It’s very simple and not overly complicated which I thought was great.

I felt that the fantasy was very simple the main character Eula is born with an affinity to metal, she can move and manipulate it if she wishes or can use it to find metal more easily than others. This story was really good and I really enjoyed reading it.

This story was based on slavery and colonisation, possibly the Spanish colonies in North and South America but it is a guess. I really loved how this story starts from her birth, goes through her life as a slave and then the arrival of new slaves that change her life. This was a really good story, I was gripped by this story straightaway. It wasn’t my favourite story but it was still good. This story had orcs – an alien race that attacks Earth – space travel, and a little time travel too. It was a little strange, but in a good way. This story kept me guessing and I really enjoyed that. The opening to this story intrigued me a lot though so I kept going with it. I didn’t really know what was happening to start off with. I enjoyed this story, I thought it was a very interesting story to start with. I wrote down my thoughts and ratings after reading each of these short stories, some of the below are just those thoughts and other’s I’ve added some more onto. I’ve rated each of the stories in this collection as I found that I enjoyed some more than others. McKinney, Danielle Paige, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Strong, Ashley Woodfolk, and Ibi Zoboi.Īs this is an anthology collection of short stories I thought that I would do this review a little differently.

You will never forget them.Īuthors include: Elizabeth Acevedo, Amerie, Dhonielle Clayton, Jalissa Corrie, Somaiya Daud, Charlotte Davis, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Justina Ireland, Danny Lore, L.L. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn shine brightly. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic.Įvoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that centers Black women and gender nonconforming individuals. Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBT, Young Adult, Anthologies/Short Storiesīook links: Goodreads | Amazon (affiliate link ) | Audible (affiliate link ) | Storygraph

A phoenix first must burn