Read from November 1st, 2023 to November 14th, 2023. Written on November 14th, 2023.

First off, I do apologise for the delay in reading/reviewing, I tried to read this as fast as I could. Now onto the review in itself.

I can't lie when I say that the expectation that the description gave me upon requesting this ARC was high. And it made me a bit mad at myself that I had said expectation, because all the while I was reading the book, it did nothing for me.

Sure, there were moments went I laughed, few but existent, but in general I was not enjoying the experience of reading this book. Genuinely, I did something I had never done before which was to skip over parts in a book. I read three parts from a larger story and had to skip the rest altogether because it was not doing it for me. The ideas were interesting, but the execution just wasn't there. I felt bored or confused most of the time, and to finish it I felt like I was dragging myself to the finish line.

Maybe other readers will have different experiences. I just really did not enjoy this book and that makes me a bit sad.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and New West/Wild Fire that I chose to review after reading)

Ah. I’m the first person to rate and review this book. Naturally, I wish I had nicer things to say. But it just isn’t how reviewing works.
For me, anyway. Truth be told, this book just didn’t really do it for me. That is how reviewing works for me. Reading is a subjective experience. I can objectively say that it wasn’t all book’s fault. The book had some interesting plot ideas, and the writing certainly had a style to it. Neither really engaged me, though they may do other readers. The last story in the collection I found to be the best, though perhaps it was the least ambitious in the collection conceptually. Overall, this slim collection went by quickly, but it very much read overstylized to me. User mileage may vary. Thanks Netgalley