I got this for Jim C. Hine's story, "Launch Day Milkshakes", which is awesome. An old lady, some brains, cats, virtual reality, a butthead business man, space exploration and milkshakes. I don't know if I should tell you anymore. Okay, how about this...cat drones.

Thank you to the publishee & Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

It's quite rare to find stories where the world needs saving and out heroine is NOT a teenager. And while I enjoy these books, sometimes I want to read about people closer to my age that still fight for Earth and their family/community. This anthology is a perfect read if you're looking for it! Featuring 19 stories ranging from sci-fi to urban fantasy, and with various heroines that are grandmothers, social workers and even CEOs. I hope that some of the stories will inspire full length novels since I want to meet the characters again! A solid 4 star read, great when you want to get inspired

I went into this book without expectations but maybe assuming there would be some annoying tropes? Happily, I was wrong. The bulk of the stories are really excellent, some are unexpected while others are predictable but really well done. There are maybe 3 or 4 that I felt were somewhat unfinished and I wondered if those authors were using these as introductions to a new full length book (or an older release). Technically, they were all stand alones though and I really enjoyed them.

My review is based on an ARC and some details may have changed.

This is a fine, well edited, multi-author anthology generally themed around unlikely, older, female saviors- traditionally “heroines” but with a lot more agency than that usually implies. The stories veer toward fantasy more than science fiction and range in quality from quite effective to slight (Jim Hines’ contribution) with most better than average. I was quite taken with stories by the excellent Ursula Vernon (a reprint of Jackalope Wives), Linda Robertson, and Jon Allen. If there is a flaw, I found some of the stories too obvious - as can happen in a themed anthology - but I appreciate that the editors didn’t shy away from dark endings.