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A review by yabytheway
Three Sides of a Heart: Stories about Love Triangles by Natalie C. Parker
3.0
Actual rating: 2.81 stars
I just keep reading these anthologies, and for some reason, my selections just keep getting worse. In any anthology, for every story I absolutely adore, there are many more that I either don't like at all, or feel very "meh" towards. And Three Sides of a Heart was no exception. Only two stories completely captured me with no complaints, but the vast majority of the contributions left me disappointed. So here are my ratings for each story!
RIDDLES IN MATHEMATICS by Katie Cotugno: 5/5 stars
Trope subverted? Check. Adorable? Check. Felt like a complete story? Check. I just loved this one.
DREAD SOUTH by Justina Ireland: 4/5 stars
I'll be completely honest; my favorite part of this was the concept and the setting, which makes me even more excited for Justina's full novel, Dread Nation, which is set in this same world. I did like the writing, too, but not the actual plot of the particular story? The ending was abrupt, and the love triangle didn't work for me.
OMEGA SHIP by Rae Carson 1/5 stars
My immediate reaction to this story was an eye roll. It was extremely cliche and the characters were terrible. The ending was the worst, and the love triangle made me want to vomit. I just really hated this one.
LA REVANCHA DEL TANGO by Renee Ahdieh 2/5 stars
The MC of this story wasn't super likable, and the love triangle was almost non-existent here. I liked certain moments of the story, but the overall plot was bland.
CASS, AN, AND DRA by Natalie C. Parker 2/5 stars
This one suffered from being a bit confusing. Simply based on the title alone, I was expecting a story about a girl with three personalities or something along those lines, so I was confused when the named Cass, An, and Dra were three different girls, and how that worked in the context of the story. The concept was intriguing, but the plot didn't have a lot of forward motion, and I didn't like any of the characters much.
LESSONS FOR BEGINNERS by Julie Murphy 3/5 stars
This story was so promising. I loved the concept, the characters were nice and fleshed out, and the love triangle was perfectly represented. But the romance and ensuing conflict were cliche, and the ending was such a bummer.
TRIANGLE SOLO by Garth Nix 1/5 stars
The main character was the only thing I liked about this. The love interest and the other point of the love triangle weren't fleshed out in the least, and the entire plot about the triangle solo was DUMB. I also was not a fan of the sci-fi twist that seemed shoe-horned in to make the story more interesting rather than being integral to the plot.
VIM AND VIGOR by Veronica Roth 4/5 stars
I loved this one because it's all about fandom and friendship, and the way the little bit of futurism and sci-fi was included worked much better for me here as opposed to Triangle Solo. My only complaint is that in an anthology about love triangles, the love triangle here barely factored into the actual story. But otherwise, it's my favorite thing Veronica Roth's ever written.
WORK IN PROGRESS by E.K. Johnston 1/5 stars
Instead of being one story, the author wrote three semi-developed situations and thrust the same three characters into them. On top of that, the POV shifts between the three in EVERY half story. The result is...disorienting to say the least. It was impossible to get invested in any of the stories of the characters, and since each POV was in 1st person, it was incredibly confusing when trying to figure out which one I was reading from. It just really didn't work for me.
HURDLES by Brandy Colbert 3/5 stars
I loved the characters, the plot, and the writing. BUT, I was so incredibly frustrated by the MC while reading it, that it lessened my enjoyment of the story.
THE HISTORIAN, THE GARRISON, AND THE CANTANKEROUS CAT WOMAN by Lamar Giles: 4/5 stars
I had a few issues with the writing here, but this one was SO entertaining. And it took me by total surprise. I saw Heather @bookables on YouTube say this reminded her of Buffy, and I totally understand that comparison. So it wasn't perfect, but I really enjoyed it.
WAITING by Sabaa Tahir 3/5 stars
I am writing this review over a month after finishing the book. And yet, this is the only story that I don't remember ANYTHING about. After looking at other reviews, I do remember liking the writing of this story, but not the plot.
VEGA by Brenna Yovanoff 2/5 stars
Now that I've seen other reviews of this story, I finally understand the love triangle here, but I still didn't enjoy it very much. I don't have a lot to say other than I just didn't connect to anything at all in this one.
A HUNDRED THOUSAND THREADS by Alaya Dawn Johnson 3/5 stars
The story was SO interesting to me, but something about the writing kept me from enjoying it fully. The format confused me a few times, and I had to reread several sections in order to make sure I was completely understanding what was going on. But I did like the characters and plot.
BEFORE SHE WAS BLOODY by Tessa Gratton 5/5 stars
Easily my favorite in the bunch. Even in such a short story, I felt like the world-building was incredible, and the characters were lovely. I felt myself actually invested in these relationships, and I loved the way the triangle was built and acted upon. It was brilliant.
UNUS, DUO, TRES by Bethany Hagen 2/5 stars
Vampires? Interesting. Somewhat polyamorous love triangle? Very interesting. Even the plot was intriguing. But something about this story kept me from enjoying it. I found myself skimming it in the end. The writing just wasn't for me, and the relationships between the characters didn't quite mesh for me.
I just keep reading these anthologies, and for some reason, my selections just keep getting worse. In any anthology, for every story I absolutely adore, there are many more that I either don't like at all, or feel very "meh" towards. And Three Sides of a Heart was no exception. Only two stories completely captured me with no complaints, but the vast majority of the contributions left me disappointed. So here are my ratings for each story!
RIDDLES IN MATHEMATICS by Katie Cotugno: 5/5 stars
Trope subverted? Check. Adorable? Check. Felt like a complete story? Check. I just loved this one.
DREAD SOUTH by Justina Ireland: 4/5 stars
I'll be completely honest; my favorite part of this was the concept and the setting, which makes me even more excited for Justina's full novel, Dread Nation, which is set in this same world. I did like the writing, too, but not the actual plot of the particular story? The ending was abrupt, and the love triangle didn't work for me.
OMEGA SHIP by Rae Carson 1/5 stars
My immediate reaction to this story was an eye roll. It was extremely cliche and the characters were terrible. The ending was the worst, and the love triangle made me want to vomit. I just really hated this one.
LA REVANCHA DEL TANGO by Renee Ahdieh 2/5 stars
The MC of this story wasn't super likable, and the love triangle was almost non-existent here. I liked certain moments of the story, but the overall plot was bland.
CASS, AN, AND DRA by Natalie C. Parker 2/5 stars
This one suffered from being a bit confusing. Simply based on the title alone, I was expecting a story about a girl with three personalities or something along those lines, so I was confused when the named Cass, An, and Dra were three different girls, and how that worked in the context of the story. The concept was intriguing, but the plot didn't have a lot of forward motion, and I didn't like any of the characters much.
LESSONS FOR BEGINNERS by Julie Murphy 3/5 stars
This story was so promising. I loved the concept, the characters were nice and fleshed out, and the love triangle was perfectly represented. But the romance and ensuing conflict were cliche, and the ending was such a bummer.
TRIANGLE SOLO by Garth Nix 1/5 stars
The main character was the only thing I liked about this. The love interest and the other point of the love triangle weren't fleshed out in the least, and the entire plot about the triangle solo was DUMB. I also was not a fan of the sci-fi twist that seemed shoe-horned in to make the story more interesting rather than being integral to the plot.
VIM AND VIGOR by Veronica Roth 4/5 stars
I loved this one because it's all about fandom and friendship, and the way the little bit of futurism and sci-fi was included worked much better for me here as opposed to Triangle Solo. My only complaint is that in an anthology about love triangles, the love triangle here barely factored into the actual story. But otherwise, it's my favorite thing Veronica Roth's ever written.
WORK IN PROGRESS by E.K. Johnston 1/5 stars
Instead of being one story, the author wrote three semi-developed situations and thrust the same three characters into them. On top of that, the POV shifts between the three in EVERY half story. The result is...disorienting to say the least. It was impossible to get invested in any of the stories of the characters, and since each POV was in 1st person, it was incredibly confusing when trying to figure out which one I was reading from. It just really didn't work for me.
HURDLES by Brandy Colbert 3/5 stars
I loved the characters, the plot, and the writing. BUT, I was so incredibly frustrated by the MC while reading it, that it lessened my enjoyment of the story.
THE HISTORIAN, THE GARRISON, AND THE CANTANKEROUS CAT WOMAN by Lamar Giles: 4/5 stars
I had a few issues with the writing here, but this one was SO entertaining. And it took me by total surprise. I saw Heather @bookables on YouTube say this reminded her of Buffy, and I totally understand that comparison. So it wasn't perfect, but I really enjoyed it.
WAITING by Sabaa Tahir 3/5 stars
I am writing this review over a month after finishing the book. And yet, this is the only story that I don't remember ANYTHING about. After looking at other reviews, I do remember liking the writing of this story, but not the plot.
VEGA by Brenna Yovanoff 2/5 stars
Now that I've seen other reviews of this story, I finally understand the love triangle here, but I still didn't enjoy it very much. I don't have a lot to say other than I just didn't connect to anything at all in this one.
A HUNDRED THOUSAND THREADS by Alaya Dawn Johnson 3/5 stars
The story was SO interesting to me, but something about the writing kept me from enjoying it fully. The format confused me a few times, and I had to reread several sections in order to make sure I was completely understanding what was going on. But I did like the characters and plot.
BEFORE SHE WAS BLOODY by Tessa Gratton 5/5 stars
Easily my favorite in the bunch. Even in such a short story, I felt like the world-building was incredible, and the characters were lovely. I felt myself actually invested in these relationships, and I loved the way the triangle was built and acted upon. It was brilliant.
UNUS, DUO, TRES by Bethany Hagen 2/5 stars
Vampires? Interesting. Somewhat polyamorous love triangle? Very interesting. Even the plot was intriguing. But something about this story kept me from enjoying it. I found myself skimming it in the end. The writing just wasn't for me, and the relationships between the characters didn't quite mesh for me.