Scan barcode
steph01924's review against another edition
4.0
Anthologies are always a mixed bag for me, but I enjoyed more of this book than I didn't. Lots of interesting stories and good representation. Check out my full review over at Forever Young Adult.
book_wyrm13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
For being a teen anthology, it wasn’t bad. Some of the stories were kinda boring but others really hit home.
My top three stories were:
Omega ship
Unus, Duo, Tres
Vega
All I got to say is “I support women’s rights, but most importantly, I support women’s wrongs.”
My top three stories were:
Omega ship
Unus, Duo, Tres
Vega
All I got to say is “I support women’s rights, but most importantly, I support women’s wrongs.”
strawbee's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
matiel72's review against another edition
2.0
Riddles in Mathematics by Katie Cotugno: 2.5/5 Stars
This was cute and diverse though I disliked the writing overall. I'm listening to this via audiobook.
Dread South by Justina Ireland: 5/5 Stars
It's about a badass black zombie hunter girl in the post-civil war era and the white girl who falls for her. All the usual tropes fell away with this one and the writing was phenomenal. The concept is badass! Civil War+zombies? Really fun and diverse! Great concept and awesome story.
Omega Ship by Rae Carson: 1/5 Stars
I didn't like this at all. I think Carson was going for feminism but I hated this. It's about a naked girl and two naked boys having to repopulate the world.
La Revancha del Tango by Renee Ahdieh: 2/5 Stars
I didn't much care for this either, though it was better than the previous story. The banter in the story was great along with the various references to literature such as Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings. Though the Tango part really didn't click with me.
Cass, An, and Dra by Natalie C. Parker: 4/5
After a few stories, I didn't much care for I was glad that this one was better. This is a novella in which Cass our main character is clairvoyant and she can see the outcomes of her decisions before making them. She ends up torn between An, her best friend and something more, and Dra, a tantalizing enigma. This was a wonderful magical realism that is full of diversity.
Lessons for Beginners by Julie Murphy:4/5 stars
I loved this one as well. Murphy crafted a sweet story that didn't really seem to be a love triangle but was still sweet enough to be included. Our main character (who is bisexual) falls in love with another girl while giving her and her boyfriend kissing lessons. Very cute and diverse.
Triangle Solo by Garth Nix: 2/5 stars
Ugh, there a girl who leaves Mars (?) and comes back. The main character and his best friend is still in love with her and argues about whos going to play a Triangle Solo. Why is playing the Triangle so arduous? I've never heard anyone argue about playing a freaking solo and I was in orchestra/band for 6 years. Also, the writing in this was horrid. Also, where was the love triangle?!?
Vim and Vigor by Veronica Roth: 4/5 stars
This was beautiful and takes a love triangle and forms it into a story about a genuine friendship.
Work in Progress by E.K. Johnston: 2/5 stars
This was just confusing with the stories skipping around between the three main characters: Alex, Tab, and CJ.
Hurdles by Brandy Colbert: 3/5 stars
I thought this was just ok but it wasn't my favorite. It follows a girl caught between her normal boyfriend and normal life, and a boy she deeply loves. I liked all the characters and the idea, but I had too many issues with it.
The Historian, the Garrison, and the Cantankerous Catwoman by Lamar Giles: 4/5 stars
This was great and I really like this one. I was actually a little bored at the beginning and thought the writing could use more polishing but by the end, I was hooked. I also really loved how morally grey the Historian was.
Waiting by Sabaa Tahir: Stars 2/5
A girl must choose between her best friend who is currently doing a stint in prison and the sweet boy who is her new coworker. I wasn't in love with this story because though it had some potential and the evident mistreatment of the main character by the best friend.
Vega by Brenna Yovanoff: Stars 2/5
A love triangle between a girl, boy and a city. I thought this was weird and not my thing though I did really like the characters of the girl and the boy. I don't think that the city (Los Vegas) was well done, just seeming to show a surface level of the city.
A Hundred Thousand Threads by Alaya Dawn Johnson: 4/5 Stars
This one was wonderful, set in futuristic Mexico that is within a political rebellion. It's hard to fully identify what I really liked about this one, other than the writing-which is beautiful- and the characters. The story was slightly confusing at times, though that could be because I was listening to this as I write an essay.
Before She Was Bloody by Tessa Gratton: 1/5 Stars
I didn't like this one at all, it was weird and about royal polyamory. It just wasn't for me. It follows an antihero name Safiya who is the Moon Eaters Mistress who is very important to her people. Her blessings mean the difference while her family also sits upon the throne. Safiya is unable to take a male lover named Enver because she wants to be with both Enver & Farah.
Unus, Duo, Tres by Bethany Hagen: 2/5 stars
This about vampires at a Catholic boarding school who are thinking about a polyamorous relationship. It is diverse with race and sexuality and the characters were great and the writing was good. It was ok but not my favorite thing.
Verdict:
A collection of weird speculative fiction stories that left me enthralled and this story collection was so much more than I expected.
Stars:
I gave Three Sides of a Heart an average of 2 stars overall because out of a possible 80 stars (5 stars possible for each of the 16 stories) this collection accumulated 44 stars overall so a 55%.
This was cute and diverse though I disliked the writing overall. I'm listening to this via audiobook.
Dread South by Justina Ireland: 5/5 Stars
It's about a badass black zombie hunter girl in the post-civil war era and the white girl who falls for her. All the usual tropes fell away with this one and the writing was phenomenal. The concept is badass! Civil War+zombies? Really fun and diverse! Great concept and awesome story.
Omega Ship by Rae Carson: 1/5 Stars
I didn't like this at all. I think Carson was going for feminism but I hated this. It's about a naked girl and two naked boys having to repopulate the world.
La Revancha del Tango by Renee Ahdieh: 2/5 Stars
I didn't much care for this either, though it was better than the previous story. The banter in the story was great along with the various references to literature such as Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings. Though the Tango part really didn't click with me.
Cass, An, and Dra by Natalie C. Parker: 4/5
After a few stories, I didn't much care for I was glad that this one was better. This is a novella in which Cass our main character is clairvoyant and she can see the outcomes of her decisions before making them. She ends up torn between An, her best friend and something more, and Dra, a tantalizing enigma. This was a wonderful magical realism that is full of diversity.
Lessons for Beginners by Julie Murphy:4/5 stars
I loved this one as well. Murphy crafted a sweet story that didn't really seem to be a love triangle but was still sweet enough to be included. Our main character (who is bisexual) falls in love with another girl while giving her and her boyfriend kissing lessons. Very cute and diverse.
Triangle Solo by Garth Nix: 2/5 stars
Ugh, there a girl who leaves Mars (?) and comes back. The main character and his best friend is still in love with her and argues about whos going to play a Triangle Solo. Why is playing the Triangle so arduous? I've never heard anyone argue about playing a freaking solo and I was in orchestra/band for 6 years. Also, the writing in this was horrid. Also, where was the love triangle?!?
Vim and Vigor by Veronica Roth: 4/5 stars
This was beautiful and takes a love triangle and forms it into a story about a genuine friendship.
Work in Progress by E.K. Johnston: 2/5 stars
This was just confusing with the stories skipping around between the three main characters: Alex, Tab, and CJ.
Hurdles by Brandy Colbert: 3/5 stars
I thought this was just ok but it wasn't my favorite. It follows a girl caught between her normal boyfriend and normal life, and a boy she deeply loves. I liked all the characters and the idea, but I had too many issues with it.
The Historian, the Garrison, and the Cantankerous Catwoman by Lamar Giles: 4/5 stars
This was great and I really like this one. I was actually a little bored at the beginning and thought the writing could use more polishing but by the end, I was hooked. I also really loved how morally grey the Historian was.
Waiting by Sabaa Tahir: Stars 2/5
A girl must choose between her best friend who is currently doing a stint in prison and the sweet boy who is her new coworker. I wasn't in love with this story because though it had some potential and the evident mistreatment of the main character by the best friend.
Vega by Brenna Yovanoff: Stars 2/5
A love triangle between a girl, boy and a city. I thought this was weird and not my thing though I did really like the characters of the girl and the boy. I don't think that the city (Los Vegas) was well done, just seeming to show a surface level of the city.
A Hundred Thousand Threads by Alaya Dawn Johnson: 4/5 Stars
This one was wonderful, set in futuristic Mexico that is within a political rebellion. It's hard to fully identify what I really liked about this one, other than the writing-which is beautiful- and the characters. The story was slightly confusing at times, though that could be because I was listening to this as I write an essay.
Before She Was Bloody by Tessa Gratton: 1/5 Stars
I didn't like this one at all, it was weird and about royal polyamory. It just wasn't for me. It follows an antihero name Safiya who is the Moon Eaters Mistress who is very important to her people. Her blessings mean the difference while her family also sits upon the throne. Safiya is unable to take a male lover named Enver because she wants to be with both Enver & Farah.
Unus, Duo, Tres by Bethany Hagen: 2/5 stars
This about vampires at a Catholic boarding school who are thinking about a polyamorous relationship. It is diverse with race and sexuality and the characters were great and the writing was good. It was ok but not my favorite thing.
Verdict:
A collection of weird speculative fiction stories that left me enthralled and this story collection was so much more than I expected.
Stars:
I gave Three Sides of a Heart an average of 2 stars overall because out of a possible 80 stars (5 stars possible for each of the 16 stories) this collection accumulated 44 stars overall so a 55%.
kaelie's review against another edition
4.0
This collection wasn’t quite what I expected but I enjoyed it. Standout stories for me were ‘La revancha del tango’, ‘Cass, An, Dra’, ‘Work in progress’, ‘Vega’. ‘Before she was bloody’ and ‘Unus, duo, tres’. Other than those most of the stories were fairly unremarkable; part of the problem for me was that the most stories tried to resolve the love triangle when I feel it would have been better served to just let it linger. Leave us unsure of what’s going to happen.
The only stories that really didn’t grab me were ‘dread south’ and ‘triangle solo’ (I’m pretty sure this is the final proof that I can only real Nix’s fantasy and not his sci-fi).
The only stories that really didn’t grab me were ‘dread south’ and ‘triangle solo’ (I’m pretty sure this is the final proof that I can only real Nix’s fantasy and not his sci-fi).
clem_mathieu's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I was excited for this anthology even if I'm not the biggest fan of love triangles. Surprisingly, that's not what made me dislike this book. I loved the first story which was exactly what I anticipated from the premise. However, most of the stories were vaguely triangles and there was too much Sci-Fi, fantasy and others that distracted from the plot too much. It's hard to immerse a reader in your fantasy world in a short story and most of them flopped. Also, this book was SOOOO long!!!
kaitburesh's review against another edition
I didn't love every story, but there were definitely a few standouts. I will need to update this review with more details about which were high points.
Came across an arc of this in such a bizarre way and have been meaning to read it since. Stayed in an Air BNB in Portland, OR in July 2017 and this ARC was in the nightstand drawer. Random happenstance, especially since I had met Renee Adieh just a month earlier at Book Con in New York.
Came across an arc of this in such a bizarre way and have been meaning to read it since. Stayed in an Air BNB in Portland, OR in July 2017 and this ARC was in the nightstand drawer. Random happenstance, especially since I had met Renee Adieh just a month earlier at Book Con in New York.
golden_lily's review against another edition
2.0
-Riddles in Mathematics by Katie Cotugno – ★★★
–Dread South by Justina Ireland – ★★★★
–Omega Ship by Rae Carson – ★
–La Revancha del Tango by Renee Ahdieh – ★★★
–Cass, An, and Dra by Natalie C. Parker – ★★★★★
–Lessons for Beginners by Julie Murphy – ★★★
– Triangle Solo by Garth Nix – ★★
– Vim and Vigor by Veronica Roth – ★★★
– Work in Progress by E.K. Johnston – ★★
– Hurdles by Brandy Colbert – ★★★
– The Historian, The Garrison, and the Cantakerous Catwoman by Lamar Giles – ★
– Waiting by Sabaa Tahir – ★★★
– Vega by Brenna Yovanoff – ★★
– A Hundred Thousand Threads by Alaya Dawn Johnson – ★★
– Before She Was Bloody by Tessa Gratton –
– Unus, Duo, Tres by Bethany Hagen –
–Dread South by Justina Ireland – ★★★★
–Omega Ship by Rae Carson – ★
–La Revancha del Tango by Renee Ahdieh – ★★★
–Cass, An, and Dra by Natalie C. Parker – ★★★★★
–Lessons for Beginners by Julie Murphy – ★★★
– Triangle Solo by Garth Nix – ★★
– Vim and Vigor by Veronica Roth – ★★★
– Work in Progress by E.K. Johnston – ★★
– Hurdles by Brandy Colbert – ★★★
– The Historian, The Garrison, and the Cantakerous Catwoman by Lamar Giles – ★
– Waiting by Sabaa Tahir – ★★★
– Vega by Brenna Yovanoff – ★★
– A Hundred Thousand Threads by Alaya Dawn Johnson – ★★
– Before She Was Bloody by Tessa Gratton –
– Unus, Duo, Tres by Bethany Hagen –