Boys, Book Clubs, and Other Bad Ideas
A Monday Night Anthology
Ratings1
Average rating4
15
A Monday Night Anthology
Ratings1
Average rating4
Seven stories of love and impending doom. What happens when… Escaped demons threaten prom? An energy drink breaks the fabric of space-time? A smug VR gamer is forced to team up with her last-choice player? The pursuit of the perfect university application goes way too far? A first date turns into a chase across alternate universes? A wizard fanboy accidentally becomes a hero? Death’s secretary tries to save her favorite human from dying? Bad ideas—that’s what. One prompt. Seven writers. Seven wildly different stories. Monday Night Anthology is a multi-genre collection featuring unique interpretations of the same idea. From romance to satire, fantasy to humor, this volume brings fresh narratives and surprising twists that will make you believe in the brilliance of bad ideas. Featuring stories by Kristina Horner, Stephen Folkins, Jennifer Lee Swagert, Katrina Hamilton, Shay Lynam, Sunny Everson, and Maria Berejan.
Reviews with the most likes.
I've read their second anthology “The Mistletoe Paradox” that I've liked very much, and this one is the same. One of the strongest quality of this writers group is that their stories are all different. Also, I've read the reviews and sometimes, we don't have the same favorite story or least favorite. That's a good thing since it shows that there are stories for everyone. Now, for a lil review for each story:
Kristina Horner: a trio of friends must find and capture demons that have escaped before their prom night. A mix of Buffy and Charmed, but with its own flavor. Sweet and funny, love the lil twist at the end.
Stephen Folkins: the funniest of this anthology! You know those Team This and Team That in pop culture? Like Team Jacob-Team Edward or Team Cap-Team Iron Man? Well, take a group of guys in a book club, arguing about the characters from the book they've read, and really arguing like those Teams, and bam! they're now IN the book and they know it!
Jennifer Lee Swagert: in an online game, two strangers get put together against their will when their first partner get killed. One is thrill to play with such an advanced player; the other, not so much. And yet... I think it was my favorite story. It was original, the characters were awesome and it had this sweetness, but not overbearing. Really loved it.
Katrina Hamilton: written in second-person, the narration is quite special and interesting. In this students, you follow students who have to jungle multiple clubs so that they can have good recommendations later for college. But it's not easy when there are boys to also consider! It's a nice story. Not in my favorites, but I've liked it.
Shay Lynam: a group of students stay behind at school after it have been locked but two of them find themselves... elsewhere, and try to get back. I like the descriptions, the things with the books and worlds. But I didn't really get close to the two main characters and I must admit that I saw coming that twist at the end. Maybe because I read the same thing in a Goosebumps book. Sorry!
Sunny Everson: a young wizard, who always thought he was only a backgroung character, will find out that he has more worth than that. It's a not quite parody of Harry Potter. We can see that it's meant to make fun of it, highlight some of its flaws, while also being serious about other stuff. So, in a way, this story also made my think of Rainbow Rowell's books. I really liked it and I would really love a sequel!
Maria Berejan: a secretary in the afterlife tries to save her favorite author, while also climbing the hierachy in her job and dating her handsome crush. It was a fun read, love the characters and it was also exciting: will she succeeded at saving that man's life?
The last story was a collaborative piece between all authors. Something light and fun that breaks the fourth wall. They must had fun writing this!
So, a solid 4 stars. Even 4 and a half. Like with the other anthology, I love the book itself: the cover illustration, the smoothness of the book, everything! Finally, I've backed this on kickstarter and if there are other anthologies, I'll probably back again since I love the first two. :)
