I was excited to read the Read Proud sampler for Sci-fi and Fantasy YA (two of my favorite genres!). I loved the premise of Spells to Forget Us (Aislinn Brophy) and will definitely be adding to my TBR. I was intrigued by Chaos & Flame (Tessa Gratton & Justina Ireland) and The Other Merlin (Robyn Schneider). I’ve previously really enjoyed Tessa Gratton’s work, so I was excited to learn about her new book. Another Dimension of Us (Mike Albo) was new to me, but was very compelling!

Thank you to all of the authors, Penguin Teen, and NetGalley for a free sampler in exchange for honest feedback.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this sampler! I always appreciate being able to sample chapters from books, as it provides me with useful insight about whether or not to request an ARC.

1. Spells to Forget Us - I wasn't particularly taken with the premise, but the sample was fine in terms of writing. It's not something I'll likely pick up on my own, but it'll probably be great for teens

2. The Other Merlin - I'm a fan of Arthurian retellings so I was immediately taken with this one. I thought the writing style was really up my alley and I certainly want to pick this one up

3. Chaos and Flame - I'd heard about this one already and really love the cover. The premise seems very up my alley and the sample definitely intrigued me enough to check this book out

4. Another Dimension of Us - Comtempory fiction isn't a huge genre for me. But I liked the writing style in this one and feel like it might be a good fit for folks who liked Icarus

5. The Bone Spindle - really intrigued by the title and cover, but the sample was a little lacking for me. I didn't care for the writing style. It read lower YA instead of upper YA, the world building is very direct instead of slowly building. Something about it reminds me of dungeons and dragons, so it'll appeal to teens who like medieval settings

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Really enjoyed these snippets, and found a few new additions to my TBR. I also loved that the books featured were intersectionally queer, and featured characters and authors from different cultures.

This collection was a delightful way to sample several different stories. I've already added a few to my TBR list already.

A note on formatting: The book was unreadable on Kindle due to significant formatting issues. When I opened it in the NetGalley app (which I don't usually use), I could see it was beautifully designed. It is something to keep in mind for Kindle readers in the future.

This is a great collection of samples that allow one to have a glimpse into several books before committing to a specific one. I always enjoy reading samples of books I'm interested, and even those I am not. I've found several books I wouldn't have been likely to consider after reading an excerpt/sample of it.

As someone who doesn't typically read fantasy or science fiction, I often find it overwhelming when trying to dip my toe into these genres as they each have so many subgenres and can have quite intense world building. This sampler was a great way to find book suggestions within these genres and I liked that for each book you can read the first couple of chapters to work out if the writing style is for you and how heavy the fantasy element is. Out of the five books presented in this sampler, I would be interested in reading The Other Merlin by Robyn Schneider as it seems to be more of a fantasy romance than an intense fantasy novel with lots of politics so would be a great way to ease myself into the genre.

Overall I love these samplers as a way of discovering new authors and books and I think its great that they champion LGBT+ voices and stories.

Ahhhh I loved this! It really helped me with finding what books I like to read. As a person who struggles with indecision, I would definitely recommend this :) 5/5!!

I great way to introduce people to more queer books and narratives. I love that there are multiple different takes on the genres included, so you are bound to find something to your liking.

Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland are two of my favorite YA authors. I'm really looking forward to reading more of their books. Also, I have been really interested in The Bone Spindle, so it was nice to get a good idea on if I would actually like it or not.

Samplers like this make deciding to read books or not really simple and easy.

I'm not a big fantasy/sci-fi fan but I put "Spells to Forget Us" by Aislinn Brophy on my wishlist because it seems very good and interesting!

Thank you to NetGalley for this 'READ PROUD Contemporary YA Sampler." All opinions are my own.

I appreciate reading this sample to see a sneak peak at a few new books that feature proud LGBTQ+ individuals. Can't wait to read!!

This was a nice little sampler, giving a taste of previously released and upcoming queer books. There was one or two here I would not have even glimpsed at normally, but this made me want to pick up the full book. So I really love the idea behind this sampler!
Spells to Forget Us, Another Dimension of Us and The Bone Spindle were my favourite and now I have more books to add to my wishlist/the pile!

I love these! They make my never ending growing tbr pile grow more! And I love it. Even love these more!

I absolutely love the idea behind these samplers and amplifying queer voices! There is a good selection and I'm really looking forward to a lot of these books, loved getting a peak at them. This is a great idea and I hope it's done more often (maybe for POC authors and female authors)

Very much appreciated the sampler! I'm sure that there will be books my students would be interested in. And if not, I'll still be reccomending, for their friends.

2.5 stars.
Some interesting stories, but I skipped over one of them for personal reasons. Just didn't really like the direction the author took with the story.
This kinda "book" is a great way to introduce readers to new stories though, would definitely recommend continuing to make them!

This is a great sampler from Penguin Young Readers Group!
The first in this selection, Spells to Forget Us by Aislinn Brophy, was unreadable due to formatting, unfortunately. Each line repeated twice, but it was choppy and not consistent. From what I did read, the tone seemed like a fun read, but I cannot comment further.
The Other Merlin, by Robyn Schneider, was an excellent start. This is the first in a series, which the first two are already available with the third listed on NetGalley now. I plan to read this one!
Chaos & Flame by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland was my favorite of this selection. I was immediately hooked. It felt like a Leigh Bardugo YA read. This one is already available at my local library, and I checked it out to read this weekend.
Another Dimension of Us by Mike Albo is about a boy whose primary regret is not making his feelings known to the love of his life, who has since died. He gets a second chance though in an alternate dimension. This one felt heavier on the romance than the fantasy, despite the alternate dimension aspect.
The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder was interesting. Heavy romantasy vibes, and I know I will love this the more I read it. It has been added to my TBR.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for this sampler to review!

Happy to have this one. I have one of these books on my radar but didn’t think I would like the others. Turns out I was wrong after reading the samples. Thanks for giving me a few more books to check out.