Kiss Me Goodbye – 1 star. Rushed, no backstory, and asinine. I know this is a short story, but I was still lost on the backstory here and why all this was taking place. Was she fated to do this? Cursed? She claims to be doing it because she's a goddess and must be remembered; it's her right and her due, but that doesn't really explain why Lakhinder and Behula and why murder is the only way to make anyone remember her. Anyways, this is set in a modern high school and Manasa is a goddess in a teenage girl host body but never once does she come across as anything but a slightly-more-than-average homicidal teenage girl. She's dramatic, annoying, and drooling over a boy's ass. Spare me. I liked the aspect of the girls deciding to just stop this endless game of hunting and killing, but they have no idea if it will “reset”. And what about the humans remembering them part? It's implied they will find a (less murderous) way to do that, but couldn't they have done that from the get-go? And then to cap this all off, we get slammed with literally the most instantaneous insta-love I've ever had the misfortune of reading.

Chudail – 3.5 stars. Girls have been going missing for centuries, always precluded by a sighting of the Chudail. The quality of writing was good, and I liked the eerie spookiness of it all. I do wish we would have been told what exactly the not-Chudail was though. Reminded me a little tiny bit of Elatsoe.

A Goddess of Fire and Blood – 2 stars. The beginning was a lot of into-dumping, and then became hard to follow as we switched which girl we were talking about so seamlessly I had to go back three times to make sure I was following the name and backstory changes. The story of escaping their prison was compelling, but the goddess storyline completely lost me.

Infinite Drift – 3 stars. A girl appears in the desert, out of time, on an unknown mission. Concept was unique, but I wish there had been more backstory or info on the Drift Riders. I liked that it was her brother though! Author notes were interesting.

Dismantle The Sun – 4 stars. Good story. I liked the almost father-daughter relationship, and the decision our MC made at the end; her realization she could do better and the determination to do so.

Shamsuddin-Jalal – 2 stars. Would have been good but for the overwhelming woke agenda permeating the entire story.

The Collector – 2 stars. Very confusing. The author's note informs us that it is part of a larger story, and gives some background to said story, but on it's own, it has little merit.

Unraveled – 2.5 stars. A hostage of a mythical and revenging bird-man, our MC finds that her experience there leads her to a change of heart and a discovery of her own worth. Tantalizing enough to want to know what the history was there, but suffered from a lack of background and answers. Her boyfriend was worthless, but it was upsetting that there was no forewarning that he would be so until the end of the story.

She Who Answers – 3 stars. I appreciated seeing this goddess giving her all to help the boy and his mother as they pray to her. Good story.

The Hawk's Reason – DNF. Gay insta-love. Not my thing.

Poetry of Earth – 3 stars. A little simplistic in the telling, but a good story overall. An Aspera is sentenced to live a year with the humans, and learns that her dislike of them maybe isn't as warranted as she thought. Author's note helped it out a bit.

Mirch, Masala, and Magic – 3.5 stars. A family uses magic in cooking to get back at the family that hurt one of their own. The way the food, and the magic within, was described was excellent. Liked the close-knit main family, but it was strange that the whole family of in-laws was so awful.

Daughter of The Sun – 2 stars. Just not my thing. Mostly confused and didn't care for the writing.

What The Winds Stole – 3.5 stars. I really liked the prose, the overall story, and that Peri lived up to her name. Her character arc was lovely, really. But I couldn't get past the insta-love, Sule's motivations (why did he come in the first place?), or the ending, which was anti-climatic.

This was a really great anthology! Some of the references I recognized immediately while others I didn't have much knowledge of, that only emphasizes the vast amount of cultures and traditions in South Asia. As with all anthologies, some were much better than others but there was nothing I absolutely hated just a few where I was slightly confused with what was going on; the one I probably disliked the most would have been the high school romance/god killing one, the relationship came out of left field. Some of these stories did feel underdeveloped which can happen in short stories but one author did mention their story was a mini "prequal"(this one was just fast not underdeveloped) to their full story which I'm excited for. Sabaa Tahir is absolutely amazing as always and definitely my favorite story. I do wish that we got all of the art but I guess that incentivizes going out and buying it later!

Thank you very much to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. All of my opinions were made unbiased by the free copy and are my own words.

4.5 stars

Reading this book felt like a hug to me. A number of diverse voices went into the making of this book—my favourite part was how the book was a love letter to South Asians. That it was not a book for all, but for a very specific audience in mind. I have quite a complicated relationship with anthologies, usually reading them for the one or two authors contributing, and rarely for the idea. But this was different, I was hooked through every story, and all of them were equally enjoyable to breeze through!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, for presenting me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a great introduction to the myths of this region. I really enjoyed diving into them and learning more about all of these cultures.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.
I love short stories. I also love magic. I'm happy I requested this one.
Mostly I love how I learned a bit about lore from other cultures. It was full of South Asian magic
Each story was a short fast read. And each one was unique.
I'm glad I was able to read this one as it was fun and fast.
Would definitely recommend to anyone who loves a little magic!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book.

I love seeing anthologies like this that focus on people from one area of the world. We need more diverse anthologies like this.

Most of the stories I really liked, but some I was just not a fan of. I like that some of the stories have an author's note after that explains a bit about the source inspiration.

This is amazing! I was able to read the first few excerpts before having to go back to reality, and I have some author backlist's to read! Such a great way to introduce myself to new authors. I definitely can't wait to read even more from them!

This is a lovely collection of retellings & reinterpretation, and was such fun to read.

"Read MAGIC HAS NO BORDERS a Collection of Magical South Asian Tales, edited by Samira Ahmed & Sona Charaipotra, if you love: short stories, myths, legends, diverse voices, reincarnation, retellings, gods, heros, villains, defining yourself, representation, twists, turns & love."

Magic Has No Borders is an amazing anthology and collection of short stories by publishing's top South Asian authors. I loved how all the stories featured in this anthology covered all corners of South Asian mythology, ranging from stories with romance and heartbreak, to stories about family and friendship, to stories about life lessons and self-discovery. So many myths and legends get lost in the South Asian community, so I greatly appreciate Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra for arranging this anthology to keep the stories of our culture and religions alive!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.2 stars

Kiss Me Goodbye by Tracey Baptiste: 2 stars-
The concept of gods and hosts was interesting, but I felt confused for some of the story. I didn’t like the school setting, but I usually never do. I was confused in the end on why it was implied that Ronnie liked Jay and Kala when she showed no interest in the beginning that I saw. I thought only Jay and Kala liked each other, but then Ronnie came along, seemingly out of nowhere. The ending with the gods was the best part.

Chudail by Nikita Gill: 4 stars-
This was a good story. I loved that the main character is a reader. I like that the Chudail was something that everyone believed in; usually creatures (or in this case the woman as the story describes her) aren’t believed to be real, so this was a nice surprise. I loved the history of the town. The story the grandmother told was interesting. I was confused about why the sacrifice changed things in the end.

A Goddess of Fire and Blood by Tanaz Bhathena: 3 stars-
I liked that this story centered around a prophecy, magic, and gods. This story is really sad because of the characters being locked up and mistreated. The ending was good.

Infinite Drift by Olivia Chadha: 3 stars-
This story was interesting. The fact that Archana had her memory of her death wiped by people called Drift Riders before the story even began was cool. I liked the world, but wished there was more of a backstory. I also liked that the point of the story was that Archana was on a mission. I felt a little confused in the end though, but I appreciated the context of the authors note.

Dismantle the Sun by Sangu Mandanna: 4 stars-
This story was really good. I liked that Vira was a warrior. The Destoyer and Vira had an interesting father-daughter relationship. I liked that the Destroyer thought that him telling Vira who to kill, and then Vira killing people might be wrong and that he might need to stop. I liked Masha and that she gave Vira perspective on her purpose.

Shamsuddin-Jalal by Tahir Abrar: 3 stars-
Jinn are always interesting to read about. I liked the story within that Jalal told about the women in a relationship, and how there was a question at the end of the story. I liked the ending.

The Collector by Sona Charaipotra: 3 stars-
This was a solid story. I liked that the story talked about objects like jewels and the legends of their world. The puppets were interesting and creepy, in my opinion. I liked what was revealed about the souls and the prophecy.

Unraveled by Preeti Chhibber: 3 stars-
This story was interesting. I liked the magic in this world. The story picked up when the characters were in the forest and the setting and Sarsh was an intriguing character. I liked reading Shweta’s arc.

She Who Answers by Shreya Ila Anasuya: 3 stars-
This was good. I liked that there were goddesses in this story. I also liked to hear the beliefs they all have because of their faith in their gods. I liked that these goddesses actually helped when called upon as well. Usually stories of gods have gods that don’t listen to the people, so it was a nice twist.

The Hawk’s Reason by Naz Kutub: 3 stars-
This story was good. I liked that the problems these characters faced were wars. I liked that there was a prophecy. I didn’t love the insta-love, but I liked the forbidden aspect of their relationship. I liked the end.

Poetry of Earth by Swati Teerdhala: 3 stars-
This story was solid. I didn’t like the school setting, but the fact that she was punished to go to high school was funny. I liked how this story talked about books and writing. I liked the relationship.

Mirch, Masala, and Magic by Nafiza Azad: 4 stars-
I enjoyed this story. I loved that magic and food were talked about and a great part of the story. The plot was intriguing. I really liked the family. The end was great.

Daughter of the Sun by Sayantani DasGupta: 4 stars-
This was great. I liked that this story talked about reincarnation and breaking cycles. I liked the talk of differences of gender in society. I really loved what the characters chose in the end.

What the Winds Stole by Sabaa Tahir: 4 stars-
This story was so intriguing. I liked reading about Hiba being cursed to stay at the lake. The world was interesting. I like that Sule helped her. I like that Sule brought out her good side again after she was hurt in the past. I liked what she did for him in the end.

4.25/5 ⭐️

This was an incredible anthology of South Asian myths, legends, and magic written by South Asian authors. I loved learning more about the different folklore within the South Asian diaspora as a folklore lover. This has definitely become one of my favorite anthologies that I’ve read so far.

My favorite stories were The Hawk’s Reason by Naz Kutub, Poetry of the Earth by Swati Teerdhala, The Collector by Sona Charaipotra, and What the Winds Stole by Sabaa Tahir.

Please note that I am not an ownvoices South Asian reviewer so please look for those reviews!

As this title is published by HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins, I will be withholding my review of the title in support of the HarperCollins Union strike. I look forward to reviewing this title once HarperCollins has met the union at the bargaining table and agreed to a fair contract.

The stories were so good. You can see each writers unique story telling as they take you into 14 different stories. Truly was captivating.

this was a such a lovely anthology, full of South Asian magic, appreciation, and love from the deep myths of our cultures to the every day practices and pieces of ourselves and make us South Asian. i loved every story!

I truly loved these beautiful stories. The descriptions were so vivid I found myself sucked into each tale. Definitely didn’t want them to be over. I will keep an eye out on when this title becomes available. I highly recommend everyone check it out!

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children’s Books, and HarperTeen for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: May 23, 2023)

“Magic Has No Borders” is a collection of short stories from South Asian folklore, legends, and epics reimagined for a modern YA audience.

I really enjoyed that no two stories were alike in this book. It contained 14 different stories from 14 different authors. Each story had at least one magical element, and I was excited to discover so many new stories and interesting characters in just one book!

While I did enjoy some stories more than others, I think that was the point of this collection – to reach a wide audience of readers with varied interests.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to older teens and young adults as it contains some sexual content not suitable for younger readers.