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A review by thesydda
Three Sides of a Heart: Stories about Love Triangles by Natalie C. Parker
3.0
Riddles in Mathematics - an interesting opening story. I got very confused in the beginning and thought the protagonist had fallen in love with her sister. There are several beautiful quotes in this story, and it was interesting being in the main character's (newly out) head.
Dread South - a love story set in a zombified Antebellum South. i didnt love the protagonist, and things in the story felt rushed. i liked the twist on a zombie story and the new take on race relations. ultimately, i felt like the love story was forced.
Omega Ship - I'm stuck on this one and can't decide if I love or hate it. It's beautifully written, but sad and... selfish? The fate of humanity rests on two guys and a girl making it off of a doomed spaceship and restarting humanity. What happens when one of them isn't on board with restarting the human race?
La Revancha del Tango - this story had a lot of promise, but I wasn't crazy about the main character. The descriptions of Buenos Aires were nice, but the story itself felt..... unrealistic, maybe?
Cass, An, and Dra - I love the idea behind this story: Cassandra and the Fates. And the idea of staying with what you thought you wanted (and what you did want when you were younger and made the decision) or choosing what you might want in the future. And the unresolved nature of the story. And how Fate plays out with personal choice.
Lessons for Beginners - this one was okay. so much about this collection feels either very cliche, or like the authors were asked to fulfill diversity quotas. I did like the premise of this story, but I guess I'm searching for a happy story, and i didn't find that here (or really anywhere in the this anthology so far)
Triangle Solo - cute, but not particularly interesting. It's a pretty straight- forward triangle for once, but, again, you don't get to know any of the characters, so it's hard to care about them, or what happens to them
Vim and Vigor - maybe my favorite so far. The writing is beautiful and the story even moreso. I love the step awsy from the cliched love triangle (though that's still also present). i love the backstory and the characters and the atmosphere. It lrobably should have felt trope-y, but it was just lovely.
Work in Progress - an apt title because this felt unfinished. i couldn't tell if the three stories were all supposed to go together or be three riffs on the same idea? It was told in 2nd person, which I don't love. And about the time we were starting to understand what was happening, the author would switch the entire story (setting, world, era, possibly characters?)
Hurdles - i don't even know what to say about this story. i didn't like it, found the main character whiny and a bit ungrateful. But, unfortunately, not unrealistic. The story was well written, but the main character isn't being authentic, which drove me crazy.
The Historian, the Garrison, and the Cantankerous Cat Woman - I didn't think i particularly cared for this one, but the ending. Holy. Cats! The ending turned this astound for me and it's now of of my favorites!
Waiting - Beautifully written. Ultimately heart-breaking. I wanted this to end differently.
Vega - I found this really depressing, without much (if any) redeeming hope. i know some people like or love or seriously relate to the darkness and despair of such stories, or find it compelling. Unfortunately for this story, I'm not that person. I like my stories fluffy or at least threaded with hope. So, this story wasn't my cup of tea.
A Hundred Thousand Threads - extremely confusing. I eventually gave up trying to figure out what was going on and how all the pieces of the story fit together, because i didn't care about any of the characters. There was a confusing mix of Spanish words thrown in with no definition. And it felt like we stepped into the middle of a story already being told, but no one went back and filled in what we missed.
Before She Was Bloody - ummm... what? i have NO idea what I just read. I didn't care for this story at all.
Unus, Duo, Tres - Do I like this? Do i hate it? mixed feelings. A great take on the vampire story. But also deeply sad. Sort of a fitting note for this collection to end on. I will say I'd read a whole book about this triangle.
Dread South - a love story set in a zombified Antebellum South. i didnt love the protagonist, and things in the story felt rushed. i liked the twist on a zombie story and the new take on race relations. ultimately, i felt like the love story was forced.
Omega Ship - I'm stuck on this one and can't decide if I love or hate it. It's beautifully written, but sad and... selfish? The fate of humanity rests on two guys and a girl making it off of a doomed spaceship and restarting humanity. What happens when one of them isn't on board with restarting the human race?
La Revancha del Tango - this story had a lot of promise, but I wasn't crazy about the main character. The descriptions of Buenos Aires were nice, but the story itself felt..... unrealistic, maybe?
Cass, An, and Dra - I love the idea behind this story: Cassandra and the Fates. And the idea of staying with what you thought you wanted (and what you did want when you were younger and made the decision) or choosing what you might want in the future. And the unresolved nature of the story. And how Fate plays out with personal choice.
Lessons for Beginners - this one was okay. so much about this collection feels either very cliche, or like the authors were asked to fulfill diversity quotas. I did like the premise of this story, but I guess I'm searching for a happy story, and i didn't find that here (or really anywhere in the this anthology so far)
Triangle Solo - cute, but not particularly interesting. It's a pretty straight- forward triangle for once, but, again, you don't get to know any of the characters, so it's hard to care about them, or what happens to them
Vim and Vigor - maybe my favorite so far. The writing is beautiful and the story even moreso. I love the step awsy from the cliched love triangle (though that's still also present). i love the backstory and the characters and the atmosphere. It lrobably should have felt trope-y, but it was just lovely.
Work in Progress - an apt title because this felt unfinished. i couldn't tell if the three stories were all supposed to go together or be three riffs on the same idea? It was told in 2nd person, which I don't love. And about the time we were starting to understand what was happening, the author would switch the entire story (setting, world, era, possibly characters?)
Hurdles - i don't even know what to say about this story. i didn't like it, found the main character whiny and a bit ungrateful. But, unfortunately, not unrealistic. The story was well written, but the main character isn't being authentic, which drove me crazy.
The Historian, the Garrison, and the Cantankerous Cat Woman - I didn't think i particularly cared for this one, but the ending. Holy. Cats! The ending turned this astound for me and it's now of of my favorites!
Waiting - Beautifully written. Ultimately heart-breaking. I wanted this to end differently.
Vega - I found this really depressing, without much (if any) redeeming hope. i know some people like or love or seriously relate to the darkness and despair of such stories, or find it compelling. Unfortunately for this story, I'm not that person. I like my stories fluffy or at least threaded with hope. So, this story wasn't my cup of tea.
A Hundred Thousand Threads - extremely confusing. I eventually gave up trying to figure out what was going on and how all the pieces of the story fit together, because i didn't care about any of the characters. There was a confusing mix of Spanish words thrown in with no definition. And it felt like we stepped into the middle of a story already being told, but no one went back and filled in what we missed.
Before She Was Bloody - ummm... what? i have NO idea what I just read. I didn't care for this story at all.
Unus, Duo, Tres - Do I like this? Do i hate it? mixed feelings. A great take on the vampire story. But also deeply sad. Sort of a fitting note for this collection to end on. I will say I'd read a whole book about this triangle.