I really have been so into anthologies in 2022. Reclaim The Stars by Zoraida Cordova was the final anthology I read in 2022. While I had hoped to love this one more, I am glad I read it and got to try out all the different authors within. I thought the themes were interesting as well. There were a few standout stories.

Reign Of Diamonds by Anna-Marie McLemore

The opening short Story in Reclaim The Stars is Reign Of Diamonds by Anna-Marie McLemore. This story is about two princesses from different planets who have to fight each other to determine which royal family gets the waystation. One is fire and one is ice. Only, one of the princesses refuses to fight. This was not a bad start to the anthology I thought.

Flecha by Daniel Jose Older

Flecha by Daniel Jose Older is about climate change and grief. Essentially, the Main Character of the story is sent away from Earth by her mother when she is young. It turns out all the progress made toward getting the climate back on track gets all ruined. And so, the main character is charting a course for Earth with her alien copilot, when she learns that everyone she ever knew may have passed away. This was an interesting story — one I would have enjoyed an expansion of.

The First Day Of Us by David Bowles

David Bowles’ The First Day Of Us is a story about how a polyamorous triad ends up in a relationship. This story was interesting. I liked that there was a lot of action toward the end of the story and that each of the three members had a sort of talent/specialty that came into play.

The Tin Man by Lilliam Rivera

Lilliam Rivera’s The Tin Man was sad to read. This story is about a girl who survives a pandemic and all she has left of her family is a recording of their voices inside a teddy bear. The life she knows is about to come to an end. This one was riveting though.

This Is Our Manifesto by Mark Oshiro

I thought that This Is Our Manifesto by Mark Oshiro was unique. This is about teenagers who are incarcerated on a different planet. They end up doing some hacking and putting out a manifesto about what happened to them. I liked that this was a different style from the other stories in Reclaim The Stars.

Creatures Of Kings by Circe Moskowitz

Honestly, I wish I liked Creatures Of Kings by Crice Moskowitz more. However, this story took me AGES to read. Prior to this I was going through this book at a clip of one story per day. This story though totally stopped that pace. I was so bored. But, I am not in the majority of this opinion, so you may like this short story better.

Eterno by JC Cervantes

JC Cervantes has writing that I just really enjoy — and especially solidly romantic writing. Eterno is about a character who takes a memory as someone is dying. He can only be seen when he wants to. One day he meets a girl and overtime, falls in love with her. However, he believes she has died, but everything changes when it turns out she’s alive. This story was short and beautiful and I would have loved more.

White Water, Blue Ocean by Linda Raquel Nieves Perez

This story — White Water, Blue Ocean by Linda Raquel Nieves Perez is about a family curse affecting the genders differently and a non binary character. There’s a goddess too. I liked the flow of this story and the layers and the mythology.

Leyenda by Romina Garber

Romina Garber’s Leyenda is about a school for brujas and werewolves and taking on the patriarchy. The main character is about to become leyenda because it is her family’s legacy. However, she wants more. She wants to take on the patriarchy and burn it down to the ground. I liked this one and just the general revolutionary spirit.

Color-Coded by Maya Motayne

Color-Coded by Maya Motayne follows a girl who goes through what is called The Change. Her hair completely changes color overnight and she’s the first girl in her class to go through it. She’s afraid because her mom could float to the sky and well, her mom ended up leaving the family to go to the sky. She’s scared her power will do something similar to her. This story was well paced, interesting, and I could see the parallel of going through puberty to this story in Reclaim The Stars.

Magical Offerings by Nina Moreno

Nina Moreno’s Magical Offerings is about a girl who is exiled to live with her grandpa in a swampy part of Florida after her magic goes a little wild. She has a talent with welding and so her grandpa wants her to help out with getting an engine running again so he can clear this former golf course he bought and turn it into a tourist trap. She begins working and cuts herself, when this happens this like tree/thing with roots comes to life and the story gets a little deeper. This didn’t read quite as fast as the other books I’ve read by Moreno, but it was interesting to see a different side. 

Rogue Enchantments by Isabel Ibanez

Rogue Enchantments by Isabel Ibanez follows a main character who sets up shop in the market stall that was once her abuelitas. She has made an enemy though as it seems someone is trying to sabotage her. Oh, and her stall sells these magic paintbrushes. To get to the bottom of what happened, she will need to talk to these children ghosts. This story was actually well paced and really drew me in.

Sumaiko y La Sirena by Vita Ayala

Sumaiko y La Sirena by Vita Ayala is a story about colonization, sirens, and love. Set on an island plantation, Suma appears from the ocean one day and is raised by her father. She is beautiful and has a wonderful singing voice. Her father passes. She catches the attention of one of the two brothers who owns the plantation, but she wants nothing to do with him. She then meets a siren and falls in love. This story was interesting and I felt for the main character. I also loved that it was sapphic too. It also had some insight about colonization as well.

River People by Yamile Saied Mendez

Yamile Saied Mendez’s River People is about what happens when your brother makes a deal with the devil. Malena has a skill with making mate and she has an affinity with the river. Her family came to where they live from Ireland. Anyways, one day her older brother Miguel is offered a LOT of money for getting some cattle across the river. Only, they are stolen cattle and the person offering him the money is the devil and he stands to lose his honor, soul, and life. So, Malena has to figure out how to save him. This story was riveting. I liked all aspects of it.

Moonglow by Sara Faring

Well, Moonglow by Sara Faring probably was not the short story for me and that’s fine. I feel like the structure of the story was cool – it was told in diary format. It’s about a girl who has to keep her diary in her head and she ends up pregnant and her family is exiled to the city while her father and mistress live on their ranch. But then she comes back and buys a spell. It was kind of confusing and I am still struggling to understand what happened. I think someone smarter than me would like this short story though.

Killing El Chivo by Claribel A. Ortega

One of the standout stories in Reclaim The Stars is Killing El Chivo by Claribel A. Ortego. This story is about three sisters who are brujas who live on an island ruled by a despot named El Chivo. El Chivo has magic and so, only someone with magic could kill him. The three sisters plot and practice as they will only have five minutes to carry out the assassination. This was well written, well pace and had some interesting twists.

Tame The Wicked Night by Zoraida Cordova

I am glad this anthology saved one of the best stories for last. Zoraida Cordova’s Tame The Wicked Stars is one of the few stories in this anthology where I would happily read a full book version. This story follows Aurelio who has a gift for growing things and an affinity for plants. His mother asks him to marry a noble’s daughter, but Aurelio turns the daughter down because he does not love her. So, to save his honor, he is asked to kill the monster of the mountain. It turns out, the Wicked Night, is a woman who captivates Aurelio. And the story just gets better from there. This was beautifully written with fantastic imagery and pacing. By far, my favorite of Reclaim The Stars. 

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