- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- a powerful group of authors coming together to write intriguing, detailed, and engaging stories based on South Asian folklore. stories of different genres, characters of versatile personalities and backgrounds, and prose that left me swooned, this is an anthology that you don't want to miss!

I’ll read anything written by Sabaa Tahir but the rest of the stories in this books were magical and I can’t recommend it enough.

The concept was truly brilliant, an anthology focusing on South Asian cultures and myth, by South Asian/diaspora authors. I tried to read several stories but it just didn't grip me, IDK. I picked this book because of Sabaa Tahir and even her story couldn't attract my mind.

I believe this is the first anthology I've ever read, and I was really intrigued by this one. But I found myself not enjoying it like I hoped I would. I found some stories by some authors more enjoyable and interesting than others but a lot of them just fell majorly flat for me. 

I have only read a few of the writers that took part in this anthology and was very excited for Sabaa Tahir. 

The thing that drew me into wanting to read this book was that this anthology would be very diverse due to the writers, and it explores South Asian folklore. I love seeing different cultures in different books so I thought I would really love this.

I think a major problem for me, and it is a me problem was that I could not connect with the characters. This could be because I am not educated about the culture, or it could be because I literally could not find any connection due to how short each story is.

Some of the stories felt rushed and other stories felt like there was so much info dumping.

I do believe a lot of people will highly enjoy Magic Has No Borders and will find the South Asian folklore interesting with each of the told stories.

I’ve had this anthology on my TBR since it was announced, so I was excited to get to read it. However, after finishing it, my main impression is how violent it all was. I loved the little bits of magic sprinkled throughout, but there was extreme violence in almost all of the stories (war, burning alive, decapitation, etc.). I did enjoy it overall, but I think anyone who is interested in it should check out the content warnings first!

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Thank you, Net Gallery, for the advanced copy of this book.  This is a collection of stories from Asian folklore told by modern writers.  The writers create new twists and new endings to many of the tales.  Some were quite endearing.  I enjoyed this book.

One of the most beautiful covers this year. 

Anthologies can be so difficult to rate. Each story is individual, and yet these stories add up to one book, where editors have the final say: Do these stories encapsulate the category I am trying to highlight?

This collection of South-Asian fantasy and sci-fi teen stories is a bit lackluster. Individually, the writing is lacking in many of the stories, which is a shame because they are clearly important tales to each of these writers. I also think some of this falls onto the editor of this anthology. Why not ask for more from the writer? 

I've read a number of books from these authors, so I am familiar with their work, and this did not feel in line with the work that they normally produce. The short form is not their strong suit. 

As a whole the anthology is pretty average, with the majority of the stories receiving 2-3 stars at most. The only exception is the one by Sabaa Tahir, which had the strongest writing of the bunch.

I always enjoy these sort of collections, they introduce me to different authors and I like the short stories. In this particular one I felt like I was skimming over more than I typically do, but I'm glad it exists.

I've always loved anthologies and I think this one does a lot of great things. I know next to nothing about a lot of South Asian folklore and such which made me excited for this book. While I wouldn't say each story was a 10/10 for me, they each kept my attention and were enjoyable.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this anthology!

This was my first anthology, and so I struggled somewhat to handle the flow of moving from story to story, especially when some of them didn't draw me in as much as others. However, I enjoyed learning about the various Southeast Asian myths and deities that inspired each entry, as well as the words each author offered at the end to shed light on their thoughts and inspiration. I'm unable to rate each story individually, but I would say most of the stories were 3-4 stars with a few standouts deserving a 5 star such as: Infinite Drift by Olivia Chadha, Dismantle the Sun by Sangu Mandanna, and Mirch, Masala, and Magic by Nafiza Azad. 

I'm certainly interested in checking out more anthologies thanks to this one, especially ones that explore settings and themes inspired by or drawing from under-represented cultures and written by authors from those cultures!

Magic Has No Boarders
Novellas & Short Stories - Sci Fi & Fantasy - Teens & YA

Magic Has No Boarders is a collection of magical South Asian Tales by amazing authors.  The cover of this book caught my attention, the colors and images jumping off the cover are stunning. 

Each of the 14 stories has it's own pros and cons.  I was not overly thrilled with each one, I am not 100 % what I was expecting with this book but it didn't hit the mark for me.  

My least favorite story is Kiss Me Goodbye by Tracey Baptiste - 2/5.  The story felt rushed, and the characters didn't come together nicely.  The entire story felt like it was missing something to bring it all together cohesively. 

My favorite story was What the Winds Stole by Sabaa Tahir 4/5.  It is such a great story all around.  The writing style and storytelling caught my attention and the characters in the book felt well rounded. 

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the eARC.

Absolutely an amazing love letter to South Asian mythologies and lores. Beautifully written, like a masterclass in storytelling.

Magic Has No Borders
⭐⭐⭐⭐/4
🌶️/4

Magic Has No Borders is an anthology of 14 different short stories all written by Asian authors. The tales are all inspired by South Asian culture, lore, and history. The stories range from stories about gods to everyday life with just a touch of magic. Each story is fiction, with just a touch of real life inspiration.

Before this book, I think I've only ever read one anthology before. I'm not a huge short story fan, because I always want more. The same goes for this collection of stories. Some of them were just alright and I felt satisfied with what they offered. Others though, I would have loved to have more. More background, more content, further relationship building, etc. I really loved how this was so representative of Asian culture. There were quite a few things I had to look up, because I'm not as familiar with that culture, but I found that enjoyable in itself. I loved the authenticity of it, and I felt like I learned a lot while still enjoying a story. Some of the stories also had an author's note giving a little background to the story! If I had to pick my favorites, they'd be as follows:
1. What the Winds Stole by Sabaa Tahir
2. Dismantle the Sun by Sangu Mandanna
3. She Who Answers by Shreya Ila Anasuya
4. Infinite Drift by Olivia Chadha

This book is a great collection of South Asian stories, and I really recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Really lovely mix of fantasy short stories based in South Asian myth, folklore, and tradition. As with all collections of short stories, some are more entertaining or intriguing than others, but there aren't any real losers here -- just one's that might more easily capture some readers attention than others.

From goddesses to warriors to peasants they have every kind of story in this book those seeking redemption rebirth and so much more it is rare I read an anthology and the first story be my favorite but I love the one with Kayla and love her. Not to say I was disappointed by the rest I did find the second story to be a tad bit confusing but that could just be me. As far as the rest I have no special comments just know you won’t be disappointed when buying this book it is stories of magic and strong females. All the authors are from East Asia and they all seem to be quite talented. I have read books by Samira Ahmed before and loved it and so was super excited to read this one and I was not disappointed at all. As far as the Resco they were all new to me but would definitely be down with reading more from them in the future. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Thank you to Samira Ahmed; Sona Charaipotra; Sabaa Tahir; Sayantani DasGupta; Tanaz Bhathena; Sangu Mandanna; Olivia Chadha; Naila Azad; Tracey Baptiste; Naz Kutub; Nikita Gill; Swati Teerdhala; Shreya Ila Anasuya; Tahir Abrar; Preeti Chhibber, HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen, and Netgalley for this free advanced reader copy of "Magic Has No Borders" for an honest review. 

I've been on a kick in the last few years for diverse short stories, poetry, and essay collections, so that moment I saw the topic on this (not to mention the amazing author list!!) I had to jump at it. I was not disappointed in the slightest. While the two names that made this pop up on my list, Sabaa Tahir & Nikita Gil, rocked out of the water their pieces, I loved so very many of the other ones as well. 

South Asian magic and mythology of kinds you know and will be brought into anew will be found in these pages, as well as lives and beliefs you know and don't. I absolutely recommend this for people of all ages, who are going to find themselves in these pages and also the wonder of the world they don't know, that they can still recognize the joys, griefs, longings and dreams of in themselves and the world around them.

Truly a fantastic collection of works by different South Asian authors. I think this is my favorite anthology that I've read so far. I requested it for Sabaa Tahir, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I thoroughly enjoyed stories from the other others as well.

Mood: South-Asian retellings and mythology with goddesses and mythical creatures (peri). Mood: Star-crossed lovers! 

Honestly with a such a large collection of stories, you're likely to find something in your wheelhouse. This is the first time I've come across chudalis, and I really need to up my game when it comes to the mythology these stories draw from. For that reason my review focuses mostly on my enjoyment of the story, writing style, and over all collection of story. 

I adored the prose over all, each story feeling like a new voice had sat down -- as it should-- so each story felt unique while being cohesive. To end with Hiba's ending, gave me chills. I adore these stories.

An entire anthology of magical South Asian tales? Yes please. Like any anthology, there were some stories I liked more than others (and some I didn’t really care for) but overall I thought this was a really strong lineup of voices that covered a range of South Asian authors. I loved seeing the different takes on the myths and cultures, but also just everyday life whether they took place in America or across Asia.

My favorite stories were:
Infinite Drift by Olivia Chadha
Mirch, Masala, and Magic by Nafiza Afad
What the Winds Stole by Sabaa Tahir

If you’re looking for a fun fantasy anthology, I would highly recommend this one!

Magic Has No Borders is a collection of South Asian tales celebrating diversity and myth edited by Sona Charaipotra and Samira Ahmed. 

I really enjoyed the idea of this short story collection. I always love to explore cultures that I haven't learned about before and I think this book was a great way for many authors to share their histoy and culture with the reading community. 

I loved how unique the stories felt because I hadn't heard the myths they were based on before! And even if I had I think each author brought something unique to the tales and I enjoyed the diversity!  

If there was anything I wished for more of with this novel were for some of the stories to be longer! I think some of them could have done with more fleshing out and some of the worlds created I didn't want to leave! I guess I just have some new authors I need to check out though, because I haven't read the majority of these before. 

All in all, I think Magic Has No Borders is a great collection of YA fantasy and science fiction tales centered around South Asian culture and I would definitely recommend to to those who want to explore new topics or who knows the tales well! 

Thank you to HarperTeen and Netgalley for an eARC of this novel. All thoughts and opinions contained within this review are my own.