In celebration of Pride month, I wanted to share a fantastic book that I just finished with you guys. I recently joined NetGalley, where you can request ebooks in exchange for a book review, and I discovered this gem. I’m an LGBTQ+ ally, as you know, and I always want to learn new things…so I couldn’t request this anthology fast enough. Here’s the cover and description! 🌈🌈🌈🌈
About the Book 🌈
“Love Beyond, Body, Space, and Time” is a collection of indigenous science fiction and urban fantasy focusing on LGBT and two-spirit characters. These stories range from a transgender woman trying an experimental transition medication to young lovers separated through decades and meeting far in their own future. These are stories of machines and magic, love, and self-love.
Goodreads | Amazon | 125 pages
Where I got it: I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. I wasn’t required to post this review on my blog, in fact…I just liked it so much that I wanted to!
My Thoughts 🌈
| An amazing and thought-provoking collection of short stories, essays, and poems. I learned a lot from reading it. All of the stories feature LGBTQ2S+ characters who are indigenous. I can’t speak to the accuracy because I’m a white person but it was really interesting and all the authors put a lot of heart into their stories.
Here are brief thoughts on each of the contributions. Beyond the Grim Dust of What Was: This was a dense but interesting essay that included a bunch of books to check out. And how cool is it that the person who wrote this teaches at my university? I may have fangirled for a bit. Returning to Ourselves: Again, pretty academic. An essay, not a story. Neither of these were super interesting, but they have a lot of good information. Aliens: Wow, what a start to the anthology. This writing style took some getting used to, and I’m not sure why it wasn’t told from the main character’s point of view, but this was great. 4/5 stars ★★★★☆ Legends are Made, Not Born: This was a sweet, quick little story. Auntie Dave is an intriguing character. I never felt fully involved with it, mostly due to the writing style, so 3/5 stars ★★★☆☆ Perfectly You: RIGHT IN THE FEELS. Reminded me of San Junipero from Black Mirror. This was absolutely amazing! Lesbian main character. 5/5 stars ★★★★★ The Boys Who Became the Hummingbirds: This read more like a legend or a fairytale than a short story, which isn’t a bad thing, it’s just not my preferred style to read. 3/5 stars because the writing really is beautiful. ★★★☆☆ Né Łe: This story is so cute, this one was especially well done. It’s about dogs and lesbians, and neither the dogs nor the lesbians die for a change, thank goodness. 5/5 stars ★★★★★ Transitions: I really liked this one. Interesting main character and I love plots involving medical trials. I wish this story had been longer because the end kind of leaves you hanging, but at the same time you have a pretty good idea of where it’s going. Trans woman main character. 5/5 stars ★★★★★ [TW: transphobia] Imposter Syndrome: I had a hard time following the plot of this. Lots of interesting ideas but too much happened in too short a page count for me to keep up. 2/5 stars. ★★☆☆☆ [TW: violence & sexual assault] Valediction at the Star View Motel: More lesbians! I liked the characters quite a lot and it’s a really sweet storyline. Would definitely read more about them. 4/5 stars ★★★★☆ Parallax: I was surprised to find a poem in here, but it was a good conclusion to the anthology I think. I’m not much of a poetry fan to be honest but this deserves 4/5 stars. ★★★★☆ In conclusion, this was a very well-assembled anthology that’s strong on the #ownvoices category. I highly, highly recommend it. Overall Rating: ★★★★★ |
It looks like the book is only $5 on Amazon which is a pretty good deal. So if you’re looking for some Pride reading you may wish to check it out.
Lovely!!! Thanks for sharing this!
You’re welcome, thank you for the lovely comment! 🙂
Ooh, I must check this out! Thank you for sharing! 😀
Thanks for sharing, I’m definitely going to look this up!
Yay, I’m happy to hear that! Thanks for reading!