A review by horrorbutch
Reverent: An Anthology of Divinity by Quinton Li

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-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

5.0

 Disclaimer: I received an e-book ARC in exchange for my review by the publisher. 

A really fun collection of stories centering around divinity and whatever that means to a person. Many of the pieces collected here are speculative or fantastical, some are more grounded in reality, some are nonfiction essays, and all in all this was a very well rounded anthology that I enjoyed. While I did not enjoy every piece in here, I liked the variety of myths that are presented and I liked the diversity of characters. There are quite a few trans, queer and disabled characters and I really enjoyed that. The genres of the stories also vary, but there are quite a few horror stories, which I really liked as someone who enjoys seeing the terror in divinity, as well as romance and self-discovery stories. While not every story was one that I enjoyed, as is usually the case with anthologies, there are quite a lot that I really loved (as you can see by the many stories I have marked as my favs in my list below :D) and most importantly I did not feel as if the stories in this collection were repeating or getting boring. 

While I found it really interesting that there aren’t just fictional pieces in here, but also some academic stories, I wasn’t feeling particularly good about the choice to use a different font for these stories? I found it made the academic texts harder to read than they needed to be, both bc it a) distracted my reading flow and b) I just found the font itself harder to deal with, but maybe that has something to do with the way it was shown on my screen? I’m not sure if you could change it if you wanted. 

I did enjoy that trigger warnings are provided in the beginning of the book :). 

All in all, a really enjoyable read and one that I can just recommend you if you are interested in a varied and fascinating reflection on divinity. 

*FAV* The Far Too Holy and the Angels Falling Short by Alice Scott: A heartbreaking story about rich abusive parents and the children that fail to conform to their ideals as they try to reintroduce angelic magic to their bloodline. I always adore stories about siblings trying to protect each other and the relationship between the two siblings was super cute. All in all, an interesting story examining legacy and expectations and two children trying to free themselves from oppressive parents. 
 TW: ableism, child abuse (physical, emotional, psychological), murder (off page), transphobia (deadnaming, misgendering), violence 

Genesis 19:1-11 by Shepard DiStasio: A short, but heartbreaking poem, crafting some really powerful imagery around gender dysphoria and religious trauma
 TW: gender dysphoria, parental neglect, religious trauma, suicidal ideation/imagery, transphobia (internalized + external), traumatic birth 

*FAV* Relicário by Kate Duarte: A teenage girl knows she has to make a better future for her daughter. An intriguing story combining religious elements with a revenge plot against horrible husbands. I liked it.
 TW: childbirth, menstruation, murder, sexism, vomit 

*FAV* Language of the Gods: The Use of Music in Vietnamese Shamanic Rituals by Solar Hoáng: This essay examines a Vietnamese shamanic ritual, linking it to cultural backgrounds and actual academic research. A really interesting piece and even though it is quite different than what I expected from this anthology, I really loved it! 

*FAV* Condemn Me by Andromeda Ruins: A trans man is told by a priest that his desire to become himself means he’s falling for the temptation to make himself God. This story takes that literally and explores the horror and joy of suddenly changing. Very gorey, very fun, I loved it!
 TW: body horror, desecration of religion, gore, religious bigotry, transphobia 

*FAV* I Am A God and So Is Everybody Else but This Is About Me! By Jeanea Blair: Set in a world where people discover that everybody is God and the societal fallout of that, including a variety of sources to explore this world from a report on a talk to interviews. Interesting character voices and really interesting concept, but also quite confusing. Really builds up a feeling as if this is an alternative world and there should be so much more information for me to discover. I liked that.
 TW: death, delusions, suicide 

*FAV* Psappha’s Progeny by Miranda Jensen: A young woman prays to Sappho instead of the catholic God her mother wants her to pray to. Interesting, about art and creation, with some really fascinating rituals and finding divinity in queerness. I loved it!
 TW: blood sacrifice, catholic prejudice, exorcism, lesbophobia (implied) 

*FAV* i saw the divine in the waffle house sign by Olive J. Kelley: A short poem about love as divinity that can only exist in secret. Heartbreaking and beautiful. 

*FAV* Posts from God by Casper E. Falls: A disabled nonbinary person’s life goes to absolute shit. They lose their job, their mom does not believe they are disabled, and their boyfriend has abandoned all Covid-Safeguards in order to get laid. But at least God is talking to them on social media? Really heartbreaking story, that makes me so mad for the main character. The disabled solidarity made me cry tears of joy though. I really loved this short story so much, it was lovely.
 TW: ableism, chronic illness, covid pandemic, murder (referenced), parental neglect, relationship betrayal, societal neglect, stalking (referenced), threat of homelessness, transphobia, unemployment, vomiting 

mother of monsters, including me by Ivy L. James: A short poem about embracing your monstrosity, very interesting, loved the inclusion of nordic mythology. 

*FAV* A Song for the Roosters by DC Guevara: A short story about a woman, unfulfilled by her life as a daughter and wife, failing to perform well enough for her mother and husband, who encounters divinity in the forest. Lovely and I really enjoyed the way the Puerto Rican culture was presented here and the way Spanish was used to give a sense of the place.
 TW: abusive parents (verbal), blood, colonialism (minor), parental neglect, periods, pregnancy, sexual content (mild) 

*FAV* The Breath of Life by Engel Williams: A story about an artist’s creation, come to life. Very Frankenstein-esque, including the existence of angels, this story follows an artist’s first living, breathing creation, born from his blood, and her two siblings. Haunting, but really interesting.
 TW: animal death, blood, death (mention), violence 

The Girl I Was Born is the Boy I’ve Become’s Knight in Shining Armor by Bucky A. Wolfe: A short story about gender as divinity. Interesting, but very short.
 TW: gender dysphoria 

Severin and the Dark by Harvey Oliver Baxter: A story of a growing up, following a child who enters puberty much earlier than others and the dysphoria that accompanies that. Told through stories of being haunted and repressing yourself, this story was really good at creating an oppressive atmosphere. I liked it!
 TW: death (implied), eating disorder (implied), gender dysphoria, hallucinations (one with sexual implications), hate crimes (mention), murder (implied), transphobia 

A Love Letter to the Devil by Riley Daemon: Exactly what the title promises. Full of yearning and desire. 

A Prayer for Devouring by Ares Macabre: Sex as worship, love as divinity, always a great thing to read about.
 TW: slight sexual content 

A Kiss For My Beloved by Perla Zul: A queer retelling of Judas and Jesus. Heartbreaking in Judas’ devotion, but personally not something I’m suuuper interested in (it is, after all, a staple of queer Christian retellings and so nothing groundbreaking to me).
 TW: suicide 

The Patron Saint of One-Way Trips by C.J. Ellison: A hiking trip turns into an exploration of the afterlife as the main character tries to comfort others along their journey. Interesting and I really liked the twist at the end.
 TW: animal death (implied), car crash, death 

The Angelic Function: An Essay Concerning the Angel’s Place in Judaeo-Christian Literature by Viktor E. Grace Lang: An essay exploring exactly what the title suggests. Unfortunately, not personally interesting to me, but if you are interested in Theology and the analysis of religious literature and role of angels in religion this might be more interesting to you. 

*FAV* Heaven Is Near by K.T. Angelo: A hiking vacation turns into a time of discovery for a young man questioning his sexuality. But does the angel he encountered really have his best interests at heart? Told through found journal entries, the dread creeps in wonderfully and the end is really scary. I love a good horror story set in the forest.
 TW: blood, death, dubious consent, murder, sexual content, vomit 

The Silent Dark by Helen Z. Dong: A woman blessed with the ability to share her life force finds herself having to sell her hours away in order to earn just a little bit of money in a world filled with societal inequality. Interesting world building and with an open end, this story is one I think I would like to read more about.
 TW: poverty 

Pain and Comfort by Tea Campbell: A short personal story about a person with chronic pain finding relief in the worship of the Celtic Goddess Brighid. 
 TW: mentions of colonialism 

Owenvsv (O-Way-Nuh-Suh) by Enoli Lee: A story about a transmasculine person trying to connect with his native ancestry, which his mother has abandoned to fit in with white America. About finding Divinity in connection.
 TW: racism (mention), skin bleaching, transphobia 

Words to The Wind by Tien Lee: A short story about a priestess of the Wind in a temple, communicating with a non-believer through letters. Interesting world building and a fascinating exploration of religion. 

Moontide by Aidan Sparks: A worshipper of The Divine Feminine finds their worship blocked through the transphobia of their Goddess, who refuses to accept them as they are. The story dives into the harm that claiming one gender as inherently safe and pure and another as harmful does to people, who do not fit with the role. The end is a bit abrupt, and I have to say I personally didn’t quite get the sudden change in direction? Very interesting imagery though!
 TW: blood, body horror, body invasion, gender dysphoria, genitalia mention 

*FAV* Life, Death and Daisy Chains by Elise Georgeson: Death is tired and asks Life’s human daughter to take over Their job so They can rest. A heartbreaking story about mortality.
 TW: death (of family member and a child) 

The Autopsy of Icarus by A.R Zeitler: Icarus, as an ill-fate lovestruck boy, and Apollo grieving about his death. It’s… okay? A bit insta-love on Apollo’s part, very dramatic in the way Greek myths are. If you like gay retellings of Greek myths, this will probably more your style than it was mine.
 TW: autopsy, corpse, death 

*FAV* The Comforts of Home by Alex Harvey-Rivas: An autistic person is struggling with reclaiming their life after a breakup that leaves them trying to shed all the ways they tried to change themselves to conform to their girlfriend’s expectations. The ableism made me so mad (+ she took the cat, which… as a lesbian? Fighting words), but I really adored reading about the main character reconnecting with their faith.
 TW: ableism, vomit 

*FAV* Blue Screen Oracle by H.S. Wolfe: A person in a post-apocalyptic world living with a chronic autoimmune disease, who wants to create artificial intelligence so they won’t be lonely anymore. This story made me cry a bunch, it is incredibly sweet despite the horrors of this world. 
 TW: cannibalism (implied), corpse, death (major character), severe chronic illness (mention and discussion of)