I received a digital ARC through NetGalley.

This is a book of short science-fiction/fantasy stories. Some are funny, and others made me think. My favorites were: “Letter from Glomsuet”, “The Man of Her Dreams”. “Jay”, and “Inheritance”.

So muxh to love with this book. The story was amazing and had you hooked from the beginning amd a character you really root for.
Such a brilliant set up and would highly recommend

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

Each story is unique and well written and honestly I'd be happy to read any of them as full novels.

This is a fairly short book and a quick read but something that's perfect for when you only have an hour or so and a cup of tea, ready to go on an adventure

I was pleasantly surprised by this quirky collection of short stories.

I had never read anything written by J. S. Bailey before and I’m not the biggest fan of short stories, but I’m glad that this title caught my eye. This is a really fun collection of Sci-fi/Fantasy short stories of varying length and topic.
Some stories are short and have a simple premise, others longer and more emotion filled. Read about aliens, disappearing hotel floors, a house with an inside but no outside and more.

I highly recommend Upon A Waking Dream!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This short story collection was a mix of big hits and larger misses for me. I'm someone who tends to be harder to please with my sci-fi and though Bailey's work is something I will be checking out again this collection just wasn't for me.

Open these pages and delve into new worlds where...

-A Flat Earther gets abducted by aliens

-A college dropout gets by with a little help from her imaginary friend

-A woman obsessed with her favorite actor creates a new universe just to meet him

-A magic pen bridges the gap between generations

-Thirteen isn't an unlucky number...or is it?

Upon a Waking Dream contains twelve science fiction and fantasy tales from the mind of J. S. Bailey, ten of them never before published.

Beautiful cover. I’ll definitely read more from this author. Thank you, netgalley and the publisher, for my copy of this book.

I'll be honest I was not expecting to like this one as much as I did. I normally don't pick up much fantasy or science fiction, but I thought maybe short form would help my attention span for it, and this one did. it was easy to get lost in the world of each story within the first couple of pages. I highly recommend this for anyone struggling with fantasy and science fiction or wanting to explore the genres more.

Otherworldly is the best way I can describe this anthology.

I have been trying to expand my horizons by reading outside my favorite genres, and this advanced copy of Upon a Waking Dream did not disappoint. Each story had a Twilight Zone-esque quality to them but was endearingly entertaining. I would be hard-pressed to choose my favorite story from this collection.

Time travel, aliens, immortality, regret, flat-earthers, reuniting with deceased loved ones — there is something for everyone in this collection.

This book of short odd stories was absolutely fun to read, From a magical pen that allows you to right to your family from another time period, to a house with an inside but no outside, Bailey keeps us entertained from cover to cover with her vivid imagination!
Loved it, 5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed J.S. Bailey's Upon a Waking Dream, which was an anthology consisting of twelve short stories. A flash fiction collection primarily focusing on science fiction. I really enjoyed the different lengths of the story because it meant that in such little time Bailey was able to create a world with specific technologies that the reader had to acclimate to quickly. Some of my favourite stories were Jay, The House With An Inside But No Outside, and The Last to Pass. The science fiction was reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, and I believe that is a huge reason as to why I enjoyed the collection so much.

Before I get into the review for this anthology, I want to say a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the author for giving me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review, Upon a Waking Dream is a 12 short story collection about Sci-Fi misadventures, magic, and what happens when you stumble into the chaos and wonder the world has for you. The stories range from a Flat Earther accidentally getting taken to another planet, to a woman’s life getting help from her imaginary friend who just happens to wear a toga and bunny slippers, to a girl discovering a house with an inside but no outside in the woods. Upon a Waking Dream is set to release on March 7th and is available for preorder now.

I’ll start with explaining my numbers a bit. I took a rating for each story and averaged it out for the overall book rating. The highest rated story for me was the first one, Letter from Glomsuet, which got a 4 star rating. The lowest rated story for me was around the middle of the book, Thirteen, which got a 2 star rating from me. I’ll explain the two star first. Overall, I liked the concept of this story which is set in a hotel where two characters meet and disagree about which floor is missing. Is the 13th floor unlucky so they skip it? Or is it really the number 6 like the man from the bar is suggesting? We watch the two of them explore the hotel with no clear answer. But the problem for me was two fold. I didn’t like the ambiguity (which is part of the reason most of these stories landing in the 3 to 4 star range) and it felt so short. I wanted more weird or creepy things to happen. I wish most of these stories had taken creepier turns really. But the story I enjoyed so, so much was Letter from Glomsuet. I can not explain to you how funny it was to see this Flat Earther get proven wrong and seeing how he changes based on his own experience. There’s also a hilarious turn at the end that really bumped this story up for me.

Overall, I think if you’re a Sci-Fi fan, a short story fan, or someone who enjoys being in on the joke before the main character, you’ll really like this one. I also really enjoyed the little bit of art from the chapter headings and the separation between major scenes. I think that will probably look amazing in this gorgeous book.

Pretty cover with good introduction makes me want to dive into it even more! The collection of the story and all the plot is written very good and it was delivered pleasantly! Had a great time reading this book, thank you net galley for the advanced reading copy of the book!

This was such a lovely collection of stories rooted in sci-fi, fantasy and magical realism.

As with all short stories, there are some I loved more than others. Some are heartwarming and whimsical (Inheritance and The House with an Inside and No Outside), others are shocking and sad (The Family Name). But all of them are beautifully done. There are some deeper messages in some tales, and some wonderful commentary about society in others. I could read a whole book about each of them - especially some like Thirteen which felt short and ended abruptly with no real explanation.

The afterword also provides context and background to the stories and her inspiration for them which I loved!

A fab collection I would love to read more of!

Upon A Waking Dream features 12 sci-fi/fantasy shorts. The stories are so short that they all seem to be a bit unfinished. I didn't feel a sense of completion when I read these stories - but maybe that's the whole point? The stories were interesting/cool and kept my attention through (they were very brief), and I definitely chuckled a few times. I would recommend this book to people who are into sci-fi writing and "far out" ideas.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for honest feedback.

I really loved this book. 12 short stories all kinda sci-fi based. They are all short and though provoking. I decided to read one a night for 12 nights and really enjoyed all the stories.

The writing was very good, I got a feel for the area in each story without it being too detailed and still felt a connection to the main characters even though their stories were short.

I really enjoyed the whole book but my favorite story was about the Time travelling pen. This was such a cool concept and I imagine myself wishing this were a true story.

Overall starting out, I had a rough time getting through the first couple of chapters, but after getting through and reading the short stories, I slowly began to really love each and every single one of them. I haven't ever really read a work like this but I greatly appreciate how full of life the stories were and how much everything fit! Each story gave you a different charm and sense of fulfillment!

I was given the opportunity to review this book via NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book. Several of the short stories have stuck with me for several days after finishing the book. I really liked "The Man of Her Dreams" and "The House with an Inside but No Outside". I would recommend this book for those who like to read but don't have a lot of time to read an entire book in one sitting. The stories were engrossing enough that I was happy to read more than one at a time. I will be exploring more works by J.S. Bailey.

I really loved this collection of strange and unusual stories! I’m fairly new to the sci-fi genre and found these stories all highly entertaining! Thank you to NetGalley for an advance e- reader copy.