Hello everyone,
Today’s review is on A Phoenix First Must Burn edited by Patrice Caldwell.
Patrice Caldwell brings a collection of sixteen stories written by sixteen authors of color, all about black girl magic. Each story has fantasy or science fiction elements, and transports readers to alternative universes, Hispaniola in 1522, New Mexico in 1880, to a Middle-Eastern inspired fantasy world, as well as many others. Each character will have to fight against tyrannical rulers, or slave owners, or figure out a way to save the world from aliens. Readers will also come in contact with vampires, unicorns and mermaids. Some of the stories deal with family curses, or the ability to see how decisions will influence the future. Each story will take readers on an exciting journey that will leave them wanting more.
Since this review is on an anothlogy of each story, I will be providing a brief review of each story in the collection, as well as any themes that are discussed in the book. The first story is When Life Hands You Lemon Fruit Bombs by Amerie. This was an intersting science fiction story that takes readers on a bit of mind-trip towards the very end. It delas with the concepts of first contact, interplanetary wars and the birth of a civilaztion. One main theme in this story is that of compassion and humannes. Both Mae and Santos struggle with how the Nokira (the alien race) are treated, and they even set them free before the rest of the humans head back to earth. Mae often observes that there is something almost human about the Nokira, even if there might not be.
The second story in this collection is Gilded by Elizabeth Acevedo which takes place just before the slave revolts on Santa Domingo in 1522. There is an element of magical realism since the main character, Eula, has some sort of magic that allows her to manipulate metals. This is essentially a story about the fight for freedom, and will leave readers wanting more. The next story was Wherein Abigail Fields Recalls Her First Death and, subsequently, Her Best Life by Rebecca Roanhorse. This was a weird tale set in the Wild West, more specifically New Mexico in 1880. This particular story deals with seeking vengeance and making a deal with the devil, or in this case the spirits of the desert. It was really fast-paced and seemed to be over as soon as it began.
Story number four was The Rules of the Land by Alaya Dawn Johnson which was an interesting story about angry sea goddesses, deals made to save a country and the breaking of one’s oath. This story was a little confusing in a couple of places it felt like something important would take place but it was glossed over. The fifth story was A Hagiography of Starlight by Somaiya Doud. It is a Middle Eastern inspired tale about a girl who falls in love with a divine being and how her actions serve as a catalust for the events that will lead to the end of the world. This was a great short story that id a great job at explaining things and provided a great plot in 20+ pages, and the ending was very satisfying. The next story was Melie by Justina Ireland, an interesting fantasy story in which a young woman discovers that the High Sorcerer of the land is trying to creat a diversion within the kingdom in order to help another country invade it. It has a strogn theme of believing and advocating for oneself and it also has mermaids, dragons and unicorns.
The seventh story is The Goddess Provides by L. L. McKinley. All throughout this story the theme of hypocrisy is woven through fantasy tale, especialy since the goddess of this society empowers Akkia, who is considered a heathen, and tells her that the ones who are truly heathens are those who claim to be devout her but commit horrific acts in her name. It also includes a theme of betrayal and deceit when it turns ut her brother is still alive and is behind everything. The ninth story is Hearts Turned to Ash by Dhonielle Clayton which serves a cautionary tale about giving one’s heart away and making some the center of your universe and how the heartbreak feels awful. Although in this case, Etta’s heart is literally being turned to ash and she has to go visit a conjure woman to heal her. This was a magical realism that contained some influences of voodoo and hoodoo.
The next story in this anthology is Letting the Right One In by Patrice Caldwell whichc follows Ayanna who suffers from depression and is adjusting to life in a new town and is obsessed with vampires. One day she meets a black vampire and falls in love. It is ultimatey about feeling out of place in a new environment but eventually finding someone that make you feel like you belong. Tender-headed by Danny Lore was an interesting but weird story, but its main theme was ti take pride in what you do and to be kind. The next story was Kiss the Sun by Ibi Zoboi which is about a group of fire witches who feat on evil souls at night. It ends up becoming a story about a fight for pwoer which they think comes from having a lighter-skinned body, however it leads to some major discord amongst the group.
The twelfth story is The Actress by Danielle Paige abut Gamine who plays a witch on TV, but what happens when she discovers that she might actually be a witch? There is a lot of good build-up to Gamine’s discovery and there was also some indictions of the facts that she is indeed a witch. However, it does promote the trope of the main charcter not being like other girls, but it is exectued pretty well in this story. The next story is The Curse of Love by Ashley Woodfolk which is all about a family that is cursed to charming and beautiful, but they cannot fall love because when they do they immediately start aging and die. Therefore they try to guard themselves from finding love, but eventually they all succumb to love’s spell. All the Time in the World by Charlotte Nicole Davis follows Jordan, who discovers that she has the ability to make time stand still and it touchs on corporate greed and environmental issues and how people tend to care about a cause when it is affecting them directly. Another interesting feautre of this story is that it is told in the 2nd person.
The second to last story of this collection is The Witch’s Skin by Karen Strong which is an interesting mix of both fantasy and sci-fi about a witch that haunts an island and steals the souls of men. The main character, Nalah, wants to kill the witch because she killed her true love, however she discovers that the witch has been masquerading as her mother for seventeen years. The Boo Hag tells her that her life is a lie and that everyone on the island has been deceived by the Council. It also touches a little bit on misogny. The final story is Sequence by J. Marcelle Corrie in which there is a software that can help people see how certain decisions can affect their future. In this case we see Eden trying to decide whether to tell her crush that she likes her and we see the scenario where she does nothing and the one when she makes her move. The point being that even the smallest decisions can end up having an impact on our future and happiness.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories, although some of them had content that I don’t really like. I also wish some of them had been a bit longer, but I loved how each story was unique. 3.5/5 Stars.
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Izzy James grew up in coastal Virginia. She lives there still with her fabulous husband in a house brimming with books.
After My Parents Passed,
Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.
ECPA-bestselling author Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D., is the award-winning author of over a dozen Christian historical romances. Twenty-five years as a psychologist didn’t “cure” her overactive imagination! A self-professed “history geek,” she resides with her family in the Historic Triangle of Virginia but grew up as a “Yooper” in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Carrie loves to read, bake, bead, and travel – but not all at the same time! You can connect with her at 
A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, Christina Sinisi writes stories about families, both the broken and blessed. Her works include a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest and the American Title IV Contest in which she appeared in the top ten in the Romantic Times magazine. Her published books include The Christmas Confusion and Sweet Summer, the first two books in the Summer Creek Series, as well as the Christmas On Ocracoke and the upcoming Why They Call it Falling. By day, she’s a psychology professor and lives in the Lowcountry of South Carolina with my husband, two grown children and Hemingway cat, Chessie.
Dana Mentink is a two time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award and a Holt Medallion winner. She is the Publisher’s Weekly and Amazon bestselling author of over forty titles in the suspense and lighthearted romance genres. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, and Poisoned Pen Press. You can connect with Dana via her website at 
Author of the bestselling Aggie and Past Forward series, Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.
Jan Davis Warren is a mother, grandmother, and a young-at-heart great-grandmother. Her wonderful husband passed away the same year she won the ACFW Genesis Award for Romantic Suspense. That win and many others are encouraging reminders that God wants her to continue writing even in the tough times. Learn more at 
Award-winning author Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory, and her best-selling stories—over sixty published—delight Christian readers around the world. The prolific writer also enjoys singing the new songs the Lord gives her; you may listen at YouTube. Sharing four children and nineteen grandsugars (three greats), Caryl and Ron, her high-school-sweetheart-husband of fifty-three years, live in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas. The McAdoos wait expectantly for God to open the next door.
Liz Tolsma is the author of several WWII novels, romantic suspense novels, prairie romance novellas, and an Amish romance. She is a popular speaker and an editor and resides next to a Wisconsin farm field with her husband and their youngest daughter. Her son is a US Marine, and her oldest daughter is a college student. Liz enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping. Please visit her website at 
Jennifer Lynn Cary likes to say you can take the girl out of Indiana, but you can’t take the Hoosier out of the girl. Now transplanted to the Arizona desert, this direct descendant of Davy Crockett and her husband of forty years enjoy time with family where she shares tales of her small town heritage and family legacies with their grandchildren. She is the author of The Crockett Chronicles series and The Relentless series as well as the stand-alone novella Tales of the Hob Nob Annex Café and her recent split-time novel The Traveling Prayer Shawl.
Mindy Steele writes sweet Amish fiction as well as romantic suspense. She is an author of 7 novels. The Miller’s Creek Amish series, Christmas Grace, Christmas in Cranberry, His Amish Wife’s Hidden past, and An Amish Flower Farm, releasing 2021. If not gardening or visiting her Amish neighbors, she is on the family farm writing her newest inspiration.
An Illustrator and Author, Clyde San Juan enjoys encouraging creativity through his art, writings and art instruction classes, young and old. I Spy a Tiger is a young creatives’ introduction to the word read aloud in fellowship with their parents and other family members. Recently becoming a Grampy, Clyde can’t wait till he can read I Spy to his grands!
A rustic, custardy moist cake (or maybe, envision a thick German Pancake dotted with fruit),
With over one million copies sold, Suzanne Woods Fisher is a bestselling, award winning author of over 30 books, ranging from novels to children’s books to non-fiction. She is a Christy Award finalist, a Carol and Selah award winner, and a two-time finalist for ECPA Book of the Year. She writes stories that take you to places you’ve never visited—one with characters that seem like old friends. But most of all, her books give you something to think about long after you’ve finished reading it. Suzanne lives with her very big family in northern California.
3) Frank Chapman was a prominent ornithologist, conservationist, and writer/editor who published Bird Lore magazine. He led the charge to end to this senseless slaughter and invited his readers to begin a new holiday tradition of counting, rather than shooting, birds.
7) Each CBC has an established 15-mile diameter circular count area. On a pre-arranged date, registered teams go out (with an assigned volunteer observer) and count the number of birds of each species they can identify within their assigned area. Each count has a volunteer compiler who sums up all of the lists and inputs the total numbers for each species into Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count database.
To learn more about the Christmas Bird Count, or to find a survey near you, go to 
Andrea Boeshaar was born and raised in Wisconsin but now lives in South Carolina. She had her husband Daniel have been married more than 40 years. They have 3 grown sons, 1 beautiful daughter-in-law, and 5 grandkids.
Sara Davison is the author of three romantic suspense series—The Seven Trilogy, The Night Guardians, and The Rose Tattoo Trilogy, as well as the standalone, The Watcher. She has been a finalist for more than a dozen national writing awards, including Best New Canadian Christian author, a Carol, two Selahs, a Holt Medallion, and three Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is a Word and Cascade Award winner. She currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael and their three children. The words on the mug she uses every morning pretty much sum up her life—I just want to sleep, drink coffee, and make stuff up. Get to know Sara better at 
A cool spring breeze brushed across his cheeks. High up in one of the trees, roots clinging, against all odds, to fissures halfway up the rock across the water from him, an owl hooted, the sound drifting across the ravine. Moonlight glinted off the water, sending sparks of light skittering across the surface. Cash scanned the gorge. As far as he could see in either direction, the beauty of the night, of this place, filled his senses.
Shirley Crowder was born in a mission guest house under the shade of a mango tree in Nigeria, West Africa, where her parents served as missionaries. She and co-author Harriet E. Michael grew up together on the mission field and have been life-long friends. Shirley is passionate about disciple-making, which is manifested in and through a myriad of ministry opportunities: biblical counseling, teaching Bible studies, writing, and music.
Sam Chand’s singular vision for his life is to help others succeed. A prolific author and renowned international business consultant, he develops leaders through consultations, Sam Chand Leadership Institute, Dream Releaser Coaching, and resources such as books, webinars, and digital downloads.
Award winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing. She especially loves romance and writes contemporary romance and romantic mystery and suspense with a heart.
Scott LaPierre is a senior pastor, author, and conference speaker. He holds an MA in Biblical Studies from Liberty University. Scott and his wife, Katie, have been married for more than fifteen years. A former schoolteacher and Army officer, Scott currently leads a church in Washington State and supports his family on his pastor’s salary, allowing Katie to stay home with their nine children. Both are passionate advocates of homeschooling. Learn more about Pastor Scott at his website: 
Active in ministry for over twenty years, Apostle Guillermo Maldonado is the founder of King Jesus International Ministry—one of the fastest-growing multicultural churches in the United States—which has been recognized for its visible manifestations of God´s supernatural power. King Jesus Ministry currently has a membership of more than 25,000, including the main church in Miami, Florida, its campuses, its daughter churches, and its online church. Apostle Maldonado is also a spiritual father to 500 churches in 70 countries, which form the Supernatural Global Network, representing more than 750,000 people. In addition, he is the founder of the University of the Supernatural Ministry (USM). Apostle Maldonado has a doctorate in Christian counseling and a master’s degree in practical theology.
April Hayman lives in the high desert of California with her husband and their three sons. During the day, she focuses on homeschooling the boys and working on client projects. She writes at night when the temperature outside is only somewhat cooler than during the day.
Dan Smith is a Christian, a husband, a father, a career US Navy sailor, and freelance writer living in Virginia Beach, VA with his wife and three children. His publishing history goes back 21 years, when he was first published in the magazine Pentecostal Messenger.
John Charles Comerford grew up playing hard, on the streets and fields of Washington Township, New Jersey. He attended Our Lady of Good Counsel Grammar School through 8th grade. He then jumped across the street to attend Westwood High School, where he soon began playing guitar and composing songs at the age of sixteen. Writing short musical stories would soon turn into a more involved field of composition, as he later attended Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ. Here, he developed a desire to become a paperback writer. While attending college, he took a job with the US Postal Service as a mail carrier and is still delivering, thirty years later. He is still a performing musician and a recording artist on itunes. He now resides in Pawling, New York with his wife Bridget and his son Jack.
Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.
Meanderings of a BookWorm 