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antonebooks's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
It’s 2010’s YA short stories. You’re gonna get a LOT of angsty depressed teenage stories here about white kids. A bonus Sasquatch romance short story about a 18/19 year old and a 20 something Sasquatch told in cringy AOL-esque chat room style.
booklover160's review
3.0
Wow I read this back in September and didn't log it? Shows you how crazy September was.
They were okay. The stories I was most excited for (Marissa Meyer and Leigh Bardugo) were ones I've already read. The others were okay but needed the context of the novel they were pulled from.
Overall... meh.
They were okay. The stories I was most excited for (Marissa Meyer and Leigh Bardugo) were ones I've already read. The others were okay but needed the context of the novel they were pulled from.
Overall... meh.
golden_lily's review
3.0
Glitches - 4 Stars
Previously read, still a good introduction to the world. I think it's really necessary before Cinder, actually. It answers a lot of my questions about her family and how she got where she is.
Bridge of Snow - 3 stars
The story was okay. It didn’t didn't tell me much about the characters or the world; it’s a pretty tenuous link to the Winner’s Curse series, but the actual fairy tale of how stars got into the sky was very pretty. I wouldn’t seek out the actual series based on this story.
Dynamite Junior - 3.5 stars.
The Truth About Alice is one of my all time fave contemporaries. This companion was good but confusing. There are a lot of time skips and Mathieu tried so hard to obscure the secret of Jorge that I had trouble with the pacing. I’m glad she dropped Carmen as a potential POV, but I’m also glad to meet her here.
Monster Crush - NR
Haha, no. Not with that formatting.
Fixer - 3 stars
I wish they wouldn’t include stories in these collections that require you to have read the series already. This was fine, gave me some insight into the world of reapers and Hellsings and zombies, but since I don’t know the characters? *shrug* No emotional resonance.
Unstolen - 2 stars
The main character of this series is named Seraphina and she has purple eyes.
Secret Heart - NR
Why is this even here? It’s one scene, rewritten. It’s six pages. I think Ann’s intro is longer. I can’t rate something that can’t be more than a hundred words.
Death & Waffles - 4 stars
This is what I want in a tie in short story. It stands alone but makes me want to read the Necromancer series. It’s funny and sad and introduces the world, but doesn’t overstay. Ash seems like a really cool character.
Krisis - 4 stars
Sekret never held any appeal to me, but I really liked the writing of this story. As with Death & Waffles, a self contained story that made me long to know the larger world. Good job, I’ll add Sekret to my TBR.
Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things To Mend Deleted Scenes - 2 stars
Finn was just desperate to spoil the reveal in this book, huh. Good job, editor.
Tortured - NR
Intro warned for spoilers and I haven’t read Birthmarked yet. Shame, I loved Vault of Dreamers and this was one of the stories I was looking forward to. I’ll just have to move the series up the ole TBR.
Blue Moon - 0 stars
This story opens with a quote from one of my least favorite comics of all time, the masturbatory wankfest that is Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum. So we’re off to a great start and it just goes downhill. The writing is terrible. Skimmed, found nothing I wanted.
The Cypress Project - 3 stars
A prequel to Crewel, which I anticipated so highly and ended up not liking at all. I never continued the series, so this was actually good to confirm a theory I had re:”the War” and the worldbuilding timeline. I’ve read one other short story set in this world and it was better. Lucy and Joshua were fine, but the story didn’t need four POVs.
The Too-Clever Fox - 4.5 stars
Hey look, the story I borrowed the anthology for. Loved this take on Little Red Riding Hood. I have a slight quibble with the end, which keeps it from a full five stars, but Bardugo did a great job building the world and making it feel Russian/Ravkan in a really short space.
Previously read, still a good introduction to the world. I think it's really necessary before Cinder, actually. It answers a lot of my questions about her family and how she got where she is.
Bridge of Snow - 3 stars
The story was okay. It didn’t didn't tell me much about the characters or the world; it’s a pretty tenuous link to the Winner’s Curse series, but the actual fairy tale of how stars got into the sky was very pretty. I wouldn’t seek out the actual series based on this story.
Dynamite Junior - 3.5 stars.
The Truth About Alice is one of my all time fave contemporaries. This companion was good but confusing. There are a lot of time skips and Mathieu tried so hard to obscure the secret of Jorge that I had trouble with the pacing. I’m glad she dropped Carmen as a potential POV, but I’m also glad to meet her here.
Monster Crush - NR
Haha, no. Not with that formatting.
Fixer - 3 stars
I wish they wouldn’t include stories in these collections that require you to have read the series already. This was fine, gave me some insight into the world of reapers and Hellsings and zombies, but since I don’t know the characters? *shrug* No emotional resonance.
Unstolen - 2 stars
The main character of this series is named Seraphina and she has purple eyes.
Secret Heart - NR
Why is this even here? It’s one scene, rewritten. It’s six pages. I think Ann’s intro is longer. I can’t rate something that can’t be more than a hundred words.
Death & Waffles - 4 stars
This is what I want in a tie in short story. It stands alone but makes me want to read the Necromancer series. It’s funny and sad and introduces the world, but doesn’t overstay. Ash seems like a really cool character.
Krisis - 4 stars
Sekret never held any appeal to me, but I really liked the writing of this story. As with Death & Waffles, a self contained story that made me long to know the larger world. Good job, I’ll add Sekret to my TBR.
Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things To Mend Deleted Scenes - 2 stars
Finn was just desperate to spoil the reveal in this book, huh. Good job, editor.
Tortured - NR
Intro warned for spoilers and I haven’t read Birthmarked yet. Shame, I loved Vault of Dreamers and this was one of the stories I was looking forward to. I’ll just have to move the series up the ole TBR.
Blue Moon - 0 stars
This story opens with a quote from one of my least favorite comics of all time, the masturbatory wankfest that is Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum. So we’re off to a great start and it just goes downhill. The writing is terrible. Skimmed, found nothing I wanted.
The Cypress Project - 3 stars
A prequel to Crewel, which I anticipated so highly and ended up not liking at all. I never continued the series, so this was actually good to confirm a theory I had re:”the War” and the worldbuilding timeline. I’ve read one other short story set in this world and it was better. Lucy and Joshua were fine, but the story didn’t need four POVs.
The Too-Clever Fox - 4.5 stars
Hey look, the story I borrowed the anthology for. Loved this take on Little Red Riding Hood. I have a slight quibble with the end, which keeps it from a full five stars, but Bardugo did a great job building the world and making it feel Russian/Ravkan in a really short space.
oceanofsunflowers's review
3.0
Honestly, I haven't even read Enclave yet. I only have the copy of Secret Heart and was curious to read this and have a glimpse of Razorland Trilogy. I have read Fade's thoughts, for Deuce, specifically. And damn those unspoken words made me melt. My heart was continuously fluttering. If given a chance, I would very much likely to read the trilogy. If only I had a copy, I literally would. Fade's a sweet and gentle guy. Deuce's a fierce and independent girl. I needed more of them to subside these fluttering feelings.
bookishbay's review
3.0
Update 10/2022
Overall: 3.04 stars
Glitches- 3.5/5
Bridge of Snow- 2.5/5
Dynamite Junior- 3/5
Monster Crush- DNF
Fixer- 4.5/5
Unstolen- 2.5/5
Secret Heart- 2/5
Death and Waffles- 5/5
Krisis- 1.5/5
Deleted Scenes- 3.5/5
Tortured- 1/5
Blue Moon- 4/5
The Cypress Project- 5/5
The Too-Clever Fox- 4.5/5
Initial read 2018: DNF'd most of these stories because, considering nearly every story was in some way related to the authors' other works, I couldn't connect to any characters because there was no way to understand who they were if I didn't read the prior works
Overall: 3.04 stars
Glitches- 3.5/5
Bridge of Snow- 2.5/5
Dynamite Junior- 3/5
Monster Crush- DNF
Fixer- 4.5/5
Unstolen- 2.5/5
Secret Heart- 2/5
Death and Waffles- 5/5
Krisis- 1.5/5
Deleted Scenes- 3.5/5
Tortured- 1/5
Blue Moon- 4/5
The Cypress Project- 5/5
The Too-Clever Fox- 4.5/5
Initial read 2018: DNF'd most of these stories because, considering nearly every story was in some way related to the authors' other works, I couldn't connect to any characters because there was no way to understand who they were if I didn't read the prior works
dani_bugz's review
4.0
This was a great anthology, and not only did I get to read some stories by authors I already love, I was also introduced to some new ones who I will certainly seek out! Of course, there were some stories I was less than impressed by, but on the whole they were quite good.
greylandreviews's review
1.0
1.5 stars
I wasted 3 days of reading on this anthology and it disappointed me so much. There was only two amazing ones out the bunch and that was Rutkoski and Bardugo.
I wasted 3 days of reading on this anthology and it disappointed me so much. There was only two amazing ones out the bunch and that was Rutkoski and Bardugo.
harato's review
3.0
Okay so I was a bit lazy in reading this coz like it was a collection of short stories, don't get me wrong I absolutely adore short stories but, this collection mostly has stories that are part of a series? Or prequel or smthn like that so I couldn't really get into it that much. Although I gotta say I loved the one from Lindsay Smith which is Krisis! Lovelyyyyy. And I also read some of the series already sooo I could relate to some but yeah. Overall it's cool? But I'm ready to read a legit full story!
landscapesofink's review
2.0
Little 8-page novella from Fade's perspective. I knew straight away what part of the book this was at, as he mentioned . I'm pleased to that little insight into how he feels about Deuce, even though it was really obvious... That novella was basically pointless. I learnt nothing new.