Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s prompt was actually a freebie week! I’ve been considering doing a discussion post about authors I first read through anthologies and wanted more work from, so I thought that would be the perfect topic for this freebie week!
Robots vs. Fairies contributors:
1. Seanan McGuire
Seanan wrote the introductory story for RVF: a genuinely magical story of a robotic theme park, with a twist. It was my first time ever reading anything by her, and it was so utterly clever. I was immediately hooked and have since read all three of her Wayward Children novellas!
(GR author page)
2. Alyssa Wong
For RVF, Alyssa Wong wrote a story about a society in which robots fill brothels, mimicking celebrities past and present. It was haunting, gorgeous, and lovable from start to finish, and made me want to pick more up from her. I’m currently reading an anthology she contributed to titled The Devil and the Deep (which also has a Seanan McGuire story!).
(GR author page)
3. Sarah Gailey
Sarah’s contribution to RVF was downright creepy: a story about a fairy who becomes obsessed with a little boy, and stalks him into adulthood. It was delightfully morbid and everything I love in dark fae lore. Since then, I’ve picked up her novella River of Teeth, but haven’t had the chance to read it just yet.
(GR author page)
Slasher Girls & Monster Boys contributors:
4. Carrie Ryan
Carrie’s contribution to Slasher Girls was probably my #1 favorite story: a twisted, bloody Alice retelling that actually had me on edge (which most horror stories never do). I haven’t picked anything else up by her yet, but fully plan to order a copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth soon!
(GR author page)
5. A. G. Howard
A. G. Howard’s story was so gruesome and cringe-inducing (in the best way), as it told the story of an abusive father whose punishment is having pieces of himself cut away – literally. I loved it so much, but unfortunately, her most well-known titles are RoseBlood and the Splintered series, neither of which interest me. 🙁
(GR author page)
Three Sides of a Heart contributors:
6. Bethany Hagen
Bethany’s story was a very unique one in the anthology, as it was a poly, queer vampire story that I loved so very much. I was incredibly saddened when I learned that she’s only released a couple of full novels, a few years back, and they don’t sound like anything I would enjoy. 🙁
(GR author page)
7. Julie Murphy
I’d been meaning to check out Julie’s work for years, but I loved her short story about a plus sized, queer matchmaker so damn much, and I can’t wait to pick up Dumplin’ and Puddin’ soon!
(GR author page)
8. Tessa Gratton
My introduction to Tessa’s writing was this incredible short story about a princess falling in love with both her handmaiden and her brother’s soldier. It was gorgeous in every way, and probably my favorite story in the collection. I was incredibly dismayed when I learned a few months ago that she has been accused of making jokes at the expense of assault victims (her own personal friends came forward on Twitter a while back), and haven’t yet worked through whether or not I am going to continue purchasing her books. 🙁
(GR author page)
(All Out contributors:
9. Tess Sharpe
Tess is probably most well-known for the super anticipated Toil & Trouble anthology she helped create, releasing this fall, which I’m so grateful to have an ARC of that I will be reading soon, because her contribution to All Out was unspeakably magical and precious.
(GR author page)
10. Tehlor Kay Mejia
Tehlor Kay Mejia actually doesn’t have any full novels out yet, but her debut novel is expected to release in 2019, and I cannot wait. Her writing reminds me so much of Anna-Marie McLemore’s, but with its own spin for sure, and her magical realism contribution was so stunning and sweet. <3
(GR author page)
Do you enjoy anthologies? If so, have you ever found a new favorite author through one?
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Kay Wisteria
April 17, 2018I haven’t heard of any of these but the Robots vs Fairies anthology seems really cool; I definitely want to pick it up now! My favorite anthology is the Enthralled one by Melissa Marr 🙂
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 17, 2018It is really fantastic! I only gave it 3 stars overall because when I averaged it out, there were some that dragged the rating down, but honestly, there are enough stories in it that are AMAZING that it’s 100% worth picking up. Oooh, I am going to add that to my TBR right now – thank you!
ChrissiReads
April 17, 2018I didn’t realise A.G Howard was an anthology author before! Interesting list! 🙂
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 17, 2018I think it’s her only anthology submission, but I’m not sure! Thank you 🙂
Anne@Headfullofbooks
April 17, 2018I am embarrassed to admit that I have read nothing by any of these authors. Must do something about that! Favorite Reads of the Past Ten Years
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 17, 2018Nothing wrong with that! <3 Thanks, I'll check your list out as well!
aravenclawlibrary
April 17, 2018Tess Sharpe is absolutely amazing! I have read Far From You and Barbed Wire Heart and both were so excellent. I really want to read her contributions to All Out and Toil and Trouble.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 17, 2018Oooh, awesome! Since you enjoyed her full works too, I’m going to have to check them out!
aravenclawlibrary
April 17, 2018I can’t wait to see what you think of them!
Annemieke
April 17, 2018I know the feeling you have with A.G. Howard. I really loved Cindy Pon’s story in an anthology but I have not that much interest in the books she currently has out. So that is hard. But I am keeping my eye on her and some other authors I discovered through anthologies. 🙂
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018It’s tough when that happens! 🙁 It always makes me feel kind of bad, like, “I loved your short story! Why can’t I be interested in your novel?!”
everythingalyce
April 17, 2018I also discovered Julie Murphy through an anthology, but I found her from Meet Cute. I haven’t read any of the anthologies that you’ve discovered authors from, but some of my favourite authors are on your list (Tess Sharpe <3) so I'm going to prioritise trying to get hold of copies. I'm a huge fan of anthologies!
My Top Ten Tuesday freebie week topic was recommendations for my daughter, which you can check out here if you’d like to!
Poinsettia
April 17, 2018I really like your topic for this week! I don’t pick up anthologies by various authors very much. Collections I’ve read in the past have all been by the same author, but reading an anthology by several authors would be a great introduction into their work. Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018Thank you so much! I really love anthologies, whether with one author or a bunch! 🙂
TeaPartyPrincess
April 17, 2018I have Slasher Girls to read so I’m glad it has some good stories in 🙂
I always try to seek out other books by anthology authors.
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018Yesss, it has some real gems! There are a few duds too (like with any anthology) but mostly, I enjoyed it a lot. 🙂
Laura Beth
April 17, 2018I haven’t read many anthologies, but I’m definitely intrigued by a few of these!!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018I love anthologies! I feel like I’m always requesting ARCs of them and buying them from BookOutlet haha. 🙂
iloveheartlandx
April 17, 2018I haven’t actually ever read an anthology (have one waiting for me to read), but I love how creative you were with this week’s topic!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/17/top-ten-tuesday-155/
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018What anthology is waiting on you, if you don’t mind me asking? I have a couple of anthology ARCs right now that I can’t wait to get to!
iloveheartlandx
April 24, 2018Because You Love To Hate Me. I meant to read it last year, but never got around to it.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 29, 2018Oh cool, I have that one unread on my kindle right now! I’m hoping to get to it maybe this fall when I get into my major anthology mood – I read lots of anthologies in fall and winter for some reason!
iloveheartlandx
May 1, 2018Hope you enjoy it!
Danielle @ Life of a Literary Nerd
April 17, 2018I haven’t read Dumplin’ yet, but I really liked Ramona Blue!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018I have that on my wishlist, too! I remember a lot of crap going around about it when it came out because people said it “wasn’t good bi rep” since it included an m/f pairing, which is just biphobic and gross if you ask me. :/
Danielle @ Life of a Literary Nerd
April 24, 2018I though Ramona’s journey was beautifully done and it was one of my favorite reads from last year.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018Aww, I love hearing that! That makes me want to pick it up even more, haha.
Sarah J.
April 17, 2018This is such a unique post idea! I love anthologies and there are many times after finishing an anthology I’ll go through GR and look at the author pages and see what books interest me, but I’ve never thought about discussing it! Really brilliant idea!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018Thank you so much! 🙂 I’m not sure why the idea struck me but I just had to do it, once it did!
Flavia
April 17, 2018Yaaaaas Seanan McGuire! I LOVE her! I highly recommend her Octorber Daye series if you like urban fantasy and fae 😉
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018I think I just got the first book of that series on ebook recently! Rosemary and Rue, maybe?
Flavia
April 24, 2018Yeahhh that’s the name of the first book 🙂 I would recommend pushing through the first part if it feels slow….it gets much better after that 😉
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 29, 2018Yay! I can’t believe I remembered right, haha – I always feel like Seanan has SO many books between her regular name and pen name! I’m slowly trying to accrue as many of them as possible. Oooh, good to know! Thank you, love, I’ll be sure to do that (and let you know when I do)! ♥
Flavia
April 30, 2018She has like five million books! I don’t think I’ll be able to read them as quick as she writes them lmao. And no problem! 😀
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
May 2, 2018Bahaha, she really does! She writes SO FAST!
Grainne (Darkly Whimsical Reader)
April 17, 2018I just learned that Robots vs Fairies existed and now that I know Seanan McGuire has a story in it thanks to you I’m THAT much more exited to read it! I enjoy reading anthologies to discover new authors especially SFF.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018Yesss! I hope you enjoy it. There were a few duds in that anthology but mostly, I REALLY enjoyed it. 🙂
flippingthruthepages
April 17, 2018Nice idea for today’s prompt. I haven’t read any of these but I have heard good things about All Out. I am not a fan of anthologies because I can’t decide how I felt overall. Each story seems to have different impact often.
My TTT: http://flippingthruthepages.com/2018/04/ten-beautiful-libraries-i-want-to-visit/
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018Thank you! That’s understandable about anthologies, though, for sure. I used to struggle big time to review them until I started doing my reviews for them the way I do now, where I split it up per story. Now I give each story its own star rating and average it at the end so that it’s “fair”, because otherwise I struggle to pick a rating!
anovelglimpse
April 17, 2018This is a really great topic! You need to submit it so we can all do it!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018Aw, thank you so much! I hadn’t even thought about doing that, but now I just might~ 😀
Amber Elise (@dulivre)
April 19, 2018I totally agree about Slasher Girls and Monster Boys!
Hannah @ Word Weaver's Blog
April 23, 2018This is such a cool post and I need to check out a lot of anthologies and authors now ??
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 24, 2018Thank you, Hannah! ♥ Oooh I hope you do 😀
Cody Levi
April 25, 2018The only anthology I’ve ever tried to read was Because You Love To Hate Me but I have an arc of Fresh Ink I want to read and Hope Nation as well. Awesome post!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 29, 2018Hope Nation sounds really interesting, so I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it – and hopefully we both love Fresh Ink! Thank you so much! ♥