If you know me, you know that Ariel Lawhon is one of my favorite historical authors! I love her work because she writes about real women, who you probably never read about in history class.
Barriers to Entry, the short story about Frances Glessner Lee was fascinating and I loved the fact that you can find & look at the real crime scene diorama online! It made me want to learn more about this woman and how the case in the story was solved! (5 stars)

The other short stories in the Blaze collection were interesting as well, but when I’m reading historical fiction, it’s just a personal preference of mine to read about real people or real events. Maybe I just misunderstood the description of this collection, but I thought it was going to cover real women from history. My favorite stories were Barriers to Entry, Amelia’s Shadow, and The Forgotten Chapter, but I thought they were all well done!

Amelia's Shadow: I really enjoyed this one! I had never heard of ruth Nichols, and her connection to Amelia Earhart was fascinating! (4 stars)

The June Paintings: This one was well written and interesting, but I'd still rather read about a real painter from the 60's! (3 stars)

The Forgotten Chapter: While this story wasn't about a real person either, I found it very sweet. I also loved learning how the famous store, Selfridges, was used in World War 2! (4 stars)

Fires to Come: I thought this story was so unique! I've never read anything like it, and it was very well written! (3 stars)

Tune in Tomorrow: I think this story was my least favorite of the collection. The author kept referencing Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and I think I just would have preferred to read a short story about them! The real pioneers of TV! (2 stars)

Fallen Grace: I felt a little more invested in the main character of this story! I also thought it was very well written and I really liked the ending! (3 stars)

The Blaze collection of short stories is available now and if you’re an Amazon Prime member, it’s free to read and/or listen to!

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the advanced copy!

*I chose to review these individually on Goodreads. This is a compilation of said reviews. The link to my Goodreads profile will be included at the bottom, as well as additional thoughts about the collection as a whole*

Amelia's Shadow (4 stars)

*Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy for free in exchange for an honest review*

This one was interesting. Starting off in a collection in honor of National Women's Month about women who broke from the traditional to blaze--see what I did there?--the way for future women to follow their dreams. This one was oddly timely since one of the main characters in this story was Amelia Earhart. This was about a strong friendship--I think there was more, but maybe that I was just my wishful thinking--between two female aviators and the story of their struggles to be taken seriously in a field that, surprise surprise, was dominated by men. I loved the personal view of Amelia's story, and the ending was expectedly heartbreaking. Felt like something I needed to read, given the news of Amelia's plane in the recent weeks.

The June Paintings (4 stars)

*Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for free in exchange for an honest review*

I'm gonna confess something. I've never seen a Woody Allen film. I've only ever seen clips, or heard someone else quote lines, from Annie Hall. That being said... I feel like the vibes here are similar. I could be totally off base with that. That being said, being the next in the Blaze collection I read, I gotta say that I kind of really liked it... it's strange. It felt very art house.... but believable? Yet, definitely a "no way that's ever happening to me" thing too. A very thought provoking story in a very unexpected way, I would say. And an interesting look at what it meant to be an painter's muse back in a day when women were just viewed as kind of... there.

The Forgotten Chapter (3 stars)

*Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for free in exchange for an honest review*

I have two stories in the Blaze collection that I would consider my least favorites. This is the first. I don't know. I just feel like this story was... expected in every single way. It's told after a woman receives the engagement ring she lost when she was young. Then it flashes back to tell the story. I don't mind this mechanic... but it's not a fave. I really want something shocking at the end if a story is going to be structured this way. This did not deliver that. Honestly, every move in this story was like, "And... yeah. Yeah, thought so." The writing is good. There are definitely people out here that will love this. It just wasn't me.

Fires to Come (4 stars)

*Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for free in exchange for an honest review*

Very interesting story. Truly. It's about a black girl adopted by a white Italian mob family and all the challenges that come with it. I honestly loved the main character's choices throughout the story, fully understanding what the consequences were. I also love the just... back against the wall feeling that was present throughout.

Tune in Tomorrow (4 stars)

*Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review*

The main character in this one is like the mother of soap operas--literally, their creator. She walks the fine line between likable and not, but I feel like that works for what this story is really about. Which is what it took for a woman to thrive in the entertainment business when they were still considered frivolous housewife material. There was a moment at the end of the story that got me a little choked up, but I won't quote it since this is an ARC and some editing may have happened between this copy and the finished product.

Fallen Grace (3 stars)

*Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy of this for free in exchange for an honest review*

Ugh... I really hate that the second (of only two, I believe) stories by an author of color in this collection is my second least favorite story. This story was fifty pages long and for all that happens in it... it should have been down in the thirty pages length. I did enjoy the ending, but I feel like the build up to it was... meh. I felt for the MC. Truly I did... but everything was so... expected? I don't know. I felt like this could have been more, or maybe it should have been less.

Barriers to Entry (5 stars)

*Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for an ARC copy for free in exchange for an honest review*

This one was my favorite in the entire Blaze collection. Its main character is an older woman--wanna say she was fifties or sixties--teaching a seminar about forensics in relation to solving crimes back when this kind of science was new. It had a very Sherlock Holmes but real life kind of vibes to it, and the author graciously notes in the beginning of her tale that the model being observed by the students taking the Harvard seminar--all young men, of course--is a real thing that can be observed. I was hooked into this story of watching minds learn to think in knew ways, and the conclusion of the story was deliciously unexpected. Loved it.

My overall rating for this collection is a 3.8 rounded up to a 4 star. Overall, it was largely enjoyable, but I did find it... um, troubling perhaps that out of seven different authors only 2 were people of color. Also, I would have enjoyed the inclusion of a story that dealt perhaps with some LGBTQIA issues.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4384866.Patricia_Puckett

This collection is full of women who are brave and willing to change the course of their lives. I appreciated all the stories.
A lot of these authors are new to me, aside from Ariel Lawhon. Her story was my favorite. Followed by Asha Lemmie's contribution.
Overall I give this collection four stars. Broken down by story I give the following reviews:

Amelia's Shadow - 4 stars. An interesting story especially with recent news about Amelia Erhart's plane maybe being found.
The June Paintings- 3 Stars. For being a short story, I felt like it dragged.
The Forgotten Chapter- 4 Stars, A sweet story, even though it's another World War 2 historical fiction romance. I wish it was longer. More like 3.5 stars.
Fires to Come- 5 Stars. This was FANTASTIC. It read like a tv show. A thrilling mob story.
Tune in Tomorrow- 3 Stars. I appreciated the look into 1960's tv. I didn't like the main character.
Fallen Grace- 4 Stars. Take hold of your own future. A great look into hypocrisy in the Christian faith.
Barriers to Entry- 5 Stars. I loved this look into a true crime fiction story. This was a gory but fun read. Would love to see this expanded.

What happens when you gather stories from incredible female authors? This amazing collection. To be honest the desire to read more Sadeqa Johnson pulled me in, but all the stories kept me going. Will be searching more from all these ladies.