The rough thing about reading anthologies is that you are basically setting yourself up to get a mix of “meh” stories and stories you actually enjoy, and this one was exactly that, though I definitely enjoyed more stories than I disliked. None of the stories in this collection were bad - they were all very well written, and the ones I ended up not enjoying were all mostly new authors to me and I am very willing to check out their other works now, it just happens that these particular stories of theirs failed to fully capture my attention.

There were a few standout stories to me that make me want to recommend this anthology to everyone - The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake being the first one. It’s a badass revenge story that had me cheering with every death, and if you read it I’m sure you’ll be right there with me. I also really enjoyed Best Served Cold by HE Edgmon and All Eyes on Me by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé - both of these authors were new to me with this collection and I am very excited to see what else they have. If you only read one story in this anthology though, please let it be Everything’s Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D Jackson - I’m gonna have a hard time moving on from that one.

All in all, this anthology has something for everybody, and I’m sure there will be people that like the stories I didn’t and don't care much about the stories I did. Anthologies might be hard to recommend as a whole, but they are a great way to discover new authors, and if there are a few names you don’t recognize on this list I highly suggest you pick this one up.

I used the following ratings to get my average:

All Eyes on Me by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé - 4 Stars
Hedge by Kalynn Bayron - 2 Stars
The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake - 5 Stars
Best Served Cold by HE Edgmon - 4 Stars
The Protege by Lamar Giles - 3 Stars
Docile Girls by Chloe Gong - 3 Stars
Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson - 5 Stars
Everything’s Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D Jackson - ATF (6 Stars)
Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar - 5 Stars
Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia - 4 Stars
Wasps by Mark Oshiro - 2 Stars
Hell is Other Demons by Karen Strong - 2 Stars
The Road to Hell by Terry J Benton-Walker - 3 Stars

An impressive variation of authors and styles! Each story is unique, with some featuring clown costumes and carnivals, and others dealing with racism and sexual assault. The choice of using different audiobook narrators additionally helps with distinguishing each story, and allows for each to stand out. I particularly enjoyed H.E. Edgmon's story, and the title story. Recommended for high school classroom libraries and public libraries!