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world" is exactly what this story collection accomplishes. There are some stories that I was more attached to than others; however, this collection, overall, is a winner.

A Universe of Wishes is my first ever anthology, and I am so excited to say it was amazing. I definitely want to read more anthologies after reading this spectacular book full of so many amazing stories. I really was interested in reading this because I knew almost all of the authors and have absolutely loved their books. While some of the short stories may not have hit the mark with me, most of them were really spectacular and was making me wish they were full length books.

I don’t really know how to really go into detail because they’re so many short stories. I will say this book had a little bit of everything. Every emotion was felt and everything magical was included. My favorites from A Universe of Wishes were: A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim, Liberia by Kwame Mbalia, A Royal Affair by VE Schwab, and The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed.

I wanted to give a rating to each short story as well and to showcase how many amazing authors are included in this wonderful anthology. Going in order from the first story to the last.
A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim 5/5
The Silk Blade by Natalie Parker 3/5
The Scarlet Woman: A Gemma Doyle Story by Libba Bray 2/5
Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McIemore 5/5
Liberia by Kwame Mbalia 5/5
A Royal Affair by VE Schwab 5/5
The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roadhouse 4/5
Dream and Dare by Nic Stone 2/5
Wish by Jenni Balch 4/5
The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton 3.5/5
Unmoor by Mark Oshiro 4/5
The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed 5/5
The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton 2/5
Longer Than The Threads of Time by Zoraida Cordova 4/5
Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi 3.5/5

I really connected with a lot of these stories, and even the ones that I didn’t necessarily enjoy I know a lot of other people will. I am so glad I decided to read this because it was a beautiful collection. I truly wouldn’t mind at all if these all became full books.

This is the best anthology I have read in a long time. Every story sucked me in to some degree, and some left me completely captivated and obsessively googling authors. My top three were "A Universe of Wishes" by Tara Sim, "The Silk Blade" by Natalie C. Parker, and "The Beginning of Monsters" by Tessa Gratton. "The Coldest Spot in the Universe" by Samira Ahmed was up there too. Highly recommend.

1. "A Universe of Wishes" by Tara Sim ☆☆☆☆ - Everyone has magic within them and its just a matter of learning how to harness it. One boy learns the secret, but some will stop at nothing to keep it from getting out. I loved the magical elements in this story and the relationship development between the two boys. Could have done without the organ harvesting. The boy's wish was a little cliché but really resonated with me.

2. "The Silk Blade" by Natalie C. Parker ☆☆☆☆☆ - This story is beautiful. Like the whole aesthetic is amazing and the descriptions are rich and full. A young girl sets out to prove her strength to the Bloom and bring honor to her family. On her way to the contest, she meets another competitor and immediately falls for her, making the contest now a bit...complicated. She wants to protect her rival, but she also wants to win. She wants to prove herself worthy to the Bloom and bring honor to her family, but she also wants to explore her feelings for her fellow competitor. This tug and pull between familial responsibility and duty and love stood out in the best way here.

3. "The Scarlet Woman" by Libba Bray ☆☆ - I will freely admit I have never read a Gemma Doyle story. I have heard of the Gemma Doyle stories, but never actually picked one up. I think this story is really hard to get into if you aren't familiar with her stories, because the hook is the whole "the gang is getting back together again" thing. The story doesn't even really get started until the very end. It reads like a teaser, but one where I didn't feel like I had enough context to get into it. And, being very honest, reading a story centering stuck up rich white girls in the late 1800s is not what I expected in this anthology (one of the girls is attracted to another girl which takes up about a page in this story and that's the extent of the diversity as far as I can tell). Idk, unless you're excited about Gemma Doyle, I might skip this one.

4. "Cristal y Ceniza" by Anna-Marie McLemore ☆☆☆ - A girl lives in the countryside where her community is being oppressed and queer people are having their families separated. She sneaks into a ball in the next kingdom over (hints of a Cinderella story) to ask the prince for sanctuary for her people. The prince himself is trans and the girl is mystified by the ease with which he can be himself and exist in his own body in his kingdom. They click instantly, even as the other nobles at the ball are clearly only just slightly more than low-key tolerant of the prince's identity, let alone of her people. But he gives a very affirming speech and welcomes her people into his kingdom--personally. Heartwarming, just a bit cliché for my tastes.

5. "Liberia" by Kwame Mbalia ☆☆☆ - I don't know if it was the hour of the day or what, but I had trouble getting into this one. It kind of felt like turning on a Star Trek episode 20 minutes in. Took a while to get my bearings. By the end I liked it, but was still confused about what I had just read. From what I could gather, there is an agricultural researcher on a ship on its way to settling a new colony in space. He is responsible for the plants that will grow the food for the colony, but the First Officer (for reasons I could not quite discern...room on the lander?) doesn't think it is practical for him to bring all of the plants to the surface and thinks he has overly personified the plants. He is insistent he needs all of them or the colony will starve. By the end, he only gets to bring the one cultivar, but it is the plant that holds the essence of his ancestors that have made this journey possible--all of the farmers and ag researchers in his family before him, and he has to honor them by bringing the plant to the surface. I totally dig that, just wish it could have been clearer from the beginning? Maybe I should try this one again.

6. "A Royal Affair" by V.E. Schwab ☆☆☆ - Ok, so I have since learned about Shades of Magic and have an even greater appreciation for this story. This one did feel rushed and like something was missing when I read it, but didn't feel completely out of context like "The Scarlet Woman" did. You have a noble magician who falls for a prince, but the magician's family is very homophobic and his brother makes him break off the relationship, which he does in the harshest of ways. I mean, ouch, my heart was really hurting for both of them in that moment. The prince's family is very protective and won't let the magician apologize. The magician's family sells him to a ship captain to break him, but then he gets picked up by pirates. Eventually he makes his way back to the kingdom, but the king is in no mood to see him and gives him a ship and sends him on his way. It made me want to read Shades of Magic!

7. "The Takeback Tango" by Rebecca Roanhorse ☆☆☆☆ - A thief commands her own spaceship and flies around rescuing artifacts from planets that have been colonized and returning them to their rightful people. She begins with her own planet and sneaks into a ball full of Imperium nobility. She meets a young man she thinks is a prince, but is in fact a thief like herself. They team up for the greater good. This one is pretty fun and full of action.

8. "Dream and Dare" by Nic Stone ☆☆ - I just wasn't that into it. It felt a little simplistic to me. Dream is a tomboy at heart, but she loves wearing elaborate gowns--which she treks through trees and mud, much to her mother's dismay. Despite this, she is seen as the "dream girl," the perfect wife. But is not interested in courting anyone. Dare is a princess who has run away from society's expectations. She prefers trousers and archery to her pretty princess lifestyle. Obviously she and Dream are made for each other. So Dream sets off into the woods to find Dare, who may or may not have been eaten by a monster. Whatever.

9. "Wish" by Jenni Balch ☆☆☆☆ - A wish granter steps out of his lamp to find himself not on Earth, where he is accustomed, but on Venus. Even more frustratingly, the girl who called upon him seems to have no idea how this wish things works and wants to talk to him about her wish first. He just wants her to make her wish so he can be on his way. But as they start talking, he find himself actually caring and willing to do anything in his power to make her wish possible.

10. "The Weight" by Dhonielle Clayton ☆☆☆ - Two young lovers go in to have their hearts weighed and their imprints read so they know if they love each other enough to stay together. The boy loves the girl deeply, but he can't help but wonder who else is out there and what a relationship with someone else might be like. Not that he wants to leave her, he loves her tremendously, he just can't not wonder. The girl has never considered a life with anyone else and seems taken aback by the nurse's revelation that most people who have their hearts weighed do so multiple times, with multiple people. Everyone seems to be cautioning the young loves against having their hearts weighed, but they just want an easy answer. Will the readings be enough to give it to them?

11. "Unmoor" by Mark Oshiro ☆☆☆ - Imaginative and engaging, but just not for me. Two boys are young and in love, but one keeps stealing glances at other boys, liking their pictures on social media, and scrolling through dating apps. He doesn't seem present in the relationship and they break up. The other boy is devastated and spends all the savings he had to take a trip to Europe with his young lover on a process to lift the memories of the boy out of all of the places where they made them so that he can roam his city again. Each stop is more draining than the last, and yet he seems to be coming to a realization about his ex as he goes along -- a realization he isn't quite ready to face.

12. "The Coldest Spot in the Universe" by Samira Ahmed ☆☆☆☆ - A family is dying in the wake of severe climate change and lamenting how they have no legacy and no one will remember them. A cold, hungry, slow, and lonely death. Humanity had just recently launched some space ships, hoping that they would find somewhere to settle and carry on the human race. 1,000+ years into the future, a young girl is part of a crew investigating the planet and finds this family and others frozen solid, perfectly preserved in their last moments. She has felt called to remember them, to tell their story so their legacy can live on.

13. "The Beginning of Monsters" by Tessa Gratton ☆☆☆☆☆ - A fascinating story about human design and imagining something better for ourselves. A small king calls upon a designer to change his body from a feminine-forward aesthetic to a more masculine one, as he has "tired" of being a woman. The designer is incredibly talented and impeccably detail-oriented. But she has a secret motive. While designing the small king's new body, she meets the king's only child and develops a tremendous appreciation for ans design. They begin to fall for each other, but the small king must never know. An opens up the designer's worldview to the possibility of a world beyond four genders, four forces, and human limitation. The designer is intrigued, but also knows that the bounds of human imagination are limitless and crossing them with design is immeasurably hazardous. But is it worth it?

14. "Longer Than the Threads of Time" by Zoraida Córdova ☆☆☆☆ - In this Rapunzel reboot, a witch is sealed into a prison tower, but decades later, no one seems to recall why. A young wizard gets curious and stops to talk to her from the base of the tower one night. She invites him up by lowering her hair, and he is fascinated by her. They talk about magic and the past. They start to fall for each other and they kiss, but not even the kiss of true love can free her. While the young man's mother continues to warn him of staying out late and getting stuck in a dangerous magical situation he cannot get out of, he pays her no heed and continues to try to find a way to free the young witch.

15. "Habibi" by Tochi Onyebuchi ☆☆☆ - I don't typically mind epistolary stories, but this one was hard for me to get into. A Black prisoner in Long Beach locked up at a young age and a Palestinian protestor in Gaza, both in solitary, find an...unconventional way of communicating with each other. But their letters inspire each other to find the heroes within themselves and transform the world around them.

Overall, really superb reading. Much thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the eARC in exchange for the review.

A Universe of Wishes is an upcoming YA Fantasy Anthology from We Need Diverse Books, edited by the talented, Dhonielle Clayton. Featuring fifteen diverse stories from some of the best OwnVoices authors currently writing in the YA genre, this collection has something for everyone.

As I read this collection, I kept track of my rating for each story, as well as a short description. The following are my initial notes:

1. A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really enjoyed this one, surprisingly moving for such a short story. Buzzwords: m/m romance, dark magic, family tragedy, hope, justice, wishes.

2. The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker, ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Bloom of Everhart is ready to choose his consort. A competition ensues. One contestant feels more drawn to another than she does to her stated prize.

3. The Scarlet Woman: A Gemma Doyle Story by Libba Bray, ⭐⭐⭐
New York City, 1897. I feel like I am missing something? Am I supposed to know Gemma Doyle?

4. Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie Mclemore, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Cinderella retelling where a peasant girl sneaks into the kingdom during a ball, hoping for an audience with the King and Queen, to plead for the rights of her two mothers, their relationship and others like them. She meets the trans-Prince and he changes everything.

5. Liberia by Kwame Mbalia, ⭐⭐⭐.5
Following a crew on a futuristic mission. One of the characters is attached to the plants they are cultivating from their long distant homeland. I don't think I got as much out of this as I should have, but Mbalia's writing is so strong.

6. A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now I definitely need to read the Shades of Magic trilogy!! I loved this. Following Alucard Emery, his relationship with Ray Marshall, and how he came to Captain the Night Spire.

7. The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roadhouse, ⭐⭐⭐.5
A solo space Captain who has lost everything sets out to steal back artifacts stolen from her people and housed in a museum. She discovers an unlikely and charming ally along the way.

8. Dream and Dare by Nic Stone, ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The story of two misunderstood girls being crushed by traditional gender roles and societal expectations. Remember girls, to always Dare to Dream!

9. Wish by Jenni Balch, ⭐⭐⭐.5
A wish granter from a lamp is surprised when he is summoned to find he is no longer on Earth, but a colony on Venus. The wisher has very special circumstances and he is determined to help her, no matter the cost.

10. The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Every heart tells a story. Futuristic and odd, this story of a young couple secretly questioning love gave me chills!

11. Unmoor by Mark Oshiro, ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
In a world where magic exists, young Felix uses a very different method for ridding himself of heartache. This was powerful.

12. The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An uninhabitable Earth left behind. An abandoned wasteland. A futuristic archeologist finds record of a girl who once lived. Sadly too realistic.

13. The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton, ⭐⭐.5
An architect who redesigns human form begins a relationship with the heir of a King whose body she is redesigning. Enjoyed the commentary on gender and gender fluidity, but other than that, I found this one quite slow.

14. Longer Than the Threads of Time by Zoraida Cordova, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Boy meets girl. Danae and Fabian. A girl from the DR, locked in a tower for decades. A brujo with the power to save her. A delightfully dark Rapunzel retelling.

15. Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A powerful closing story for this collection. Two young men, a world apart, are each held in solitary confinement. One, from Long Beach, California, the other from the Gaza Strip in Palestine. They develop a channel for corresponding and build a deep and binding connection.

This is a really well-rounded collection. Obviously, there were stories that I connected with more than others, but that is always the way with anthologies. Every person who reads this will have a different experience with these stories, and that's okay. That's what it's all about.

I think all of the contributors to this collection should be proud of their work. I am so happy that this book, and others like it, exist. I highly recommend this anthology and hope that We Need Diverse Books continues to produce materials like this for a long time to come.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Crown Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.

It was one of my most anticipated anthologies of the year and it definitely did not disappoint!!

Such a great collection! I really loved reading this. Fun and interesting stories by amazing authors.

Thank you so much, Random House Children's, Crown books for young readers and NetGalley, for the chance to read this book!

From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, A universe of wishes is a collection of short stories written by so many amazing authors, like Ve Schwab, Nic Stone, Tara Sim, Mark Oshiro and so on.

I absolutely loved this book, the stories are amazing and some are definitely my favourites! Stories about love, family, friendship, justice, connections, fighting for one's freedom and so many peculiar kind of magic it's so intense!

A royal affair, by Ve Schwab, is an Alucard story, about how Rhy and Alucard started their relationship, what made them separated and how Alucard became the captain of the Night Spire and it's heartwrenching and beautiful. Definitely one of my favourite stories, it was so amazing getting to know Rhy and Alucard when they were younger and in love with one other, to see a family's injustice and brutality and the power of love and connections.

A universe of wishes by Tara Sim opens the collection and gives its name and it's about love, wishes, family, justice, a sweet and intense queer love between two young men, fighting for justice and looking for magic and wishes. I'd love to read a whole book about them. The magic was amazing. I need a book set in that universe.

Crystal y Ceniza is one of my favourite short stories, about a young woman fighting to keep her mothers together against men who want to separate lgbt couples and family and impose their “order”, forcing woman and man together, disrespecting their wishes and loves. Amazing the presence of a trans prince, ready to do what it takes for people from another countries, to fight for people like him. And, OMG, the magic glass slippers! A mix between Cinderella and Dorothy!

Dream and Dare by Nic Stone is so incredible, a story about society's expectations, or, to be more honest, what men thought women should do or act, how they should dress and talk and people defying their "rules" and impositions to be free to be themselves, with whatever dress they want to wear and whoever they want to be.

Unmoor by Mark Oshiro is a story about heartbreak, the difficulty of moving on after an hard break up and a magic made for helping these people. It was so intense and heartwrenching I couldn't not be moved!

These are only few of the collection's short stories, but I loved them all. It was such a pleasure reading them. Some are perfect in their being short stories, while I definitely need something more from others, I want to know more and more about these characters!

I recommend this book to those who want to travel in different places and in space too, meeting amazing characters, strong- willed and incredible in their desires and fights to be themselves, for justice, for family and friendships!

4 STARS


In these new universes, anything can happen.

We Need Diverse Books is behind A Universe of Wishes, and at its heart, this anthology is specifically meant to center marginalized voices doing marvelous things, outlandish things, world-altering things. Whether it's traveling to new planets or old ones, or making impossible wishes, every story centers a voice that publishing typically underrepresents. Queer characters, disabled characters, and characters of color take the stage, each for no more than a brief moment at a time, but each of them makes an impact.

In this anthology, in some 400 pages, there are entire universes to get lost in. I can't think of a better way to spend my time.


"Close your eyes. Make a wish. The universe is yours for the taking."

I absolutely cannot get enough of these new worlds. I tried to take it slow, one story at a time, but ending up devouring the anthology because of all these bright new spins on familiar stories and genres. My personal favorites far and away were Natalie C. Parker and Rebecca Roanhorse's contributions.

Parker crafted a story with a courtship tournament, pitting three warriors against one another to win the hand of royalty, but she infused with with rich floral imagery and a budding sapphic romance I would pay to read more of. Willador Mayhew owns my heart now, and I want to see the aftermath of her decisions.

Meanwhile, Roanhorse smashed together sci-fi and thieves while critiquing the museum practices that steal from other cultures and put their heritage on display like quirky little oddities rather than important cultural artifacts. I can never get enough of thieves, and if someone is going to write a story that's effectively a reverse Indiana Jones, without a doubt, I'm in! Plus, I loved the easy relationship between Vi and Evie, thief and AI. More benevolent AI, please, since malevolent AI feels so...tired by now.


Whatever you're dreaming of, this anthology has it.

That's the true joy of A Universe of Wishes: with so many voices and so many stories, there's something for everyone. More than that, it's wonderful to see these underrepresented voices put at the forefront, made the heroes of the story. The anthology truly lives up to the We Need Diverse Books mission, and I'm going to have to check out the three anthologies that came before this at this rate!

Really, my only disappointment is the way some of these stories require background knowledge. I got through V.E. Schwab's story just fine since I know the Shades of Magic series, but I floundered through Libba Bray's, which centers on Gemma Doyle. It's convinced me to look into her Gemma Doyle series, sure, but the lack of background knowledge makes it hard to really sink into the story. I got too distracted by questions and felt unable to connect fully to the characters. Really, stories like these feel better for bonus material pertaining to the series in question, like in the back of softcover editions. Putting them in an anthology leaves some readers without a starting point to really get the most out of it.


A Universe of Wishes is headed to our universe soon!

Hitting shelves on December 8th, A Universe of Wishes is nearly here. If you haven't already pre-ordered a copy or placed a request at your library (or put it on a holiday wishlist!), now is definitely the time. These are brilliant stories ready to make a home in your heart, and they deserve a home on your shelf.

Plus, that cover is outrageously gorgeous, and if nothing else, it's going to look really, really good as the crown jewel of your TBR pile. Trust me on this.



CW: loss of a loved one, gore, body horror, homophobia, racism, slavery, genocide, sexual harassment, smoking, child death, animal death mention, violence (including gun violence), suicide, police brutality

[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 12pm EST on 12/6/20.]

A Universe of Wishes edited by Dhonielle Clayton is an exceptional YA fantasy anthology. There are a lot of great authors that have contributed to this We Need Diverse Books collection of short stories. My favorite story hands down was easily "A Royal Affair" by V.E. Schab. I didn't know exactly how much I needed to the world of the Shades of Magic series. It was brilliant to see Rhy, Alucard, Kell, and Lila again. Kell reminds me of myself when it comes to how protective he is over his family and friends. Otherwise my favorite stories were "The Takeback Tango" by Rebecca Roadhouse, "Cristal y Ceniza" by Anna-Marie Mclemore, "Dream and Dare" by Nic Stone, and "Unmoor" by Mark Oshiro. The only story I wasn't invested in was "The Scarlet Woman: A Gemma Doyle Story" by Libba Bray. I usually love Bray's style, but the Gemma Doyle Trilogy just wasn't for me. Overall, this imaginative collection is well worth reading through even if you're mostly only interested in V.E. Schwab's new short story. Have I mentioned how much I'm looking forward to the upcoming Threads of Power trilogy?

A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology is an amalgamation of the voices of many diverse authors. Each contributing author has written a new story that explores aspects of diversity, acceptance, and bravery for a young adult audience. Contributing authors include V.E. Schwab, Libba Bray, Tara Sim, Anna-Marie Mclemore, Dhonielle Clayton, and more. Stories include aspects of fairy tales, fantasy, science fiction, and/or adventure.

This anthology has a little something for everybody, including me! Fans of the Shades of Magic or Gemma Doyle series will feel right at home with this anthology, as V.E. Schwab and Libba Bray respectively return to those universes to expand them. Jenni Balch, winner of the WNDB 2019 Young Adult Short-Story contest, makes her debut in this anthology with a story about a magical lamp on Venus. The contents of the other great stories include dark magic, fairy re"tale"ings, space gardeners, disappearing memories, and remnants of youth in a distant future. With such interesting and diverse subject (and character) matter, there's bound to be something to spark your imagination and interest, and you may discover a new favorite author among these stories. Let A Universe of Wishes envelop your senses sooner than later!

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.

I’m a sucker for retellings with a twist, and so I was instantly captivated by Anna-Marie Mclemore’s Cristal y Cerisa and Zoraida Cordova’s Longer Than the Threads of Time - the former being a Cinderella retelling, and the latter being a Rapunzel retelling. Both stories managed to surprise me with a twist to the fairytales that I know so well, and I know I’ll be thinking about Cristal y Cerisa - which more so reminded me of Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella than any other version of the tale, and Longer Than the Threads of Time for quite some time. Some other standouts for me were Dhonielle Clayton's The Weight, Natalie C. Parker’s The Silk Blade, and A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim. Without giving too much away, The Weight left me with many questions to reflect upon when it comes to love. The Silk Blade was a wonderfully written sapphic romance which included a competition, and A Universe of Wishes was surprisingly moving.

On the other hand, there were a few shorts that were hard for me to get into. I think if they had been longer, with more chances for world-building and development, I would’ve enjoyed them more. Or maybe they just simply weren’t for me! There were also a few shorts that didn’t seem to fit under the theme of “wishes” as well, which left me a little confused.

While there were some stories that were continuations of other universes that I know very little of -- namely Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle Trilogy and V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series, I didn’t mind too much. The Gemma Doyle story was a little confusing for me, because I didn’t know anything about Gemma Doyle. Since the Shades of Magic story (which features Rhy/Alucard’s origin story) was set prior to the series, I didn’t have that same problem, and instead, found myself somewhat interested in picking up Shades of Magic.

Most of the short stories in this anthology left me shocked or wanting more, and I found a lot of them incredibly powerful as well. I’m excited to look into the authors I’m not as familiar with as well!

My only wish for this book is that some of the stories were longer! It was brilliant to have so many diverse stories thrust and combined into one remarkable anthology that is a must have in every classroom and library. As a teacher, I've found several that would be fantastic to integrate into short story units within the classroom just because of their diverse nature and brilliant storytelling.

Each is poignant, reflecting on issues we see in modern life, but adapting them into fantasy worlds and magical scenarios that stick with the reader well past the book's end. The only thing I would have loved to see is more cohesiveness in the stories within the anthologies. Most anthologies are clear in the theme they are addressing and how each story builds on that. With the exception of just a few, many stories felt out of place, as if they belonged to something else but were just included in this anthology because there were deadlines the authors were unable to meet. I know that wasn't the intent, but having read several other anthologies this year, it makes this one feel like it's missing its heart.

what a FANTASTIC collection of stories!! my favorites were by Tara Sim, Anna-Marie McLemore, Rebecca Roanhorse, Mark Oshiro, Samira Ahmed, Zoraida Córdova, and Tochi Onyebuchi. The Libba Bray short also made me want to give the Gemma Doyle series another try. :D

Rating: maybe 4.5 stars

Book Review
Title: A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology
Author: Dhonielle Clayton & more
Genre: Fantasy/Short Story/Collection
Rating: ***
Review: This review will be similar to my other short story collections; I will be reviewing each story individually and then the collection as a whole. As a massive fan of fantasy books especially YA fantasy I was excited to see what some of my favourite YA fantasy authors had in store for me.
A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim
A Universe of Wishes takes place in a city called Rastre where wishes can be made but the magic has to be harvested from the dead. We are then introduced to Thorn who is a street urchin, like Aladdin who has been robbing graveyards in order to harvest magic but now decides to break into an undertaker’s instead as it is less work for him. However, during the act of harvesting he is caught by Sage, the owner of the undertaker’s and he refuses to let Thorn go without an explanation. Thorn doesn’t believe that Sage is going to believe him, but he does after a demonstration and Thorn proposes that Sage lets him harvest magic and in return, he will give Sage three wishes.
Sage and Thorn spend a lot of time together where they eventually become closer even sharing a kiss when Sage accidently wishes to know who Thorn really is and the magic forces him to speak even though he doesn’t want to. He recounts a heart-breaking tale of how his parents discovered magic and wanted to share it with the world, but they were killed before they could, but he managed to escape and has been collecting wishes even since to try and bring them back without success. IN the aftermath, Thorn/Rowen flees and goes back to graverobbing only to be caught, Sage appears at the right moment making his final wish which changes everything. A Universe of Wishes is definitely a story I’d like to see in a full length novel, and it has opened my eyes to Tara Sim’s writing, and I will definitely be reading her books in the future.
The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker
The Silk Blade takes place in Everdale as Willador Mayhew is competing to win the hand of The Bloom of Everdale essentially the Prince. In this world there is no real difference between the genders as women like Willador can be more masculine and men like The Bloom can be more feminine and in addition to this both men and women are competing for The Bloom. Three competitors have made it to the final stage, one man and two women and Willador meets her female competition and finds herself instantly attracted to Arabeth “Rabi”. In the final challenge all 3 are given a vase with a flower to protect while the other two competitors attack them. While Rabi and the male competitor have their vases broken, Willador manages to protect hers meaning she has won the hand of The Bloom but she is torn since she wants to accept it for her family but she knows The Bloom would never have her heart. While the concept seems interesting to me it reminded me of two books I have read with polarising opinions. On the one hand, it reminds me of Empress of All Seasons which I loved and Girls of Paper and Fire which I hated, but I would be interested to read more from this universe.
The Scarlet Woman: A Gemma Doyle Story by Libba Bray
I haven’t read anything in the Gemma Doyle universe, so I was worried going into this story that I wouldn’t really understand anything since it takes place in an existing universe of Libba Bray’s. My suspicions about this story were correct, I have never read the Gemma Doyle series and I didn’t understand half of what went on during this story. I know there is a murder mystery element to it but everything else, the characters and the fantasy elements just didn’t come together for me because they references characters and events that happened in other books, I haven’t read so that was a disappointment. Let me know in the comments if I should pick up this series.
Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McLemore
Cristal y Ceniza is my favourite story so far in the collection as it is a Cinderella retelling with a twist. We are introduced to the protagonist who lives in a world where same sex couples are being separated and married off to the “appropriate” sex and her mothers live in fear that she will be taken from them and they will be separated from each other but there is hope as the royal family are holding a ball for their transgender son. At the ball, they meet and end up making a connection when she is propositioned by a rich woman to vanish at midnight so her daughter can “comfort” the Prince and she agrees. However, when she attempts to flee her magical slippers stop her so she can witness the same girl kissing another girl and returns to the ball to plead her case to the King and Queen where the decision is handed to the Prince who helps her and travels home with her to inform her parents of the good news. The representation in this story is flawless especially regarding trans men and things like binding and I would love to see this a full-length novel in the future.
Liberia by Kwame Mbalia
Liberia was a story I didn’t really get completely but I understood the concept of it. We are introduced to Kweku aboard the research vessel Liberia heading to the new colonies and the only people aboard are the young, people under 18 as they are the only ones who can survive the journey. This means everyone left behind family, but they are charged with protecting the plant life aboard as it will be the basis of the colony’s food supply. When the ship is damaged, Harry, the Captain orders Kweku to leave the plant behind but it isn’t possible and they do everything they can to save the plant, however, the end makes it seem like Kweku didn’t survive but it is ambiguous.
A Royal Affair by V. E. Schwab
V. E. Schwab is an author I have a love/hate relationship with as I loved City of Ghosts, but I didn’t really like A Darker Shade of Magic and I didn’t finish the Archived series, so this is going to be interesting to read. However, there is a warning at the beginning of the story about it contains the beautiful beginnings and tragic end of the affair between Rhy and Alucard which seems like it might hold spoilers for the rest of the series which I haven’t read yet so I decided ultimately to skip this story until I have finished the Shades of Magic series.
The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse
The Takeback Tango was another story that had real potential to be a full-length novel. We are introduced to Violet “Vi” as she is heading to the Museum of the Conquered to steal artefacts from her destroyed homeland from the Imperium. However, during her scoping out of the place she is interrupted by a boy who also turns out to be a thief and helps her steal back the sacred artefacts before getting arrested to allow Vi to escape. Nearly six months later they meet again, and he introduced himself as Valerian and wants Vi to be his partner in stealing the jewels belonging to the Empress of the Imperium and she agrees. It was a short wholesome story with a surprising amount of rich storytelling and worldbuilding in such a short space of time.
Dream and Dare by Nic Stone
Dream and Dare was another story that I greatly enjoyed as it follows a girl called Dream who has interests that are much more suited to boys and is brought down because of it. However, we learn that Princess Dare who a woman who dressed like a man and disappeared before her 14th birthday and people have been looking for her ever since even if it is to only win her hand in marriage. When the story begins Dream is sneaking away to find the Princess as she has been following her for years and understands the meaning behind the monster in the woods. The ending of this story was beautiful and adds a nice twist on the Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Wish by Jenni Balch
Wish was a futuristic retelling of Aladdin which I found really interesting. We are introduced to Lane who is a Granter (read as Genie) as he is summoned but when he arrives at his destination he meets Ariadne on Venus and she has no idea how the process works which is strange to Lane as the previous Wisher should have told her what she needed to know. Ariadne gets Lane to explain the process but realises he cannot heal her of the illness that means she can’t return to Earth like other children so he decides to bend the rules and takes her to Earth but it only lasts a few moments before they are transported back to Venus. While Ariadne is unconscious Lane decides he is going to stick around for a while even if it is going to be a problem for him.
The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton
I have read the Belles but this author and loved it and The Everlasting Rose is on my TBR for next year, so I was really excited to read her short story. The Weight actually turned out to be far more than I was expecting. In the Belles Clayton looks at beauty and, in the Weight, she looks at love. We are introduced to Marcus and Grace a couple who have gotten an appointment at the Heart Scale Center where their love for it each can be measured. It goes through the process and the differences in the loves between Marcus and Grace, their old loves, new loves, current loves and much more but after they awake both are nervous about the results but as they come in, they only look at each other. While the ending was left open, I did really enjoy it and would love to see the themes expanded upon.
Unmoor by Mark Oshiro
I haven’t read anything by Mar Oshiro in the past, but this story is genuinely making me reconsider. It reminded me a lot of Adam Silvera’s writing as it follows Felix who is going through the Unmoor process. It is a magical process that allows people the unmoor memories from specific locations, the memories are still there but they don’t come forward everything the person enters a specific location. Felix is steadily unmooring all the memories linked to his and Arturo’s relationship since Arturo was cheating on him. However, at the final location, Arturo is also there, and Felix begs for the spell that completely erases a memory and it is given to him making him forget Arturo but at what cost.
The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed
The Coldest Spot in the Universe was an interesting story, but it took a while to come together. The story bounces back between June 21st, 2031 and 3027 and it follows two girls. The first girl in on Earth as she witnesses the Earth rising up against them in the form of an ice age but we also get the perspective of another girl coming from another world to study the now reanimating Earth and collecting the stories of those that died there. We get to hear the final words of the final survivors of Earth as their lives come to an end even as she is searching for the cause and cure of the ice age but time is against her as the girl from another world learns her story and promises to carry it with her and not to forget what lead them there in the first place.
The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton
The Beginning of Monsters was a story I didn’t really understand despite it being one of the longer stories in this collection. We are introduced to Elir, a design from The College of Dedicated Renovation who has been hired to craft a male body for Lady Insarra because she is tired of being a woman. Throughout the designing process, Elir begins a relationship with Lady Insarra son, Irsu but he is a member of one of the warring cults and friend with the leader Lady Insarra has asked her to kill and the story ends with the cult rising and a final interaction between Elir and Irsu. Despite this the language of the story was difficult to follow and it seems all over the place because it needs more explanation. I feel that this story would work a lot better as full length novel where it could be given the depth of explanation that it needs.
Longer Than the Threads of Time by Zoraida Cordova
Longer Than the Threads of Time is another story I really enjoyed by an author I haven’t read anything from. We are introduced to Fabian who is a brujo with the gift of Sight, allowing him to see all the magical creatures in New York. We are also introduced to Danae a young girl trapping in a magical tower which has also trapped her in time, so she doesn’t age. One day Fabian decides to approach the tower and speak to Danae despite people warning him against it. Quickly they become friends and eventually begin to fall in love, but even true love’s kiss won’t break the spell binding Dane, the only thing that can break it is a willing exchange which Fabian unconsciously enters into. We learn right at the end that there was something strange about Danae which led her mother to locking her in the tower which now contains Fabian, but she promises to return for him after a family reunion. I will definitely be adding Cordova’s books to my TBR for next year and I would love to see this story expanded upon more in a full-length novel, but it was a great short story too.
Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi
Habibi was the final story in this collection and again it was written by an author I haven’t read anything from. Habibi was a story I wasn’t really connecting with at first and then it hit me like a truck. It follows Omar and Quincy as both are in prison for different reason but can somehow magically transport letter to each other. Through the letters we learn more about theirs lives and the persecution both face in America and Gaza and through the letters they begin to fall in love with one another. However, it seems like Omar is dying and he begs Quincy to come and find him when he can, if he can and Omar refers to Quincy as Habibi which means beloved. The final letters are Omar’s explanation of the word to Quincy and Quincy telling Omar he is coming. I really want to know if the pair ever managed to meet and what happened to them after the last letter but it was an amazing story to end the collection on as it almost literally punched a hole in my heart and I will definitely have to read Onyebuchi’s books. If they pack the punch this story did then they are definitely going to make me cry more than once.
Overall, I had some mixed feelings about A Universe of Wishes. On the one hand, there were some outstanding stories in this collection and it opened my eye to a lot of authors I haven’t read from. However, on the other hand, there were a few stories that just didn’t make sense to me for various reasons and there were also two stories that I couldn’t read because I hadn’t read other books by those authors. One being The Scarlet Woman as I haven’t read the Gemma Doyle series and A Royal Affair by V. E. Schwab as it takes place in the Shades of Magic series which I have yet to finish and I don’t want to be spoiled. Due to these reasons I can’t give the collection 5 stars, and I debated for a long time between 3 and 4 stars. I ultimately decided on 3 stars because 4 and 5 stars for me mean that I would re-read the entire thing more than once which I wouldn’t in this case but I may re-read a select few of the stories.

I loved this anthology. It felt like episodes of Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone. The diversity was refreshing, and there were so many reps in this book my heart filled with screams of joy. Every story was tailored to each author, although one o two surprised me.

Seeing as these are short stories, the endings can feel a tad rushed. A Few of them I had to go back and reread the last pages of because I wasn’t prepared for it to end, and had to reset. One of them had me growing at 1 am because I wished it were longer. I’m looking at you Kwame Mbalia and Mark Oshiro.

If you’re looking for an anthology filled with badarse authors and looking to get your heart put into a vice, this is the one for you. I had the best time reading it, and I hope you all do too!