Milk Blood Heat - Daniel W. Moniz

A well written collection of short stories that reflect on major influences and crossroads that many people will reach in their lives. I personally think that I would have preferred this book in Audiobook format, as I think this would emphasise the lyrical way in which it was written. Many thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for allowing me the chance to read and review this book

Short story collection about characters that are so real, so much so that you can see them in front of yourself, recognise the good and bad in them. Every story was unique in a way and kept me wanting more, while I absolutely enjoyed the abrupt endings of them, as I do always with short stories.

I definitely could not predict how each story goes so the twists came as a surprise. A great collection that I have kept thinking about for a while. Very curious what Moniz will write next.

“Before thirteen, she hadn’t realized empty was a thing you could carry. But who put it there? Sometimes she wonders if she will ever be rid of it, and other times she never wants to give it back. It is a thing she owns.”

You know you’re reading a brilliant book when you find yourself continuously highlighting passages of sublime writing.

This debut collection of short stories covers a multitude: women, life, death, miscarriage, sex, motherhood, race, relationships, suicide, terminal illness and much more, all set in the Florida heat. It first came to my attention when @lupita.reads posted about it earlier this year and I understand now why she was so taken with it.

It is no easy feat to craft a perfect short story. The author does it over and over again in this book. A couple of the stories took my breath away (the opening story Milk Blood Heat and also Feast, The Hearts of our Enemies and Outside The Raft)- how is it possible to do this in a few pages? Reading Moniz gave me the feeling I had reading Brit Bennett for the first time.

Each story felt like a novel in and of itself. Superbly developed characters, vividly evocative settings and taut stories that unravelled at a perfect pace. The author’s take on girlhood in particular was totally arresting. There were a couple of stories towards the end that perhaps lacked the same spark for me, but nonetheless I loved the book and would recommend it. I can’t wait to see what Moniz writes next. 4.5/5 ⭐️

*Milk Blood Heat will be published on 6 May 2021. I am grateful to the publishers @atlanticbooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. As always, this is an honest review. I’ve preordered a copy as it’s one I’d like to read again.

I was provided with a free ebook copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley,

This is a really strong collection of short stories centred around mostly young women who are at a crossroads in their life. The writing style is rich and descriptive. Normally when I read short story collections, there are a few that stand out to me, a few I found ok and a few I end up skipping because I can't get into them. With this, I didn't want to skip any.

A really good debut work and I would love to read a full-length novel by the author.

Amazing short stories. Some of the best I've read for a long time. Pin-point accurate language and descriptions. Dantiel W. Moniz is a black American university teacher and, while her stories focus on empowering girls and women, the settings are often Florida rather than the inner city. There are first lines to die for and, like Harper Lee she has a particular skill in evoking growing up and puberty. She covers a range of topics in a subtle, wholly imaginative way - periods, church-going, miscarriage, cancer, misogyny and patriarchy. My only criticism is the two stories at the end are weaker, almost whimsical, but this is a stunning short story collection.
Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review – as always, thanks so much to Netgalley for sending this to me!

Milk, Blood, Heat had an intriguing start. The imagery is fascinating, the characters are interesting and the themes immediately caught my attention. Unfortunately, every one of the stories that I read left me feeling ultimately frustrated. Every single one felt unfulfilled to me, as though the climax of the story should really have been the inciting incident, and whenever I started to get immersed in each one, it came to an abrupt end just as we were getting to the interesting part. It was a similar feeling of frustration I had recently when reading Emma Cline’s short story collection, ‘Daddy,’ in which the potential was there but I felt ultimately bored when each story failed to deliver on the intrigued promised.

The book was well-written, but I really didn’t enjoy it, and ended up DNF-ing it at 60%.

First of all I want to say thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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I want to just put some trigger warnings in place for this book as there is mention of a suicide and miscarriage within this book. If these are a potential trigger for you I would suggest being cautious before reading.
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This book is filled with short stories full of difficult events and traumas individuals face within day to day life. They were written so beautifully and hauntingly that it’s really easy to feel the pain of the characters through the pages.

I found them to be really thought provoking and hard hitting. Some of them become ingrained within you and stay with you long after you’ve finished reading them.

I can’t say that I understood or even empathise with all the stories, but I do believe they were written well and I enjoyed reading from different perspectives of all ages and races.

I think books like these are so important, as they remind you of everyday traumas that can happen to you or the people around you, and shows you just how easy and quickly your world can turn around and lead you down a different path or toward becoming a different person altogether.

I really really enjoyed reading these short stories and hope to see more of Dantiel’s work in the future

Human portraits, snapshots of the lives of women and girls, beautifully written - each a wonderful honest insight, normal and wonderful

I've been longing for a book like this. A book you think about all day, eager to continue reading. A brilliant collection of short stories, every single one gripping and to be cherised. And I'll never be able to look at an octopus without thinking about this book.

This is a great collection of short stories. There are a lot of emotions packed in a short format, with themes revolving around womanhood, relationships (with siblings, parents, lovers, interracial ones), misscariage, growing up, change. The writing was at times quite flowery and lyrical, but it worked well for the stories - intimate portraits, little bits of lives.

This is more like snap shots of people's lives, not like short stories. They are incredibly gripping, I was instantly plunged into that world and really enjoyed it. I hope Moniz writes a novel. I'm sure I'd absolutely devour it. The ending of some of the last few stories were absolute gut punchers. Here are some of my highlighted bits for your consideration:

'Her mother learned how to be a woman here, in the faith, and her father a man, but Zey's been to the library and looked up real history-slave ships and witch trials and women kept in bare feet. The book she borrowed were full of words like pay-gap and redline, and she noticed that in all genres, no matter literature or biography, men's fury stained the pages, sowing lies like white seeds inside of people's hearts.'

'Hate, he continues, is almost always a cover for some perceived psychological threat - our guilt or pain. Our fear. And how do we treat things of which we are afraid?'

'She brought the cigarette to her mouth and took a long smooth drag. Fred imagined the smoke swirling down into the cage of her chest, every bone illuminated, turning what was left of her lungs the color of stone.'

'It was the hottest day of that summer and the sun hung in the air- a wax lemon melting, oozing light.'

'Out the window, Shelby and Lucas are specks converging on the horizon, at that particular distance where it's hard to tell if someone is walking toward you or away.'

'Anyway, we might have thought, haven't we always eaten the young?'

'I wondered why she'd even bothered to have me. I estimated the number of boyfriends she might have had over the years, the many children she had swallowed as seeds. How painless. I wish I'd been eaten, too.'

I wish there were more books like this around. I struggle to find short story collections, even more so to find good ones. I wonder if it’s because they’re valued less than a novel? I’d love to hear an audiobook of this collection and would buy it for sure. The stories are the perfect length and pick a punch- I’ve described the book as Arresting when recommending it to my friends. A triumph.

I was absolutely blown away by this collection - such a diverse range of stories told and so many worlds created within just a few pages, in some cases. There was only one, Exotics (also by far the shortest of the bunch), where I felt the tone was a little bit off - it seemed much more fanciful compared to the others and less rooted in reality. The rest of the collection is staggering, covering topics such as serious illness, marital difficulty, suicide and accidental pregnancy with a really light touch - there’s nothing depressing in here, even in moments of really jeopardy. I will definitely look out for more by this debut author - highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This collection of short stories packs a real punch with each tale.

Though short, they cover a great deal of ground, and you get the sense that all of the characters are on the verge of discovering something new, and it feels that the shadow of Trump, and the uncertainty of the times, lingers in the background of every story.

The writing is sharp, funny, and happy to delve into uncomfortable topics from which it feels like there is no escape.

Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Set among the cities and suburbs of Florida, each story in Milk Blood Heat delves into the ordinary worlds of young girls, women, and men who find themselves confronted by extraordinary moments of violent personal reckoning.

This book is made up of short stories that keep you thinking about them until the very end. It is a delightful read, one that I enjoyed and would recommend. Overall, 3.5 stars. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

An absolutely sensational, raw collection of stories that presents humanity as its true unfiltered self: sometimes pure and beautiful but other times dark, dangerous and self-destructive.

Exploring poignant and hard-hitting themes such as sexual assault, family relationships, friendships, mental health, stigma and intimacy, this collection is uncomfortable in its frankness and warming in its resolution.

The personas presented by the writer leap off the page, old and young alike and she has pure talent for creating a believable tarnished coming-of-age mindset.

An absolute must read.

Read if you like: The Thing Around Your Neck by Adichie.

Thanks to NetGalley for this masterpiece in exchange for the easiest five star ARC review I've ever left.

I was lucky enough to get an arc copy of this book.

Milk Blood Heat was filled with meaningful, beautiful stories that managed to grip me. The first two stories were a particular favourite of mine, just because I feel as if I connected with them the most; however, all were brilliantly written and held a significant meaning behind them.

Whilst reading, I didn't know what to expect, but the further I delved into each story, the more information and beauty I found. Moniz has such a beautiful way with words, and I was blown away by the depth and description that had been packed into each short story. I felt every emotion of every page, and I felt as if I were there inside the page, feeling and living everything that the character was. It was a wonderful experience, although at times tragic and heart-wrenching.

I was blown away by the evident talent of Moniz, and I cannot wait to see what they create in the future!

Great collection of essays all will enjoy of various topics. Some touch on universal truths and others discuss personal depths. I enjoyed this one and highly recommend.

This is an amazing debut piece which vividly depicts the violence of the female self and body. It is almost poetic in style, with the use of metaphors giving the stories some real depth and leaving the reader with lots to think about and quotes that stick with you long after you put the book down. I feel absolutely blown away and the level of writing for a debut novelist.

As is always the case with short stories, some stuck with me more than others. I particularly loved Feast as I think that it tackled the issue of depression in an excellent way. It shows the clear impact that miscarriage can have on not just a women's body but her mental health and relationships. It was truly a harrowing read.

3 ½ stars

Milk Blood Heat is a promising debut, one that I'm sure will be well-received by readers who enjoy lyrical proses. While I personally found Moniz's style to be occasionally a bit too flowery and/or impressionistic (“she's Frankenstein's monster. She is vampire queen. She is newly thirteen, hollowed out and filled back up with venom and dust-cloud dreams” / “my mouth a black cave, ugly and squared” / “I want to swallow my mouth—to fold in my lips and chew until they burst” / “my body felt made of stars”), I was nevertheless absorbed by her rather mesmerising storytelling.
Like most collections of short stories, some aren't as memorable or well-executed as others, but even in the stories that I didn't find particularly affecting there were moments or scenes that stood out (in a good way).

Most of these stories seem to possess an ambiguous quality, offering little resolution or at times clarity on the characters' feelings and/or futures. With the exception of two stories, most seem to be centred on either a young girl or woman whose lives are about to change or are in the process of changing. In the first one, 'Milk Blood Heat', follows a young girl, Ava, who spends her days playing with her white best friend, Kiera and begins to question their differences: This year she's become obsessed with dualities, at looking at one thing in two ways. Although Ava's mother disapproves of Kiera and her wild ways, the two girls are inseparable, or they are until tragedy strikes.
The second story, 'Feast', a woman is the deep thralls of depressions after having a miscarriage. She begins to resent her partner, as he seems not as affected by their loss. Moniz renders the uneasiness and sadness that have become backdrop to the woman's every thought and action, revealing how deeply her miscarriage has altered her state of being. Her grief, the disturbing visions she has, her numbness are hauntingly conveyed through Moniz's sharp yet poetic language (which in this instance worked perfectly with the kind of story she was telling).
Most of the other stories explore similar themes (grief, identity, motherhood, friendship) without ever seeming repetitive. Two stories seem centred on a girl's passage from youth to adulthood, one that forces them reconsider their worldview and notions of good and bad (especially in terms of their sexuality), and each one gives us a different take on 'growing up'.
My favourite stories were probably 'The Heart of Our Enemies' (which focuses on a fraught mother-daughter relationship) and 'Snow (in which a young woman is having second thoughts about her marriage). The two I liked the least were 'The Loss of Heaven' and 'Exotics' (which was short and employed a first-person plural perspective, 'we', that came across as an exercise for a creative writing class).
Even if Moniz's prose was a bit too sticky and snappy at times (a la 'girls are daggers/my eyes are full of stars'), I still was able to appreciate the majority of her stories and I look forward to what she will write next.