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Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed
Love is in the air in this is a collection of stories inspired by romantic tropes and edited by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer.
The secret admirer.
The fake relationship.
The matchmaker.
From stories of first love, unrequited love, love that surprises, love that’s been there all along, ten of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. Readers will swoon for this collection of stories that celebrate love at its most humorous, inclusive, heart-expanding, and serendipitous.
Contributors include Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Marissa Meyer, Sandhya Menon, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen.
The secret admirer.
The fake relationship.
The matchmaker.
From stories of first love, unrequited love, love that surprises, love that’s been there all along, ten of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. Readers will swoon for this collection of stories that celebrate love at its most humorous, inclusive, heart-expanding, and serendipitous.
Contributors include Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Marissa Meyer, Sandhya Menon, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 4, 2022
About the author
Elise Bryant
7 books1,038 followersElise Bryant is the NAACP Image Award-nominated author of Happily Ever Afters, One True Loves, Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling, and the forthcoming It’s Elementary. For many years, Elise had the joy of working as a special education teacher, and now she spends her days reading, writing, and eating dessert. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Long Beach, California. You can visit her online at www.elisebryant.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 944 reviews
January 19, 2022
AVERAGE RATING: 3.3 STARS
Serendipity is an anthology that takes on nine classic romance tropes and reinvents them with diverse representation and hilarious twists. There were a couple of stories that stood out (like the queen herself Marissa Meyer's) and one that I was disappointed by, but for the most part, these stories were pretty average.
I know it is difficult to pack in character development in such a short story, but I still felt disconnected from the characters. Not in a bad way, but not in a "blow my mind" way either. I really enjoyed this anthology for what it was--entertaining stories with fresh twists, with a few gems hidden inside.
INDIVIDUAL REVIEWS:
Bye Bye, Piper Berry
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: fake dating, friends to lovers
Anyone Else But You
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: rivals to lovers, forced proximity
The Idiom Algorithm
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: inverse class warfare
Auld Aquaintance
⊳ ★★★★☆
⊳ Trope: friends to lovers
Shooting Stars
⊳ ★★★★★
⊳ Trope: one bed
Zora In the Spotlight
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: grand romantic gesture
In the Blink of an Eye
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: love at first sight
Liberty
⊳ ★★☆☆☆
⊳ Trope: makeover
The Surprise Match
⊳ ★★★★☆
⊳ Trope: friends to lovers, soulmates
_________
i have no idea what this is but marissa meyer is involved so... need i say more?
Serendipity is an anthology that takes on nine classic romance tropes and reinvents them with diverse representation and hilarious twists. There were a couple of stories that stood out (like the queen herself Marissa Meyer's) and one that I was disappointed by, but for the most part, these stories were pretty average.
I know it is difficult to pack in character development in such a short story, but I still felt disconnected from the characters. Not in a bad way, but not in a "blow my mind" way either. I really enjoyed this anthology for what it was--entertaining stories with fresh twists, with a few gems hidden inside.
INDIVIDUAL REVIEWS:
Bye Bye, Piper Berry
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: fake dating, friends to lovers
Anyone Else But You
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: rivals to lovers, forced proximity
The Idiom Algorithm
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: inverse class warfare
Auld Aquaintance
⊳ ★★★★☆
⊳ Trope: friends to lovers
Shooting Stars
⊳ ★★★★★
⊳ Trope: one bed
Zora In the Spotlight
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: grand romantic gesture
In the Blink of an Eye
⊳ ★★★☆☆
⊳ Trope: love at first sight
Liberty
⊳ ★★☆☆☆
⊳ Trope: makeover
The Surprise Match
⊳ ★★★★☆
⊳ Trope: friends to lovers, soulmates
_________
i have no idea what this is but marissa meyer is involved so... need i say more?
November 15, 2022
2.5 stars?
I don't really know what to feel about this, it was just kinda disappointing and meh :(
I don't really know what to feel about this, it was just kinda disappointing and meh :(
April 13, 2022
Serendipity is a collection of ten short YA stories by ten different writers. The blurb promises that ten of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. I am a sucker for short-story collections as it gives a chance to sample different writers' work and a variety of stories in one book is always a good thing but the latter didn't turn out to be true in this read as all the stories were really bad. Also, that promise in the blurb of turning the tropes on their heads is false. None of the tropes were turned on their heads. Overall, it was a very disappointing read. Let's unpack.
1. Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy
Trope - The Fake Relationship
Rating - 1.5 stars
The only thing worse than being haunted by your past is being haunted by your future.
Piper finds out that her boyfriend, Travis was cheating on her so she broke up with him. When she finds out that her best friend Gabe knew of the cheating and Gabe didn't tell her, she gets angry with him and plans to win back Travis by pretending to go out with Gabe as Gabe owes her for not telling about Travis's cheating.
This was predictable (to be fair, all the stories were predictable) and it was a very bland story. I didn't mind Gabe but I didn't like Piper. I didn't feel the romance at all. I think this has been done a gazillion times and it didn't hold my interest from the beginning.
2. Anyone Else But You by Leah Johnson
Trope - Stranded Together
rating - 0 stars
Everything outside of this moment no longer exists.
Perry and Jada are rivals but they are class co-presidents too. They are both planning their senior send-off and Perry is waiting outside the party palace superstore and as usual, Jada is late. By the time Jada arrives, the store is about to close. Then both Perry and Jada realize that they are locked inside the store. As they are locked inside the store for the night, they start to talk and work out why they both didn't get along.
I don't know where to begin with my rant over this story. Jada is always late and when she tells the reason for her being late all the time, I didn't know whether to be angry or laugh. Her reason for always being late is that if you are always late, then people notice you and think you are cool. Pfft! I think it is about time that the writers start to realize that being punctual doesn't mean that one is uptight or uncool. Being punctual is another form of showing respect. Basically, you respect the other person and value their time. Jada is everything I hate in a person. I wanted to skip this story completely but the only reason I continued with this was because of two queer black girls. Besides diversity and representation, this story had nothing going on for it. I know it's a short story but this was RUSHED.
3. The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen
Trope - Class Warfare
Rating - 2.25 stars
Something so small it's like one strand of hair among nine cows.
Tan is dating Rebecca. They talk in idioms to each other a lot. Rebecca in Chinese idioms and Tan in English to help each other. Rebecca's parents are super rich and they are coming to visit Rebecca. Tan wants to meet them but Rebecca is hesitant. When Tan finally meets them and Rebecca reveals to her parents that Tan is her boyfriend, they take her away to Hong Kong, and all traces of Rebecca disappear from the internet like she never existed. Tan tracks Rebecca using the idiom algorithm and finds out something shocking about Rebecca.
First of all, the trope class warfare means rich vs poor here not the high-school class like I initially thought it to be. Also, is this really a trope? Anyway, I liked the beginning of this and it had so much potential but the shocking revelation wasn't so shocking to me. It was more of a dumb thing. I mean simple communication could have solved things.
4. Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig
Trope - The Best Friend Love Epiphany
Rating - 2.75 stars
We get each other in a way that no one gets either of us.
Ollie and Garrett have been best friends for years. People usually think that they are actually together as they are both gays but they are only just friends. When they make a pact to be each other's New Year's kiss if they can't find anyone else, Ollie doesn't think it's a big deal. So, when he overhears someone else planning to kiss Garrett, why does he feel so hot and bothered?
This was a cute enough story of two gay guys being best friends for years and realizing that they actually love each other. It was predictable from the get-go and I didn't love it as much as I had wanted to but it was not bad and it was also the best story from this collection.
5. Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer
Trope - One bed
Rating - 2 stars
Wishing, always wishing.
Misty and her class are going on a camping trip for a few days. Among them is Roman whom Misty has had a crush on for years. Misty gets a chance to be close to Roman and sparks fly.
First of all, I don't consider one bed an actual trope. Yes, I have read stories where one bed is featured but it wasn't to the extent to base an entire story on. Secondly, this was an okay story so I don't understand why the majority of the reviewers gave this 5 stars and said this was the best of the bunch. Again, it was an okay story but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I think part of the reason is that I am not a fan as I have only read one other short story from this writer which was interesting but not enough to make me a fan. Another part of the reason is the actual trope which I have already explained isn't enough to base an entire story on. I guess fans of the writer would enjoy it as for me, it was a bit meh.
6. Keagan's heaven on earth by Sarah Winifred Searle
Trope - The Secret Admirer
Rating - 1 star
Mickey keeps getting detention and when their teacher, Mr. kelvin realizes that Mickey isn't taking detention seriously, he puts Mickey on flower day and dance duty for the upcoming valentine's day dance at school. Mickey came out as queer the previous year and has been busy but when Mickey's classmate, Keagan offers her help and they both become close.
This story is told in a comic book/graphic novel style which was refreshing. The art was good. But other than that I didn't like the story. I don't know if the copy I had was missing some parts/pages because some things didn't make sense at least that's how it felt to me. That ending was rushed as well.
7. Zora in the Spotlight by Elise Bryant
Trope - The Grand Romantic Gesture
Rating - 2 stars
There's no shame in just being what you need.
Zora, Jorge, and Astrid are best friends and they have been best friends since they were kids. Astrid is always the center of attention and it is fine with Zora and Jorge but lately, things are changing. When Jorge voices out the same things Zora is thinking, she thinks about whether she should let these feelings take root.
Wow, this was so so good in the beginning and I thought that I would love it because I laughed and laughed and laughed as Zora gets the spotlight for once but it is not meant for her (I have actually witnessed something very similar in real life so that part was even more enjoyable) but it all went downhill from there because Zora has a boring conversation for ten pages with that guy who wrongly grand gestured to her. Instead of actually ending up with Jorge who was level-headed and with whom she had more chemistry, she ends up with that random guy instead. I did not feel their chemistry at all. I do have to say that this trope did have a twist as the grand gesture wasn't meant for the MC but that's about it. It could have been way better but that ending ruined it all for me.
8. In a Blink of the Eye by Elizabeth Eulberg
Trope- Trapped in a Confined Space
Rating - 2 stars
Sharing something special with someone who is special.
Morgan has always wanted to visit London and she knows practically everything about the city. When her high school show choir has a chance to compete in London, she's ecstatic. She is doubly happy as she's there with her best friend, Dani and they are about to visit the London Eye. In a surprise turn of events, Dani invites her boyfriend, Tyler, and wants Morgan and Tyler to work on their issues. Morgan can't stand Tyler as ever since Tyler started going out with Dani, Dani spends less time with Morgan. Morgan is now stuck with Tyler and they end up resolving their issues.
Another story with a promising start just dwindles down from there. Morgan's reasons for hating Tyler were ludicrous and then she voices them out whilst resolving those with Tyler and that was even more ridiculous. I wish the ending was different because that ending was terrible. The trope had a twist I'd say but in the worst way possible.
9. Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Trope- The Makeover
Rating - 0 stars
When I showed off my bow and arrow, I proved I earned them, that I was both a girl who belonged on this earth, and a firework.
Ximena is a cheerleader. She tries hard to stay at the same weight as she's a flyer but it is hard for her as she's naturally curvy. She's the only brown girl in the squad but when another brown girl, Camila comes into the squad, Ximena learns to be herself.
I wanted to skip this one as this one was kinda racist but from a brown person's pov. I can't speak for the makeup industry twenty years ago but this story is based in today's time and the makeup industry has become very inclusive. I am not saying that Ximena didn't face racism herself but if she wanted to change herself and look like a Caucasian person, then it's on her. Camila is a lesbian and she says that she's a little hesitant to put a hand in a girl's crotch. What the heck? If it were a straight person, it wouldn't be cool. All the diversity and representation and this is the story and dialogue the writer comes up with. The whole idea seemed very outdated to me.
Camila also mentions That white girl helping you pick a foundation may mean well, but she's probably gonna steer you too pale. It's not her fault. It's the white beauty industry complex. This was plain wrong. I am not saying that people don't face all this but as a brown person myself, I am ashamed of the dialogue in this story. Why must we put others down to lift ourselves up? Racism of any kind is not okay. I think we need to do better.
And the makeover trope happened right at the end. I mean why base the story on a trope that isn't even used until the end. Literally the end.
10. The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon
Trope - The Matchmaker
Rating - 2 stars
Do you think there's someone for everyone?
You can't just sit around waiting to be invited to your own life. You've gotta make stuff happen.
Rosie and Easton are best friends. Rosie wrote a program that would find people's best romantic matches using info trawled from their social media profiles and she makes a lot of money from that. Easton asks her to be matched on that as well and when Rosie runs the program to match him, a surprise awaits her.
A nice start to the story with two best friends who don't exactly realize that they are into each other. But when Rosie realizes her feelings, instead of all that drama, she could have simply used her phone to call or text Easton and things would be much better and easier. And honestly, that trope isn't exactly used as I had expected it to be. The matchmaker is a program.
I think this was the worst short-story collection I have read in my life. Normally, I like a few of the stories in a collection and even wish for longer versions of some but that is not the case here. Even all that diversity and representation couldn't save these stories. Epic failure. I hope these short stories remain short stories only.
1.5 -1.7 stars
1. Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy
Trope - The Fake Relationship
Rating - 1.5 stars
The only thing worse than being haunted by your past is being haunted by your future.
Piper finds out that her boyfriend, Travis was cheating on her so she broke up with him. When she finds out that her best friend Gabe knew of the cheating and Gabe didn't tell her, she gets angry with him and plans to win back Travis by pretending to go out with Gabe as Gabe owes her for not telling about Travis's cheating.
This was predictable (to be fair, all the stories were predictable) and it was a very bland story. I didn't mind Gabe but I didn't like Piper. I didn't feel the romance at all. I think this has been done a gazillion times and it didn't hold my interest from the beginning.
2. Anyone Else But You by Leah Johnson
Trope - Stranded Together
rating - 0 stars
Everything outside of this moment no longer exists.
Perry and Jada are rivals but they are class co-presidents too. They are both planning their senior send-off and Perry is waiting outside the party palace superstore and as usual, Jada is late. By the time Jada arrives, the store is about to close. Then both Perry and Jada realize that they are locked inside the store. As they are locked inside the store for the night, they start to talk and work out why they both didn't get along.
I don't know where to begin with my rant over this story. Jada is always late and when she tells the reason for her being late all the time, I didn't know whether to be angry or laugh. Her reason for always being late is that if you are always late, then people notice you and think you are cool. Pfft! I think it is about time that the writers start to realize that being punctual doesn't mean that one is uptight or uncool. Being punctual is another form of showing respect. Basically, you respect the other person and value their time. Jada is everything I hate in a person. I wanted to skip this story completely but the only reason I continued with this was because of two queer black girls. Besides diversity and representation, this story had nothing going on for it. I know it's a short story but this was RUSHED.
3. The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen
Trope - Class Warfare
Rating - 2.25 stars
Something so small it's like one strand of hair among nine cows.
Tan is dating Rebecca. They talk in idioms to each other a lot. Rebecca in Chinese idioms and Tan in English to help each other. Rebecca's parents are super rich and they are coming to visit Rebecca. Tan wants to meet them but Rebecca is hesitant. When Tan finally meets them and Rebecca reveals to her parents that Tan is her boyfriend, they take her away to Hong Kong, and all traces of Rebecca disappear from the internet like she never existed. Tan tracks Rebecca using the idiom algorithm and finds out something shocking about Rebecca.
First of all, the trope class warfare means rich vs poor here not the high-school class like I initially thought it to be. Also, is this really a trope? Anyway, I liked the beginning of this and it had so much potential but the shocking revelation wasn't so shocking to me. It was more of a dumb thing. I mean simple communication could have solved things.
4. Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig
Trope - The Best Friend Love Epiphany
Rating - 2.75 stars
We get each other in a way that no one gets either of us.
Ollie and Garrett have been best friends for years. People usually think that they are actually together as they are both gays but they are only just friends. When they make a pact to be each other's New Year's kiss if they can't find anyone else, Ollie doesn't think it's a big deal. So, when he overhears someone else planning to kiss Garrett, why does he feel so hot and bothered?
This was a cute enough story of two gay guys being best friends for years and realizing that they actually love each other. It was predictable from the get-go and I didn't love it as much as I had wanted to but it was not bad and it was also the best story from this collection.
5. Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer
Trope - One bed
Rating - 2 stars
Wishing, always wishing.
Misty and her class are going on a camping trip for a few days. Among them is Roman whom Misty has had a crush on for years. Misty gets a chance to be close to Roman and sparks fly.
First of all, I don't consider one bed an actual trope. Yes, I have read stories where one bed is featured but it wasn't to the extent to base an entire story on. Secondly, this was an okay story so I don't understand why the majority of the reviewers gave this 5 stars and said this was the best of the bunch. Again, it was an okay story but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I think part of the reason is that I am not a fan as I have only read one other short story from this writer which was interesting but not enough to make me a fan. Another part of the reason is the actual trope which I have already explained isn't enough to base an entire story on. I guess fans of the writer would enjoy it as for me, it was a bit meh.
6. Keagan's heaven on earth by Sarah Winifred Searle
Trope - The Secret Admirer
Rating - 1 star
Mickey keeps getting detention and when their teacher, Mr. kelvin realizes that Mickey isn't taking detention seriously, he puts Mickey on flower day and dance duty for the upcoming valentine's day dance at school. Mickey came out as queer the previous year and has been busy but when Mickey's classmate, Keagan offers her help and they both become close.
This story is told in a comic book/graphic novel style which was refreshing. The art was good. But other than that I didn't like the story. I don't know if the copy I had was missing some parts/pages because some things didn't make sense at least that's how it felt to me. That ending was rushed as well.
7. Zora in the Spotlight by Elise Bryant
Trope - The Grand Romantic Gesture
Rating - 2 stars
There's no shame in just being what you need.
Zora, Jorge, and Astrid are best friends and they have been best friends since they were kids. Astrid is always the center of attention and it is fine with Zora and Jorge but lately, things are changing. When Jorge voices out the same things Zora is thinking, she thinks about whether she should let these feelings take root.
Wow, this was so so good in the beginning and I thought that I would love it because I laughed and laughed and laughed as Zora gets the spotlight for once but it is not meant for her (I have actually witnessed something very similar in real life so that part was even more enjoyable) but it all went downhill from there because Zora has a boring conversation for ten pages with that guy who wrongly grand gestured to her. Instead of actually ending up with Jorge who was level-headed and with whom she had more chemistry, she ends up with that random guy instead. I did not feel their chemistry at all. I do have to say that this trope did have a twist as the grand gesture wasn't meant for the MC but that's about it. It could have been way better but that ending ruined it all for me.
8. In a Blink of the Eye by Elizabeth Eulberg
Trope- Trapped in a Confined Space
Rating - 2 stars
Sharing something special with someone who is special.
Morgan has always wanted to visit London and she knows practically everything about the city. When her high school show choir has a chance to compete in London, she's ecstatic. She is doubly happy as she's there with her best friend, Dani and they are about to visit the London Eye. In a surprise turn of events, Dani invites her boyfriend, Tyler, and wants Morgan and Tyler to work on their issues. Morgan can't stand Tyler as ever since Tyler started going out with Dani, Dani spends less time with Morgan. Morgan is now stuck with Tyler and they end up resolving their issues.
Another story with a promising start just dwindles down from there. Morgan's reasons for hating Tyler were ludicrous and then she voices them out whilst resolving those with Tyler and that was even more ridiculous. I wish the ending was different because that ending was terrible. The trope had a twist I'd say but in the worst way possible.
9. Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Trope- The Makeover
Rating - 0 stars
When I showed off my bow and arrow, I proved I earned them, that I was both a girl who belonged on this earth, and a firework.
Ximena is a cheerleader. She tries hard to stay at the same weight as she's a flyer but it is hard for her as she's naturally curvy. She's the only brown girl in the squad but when another brown girl, Camila comes into the squad, Ximena learns to be herself.
I wanted to skip this one as this one was kinda racist but from a brown person's pov. I can't speak for the makeup industry twenty years ago but this story is based in today's time and the makeup industry has become very inclusive. I am not saying that Ximena didn't face racism herself but if she wanted to change herself and look like a Caucasian person, then it's on her. Camila is a lesbian and she says that she's a little hesitant to put a hand in a girl's crotch. What the heck? If it were a straight person, it wouldn't be cool. All the diversity and representation and this is the story and dialogue the writer comes up with. The whole idea seemed very outdated to me.
Camila also mentions That white girl helping you pick a foundation may mean well, but she's probably gonna steer you too pale. It's not her fault. It's the white beauty industry complex. This was plain wrong. I am not saying that people don't face all this but as a brown person myself, I am ashamed of the dialogue in this story. Why must we put others down to lift ourselves up? Racism of any kind is not okay. I think we need to do better.
And the makeover trope happened right at the end. I mean why base the story on a trope that isn't even used until the end. Literally the end.
10. The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon
Trope - The Matchmaker
Rating - 2 stars
Do you think there's someone for everyone?
You can't just sit around waiting to be invited to your own life. You've gotta make stuff happen.
Rosie and Easton are best friends. Rosie wrote a program that would find people's best romantic matches using info trawled from their social media profiles and she makes a lot of money from that. Easton asks her to be matched on that as well and when Rosie runs the program to match him, a surprise awaits her.
A nice start to the story with two best friends who don't exactly realize that they are into each other. But when Rosie realizes her feelings, instead of all that drama, she could have simply used her phone to call or text Easton and things would be much better and easier. And honestly, that trope isn't exactly used as I had expected it to be. The matchmaker is a program.
I think this was the worst short-story collection I have read in my life. Normally, I like a few of the stories in a collection and even wish for longer versions of some but that is not the case here. Even all that diversity and representation couldn't save these stories. Epic failure. I hope these short stories remain short stories only.
1.5 -1.7 stars
April 14, 2022
Serendipity is a collection of ten short YA stories by ten different writers. The blurb promises that ten of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. I am a sucker for short-story collections as it gives a chance to sample different writers' work and a variety of stories in one book is always a good thing but the latter didn't turn out to be true in this read as all the stories were really bad. Also, that promise in the blurb of turning the tropes on their heads is false. None of the tropes were turned on their heads. Overall, it was a very disappointing read. Let's unpack.
1. Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy
Trope - The Fake Relationship
Rating - 1.5 stars
The only thing worse than being haunted by your past is being haunted by your future.
Piper finds out that her boyfriend, Travis was cheating on her so she broke up with him. When she finds out that her best friend Gabe knew of the cheating and Gabe didn't tell her, she gets angry with him and plans to win back Travis by pretending to go out with Gabe as Gabe owes her for not telling about Travis's cheating.
This was predictable (to be fair, all the stories were predictable) and it was a very bland story. I didn't mind Gabe but I didn't like Piper. I didn't feel the romance at all. I think this has been done a gazillion times and it didn't hold my interest from the beginning.
2. Anyone Else But You by Leah Johnson
Trope - Stranded Together
rating - 0 stars
Everything outside of this moment no longer exists.
Perry and Jada are rivals but they are class co-presidents too. They are both planning their senior send-off and Perry is waiting outside the party palace superstore and as usual, Jada is late. By the time Jada arrives, the store is about to close. Then both Perry and Jada realize that they are locked inside the store. As they are locked inside the store for the night, they start to talk and work out why they both didn't get along.
I don't know where to begin with my rant over this story. Jada is always late and when she tells the reason for her being late all the time, I didn't know whether to be angry or laugh. Her reason for always being late is that if you are always late, then people notice you and think you are cool. Pfft! I think it is about time that the writers start to realize that being punctual doesn't mean that one is uptight or uncool. Being punctual is another form of showing respect. Basically, you respect the other person and value their time. Jada is everything I hate in a person. I wanted to skip this story completely but the only reason I continued with this was because of two queer black girls. Besides diversity and representation, this story had nothing going on for it. I know it's a short story but this was RUSHED.
3. The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen
Trope - Class Warfare
Rating - 2.25 stars
Something so small it's like one strand of hair among nine cows.
Tan is dating Rebecca. They talk in idioms to each other a lot. Rebecca in Chinese idioms and Tan in English to help each other. Rebecca's parents are super rich and they are coming to visit Rebecca. Tan wants to meet them but Rebecca is hesitant. When Tan finally meets them and Rebecca reveals to her parents that Tan is her boyfriend, they take her away to Hong Kong, and all traces of Rebecca disappear from the internet like she never existed. Tan tracks Rebecca using the idiom algorithm and finds out something shocking about Rebecca.
First of all, the trope class warfare means rich vs poor here not the high-school class like I initially thought it to be. Also, is this really a trope? Anyway, I liked the beginning of this and it had so much potential but the shocking revelation wasn't so shocking to me. It was more of a dumb thing. I mean simple communication could have solved things.
4. Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig
Trope - The Best Friend Love Epiphany
Rating - 2.75 stars
We get each other in a way that no one gets either of us.
Ollie and Garrett have been best friends for years. People usually think that they are actually together as they are both gays but they are only just friends. When they make a pact to be each other's New Year's kiss if they can't find anyone else, Ollie doesn't think it's a big deal. So, when he overhears someone else planning to kiss Garrett, why does he feel so hot and bothered?
This was a cute enough story of two gay guys being best friends for years and realizing that they actually love each other. It was predictable from the get-go and I didn't love it as much as I had wanted to but it was not bad and it was also the best story from this collection.
5. Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer
Trope - One bed
Rating - 2 stars
Wishing, always wishing.
Misty and her class are going on a camping trip for a few days. Among them is Roman whom Misty has had a crush on for years. Misty gets a chance to be close to Roman and sparks fly.
First of all, I don't consider one bed an actual trope. Yes, I have read stories where one bed is featured but it wasn't to the extent to base an entire story on. Secondly, this was an okay story so I don't understand why the majority of the reviewers gave this 5 stars and said this was the best of the bunch. Again, it was an okay story but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I think part of the reason is that I am not a fan as I have only read one other short story from this writer which was interesting but not enough to make me a fan. Another part of the reason is the actual trope which I have already explained isn't enough to base an entire story on. I guess fans of the writer would enjoy it as for me, it was a bit meh.
6. Keagan's heaven on earth by Sarah Winifred Searle
Trope - The Secret Admirer
Rating - 1 star
Mickey keeps getting detention and when their teacher, Mr. kelvin realizes that Mickey isn't taking detention seriously, he puts Mickey on flower day and dance duty for the upcoming valentine's day dance at school. Mickey came out as queer the previous year and has been busy but when Mickey's classmate, Keagan offers her help and they both become close.
This story is told in a comic book/graphic novel style which was refreshing. The art was good. But other than that I didn't like the story. I don't know if the copy I had was missing some parts/pages because some things didn't make sense at least that's how it felt to me. That ending was rushed as well.
7. Zora in the Spotlight by Elise Bryant
Trope - The Grand Romantic Gesture
Rating - 2 stars
There's no shame in just being what you need.
Zora, Jorge, and Astrid are best friends and they have been best friends since they were kids. Astrid is always the center of attention and it is fine with Zora and Jorge but lately, things are changing. When Jorge voices out the same things Zora is thinking, she thinks about whether she should let these feelings take root.
Wow, this was so so good in the beginning and I thought that I would love it because I laughed and laughed and laughed as Zora gets the spotlight for once but it is not meant for her (I have actually witnessed something very similar in real life so that part was even more enjoyable) but it all went downhill from there because Zora has a boring conversation for ten pages with that guy who wrongly grand gestured to her. Instead of actually ending up with Jorge who was level-headed and with whom she had more chemistry, she ends up with that random guy instead. I did not feel their chemistry at all. I do have to say that this trope did have a twist as the grand gesture wasn't meant for the MC but that's about it. It could have been way better but that ending ruined it all for me.
8. In a Blink of the Eye by Elizabeth Eulberg
Trope- Trapped in a Confined Space
Rating - 2 stars
Sharing something special with someone who is special.
Morgan has always wanted to visit London and she knows practically everything about the city. When her high school show choir has a chance to compete in London, she's ecstatic. She is doubly happy as she's there with her best friend, Dani and they are about to visit the London Eye. In a surprise turn of events, Dani invites her boyfriend, Tyler, and wants Morgan and Tyler to work on their issues. Morgan can't stand Tyler as ever since Tyler started going out with Dani, Dani spends less time with Morgan. Morgan is now stuck with Tyler and they end up resolving their issues.
Another story with a promising start just dwindles down from there. Morgan's reasons for hating Tyler were ludicrous and then she voices them out whilst resolving those with Tyler and that was even more ridiculous. I wish the ending was different because that ending was terrible. The trope had a twist I'd say but in the worst way possible.
9. Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Trope- The Makeover
Rating - 0 stars
When I showed off my bow and arrow, I proved I earned them, that I was both a girl who belonged on this earth, and a firework.
Ximena is a cheerleader. She tries hard to stay at the same weight as she's a flyer but it is hard for her as she's naturally curvy. She's the only brown girl in the squad but when another brown girl, Camila comes into the squad, Ximena learns to be herself.
I wanted to skip this one as this one was kinda racist but from a brown person's pov. I can't speak for the makeup industry twenty years ago but this story is based in today's time and the makeup industry has become very inclusive. I am not saying that Ximena didn't face racism herself but if she wanted to change herself and look like a Caucasian person, then it's on her. Camila is a lesbian and she says that she's a little hesitant to put a hand in a girl's crotch. What the heck? If it were a straight person, it wouldn't be cool. All the diversity and representation and this is the story and dialogue the writer comes up with. The whole idea seemed very outdated to me.
Camila also mentions That white girl helping you pick a foundation may mean well, but she's probably gonna steer you too pale. It's not her fault. It's the white beauty industry complex. This was plain wrong. I am not saying that people don't face all this but as a brown person myself, I am ashamed of the dialogue in this story. Why must we put others down to lift ourselves up? Racism of any kind is not okay. I think we need to do better.
And the makeover trope happened right at the end. I mean why base the story on a trope that isn't even used until the end. Literally the end.
10. The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon
Trope - The Matchmaker
Rating - 2 stars
Do you think there's someone for everyone?
You can't just sit around waiting to be invited to your own life. You've gotta make stuff happen.
Rosie and Easton are best friends. Rosie wrote a program that would find people's best romantic matches using info trawled from their social media profiles and she makes a lot of money from that. Easton asks her to be matched on that as well and when Rosie runs the program to match him, a surprise awaits her.
A nice start to the story with two best friends who don't exactly realize that they are into each other. But when Rosie realizes her feelings, instead of all that drama, she could have simply used her phone to call or text Easton and things would be much better and easier. And honestly, that trope isn't exactly used as I had expected it to be. The matchmaker is a program.
I think this was the worst short-story collection I have read in my life. Normally, I like a few of the stories in a collection and even wish for longer versions of some but that is not the case here. Even all that diversity and representation couldn't save these stories. Epic failure. I hope these short stories remain short stories only.
1.5 -1.7 stars
1. Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy
Trope - The Fake Relationship
Rating - 1.5 stars
The only thing worse than being haunted by your past is being haunted by your future.
Piper finds out that her boyfriend, Travis was cheating on her so she broke up with him. When she finds out that her best friend Gabe knew of the cheating and Gabe didn't tell her, she gets angry with him and plans to win back Travis by pretending to go out with Gabe as Gabe owes her for not telling about Travis's cheating.
This was predictable (to be fair, all the stories were predictable) and it was a very bland story. I didn't mind Gabe but I didn't like Piper. I didn't feel the romance at all. I think this has been done a gazillion times and it didn't hold my interest from the beginning.
2. Anyone Else But You by Leah Johnson
Trope - Stranded Together
rating - 0 stars
Everything outside of this moment no longer exists.
Perry and Jada are rivals but they are class co-presidents too. They are both planning their senior send-off and Perry is waiting outside the party palace superstore and as usual, Jada is late. By the time Jada arrives, the store is about to close. Then both Perry and Jada realize that they are locked inside the store. As they are locked inside the store for the night, they start to talk and work out why they both didn't get along.
I don't know where to begin with my rant over this story. Jada is always late and when she tells the reason for her being late all the time, I didn't know whether to be angry or laugh. Her reason for always being late is that if you are always late, then people notice you and think you are cool. Pfft! I think it is about time that the writers start to realize that being punctual doesn't mean that one is uptight or uncool. Being punctual is another form of showing respect. Basically, you respect the other person and value their time. Jada is everything I hate in a person. I wanted to skip this story completely but the only reason I continued with this was because of two queer black girls. Besides diversity and representation, this story had nothing going on for it. I know it's a short story but this was RUSHED.
3. The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen
Trope - Class Warfare
Rating - 2.25 stars
Something so small it's like one strand of hair among nine cows.
Tan is dating Rebecca. They talk in idioms to each other a lot. Rebecca in Chinese idioms and Tan in English to help each other. Rebecca's parents are super rich and they are coming to visit Rebecca. Tan wants to meet them but Rebecca is hesitant. When Tan finally meets them and Rebecca reveals to her parents that Tan is her boyfriend, they take her away to Hong Kong, and all traces of Rebecca disappear from the internet like she never existed. Tan tracks Rebecca using the idiom algorithm and finds out something shocking about Rebecca.
First of all, the trope class warfare means rich vs poor here not the high-school class like I initially thought it to be. Also, is this really a trope? Anyway, I liked the beginning of this and it had so much potential but the shocking revelation wasn't so shocking to me. It was more of a dumb thing. I mean simple communication could have solved things.
4. Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig
Trope - The Best Friend Love Epiphany
Rating - 2.75 stars
We get each other in a way that no one gets either of us.
Ollie and Garrett have been best friends for years. People usually think that they are actually together as they are both gays but they are only just friends. When they make a pact to be each other's New Year's kiss if they can't find anyone else, Ollie doesn't think it's a big deal. So, when he overhears someone else planning to kiss Garrett, why does he feel so hot and bothered?
This was a cute enough story of two gay guys being best friends for years and realizing that they actually love each other. It was predictable from the get-go and I didn't love it as much as I had wanted to but it was not bad and it was also the best story from this collection.
5. Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer
Trope - One bed
Rating - 2 stars
Wishing, always wishing.
Misty and her class are going on a camping trip for a few days. Among them is Roman whom Misty has had a crush on for years. Misty gets a chance to be close to Roman and sparks fly.
First of all, I don't consider one bed an actual trope. Yes, I have read stories where one bed is featured but it wasn't to the extent to base an entire story on. Secondly, this was an okay story so I don't understand why the majority of the reviewers gave this 5 stars and said this was the best of the bunch. Again, it was an okay story but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I think part of the reason is that I am not a fan as I have only read one other short story from this writer which was interesting but not enough to make me a fan. Another part of the reason is the actual trope which I have already explained isn't enough to base an entire story on. I guess fans of the writer would enjoy it as for me, it was a bit meh.
6. Keagan's heaven on earth by Sarah Winifred Searle
Trope - The Secret Admirer
Rating - 1 star
Mickey keeps getting detention and when their teacher, Mr. kelvin realizes that Mickey isn't taking detention seriously, he puts Mickey on flower day and dance duty for the upcoming valentine's day dance at school. Mickey came out as queer the previous year and has been busy but when Mickey's classmate, Keagan offers her help and they both become close.
This story is told in a comic book/graphic novel style which was refreshing. The art was good. But other than that I didn't like the story. I don't know if the copy I had was missing some parts/pages because some things didn't make sense at least that's how it felt to me. That ending was rushed as well.
7. Zora in the Spotlight by Elise Bryant
Trope - The Grand Romantic Gesture
Rating - 2 stars
There's no shame in just being what you need.
Zora, Jorge, and Astrid are best friends and they have been best friends since they were kids. Astrid is always the center of attention and it is fine with Zora and Jorge but lately, things are changing. When Jorge voices out the same things Zora is thinking, she thinks about whether she should let these feelings take root.
Wow, this was so so good in the beginning and I thought that I would love it because I laughed and laughed and laughed as Zora gets the spotlight for once but it is not meant for her (I have actually witnessed something very similar in real life so that part was even more enjoyable) but it all went downhill from there because Zora has a boring conversation for ten pages with that guy who wrongly grand gestured to her. Instead of actually ending up with Jorge who was level-headed and with whom she had more chemistry, she ends up with that random guy instead. I did not feel their chemistry at all. I do have to say that this trope did have a twist as the grand gesture wasn't meant for the MC but that's about it. It could have been way better but that ending ruined it all for me.
8. In a Blink of the Eye by Elizabeth Eulberg
Trope- Trapped in a Confined Space
Rating - 2 stars
Sharing something special with someone who is special.
Morgan has always wanted to visit London and she knows practically everything about the city. When her high school show choir has a chance to compete in London, she's ecstatic. She is doubly happy as she's there with her best friend, Dani and they are about to visit the London Eye. In a surprise turn of events, Dani invites her boyfriend, Tyler, and wants Morgan and Tyler to work on their issues. Morgan can't stand Tyler as ever since Tyler started going out with Dani, Dani spends less time with Morgan. Morgan is now stuck with Tyler and they end up resolving their issues.
Another story with a promising start just dwindles down from there. Morgan's reasons for hating Tyler were ludicrous and then she voices them out whilst resolving those with Tyler and that was even more ridiculous. I wish the ending was different because that ending was terrible. The trope had a twist I'd say but in the worst way possible.
9. Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Trope- The Makeover
Rating - 0 stars
When I showed off my bow and arrow, I proved I earned them, that I was both a girl who belonged on this earth, and a firework.
Ximena is a cheerleader. She tries hard to stay at the same weight as she's a flyer but it is hard for her as she's naturally curvy. She's the only brown girl in the squad but when another brown girl, Camila comes into the squad, Ximena learns to be herself.
I wanted to skip this one as this one was kinda racist but from a brown person's pov. I can't speak for the makeup industry twenty years ago but this story is based in today's time and the makeup industry has become very inclusive. I am not saying that Ximena didn't face racism herself but if she wanted to change herself and look like a Caucasian person, then it's on her. Camila is a lesbian and she says that she's a little hesitant to put a hand in a girl's crotch. What the heck? If it were a straight person, it wouldn't be cool. All the diversity and representation and this is the story and dialogue the writer comes up with. The whole idea seemed very outdated to me.
Camila also mentions That white girl helping you pick a foundation may mean well, but she's probably gonna steer you too pale. It's not her fault. It's the white beauty industry complex. This was plain wrong. I am not saying that people don't face all this but as a brown person myself, I am ashamed of the dialogue in this story. Why must we put others down to lift ourselves up? Racism of any kind is not okay. I think we need to do better.
And the makeover trope happened right at the end. I mean why base the story on a trope that isn't even used until the end. Literally the end.
10. The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon
Trope - The Matchmaker
Rating - 2 stars
Do you think there's someone for everyone?
You can't just sit around waiting to be invited to your own life. You've gotta make stuff happen.
Rosie and Easton are best friends. Rosie wrote a program that would find people's best romantic matches using info trawled from their social media profiles and she makes a lot of money from that. Easton asks her to be matched on that as well and when Rosie runs the program to match him, a surprise awaits her.
A nice start to the story with two best friends who don't exactly realize that they are into each other. But when Rosie realizes her feelings, instead of all that drama, she could have simply used her phone to call or text Easton and things would be much better and easier. And honestly, that trope isn't exactly used as I had expected it to be. The matchmaker is a program.
I think this was the worst short-story collection I have read in my life. Normally, I like a few of the stories in a collection and even wish for longer versions of some but that is not the case here. Even all that diversity and representation couldn't save these stories. Epic failure. I hope these short stories remain short stories only.
1.5 -1.7 stars
January 25, 2022
Well this didn't work for me. It says ten romantic tropes transformed and I didn't get the transformation part myself.
Per usual, here are my ratings of the following short stories. As a collection I gave this a three because some of the stories dragged a lot and my attention started to wander.
Bye Bye, Piper Berry (The Fake Relationship) by Julie Murphy (5 stars)-Told from the point of view of Piper Berry and one of her best friends, Gabe. Piper finds out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her and that Gabe knew. To get back at her boyfriend (who is also Gabe's best friend) Piper wants them to pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend. I thought this was sweet and I smiled throughout. I am really like Julie Murphy. I read her take on Cinderella last year and will definitely keep an eye out for her other books.
Anyone Else But You (Stranded Together) by Leah Johnson (3.5 stars)-So I love the lead in this one but realized I don't think I even figured out her first name. Jada calls her Perry. Is that her first or last name? Wow. Okay, moving on. This one is told in the first person and we hear about how much she can't stand fellow student Jada Baxter. And when the two of them get locked in a store it leads to all sorts of discoveries. I found the lead to be exhausting throughout this story. And I felt like the character of Jada was just a manic pixie girl situation happening and I hate that trope. A lot.
The Idiom Algorithm (Class Warfare) by Abigail Hing Wen (3 stars)- Is class warfare a romance trope? I guess in historical romance novels. But I never thought of it as such. I honestly got lost while reading this one. This one was one of the longer stories and it dragged. The flow was not consistent I found.
Auld Acquaintance (The Best Friend Love Epiphany) by Caleb Roehrig (5 stars). I loved this one a lot. We follow Ollie and his best friend Garrett. Both boys are gay, but are not dating each other. Both have come out of so so relationships. Now they are and their other friends are at the school's lock in and there's a lot of revelations coming Ollie's way.
Shooting Stars (One Bed) by Marissa Meyer (3 stars)-Sorry guys I don't recall a one bed romance trope. Am I old? I can't think of one romance novel where that was central to how the hero/heroine got together. I liked the story well enough, but it didn't knock my socks off. We follow Misty on a class adventure trip where she gets close with her crush Roman. God love teens these days, our senior class trip was to an amusement park. It sucked. I wish I loved the story more, but it just didn't wow me.
Keagan's Heaven on Earth (The Secret Admirer) by Sarah Winifred Searle (5 stars)-This was put together like a comic book. I loved it.
Zora in the Spotlight (The Grand Romantic Gesture) by Elise Bryant (2.5 stars)- I had to reread this one real quick cause I totally forget about it. It's just not interesting. Two friends agree to accompany their best friend to a winter formal since their friend (Astrid) is still smarting over her girlfriend breaking up with her. There were so many moving parts I kept getting lost.
In a Blink of The Eye (Trapped in a Confined Space) by Elizabeth Eulberg (2 stars)-Reading about the main characters fetish for all things British (she loved Kate and William's wedding) got to be a bit much. Her blaming Disney for her wanting to be a princess someday had me going good grief. I just couldn't get into the headspace of 17 year old Morgan. She's off on a class trip to London and not really feeling her best friend's Dani's boyfriend being there. And Morgan's jealously of her best friend leaving her behind didn't feel very "romance" like to me. And then we find out why there's a lot of angst going on and I shook my head. Won't spoil, but the story ending on "It appears Disney was right: Sometimes dreams do come true." made me roll my eyes.
Liberty (The Makeover) by Anna-Marie McLemore (3 stars)-It wasn't bad. I just didn't stay focused while reading this one. I think because the plot centered on cheerleading it just didn't hit me as well as the other stories.
The Surprise Match (The Matchmaker) by Sandhya Menon (3 stars)-A girl named Rosie is getting pressured to tell her crush how she really feels. And how she chooses to tell him had my no PDA around groups of people sirens going off.
Per usual, here are my ratings of the following short stories. As a collection I gave this a three because some of the stories dragged a lot and my attention started to wander.
Bye Bye, Piper Berry (The Fake Relationship) by Julie Murphy (5 stars)-Told from the point of view of Piper Berry and one of her best friends, Gabe. Piper finds out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her and that Gabe knew. To get back at her boyfriend (who is also Gabe's best friend) Piper wants them to pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend. I thought this was sweet and I smiled throughout. I am really like Julie Murphy. I read her take on Cinderella last year and will definitely keep an eye out for her other books.
Anyone Else But You (Stranded Together) by Leah Johnson (3.5 stars)-So I love the lead in this one but realized I don't think I even figured out her first name. Jada calls her Perry. Is that her first or last name? Wow. Okay, moving on. This one is told in the first person and we hear about how much she can't stand fellow student Jada Baxter. And when the two of them get locked in a store it leads to all sorts of discoveries. I found the lead to be exhausting throughout this story. And I felt like the character of Jada was just a manic pixie girl situation happening and I hate that trope. A lot.
The Idiom Algorithm (Class Warfare) by Abigail Hing Wen (3 stars)- Is class warfare a romance trope? I guess in historical romance novels. But I never thought of it as such. I honestly got lost while reading this one. This one was one of the longer stories and it dragged. The flow was not consistent I found.
Auld Acquaintance (The Best Friend Love Epiphany) by Caleb Roehrig (5 stars). I loved this one a lot. We follow Ollie and his best friend Garrett. Both boys are gay, but are not dating each other. Both have come out of so so relationships. Now they are and their other friends are at the school's lock in and there's a lot of revelations coming Ollie's way.
Shooting Stars (One Bed) by Marissa Meyer (3 stars)-Sorry guys I don't recall a one bed romance trope. Am I old? I can't think of one romance novel where that was central to how the hero/heroine got together. I liked the story well enough, but it didn't knock my socks off. We follow Misty on a class adventure trip where she gets close with her crush Roman. God love teens these days, our senior class trip was to an amusement park. It sucked. I wish I loved the story more, but it just didn't wow me.
Keagan's Heaven on Earth (The Secret Admirer) by Sarah Winifred Searle (5 stars)-This was put together like a comic book. I loved it.
Zora in the Spotlight (The Grand Romantic Gesture) by Elise Bryant (2.5 stars)- I had to reread this one real quick cause I totally forget about it. It's just not interesting. Two friends agree to accompany their best friend to a winter formal since their friend (Astrid) is still smarting over her girlfriend breaking up with her. There were so many moving parts I kept getting lost.
In a Blink of The Eye (Trapped in a Confined Space) by Elizabeth Eulberg (2 stars)-Reading about the main characters fetish for all things British (she loved Kate and William's wedding) got to be a bit much. Her blaming Disney for her wanting to be a princess someday had me going good grief. I just couldn't get into the headspace of 17 year old Morgan. She's off on a class trip to London and not really feeling her best friend's Dani's boyfriend being there. And Morgan's jealously of her best friend leaving her behind didn't feel very "romance" like to me. And then we find out why there's a lot of angst going on and I shook my head. Won't spoil, but the story ending on "It appears Disney was right: Sometimes dreams do come true." made me roll my eyes.
Liberty (The Makeover) by Anna-Marie McLemore (3 stars)-It wasn't bad. I just didn't stay focused while reading this one. I think because the plot centered on cheerleading it just didn't hit me as well as the other stories.
The Surprise Match (The Matchmaker) by Sandhya Menon (3 stars)-A girl named Rosie is getting pressured to tell her crush how she really feels. And how she chooses to tell him had my no PDA around groups of people sirens going off.
August 12, 2022
*2.4 Stars*
Summary: Overall, I didn’t enjoy many of the stories here. I really only enjoyed 2, and the rest ranged from 1-3 stars, with only one 3 star (which you can read more about below).
Many of the stories either didn’t utilize their trope well, weren’t well written or didn’t have well developed relationships, or had ridiculous narratives or characters.
Bye Bye, Piper Berry (The Fake Relationship):
2 stars
This story’s pacing was rushed, even for a short story, and I didn’t feel any of the romance or “romantic” vibes. Both of the characters were exhibiting toxic traits (like faking a relationship just to make your ex jealous? Laughing at your ex falling off a stage into the orchestra pit?), which was all tired and outdated drama for the sake of drama. Overall I just never felt the romance or believed its development, so it got a low rating from me.
Anyone Else But You (Stranded Together):
2 stars
I did not like the love interest in this one (lame excuses for her annoying behavior), nor did I believe that these two characters would get together or that they miraculously felt anything for each other. They went from “enemies” to “friends” way too quickly, and their status as “rivals” was never really set up so none of this “development” meant anything to me, and it was very rushed and had a corny ending. Aside from that, the writing wasn’t great either. For the longest time I was wondering who the main character even was, because we were getting all this description about the love interest and their life, but not the MC and what they looked like or who they were. At least the story had a good setting/set up.
The Idiom Algorithm (Class Warfare):
1 star
This was really all over the place. First off, there were so many names and characters being thrown at me at once which confused me for a long while. It’s a short story, not a novel, and stating all these different names is not smart. Then there’s just the random facts about characters that were not necessary at all except for being over handed exposition, like describing the dad putting a pot onto the stove, and then tacking on a random sentence stating that he worked in tech but his true passion was gardening. Like… okay? So? There was also a lot of poor explanations for character decisions. Then the story got incredibly overdramatic and unbelievable in terms of the rising action and full of melodrama — I can only describe it as being a hallmark movie mixed with a James Bond movie but the entire thing is satire except it doesn’t know it is. A true telenovela. Then the MC made me extremely uncomfortable, becoming obsessive over this girl and practically stalking her… then missing school and meals for her… then hacking security cameras in another country to find her… it just left a bad taste in my mouth and I don’t know anybody who would want to date this guy. Then the story ended in a very anticlimactic manner, as did the development of the central relationship.
Auld Acquaintance (The Best Friend Love Epiphany):
4.75 stars
The first story I enjoyed! I really flew through it — the author really made me ship the two characters and made their development together believable. I was able to care about them and their emotions very quickly, and I loved the setting of the story. There was just positivity in this one with a side of mistakes and flaws, and the characters and their lives felt real.
Shooting Stars (One Bed):
5 stars
This one was my favorite story! I loved the setting and concept from the get go, and again I was easily able to connect with, believe, and feel for the characters and their lives/relationship. I thought the characters were super adorable and healthy and that they made sense. And the usage (i.e. transformation) of the one bed trope was so good and unique!
Keagan’s Heaven on Earth (The Secret Admirer):
2 stars
This one was told in the form of a comic, which was super unique and cool, but I unfortunately didn’t enjoy the story. I never cared for either of the characters or really understood who they were. It was also rushed and I felt like it was missing parts, which was odd. The setting was also pretty boring and generic, as was the relationship and how they got together. Also, the trope was barely demonstrated in this story.
Zora in the Spotlight (The Grand Romantic Gesture):
2 stars
There were way too many pop culture references than I cared for in this one (which I noticed in a few of the other stories but was very evident here). The dialogue was a bit on the nose, and overall the story was cheesy, unrealistic, and the couple didn’t even know each other, so I’m not sure how this fulfilled the theme.
In a Blink of the Eye (Trapped in a Confined Space):
1 star
I’m not even sure why this short story made the cut… the trope that was used wasn’t even used, imo, accurately to the prompt? It was not a confined space at all, and the two characters “trapped” together weren’t even the main couple. It was dead a story about a girl making up with her friend’s boyfriend, like, what? The story has unbelievably cringey, on the nose dialogue, and it features insta-love/love at first sight, which was ridiculous. The story overall didn’t even have any romance in it, which was odd? The whole situation was also unrealistic, uncomfortable, and the conflict wasn’t resolved in the best way.
Liberty (The Makeover):
1 star
Another one where the trope wasn’t really used, and overall was extremely rushed in the romantic development. The MC also admits this, that her “feelings” for the love interest are just a “stupid” “celebrity crush” that was shallow, but… admitting it doesn’t make it make sense or make me care lmao. The main character’s dilemma also made me uncomfortable, what with her trying to erase her Latina features and be white to be accepted, later to be “fixed” by someone else. Also I felt it was so… odd, to have the love interest unable to perform her cheerleading routines and duties just because she’s a lesbian and hand placement. If that were a straight dude on the team, that would be the questionable behavior that many school systems use to justify the dress codes in place to protect the attention of their male students. It didn’t sit right with me. Overall the story had outdated concepts/interactions, and nothing made me actually ship the two characters or care about them.
The Surprise Match (The Matchmaker):
3 stars
I wish I enjoyed this one more. I thought that the concept was really good, but it fell flat in execution and writing style. There was a grand gesture that would’ve fit better in an earlier trope, yet it was incredibly unnecessary and unrealistic. The author was also way too heavy handed in the exposition, like, this was a line from a best friend to another: “I can’t believe you just wrote a program that would find people’s best romantic matches using info trawled from their social media profiles.” Also, don’t even get me started on the awful lingo and slang these authors think teenagers actually use in real life: like including “BTW” or “AF” in an actual verbal conversation.
That being said, I really wanted to love this collection, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy most of the stories and thought the few that I did like didn’t make up for it, hence the rating :(
Summary: Overall, I didn’t enjoy many of the stories here. I really only enjoyed 2, and the rest ranged from 1-3 stars, with only one 3 star (which you can read more about below).
Many of the stories either didn’t utilize their trope well, weren’t well written or didn’t have well developed relationships, or had ridiculous narratives or characters.
Bye Bye, Piper Berry (The Fake Relationship):
2 stars
This story’s pacing was rushed, even for a short story, and I didn’t feel any of the romance or “romantic” vibes. Both of the characters were exhibiting toxic traits (like faking a relationship just to make your ex jealous? Laughing at your ex falling off a stage into the orchestra pit?), which was all tired and outdated drama for the sake of drama. Overall I just never felt the romance or believed its development, so it got a low rating from me.
Anyone Else But You (Stranded Together):
2 stars
I did not like the love interest in this one (lame excuses for her annoying behavior), nor did I believe that these two characters would get together or that they miraculously felt anything for each other. They went from “enemies” to “friends” way too quickly, and their status as “rivals” was never really set up so none of this “development” meant anything to me, and it was very rushed and had a corny ending. Aside from that, the writing wasn’t great either. For the longest time I was wondering who the main character even was, because we were getting all this description about the love interest and their life, but not the MC and what they looked like or who they were. At least the story had a good setting/set up.
The Idiom Algorithm (Class Warfare):
1 star
This was really all over the place. First off, there were so many names and characters being thrown at me at once which confused me for a long while. It’s a short story, not a novel, and stating all these different names is not smart. Then there’s just the random facts about characters that were not necessary at all except for being over handed exposition, like describing the dad putting a pot onto the stove, and then tacking on a random sentence stating that he worked in tech but his true passion was gardening. Like… okay? So? There was also a lot of poor explanations for character decisions. Then the story got incredibly overdramatic and unbelievable in terms of the rising action and full of melodrama — I can only describe it as being a hallmark movie mixed with a James Bond movie but the entire thing is satire except it doesn’t know it is. A true telenovela. Then the MC made me extremely uncomfortable, becoming obsessive over this girl and practically stalking her… then missing school and meals for her… then hacking security cameras in another country to find her… it just left a bad taste in my mouth and I don’t know anybody who would want to date this guy. Then the story ended in a very anticlimactic manner, as did the development of the central relationship.
Auld Acquaintance (The Best Friend Love Epiphany):
4.75 stars
The first story I enjoyed! I really flew through it — the author really made me ship the two characters and made their development together believable. I was able to care about them and their emotions very quickly, and I loved the setting of the story. There was just positivity in this one with a side of mistakes and flaws, and the characters and their lives felt real.
Shooting Stars (One Bed):
5 stars
This one was my favorite story! I loved the setting and concept from the get go, and again I was easily able to connect with, believe, and feel for the characters and their lives/relationship. I thought the characters were super adorable and healthy and that they made sense. And the usage (i.e. transformation) of the one bed trope was so good and unique!
Keagan’s Heaven on Earth (The Secret Admirer):
2 stars
This one was told in the form of a comic, which was super unique and cool, but I unfortunately didn’t enjoy the story. I never cared for either of the characters or really understood who they were. It was also rushed and I felt like it was missing parts, which was odd. The setting was also pretty boring and generic, as was the relationship and how they got together. Also, the trope was barely demonstrated in this story.
Zora in the Spotlight (The Grand Romantic Gesture):
2 stars
There were way too many pop culture references than I cared for in this one (which I noticed in a few of the other stories but was very evident here). The dialogue was a bit on the nose, and overall the story was cheesy, unrealistic, and the couple didn’t even know each other, so I’m not sure how this fulfilled the theme.
In a Blink of the Eye (Trapped in a Confined Space):
1 star
I’m not even sure why this short story made the cut… the trope that was used wasn’t even used, imo, accurately to the prompt? It was not a confined space at all, and the two characters “trapped” together weren’t even the main couple. It was dead a story about a girl making up with her friend’s boyfriend, like, what? The story has unbelievably cringey, on the nose dialogue, and it features insta-love/love at first sight, which was ridiculous. The story overall didn’t even have any romance in it, which was odd? The whole situation was also unrealistic, uncomfortable, and the conflict wasn’t resolved in the best way.
Liberty (The Makeover):
1 star
Another one where the trope wasn’t really used, and overall was extremely rushed in the romantic development. The MC also admits this, that her “feelings” for the love interest are just a “stupid” “celebrity crush” that was shallow, but… admitting it doesn’t make it make sense or make me care lmao. The main character’s dilemma also made me uncomfortable, what with her trying to erase her Latina features and be white to be accepted, later to be “fixed” by someone else. Also I felt it was so… odd, to have the love interest unable to perform her cheerleading routines and duties just because she’s a lesbian and hand placement. If that were a straight dude on the team, that would be the questionable behavior that many school systems use to justify the dress codes in place to protect the attention of their male students. It didn’t sit right with me. Overall the story had outdated concepts/interactions, and nothing made me actually ship the two characters or care about them.
The Surprise Match (The Matchmaker):
3 stars
I wish I enjoyed this one more. I thought that the concept was really good, but it fell flat in execution and writing style. There was a grand gesture that would’ve fit better in an earlier trope, yet it was incredibly unnecessary and unrealistic. The author was also way too heavy handed in the exposition, like, this was a line from a best friend to another: “I can’t believe you just wrote a program that would find people’s best romantic matches using info trawled from their social media profiles.” Also, don’t even get me started on the awful lingo and slang these authors think teenagers actually use in real life: like including “BTW” or “AF” in an actual verbal conversation.
That being said, I really wanted to love this collection, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy most of the stories and thought the few that I did like didn’t make up for it, hence the rating :(
October 15, 2021
What a delightful way to spend an afternoon! Filled with our favorite romantic tropes, this anthology collects the classic rom-com situations that we all love and wraps them in a delightful YA bow! Each story has a unique and beautiful message, and of course a happily ever after.
January 4, 2022
*an ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review*
Ouch. I was so excited for this and it was so disappointing. I will say I think the paperback copy of this is much better marketed, as nearly half of the stories feature LGBTQ characters and romances and the paperback with the yellow back, rainbow colored flowers, and tagline about "all sorts of falling in love" is more indicative of that. Of the stories that I read completely through, they weren't very memorable and most of them didn't even use their designated "trope" hardly at all. Or if they did, it wasn't used to the best advantage of said trope.
Also, how could they not include nursing back to health or strictly enemies to lovers?
In more depth -
Ouch. I was so excited for this and it was so disappointing. I will say I think the paperback copy of this is much better marketed, as nearly half of the stories feature LGBTQ characters and romances and the paperback with the yellow back, rainbow colored flowers, and tagline about "all sorts of falling in love" is more indicative of that. Of the stories that I read completely through, they weren't very memorable and most of them didn't even use their designated "trope" hardly at all. Or if they did, it wasn't used to the best advantage of said trope.
Also, how could they not include nursing back to health or strictly enemies to lovers?
In more depth -
February 1, 2022
coming back to edit later lol.
Rankings of favorite to least favorite short story/ why, below.
Sometimes short stories can feel like switching povs when it comes to a new story. Almost unfinished in a way. I don't think this book had that problem. However it is to be expected that because of how short the stories were, there are time jumps. skipping a week, weeks plural, or just a few days, which kind of contributes to the fast pace-ness and also might contribute to the insta love quality most of the stories had. Although that's not really what bothered me, I can remember at least two of the stories where the love interests get together right after breaking up with their previous girl/boy friend. I think that was maybe too fast paced lol.
Overall enjoyment quality was good. I do wish there would be more sad/tragic stories to mix in since all of these have a happy ending of sorts, I think it would have added more variety and sentimental value.
1. Shooting stars (one bed) 5 stars My favorite story is the one that Marissa Meyer wrote. Go figure. I really liked how she used the one bed trope/ setting/ story. ( the setting was camping and I think that it was absolutely perfect for this.)
2. Zora in the spotlight (The grand romantic gesture) 5 I liked that the short story was focused on one event where everything went down, and it worked for the story.
3. In the blink of an eye (trapped in a confined space) 4 or 3.5 A much needed addition of quality friendship. Wholesome.
4 The surprise match (friends to lovers) Enjoyable.
5. Anyone else but you (stranded together) 3 Like a lot of the stories, I think this one suffered a lot from it being short, but it had good writing.
5. Bye bye piper berry (the fake relationship) No strong feelings for this one, except what I previously mentioned about the love interests getting together too soon after a break up. but I think it was a good start to the book, being the first story and all.
6. Keagans heaven on earth (the secret admirer) 3.25 I mainly liked this one because of the change of pace, by that I mean the story was a comic.
7. Auld acquaintance (the best friend love epiphany) 2.75 THIS one gave me a little bit of second hand embarrassment, which I didn't know was missing from some of the other stories previous until that point. I also think this one had good writing as well.
8. Liberty (the makeover) 1 This one was kind of messy, considering everything.
9. The idiom algorithm (class warfare) 0.5 My LEAST favorite. Honestly this one was just really bad. What I noticed was the poor dialogue, and a very NEEDY main character, (it's not a good look) also very messy.
Rankings of favorite to least favorite short story/ why, below.
Sometimes short stories can feel like switching povs when it comes to a new story. Almost unfinished in a way. I don't think this book had that problem. However it is to be expected that because of how short the stories were, there are time jumps. skipping a week, weeks plural, or just a few days, which kind of contributes to the fast pace-ness and also might contribute to the insta love quality most of the stories had. Although that's not really what bothered me, I can remember at least two of the stories where the love interests get together right after breaking up with their previous girl/boy friend. I think that was maybe too fast paced lol.
Overall enjoyment quality was good. I do wish there would be more sad/tragic stories to mix in since all of these have a happy ending of sorts, I think it would have added more variety and sentimental value.
1. Shooting stars (one bed) 5 stars My favorite story is the one that Marissa Meyer wrote. Go figure. I really liked how she used the one bed trope/ setting/ story. ( the setting was camping and I think that it was absolutely perfect for this.)
2. Zora in the spotlight (The grand romantic gesture) 5 I liked that the short story was focused on one event where everything went down, and it worked for the story.
3. In the blink of an eye (trapped in a confined space) 4 or 3.5 A much needed addition of quality friendship. Wholesome.
4 The surprise match (friends to lovers) Enjoyable.
5. Anyone else but you (stranded together) 3 Like a lot of the stories, I think this one suffered a lot from it being short, but it had good writing.
5. Bye bye piper berry (the fake relationship) No strong feelings for this one, except what I previously mentioned about the love interests getting together too soon after a break up. but I think it was a good start to the book, being the first story and all.
6. Keagans heaven on earth (the secret admirer) 3.25 I mainly liked this one because of the change of pace, by that I mean the story was a comic.
7. Auld acquaintance (the best friend love epiphany) 2.75 THIS one gave me a little bit of second hand embarrassment, which I didn't know was missing from some of the other stories previous until that point. I also think this one had good writing as well.
8. Liberty (the makeover) 1 This one was kind of messy, considering everything.
9. The idiom algorithm (class warfare) 0.5 My LEAST favorite. Honestly this one was just really bad. What I noticed was the poor dialogue, and a very NEEDY main character, (it's not a good look) also very messy.
February 8, 2023
I really enjoyed this book overall. It is a collection of short stories, which at first I was a bit nervous for as I don't really enjoy them usually. But I have now found some amazing new authors to try out and read more of their books!
January 17, 2022
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from . This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Like most compilations, I liked some of the stories and then others just weren't really for me. I love romantic tropes, like most readers I totally have my favorites like friends to lovers, marrying a stranger and then falling in love, enemies to lovers...and the list goes on. I was hoping for ten different romantics tropes told in a unique fashion to really bring this together. I will say the big twist to many of the tropes were they were LGBTQ+ stories instead of more traditional M/F. In fact, I would say half of the stories fell into that category.
Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors ever, and a cute romantic trope story told by her was exactly why I read the compilation. I will say her story was by far my favorite, probably due to personal bias but Shooting Stars was a cute story where on a class field trip two people keep getting thrown together. One has had a secret crush on the other for years and every time she is around him she drops something on her shirt or has cotton candy in her hair. Maybe on this trip the fates will help her out and throw them together enough they both get out of their own way.
Of all the other stories, only a few stand out. I didn't know any of the other authors and while a few of the stories were cute, a few just felt agenda driven and weren't really my cup o' tea.
Auld Acquaintance I completely enjoyed as it was a friends to lovers story where two bffs finally figure out they are made for each other when at a school New Year's Eve lock in. It was one of the most believable of all the stories and I loved how everyone else knew they would be great together, they just hadn't figured it out yet. This was a M/M romance done so well that I'd look into reading something else this author wrote.
I wish more of the stories stuck with me. They are all pretty quick and honestly most had either characters I didn't really enjoy or the trope felt like it was really missing for the heart of the story. Partially that is the fault of the short story format. It is just hard to really build a lasting bond with characters you are only with for 20-100 pages. I did like Liberty for its message of love yourself for who you are, but the love story felt second to that and I'm not sure what romantic trope was trying to be expressed.
If you would like to read some stories with a diverse cast and don't mind some agenda driven parts, then this probably exactly what you are looking for. The stories were full of racial and gender diversity along with one economic diversity story. Marissa Meyer put in a great short story and there are probably a few winners in this for everyone. But like most compilations, not every story is going to resonate with everyone.
Narration:
There are a number of narrators based on the stories. All were really good at conveying the characters in the stories. Liberty's narrator stands out a bit because of the Latin accent.
Listen to a clip:
https://soundcloud.com/macaudio-2/ser...
Review copy was received from . This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Like most compilations, I liked some of the stories and then others just weren't really for me. I love romantic tropes, like most readers I totally have my favorites like friends to lovers, marrying a stranger and then falling in love, enemies to lovers...and the list goes on. I was hoping for ten different romantics tropes told in a unique fashion to really bring this together. I will say the big twist to many of the tropes were they were LGBTQ+ stories instead of more traditional M/F. In fact, I would say half of the stories fell into that category.
Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors ever, and a cute romantic trope story told by her was exactly why I read the compilation. I will say her story was by far my favorite, probably due to personal bias but Shooting Stars was a cute story where on a class field trip two people keep getting thrown together. One has had a secret crush on the other for years and every time she is around him she drops something on her shirt or has cotton candy in her hair. Maybe on this trip the fates will help her out and throw them together enough they both get out of their own way.
Of all the other stories, only a few stand out. I didn't know any of the other authors and while a few of the stories were cute, a few just felt agenda driven and weren't really my cup o' tea.
Auld Acquaintance I completely enjoyed as it was a friends to lovers story where two bffs finally figure out they are made for each other when at a school New Year's Eve lock in. It was one of the most believable of all the stories and I loved how everyone else knew they would be great together, they just hadn't figured it out yet. This was a M/M romance done so well that I'd look into reading something else this author wrote.
I wish more of the stories stuck with me. They are all pretty quick and honestly most had either characters I didn't really enjoy or the trope felt like it was really missing for the heart of the story. Partially that is the fault of the short story format. It is just hard to really build a lasting bond with characters you are only with for 20-100 pages. I did like Liberty for its message of love yourself for who you are, but the love story felt second to that and I'm not sure what romantic trope was trying to be expressed.
If you would like to read some stories with a diverse cast and don't mind some agenda driven parts, then this probably exactly what you are looking for. The stories were full of racial and gender diversity along with one economic diversity story. Marissa Meyer put in a great short story and there are probably a few winners in this for everyone. But like most compilations, not every story is going to resonate with everyone.
Narration:
There are a number of narrators based on the stories. All were really good at conveying the characters in the stories. Liberty's narrator stands out a bit because of the Latin accent.
Listen to a clip:
https://soundcloud.com/macaudio-2/ser...
January 20, 2022
When I tallied up the good and the bad stories, there was exactly 5 good ones and 5 bad ones - but the good stories were so good I feel that they more than made up for the barely memorable bad stories.
Stories like Anyone Else But You, about two teens trapped in a party store overnight together and In The Blink Of The Eye, about a girl trapped in the London Eye with her best friend's boyfriend, I would dearly love to read full books about.
The bad stories largely suffered from being unmemorable, to the point where I had to comb back through the book to remember them. Stories like Liberty and Auld Acquaintance really struggled with the lack of breathing room of a full length novel, while the comic I found really confusing.
Overall though I really enjoyed this - anthologies are a brilliant way of getting the feel of an authors writing style, and I've found multiple new to me authors whose books I cannot wait to add to my shelves.
Stories like Anyone Else But You, about two teens trapped in a party store overnight together and In The Blink Of The Eye, about a girl trapped in the London Eye with her best friend's boyfriend, I would dearly love to read full books about.
The bad stories largely suffered from being unmemorable, to the point where I had to comb back through the book to remember them. Stories like Liberty and Auld Acquaintance really struggled with the lack of breathing room of a full length novel, while the comic I found really confusing.
Overall though I really enjoyed this - anthologies are a brilliant way of getting the feel of an authors writing style, and I've found multiple new to me authors whose books I cannot wait to add to my shelves.
May 28, 2022
En El amor como nunca lo has visto encontramos diez relatos románticos, cada uno de ellos girando alrededor de un cliché diferente: enemigos que se desean, una relación falsa, amigos que se quieren en secreto, o el maravilloso "solo hay una cama".
Ay, qué bien me lo he pasado leyéndolo, de verdad: aunque la idea era leer un relato al día, reconozco que se me fue bien rápido de las manos, pero es que eran tan cortitos, entretenidos y tiernos, que lo difícil habría sido seguir mi propia idea. Como me ocurre siempre, también, he de decir que no todos han sido tan geniales como otros, y al leerlos tan seguidos es inevitable comparar, pero por ejemplo me quedo fácilmente con el de Adiós, Piper Berry (relación falsa), Viejo conocido (enamorado del mejor amigo), o El combo sorpresa (la Celestina).
Reseña completa: http://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com/202...
Ay, qué bien me lo he pasado leyéndolo, de verdad: aunque la idea era leer un relato al día, reconozco que se me fue bien rápido de las manos, pero es que eran tan cortitos, entretenidos y tiernos, que lo difícil habría sido seguir mi propia idea. Como me ocurre siempre, también, he de decir que no todos han sido tan geniales como otros, y al leerlos tan seguidos es inevitable comparar, pero por ejemplo me quedo fácilmente con el de Adiós, Piper Berry (relación falsa), Viejo conocido (enamorado del mejor amigo), o El combo sorpresa (la Celestina).
Reseña completa: http://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com/202...
February 9, 2022
10 Romantic Tropes (Individual Ratings)
(The Fake Relationship) Bye Bye, Piper Berry, by Julie Murphy - 3 stars
(Stranded Together) Anyone Else But You, by Leah Johnson - 1 star
(The Idiom Algorithm) Class Warfare, by Abigail Hing Wen - 2 stars
(The Bestfriend Love Epiphany) Auld Acquaintance, by Caleb Roehrig -1 star
(One Bed) Shooting Stars, by Marissa Meyer - 3 stars
(The Secret Admirer) Keagan's Heaven on Earth, by Sarah Winifred Searle - 2 stars
(The Grand Romantic Gesture) Zora in the Spotlight, by Elise Bryant -1 star
(Trapped in a Confined Space) In a Blink of the Eye, by Elizabeth Eulberg - 2 stars
(The Makeover) Liberty, by Anna-Marie McLemore - 1 star
(The Matchmaker) The Surprise Match, by Sandhya Menon - 2 stars
*The best part is that they are all short, quick reads.
(The Fake Relationship) Bye Bye, Piper Berry, by Julie Murphy - 3 stars
(Stranded Together) Anyone Else But You, by Leah Johnson - 1 star
(The Idiom Algorithm) Class Warfare, by Abigail Hing Wen - 2 stars
(The Bestfriend Love Epiphany) Auld Acquaintance, by Caleb Roehrig -1 star
(One Bed) Shooting Stars, by Marissa Meyer - 3 stars
(The Secret Admirer) Keagan's Heaven on Earth, by Sarah Winifred Searle - 2 stars
(The Grand Romantic Gesture) Zora in the Spotlight, by Elise Bryant -1 star
(Trapped in a Confined Space) In a Blink of the Eye, by Elizabeth Eulberg - 2 stars
(The Makeover) Liberty, by Anna-Marie McLemore - 1 star
(The Matchmaker) The Surprise Match, by Sandhya Menon - 2 stars
*The best part is that they are all short, quick reads.
June 18, 2022
3.5⭐️
This was cute! I’m a sucker for a romantic trope so I thought this anthology would be right up my alley. I gave all of the stories 3 stars or more but I didn’t totally love any of them. I liked them all overall but I didn’t feel super attached to any of them.
Some of my favorite stories were from Marissa Meyer, Elise Bryant and Sandhya Menon!
This was cute! I’m a sucker for a romantic trope so I thought this anthology would be right up my alley. I gave all of the stories 3 stars or more but I didn’t totally love any of them. I liked them all overall but I didn’t feel super attached to any of them.
Some of my favorite stories were from Marissa Meyer, Elise Bryant and Sandhya Menon!
January 16, 2022
looked forward to serendipity since it’s a collection of stories based on different romance tropes in books. as a huge romance reader myself, this was absolutely perfect. i’ve read from most of the authors except elizabeth eulberg, julie murphy, caleb roehrig, and sarah winifred searle. i liked every story in this anthology. there’s even a graphic novel!
my favorite is probably shooting stars by marissa meyer since it’s the one bed trope, and the characters were awkward around each other the whole time because they liked one another but didn’t know how to confess. hehe. the surprise match by sandhya menon is a close second too. i adore the matchmaker trope and the friends-to-lovers trope in this short story.
overall, the authors didn’t abruptly develop the romances and each story has its own element that i enjoyed.
my favorite is probably shooting stars by marissa meyer since it’s the one bed trope, and the characters were awkward around each other the whole time because they liked one another but didn’t know how to confess. hehe. the surprise match by sandhya menon is a close second too. i adore the matchmaker trope and the friends-to-lovers trope in this short story.
overall, the authors didn’t abruptly develop the romances and each story has its own element that i enjoyed.
Want to read
August 6, 2021This better have the nursing back to health trope 😭
February 20, 2022
If you’re looking for a gift for the YA romance lover in your life, you’ve found it:
Serendipity
, edited by Marissa Meyer!
Romance and rom-com lovers, we all talk about our favorite and least favorite tropes. (Mine are fake dating, enemies to lovers, and friends to lovers, BTW.) In this new story collection, 10 YA authors each write a story using a particular trope—the fake relationship, stranded together, class warfare, the best friend love epiphany, one bed, the secret admirer, the grand romantic gesture, trapped in a confined space, the makeover, and the matchmaker.
The subtitle of the book is “Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed,” and while not all of the stories are as straightforward as you’d expect, I don’t know that there’s a lot of transformation. But it’s still a sweet bunch of stories!
Like any short story collection, I loved some stories, while some didn’t quite click for me. The stories are mostly M/F, with a few F/F stories and one M/M story. My favorites were: “Bye Bye, Piper Berry” by Julie Murphy (fake dating); Caleb Roehrig’s “Auld Acquaintance” (best friend love epiphany); “Shooting Stars” by Marissa Meyer (one bed); “Liberty” by Anna-Marie McLemore (the makeover); and Sandhya Menon’s “The Surprise Match” (the matchmaker). Sarah Winifred Searle’s “Keagan’s Heaven on Earth” is written as a graphic novel.
If you’re a fan of YA romance, Serendipity could be a nice palate cleanser between other heavier books. I enjoyed it!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2021 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2021.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Romance and rom-com lovers, we all talk about our favorite and least favorite tropes. (Mine are fake dating, enemies to lovers, and friends to lovers, BTW.) In this new story collection, 10 YA authors each write a story using a particular trope—the fake relationship, stranded together, class warfare, the best friend love epiphany, one bed, the secret admirer, the grand romantic gesture, trapped in a confined space, the makeover, and the matchmaker.
The subtitle of the book is “Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed,” and while not all of the stories are as straightforward as you’d expect, I don’t know that there’s a lot of transformation. But it’s still a sweet bunch of stories!
Like any short story collection, I loved some stories, while some didn’t quite click for me. The stories are mostly M/F, with a few F/F stories and one M/M story. My favorites were: “Bye Bye, Piper Berry” by Julie Murphy (fake dating); Caleb Roehrig’s “Auld Acquaintance” (best friend love epiphany); “Shooting Stars” by Marissa Meyer (one bed); “Liberty” by Anna-Marie McLemore (the makeover); and Sandhya Menon’s “The Surprise Match” (the matchmaker). Sarah Winifred Searle’s “Keagan’s Heaven on Earth” is written as a graphic novel.
If you’re a fan of YA romance, Serendipity could be a nice palate cleanser between other heavier books. I enjoyed it!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2021 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2021.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
March 12, 2022
Okay well. This is harsh, but I have to.
I want to make it clear I didn't hate any of these stories. But they were all extremely bland and underdeveloped. Which, I read and write fanfiction, I know you can do a lot more with a lot fewer words.
On top of that, the promise of "romantic tropes reimagined" is not exactly fulfilled. The closest we get to reimagined is that the trope is actually barely featured at all (e.g. the makeover story has the entire romance happen before the makeover, which, probably a good thing for that trope, come to think of it) or not featured as part of the romance (the "trapped together" story is about a girl getting over her crush by getting trapped with him, which honestly could have been a good subversion, but then the story ends with a random meet-cute with a complete stranger, so, it loses the goodwill it's built).
Not even the power of the gays could save these. It wasn't bad, but it lacked anything to make it worth my while.
I want to make it clear I didn't hate any of these stories. But they were all extremely bland and underdeveloped. Which, I read and write fanfiction, I know you can do a lot more with a lot fewer words.
On top of that, the promise of "romantic tropes reimagined" is not exactly fulfilled. The closest we get to reimagined is that the trope is actually barely featured at all (e.g. the makeover story has the entire romance happen before the makeover, which, probably a good thing for that trope, come to think of it) or not featured as part of the romance (the "trapped together" story is about a girl getting over her crush by getting trapped with him, which honestly could have been a good subversion, but then the story ends with a random meet-cute with a complete stranger, so, it loses the goodwill it's built).
Not even the power of the gays could save these. It wasn't bad, but it lacked anything to make it worth my while.
April 14, 2022
actual rating: 4.75
this was really cute and used up a shit ton of my tabs but i loved it. marissa meyer and gang slaying so hard with this gay/straight love collection. although i didn't get all of the tropes, the stories were definitely well written and its definitely a good read, just not my fav Marissa Meyer work or collection
this was really cute and used up a shit ton of my tabs but i loved it. marissa meyer and gang slaying so hard with this gay/straight love collection. although i didn't get all of the tropes, the stories were definitely well written and its definitely a good read, just not my fav Marissa Meyer work or collection
April 17, 2022
This was a lot better than I expected it to be 🥰
April 28, 2022
FOR ALL THE INCORRIGIBLE ROMANTICS.
—M.M.
3.8/5.0 stars
★★★★☆
Serendipity was one of my anticipated releases of 2022 and well, it didn't entirely disappoint. The novel is a collection of 10 romantic short stories written by 10 authors. Each one of them tackles a well-known trope and presents it in their own way.
────────────
Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy
Trope: The Fake Relationship
Rating: 2.5 stars
I shouldn’t have said yes to begin with, but it turns out it’s impossible to say no to the girl you’ve loved since first grade.
It's the start of her senior year for Piper Berry and ... it doesn't start good. She finds out that her boyfriend, Travis was cheating on her the whole time. So, to get her revenge, she convinces her best friend—Gabe Rafferty—to "fake-date" her so she can get Travis jealous. But things go differently as she realises the fake relationship was not really fake..
This story fell flat ngl. There was so much potential, especially since the said trope is a very well-received one in the community and the author just went with a cliché plotline. Although, it's only around 20 pages so not much of a plot will suffice, but it definitely could've been more interesting. It was very predictable and flew too fast.
────────────
Anyone Else but You by Leah Johnson
Trope: Stranded Together
Rating: 3.5 stars
We don’t have to be enemies, or rivals, or the popular girl and the nerd or whatever it is we are outside the confines of this building. We can be pirates or doctors or giant foods. But we can also, maybe, for a little while, be friends.
It's one day before one of the biggest events senior officers put on every year—the Senior Send-Off. Perry Barnes is supposed to be picking up supplies along with her co-president, but Jada Baxter is nowhere to be seen. And it's only 15 minutes before the store closes. When Jada finally arrives, the store is well, closed. So now, it's only the two of them—Perry and Jada—stuck in the store.
This was pretty great, but I kinda felt the relationship was a lil too rushed? But again, it could just be me. I loved the dynamic between the MC's and the story was a short quick read. It could have been better, if there was some more development to the characters, but nevertheless, I liked it.
────────────
Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig
Trope: The Best Friend Love Epiphany
Rating: 5 stars
It’s even better than I imagined—soft and warm, hungry but careful, filled with memories … and yet totally surprising. It’s strange how someone so familiar can still make me so weak in the knees.
It's New Year's Eve and Garret and Ollie are spending their night at the school since it's a yearly tradition. The pair are the best of friends, and people even mistake their friendship for romance at times. But they're just friends, aren't they?
I loved this. Definitely my favourite out of all the 10 stories! Auld Acquaintance is a best-friends-to-lovers, and while I'm not a big fan of that trope, this was SO good. I was literally squealing throughout this and this is a must read!
────────────
Shooting Stars by Marrisa Meyer
Trope: One Bed
Rating: 5 stars
“Maybe we could lie and say there’s supposed to be another can’t-miss meteor shower tonight.”
He brushes his lips against mine again, murmuring, “Maybe it wouldn’t be a lie.”
Misty is on a class trip to Yellowstone. While she originally didn't want to sign-up, her friend, Beka, insisted she join—listing out all the advantages which totally didn't include her crush, Roman Spencer, also on the trip. One night, things get different as she invites Roman to share her room..
By Marissa Meyer herself, this didn't disappoint! The tension and angst were so perfectly written, I was shipping the two of them from page 1. I really loved how it was simple yet true to the trope and I'd definitely recommend it!
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More to come.
April 8, 2023
La verdad es que si soy de esas personas que disfrutan de los libros de relatos y cuando supe que iba a ser editado por una de mis autoras favoritas Marissa Meyer sabia que lo necesitaba, el problema es que hubiera estado bien que abarcará todos los clichés, en cambio tiene como 3 y estos se repiten muchas veces, muchos dicen que esto es muy young-adult y si es verdad, pero tampoco creo que sea un problema, son personas adultas que muchas veces cometen errores pero eso esta bien, nadie es perfecto.
-Adiós, Piper Berry de Julie Murphy 3🌟
Este es friends to lovers, veamos... no creo que fue la mejor historia para empezar, sentía pena por Gabe, creo que merecía a alguien mejor, Piper muchas veces sentía que era egoísta, pero al final el romance se me hizo cute.
- Cualquiera menos tú de Leah Johnson 3,5🌟
Esta es una especie de "rivals to lovers" en conjunto con "chica popular vs unpopular" y agreguémosle que es una historia f/f, esta historia fue más divertida, me encanto toda la escena donde están en la tienda, sin duda me recordó a una película rom-com, creo que de todas las historias esta tiene un final más cerrado.
- El algoritmo de expresiones de Abigail Hing Wen 3🌟
Esta historia me genero sentimientos encontrados, ya que creo que es la menos realista de todas y con la que menos conectas, no esta mal pero todo el misterio que tiene detrás no sabes si es suficiente o insuficiente y es por eso que el final deja un sabor amargo porque en realidad sabes quien debió tener más protagonismo y no solo ser un papel secundario en una mini historia.
- Viejo conocido de Caleb Roehrig 3,5🌟
Sin duda esta historia disfrute que fuera corta porque sufren de mala comunicación y demasiado drama, me exaspera un poco cuando eso sucede pero bueno supongo que su amor vale la pena aunque creo que perdieron tiempo.
Estrellas fugaces de Marissa Meyer 5🌟
Obviamente mi historia favorita la tenia que escribir mi autora favorita, ame por completo a Mitsy y Roman, es que de verdad fue super cute, con ambos protagonistas que tenían sentimientos el uno por el otro y siendo tímidos, queriendo dar alguno el gran paso, awww sin duda fue lindísimo.
- Keagan y su cielo en la tierra de Sarah Winifred Searle 4🌟
Esta historia se presento en novela grafica, cosa que fue algo fresco pero también muy linda, me gusto el tipo de dibujo, Keagan y Mike ambas fueron de las parejas mas lindas del libro.
- Zora en escena de Elise Bryant 3,5🌟
Sin duda el peor personaje es Astrid y el especie de instalove que hay acá, tipo... no me creo que crees un flash mob muy al estilo película para un romance así, pero bueno después las cosas salieron bien..
- En un abrir y cerrar de ojos de Elizabeth Eulberg 4🌟
Esta no es una historia de amor... esta es una historia de amistad, la verdad es que no puedo quejarme de Morgan, la entiendo, he pasado por lo mismo que ella, aunque el final... siento que esta demás... no se, no me gusto mucho.
- Liberty de Anne-Marie McLemore 3,75🌟
Esta es una historia de porristas, me gusta el amor secreto acá, sin duda me gusta cuando las parejas se hacen mejor la una a la otra, en este caso sucede y esas chicas se merecen porque hacen sacar lo mejor la una de la otra.
- El combo sorpresa de Sandhya Menon 4,5🌟
Yo ame mucho esta historia, creo que fue mi segunda favorita, porque tenemos un friends to lovers muy lindo, donde una aplicación tiene mucho que ver, el miedo sobre los sentimientos y mas.
-Adiós, Piper Berry de Julie Murphy 3🌟
Este es friends to lovers, veamos... no creo que fue la mejor historia para empezar, sentía pena por Gabe, creo que merecía a alguien mejor, Piper muchas veces sentía que era egoísta, pero al final el romance se me hizo cute.
- Cualquiera menos tú de Leah Johnson 3,5🌟
Esta es una especie de "rivals to lovers" en conjunto con "chica popular vs unpopular" y agreguémosle que es una historia f/f, esta historia fue más divertida, me encanto toda la escena donde están en la tienda, sin duda me recordó a una película rom-com, creo que de todas las historias esta tiene un final más cerrado.
- El algoritmo de expresiones de Abigail Hing Wen 3🌟
Esta historia me genero sentimientos encontrados, ya que creo que es la menos realista de todas y con la que menos conectas, no esta mal pero todo el misterio que tiene detrás no sabes si es suficiente o insuficiente y es por eso que el final deja un sabor amargo porque en realidad sabes quien debió tener más protagonismo y no solo ser un papel secundario en una mini historia.
- Viejo conocido de Caleb Roehrig 3,5🌟
Sin duda esta historia disfrute que fuera corta porque sufren de mala comunicación y demasiado drama, me exaspera un poco cuando eso sucede pero bueno supongo que su amor vale la pena aunque creo que perdieron tiempo.
Estrellas fugaces de Marissa Meyer 5🌟
Obviamente mi historia favorita la tenia que escribir mi autora favorita, ame por completo a Mitsy y Roman, es que de verdad fue super cute, con ambos protagonistas que tenían sentimientos el uno por el otro y siendo tímidos, queriendo dar alguno el gran paso, awww sin duda fue lindísimo.
- Keagan y su cielo en la tierra de Sarah Winifred Searle 4🌟
Esta historia se presento en novela grafica, cosa que fue algo fresco pero también muy linda, me gusto el tipo de dibujo, Keagan y Mike ambas fueron de las parejas mas lindas del libro.
- Zora en escena de Elise Bryant 3,5🌟
Sin duda el peor personaje es Astrid y el especie de instalove que hay acá, tipo... no me creo que crees un flash mob muy al estilo película para un romance así, pero bueno después las cosas salieron bien..
- En un abrir y cerrar de ojos de Elizabeth Eulberg 4🌟
Esta no es una historia de amor... esta es una historia de amistad, la verdad es que no puedo quejarme de Morgan, la entiendo, he pasado por lo mismo que ella, aunque el final... siento que esta demás... no se, no me gusto mucho.
- Liberty de Anne-Marie McLemore 3,75🌟
Esta es una historia de porristas, me gusta el amor secreto acá, sin duda me gusta cuando las parejas se hacen mejor la una a la otra, en este caso sucede y esas chicas se merecen porque hacen sacar lo mejor la una de la otra.
- El combo sorpresa de Sandhya Menon 4,5🌟
Yo ame mucho esta historia, creo que fue mi segunda favorita, porque tenemos un friends to lovers muy lindo, donde una aplicación tiene mucho que ver, el miedo sobre los sentimientos y mas.
Read
December 28, 2021This is a DNF for me. Some of the stories felt like it had been done before (haven't I seen this on Netflix?). One story just made me very mad. Another story just made me roll my eyes.
Simply put, I'm not the target audience for this book. It's YA, and I read a lot of YA, but this was maybe a bit too young for my liking. Perhaps 13 year olds might like it, but as an adult, this was just not for me. I am not going to rate this, because it would be unkind and unfair to those who participated in creating this book of short stories. I am not their target audience, so it would be unfair of me to review it.
Simply put, I'm not the target audience for this book. It's YA, and I read a lot of YA, but this was maybe a bit too young for my liking. Perhaps 13 year olds might like it, but as an adult, this was just not for me. I am not going to rate this, because it would be unkind and unfair to those who participated in creating this book of short stories. I am not their target audience, so it would be unfair of me to review it.
January 9, 2022
This collection was so cute! I do have to say that I think the story by Marissa Meyer was my favourite
Full RTC
Full RTC
December 13, 2021
Age Rating: 13/14+
Special thanks to FierceReads and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
I have never read an anthology before. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Serendipity is a YA romance anthology edited by Marissa Meyer where each story follows a favorite romantic trope. Sounds cute, right? It definitely was. There are 10 stories by 10 authors, most of which I’d heard of, maybe half of which I’ve read before, and a couple that were totally new to me.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to review this, because each individual story is unique and I had differing opinions and ratings on each one. In the end, I decided to give a mini review of each story (no spoilers—promise).
So, starting with the first story:
Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy
4.5 stars
Trope: Fake Dating
One of my favorite tropes, an author I know and love, and a great start to the anthology.
I loved the characters; I loved the story; I loved the writing. I wish it was longer. Like, if this story were turned into a 3-400 page novel, I would read it. That said, I do think Julie Murphy did a good job of taking this trope and writing such a short story. From the start, I was skeptical. Fake dating didn’t seem like it could be accomplished successfully in like 30 pages. But the chemistry was there, and I got into it. I want more, but I don’t feel like it needed more like I did with some of the stories.
Anyone Else but You by Leah Johnson
4 stars
Trope: Forced Proximity
Leah Johnson is an author I’ve so many good things about, but have never gotten around to reading, so I was excited to get a taste of her writing in this anthology—and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Another trope I can’t help but love, but the fact that it takes place over one night did make me apprehensive. I am not a fan of instalove. But the characters had enough history and chemistry that it felt more like the acknowledging of feelings than them just poofing into existence. The little epilogue at the end was also adorable and I thought it was a great touch.
The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen
2.5 stars
Trope: Class Warfare
I read Abigail Hing Wen’s debut novel, Loveboat, Taipei, and really enjoyed it when it came out, so I was really excited to get to her story in the anthology… but unfortunately it disappointed.
To start off, I didn’t know what class warfare was. All of the other tropes were ones I was very familiar with and were all prevalent in YA romance, so I kind of assumed it meant academic rivals? I realized pretty soon that was wrong, and eventually I realized it meant socioeconomic class. I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a YA romance where that was a major trope, but that wasn’t the main problem I had with it; it was just a confusing piece. It just didn’t feel romantic. The girl the character spends the whole time trying to win back was kind of rude and stuck up. There’s no chemistry, nothing making me vote for them. With the way it ends up, maybe it would have been more enjoyable if it were a full novel, giving the reader more time to grow to care for the characters and build chemistry between them, but as it is, it was my least favorite of the stories.
I also thought it was weird that it was in 3rd person when everything else was in first person.
Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig
3 ish stars
Trope: The Best Friend Love Epiphany
I really liked the plot. I really liked the characters. The writing style was… not for me. I don’t know if it was objectively bad, but there was just something about the narration that bugged me, and I couldn’t get into it like I wanted to. But the romance was cute, the characters were relateable, and I think that it worked well as a short story. Also I dont know what “auld” means but thats irrelevant.
Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer
5 stars
Trope: One Bed
Marissa. Freaking. Meyer. AND ONE BED TROPE?? Enough said.
But I will say a little more. This was my favorite (although I did rate another of the stories 5 stars) story. I adored the characters. I adored the writing. I love this so much. More Marissa Meyer contemporaries please and thank you.
Keagan’s Heaven on Earth by Sarah Winifred Searle
3.5 stars
Trope: The Secret Admirer
ITS A GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC!!! I was super excited to see this, because I wasn’t expecting it and I love a good graphic novel. Plus, the drawings were stunning. I liked the characters. I liked the idea behind the story. I just needed a bit more. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters and events seemed to jump around too fast. It just needed a bit more. But it was still fun, and I enjoyed it.
4 stars
Trope: The Grand Romantic Gesture
This one was really well written and I fully enjoyed it. It just wasn’t really a romance? At all? But I loved the main character and her friends and the events of the story were tons of fun. I think it worked really well as a short story. And again, the writing was so good; it swept me in immediately. I haven’t read Elise Bryant’s debut, but it is sitting on my shelf, and it just jumped to the top of my TBR. Despite the fact that I didn’t think this was really a romance at all, which is weird for a romance anthology, it was still one of my favorites.
4 stars
Trope: Confined Spaces
So again, this one wasn’t really a romance? Yes she ends up in a confined space with a person, but it’s about friendship, not romance. The other character is her best friend’s boyfriend. But it was another of my favorites. The writing style was so much fun and I absolutely adored the characters. I’ve never heard of Elizabeth Eulberg before, but I’m definitely going to check out some of her books, because I really like her voice.
Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore
5 stars
Trope: The Makeover
Did “the makeover trope” play into this story, like, at all? No. I think a better trope would be Celebrity Crush or something. But still—it. Was. So. Freaking. Good.
I love Anna-Marie McLemore. I’ve read several of their books and enjoyed every one, but I actually think I liked this more than I liked any of their novels, simply for the plot of it. They should write a whole contemporary romance novel. Maybe… they could write this into a novel??? Pretty please???
But seriously. I adored this story. I loved the characters, the plot, the way it handled some seriously tough issues in such a short story and did it so well. And I think it worked really well as a short story. Nothing felt too rushed. Nothing felt missing. I just want more.
The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon
4 stars I think?
Trope: The Matchmaker
I liked this. It was solid, it was fun, and I��ve always liked Sandhya Menon’s writing. It was just one of those where it felt a little rushed. It just needed a little more fleshing out in places. But regardless, it was still fun and I did enjoy it.
All in all, this was tons of fun, and a great first anthology! I highly highly recommend!
Special thanks to FierceReads and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
I have never read an anthology before. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Serendipity is a YA romance anthology edited by Marissa Meyer where each story follows a favorite romantic trope. Sounds cute, right? It definitely was. There are 10 stories by 10 authors, most of which I’d heard of, maybe half of which I’ve read before, and a couple that were totally new to me.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to review this, because each individual story is unique and I had differing opinions and ratings on each one. In the end, I decided to give a mini review of each story (no spoilers—promise).
So, starting with the first story:
Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy
4.5 stars
Trope: Fake Dating
One of my favorite tropes, an author I know and love, and a great start to the anthology.
I loved the characters; I loved the story; I loved the writing. I wish it was longer. Like, if this story were turned into a 3-400 page novel, I would read it. That said, I do think Julie Murphy did a good job of taking this trope and writing such a short story. From the start, I was skeptical. Fake dating didn’t seem like it could be accomplished successfully in like 30 pages. But the chemistry was there, and I got into it. I want more, but I don’t feel like it needed more like I did with some of the stories.
Anyone Else but You by Leah Johnson
4 stars
Trope: Forced Proximity
Leah Johnson is an author I’ve so many good things about, but have never gotten around to reading, so I was excited to get a taste of her writing in this anthology—and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Another trope I can’t help but love, but the fact that it takes place over one night did make me apprehensive. I am not a fan of instalove. But the characters had enough history and chemistry that it felt more like the acknowledging of feelings than them just poofing into existence. The little epilogue at the end was also adorable and I thought it was a great touch.
The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen
2.5 stars
Trope: Class Warfare
I read Abigail Hing Wen’s debut novel, Loveboat, Taipei, and really enjoyed it when it came out, so I was really excited to get to her story in the anthology… but unfortunately it disappointed.
To start off, I didn’t know what class warfare was. All of the other tropes were ones I was very familiar with and were all prevalent in YA romance, so I kind of assumed it meant academic rivals? I realized pretty soon that was wrong, and eventually I realized it meant socioeconomic class. I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a YA romance where that was a major trope, but that wasn’t the main problem I had with it; it was just a confusing piece. It just didn’t feel romantic. The girl the character spends the whole time trying to win back was kind of rude and stuck up. There’s no chemistry, nothing making me vote for them. With the way it ends up, maybe it would have been more enjoyable if it were a full novel, giving the reader more time to grow to care for the characters and build chemistry between them, but as it is, it was my least favorite of the stories.
I also thought it was weird that it was in 3rd person when everything else was in first person.
Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig
3 ish stars
Trope: The Best Friend Love Epiphany
I really liked the plot. I really liked the characters. The writing style was… not for me. I don’t know if it was objectively bad, but there was just something about the narration that bugged me, and I couldn’t get into it like I wanted to. But the romance was cute, the characters were relateable, and I think that it worked well as a short story. Also I dont know what “auld” means but thats irrelevant.
Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer
5 stars
Trope: One Bed
Marissa. Freaking. Meyer. AND ONE BED TROPE?? Enough said.
But I will say a little more. This was my favorite (although I did rate another of the stories 5 stars) story. I adored the characters. I adored the writing. I love this so much. More Marissa Meyer contemporaries please and thank you.
Keagan’s Heaven on Earth by Sarah Winifred Searle
3.5 stars
Trope: The Secret Admirer
ITS A GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC!!! I was super excited to see this, because I wasn’t expecting it and I love a good graphic novel. Plus, the drawings were stunning. I liked the characters. I liked the idea behind the story. I just needed a bit more. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters and events seemed to jump around too fast. It just needed a bit more. But it was still fun, and I enjoyed it.
4 stars
Trope: The Grand Romantic Gesture
This one was really well written and I fully enjoyed it. It just wasn’t really a romance? At all? But I loved the main character and her friends and the events of the story were tons of fun. I think it worked really well as a short story. And again, the writing was so good; it swept me in immediately. I haven’t read Elise Bryant’s debut, but it is sitting on my shelf, and it just jumped to the top of my TBR. Despite the fact that I didn’t think this was really a romance at all, which is weird for a romance anthology, it was still one of my favorites.
4 stars
Trope: Confined Spaces
So again, this one wasn’t really a romance? Yes she ends up in a confined space with a person, but it’s about friendship, not romance. The other character is her best friend’s boyfriend. But it was another of my favorites. The writing style was so much fun and I absolutely adored the characters. I’ve never heard of Elizabeth Eulberg before, but I’m definitely going to check out some of her books, because I really like her voice.
Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore
5 stars
Trope: The Makeover
Did “the makeover trope” play into this story, like, at all? No. I think a better trope would be Celebrity Crush or something. But still—it. Was. So. Freaking. Good.
I love Anna-Marie McLemore. I’ve read several of their books and enjoyed every one, but I actually think I liked this more than I liked any of their novels, simply for the plot of it. They should write a whole contemporary romance novel. Maybe… they could write this into a novel??? Pretty please???
But seriously. I adored this story. I loved the characters, the plot, the way it handled some seriously tough issues in such a short story and did it so well. And I think it worked really well as a short story. Nothing felt too rushed. Nothing felt missing. I just want more.
The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon
4 stars I think?
Trope: The Matchmaker
I liked this. It was solid, it was fun, and I��ve always liked Sandhya Menon’s writing. It was just one of those where it felt a little rushed. It just needed a little more fleshing out in places. But regardless, it was still fun and I did enjoy it.
All in all, this was tons of fun, and a great first anthology! I highly highly recommend!
January 21, 2022
A romance anthology where every story is based on different tropes? I was sold the second I first heard about it and it didn't disappoint.
Rating an anthology isn't always easy. So while reading I tried to rate all the different stories on their own and based on that calculated the average score.
I think over all this was a great read. Only one story couldn't totally convince me (The Idiom Algorithm), but most of them were solid 3 star reads. 3 of them were even higher and I can't decide what my favorite story was.
It's either Shooting Stars or The surprise match. I enjoyed both immensely. They had a very cute love story and relateble characters.
Here are the ratings for the stories:
Anyone else but you: 3 out of 5
The Idiom Algorithm: 2 out of 5
Auld Acquintance: 4 out of 5
Shooting Stars: 4 out of 5
Zora in the Spotlight: 3 out of 5
In the Blink of an Eye: 3 out of 5
Liberty: 3 out of 5
The Surprise Match: 4 out of 5
Rating an anthology isn't always easy. So while reading I tried to rate all the different stories on their own and based on that calculated the average score.
I think over all this was a great read. Only one story couldn't totally convince me (The Idiom Algorithm), but most of them were solid 3 star reads. 3 of them were even higher and I can't decide what my favorite story was.
It's either Shooting Stars or The surprise match. I enjoyed both immensely. They had a very cute love story and relateble characters.
Here are the ratings for the stories:
Anyone else but you: 3 out of 5
The Idiom Algorithm: 2 out of 5
Auld Acquintance: 4 out of 5
Shooting Stars: 4 out of 5
Zora in the Spotlight: 3 out of 5
In the Blink of an Eye: 3 out of 5
Liberty: 3 out of 5
The Surprise Match: 4 out of 5
March 19, 2023
Algunas historias me gustaron más que otras,para un rato estuvo bien
January 22, 2022
Full Review on The Candid Cover
Serendipity edited by Marissa Meyer is a collection of short stories inspired by classic romance tropes. With ten adorable stories within it, this is a unique and diverse anthology. I enjoyed each of the authors’ contributions, and I found Marissa Meyer’s and Elizabeth Eulberg’s stories the most impressive. This is the perfect read for romance fans.
Containing short stories from ten authors, this anthology reimagines a range of well-loved romance tropes, such as best friends to lovers, being trapped in a confined space, and a secret admirer. Because these tropes are so popular, it can be difficult to make them feel new again, but I found myself pleasantly surprised by the direction many of them take. I’m not sure I completely agree with the synopsis’s claim to turn each of these tropes on their heads, but this is still an entertaining read with a story to satisfy every romance fan.
❀ DIFFERENT FORMS OF STORYTELLING
As an anthology, I appreciated the diversity within this book. Not only are there many stories about diverse characters, but the content and form of each story is also varied. There is even one graphic novel by Sarah Winifred Searle, which is something I have never seen in an anthology before. This inclusion of different forms of storytelling is something I would love to see more of.
❀ MANY FAVOURITES IN THIS ANTHOLOGY
After finishing this book, I came away with many favourites. I was especially impressed with Marissa Meyer’s “Shooting Stars,” featuring the “one bed” trope. This story is about camping, and since the characters are so well developed, it feels like it could be a full-length novel. Elizabeth Eulberg’s story about confined spaces also surprised me. The idea of being trapped in the London Eye is intriguing, and I enjoyed the more friendship-focused twist.
❀ A COLLECTION OF ADORABLE ROMANCES
Serendipity edited by Marissa Meyer is a collection of adorable romances inspired by classic tropes. While not every story feels completely fresh, I loved the anthology’s diversity, and I enjoyed each author’s contribution. There is something in here for every romance fan, making this the perfect cozy collection to curl up with this winter.
Serendipity edited by Marissa Meyer is a collection of short stories inspired by classic romance tropes. With ten adorable stories within it, this is a unique and diverse anthology. I enjoyed each of the authors’ contributions, and I found Marissa Meyer’s and Elizabeth Eulberg’s stories the most impressive. This is the perfect read for romance fans.
Containing short stories from ten authors, this anthology reimagines a range of well-loved romance tropes, such as best friends to lovers, being trapped in a confined space, and a secret admirer. Because these tropes are so popular, it can be difficult to make them feel new again, but I found myself pleasantly surprised by the direction many of them take. I’m not sure I completely agree with the synopsis’s claim to turn each of these tropes on their heads, but this is still an entertaining read with a story to satisfy every romance fan.
❀ DIFFERENT FORMS OF STORYTELLING
As an anthology, I appreciated the diversity within this book. Not only are there many stories about diverse characters, but the content and form of each story is also varied. There is even one graphic novel by Sarah Winifred Searle, which is something I have never seen in an anthology before. This inclusion of different forms of storytelling is something I would love to see more of.
❀ MANY FAVOURITES IN THIS ANTHOLOGY
After finishing this book, I came away with many favourites. I was especially impressed with Marissa Meyer’s “Shooting Stars,” featuring the “one bed” trope. This story is about camping, and since the characters are so well developed, it feels like it could be a full-length novel. Elizabeth Eulberg’s story about confined spaces also surprised me. The idea of being trapped in the London Eye is intriguing, and I enjoyed the more friendship-focused twist.
❀ A COLLECTION OF ADORABLE ROMANCES
Serendipity edited by Marissa Meyer is a collection of adorable romances inspired by classic tropes. While not every story feels completely fresh, I loved the anthology’s diversity, and I enjoyed each author’s contribution. There is something in here for every romance fan, making this the perfect cozy collection to curl up with this winter.
December 5, 2021
this was so cute and fun!
this literally has all of the best tropes in one book, it’s amazing. it was interesting seeing each author’s take on them! one bed trope?? enemies to lovers? confined space?? pls i loved all of it.
this got my out of my reading slump because it was so fast paced and adorable. i would read a full length novel about each of these short stories!!
thank you fierce reads for sending me an arc!
this literally has all of the best tropes in one book, it’s amazing. it was interesting seeing each author’s take on them! one bed trope?? enemies to lovers? confined space?? pls i loved all of it.
this got my out of my reading slump because it was so fast paced and adorable. i would read a full length novel about each of these short stories!!
thank you fierce reads for sending me an arc!
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