This is a great collection of stories. I liked how they were organized into three sections. The Magical Now was my favorite section, particularly Creatures of Kings, this was such a hauntingly cool tale. I really enjoyed seeing the different magic systems and Color-Coded was another stand out favorite because of how cool the magic system is. The first section To The Stars really starts the collection well with Reign of Diamonds; a beautiful love story that sets the tone of this Sci-Fi section well. This is the Manifesto was another favorite that was absolutely chillingly timeless while having a great space dystopian setting. The final section; Other Times, Other Lands, was full of amazing settings, I particularly enjoyed Rogue Enchantments. Overall the book is captivating start to finish and a great anthology.

Usually compilations end up disappointing me but this one was just fantastical. It made my latin American heart happy while giving me glimpses into so many beautifully crafted worlds. Plus I got more of the Lobizona world . A must read for any fantasy aficionado.

I am sooo sorry to say that this one just Did Not work for me. The prospect of anthologies is always thrilling but disappointing, I am finding, at least recently. I A few of the stories redeemed to anthology, but overall, I think that these very talented authors are better in long-form novel writing than short stories..

An anthology of Latin America in 17 tales of fantasy, myths and science fiction.

I didn’t really know how I was going to like this, as I’m not a huge fan of anthologies, but I stayed up until nearly midnight to finish it, so it was better than I expected. The stories were from 17 different authors, and the range that was provided was insane. Mermaids in the Caribbean, a world of water, princesses fighting to the death in space. All of them were incredible, and I’m so happy that I was able to read this. It was a 5 star read for me, and I can’t wait to buy a finished copy.

Thank you to Wednesday books, St. Martins Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in advance in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The first story BLEW ME OUT OF THE PARK. I was so excited for a hispanic themed fantasy book with LGBTQ representation!! So exciting. But after starting off with such a big bang the other stories unfortunately fell a little short. I was not as entranced as I was with the first story. It was still a good fix for fantasy POC representation if you were looking for it though :)

I loved these short stories. I'm not one for this type of book, but I honestly loved almost every story I read. Most of them I wanted to beg for more time with the people and their stories. I want to beg a few of the authors to keep going in these stories because the 20-40 minutes I spent with each novel was not enough to really sit there. Overall, I really urge people to read these stories. They mix up death with mythology with future societies with romance and everything in between. These stories were unique and stunning in their own right.

Arc was given by St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (February 15th 2022)

Maybe we really should reclaim the stars! Friends, if you know me then you know I always get nervous reading anything that’s sci-fi, but oh, this anthology was a pleasant surprise. I always feel like I’m such a hard reviewer on sci-fi reads, but I really enjoyed my time within these pages and have found myself daydreaming about galaxies far, far away.

I’ll be honest, there were so many stories I fell in love with during my time reading. Trying to choose just one feels like an impossible choice. However, I think my two favorites were The First Day of Us by David Bowles and Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Cordova. Though there were many other stories in this anthology I deeply loved, these two in particular had me clutching my pearls. Maybe it was the romance or maybe the spark of the characters, but I just really loved these two stories best.

As always for my anthology reviews, I have mini reviews for all the short stories where I talk about my thoughts, feelings, and include content/trigger warnings.


➼ Reign of Diamonds by Anna-Marie McLemore ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Talk of death, violence, wounds

I won’t lie, I was pretty excited that this was the first story we get to read upon first starting. I’ve really enjoyed Anna-Marie McLemore’s work in the past and seeing their name on the list of authors had me really hyped up about this book. With that being said, this story didn’t disappoint. As always, McLemore writes characters that are so beautifully layered and contain multitudes that you can’t help loving the story, no matter how emotional it gets. I’m not saying I got soft and sappy over these two princesses, but they have my whole heart. And I lowkey wish this story got made into it’s own book.

“There was something heartbreaking at that moment, the two of us staring like that.”

➼ Flecha by Daniel José Older ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Mentions of a plague (Silent Cough), grief, loss of a loved one, mentions of genocide

This story had me absolutely sobbing, ugly crying everywhere. Maybe its due to some of the themes within this story or maybe it was due to how vivid the emotions emanated from these pages. Truly, this is one of those stories that stand out to me the most because of the impact it had. I really loved this and I can’t wait to see what other stories this author has written for us, the reader, to discover.

“I’ll become that arrow of Ochosi, launched for divine justice – sacred, razor sharp, unforgiving.”

➼ The First Day of Us by David Bowles ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Loss of a loved one, grief

Did I fall madly in love with this story because of a polyamorous relationship? Yes, yes I did and I don’t care who knows it! Truly, I wish there were more short stories, more stories in general, out there that normalize polyamorous relationships. I think this story was so well-done, so beautifully handled, and I loved the way how the feelings between each character manifested. Honestly, I wish this had it’s own book because I loved it so much and I feel that there’s so much more to discover about this world, these characters, and I just have a mighty need to know more about everything that was this short story.

➼ The Tin Man by Lilliam Rivera ⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Pandemic, natural disaster, grief, loss of loved ones

This wasn’t a bad short story, but this story hit my emotions so hard that I thought I was going to have to skip it entirely. You follow the perspective of a child, potentially young teenager, who’s not only trying to survive, but is coming to terms with the loss of their family. This story is beautifully written, easily to get emotional over, and a main character you want to see have the happy ending they deserve. The reason why I gave it three stars is just due to the fact that it caused me to go into a sensory overload and after that, it was very hard to maintain a lot of the details.

➼ This Is Our Manifesto by Mark Oshiro ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Talk of incarceration, mentions of death, brief mentions of police brutality

Another story that had me wrapped up in my feelings. Our story follows a character named Ramona coming across a manifesto. In this manifesto, we learn about these planets that holds those who’ve been incarcerated and the horrible treatment they’ve had to endure. This story hit close to home and left me weak in the knees. When I say the world melted away and there was only this story, I say it with my whole chest. Mark Oshiro has such a beautiful talent for taking serious topics that happen in the real world and manifesting it in literature, in such a poetic, emotional piece that leaves you with countless thoughts and feelings. And the way this story ends on a strong note, but also a kiss (yes, a literal kiss) is truly the icing on the cake.

“There is one thing we – the abandoned, the diminished, the harmed, the forgotten – want you to know. We will dismantle them all. And when we do, we are coming home.”

➼ Creatures of Kings by Circe Moskowitz ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Death, talk of death, mentions of cancer, scene of homocide

This is the first short story in this anthology that had me really questioning how I felt about this story. And I have to admit, I’m a little bias towards stories that involve gods of death, grim reapers, etc… I just really enjoy those type of stories, like a lot. However, I felt a lot of confliction with this story due to the mother in this book. Our story follows an mc who can’t die and whose mother refuses to tell her the truth. I was really curious to see how this story was going to unfold. Honestly, I know why the mother acts the way she does, but I really didn’t like her and her behavior (no matter the circumstance) just painted her as a terrible person/neglectful parent. That aside, I did enjoy the story and I was invested to see how everything would unfold. However, I still have many questions and I’m still asking myself what the hell did I just read.

➼ Eterno by J. C. Cervantes ⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Death, hospitalization, car crash, mentions of terminal illness, manipulation

Much like the story before this one, I was very conflicted on my thoughts of how I felt with this story. Again, this is another story that involves gods of death or grim reapers except this time they’re called eterno and things are anything but peaceful. Also, this short story is told in then and now flashes. Ultimately, I liked the story, but at times it felt like it was a lot of information to keep track of between flashbacks. Like, I was INVESTED in the mc and their romance! And then… it hit a point where my brain dumped all the information, my eyes glazed over, and my brain just goes, “Yup… Nope. Can’t keep up with this.”

➼ White Water, Blue Ocean by Linda-Raquel-Nieves-Pérez ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Dead naming, misgendering

Okay, the concept of this story had me clutching my blanket because it was so good! A curse has been placed upon the Garcia family by an ocean goddess, making them unable to lie without emanating a terrible smell. We follow Gabriel, a non-binary teen returning to their family, who refuses to accept them for who they are. I was completely captivated by the whole element of everyone in this family being unable to lie. What I think I loved most about this story was the subtle bond between Gabriel and their father. It’s not a main focal point of this story, its very subtle, but its there and those moments were very wholesome. And the way Gabriel constantly keeps coming back to the ocean, their love for it radiating through the pages so much. It fills my heart with a lot of warmth.

➼ Leyenda by Romina Garber ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Sexism

I want to state that I’m not fully sure if this short story has any relation to Lobizona, but there did seem to be hits towards it in some of the parts of this short story and it is set in the same world. So if you haven’t read Lobizona yet then you might want to skip this short story. Let’s talk water witches! Yes, the mc of this story is indeed a water witch. She is a force to be reckoned with and I absolutely adored her. She has no problem standing up for what she believes in, but when she does, there are those who are very displeased with her. I always enjoy the characters that Romina creates and the abilities given to those characters are always fascinating to watch unfold. If I’m being honest, anything Romina writes, I feel invested in. I wish we got the chance to see more of Zaybet and their story especially with the way this story concludes. I’m so invested and I need more!

➼ Color-Coded by Maya Montayne ⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Abandonment

I was really interested in premise of this short story. In this world, when women hit puberty, they start to develop a magical abilities. Some ladies develop the power of flight, someone may set things on fire, or even obtain abilities relating to plants or creatures. However, our MC is terrified of this happening to her after having a terrible experience with a loved one. Honestly, I was really excited to see where this story would go. I think the premise of getting magical abilities when you reach maturity/puberty is a really interesting element to loop in. However, I wasn’t in love with this story. It feel like some things were missing and personally, I just didn’t like the MC. The MC spent large portions of this story whining, throwing fits, and due to that, it felt like a lot of excitement I had about the story ended up dying down a lot. And it doesn’t help that the MC’s mindset doesn’t start to change until near the end of this story.

➼ Magical Offerings by Nina Moreno ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Displacement

I was pleasantly surprised and caught off guard by this story. This is story of a girl coming to terms with who she is, what her abilities are, and finding out the place you can call home has been right there all along. Honestly, I was really surprised on how much I enjoyed reading this. The atmosphere as it starts to build to the climax of this story was just chef’s kiss. I think the part I loved the most was watching the MC truly discover who they were and what they were capable of. Seeing the MC come to terms with that and how happy they felt was just one of the best elements of this story.

➼ Rogue Enchantments by Isabel Ibañez ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Loss of a loved one, harassment

I’m so hyped to read more from this author! I loved so many elements about this book, the atmosphere, the brief mention of dragons, just so many things I fell in love with in this story. Our story follows an MC who just took over her abuelita’s stall to sell magical brushes and paints. However, since the start of their first day, things seem to be quite amiss from what they originally thought. With sabotage a foot, our MC has to get crafty to seek out the truth and put a stop to all of the harassment. Again, I loved this. It’s a very atmospheric read and I constantly wondered if the MC was going to get the justice they deserve.

➼ Sumaiko Y La Sirena by Vita Ayala ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Mentions of slavery, loss of a loved one, hostage situation, manipulation, brief depictions of blood, death, murder

Who doesn’t love a good story about sirens? This story is sure to deliver a love story you won’t forget! This story was so sad, but so beautiful. And this is the first time I’ve seen sirens told in this way. I won’t spoil it for you, but it was really good, enough to make me go, “Damn! The plot thickens!” This stories follows our MC who once was a siren, but has been stranded on land. When one night, after singing to the ocean, another siren reveals themselves. But, after the MC’s father passes away, terrible things will begin to happen. This was such a captivating story. The atmosphere is so good with setting the tone especially in the more climatic scenes. However, I adored the connection between our MC and the siren she becomes close with. I loved the way their friendship built and way it slowly blossomed into something more.

“It is said that on clear nights, two glowing shapes shapes can be seen frolicking in its water, the laughing sound of their joyous song carried for miles on the wind.”

➼ River People by Yamile Saied Méndez ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Loss of parents (in the past), grief

What an atmospheric read! I can’t decide what I enjoyed more; watching the story as a whole unfold or the MC blowing me out of the water. Truly, this was a really good read. We follow an MC who can talk to ghosts and not only ghosts, but can speak with the river god of the Paraná River. This gift comes in handy when one day the river god tells the MC that her older brother is in terrible danger. Thus, our heroic MC does everything she can to save her brother before it becomes too late. This was a really good short story. I was so sad when the story finally ended because I wanted more. This was such an easy story to get caught up in because the pacing starts of slow, but once the pace picks up, you’re just along for the ride and the ride is fantastic!

➼ Moonglow by Sara Faring ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Mentions of sex, illness, abortion, abuse, physical violence

Let me just say that this story… this story was a wild ride and I’m still asking myself what the hell I read. I don’t know if I walked away from this story shell-shocked or in the midst of processing everything, but I sure wasn’t expecting the story to unfold that way it did. One of the key elements of this story is it’s told in diary entries which adds a bit of ominous atmosphere and leaves us, the reader, wondering what the next entry will hold. We follow an MC who talks about about her love and the things happening within her household, from the mischievous to the more unfortunate events. I was hooked, hanging off the edge of me seat waiting to know how this story was going to conclude. Though I haven’t read anything by this author before, this honestly has me excited to look into more of their writings.

➼ Killing El Chivo by Claribel A. Orlega ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Mentions of loss of parents, brief mentions of starvation, mentions of abandonment, depictions of blood, death

Okay, this should come as no surprise by how much I adored this story. How each word had me hanging by a thread, wondering what was to come next. I love the way Orlega writes; the way she creates worlds and characters always has me excited. Okay, so maybe I was a little bias going into this, but truly, at the core of it, I do enjoy the stories this author writes. We follow an MC who is learning magic to help assist the remaining people of this world stop El Chivo. Many people have already left or have died, but our MC with her sister and aunt have devised a plan on how to put an end to all the tragedy that has been plaguing their homeland. I was fully captivated by this story and maybe it was how quickly the pace picked up, but oh, I couldn’t consume this story fast enough. I think my favorite part had to be the way it concluded. The ending just felt so powerful and after day of finishing this anthology, I still think about this ending relentlessly.

➼ Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Córdova ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content/Trigger Warnings: Minor war themes

Have I maybe, kind of, sort of fallen in love with this story because a mortal falls in love with a fallen goddess? – Yes, yes I have and I have zero regrets about this! I think I just loved everything about this story. From the MC who’s been gifted an ability with plants to the way the relationship blooms, thinking back on reading this story, I don’t have a single complaint. With my whole chest, I adored this story. We follow an MC who refuses to marry and choose to stay true to himself, and so he’s sent into the mountains to tame The Night. The Night is said to be a fierce beasts that takes no prisoners, and anyone who dare enter the mountain never returns. Yet what our MC finds is so much more than what they could have expected. And there’s a goat. A very charming, quirky goat with his own little attitude and little chime ins! I know I’ve said it a lot, but I really loved this short story and this is probably my first piece by this author that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. This has me excited to see what other pieces this author has created.


I gave Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space four stars overall, because out of the possible 85 stars (5 stars being possible for all 17 stories) this anthology accumulated 71 stars (83%)!

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

I found this anthology of stories to be unique and entertaining. I am not a reader who naturally gravitates to short story anthologies simply because I have been disappointed by many over the years. However, the title of this book was interesting ,and since Zoraida Cordova (author of The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina) was the editor of this collection, I was interested. I was not disappointed.
Each of the 17 science fiction/fantasy stories revolves around an element of magic, yet the characters are dealing with timeless emotions - romance, family ties, new careers, environmental issues, unwanted suitors, difficult decisions.. Yet what makes these stories new and distinct is a wide range of characters for any reader. There are super-power LGBTQ princesses battling for control of the universe, a barrio mother who wants to save her son's life even though this means another planet, a mermaid who must fight for her life to return to the sea and also save the life of the mermaid she wants for her life partner instead of the creepy man on the sugar plantation. I was never bored, and at the same time, I appreciated the fact that the unique characters are never preaching a lifestyle of any kind; they simply are who they are and remain true to themselves.

What an anthology! And that’s coming from me! Someone who is on the record of not loving SFF!

Reclaim the Stars is an anthology from YA authors in the Latin American diaspora. Broken into three sections (To the Stars/The Magical Now/Other Times, Other Realms), the short stories explore so many worlds and fascinating ideas.

I was so captivated through most of these stories. When they hit, they really hit hard. There were a few I found myself thinking about for a while afterwards, especially This is Our Manifesto by Mark Oshiro, Eterno by J.C. Cervantes, and White Water, Blue Ocean by Linda Raquel Nieves Perez. These three for me were incredibly beautiful, hitting gall the marks of a short story in terms of pacing, plot, and character. I was totally satisfied by the end of each.

This was a great anthology and introduced me to some authors who I’ve not read before. If these are the world they create for short stories, I look forward to seeing what they do with a full novel.

I am not always a sci fi fan, and not always a short story fan, but I am a fan of both for this book!

The measure of a good short story for me is when an author takes you on an emotional journey and leave you wanting more, and then you're left to deal with the emotional fall out of the story, upset that you don't have something longer to get your closure. SO many of the stories in here did that for me. I want to read more from all of these writers immediately.

Some of my favorite stories were:
- Leyenda by Romina Garber, which is set in the Lobizona universe. As a huge fan of the series, I LOVED this backstory for one of the characters we meet in the series. And the range of emotions I felt?? I think I felt every emotion under the sun just by reading this one story.
- Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Cordova, which felt like a modern mythological retelling (even though it's kind of neither?). This was the last story in the collection and the one that left me with the most hope at the end.
- White Water, Blue Ocean by Linda Raquel Nieves Perez, which focused a lot on family, acceptance, and reminded me a lot of Encanto in terms of overarching themes and message.

Runners up: Reign of Diamonds, Creatures of Kings, Eterno, and Color Coded

I think this is a great book for anyone to pick up, especially if you're newer to the sci-fi/fantasy genres and want a way to dip your toes in.

Reclaim the Stars is one of the stronger YA anthologies I’ve read. It has a strong start with actually having more than one sci-fi story in this SF/F anthology. Too many times, sci-fi stories are left out of anthologies like these, but this book starts off with five sci-fi stories. After that are the twelve fantasy stories, half of which are set in modern day, the other half are either historical or set in a fantasy world.
All of the sections were very solid. There was a story with a nonbinary main character, a couple of sapphic stories, and one with polyamorous characters! I would’ve liked to see a story with disability rep, mental or physical.
Obviously, with seventeen stories in total, some of them really worked for me, others didn’t whether because the story just didn’t grip me or the writing style didn’t work for me. None topped the 4-star rating, but here were my five 4-star ratings.
Reign of Diamonds by Anna-Marie McLemore – This was a sapphic sci-fi story that was such a good start! In such a small time, we went from friends to lovers to enemies!
The Tin Man by Lilliam Rivera – This was such a solid dystopian story! I really attache myself to the main character quickly. This might not be the story to read if you have high pandemic anxiety, as there’s a different illness that kicks off the dystopia.
Creatures of Kings by Circe Moskowitz - Moskowitz is one of two debut writers in this collection and I cannot wait for her debut! I’ll admit that at times this didn’t feel like a YA story, more like an adult story. Either way, the writing was utterly gorgeous!
Magical Offerings by Nina Moreno – The vibes for this story were off the charts! It’s set in a swamp in Florida with weird magic and I was utterly entranced.
Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Cordova – This story was a good twist on classic "slay the monster at the edge of town to prove yourself" trope!
As I do with all anthologies, I averaged my ratings for the individual stories. It came out to 3.48 stars, which I rounded up to 3.5 stars! Like I’ve said, I enjoyed many of these stories and in general would call this a solid anthology!

Within the pages of this book are so many beautiful short stories, fantasy stories—I remember wishing I could stretch many of them into entire novels!
It’s been a while since I’ve read an anthology—truth be told, probably since my days as a English lit major. So, to have a collection of stories like this, that I could pick up when I felt like reading but couldn’t commit to an entire novel was perfect.
I loved the pieces by Anna-Marie McLemore and J.C. Cervantes!
I will definitely be buying a hard copy to keep on my nightstand!

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC!

Thanks NetGalley for this eARC!
It's extremely hard to review a collection of short stories. Some of them were very well done, and then others were just 'okay.' I didn't think any were terrible, so there's that.

I particularly enjoyed (and/or wanted to read a longer version of the story...)
Reign of Diamonds
This is Our Manifesto
Leyenda
Rogue Enchantments
Tame the Wicked Night

A very solid anthology with a few fantastic stories. Reclaim the Stars features sci-fi (just a few) and fantasy (mostly this) stories from 17 Latinx YA authors. Overall I had a good time with this collection, though as with most anthologies some stories were more of a hit than others. Some standouts for me were...

- Reign of Diamonds by Anna-Marie Mclemore about fighting space princesses
- White Water, Blue Ocean by Linda Raquel Nieves Perez about a family curse and a non-binary young person seeking acceptance
- Leyenda by Romina Garber (because it's a story set in the world of Lobizona and I'm a huge fan of the series!)
- Rogue Enchantments by Isabel Ibanez about a young woman trying to carve a space for herself in a magical market
- Sumaiko y La Sirena by Vita Ayala about an enslaved young woman who longs to return to the sea and falls in love with a siren
- Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Cordova a romantic story with a mythological feel to it

There's a lot of diversity, and (unsurprisingly) a lot of magical realism. If this sounds up your alley give it a try! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

RECLAIM THE STARS was obviously a labor of love. There is something for everyone in this collection. Some stories resonated with me more than others, but I think that is only natural for an anthology. RECLAIM THE STARS is an important collection of short stories by a diverse group of authors that should be on the shelf in every library.

This is totally a me thing and I was hoping the book would help me get over my sudden weird aversion to space books, but no such luck.
You should read this anthology though if you love space books or are looking into it because the writing is phenomenal.
It like suddenly all space books could not hold my attention. 100% on me and not the authors.

3 out of 5

a fairly good collection of stories. i liked the explorations of different genres, sexualities, genders, diaspora, family and others. but the thing with anthologies is that some stand out and others fall very flat. definitely recommend to short story fans!

⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Reclaim the Stars is definitely the best anthology I’ve read in a long time, if not my favorite anthology of all time! If you don’t already know, Reclaim the Stars is a collection of 17 YA SciFi and Fantasy short stories that all share the common theme of the Latin American diaspora (The dispersion of Latin Americans from their homelands). This anthology was so refreshing, and every single story adds more depth and novelty to the overall book.

Typically, I rate anthologies by giving a rating for each story and taking the overall average, however with Reclaim the Stars, I added another 1/2 star because the conceptualization of the anthology, and the overall organization were clearly well thought out. The book is divided into 3 main sections: “To the Stars” (SciFi), “The Magical Now” (Present Day Fantasy), and “Other Times, Other Realms” (Historical Fantasy). I thought the way the stories were organized really contributed to the overall flow of the book. I generally have a hard time finishing anthologies because I start and stop after each story, but with this one, I could seamlessly jump into the next one!

Normally, I mention some of my favorite and least favorite stories when I review anthologies, but there was literally only one story that I rated below 3 stars, so I would not have room to mention all of my favorites.

My favorite from the SciFi section was “Reign of Diamonds” by A.M. McLemore. It is about two princesses who must fight one another to the death, but they were secretly in love. The MC is determined to kill the other after having her heart broken, but things are not as simple as they appear. The ending for this one was absolutely perfect in my opinion!

From the Present Day Fantasy section, my favorite was “Creatures of Kings” by Circe Moskowitz. I won’t spoil anything, but the premise of the story is that the MC and her mother literally cannot die. There was a bit of a plot twist (which is harder to pull of in a short story), that I really loved!

Lastly, from the Historical Fantasy section, my favorite was “Tame the Wicked Night” by Zoraida Córdova. This was the longest story in the anthology, and it left me wanting more! It is about a boy who has magical powers that allows him to grow plants. When he rejects the offer of marriage with royalty, he is sent on a quest. The ending of this one gave me chills!

While those are my top 3, pretty much all of the other stories were outstanding too! There were so many great stories that not only show the authors’ creativity in creating worlds, but also have a wide representation in the MCs’ experiences, and identities. There is so much representation in this book! Polyamorous rep, nonbinary rep, sapphic rep, and so much more! I live for books like this! Overall, this is definitely a book you don’t want to miss out on!

I'm not a huge fan of short stories, but the blurb about this book caught my attention. I was intrigued by the emphasis on Latina culture not often found in sci-fi settings which seem to default to European & Asian centric futures.

17 short stories, written by, for and about Latina heritage in imaginary worlds and situations.
The 17 stories are broken up into 3 groupings; 'To the Stars', 'The Magical Now' and 'Other Times, Other Realms'.

I must admit the bulk of the stories that I enjoyed the most were in the 'To the Stars' portion of the book with the outstanding exceptions being 'Rogue Enchantments' & 'Sumaiko Y Sirena' found in the 3rd act. I absolutely ADORED those tales. Another favorite was 'Flecha' the 2nd story in the first section. I very much enjoyed the bulk of the stories. Each different enough to standout from the others. Many could easily be the seeds of a novel, especially 'Flecha'.

Overall I was very happy with this collection. There were only 2 stories that left me cold. So, good odds.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

(4.5) Absolutely loved this anthology! It’s amazing to see the Latinx diaspora represented through such a diverse group of authors. My personal favorites were:
-The Tin Man by Lillian Rivera
-Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Córdova
-Reign of Diamond by Anna-Marie McLemore

The two debut authors shined through their stories. I can’t wait to read a gothic fantasy from Circe Moskowitz and more magical realism from Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez. I saw that they’re working together on a horror anthology coming out next year and I’m so excited!

The only reason this review isn’t 5 stars is because there were two stories I didn’t like. The First Day of Us by David Bowles is confusing and weird, and not in a good way. The writing was clunky and the story is narrated in second person but it’s almost never clear who the “you” refers to, since it’s constantly switching. It also felt like the author was trying to cover as many diversity points as he could; it didn’t feel organic like the rest of the queer stories in the anthology. Moonglow by Sara Faring was equally confusing. Maybe other people will enjoy their writing, but I think their style isn’t for me.