My Review:Maybe it's the long, lazy days, or maybe it's the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.
Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.
Guys, this was really bad. There were a few stories that were better than others but overall, it was pretty difficult to finish this collection of short stories and most of them were super freaking cheesy and awful. I'm not even sure that I can pinpoint what I didn't like about the collection overall except that it was so predictable, unsatisfying and almost as if very few of the authors really dedicated any time to it except to write a silly little story one afternoon without forethought. My "favorite" stories in the collection were those by Francesca Lia Block and Nina LaCour -- those stories made me want to know more about the characters in them and I wouldn't mind companion novels. The rest of the stories, however, just did not work for me -- they were so trite and felt so rushed and, honestly, I think we expect more from these big name authors. It seems like this was an anthology that was good in theory but not good in practice and not executed well. I would skip this one and instead focus on each author's individual work.
Summer Days & Summer Nights came out last month on May 17, 2016, and you can purchase HERE.
Music is so powerful and mysterious because it can bring up emotions you've buried in side of you. Dancing is a way to experience those emotions and release them so that they don't get stuck in your throat or stomach or chest. At that time it was the only thing that made me forget everything else. I became just a heartbeat, a part of the music. I was completely free.
Sick Pleasure by Francesca Lia Block
Oh that's disappointing to hear!! I am not good with short stories but was thinking of picking tis one up because so many authors I like. Great review!!
ReplyDeleteAw really? Dammit. I had high hopes for this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry this was such a dud. I have a hard time with short stories and don't even have the desire to read them. Guess I'll steer clear of this one!!
ReplyDeleteAnthologies can be so hard because half the stories are so hit and miss. Sorry this one wasn't quite for you.
ReplyDeleteOh my.. I haven't read My True Love Gave To Me but I was looking forward to this one. I'll definitely consider myself warned and not buy this book.
ReplyDeleteWow, that really surprises me, given the author names. I don't normally do short stories but really liked American Housewife, although some of those were just meh. This seems to be the year of short stories coming in groves, whereas last year was the year of debuts being in huge numbers.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely could just be me!
DeleteI totally get what you mean about the stories. They weren't as good as I was anticipating.
ReplyDeleteBummer that these stories felt so thrown together. This could have been a really fun collection with that combo of authors. Lame.
ReplyDeleteoh wow...sorry to hear about this one. I have a hard time with super cheesy...I like authentic and real emotion but not overkill on it.
ReplyDeleteWow! Your review of this collection is the first that I've seen that was not positive! Cheesy and awful doesn't sound good. :/ Though I don't usually like anthologies, I was interested because of Leigh Bardugo. I may end up passing on this whole thing though. I'm sorry it didn't work for you, Eva!
ReplyDeleteFantastic review. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Oh bummer. It's takes some talent to pull off a short story and you'd figure the big name authors would be able to do it. Still, it would take more than slapping it together one afternoon. Sorry to hear this didn't work out for you, Eva. Great honest review! :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you didn't enjoy this one! I've been on the fence about getting it because it features a lot of authors I really love, but I don't usually enjoy anthologies.
ReplyDeleteKatie @ The Queen of Teen Fiction
It's definitely not for everyone. I only loved a about 3 or 4 of the stories, the others were either okay or just a total let down. I enjoyed the holiday anthology more than this one. Sorry this wasn't for you.
ReplyDeleteYeah... I haven't read it yet, but I fear that these short stories are not my kind of thing. Unless they are exclusive short stories/extra scenes from favorite books.
ReplyDeleteMelissa @ The Reader and the Chef
I've heard a lot of not-so-great things about this anthology, but I'm still bummed. Of course, I have My True Love Gave to Me and I never managed to finish all of those stories either, so I probably wasn't ever going to pick this one up. It was tempting, however, because of the authors included. I'm glad to know I shouldn't waste my time. Bummer it didn't work out for you.
ReplyDeleteI am not seeing good reviews for this one, like at all. Sorry it didn't work for you either.
ReplyDeleteThat is so depressing. This sounded like such a good anthology with a good mix of authors. Sorry you didnt enjoy this one!
ReplyDelete