Status Updates From A Thousand Beginnings and E...

—story 15

Eyes Like Candlelight Julie Kagawa

This one was nice ig a good ending to the book, 4 stars

—story 14
The Crimson Cloak Cindy Pon

This one was nice ig 3stars i liked the writing and sentiment but didnt care much for it tbh reminded me kinda of the 1st story

—story 13
Daughter of the Sun Shveta Thakrar

Much better than the previous few, 4 stars ig i quite liked it

—story 12
Bullet, Butterfly Elsie Chapman

The prose is decent I dont get how that guy is communicating with the other guys if he's in this camp. I liked the story though its nice

4stars

my god this is so boring istg its put me in such a bad slump

—story 11
Code of Honor Melissa De La Cruz

This was kinda nice gv me first kill vibes, 3 stars maybe

how
the fuck
do you butcher a beautiful epic like the mahabharat into THIS retelling?????

— story 10
Spear Carrier Rahul Kanakia

Idk did not like this was kinda bored tbh and it felt quite pointless

—story 8
Nothing into All Renée Ahdieh

Omg this one was so good! I think its my fav so far

The writing characterisation everything was fantastic.

5 stars

—story 8
Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers Preeti Chhibber

This was nice though it read a bit juvenile for YA, felt more like MG. But i liked everything else. And happy to see a story about navratri! 4.5 stars

— story 7
The Smile Aisha Saeed

I loved this one honestly very well written i think though I wld hv liked more reflections frm the narrator and the prince on their relationship

4.5 stars

— story 6
The Land of the Morning Calm E. C. Myers

I loved this one i think a page or 2 more wld hv made it better but otherwise was fantastic. 5 stars

— story 5
The Counting of Vermillion Beads Aliet Te De Bodard

Kinda confusing but the writing was good. This shld hv been a bit longer

— story 4
Still Star-Crossed Sona Charaipotra

I didnt care much for this one tbh I think it was too short and didnt land the way it shld hv
I also didnt vibe with the writing
Felt like an americanised description of india to me

2stars

— story 3
Steel Skin Lori M. Lee

I found it a bit strange like the folklore and story felt too different
The story was fine for me I kinda liked it but I was a bit thrown off by it

Tbh yk I think that the editor did not compile these well an anthology shld also feel connected rn everything seems randomly placed together one after the other. Not making for a great experience.

— ch 2
Olivia’s Table Alyssa Wong

it was nice but I found it too sweet almost compared to the previous one. I knew of this folklore as I just read abt it in Bat Eater and Other names for Cora Zeng . That was more horror so its intresting to see another interpretation instead.

I liked the queer rep too this is prob a 3.5 star story though I was kinda expecting smthing else

Buddy read with Ash! ❤️

finished the 1st story
— Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi
lovely writing as always with this author, but i liked the story too. it wasn't something i had heard of before. the folklore is fascinating!

4 stars

I’m enjoying these short stories. Each one is really unique and I love how they share a little bit about the inspired myth behind each short story thus far. I really liked the most recent short story By EC Myers. The Korean ghost story with a grim reaper and the lord of the underworld with nine tailed fox spirits was fun to read. Great book if you’re short on time but want a little story to escape to.