Emerjas

 As the name of the book suggests, this was an anthology of stories featuring love triangles. Even though some of them really didn't have much of one. As with all anthologies, there was a mix of stories I loved and stories I did not. There was an impressive amount of diversity as far as race and sexual orientation, which was really nice. And there were stories across a number of different genres too. Overall, it was a fairly nice collection. Below are my thoughts on the individual stories.

Riddles in Mathematics by Katie Cotugno - For a story in a book about love triangles, this really didn't have much of one. The main character didn't really spend much time interacting with the person she ends up with, so it was hard to feel much about them. The story was fairly cute, but would have been better if it were longer. 3/5 Stars

Dread South by Justina Ireland - Despite having zombies (which I hate), this was a fairly cute story set after the Civil War where a racist white girl is being courted by a rich white guy while falling for her black female protector who causes her to question her views of the world as she trains her in combat. I'd love a longer story of it, not because I felt it needed it, but because I wanted more of them. 5/5 Stars

Omega Ship by Rae Carson - None of the characters were developed enough for me to care about anything that was going on. It was an interesting premise with the last three humans left in the universe having to start again on a new planet, but I just didn't care about them. 2/5 Stars

La Revancha Del Tango by Renee Ahdieh - Another story that didn't really have a love triangle. I didn't particularly like the lead. She thought the guy checking her into the hostel deserves for her to go off on him, but I had no clue why when all he did was say he knew who she was and told her what he needed to check her in. Maybe he just wasn't friendly enough for her? Which also seemed to be the reason why the cab driver she had deserved to have her silently cursing him. And I didn't really feel any chemistry between her and the guy. She was immediately dismissive of him because of his appearance. And his intro immediately made me think of a guy who just doesn't understand the word 'no'. I was just not a fan all around. 1/5 Stars

Cass, An, and Dra by Natalie C. Parker - The main character had the ability to see two potential futures when presented with a choice. So far she had been using this ability to ensure her relationship with her girlfriend remained strong, but she suddenly saw a potential future with a new person. While she kept making choices to avoid this person, futures kept popping up with them. The story's premise was interesting, but the story itself just didn't click with me. I didn't really care who she ended up choosing because I didn't care about her current relationship or the potential one. 2.5/5 Stars

Lessons for Beginners by Julie Murphy - This was a fairly cute story about a girl who gave kissing lessons to bad kissers willing to pay for them. The problem started when she got her first couple client and found herself attracted to one of them. I wanted this one to be longer so I could spend more time with all the characters and so they could be fleshed out some more. But it was still a fun read as is. 4/5 Stars

Triangle Solo by Garth Nix - Two boys who were competing over who would be forced to play the triangle in the newest piece they're doing for orchestra found themselves also competing for the attention of an old friend who just returned to Mars. The girl was completely undeveloped and was really just there to be "won" by one of the guys. I liked the guys' friendship with each other, but wasn't impressed with the romance. 2.5/5 Stars

Vim and Vigor by Veronica Roth - The main character found herself struggling to decide which of two guys to go to prom with. At the same time, she reconnected with old friends when a movie adaption of their favorite comic book series came out. Things took a sudden sci-fi turn when she used experimental tech to help her make her decision. I liked her ultimate choice and enjoyed her bonding with her friends over comics. 4.5/5 Stars

Work in Progress by E. K. Johnston - This was a weird one. It was three different stories told in three different parts each, all in second person. I had a hard time figuring out what was happening at first. And then I was frustrated when the story would abruptly end and the next would start. The characters of each story were all very similar to the ones of the other stories. 2/5 Stars

Hurdles by Brandy Colbert - The worst part of this story was that it had an open-ended ending. I don't always mind those, but I didn't like it in this case. The main character was stuck between running away with the guy she liked who just got out of rehab for alcoholism or staying in school with her boyfriend and running hurdles like her dad (and also coach) wanted. I liked the focus on her thoughts during the whole story and everything that was running through her mind. 4/5 Stars

The Historian, the Garrison, and the Cantankerous Cat Woman by Lamar Giles - This story followed the newest Historian (think Giles from Buffy, but a teenage girl) and switched between the past and present. In the past, she was just discovering the world of monsters. In the present, the Garrison (think Buffy, but a teenage boy) just died while out fighting monsters with the third member of the team, a were-cat. The two then tried to resurrect their fallen partner. I really enjoyed this one. The main character was my type of morally grey character. 5/5 Stars

Waiting by Sabaa Tahir - Summer started for the main character with her best friend in jail and not set to get out until after she has left for college. And shortly before the arrest, the two of them kissed and never had the chance to talk about it. A new guy who is great had started showing interest in her, but she was torn between waiting for her friend or starting something new. I liked this one. Her difficulty in choosing between the two was portrayed well. I could see why she was torn, even if one of them seemed like the obvious choice on paper. 4/5 Stars

Vega by Brenna Yovanoff - This was the only story that I felt really did something truly different with the love triangle concept. Instead of being a choice between two lovers, the choice was between the guy she loved and the city she loved. However, I had a hard time getting into the story, especially at first when names were thrown at me quickly with no understanding of who was who. Even after I got a handle on what was going on, I didn't really connect with the story. It was just okay. 2.5/5 Stars

A Hundred Thousand Threads by Alaya Dawn Johnson - This had an interesting format with it being told in a series of messages and interviews. It told the story of a guy whose family was kidnapping and killing girls and the criminal girl who was trying to save them and convince the guy to help. It was confusing at first to understand what was going on, but I enjoyed it once I got everything straight. Part of that is because I like female vigilantes who focus on saving girls from men. 3.5/5 Stars

Before She Was Bloody by Tessa Gratton - This was one that took a bit for me to get into. Getting the names and their positions straight took me a good chunk of the story. The main character was devoted to their god while her family ruled, so she couldn't take a lover. And her best friend was devoted to her, but both of them wanted the same guy. I think I would have liked this more as a longer story to flesh everything out more. 3/5 Stars

Unus, Duo, Tres by Bethany Hagen - I think this won for saddest story of the bunch for me, although I did enjoy it overall. The main character was a vampire who fell in love with a human at his boarding school and turned him. The two had a secret relationship going, but one of them fell for a new girl who just transferred. Unfortunately, she had cancer and not long left to live. This story did have insta-love with the guys for the girl, which is never my favorite. However, all the characters were charming, which helped me mind less. And it certainly made me feel something, especially with that ending. 4/5 Stars