Trickey's Books

Thank you, Netgalley, for this free review copy! A Universe of Wishes is a #WeNeedDiverseBooks short story collection, featuring a wide array of authors and an even wider array of stories. Before I officially get into the review, I’d like to make a quick disclaimer: I had to skip two stories because they were from series that I either haven’t read or haven’t read in completion yet. One of which was the A Darker Shade of Magic short story that everyone was so excited about. Sorry! Every story in this collection is either fantasy or sci-fi and, even though I’m not generally a fan of sci-fi, I found even those stories to be incredibly charming. Every author they chose is so talented, telling diverse stories that are either about the struggles of the minorities featured, or just about people who are PoC and/or LGBTQIA and just happily going about their lives. With so many stories, I’d struggle to review each one, so instead, I’m going to review four select favorites. It opens with “A Uni...

Before we start, I would like to thank author Elise Kova for providing a review copy of the box set! So, we left off Vortex Visions with Vi agreeing to leave her homeland and head to Meru to meet Taavin, and Chosen Champion starts off soon after that, as she’s waiting for the royal parade to take her home only so she can slip away partway through the journey and find her way to the Crescent Continent. Let me tell you, book two keeps up Kova’s exciting pacing, jumping right in with Vi practicing her Lightspinning magic with Taavin. Then it’s right to visiting a prisoner, then political intrigue, and long before the end of chapter one you’re already invested. This book also feels very relevant as I write this, as the world is being ravaged by an epidemic known as the White Plague. Vi is isolated, kept in the fortress for her own good, then when she sees the city it almost looks deserted as everyone keeps to their homes for fear of catching the plague. This book was, of course, written lo...