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A review by rorikae
Fools in Love by Ashley Herring Blake, Rebecca Podos
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
'Fools in Love: Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales' is a super cute YA anthology of short stories that provide unique twists on classic romance tropes. The stories offer a lot of variety including a number of queer love stories and dipping into different genres, including science fiction and fantasy. It won't be too surprising that my favorite stories were those that were queer and genre heavy. The anthology starts out with a great example of this in 'Silver and Gold' by Natasha Ngan, which turns the snowed in together trope on its head by being about two girls who are snowed in a tent while competing on a fantastical dog sled race.
A few other stand out stories include 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' by Malinda Lo and 'Disaster' by Rebecca Podos. Far and away my favorite story in the collection is 'Bloom' by Rebecca Barrow, which includes a sapphic love story and flowers that when eaten can transport one in time and space.
This is a fun collection of stories that always come around to happy endings. If you are looking for something sweet and not too heavy, this might be the perfect pick. For some reason, I didn't realize it was YA when I went in and the stories focus largely on teenagers, so the stories mostly end with kissing or the start of a new relationship. This anthology has definitely piqued my interest in a number of the included authors and I will be looking to check out more of their work.
A few other stand out stories include 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' by Malinda Lo and 'Disaster' by Rebecca Podos. Far and away my favorite story in the collection is 'Bloom' by Rebecca Barrow, which includes a sapphic love story and flowers that when eaten can transport one in time and space.
This is a fun collection of stories that always come around to happy endings. If you are looking for something sweet and not too heavy, this might be the perfect pick. For some reason, I didn't realize it was YA when I went in and the stories focus largely on teenagers, so the stories mostly end with kissing or the start of a new relationship. This anthology has definitely piqued my interest in a number of the included authors and I will be looking to check out more of their work.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia