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A review by theburninglibrary
A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton
Story #1 ~ A Universe Of Wishes; Tara Sim
My rating: 5 / 5 stars
From beginning to end, this short story was fantastic. It took me off guard when I started reading and the story had such a forlorn tone, yet as this progressed it became something beautiful. That differentiation is what made this so fantastic in my mind, that something looked at as grotesque and disturbing - death and dying and corpses in all their many forma - is something that could be beautiful in the right setting, with the right characters, with the right story. In this story, thorn is a young boy stealing magic from the corpses in graveyards and morgues, until sage, the son of a mortician, catches him in the act, and they spend their nights using the magic they collect from those lost to make their own little universe of wishes. These two quiet and soft boys stole my heart and I will definitely be returning to their story many times. I have never read a short story before that had the ability to make me fall so immediately in love with the characters as I did while reading this, and it was (excuse my god awful pun) a wish come true.
Magic, he realized, took so many forms.
Story #2 ~ The Silk Blade; Natalie C. Parker
My rating: 4 / 5 / stars
This story was very beautifully written in a much different way than A Universe Of Wishes. Willador is fighting to prove she can be the strength to the grace of the prince (the 'Bloom'). What I loved about this story is how the gender roles were so totally reversed. The men were in dresses and heels, with painted nails and lips, but it all fit within the confines of the story naturally. The Bloom wore flowering skirts because he represented the flower of the nation. Willador wore armor reminiscent of flowers because she is fighting to be the Sword to his Bloom. I interpreted her to have equal attraction to men and women, as one of the other contestants (who is female) is attractive to her, and yet she is also attracted to the Bloom. Another fantastic thing about this story is that there is a male contestant fighting to be the Sword to the Bloom. This was a good little story with lots of flower visuals and botanical settings. I took one star off for the instalove, which is sometimes unavoidable in the short story format, but it was more noticeable to me here.
But I do not choose him.
My rating: 5 / 5 stars
From beginning to end, this short story was fantastic. It took me off guard when I started reading and the story had such a forlorn tone, yet as this progressed it became something beautiful. That differentiation is what made this so fantastic in my mind, that something looked at as grotesque and disturbing - death and dying and corpses in all their many forma - is something that could be beautiful in the right setting, with the right characters, with the right story. In this story, thorn is a young boy stealing magic from the corpses in graveyards and morgues, until sage, the son of a mortician, catches him in the act, and they spend their nights using the magic they collect from those lost to make their own little universe of wishes. These two quiet and soft boys stole my heart and I will definitely be returning to their story many times. I have never read a short story before that had the ability to make me fall so immediately in love with the characters as I did while reading this, and it was (excuse my god awful pun) a wish come true.
Magic, he realized, took so many forms.
Story #2 ~ The Silk Blade; Natalie C. Parker
My rating: 4 / 5 / stars
This story was very beautifully written in a much different way than A Universe Of Wishes. Willador is fighting to prove she can be the strength to the grace of the prince (the 'Bloom'). What I loved about this story is how the gender roles were so totally reversed. The men were in dresses and heels, with painted nails and lips, but it all fit within the confines of the story naturally. The Bloom wore flowering skirts because he represented the flower of the nation. Willador wore armor reminiscent of flowers because she is fighting to be the Sword to his Bloom. I interpreted her to have equal attraction to men and women, as one of the other contestants (who is female) is attractive to her, and yet she is also attracted to the Bloom. Another fantastic thing about this story is that there is a male contestant fighting to be the Sword to the Bloom. This was a good little story with lots of flower visuals and botanical settings. I took one star off for the instalove, which is sometimes unavoidable in the short story format, but it was more noticeable to me here.
Spoiler
I open my mouth, my heart thrashing wildly against my ribs, unsure about what will happen next. Because the Bloom has chosen me.But I do not choose him.