Scan barcode
A review by marimoose
Monsters In Masquerade by Robin Alvarez
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
First off, thank you to Owlcrate, Owlcrate Press, and Jordan Fleming for an advanced copy of this anthology!
With any short story collection, I always expect a mixed bag, with some middling, some uninteresting, and some really good stories. I thought overall that this collection had a lot of solid stories, and I honestly had a good time reading through most of them! What I liked was at the heart of every story, the theme of monsters existing in every walks of life--whether within the protagonist themselves or in those unsuspecting around them-- resounded across the board. I could see why they fit in this anthology where they did.
There were some stories that I was really sad to have said goodbye to at the end, especially because I could definitely see them being turned into a longer novel! Personal favorites were "Juniper Crown of Fae" by Sara Mughal Rana, "A Terrible Beauty" by Hayden Stone, "Venetian Sunrise" by A.Y. Chao, and "Eva and the Devil" by Isabel Canas. Y'all, the way Chao broke my soul and Canas put it back together again on those last two stories though. What a way to end the anthology.
With any short story collection, I always expect a mixed bag, with some middling, some uninteresting, and some really good stories. I thought overall that this collection had a lot of solid stories, and I honestly had a good time reading through most of them! What I liked was at the heart of every story, the theme of monsters existing in every walks of life--whether within the protagonist themselves or in those unsuspecting around them-- resounded across the board. I could see why they fit in this anthology where they did.
There were some stories that I was really sad to have said goodbye to at the end, especially because I could definitely see them being turned into a longer novel! Personal favorites were "Juniper Crown of Fae" by Sara Mughal Rana, "A Terrible Beauty" by Hayden Stone, "Venetian Sunrise" by A.Y. Chao, and "Eva and the Devil" by Isabel Canas. Y'all, the way Chao broke my soul and Canas put it back together again on those last two stories though. What a way to end the anthology.