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A review by themaliciousreader
Color Outside the Lines: Stories about Love by Sangu Mandanna
5.0
*4.5 Stars*
I was provided an ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Color Outside the Lines is an anthology of short stories "exploring the complexity and beauty of interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships where differences are front and center". The anthology will contain 16 stories, but my review copy only had 14 since this comes out in November. When I rated each story one by one, it gave me an average 4.35 rating which I happily rounded up since I just love the concept of this book and definitely think it's an important one too. I really liked most of the story, they were all so different and interesting. They weren't two stories that were alike and I just found this anthology to be so captivating and all around amazing.
Story by story reviews:
Turn the Sky to Petals by Anna-Marie McLemore:
The writing was very Lyrical, it was cute but hard to follow, especially since the characters didn't have names. It didn’t really capture my attention...
3.5 Stars
TK by Danielle Paige [story forthcoming]
What We Love by Lauren Gibaldi
That was so very cute. I loved the whole dance thing and the Star Wars references. It was short but didn’t need more.
4.5 Stars
Giving Up the Ghost by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas
This one was cute and had ghosts. I really loved the main character’s ghost. It felt very short though.
4 Stars
Your Life Matters by L.L. McKinney
F/F couple with talk of Black Lives Matter & superheroine. Perfection.
5 Stars
Starlight and Moondust by Lori M. Lee
This was pretty good, it had nice characters, dragons, a shaman in the woods... But it was pretty hard to focus on... Kinda lyrical, poetic style. I think I have trouble focusing on this kind of style.
4 stars
Five Times Shiva Met Harry by Sangu Mandanna
That was a library romance where Harry educates himself on racism and Shiva has an overbearing dad. It was a fun read.
4.5 Stars
The Agony of a Heart’s Wish by Samira Ahmed
That was a historical romance between an Irish soldier and an Indian girl. It was a powerful story but too insta-love for me.
4.5 Stars.
The Coward’s Guide to Falling in Love by Caroline Tung Richmond
That was very good. I felt for her immediately and deeply related with her. I actually almost cried.
5 Stars
Death and the Maiden by Tara Sim
F/F retelling of Persephone and Hades. It was pretty damn great.
4.5 Stars
Faithfull by Karuna Riazi
This one wasn't bad but I felt like something was missing. The fact that the spacing wasn't right in my file didn’t help...
4 Stars
Gilman Street by Michelle Ruiz Keil
I loved this one. It's set in the 80’s. A girl skips school because her best friend abandoned her for her new boyfriend. She ends up in Berkeley and has an unforgettable adventure. Very cute lgbt+ story with lots of bi people.
5 stars
The Boy Is by Elsie Chapman
This was a cute story. It's mostly set in a food court. The main character breaks up with her asshole of a boyfriend at the very beginning of the story. I really loved the mc, this story left me wanting more.
4.5 Stars
Sandwiched in Between by Eric Smith
That story was a Thanksgiving story about a new couple going to both families houses. The have weird ass meals, fights. It was short and fun.
4 Stars
Yuna and the Wall by Lydia Kang
A nice read. I loved the whole quiet and wall thing, but had some trouble fully focusing. By the end, I felt like something was missing.
4 Stars
TK by Adam Silvera [story forthcoming]
I was provided an ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Color Outside the Lines is an anthology of short stories "exploring the complexity and beauty of interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships where differences are front and center". The anthology will contain 16 stories, but my review copy only had 14 since this comes out in November. When I rated each story one by one, it gave me an average 4.35 rating which I happily rounded up since I just love the concept of this book and definitely think it's an important one too. I really liked most of the story, they were all so different and interesting. They weren't two stories that were alike and I just found this anthology to be so captivating and all around amazing.
Story by story reviews:
Turn the Sky to Petals by Anna-Marie McLemore:
The writing was very Lyrical, it was cute but hard to follow, especially since the characters didn't have names. It didn’t really capture my attention...
3.5 Stars
TK by Danielle Paige [story forthcoming]
What We Love by Lauren Gibaldi
That was so very cute. I loved the whole dance thing and the Star Wars references. It was short but didn’t need more.
4.5 Stars
Giving Up the Ghost by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas
This one was cute and had ghosts. I really loved the main character’s ghost. It felt very short though.
4 Stars
Your Life Matters by L.L. McKinney
F/F couple with talk of Black Lives Matter & superheroine. Perfection.
5 Stars
Starlight and Moondust by Lori M. Lee
This was pretty good, it had nice characters, dragons, a shaman in the woods... But it was pretty hard to focus on... Kinda lyrical, poetic style. I think I have trouble focusing on this kind of style.
4 stars
Five Times Shiva Met Harry by Sangu Mandanna
That was a library romance where Harry educates himself on racism and Shiva has an overbearing dad. It was a fun read.
4.5 Stars
The Agony of a Heart’s Wish by Samira Ahmed
That was a historical romance between an Irish soldier and an Indian girl. It was a powerful story but too insta-love for me.
4.5 Stars.
The Coward’s Guide to Falling in Love by Caroline Tung Richmond
That was very good. I felt for her immediately and deeply related with her. I actually almost cried.
5 Stars
Death and the Maiden by Tara Sim
F/F retelling of Persephone and Hades. It was pretty damn great.
4.5 Stars
Faithfull by Karuna Riazi
This one wasn't bad but I felt like something was missing. The fact that the spacing wasn't right in my file didn’t help...
4 Stars
Gilman Street by Michelle Ruiz Keil
I loved this one. It's set in the 80’s. A girl skips school because her best friend abandoned her for her new boyfriend. She ends up in Berkeley and has an unforgettable adventure. Very cute lgbt+ story with lots of bi people.
5 stars
The Boy Is by Elsie Chapman
This was a cute story. It's mostly set in a food court. The main character breaks up with her asshole of a boyfriend at the very beginning of the story. I really loved the mc, this story left me wanting more.
4.5 Stars
Sandwiched in Between by Eric Smith
That story was a Thanksgiving story about a new couple going to both families houses. The have weird ass meals, fights. It was short and fun.
4 Stars
Yuna and the Wall by Lydia Kang
A nice read. I loved the whole quiet and wall thing, but had some trouble fully focusing. By the end, I felt like something was missing.
4 Stars
TK by Adam Silvera [story forthcoming]