This collection of short stories was interesting and engaging. I love a book that I can devour one sitting, and this one fit the bill.

Bailey's creative mind takes us all over the universe, but humans and their varied experiences seem to be the focus of each story.

Some of these stories I really loved. Inheritance and The House with an Inside but No Outside are so cozy and bittersweet while others lean more philosophical, tongue in cheek, or even a little cheesy. However, Bailey always seems to avoid crossing over into cringey territory no matter how bizarre the stories get.

Overall, I found this collection to be a nice way to disconnect from reality and visit weird new worlds. My only complaint is that a few stories (Daily Log and Thirteen, for instance) felt more like snippets with no real substance. I don't feel like I got anything from reading those two in particular, but the rest of the stories were all strong and interesting in their own peculiar way.

This is a wonderful collection of sci fi stories. Its quick to read, interesting, well written, and I didnt always love the characters, which somehow makes it realistic (even though none of it is realistic).
These are the kind of stories that really make you think and ponder on the universe, other humans, how much you hate or love humanity, and compare yourself to the characters. We always think we would be better, but can we be sure?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this collection of stories. Beautiful prose, interesting ideas, and at times deeply moving. J.S. Bailey is clearly adept at a number of styles and subgenres, the collection ranges from science fiction to fantasy to others. I was particularly moved by the “Inheritance” story, it was wonderful and made me teary.

I've taken a chance on a couple of anthologies and I now know for sure, even if they're sci-fi, they just aren't for me, unfortunately.

I did enjoy the daily log, I like anything in journal entry form, but the others struggled to grab me.

Beautiful cover!

Really liked the setup of this book and its stories. I did not turn out to be quite my taste in reading but still found it interesting enough to read! I would recommend to those who enjoy this category or want to try something new.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of upon a waking dream. This was a very odd sci-fi book. Completely other world and such but I don't think it really hit it's mark

I typically don't like short stories, but I was definitely intrigued by this one! I love stories that have a bit of sci fi elements thrown in. It makes it especially more interesting if there is a possibility that these stories could be reality one day! It reminds me of stories told in the Twilight Zone. Overall, I enjoyed disconnecting from reality and visiting these new worldsl

Each story in this is unique and kept me entertained. I often was hooked, wanting to know what happens next. I believe this is the 'funnest' read of the year for me. I good pallet cleanser after a reading slump!

Upon a Waking Dream is a wonderful collection of short stories written by J. S. Bailey. The stories cover many genres, though most are in the science fiction and fantasy realms. Having said that, they are not intensely in any genre rather they touch on them.
The characters in all 12 stories are well thought-out and relatable. Overall, I preferred the longer stories because the characters and plot were able to be more developed.

My thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to preview this anthology. I will be recommending it.

This was somewhat of a new book for me as I don’t read much sci-fi yet but this collection of short stories really caught my attention. I really enjoyed the writing style and I will say that having shorter more serialized stories to sort of dip my toe in really helped. Each story was uniquely its own so you really had some great variety! I absolutely enjoyed my time with this one and will definitely be checking out more from this author.

This collection of short stories was good and kept me interested. I liked that it has some funny stories in it, but a few with more serious tones. The author touches on what the world would look like if humans had the solution, for example, to cure death. With some quotes, it really makes you stop and think. I did like it and I think anyone who likes sci-fi will enjoy it.

Upon A Waking Dream reads exactly how the title describes. This book is a series of short sci-fi/fantasy stories that were grounded in reality and each one was intricately woven to make the reader believe they are viewing someone’s dreams. It gives the feeling of stories that would be retold time and time again while sitting at a bonfire with your family.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I really enjoyed this anthology of short stories. Some leaned more in the direction if sci-fi, some were more fantasy.
All of them had some really unique concepts. While some were just humourous and entertaining, others explored morals and made you think. So, it was a fine mix of stories. I'd suggest this to anyone who enjoys anthologies and little worlds they offer within!
Really love the cover of book!

This collection was delightful. I liked some more than others, which is unavoidable with collections, and I so wish some were infintely longer, but overall the stories were consistenly well done. Bailey does a great job with taking normal people and putting them in unique and fantastic circumstances. I really enjoyed some of the settings for the fantastical pieces and overall it was such an enjoyable read and quick to work through!

What a weird little book

A collection of stories that all feature some sort of supernatural/extraterrestrial bent.

They vary in length and depth. Some are bizarre, some weirdly hilarious.

Overall, I enjoyed this anthology / short story collection. I'm not sure I love JS Bailey's writing style, but the stories themselves were good.

I'm rating it 3 stars (rounded up to a 3.5), not because it was bad, but because I can't say I loved everything or that it's a new favourite. I enjoyed some stories, didn't like or understand others, so the 3 stars feels like a good average.

I really did love how the author included a short section at the end, talking about the inspiration for each of the stories in the collection. Some of them ended up helping me understand a story I hadn't enjoyed or didn't understand the point of.

Here are my mini reviews from the individual stories, including some of the author's notes:

LETTER FROM GLOMSUET:
A flat earther gets accidentally kidnapped by alien botanists.
Definitely enjoyable, and I would love to read a longer version of this. Emilio was an interesting character, quickly accepting he was wrong and learning to adapt to a different way of life.
Favourite Quote: "I'm like an alien on Earth trying to learn Welsh"

MAN OF HER DREAMS:
Obsessive stalker fan gets into a romance with her favourite movie star, but add a dash of time travel and a moral teaching at the end.
Not my favourite, but it was okay

JAY:
A stranger shows up in town, with the ability to make people remember wrongdoings and admit them aloud. There's also a murder mystery aspect with someone slashing the throats of young boys.
For a story with so much reference to the age of the characters, it took a while for me to figure out how old some of them were. Strange story, not sure if I liked it or not
Author's Note: "Have you ever wondered what might happen if Jesus showed up at church?"
That note made me understand the story and enjoy it a lot more.

DAILY LOG FROM OUTPOST #602:
Well, that ending was... weird
A very short story told through the daily logs of someone sent to a radio outpost in space to listen for alien messages from deep space.
Author's Note: originally written for a random word generation writing exercise.

NO GOOD REASON:
I don't quite get this one - maybe there just isn't anything to get?
It's a short story about a guy coming into a coffee shop during a storm and telling the somewhat bored barista his life story. That's it.

HOW TO MAKE MONEY FAST:
In short? By taking part in a heist.
A fun fantasy heist story, though the MC's absolute belief in the mundane got a little tiring after a few pages. Like come on, Kyle, just admit that there are weird things going on.

THE FAMILY NAME:
All about patriarchy and how boys carry on the "strong noble family name" from the view of a 12 year old boy with only two girls per grade in school.
Heavy handed in the morals, but still a good point to make

LARRY:
A story featuring an imaginary friend / guardian angel named Larry who speaks in an English accent and wears a Greek / Roman toga and bunny slippers
I actually enjoyed this one, and I think with a bit more of a final conflict, could become a really interesting novella - I wanted more of Larry and Molly's begrudging friendship

THIRTEEN:
A seemingly pointless story about unlucky numbers, in which the conflict doesn't get resolved, but just disappears.

INHERITANCE:
A magic pen that allows communication across time! I loved this one!

THE LAST TO PASS:
A discussion of immortality and the downfalls of unintentional immortality.
I was very invested in this one and wanted more from it!

THE HOUSE WITH NO INSIDE BUT NO OUTSIDE:
"Once upon a time, there was a house in the woods that no one could see..."
This was a fun fairytale style story which includes a magical house. Of course I loved this one!

1.5⭐️ Sadly, I didn't enjoy this book. Most of the short stories were OK at best, but I like the ones at the ending better. Oddly enough, I feel like the short stories were too fast and hadn't had enough personality to them. Also, the writing style wasn't really it for me.

I liked the diversity of the stories in this one. I really enjoyed some of the more sci-fi ones, including the sort of flash fiction one with the alien encounter. My least favorite was probably the Tom Cruise but-not actually-Cruise one. I do want to check out some of Bailey's other works after reading this, though. I'm pretty curious.

I thoroughly enjoyed these short stories from an author that is new to me. I am a big fan of alien, sci fi and horror stories and this collection really offered some clever and intriguing pieces. I don't usually read short stories but very glad I ran across this one and will continue to look out for this authors new books.

This book was an absolute delight and had a little bit of everything! Magic, Sci-Fi, Fantasy spread over 12 short stories with each having a very unique storyline. If you want a change of pace from something you might normally read, this book is for you!

Thank you NetGalley and the author/publisher for the ARC!