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This is a delightful little cyberpunk world to get immersed in, with some kickass sexy characters that make this story such an enjoyable ride. I was hooked from the beginning, and the short chapters really helped to keep the momentum going. This was the first I'd heard of this author, and will definitely be checking out more from him.

The cyberpunk setting details were unobtrusively woven in to the narrative. Just enough description was spent on the surrounding world to give the characters a place and context, but at the same time it was done so skillfully that the scenes were quite vivid in my mind, with even the characters' wardrobes being memorable.

I love the complexity of the characters. They, as well as the flow and pace of the plot, felt natural and real. It was interesting to me that there was no real "bad guy" here, just flawed people in unfortunate circumstances. Except Mila. She's just straight up evil.

I can't wait until the sequel. Just when I had been beginning to wonder how power-couple Darius and Mila's arc intersected with Motorpapi's, they came together in the most "OH SNAP" way. And with what happens after that. . . I need more Motorpapi.


I received a free advance review copy and am leaving this honest feedback voluntarily.

I had been wondering how relations worked between neighbors in places like Charlottesville, Virginia, where the removal of public statues of Confederate figures like Robert E. Lee were up for debate over its removal. What are these people really like, who are they when they're not against something, but just kickin' back and chillin'? And what is it like to be the child of one of them right now, or to have been? This collection of stories offered an informative, heartbreaking, heartwarming, and even humorous array of such voices that helps us understand how it can, and did, happen here.

We meet recurring characters in a sprawling network of friends, family, and coworkers: Monica, Jeanette, Jonah, Case, and George Matts, to name a few. They all give their own view of Charlottesville and the neighbors who, besides voting for Trump and being rather ignorant of other ways of living, are otherwise nice, well-meaning people. Except for the narcissists, of course.

Particularly interesting to me was how young friends were shown to get pulled in to cultist groups like the Proud Boys or the Tiki Torchers. Superstitious young women and rabble-rousing young men whose parents are detached and swept up in their own problems or somehow mentally ill from generational trauma (thanks, capitalism), so their teens and young adult children were free to roam the streets or the internet and meet bad influences, getting up to white nationalist trouble.

Ann Beattie has a fast-paced style of writing that packs a lot into few words. It's very economical, which means you really have to read closely. It's easy to miss something small but crucial. Which is good—this is definitely not a book that will put you to sleep. It's an engaging ride, helping you through the dark times with a much needed sense of humor.

This book comes from such valuable perspectives, especially at this time of lawmakers making decisions for states that may not reflect the views of many communities there. It shows us the importance of remembering the diversity of views even within conservative towns; and it's an excellent opportunity to see these perspectives playing together in various situations based on true events and get a deeper understanding.

It's the hot gossip. The small-town family drama. The realness.

The idea of toxic positivity intensified to horrific circumstances was what drew me in about this, and it definitely delivered.

This was a fun, quick horror read (130 pages) that does a good job pulling the reader in, and getting them quickly invested into the drama of the characters. The characters were written so vividly, and their voices were realistic and strong.

Huge kudos to the author for showcasing the brazen, ugly, and emotionally abusive type of partner through the character Bobby. This kind of man affects so many women and they never seem to get any consequences for the way they treat and psychologically damage their partners. As a man who has seen it happen to women in my life, I'm glad to see another man working it into his plots and actually getting the women some justice.

At one point, a character references Reddit, which got me thinking that it does give off a creepypasta vibe, or something you might hear on the No Sleep Podcast. Which for me is great because I love those things, and would definitely recommend this novella if you're into them too.

Thank you to Dread Stone Press for the digital advance review copy for my honest feedback.

We needed this book so much. We're fortunate to have authors like Leah Penniman to collect all these beautiful Black experts together for us. The presentation of the dialogue is enjoyable, and there were handy introductions before each speaker. It was inspiring to hear from my people about this, in our voices, on tackling the biggest challenge of our time. Tell it like it is, call out the purposeful, systematic blocks and even sabotages to resolving past and current environmental issues! Mother Nature says we trippin', and it's true.

The scope of this book was more than I ever expected. Amazing that it took us from the farm to the city to the ocean, and every crack and crevice in between. The fact that the ocean is more the lungs of the planet than the forests was the biggest eye-opener here for me. So much we gotta do for our water, so much more attention which has to be paid.

And hell yeah, of course we bringing it all back to the arts, because only artists can shift social consciousness in the ways necessary to galvanize the people. This sentiment was so beautifully communicated in the chapter with Alice Walker, and expressed poetically later on.

Thank you Penniman for this very timely, very necessary collection.

Ebook provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!