Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I could barely finish this one ... there is very little symmetry occurring between all the stories in this anthology, and though there is clearly talent among the authors included, it feels like that talent was only producing very juvenile, obvious things. I feel like this is a disjointed compilation of stories, and at the end of the day they all blur together in my mind as nothing really special. There are not stand-outs that I can name in this anthology.

Overall 5⭐

Diverse writers 5⭐

Diverse characters in each story 5⭐

Content warnings on almost every story 👍

I absolutely loved this anthology. Scifi and fantasy are my favorite genres and these short stories were an absolute treat.

Some of them are a little light hearted, some are heavy and dark. Some are funny.

All feel real, fleshed out. Each character in each story was well done. I like some over others but I dislike none of them.

There's trans representation, gay representation, multiple identities, it was amazing.

These stories range from individuals actively fighting against facist regimes to others who fight back by refusing to let people afraid to live their lives.

Sometimes the only thing you can do is refuse to be shut away, make yourself small and believe the horrendous lies people spew. Standing up to hate can be a rebellion or someone walking out of their house and not hiding who they are.

My one complaint comes from one of the early stories. In it is a description of skin that reads "...the only woman with skin darker than a dirty linen table cloth."

Skin should never be compared to something dirty, especially when in regards to darker skin. I don't care if the person who is the owner of the skin tone being referenced is an awful person. Colorism is a serious issue and it has no place being a casual descriptor in fiction.

That's the only thing that I disliked but even now it still doesn't sit well with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this e-arc