Max Turner's 3 favorite reads in 2024

I rarely give 5 stars as often there is something more I want from stories, and especially anthologies/collections, even if that's simply "more"! And whilst I would love more of this (and I'll be checking out Lyons' other stuff), the stories all felt very complete and well-rounded. I, perhaps cynically, had also not expected the appearance of trans male characters in an M/M collection, so that was a pleasant and welcome surprise!

This is such a difficult book to review. And yet I was so close to giving it 5 stars.
There are things in this book, on a technical level, that I usually hate but they just didn't bother me. I was so engaged and invested in the story. I've seen people call this charming or enchanting, and that sums it up. It's a slow, meandering slice of life ramble - a style I like when done well, as this is. But that life we're seeing a slice of is in a future that is deeply intriguing but that none of us would want to live in.

This is how you commit to the bit on interestingly formatted books! This is so incredibly well done, and brilliantly thought through - an example of when the substance is as strong as the style, which is so often not the case with interestingly formatted books.

Personally, I do love an interestingly formatted epistolary and this delivered! The formats (tweets, blogs, reddit, etc) all fit well together and make sense in the narrative. The only thing I wasn't so keen on was a quirk in the actual layout - it tripped me up in places where the next epistle started right at the bottom of a page rather than on a fresh page but it's a small quibble.

I really enjoyed the story itself, a few interesting twists and turns that kept it fresh and interesting to the end. And, rather skillfully, the characters feel well crafted and you can get to know them which can be difficult with this sort of format.