This book was worth reading for the handful of stories in this collection that I really loved. Though I can’t honestly say I enjoyed all the stories, I did appreciate the genius of many of them as well as the authors’ willingness to take risks. I respect this collection and would recommend it to people who’ve widely read within the fantasy genre and who can appreciate traditional fantasy stories alongside ones with more experimental and/or non-traditional story structures.

Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers- 3/5
Selkie Stories are for Losers- 1/5
Tornado's Siren- 1/5
Left the Century to Sit Unmoved- 1/5
A Kiss With Teeth- 1/5
Jackalope Wives- 3/5
The Cartographer Wasps and Anarchist Bees- 3/5
The Practical Witch's Guide to Acquiring Real Estate- 1/5
The Tallest Doll in New York City- 1/5
The Haunting of Apollo A7LB- 1/5
Here Be Dragons- 2/5
The One They Took Before- 4/5
Tiger Baby- 3/5
The Duck- 1/5
Wing- 1/5
The Philosophers- 2/5
My Time Among the Bridge Blowers- 4/5
The Husband Stitch- 5/5
The Paper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn-5/5

I received this copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

A collection to highlight upcoming voices in fantasy. I know a lot of these authors from being a fan of some of these authors. They all write in what could be considered a new era of fantasy, one that tries to push the boundaries of the already fantastical. A couple of these stories I'd read before and loved. I enjoyed quite a lot of them, although I am not sure a few are fantasy as much as about human nature, and some are on the border of speculative, scifi and fantasy, which I'm not too much of a stickler to care about. Individual story reviews below. My favorites were Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers, Tornado's Siren, Left the Century to Sit Unmoved, A kiss with Teeth, Jackalope Wives, The Tallest Doll in New York City, The One they took before, The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn. Overall, a great collection that encapsulates the breadth of what is being done with fantasy in today's publishing.

Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers by Alyssa Wong is one of the best stories in the collection, an extraordinary idea written well, a protagonist who can see, and likes to eat, the dirty/evil thoughts of others.

Selkie Stories are for Losers by Sofia Samatar I didn't like this much, mostly because I tend to sympathize with Selkie's and hope for their escape, whereas this protagonist holds a grudge against her mother for doing so.

Tornado's Siren by Brooke Bolander I'm still marveling at how well this worked. A Tornado fall in love with a girl. Just the kind of strange idea is perfect in short fiction.

Left the Century to sit unmoved by Sarah Pinsker - I loved this one. About a pond that occasionally takes people who dive into it, a missing brother, and why we risk things.

A Kiss with Teeth by Max Gladstone - It's no secret that I love everything Max writes. I've read this one before, a tale about Dracula, the seven year itch, and being true to yourself.

Jackalope Wives by Ursula Vernon. So So good. Reminded me of Pocosin, another story by her, since they both have grandmothers.Old powers, myths and sense.

The Cartographer Wasps and The Anarchist Bees by E. Lily Yu. Really well written, but I felt like I missed the point of this. Story as per title, about Cartographer Wasps that colonize a beehive.

The Practical Witch's Guide to Acquiring Real Estate by A.C. Wise. Written like an actual guide. Cute but forgettable.

The Tallest Doll in New York Cityby Maria Dahvana Headley. 1920's voice, story about how the Chrysler building decides to confront her crush on Valentine's day. Brilliant, fanciful, I'm now in love with Maria Dahvana Headely's writing.

The Haunting of Apollo A7LB by Hannu Rajaniemi. A smalls story about a haunted spacesuit and its maker.

Here be Dragonsby Chris Tarry. I actually really liked this one. Biting examination of male toxicity and fatherhood through the tale of two con men who pose as dragon hunters.

The one they took before I haven't read enough fae stories to be bored by them yet. A fascinating short story of the signs of fae taking people in urban landscape.

by JY Yang. Well written, but I couldn't sympathize with the protagonist, who believe's she is a tiger, not a person.

The Duckby Ben Loory. A cute little fable about love.

Wing by Amal El-Mohtar. Prettily written, but I feel like I missed the point again. About books and secrets and meeting a person to share them with.

The Philosophers by Adam Ehrlich Sachs. A set of 3 stories, and I didn't think they were fantasy at all, except for the last which was more scifi by association. All examining the father son relationship.

My time among the bridge blowers by Eugene Fischer. Written well and imagined, but felt a little lacking of a point. Literally a small travelogue by a man wanting to study the bridge blowers, a hidden community that can suspend themselves in air by blowing.

The Husband Stitch by Carmen Maria Machado. A creepy body horror story. Immersive, but not my kind of thing.

The Pauper Prince and Eucalyptus Jinn by Usman T. Malik. Read last year and considered as one of the best short stories I have read. Its a gorgeously written story set in our time, about a family secret, art, and a creation myth. It leaves you in awe.

I really enjoyed this. It gave me an opportunity to try a lot of new-to-me authors, which I very much appreciated. And over all, I felt like the stories were all pretty high quality. Unfortunately, I read the book over a long span of time, so it's hard for me to comment too much on many of these. They've kind of faded into the depths of time.

Some of my favorites: Jackalope Wives, A Kiss with Teeth, The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees, The Haunting of Apollo A7LB, and The Husband Stitch.

Anthologies are always hit and miss, and this collection has a pretty high ratio of good stories to bad. My stand-out favorites from the 19 stories were:

1. Jackalope Wives - I love the mix of folklore from the American Southwest and traditional fairy tale patterns. Ursula Vernon nails the children's bedtime story tone, but in true folk story style, it's got mature themes to explore, too.
2. The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn - The longest story in the collection is well worth the read. It's a bit of a melancholic mystery story that spirals out of control into a metaphysics in the best, most-beautiful way imaginable.
3. The Duck - This one is short and cute. And sometimes a guy just wants to read a short love story with a happy ending.
4. The Husband Stitch - I enjoyed this retelling of "The Velvet Ribbon" story. This version focuses on the relationship between the ribbon-wearer and her husband to really hit on themes of secrecy and trust between lovers. Add in some breaking of the fourth-wall, and it's an experience.
5. The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees - Political allegory aside, the story setting of bee and wasp kingdoms stands out strong.

Other stories left me more or less flat, and I found one notably unenjoyable, "The Tallest Doll in New York City."

Strange book as not all the stories in my mind are fantasy but the stories are decent enough. It will be worth your time to read them.

None of these stories captivated me or made me curious enough to seek out the authors.
They are all good stories, with basis in all sorts of cultures which is awesome and amazing and should be done more.

I don't know how much of my disinterest is a lack of connection or the pull another series currently has on me.

Excellent collection of new voices in fantasy writing. Lots of writers of color, including women, and lots of queer characters.