I have received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
My star ratings for each short story:
A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim: 4 stars. This story was very enjoyable and I like the idea of wishes coming true.
The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker: 4 stars. I liked the trial and the story.
The Scarlet Woman by Libba Bray: 2 stars. Since I'm not familiar with the story I felt confused about the plot, and would have liked more backstory to understand the story better, but I liked the mystery.
Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McLemore: 5 stars. This was so cute! I would have loved to read more.
Liberia by Kwame Mbalia: 4 stars. I liked this story, but would have liked to know more background,
A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab: 5 stars. This was great and enjoyable to read.
The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse: 5 stars. I would love to read a whole book just to get more from these characters.
Dream and Dare by Nic Stone: 4 stars. I liked the mystery and the cuteness that came afterwards.
Wish by Jenni Balch: 4 stars. This story was cute and intriguing.
The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton: 4 stars. This was an interesting story.
Unmoor by Mark Oshiro: 4 stars. This story was interesting.
The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed: 4 stars. This was heartbreaking and so interesting to read.
The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton: 2 stars. I felt that the plot was very confusing, but the architecture parts were interesting to learn about.
Longer than the Threads of Time by Zoraida Cordova: 5 stars. This was cute and I liked the twist.
Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi: 5 stars. I really liked the two perspectives and to see how they were in similar situations. This was heartbreaking yet cute.
Overall, these stories were so fun to read and I had a great time reading them.

Amazing! Some of my favorite authors were featured in this anthology, and I discovered many more whose work I want to follow. I love the different voices that were showcased in this collection, and I loved seeing where each author's creativity took them. This was beautiful!

irst of all, thank you so much to Random House Children's and Net Galley for an eARC of this! I love anthologies, and this has some of my favorite authors in it! Because of the nature of anthologies, I'll be rating the book as a whole, but also doing mini reviews for each of the short stories!

A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In a world where no one knows about magic, our MC, Thorn, sneaks into steal it from corpses, hoping to save enough for one big wish. Sage, a boy who works at the funeral parlor, lets Thorn take the magic if he can be granted 3 wishes. This is beautifully written and macabre, and I loved the LGBTQIA+ rep in this!

The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Silk Blade is a contest to be the Bloom Prince's partner, but during said contest, Willador may just be falling for her female contendor. The bisexual rep in this is fantastica, it's lushish and visual, and the ending is just YES. As someone who is bi, this story really called to me.

Scarlet Woman (A Gemma Doyle Story) by Libba Bray ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was actually a bit of a disappointment for me. Unless you have quite literally read the series or remember it perfectly, this was confusing and rather disappointing. I love the Gemma Doyle books, but this just didn't do it for me.If I ever reread the series, I'll try rereading this one.

Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McLemore: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I am not usually a fan of Cinderella retellings, but I really did enjoy this one! Desperate for help, a young woman attends the ball of a transgender prince to plea for her people's safety. I wasn't a huge fan of the pace, but I enjoyed it in every other regard!

Liberia by Kwame Mbalia ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SURPRISE! This is a sci-fi. I honestly had no clue there would be sci-fi in this anthology, and it was a pleasant surprise! This short story follows Kweku who is a research officer on a colony ship, prepping the harvest for the colony. Loved this one so much!

A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well, I'd be lying if I wasn't first grabbed by this anthology because her name was one it, but what can I say? I'm al ittle obsessed. This short story is from Allucard's POV, and I oved seeing a bit of him and Rhy! Definitely a must-read for ADSOM fans!

The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another sci-fi! I loved reading Rebecca Roanhorse's voice in a sci-fi. It's essentially Natives in space taking back their rightful artifacts. Cat burglars, ships, a bit of romance. I love it!

Dream and Dare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is essentially a f/f Beauty and the Beast retelling. I wasn't a huge fan of the character's names or parts of the story, but I loved the ending.

Wish by Jenni Balch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Aridne finds the lamp, and figures out how to make a wish. The genie comes out aboard a Venus research station. Sweet sci-fi story with disorder rep, and the start of friendship?

The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Uhmmmmm did I just read a Black Mirror episode? High school sweethearts to to the heart Scale Center, a place that can check your heart and see how much you love someone, falling out of love, heart scars etc. Loved this one so much, and would make a great Black Mirror episode!

Unmoor by Mark Oshiro ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was powerful and beautifully written. In a land with mages, Felix is using his saves to Unmoor, to disconnect certain memories from things and places to make the heartbreak easier. I really loved this. A full book from the POV of osmeone who unmoors would be really cool!

The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
This is a sci-fi set in a frozen Chicago. They are crashed, trying to survive the tundra. Just didn't find this one all too captivating. I had strange flashes to that movie where they're trapped in a NewYork library during a crazy blizzard~~~

The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I understand what was trying to be done with this one, but the writing and the story didn't grab me. King wants a new body, tired of their female form, and I do believe the story is important, but just wasn't my favorite.

Larger Than the Threads of Time by Zoraid Cordova ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Danaë is locked in a tower in Central Park. Fabian, a brujo with the sight, sees her helps to rescue her. The ending was definitely my favorite part. Question is: was this a retelling of the Greek myth about the mother of Perseus, was it a Rapunzel retelling, or a bit of both???

Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A series of diary entries that are sent between a Black prisoner and a Middle Eastern protestor. I think the format thre me off a bit.

I am in love with the strong literary directions this book took me in. A Universe of Wishes is identity work in the context of fantasy, leading us to new places in stories we know well. These are takes and tales that need to be shared widely, and I highly recommend this book for a wide range of readers and study.

This is an amazing anthology of diverse science fiction and fantasy! I loved that it includes some of my favorite authors like Rebecca Roanhorse and Tochi Onyebuchi while introducing me to snippets of other authors I haven't had the chance to read yet. From royal fantasy retellings of Cinderella to urban fantasy retellings of Rapunzel to brand new tales that I didn't recognize, A Universe of Wishes is everything that an anthology could ever hope to achieve.

A Universe of Wishes is a well-balanced and fantastic collection of emotional and thought-provoking stories which has excellent pacing both as a whole and individually.

I'm in awe of the editor who curated this. Stories with more stressful topics are placed with more relaxing ones between them, but in a way that (for me at least) never felt like mood whiplash. I read this slowly over several days, pausing to let some stories linger in my mind a while longer before moving on to the next one. There's a lot of them, so I've listed one or two sentence reactions with CWs for each. I loved some more than others, but that's just because heists stole my heart long ago and I've never minded since. The whole collection works really well together and while I suppose some other arrangement was possible, this one feels right.

A Universe of Wishes: Funny and sweet with just the right amount of darkness. CW for violence (backstory), gore, parental death (backstory).

The Silk Blade: I’m absolutely blown away, this feels like a perfectly chosen snapshot of much longer book. I’d happily read anything in this style, it conveys so much emotion and context in such few pages. I’m dazzled by the ending, my goodness. CW for violence.

The Scarlet Woman: I haven’t read the trilogy that this story is tied to, but it was engaging and I enjoyed it. It’s definitely made to be read in connection with the original series, as it does great job of introducing the characters but leaves a lot unresolved. As a kind of teaser for the main trilogy it’s pretty perfect. Their personalities are obvious and engaging, their dynamic is interesting, and there’s hints at some pretty dark events that happened before (presumably in the novels). CW for sexism (examined), gore, death.

Crystal y Cenzia: This gracefully handles a setup and payoff in addition to the main plot in just a few pages. I had time to notice a story element, forget about it, then have it circle back around to surprise me and be even better. It’s a small thing but I really appreciate it. CW for queerphobia, racism, classism.

Liberia: Gripping and tense, making me quickly invested in the solution to the crisis which dominates the story.

A Royal Affair: A prologue for a series I haven’t read. It definitely feels like it’s best read in connection with the main series, but I enjoyed it. It’s complete and understandable, but its nature as backstory means it packs a lot of trauma into very few pages. CW for violence (brief), homophobia, abuse.

The Takeback Tango: So good that for a few minutes I forgot I was reading short stories and felt like I was about to dive into a long and heist-filled saga. I already knew I liked this author’s writing, but I love the feel of this particular story and I want more. CW for colonialism (backstory).

Dream and Dare: Packing the feel of a slow-burning mystery into a walk in the woods with an uncertain outcome. CW for queerphobia (backstory).

Wish: Perfectly balanced between what to show and what to imply about the setting, conveying a story which feels deeply impactful to the characters without getting caught up in minutiae.

The Weight: Plays with the tension and uncertainty inherent in desperately needing a question answered but dreading almost every possible outcome. CW for surgery.

Unmoor: A perfectly wound story of the ragged edges of grief and the lingering echoes of heartbreak. I felt winded just from reading it, the ending is very powerful. CW for memory loss.

The Coldest Spot in the Universe: The end and the remnants, and who carries their stories. CW for mass death (backstory), death.

The Beginning of Monsters: Establishes then reframes possibilities for moving and existing. I love stories like this which convey the way it feels to think about a technical topic one knows well, but without the exact details mattering to the audience. CW for child death (not depicted).

Longer Than the Threads of Time: This fits within the world of some of author’s other books, but it works really well by itself if you’re new to this setting. I hope I meet these characters again because I need to know what happens next, and it feels like there's a chance they'll show up later if the author continues setting books here. CW for imprisonment.

Habibi: A pretty perfect way to end the collection. The story touches on a lot of tough topics and ends in way that teeters between hope and despair. CW for imprisonment, suicide (not depicted), war (not depicted), starvation, death (not depicted).

A collection of short stories. With anthologies, its expected that some are hit or miss. There were a few that were amazing and I adored. These stories are great for a short easier reads that don’t take up too much of your time.

4.5/5

I loved the stories for the most part, like, 99.9% of them.

I do wish there had been a few more scifi but each story brought a beacon of diversity that we so sorely need in the bookish/publishing world. I loved the different characters and seeing more diversity in the pages. It's always great when authors come together to champion characters that look more like ALL of their readers instead of just some. After all, it's not just characters that look like Harry Potter that's able to save the day.

Great anthology, thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this.

This was my first ever anthology in the fantasy genre! As with all anthologies, some stories I LOVED, some I really enjoyed, and some were just okay. I loved being exposed to the work of authors I was not familiar with and I ended up adding several books to my TBR! The representation in these stories, as expected, was OUTSTANDING. And the social commentary?! SPOT. ON.

This anthology was FANTASTIC! I’ll break down the individual stories below. All together this is my new favorite anthology. There were so many interesting stories and characters that were executed perfectly in such a short amount of time. I enjoyed most of these stories which is pretty unheard of for me. They all share that ache and urge for more and the risks they are willing to take to make it come true. These were achingly beautiful stories that I think everyone should read.

A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim 5
This is story sets the tone for this whole book and it set it off with a bang. The magic of it all isn’t even magic.

The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker 3
If the bachelor and bachelorette played with knives in order to gain the hand of the empire.

The Scarlet Woman a Gemma Doyle Story by Libba Bray 3
Ah,,, It’s been well over a decade since I read this series and it hurts to be back with these characters. Also this felt very Diviners with the occult in NY.

Cristal y Ceniza by Anna- Marie McLemore 5
My favorite Cinderella retelling by far. This was exceptionally written and I need it to be a full length novel.

Liberia by Kwame Mbalia 4
This is the first science fiction story. We are introduced to our character who is trying to preserve a garden while transporting to their planet. This story builds on itself and the preservation of several generation’s hard work.

A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab
I’m going to be real honest, I skimmed. I don’t like this series anymore. In fact I forgot I read it. I just don't care about these characters or world.

The Take back Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse 5
National Treasure meets Ocean’s 11 but make it watchable. LOL But seriously if you’ve ever wanted to see all those artifacts put back in their country with sarcastic characters and spies. This is the story for you. This is another I need a Full length novel, asap. Thnx.

Dream & Dare by Nic Stone 5
This was a beautiful story about finding yourself, love, and daring to do that despite others & society.

Wish by Jenni Balch 2
Umm, this was forgettable. sorry

The Weight by Dhonielle Clayton 5
LOVED this story! I don’t want to spoil but if that was real women would want it but most men wouldn’t want to do it.

Unmoor by Mark Oshiro 3
We’ve all been here. You want to erase all existence of your cheating ex from your memories. But remember that old adage “be careful” what you wish for.

The Coldest Spot in the Universe by Samira Ahmed 5
This one is my favorite of the bunch. Many come close but this one punched me in the face. I loved the use of juxtaposition with our two characters. It’s bittersweet but hopeful given our current Climate Change efforts or lack thereof.

The Beginning of Monsters by Tessa Gratton 2
This one just confused me which was frustrating. This has major Tim Burton aesthetic.

Longer than Threads of Time by Zoraida Córdova 5
I need to read more of her books! I love her take on Rapunzel and I believe this is set in the same world as her Bruja series.

Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi 5
We end this book on a painful resounding sound that will forever reverberate in my soul. This was so damn hard to read yet I couldn’t look away. Hope is always the last to leave.

Many Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

These stories were very fun to read! It was great revisiting Rhy and Alucard, and getting to see more of their history. It was nice to read from other authors that I've been interested in reading as well. This anthology was very solid, and I would recommend it for those who like any of the authors in this lineup!

This anthology was so refreshing. Seeing diverse characters and so many reps was amazing and I thank every single author who participated in this. Loved how the stories were of all genres, and each of them brought a pinch of themselves into the mix to make an amazing anthology.

I liked all stories, but some were pretty rushed in the ending and left me wanting for more. One was part of a series so without knowing the background story I couldn't appreciate it 100%.

My favorite stories were the ones by Tara Sim, V.E. Schwab, Mark Oshiro, and Tochi Onyebuchi. First and last stories were the best for me. Love love love!

A Universe of Wishes is a collection of YA fantasy-based short stories, in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, written by fifteen of today’s top best own-voices children's authors. This compilation offers readers a diverse cast of characters, which may not always be equally represented in society, in the hopes of connecting the reader with a protagonist or setting with which they might identify.

Universe of Wishes, edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles), is the second anthology in collaboration with WNDB that I have had the privilege of reading; the first being Fresh Ink. The beautiful cover immediately grabbed my attention but after seeing the list of award-winning YA novelists who collaborated on this collection I just had to get my hands on it. I was familiar with and have read books from several of the authors who collaborated on this collection but many were "new to me" authors. In my experience with anthologies I find I will usually like some of the stories but not as many as I would hope...that was not the case with this collection. After finishing this novel, I can honestly say I loved almost every single story but among them there were several that really shined for me including:
A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim- A young man seeking wishes from the dead finds something else instead.
The Silk Blade by Natalie C. Parker- A competition to become the royal consort takes an unexpected turn.
Cristal y Ceniza by Anna-Marie McLemore- A unique retelling of Cinderella in which a young woman seeks refuge in another kingdom for those denied same-sex relationships in her kingdom.
A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab- The tragic affair between Rhy Maresh and Alucard Emery (Set in the world of Shades of Magic)
Dream and Dare by Nic Stone- A tale of a young woman and a misunderstood monster.
Unmoor by Mark Oshiro- A tale of heartbreak and the ability to erase memories with a spell.
This beautifully written collection is a must read for 2020!

A Universe of Wishes is an anthology dedicated to the power, and influence, of seeing ourselves in the stories. Of the necessity of writing ourselves into stories and spaceships. The contributor to this anthology is an actual dream come true. Almost all of these are on my top tier author list! It's a diverse anthology that celebrates the difference a wish can make. Whether it be a wish to see ourselves amongst the stars, to be the one rescuing the kingdom, or having the power to save our loved ones.

Some of the stories fall into already existing fantasy worlds, but you can definitely read them alone. Although the fantasy worlds of A Darker Shade of Magic and the Brooklyn Brujas series are great, so you should read them. It's an anthology full of stories from writers who have created the stories that house themselves. That champion the power to choose new paths and futures. Reading each of the stories, I was captivated, especially from my favorite authors.

This is a well curated collection of stories. There is a good balance of Sci Fi and Fantasy stories and I appreciate the range of tone and magic systems. Some of the stories are fully immersed in magical worlds while others are magical realism. There are so many amazing settings throughout the book. I particularly loved that there are a couple of fairy tale retellings which are a personal favorite of mine. I absolutely loved Longer then the Threads of Time. I also really appreciated the mix of romantic interests and LGBTQ representation in the book. Dream and Dare was my favorite love story in the book, I loved the surreal vibes. The Silk Blade was another stand out love story for me too, I was really impressed with how much communication passed between the characters without words.

I was also really excited for Libba Bray’s The Scarlet Woman I am a huge fan of the Gemma Doyle series so that was an obvious favorite. I suggest any reader who is curious about this anthology because they see one of their favorite authors contributed pick it up. Overall there wasn’t a story I didn’t enjoy and I am certainly going to look up more of the books by the authors I was less familiar with.

Firstly, I want to express how ecstatic I was to see that (nearly?) every entry in this anthology was exceptionally inclusive! Trans characters, non-binary characters, disabled characters, queer characters, POC characters! I am so very happy to see the diversity throughout the entire collection.

As with any anthology, some entries I personally enjoyed more than others, though I did enjoy all of them in one way or another. However, some of them felt more like excerpts from longer works than self-contained short stories. While I enjoyed "The Scarlet Woman" (I'm always a sucker for anything involving Sekhmet), it didn't really fit the theme of hope and optimism for a better future like the others, and it read like a section from a full novel. I understand it and another piece are part of larger established universes, but that one in particular didn't feel like a whole story on its own. "The Coldest Spot in the Universe", "Liberia", and "A Universe of Wishes" were all very nicely contained and could easily be expanded for full books, but those also don't *need* more to feel complete.

The overall theme of hope and magic is a good one, and one that doesn't always necessarily mean a happily ever after for everyone involved. "The Coldest Spot in the Universe" and "Longer Than the Threads of Time" end with a different sort of hope, one that requires a bit more than just magic. The former especially is more of hope on a grander scale, honoring the past and the sacrifices made in order to get to a better place of existence. I thought that was very touching. I also appreciated the open ending of "The Weight". Maybe everything ended very happily with no complications, maybe it didn't. Make your own judgment.

So this is the first Anthology that I've read and I really enjoyed it! I liked how all the authors came together and pieced the stories together and everything like that! While I completely loved some of the stories and even read them a second time, some of the stories I could have left them but they were still entertaining.
This anthology covered witches, retellings, the matters of the heart and even falling for the enemy types of stories!
Two of them that I absolutely adored were The Silk Blade and A Royal Affair!
The Silk Blade starts out with a fight to win the heart of the prince but as things progress it's no longer the heart of the prince she's after! I was really engrossed with this story and it was beautifully written!
Now, Royal Affair is by none other than V. E. Schwab. Now, coming clean I have not read anything by this author but, her reputation follows her and if you purchase this book just to read her story of Prince Rhy then you're in for a definite treat! I loved that one! Now, I've added her series to my never ending TBR!
There are several other great stories in this Anthology that are such a treat that I would recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy! Definitely a reread possible in the future, I loved it!

I was so VERY excited when Netgalley gave me the opportunity to read this book. I am always a sucker for a short story collection, and especially if these stories were written by some pretty awesome authors (I am especially obsessed with all things written by V.E. Schwab and Zoraida Cordova). As such, I was sinking my teeth into this anthology because of all the potential it was brimming with.

Of course, I was not disappointed. From the very first page, you are being taken hostage to a new world. For the most part, every story felt like this like you were being taken somewhere new each and every time. And you were discovering a particular kind of magic with each new entry and its characters.

With that being said, as it goes for anthologies, not every story is going to be your cup of tea. You are going to like some more than others, and that's okay. My issue with this collection of shorts is that some stories feel like an excerpt, spinoff, or continuation of previous stories written by certain authors. And that sort of dimmed the magic of it; not because they weren't good, rather that I found myself being pulled out of these universes because you needed the set up of it to understand.

I am a sucker for a short story collection. Because, I mean - multiple stories by so many of my favorite authors???? Yes, please, thank you. This collection, in particular, was one I was really interested in since it had not only a story by Dhonielle Clayton, but also V.E. Schwab and Anna-Marie McLemore.

The stories all feel magical in some way and are centered around a wish of some type; a hope of something better. I particularly loved Kwame Mbalia's story about Nana and the story of the monster who is also a girl. There were so many amazing and magical stories in this collection, and I do think that there is something for everyone here. I didn't like all of the stories, but it's rare that anyone loves ALL stories in a short story collection equally. And the stories that weren't for me were still well written and beautiful - just either not my thing or a challenge based on my own personal biases/preconceptions. To the right person, I think that they would resonate far more than they do with me, which is a good thing! Honestly, I think it's incredible to have a collection where there are stories that are this diverse and showcase such a wide array of perspectives.

For the most part, the stories are well written and engaging. There are a few that connect to other series and, in certain cases, I felt like I was missing something (since I haven't read or haven't finished all series by these authors). Standout stories are "Liberia" by Kwame Mbalia, "Dream and Dare" by Nic Stone, "A Royal Affair" by V.E. Schwab, and "Crystal y Ceniza" by Anna-Marie McLemore.

One-off the things I love most about anthologies is that they always leave me wanting more, this however did not.

“A Universe of Wishes” brings us a collection of diverse reads tackling a variety of subjects from climate change and heartbreak as well as reimagining some classic fairytales with lgbtq leads.

I have a few issues with this read but the biggest is the two short stories that are included that are tied to their respected series. As someone who did not read Gemma Doyle I was lost, normally with anthologies we get these snapshots into a story which I enjoy but here I felt like I was doing more catch-up than I should and even though I read ADSOM I believe that short story would have the same effect on someone who doesn’t know that world either.

That being said I had some soft favorites here with the only real stand out belonging to Zoraida Córdoba in a fantasy retelling of Rapunzel with a darker twist that I would happily read a full length book for as both characters jumped off the pages and I was sad to see the chapter end.

There are moments in the others that I think carry real weight but they don’t quite reach the level of intrigue and curiosity that that story summoned within me but the beauty of anthologies is that each reader will come into this book and be able to connect with a story as there is so much representation and I hope that some of these stories and their authors will get a chance to be explored or appreciated further.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**