As with any anthology, this had a few stories I absolutely loved, a few I really disliked, and a whole bunch that fell somewhere in the middle. Some favorites were "The Delicate Work of Bees” by Emily Horner and "Finals” by Seanan McGuire

Are you looking for YA fantasy where the main character is not an able-bodied white cis person? This is the anthology for you! The stories in Schoolbooks & Sorcery strive to place LGBTQ+ individuals at the center of the action and do not neglect other marginalized peoples in the process. There's a good deal of intersectionality in the characters. In some of the weaker stories the main character's only personality trait seems to be their LGBTQ+ status and the story centers solely on that narrative, rather than exploring a grander plot with a main character whose LGBTQ+ identity is just one part of who they are, but not every story fell into that category.

Per the editor's note, this anthology was seven years in the making. I suspect that the final product is not quite what he imagined, or maybe even what he'd hoped for, but I imagine it's still a really marketable title, despite having only a few recognizable authors contributing. The majority of the stories were on the better end of average, though surprisingly, it was not one of the more recognizable authors' contributions which made the strongest positive impression on me. That was the story "The Grimoire Girls" by E.C. Myers, who is hardly a nobody but isn't exactly a big name either. In brief, this anthology has really good representation but unexceptional storytelling.

I would be really pleased to come across this book in a school or public library, and if I hadn't already read it I would read it. I would also recommend it to friends (and plan to, in fact).

ARC received by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this collection a whole lot. It was a fun read that, surprisingly, had stories that I did not skip. Generally, there are usually one or two stories in a collection that just don't interest me at all. Here, I enjoyed every story just because of how fun and creative they were. I would highly recommend this for all ages who want to see themselves in a fantasy setting.

I absolutely loved this LGBTQ romance.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend

I got the Arc of NetGalley, these opinions are my personal. i used to be quite excited after I noticed this anthology book of queer urban fantasies, that’s very own of my favorite genres and that i don’t experience like there was a ton of queer representation in the ones kind of books so it become clean with the intention to study a group of them, although i used to be sad that they weren’t longer! two that honestly stood out for me had been All That topics through Elizabeth Shark and the 2 towns by using Rajan Khanna . All That subjects is set Jason who’s competing to get into a summer application for magic. This had intrigue, magic, bullies, and an underdog and became so appropriate! sincerely one of the ones that i would have loved to have greater of! the two towns tells the tale of a boy living in London in the course of international struggle 2, him and his companions raid residence at night time for their leader. This story has love, illusion, magic, betrayal, it has all of it! I genuinely loved reading this stories and it changed into fine to study about queer fantasies! surely will study these once more!

I got the Arc of NetGalley, these opinions are my own. I was pretty excited when I saw this anthology book of queer urban fantasies, that’s own of my favorite genres and I don’t feel like there has been a ton of queer representation in those type of books so it was refreshing to be able to read a bunch of them, though I was sad that they weren’t longer! Two that really stood out for me were All That Matters by Elizabeth Shark and The Two Cities by Rajan Khanna . All That Matters is about Jason who’s competing to get into a summer program for magic. This had intrigue, magic, bullies, and an underdog and was so good! Definitely one of the ones that I would have loved to have more of! The Two Cities tells the story of a boy living in London during World War 2, him and his companions raid house at night for their leader. This story has love, illusion, magic, betrayal, it has it all! I really enjoyed reading this stories and it was nice to read about queer fantasies! Definitely will read these again!