Many thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this collection.

As with many short story collections, there are some pieces that are not enjoyable than others, but given the various approaches to magic, science fiction, and fantasy worlds in this book, there’s bound to be something for everyone.

Overall, the stories contain excellent LGBTQ2S+ representation and, as a non-Spanish speaker, I liked having to pause to look up phrases and terms that were unfamiliar to me.

The stories themselves are a combination of poetic, tragic, and magical, each with its own unique spin on things like magic, monsters, and death. On average, the stories in the second part of the collection kept me more engaged and my absolute favourite was “Rogue Enchantments” — it was gorgeous and clever.

Read this if you love: Magic in contemporary settings, science fiction, short stories

Reclaim the Stars is a collection 17 of SFF short stories from Latin American authors. It has science fiction, contemporary fantasy, and high fantasy stories. Some better than others, but all enjoyable. Worth picking up to try out new authors without having to commit to a long novel or series.

I loved this collection of stories. It had a very fable-y feel. Each story hooked me, and in some cases, I wanted more - like a full novel for the story at hand. This was a perfect read for me this week, especially during the holidays, because I could sit down read a chapter and actually be able to put the story down and finish another chore. It is one of the reasons I love collections around the holidays, while it was still hard to put down and not charge into the next story it was easier to do than with a full-fledged novel.

The stories flowed into one another very well, picking up on some similar themes from the story before and after itself. I also really enjoyed the incorporation of language outside of English; not every line of Spanish utilized was immediately translated, we as the reader did the translation ourselves based on context clues, and I really enjoyed that. It felt more natural to the stories.

I have just finished reading of Skin of the Sea, so this was such a nice follow up of keeping myself immersed in other cultures' mythology and fantasy! Bravo!

Context: I love sci-fi, I love fantasy, and I love short stories. So this ticked the boxes for me.

Overall a beautiful collection, the stories were varied and each easy to read in one sitting. Some were more interesting to me than others, as is true of all collections.

The diversity of points of view, characters, cultures, and myths was what held my attention the most.
What bothered me most were the numerous errors in the text: typos, words missing or repeated, paragraphs with multiple verb tenses. It detracted from my enjoyment, as it felt careless and unpolished, and I am very much hoping it was an error in the eBook copy only and not the print.

I will note here that some reviewers have stated concerns about a few included authors who have had previous controversies. While I don't believe this is a reason alone to disregard a diverse collection, it is important to acknowledge.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for access to the eBook ARC.

I really enjoyed this one for what it was but my brain cannot absorb short stories. I always set my expectations too high when it comes to short stories or anthologies. But for what it's worth - I absolutely loved the aspect of the Latinx/Latine culture and all the authors giving it a unique spin. I'm sure lovers of short stories are going to be fascinated by this one FOR SURE!

3 stars *may change

Short story collections are impossible to rate. It’s just not possible for all of them to be good, and usually they’re not all bad. They’re all pretty much existing in a middle ground.

This book had some pretty good stories dealing with sexuality, romance, identity, family, etc. It also had some stories that made me a bit sleepy. I’m not someone who cares at all about technology, but there were quite a few stories centered around it? And it’s like…here we go. I guess if you’re into that it’s not a big deal. The best selling point is the stories that use more traditionally “magical” elements. I think those stories really shine through.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy.

Reclaim the Stars is a beautiful anthology. One of my favorite stories was Reign of Diamonds, from Anna-Marie McLemore, who always paints stunning and emotional tales. I loved the Latinx and LGBTQ+ rep woven through many of the stories. The dystopian and sci-fi themes present drew eerie parallels to our lives today. All of these authors seem immensely talented and I look forward to reading more of their work!

Reclaim the Stars was delightful and I would recommend it to anyone who likes anthologies with a focus on Latinx science fiction and fantasy. Reclaim the Stars releases February 15, 2022. Thank you to Zoraida Córdova, all of the anthology authors, Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

I found this anthology of stories to be unique and entertaining. I am not a reader who naturally gravitates to short story anthologies simply because I have been disappointed by many over the years. However, the title of this book was interesting ,and since Zoraida Cordova was the guiding force behind this collection, I was interested. I was not disappointed. Each of the 17 science fiction/fantasy stories revolves around space -as in Outer Space, yet the characters are dealing with timeless emotions - romance, family ties, new careers, environmental issues. Yet what makes these stories new and distinct is a wide range of characters for any reader. There are super-power LGBTQ princesses battling for control of the universe, a barrio mother who wants to save her son's life even though this means another planet. I was never bored, and at the same time, I appreciated the fact that the unique characters are never preaching a lifestyle of any kind; they simply are who they are and remain true to themselves.

I’m giving this one five stars because there are so many authors I admire involved in this anthology and I just loved their stories!! I can’t get enough of Latinx magic.

i really enjoyed córdova’s debut from the fall as well as most of the writers collaborating on this anthology. nina moreno, circe moskowitz and unsurprisingly, anna-marie mclemore delivered my favorite entries. moskowitz in particular has real promise as a writer. very exciting

Knowing little about the fraught history of authors involved in this project, I will state that this was a strong anthology and those looking for diverse view points and experiences with in the Latinx sci-fi/fantasy/magical realism genres will be quite happy with this line up of stories.

Like with most anthologies there are hits and there are misses but none of the 'misses' ever felt like they didn't belong or were particularly bad. I enjoyed everything and I enjoyed the experience of getting to fall into a new world every time I opened my kindle without having to carry world building with me. That being said with the hits, I wanted more and I will absolutely be looking up the authors whose stories I liked in this collection and reading their other works.

This is a strong collection and I'm already thinking of ways to involve it in my high school curriculum either as a book club selection or by teaching individual stories. Can't wait till I can get a physical copy in my classroom library.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't wait to read this book since 1.) Latinx sci-fi and fantasy and 2.) I absolutely adore Zoraida Córdova so I'll read anything she produces.

A lot of these authors I haven't read before so I was pleased to be introduced to such amazing writers.

I'm usually a hit or miss when it comes to anthologies. I have a problem where I'll read the authors I like and don't read the others. This time, however, I read them all and I enjoyed everything and all the magic in them. I mean it SO MUCH MAGIC!

I'll break down these story so it's easier to get my thoughts across. A lot of these thoughts are very short and to the point.

<b>"Reign of Diamonds" - Anna-Marie McLemore</b>
I would enjoy to see a sequel or a longer form.

<b>"Flecha" - Daniel José Older</b>
Story wasn't my cup of tea but that doesn't mean it wasn't well written.

<b>"The First Day of Us" - David Bowles</b>
I enjoyed this story a lot and the way it was written.

<b>"The Tin Man" - Lilliam Rivera</b>
This felt like it was a set up for something more and I would totally read that.

<b>"This is Our Manifesto" - Mark Oshiro</b>
Though I liked how it was written, I needed a bit more to really enjoy it.

<b>"Creatures of Kings" - Circe Moskowitz</b>
I really liked it but a bit fuzzy on some things. I'm already planning on reading of this author anyway.

<b>"Eterno" - JC Cervantes</b>
Damn I would probably read a whole novel about this concept.

<b>"White Water, Blue Ocean" - Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez</b>
This may be my favorite story in this anthology. I immediately started following the author on social media because this was truly amazing.

<b>"Leyenda" - Romina Garber</b>
That was so much fun to read. It's also a part of the author's Wolves of No World universe. Normally, I wouldn't be a fan of inserting a short story from an already written universe but Garber does an amazing job of making sure new writers know what's going on.

<b>"Color-Coded" - Maya Motayne</b>
I love how this story deals with puberty and it was left on a cliffhanger! I want more!

<b>"Magical Offerings" - Nina Moreno</b>
That was fun to read.

<b>"Rogue Enchantments" - Isabel Ibañez</b>
Magic and a short mystery. I really liked it.

<b>"Sumaiko y La Sirena" - Vita Ayala</b>
I loved this story despite not being a sirens fan. I may have to read more in the future.

<b>"River People" - Yamile Saied Mendez</b>
Slightly confusing but there were a few errors (what I think are errors) that were in the ARC.

<b>"Moonglow" - Sara Faring</b>
Confused as to what I read.

<b>"Killing El Chivo" - Claribel A. Ortega</b>
Really hard to get into but once it starts going, then I was interested. Unsure of what changed.

<b>"Tame the Wicked Night" - Zoraida Córdova</b>
Solana is the Dread Pirate Roberts, but otherwise OMG I just love this so much!

Overall, I adored this book and so happy it came together like this.

I love these collections because I get to read authors I maybe haven't heard of before and authors I'll remember. Not every story resonated with me, but I love the idea of the collection and want more just like it.

A nice, solid collection of stories. I liked the fact that these are organized into types of stories, plus most of the stories are quite good. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I really enjoyed the idea for this book. I love short stories and folklore and I feel that Latinx representation lacks in those areas.

I read some stories and other stories I skipped as the subject was not interesting to me once I started reading the story. I like the representation of characters on the stories I did read and the world building was well done even for a short stories. My favorite story was defined Rogue Enchantments.

I try not to let the author of the stories stop me from reading and giving a fair review however some of the authors featured in this book have been problematic for our community and that would stop me from purchasing the book in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest, it's very hard for me to review this book, because I was initially extremely excited for it. Latin American SFF Stories? Sign me up! Then, I went on Goodreads and found out that several authors on this anthology had been anti-Indigenous, and I didn't really know how to rate it after that? Because I don't want this to reflect badly on the other amazing stories that are in this anthology (and trust me, there are amazing stories in this anthology), but I also am not sure I am comfortable supporting those authors? So as far as I know, the ones who have been accused of being anti-Indigenous are Faring, Bowles, and Ibañez.

That being said, some of the stories here were extremely charming and enchanting, and dealt with the intersectional identities of being Latin American in beautiful ways. As I'm not Latin American, I cannot speak to how accurate the representation was, but I did love the stories! Some that stood out to me were - Reign of Diamonds, This Is Our Manifesto, and River People. I thought they were beautifully written and very powerful!

So, yeah. This is a difficult one to put a rating to, so I'll leave it with that.

The good
I havent read that many Latin American fantasy , but I always expect it to be a good read and this anthology did not disappoint. I loved some stories, I liked some and all things considered l enjoyed the book. Even the stories I didn’t like so much kept me thoroughly entertained. In every tale you could sense the care the author put into the story and why they were selected. If you don’t speak Spanish you might need to keep a translator on hand, even if you know Spanish you might also need a translator because these stories come from all over Latin communities, and you might get (at least I got a little) confused with the variety of idioms and slang.

The bad
Some of the stories are uneven in terms of quality, the best way I can describe it is that some of the authors are more experienced in terms of writing and some aren´t, and it really shows in the quality of the plot and especially the worldbuilding. Some feel like they could have used a few rewrites, the themes are kind of clumsy and the characters feel flat.

In conclusion, even with my caveats the book is worth it if. If you like fantasy you are going to enjoy this book.

Really love this collection. There's a great variety in the short stories, both in terms of voice and genre, and in terms of the Latinx characters and culture they celebrate and explore. I think my favourite was This Is Our Manifesto, but there were a lot of other gems in there too. And even though not every story was a hit for me personally, I can absolutely see how other readers would enjoy and find value in them. Definitely worth checking out.

A great collection of sci-fi and fantasy stories! I’m not sure if I have a favorite, because they’re all really good! (Okay so I think Isabel Ibañez’s might *actually* be my favorite if I *had* to pick one, but they’re all great!) I’d definitely recommend it to a friend.

Reign of Diamonds by Anna-Marie Mclemore- 3/5

Flecha by Daniel Jose Older- 3.5/5

The First Day of Us by David Bowles- 3/5

The Tin Man by Lilliam Rivera- 5/5

This is Our Manifesto by Mark Oshiro- 5/5

Creatures of Kings by Circe Moskowitz- 4.5/5

Eterno by J.C. Cervantes- 4/5

White Water, Blue Ocean by Linda Raquel Nieves Perez- 3.5/5

Leyenda by Romina Garber- 4/5

Color-Coded by Maya Motayne- 3/5

Magical Offerimgs by Nina Moreno- 3/5

Rogue Enchantments by Isobel Ibanez- 4/5

Sumaiko Y La Sirena by Vita Ayala- 5/5

River People by Yamile Saied Mendez- 4/5

Moonglow by Sara Faring- 4/5

Killing El Chivo by Claribel A. Ortega- 4/5

Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Cordova- 5/5