I received a copy of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

There were some fantastic short stories in this collection as well as some that I didn't enjoy very well. Like any collection, the separate stories are going to hit each reader differently. The only one that I skipped was 'The Scarlet Woman' by Libba Bray. I haven't read any Gemma Doyle so I don't feel that I can fairly judge that short story, as it felt like you had to somewhat know the world to get into it.

I absolutely loved 'A Royal Affair' by V.E. Schwab. The 'Darker Shades of Magic' trilogy is one of my favorites of all time and it was so fun to read a little prequel to get more backstory on Alucard Emery.

I also really enjoyed 'A Universe of Wishes' by Tara Sim and 'The Coldest Spot in the Universe' by Samira Ahmed. Both had very relatable characters and fantastic writing.

There were a few I didn't like as much, such as 'The Silk Blade' by Natalie C. Parker. I don't really enjoy stories where the character gives up their biggest dream or mission that they have been working their whole life towards for someone they just met. Insta-love is one trope I am not a fan of. The ending also felt very abrupt.

Overall this was a very solid collection of diverse stories. As part of the 'We Need Diverse Books' movement, it was super cool to see so many types of characters. There was a trans-prince, m-m romance, gender fluid characters, minority characters and so much more. I definitely recommend this book to YA sff fans, especially if they enjoyed books by these authors previously.

This is a partial review because I only finished half of the stories:

A Universe of Wishes: super gay, 4.3 stars

The Silk Blade: I love the concept, also features bisexual characters 3.5 stars

Crystal y Ceniza- fantastic retelling of Cinderalla featuring a trans prince 4 stars

Liberia- I may have teared up a bit 4.5 stars

A Royal Affair- makes me so excited for the Threads of Power, I wanna go reread A Darker Shade of Magic now. 5 stars

Take Back Tango- super cute, wish it was longer 4 stars

-Dream and Dare- Super cute and super gay :) 4 stars

Wish- perfection, imaginative. I wish this were more than a short story 5 stars

The Weight- well-written, but I want to know the ending! 4.5 stars

Anthologies are hard to accomplish, but knowing Dhonielle Clayton... I trust her writing and her editing and being a huge fan of her work, I had to give it a try. The fact that it was a YA fantasy anthology already had me hyped up and as I read some familiar authors and some new ones, it was definitely an interesting adventure. There were some stories I loved, some that were meh, but overall... I think the book does a good job of combining different authors under one genre and gives you a taste of different author styles.

It was definitely a great change to most anthologies I've read.

I was a little disappointed with this anthology. I loved Thank U: Poems of Gratitude and Flying Lessons (also imprints of We Need Diverse Books), and A Universe of Wishes was just an okay book for me. Some of the stories like V.E. Schwab's and Libba Bray's, were set in worlds from their novels, so those 2 short stories are probably better if you have read their books. Don't get me wrong, the stories are like-able but won't really stick with me for long- and I would love to see more collaborations like this with diverse authors and stories. I would recommend A Universe of Wishes to readers who already know and love the authors of the short stories.

I love to read anthology books, it's easy for me to read a short story and put the book down to process before starting the next story which I love. Typically really good fantasy anthologies are hard to come by but I was amazed at some of the stories in this one. In only a couple of pages these authors managed to craft, amazing worlds with unique magic systems and characters that catch your eye.

Like most anthologies some stories you do invest a bit more into stories than others, a few times I found myself saying "I wish they would keep going" or "Aw why did they have to stop it there!". This could be a good or bad thing depending on how you think.

Overall A Delightful anthology.

I enjoyed this book and genuinely felt that it succeeded in what it wanted to accomplish.

Despite not having a strong connection with the characters as I wanted, I felt the stories were strong enough to carry the entire novel for me. Although there is no denying how important the characters were in the trajectory of each story, they weren't enough for me to really care for them. However, in all honesty, I saw myself in them which was why I said that this book succeeded in what it wanted to accomplish.

I ran out of time on the app to read this one so I can’t review it. I would really love to read it in the future so I’m going to buy a copy when I can!

I need to stop trying to read anthologies it always takes me forever to get through them - but I finally got around to this one! I quite liked it, loved the mix of SFF YA and so much diversity was a really fun read. Some of my absolute favorites were: A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim, Liberia by Kwame Mbalia, and The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roadhouse. I quite liked the variety and there was a decent amount of sci fi/dystopian. I also noticed there was some variety in writing styles so I think most would find a story they enjoyed. I rated all either 3 or 4 stars, and overall a 4. I do tend to dislike when they include short stories from another book series as there are 2 in here, one from the Gemma Doyle series and the other from A Darker Shade of Magic. I have not read either, but even if I had I wish instead some independent short stories had been chosen. Overall recommend!!

1. A universe of wishes: 5 stars
A boy who collects wishes from the dead to achieve a certain goal.
The magic was unique and I really liked both Thorn and Seige
I honestly feel like picking up all Tara Sim’s books IMMEDIATELY

2. The silk blade 4 stars
A girl had to fight in some deadly tournaments to become a consort and save her family’s reputation.
Willador made me cheer for her from the first few lines. And I really loved the fighting scenes.
My only issue is that I needed more and some bits were kinda confusing (maybe it was me I don’t know). Definitely will read more of this author.

3. The scarlet woman (a Gemma Doyle story) 2 stars
I was really excited to read a libba bray short story to get a taste of her books, yet it was so disappointing to know that this was a novella related to her older series.. and the ending wasn’t satisfying either. The writing style and the setting really intrigued me though, so might actually pick up her books! <3

4. Cristal y Ceniza 5 stars
A cinderella retelling where the main character has to slip into the ball to convince the king and queen to hear what she has to say about her people. She of course meets the prince in the ball and it was the cutest thing EVER<3 my first time reading a book/story I will definitely check out their other books!

5. Liberia 5 stars
A group of teenagers are sent to space to try and find a place for them and their people to survive. It was a cool story definitely would’ve loved if it was longer (or even A WHOLE BOOK) but oh well lol.

6. A Royal Affair 55555555555 stars!!!!
Not going to lie and say this wasn’t the whole reason I read this book because it IS!!! It is a story about Alucard and Rhy from ADSOM (one of my favorite series) and it has Kell and Lila too but just a few lines. I would say if you haven’t read the series, you should skip this one.

7. The Takeback Tango 5 stars
A solo captain who lost everything she loves and cherishes so she decides to seal back what was her peoples’ from the enemy’s museum and that may lead her to an interesting ally.

8. Dream and Dare 5 stars
This story follows two girls (Dream and Dare). Dreams want to wear “girly” clothes and be “boyish” without being label with these two words. Princess Dare wants to wear whatever she wants and be whoever she wants to be without be labeled weird.

9. Wish 5 stars
The main character grants wishes, he goes through portals to do that and suddenly he realizes that he is not in Earth but a colony in Venus and the wisher wants a very special wish, so he’s determined to grant it.


10. The Weight 5 stars
Every heart tells a story. A story about a world where they take out the couples’ hearts (literally) to see if they have their partner’s name engraved on them. It was kinda disturbing but I really loved it!!

11. Unmoor 5 stars
What if the world you live in has the magic to erase all your painful memories? Aren’t you going to take that opportunity? Young Felix thought so as well and he broke my heart…

12. The Coldest Spot in the Universe 5 stars
This story shows what will happen when the climate changes get out of control and kills everyone on Earth. A girl in the 3000’s finds logs and diaries from a girl who lived on Earth at that time. This was toooo powerful I really teared up reading it.

13. The Beginning of Monsters 1 stars
The only thing I got from this is that a girl can change bodies (make them?) this was so confusing…. Yeah that’s it….

14. Longer Than the Threads of Time 4 stars
A rapunzel retelling. She’s stuck in a magical tower where a few people can see and hear her yet no ones to get to that cursed tower. A brujo decides to finally talk to her and maybe even save her. It was really cute<3 Definity going to check out the author’s other books.

15. Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi 5555555555555 stars!!!!!
This story DESTROYED ME!!!!! It spoke to my soul!! Messages are exchanged between a Palestinian guy and a black American guy. The way the letters were written and how they both suffered a lot yet tried to make it somehow better just destroyed me. I couldn’t stop sobbing while reading and after that too.

--

I listened to the audiobook and would definitely recommend because each story has either one or two narrators.

A YA short story collection featuring some of my fav authors like VE Schwab and Libba Bray, this is a collaboration with We Need Diverse Books. There are 15 unique stories and feature some OwnVoices authors too. And I cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy of this book as well.

This collection of stories was beautiful! I enjoyed the diverse viewpoints and topics. I was able to read some stories by my favorite authors while also getting introduced to some authors who were new to me and I'd like to now further explore their works. As an lgbt ally and school Psychologist I would recommend this book to any teen looking for a book to help them feel less alone in the world.

I was extremely excited to read this book after discovering my own personal queen bee, Dhonielle Clayton, would be authoring and editing the anthology. Since the book is supposed to be about diversity which is explained perfectly in the forward, I expected many diversities. However, they were mostly racial and queer diversities. There were some true gems that I will be thinking about for a long time and also some that weren’t so great.

1. A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim
⭐️⭐️
Features: racial and queer diversity
Short description: a boy is collecting wishes to make a big wish
This one had an interesting premise which was difficult to understand in the beginning. I think this one may have been better as a longer novel or even a longer short story. The story felt a little rushed on the romance and the problems seemed to resolve a little too quickly.

2. The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Features: racial, queer, and amputation diversity
Short description: arena contest to help elevate one’s class.
I really enjoyed this one. It was short and wrapped up nicely. I liked the glimpses into the world we received, especially the lipstick mentioning. And I really enjoyed the more casual diversity. This is one I think wouldbe really interesting as a full-length novel, but worked well as a short story too.

3. The Scarlet Woman by Libba Bray
DNF
I've read Libba Bray's other series, and I think since we really didn't have a synposis to go by, it made it difficult to get into. I felt confused from the beginning and had a hard time following.

4. Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McLemore
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Features: racial, queer, and transgender diversity
Short description: Cinderella retelling but with diversity
I really loved this one and the twist on such a well-known classic. It was fun to read and I loved how the author updated the story to fit into a more modern-day retelling. I enjoyed the characters and the writing style and descriptions as well.

5. Liberia by Kwame Mbalia
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Features: racial diversity and possible religious diversity
Short description: a group of teens piloting a ship to help save the world
This one was really interesting and I was impressed how easy it was to like it, since I normally have issues following a sci-fi space adventure-esque story. But I really enjoyed the unique culture diversity of this one, and how it felt like we were put in the middle of a story, but we somehow were able to understand everything just fine.

6. A Royal Affair by V. E. Schwab
⭐️⭐️
Features: queer and maybe racial diversity
Short description: continuation from Shades of Magic.
I've never read the series this follows and therefore found it to be not as impressive. It was cute, but I might have enjoyed it more if I had known the original story it came from.

7. The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Features: racial diversity
Short description: a heist!
This short story was so much fun, and I really enjoyed how easy it was to follow. I've had my eye on a book by this author and this story really made me feel more confident that I would love it.

8. Dream and Dare by Nic Stone
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Features: racial and queer diversity
Short description: Dream tries to discover how to defeat a monster
This was a cute and fun girl-power-like story. It may have been too young for me to really enjoy as an older adult, but still fun. I liked it, but since I've read so many other books by the author, I definitely expected more.

9. Wish by Jenni Balch
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Features: racial and possible disability diversity
Short description: a girl finds a lamp with a genie
Fun, but not as memorable.

10. The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Features: racial diversity
Short description: future society can determine past and present loves by weighing a heart
This is the story that I was most looking forward to it and therefore had the highest expectations for, and it did not let me down. This was kind of scary to read based on the subject matter, but still a very inventive idea, and I really enjoyed how easy it was to read and how easy it was to instantly understand the world and how nicely it wrapped up. This is another I would be interested in reading a full length novel about - maybe with these characters as side characters?

11. Unmoor by Mark Oshiro
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Features: racial and queer diversity
Short description: Like a black mirror episode with magic
THIS WAS VERY THRILLING. This is probably the most memorable one for me, because it truly felt like a Black Mirror episode, and it was also very sad and emotional. Everything about this story seemed to get scarier and sadder as it progressed.

12. The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Features: racial diversity
Short description: audio transcripts from 2030 and 3027
This was an interesting take on a short story. It's told through audio transcripts from almost-present day to many years in the future. I think the method of storytelling wasn't for me, but the concept and what happens in the transcripts, was interesting.

13. The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton
⭐️⭐️
Features: queer, and gender diversity
Short description: a society in which people can become part-chimera for a price
This was probably one of my least favorites. It felt very difficult to really understand what was happening and the world that was created in such a short amount of pages. I think this may have benefited from a longer story, but at the same time, I wasn't too interested in it as a short story.

14. Longer Than the Threads of Time by Zoraida Cordova
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Features: racial diversity
Short description: Rapunzel retelling with a twist and magic!
I LOVED this retelling. I love a good retelling with a twist, and this was no exception. I loved how Zoraida Cordova took a world she had already created and made it something that her readers could enjoy coming home to, but also made it easy enough for new readers to enjoy. Her story was crafted expertly, and I LOVED all of the twists and the ending. A perfect short story.

15. Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Features: racial and queer diversity
Short description: exchange of letter between two boys in different but similar situations
This one reminded me a little of Dear Martin or more like its sequel Dear Justyce. It set with two boys in prisons of some sort, writing letters to each other about their experiences from halfway across the world. It's told completely through letters, which was a nice touch to build a sort of romance/friendship and I really enjoyed how the author crafted the letters. Would have liked a little more from their stories.

This is a really great Sci-fi/Fantasy anthology! There is a lot of variety here in the types of stories which I really enjoyed. We get some romance, some magic, some spaceships and more! For a few of the stories you get a fun, short visit to familiar world if you have other works by the author. I love short stories for finding new authors so if you are on the look-out for new series to get into you should pick this up and try an author that you haven't read before! And the best part is there is so much great diverse representation in these stories, we need way more books like this!

I received a free e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I normally don't like sets of short stories. I decided that I'd read the stories from the authors I know. Then I can come back later and read more later. I am enjoying it so far.

This collection brought a lot of much needed diversity to the world of YA fantasy. The stand out story for me was the one from Nic Stone which I found very moving and exciting.

This was an absolutely lovely anthology, and we definitely need more books like this in publishing. The sheer depth and diversity of stories was refreshing, and I found myself enjoying every one. I can't wait for more books from this organization!

Personally I really enjoyed this YA anthology of diverse fantasy short stories. They ranges from giving a glimpse into an author’s broader work (i.e. Bray, Schwab series) or a different style of an author (i.e. sci-if for Mbalia). My personal favorite was by Mclemore. I don’t think I’ll be purchasing this for my middle school library simply because some of the stories (or those books they reference) skew high school.

This is fast pacing, entertaining, smart, dazzling, horrifying story that I’ve devoured at half day. I loved the characters, I enjoyed the references, I liked the eerie, depressing atmosphere! I’m giving my 4 taxidermy stars and I highly recommend this to the genre’s lovers!

This book has 15 short stories, all great, some ok, and some meh. I would suggest finding your favorite author in here and reading theirs.

A Universe of Wishes is an incredible collection of short stories that contain the representation I've been craving in fantasy for so long. Each story is fully contained in itself, and the amount of magic, mystery, and mayhem is perfectly balanced. The amount of people of color and queer people in this anthology had me tearing up-- I have never felt so personally represented in an anthology (though I know other anthologies have provided this level of representation for other people, which is wonderful).
I wholeheartedly recommend this anthology for anyone who likes fantasy, queer rep, and or POC rep. It's seriously incredible.

As with most anthologies some of them were great others fell flat. I found two new to me authors that I`m excited to read more of their works.