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sabrinaslivingliterature's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely phenomenal collection of Short Stories! Thank you to Netgalley and Raw Dog Screaming Press for sending me and eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The style of these stories reminded me of Zhiguai (Chinese true tales of the paranormal) which I absolutely love but with such a fascinating subject matter. All of these stories were so interesting taking aspects of what women (specifically Asian women) have been told they should be and ripping it apart. Every story in the collection is fantastic and I highly recommend this collection to anyone interested in tales of unquiet women!
The style of these stories reminded me of Zhiguai (Chinese true tales of the paranormal) which I absolutely love but with such a fascinating subject matter. All of these stories were so interesting taking aspects of what women (specifically Asian women) have been told they should be and ripping it apart. Every story in the collection is fantastic and I highly recommend this collection to anyone interested in tales of unquiet women!
greatcolorsalad's review against another edition
4.0
3 and a half stars. Some I enjoyed, some dragged on and weren't for me.
Nadia Bulkin's short story was excellent as always, enjoyed Geneve Flynn's, and Lee Murray's first out of the two.
Nadia Bulkin's short story was excellent as always, enjoyed Geneve Flynn's, and Lee Murray's first out of the two.
rknitss's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A diverse horror anthology where all the stories are tied by the female experience. Covers everything from supernatural to science fiction.
maree_k's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
An intriguing and at times spine chilling and gory collection of horror stories from women writers of the Asian diaspora featuring tales of monsters and ghosts, of women’s fury and rage, of grief and revenge. My stand out favourites were Phoenix Claws by Lee Murray, Little Worm by Geneve Flynn, Of Hunger and Fuey by Grace Chan, The Ninth Tale by Rena Mason and Skin Dowdy by Angela Yuriko Smith. A fantastic, nightmarish collection for all horror lovers who enjoy stories that make you look at shadows twice.
ellasreadingnook's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved all of these short stories. Each one was insightful, heartbreaking, and empowering. I especially enjoyed the stories involving mythological aspects - it’s certainly a common theme in many myths and legends that women are always the ones who end up being punished for mistakes and shortcomings not directly involving them, and I greatly appreciated how some of these stories discussed that. While all of them were thought-provoking and enlightening, I’d have to say that my favorite was “Little Worm” by Geneve Flynn. I know that I’ll definitely have that one running through my mind 24/7 for a while (more likely, forever).
ratnix's review against another edition
4.0
received a free copy from netgalley
I was so excited about this anthology and I'm so glad it didn't disappoint! Although some short stories didn't work as well as short stories as I would have hoped so, overall it was a great dark, horror short story collection featuring Asian authors, characters and folklore. I'm gonna try to talk about my top three favourite stories in no paticular order:
1) A Pet is for Life was really mindblowing. I loved the use of the Kuchisake Onna and the story's twist and exploration.
2) Fury despite being a story and a world I would have originally thought would work better as a whole length book, it worked very well as a short story that had a beginning, middle and an end.
3) Little Worm was something that when I started reading it I didn't think I'd enjoy it but it proved me wrong.
I was so excited about this anthology and I'm so glad it didn't disappoint! Although some short stories didn't work as well as short stories as I would have hoped so, overall it was a great dark, horror short story collection featuring Asian authors, characters and folklore. I'm gonna try to talk about my top three favourite stories in no paticular order:
1) A Pet is for Life was really mindblowing. I loved the use of the Kuchisake Onna and the story's twist and exploration.
2) Fury despite being a story and a world I would have originally thought would work better as a whole length book, it worked very well as a short story that had a beginning, middle and an end.
3) Little Worm was something that when I started reading it I didn't think I'd enjoy it but it proved me wrong.
jamiezaccaria's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing collection of short stories with horror, fantasy and sci-fi elements that all bring us a glimpse into various cultures and struggles of Asian women. Fantastic!
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
4.0
I've been meaning to read this anthology for ages, and I'm so glad that I finally did! There were so many incredible stories in here, both from new-to-me authors and authors whose works I had loved before. Each story in this collection touches on how hard it is to be a southeast Asian woman in a world so full of misogyny and racism, but the pieces range from speculative horror to dark fantasy to dystopian nightmares. I'm adding a breakdown of each story and the rating I gave it below, but if you need the TL;DR version, this is a fantastic, beautiful collection that I highly recommend!
→ The Genetic Alchemist’s Daughter // Elaine Cuyegkeng ★★★★☆
What a way to start an anthology! This piece follows a woman whose job is to follow in her mother’s footsteps by creating and genetically altering people and animals, with or without their consent. There are a lot of metaphors here for expectations that are placed upon Asian women by society and sometimes their own families, and the lengths that a parent might go to for the “perfect” child.
→ Kapre: A Love Story // Rin Chupeco ★★★★★
This was absolutely lovely, yet so sad and full of yearning! Despite following a rather unsettling entity from Filipino folklore, this truly is a love story, and a beautifully wholesome one at that.
→ A Pet is for Life // Geneve Flynn ★★★★★
Hands down my favorite story in this collection. I went into this story about a lonely pet rescuer fully expecting it to go in one direction, and then it turned itself on its head and completely stunned me in the best way. The writing was beautiful, and I want an Abraham in my life.
→ Phoenix Claws // Lee Murray ★★★★☆
I could feel the tension and it was so easy to empathize with this main character as she dealt with watching her new significant other meet her family. I love the idea of how powerful a family’s superstitions can be, too. I only wish it hadn’t ended so abruptly!
→ Of Hunger and Fury // Grace Chan ★★★★☆
I’m going to be entirely honest and say I’m not fully sure what was happening here, but I enjoyed the ride nonetheless. We follow a woman who’s bringing her husband home to visit her mother and her ailing father, and she begins to have dreams about a local legend of a young girl who went missing.
→ Skin Dowdy // Angela Yuriko Smith ★★★★★
Oh, this one was so much fun and such an unsettling future to think about. It takes place in a near future setting where people get technology implants to change their appearances such as fiber optic filaments for hair, or contact lenses that allow them to display holographic images around themselves. I wasn’t rooting for anyone by the end of this one, but it was delightful.
→ Truth is Order and Order is Truth // Nadia Bulkin ★★★☆☆
This was the first of the more fantasy-heavy stories in the collection, and while I’ve really liked other stories by this author, this one didn’t quite hit for me, but I liked the bones of it. It picks up in the middle of the narrator’s journey as she leads her late parents’ kingdom to her mother’s homelands, and while I found it a bit long and meandering, I loved the reveal in the end.
→ Rites of Passage // Gabriela Lee ★★★☆☆
Sadly, this was another story that had potential, but I struggled with: in this case, because the story is split into three sections, and none of the protagonists have names, so I couldn’t tell if we were following three stories about the same young woman, or if this was a generation curse affecting multiple women (which is what I’m leaning towards). It was just a little speculative for my mood, but it definitely had some solid folklore elements I enjoyed.
→ The Ninth Tale // Rena Mason
I typically adore retellings of legends, especially ones surrounding deities or similar entities, but the writing style and I didn’t mesh at all here. I’m leaving the star rating off, though, because the writing style actually objectively matched the story very well, since a lot of old parables tend to be a bit hokey and over-the-top like this one, but it was a personal preference issue and that’s all.
→ Vanilla Rice // Angela Yuriko Smith ★★★★★
Imagine a world where pregnant women can buy microchips to alter their child’s DNA and then have it implanted immediately after birth, where they could have a baby that is born looking like its Asian mother and then tweak it to be a blond-haired, blue-eyed child. This story absolutely broke my heart, not only for the mother’s trauma and insecurity, but for her child’s loneliness, too. I loved it.
→ Fury // Christina Sng ★★☆☆☆
If this story was fleshed out into a 100-page novella or even a full novel, I would be first in line to read it, because I think it would have blown me away, but this zombie apocalypse tale was just too much for such a short span of pages. The action was non-stop, leaving little room for character development or backstory, and I just wanted so much more!
→ The Mark // Grace Chan ★★★★☆
This story follows a woman whose husband has suddenly become very unfamiliar to her, which is such a disturbing thought to me, as someone who has feared body-snatcher stories since I was a little kid! This one unsettled me in a big way, and I mostly loved it, but I knocked a star off for its use of a trope I hate (minor spoiler: (view spoiler)).
→ Frangipani Wishes // Lee Murray ★★★★☆
I really loved most of this story, but it lost me a little near the end! A young woman is kicked out for becoming pregnant out of wedlock and she has to find her way to a better life for herself and her child. It had me until the protagonist married, at which point I felt like her entire demeanor changed in an instant and I still don’t fully understand why. That said, the writing was gorgeous.
→ Little Worm // Geneve Flynn ★★★★★
This one was another favorite that I’m going to be thinking on for a while: a woman goes to visit her aging mother amidst fears that she may be developing dementia or some other health worries, and finds very bizarre behavior waiting for her there. I absolutely adored the ending of this story and would love to read more pieces about this particular lore.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Representation: all authors and protagonists are southeast Asian, including Filipino, Malaysian, Indonesian, Chinese, Singaporean, and more forms of representation
→ The Genetic Alchemist’s Daughter // Elaine Cuyegkeng ★★★★☆
What a way to start an anthology! This piece follows a woman whose job is to follow in her mother’s footsteps by creating and genetically altering people and animals, with or without their consent. There are a lot of metaphors here for expectations that are placed upon Asian women by society and sometimes their own families, and the lengths that a parent might go to for the “perfect” child.
→ Kapre: A Love Story // Rin Chupeco ★★★★★
This was absolutely lovely, yet so sad and full of yearning! Despite following a rather unsettling entity from Filipino folklore, this truly is a love story, and a beautifully wholesome one at that.
→ A Pet is for Life // Geneve Flynn ★★★★★
Hands down my favorite story in this collection. I went into this story about a lonely pet rescuer fully expecting it to go in one direction, and then it turned itself on its head and completely stunned me in the best way. The writing was beautiful, and I want an Abraham in my life.
→ Phoenix Claws // Lee Murray ★★★★☆
I could feel the tension and it was so easy to empathize with this main character as she dealt with watching her new significant other meet her family. I love the idea of how powerful a family’s superstitions can be, too. I only wish it hadn’t ended so abruptly!
→ Of Hunger and Fury // Grace Chan ★★★★☆
I’m going to be entirely honest and say I’m not fully sure what was happening here, but I enjoyed the ride nonetheless. We follow a woman who’s bringing her husband home to visit her mother and her ailing father, and she begins to have dreams about a local legend of a young girl who went missing.
→ Skin Dowdy // Angela Yuriko Smith ★★★★★
Oh, this one was so much fun and such an unsettling future to think about. It takes place in a near future setting where people get technology implants to change their appearances such as fiber optic filaments for hair, or contact lenses that allow them to display holographic images around themselves. I wasn’t rooting for anyone by the end of this one, but it was delightful.
→ Truth is Order and Order is Truth // Nadia Bulkin ★★★☆☆
This was the first of the more fantasy-heavy stories in the collection, and while I’ve really liked other stories by this author, this one didn’t quite hit for me, but I liked the bones of it. It picks up in the middle of the narrator’s journey as she leads her late parents’ kingdom to her mother’s homelands, and while I found it a bit long and meandering, I loved the reveal in the end.
→ Rites of Passage // Gabriela Lee ★★★☆☆
Sadly, this was another story that had potential, but I struggled with: in this case, because the story is split into three sections, and none of the protagonists have names, so I couldn’t tell if we were following three stories about the same young woman, or if this was a generation curse affecting multiple women (which is what I’m leaning towards). It was just a little speculative for my mood, but it definitely had some solid folklore elements I enjoyed.
→ The Ninth Tale // Rena Mason
I typically adore retellings of legends, especially ones surrounding deities or similar entities, but the writing style and I didn’t mesh at all here. I’m leaving the star rating off, though, because the writing style actually objectively matched the story very well, since a lot of old parables tend to be a bit hokey and over-the-top like this one, but it was a personal preference issue and that’s all.
→ Vanilla Rice // Angela Yuriko Smith ★★★★★
Imagine a world where pregnant women can buy microchips to alter their child’s DNA and then have it implanted immediately after birth, where they could have a baby that is born looking like its Asian mother and then tweak it to be a blond-haired, blue-eyed child. This story absolutely broke my heart, not only for the mother’s trauma and insecurity, but for her child’s loneliness, too. I loved it.
→ Fury // Christina Sng ★★☆☆☆
If this story was fleshed out into a 100-page novella or even a full novel, I would be first in line to read it, because I think it would have blown me away, but this zombie apocalypse tale was just too much for such a short span of pages. The action was non-stop, leaving little room for character development or backstory, and I just wanted so much more!
→ The Mark // Grace Chan ★★★★☆
This story follows a woman whose husband has suddenly become very unfamiliar to her, which is such a disturbing thought to me, as someone who has feared body-snatcher stories since I was a little kid! This one unsettled me in a big way, and I mostly loved it, but I knocked a star off for its use of a trope I hate (minor spoiler: (view spoiler)).
→ Frangipani Wishes // Lee Murray ★★★★☆
I really loved most of this story, but it lost me a little near the end! A young woman is kicked out for becoming pregnant out of wedlock and she has to find her way to a better life for herself and her child. It had me until the protagonist married, at which point I felt like her entire demeanor changed in an instant and I still don’t fully understand why. That said, the writing was gorgeous.
→ Little Worm // Geneve Flynn ★★★★★
This one was another favorite that I’m going to be thinking on for a while: a woman goes to visit her aging mother amidst fears that she may be developing dementia or some other health worries, and finds very bizarre behavior waiting for her there. I absolutely adored the ending of this story and would love to read more pieces about this particular lore.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Representation: all authors and protagonists are southeast Asian, including Filipino, Malaysian, Indonesian, Chinese, Singaporean, and more forms of representation
ellevirahspages's review against another edition
5.0
A collection of stories by award winning authors with powerful social commentary on the struggles of not only being a woman, but of those experienced in Asian cultures. Each story transports you into another world placing you in the shoes of women who dare to fight, speak up, kill and step out of line. There is something in here for everyone. From folklore to a zombie apocalypse, the dark and disturbing imagery will surely give you nightmares.
teseyasfalcon's review against another edition
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.25
I was really excited to read this, because the concept is fantastic and one we sorely need more of. I'll always advocate for more angry Asian women stories, and I strongly resonate with feminine anger and horror as a genre. There was an enjoyably wide range of genres and inspirations, and some truly incredible concepts, twists, and images throughout the book, with Grace Chan's horrific, layered and poignant "The Mark" as a true standout. However, a lot of the other stories didn't quite work for me in execution; a lot of them felt underdeveloped, and I wished a lot of them were better paced and had more depth, for such a meaningful theme. I was slightly surprised there was no queer rep in an anthology about othered Asian women.
I was also jarred by the italicisation of non-English words, and there was also reason we needed, in an anthology of Asian voices, a white writer doing the afterword talking about how the stories rang true based on her generalisations from living in Japan for 2 years as a teenager.
I was also jarred by the italicisation of non-English words, and there was also reason we needed, in an anthology of Asian voices, a white writer doing the afterword talking about how the stories rang true based on her generalisations from living in Japan for 2 years as a teenager.