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125 reviews for:
Common Bonds: An Aromantic Speculative Anthology
C.T. Callahan, B.R. Sanders, Claudie Arseneault, RoAnna Sylver
3.92 AVERAGE
125 reviews for:
Common Bonds: An Aromantic Speculative Anthology
C.T. Callahan, B.R. Sanders, Claudie Arseneault, RoAnna Sylver
3.92 AVERAGE
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found myself skipping through paragraphs a lot, which is why I removed half a star in my rating. However, I did try to read through it all without skipping for the first 1/3 of the book. But I found myself putting the book down, getting easily distracted. That’s why I took away another half star.
Collections of short stories are not for me at this point of my life and that’s okay! This book serves its purpose and I think this is definitely worth reading if you are aroace or if you know someone who is and would like to understand how aroace view the world, life, and the many important connections one can form that isn’t based on sexual or romantic attraction.
There were few stories that I loved (like the Spacegirl, Lucky Aces) and there were few that confused me (like the last story). But that’s a beautiful thing about collection of short stories, every reader will pick something different from each of them, will have their own favorite, something they easily connect with.
For these reasons, I think 4 stars is a fair rating.
Collections of short stories are not for me at this point of my life and that’s okay! This book serves its purpose and I think this is definitely worth reading if you are aroace or if you know someone who is and would like to understand how aroace view the world, life, and the many important connections one can form that isn’t based on sexual or romantic attraction.
There were few stories that I loved (like the Spacegirl, Lucky Aces) and there were few that confused me (like the last story). But that’s a beautiful thing about collection of short stories, every reader will pick something different from each of them, will have their own favorite, something they easily connect with.
For these reasons, I think 4 stars is a fair rating.
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
1 made it 50% in terms of pages, and 11/19 of the stories, and I didn't enjoy any of them, so I DNF'd.
This was a case of it not being my taste/not being what I expected going into these stories.
This anthology is about platonic relationship. So I went into this with the expectation that these were going to be mostly found family/made family stories. That didn't necessarily end up being the case. More so, the problem was that I didn't expect so many of these stories to still include sexual relationships (probably because I'm aroace, I subconsciously assumed these stories would be as well).
Form a technical standpoint, I just didn't enjoy the narrative style of any of the ones I read. Most are first person, and a significant number of them read like YA contemporary novels. It's really hard to engage with the themes an author is exploring when you dislike the authorial tone.
If you're interested in this, I would still suggest giving it a try.
This was a case of it not being my taste/not being what I expected going into these stories.
This anthology is about platonic relationship. So I went into this with the expectation that these were going to be mostly found family/made family stories. That didn't necessarily end up being the case. More so, the problem was that I didn't expect so many of these stories to still include sexual relationships (probably because I'm aroace, I subconsciously assumed these stories would be as well).
Form a technical standpoint, I just didn't enjoy the narrative style of any of the ones I read. Most are first person, and a significant number of them read like YA contemporary novels. It's really hard to engage with the themes an author is exploring when you dislike the authorial tone.
If you're interested in this, I would still suggest giving it a try.