Reviews

Mood Reader by Erin Slegaitis-Smith, Shanti Leonard, Amanda Fernandes, A.M. Brown, M. Williams, Jiya Kaye, Christina E. Patrick, Donna Taylor, Erica Jackson, Monica Misho-Grems, Veronique Manfredini, Carmilla Voiez, Javier Garay, Melanie S. Wolfe, April D. Berry, Carrie Godfrey, Rethley Gil Chiru, Francis Alex Cooke, Stephanie Houseal, Luke Swanson, Jocelyn Minton, B.A. McRae, Melanie Forrest, Lynn Lipinski, Elizabeth Wilsea, Juniper Lea, Lucas Barnes, Monroe A. Wildrose, Persephone Jayne, Persephone Jayne, Zain Patton, Kata Čuić, Jeni Lee, Nicole Zelniker, Karen Ruhman, Sonya Lawson, Kai Mathis

louturnspages's review

4.0

This was such a great read. So often, short story anthologies are centered around one main theme, but Jayne and the other authors wrote what they love for this one and then sorted them by genre, creating a true mood reader’s dream book.

There were so many great pieces in this book, and it would be such a fantastic read to have when you are just in the mood for a particular type of story—several of these pieces are even written in verse although there is not a poetry section! I don’t want to spend too much time describing the book itself because conceptually, it’s pretty straight forward, but I will say, I was hooked by this one from Jayne’s introduction where she describes how Mood Reader came to be, so rather than highlighting one section or author over another, I wanted to share a bit of that instead:

“Amidst the 2nd year of a global panini… I turned 42. Yes! That cosmic age where all the secrets of the Universe are revealed. I got this wild idea of producing an anthology of 42 stories, see what I did there? But the catch was I’d only accept works from my tiktok author family. Because, I had found my book family and they were amazing! I was off and running. I posted about my idea and started accepting submissions. Then someone pointed out that it might be hard to market a book with no clear genre linking us all together. Well, much how we fight the algorithm and don’t let TikTok niche us, I said, Universally speaking, you can’t pigeon hole me! So I leaned into it and our Genre Sampler Anthology fell into place as if we had planned it that way all along. Of course we had ;)”

Isn’t that insanely relatable? I am grateful for my bookstagram family every single day. I love how this book came to be, and I really enjoyed the sampling of so many writers—I definitely recommend this one!

mels_booksandhooks's review

4.0

This was a quick, easy read for moments when you want to read, but may not have a lot of time. I appreciated the trigger warnings at the beginning of each story as it allowed me to skip a few that were tough subjects for me.

Several of these stories made me laugh out loud and a few had me tearing up. Over all I think the stories are well written and it’s always refreshing to hear new author voices. Kudos to these TikTok authors

A perfect compilation to have with you while waiting in the school pick up line, in waiting rooms or when you just can’t settle on or commit to a full length book. This book is a great companion for whatever mood suits you in any given moment.

mistysbookspace's review

4.0

I really enjoyed this genre anthology. Of course I liked some stories more than others but that's to be expected. This anthology has something for everyone. There are 42 stories in this anthology. It is broken up by genre. The genres included are  Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery , Meta (which I've never heard of before), Family & Children, Literary Fiction, Horror and my favorite Romance. So as you can see there's a lot to choose from. You can read it as a whole or you can pick and choose based on what mood you are in. I liked how the content warnings were listed in the table of contents as well as at the beginning of each story. 

As I mentioned above, I liked some stories more than other. Some were way too short for me to get into, and some seemed way to long. Others pulled me in and left me wanting more and there were some that I absolutely loved and thought gave me everything I could ask for in a short story. There were a couple of stories that were written in a way that I had never read before and I loved that. 

Overall I really enjoyed this collection of short stories and would recommend you read it whether you are a mood reader or if you just want to sample something from several different genres. 

happily_undignified's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

5.0

"I wear sunshine on my sleeve, but the night took up rent in my soul a long time ago."⠀
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B.A. McRae, Denouement - Mood Reader⠀
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❤️ Mood Reader is an Anthology of 42 stories from multiple genres compiled by Hale Patton Publishing. I am a self-proclaimed mood reader so this book immediately had my attention! ⠀
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💛 The stories are the perfect combination of different genres and topics, ranging from Sci-fi to Romance to Mystery. Each author has a distinct voice but the stories work well together and the collection feels cohesive. ⠀
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💚 My favorite story (and the quote I chose) was Denouement by B.A. McRae. Apparently I was in the mood for something poetic and meta!    ⠀
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💙 I would recommend this anthology to anyone who would love to pick up a single book and be able to read a different genre each time. ⠀
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💜 Thank you RRBooktours for providing a copy of Mood Reader for me to review. ⠀

madoc_mattox's review

4.0

4.5 Stars. I received an advanced readers copy. I enjoyed the marvelous short stories and the Worlds the authors took us to. This collection of stories allowed me to explore genres I would not typically try in a full length novel. It is available now and I suggest everyone try it out and some new genres.