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Elixir: Stories of Hope and Healing
For those looking to escape, discover, heal, and believe, Elixir will take you to worlds where light always finds its way.
Elixir is a collection of LGBT science fiction fantasy stories themed in hope and healing. If you've ever wanted characters to go through the ringer but end happy regardless, this is the escape you've been looking for. Featuring space travelers, aliens, witches, alternate realities, alternate planets, mermaids, and demon hunters, Elixir very well has something for everyone.
With original stories from:
Hester Steel
Toni Mobley
Mel Miranda
Lea Falls
Amber Denwood
Jonathan Fuller
Cate Pearce
Shawna Barnett
Arianna Emery
Evalyn Broderick
Elixir is a collection of LGBT science fiction fantasy stories themed in hope and healing. If you've ever wanted characters to go through the ringer but end happy regardless, this is the escape you've been looking for. Featuring space travelers, aliens, witches, alternate realities, alternate planets, mermaids, and demon hunters, Elixir very well has something for everyone.
With original stories from:
Hester Steel
Toni Mobley
Mel Miranda
Lea Falls
Amber Denwood
Jonathan Fuller
Cate Pearce
Shawna Barnett
Arianna Emery
Evalyn Broderick
301 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 14, 2022
1 person is currently reading
215 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Jeannel
7books25followersElizabeth Jeannel is a saphhic ace author of queer stories she wishes she’d had in her yesteryears and insistent that all of them end happily. Her releases currently include The Art of Feeling, Cursed (the novella), and Waking Rory. She is the founder and ringmaster of Hansen House, an artist, a photographer, and a gamer when she can squeeze in the time. She is a massive nerd and lover of most sci-fi and fantasy, only wishing more of it had queer representation.
When not writing, she can usually be found wrangling her small farm, hyperfixating on the wrong thing, or consuming just shy of too much caffeine. She currently resides in Southeast Kansas with her two partners.
When not writing, she can usually be found wrangling her small farm, hyperfixating on the wrong thing, or consuming just shy of too much caffeine. She currently resides in Southeast Kansas with her two partners.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 14, 2021
First of all I want to thank the publisher for providing me with an earc.
So when I started this book I didn't know what it was about. I was very excited to read this book and was so happy when I received it. I must say that I enjoyed it very much.
Through the book there is one red line and that is that all stories are lgbtq and about hope and healing.
I really loved each story in another way then the others and these characters has stolen more then ones my heart. I even sat with my mouth open when I finished Nebula. I couldn't believe how it ended and I needed more of that story😅
I think it is normal that you don't like every story as much as the others in a bundle of short stories, but there were less that I didn't like. Although I must say that 'don' t like' is a wrong word choice😅 it's more that the story confused me and after reading it I didn't totally understand what it was about😅
Also we have to say something about the poems at the beginning of each story. They are all based on the story itself and I really loved them. I don't mark easily parts in a book but I have marked all the poems😅 It was a lovely addition to this book.
Overall this book was a quick read, that I fell more and more in love with the further I read. Some of these characters has owned a place in my heart and I truly recommend this book for readers who like short stories in different kinds of genres but all with an LGBTQ representation.
So when I started this book I didn't know what it was about. I was very excited to read this book and was so happy when I received it. I must say that I enjoyed it very much.
Through the book there is one red line and that is that all stories are lgbtq and about hope and healing.
I really loved each story in another way then the others and these characters has stolen more then ones my heart. I even sat with my mouth open when I finished Nebula. I couldn't believe how it ended and I needed more of that story😅
I think it is normal that you don't like every story as much as the others in a bundle of short stories, but there were less that I didn't like. Although I must say that 'don' t like' is a wrong word choice😅 it's more that the story confused me and after reading it I didn't totally understand what it was about😅
Also we have to say something about the poems at the beginning of each story. They are all based on the story itself and I really loved them. I don't mark easily parts in a book but I have marked all the poems😅 It was a lovely addition to this book.
Overall this book was a quick read, that I fell more and more in love with the further I read. Some of these characters has owned a place in my heart and I truly recommend this book for readers who like short stories in different kinds of genres but all with an LGBTQ representation.
November 17, 2021
Thank you Hansen House Publishing for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this lgbtq+ fantasy and sci-fi anthology. Let me just say I have tried reading many anthologies before in my life time and have always struggled. However, this one kept my attention.
Each story was beautifully written and really encapsulated the theme of this anthology. The chemistry between the characters in each story was delightful. All the happy endings made my heart feel full.
Each story was beautifully written and really encapsulated the theme of this anthology. The chemistry between the characters in each story was delightful. All the happy endings made my heart feel full.
January 8, 2022
I don’t often find myself reading SFF books, but when I was offered an eARC of this book I figured I’d take a chance at it. Thank you to Hansen House for allowing me to read this book, it was beyond amazing.
There are 10 stories in this anthology, and I absolutely loved all of them. Each story seems to be around 20-ish pages (at least according to my e-reader). This doesn’t seem like a lot of time to build relationships or worlds, but it felt like more than enough. Some of these stories had a chokehold on my emotions. I had a full discussion with someone about one of the stories after I had read it because it left me with so many emotions.
I’m not going to delve into each story individually. I don’t want to accidentally spoil any of these stories. I will tell you one thing: like the title says each story is about some form of hope and/or healing. There’s also a poem at the beginning of each story and…some of these poems are just stunning. The poem before Mel Miranda’s story is probably my favorite. Like, I would frame this in my room level of favoritism.
I mentioned that I don’t often read SFF books, but I might start making exceptions for anthologies. I avoid SFF books because, in all honesty, I find the details for the worldbuilding to be overwhelming and it tends to be too much for me. This anthology, hopefully other SFF anthologies as well, doesn’t have that issue. Because the book is full of short stories there isn’t a lot of time dedicated to worldbuilding, they just don’t have it. It made it so easy for me to read. I had a couple of questions about some of the scenarios, but I was usually able to garner what was going on in each story.
This is an anthology full of stories. Some of them are love stories, others aren’t. They feature people healing from trauma and holding out hope even when facing down dire straits. These stories are amazing. I plan on following each of these authors in hopes of reading more from them. If you’re like me and you don’t often read SFF books, consider giving this one a shot. It might surprise you, it did for me.
There are 10 stories in this anthology, and I absolutely loved all of them. Each story seems to be around 20-ish pages (at least according to my e-reader). This doesn’t seem like a lot of time to build relationships or worlds, but it felt like more than enough. Some of these stories had a chokehold on my emotions. I had a full discussion with someone about one of the stories after I had read it because it left me with so many emotions.
I’m not going to delve into each story individually. I don’t want to accidentally spoil any of these stories. I will tell you one thing: like the title says each story is about some form of hope and/or healing. There’s also a poem at the beginning of each story and…some of these poems are just stunning. The poem before Mel Miranda’s story is probably my favorite. Like, I would frame this in my room level of favoritism.
I mentioned that I don’t often read SFF books, but I might start making exceptions for anthologies. I avoid SFF books because, in all honesty, I find the details for the worldbuilding to be overwhelming and it tends to be too much for me. This anthology, hopefully other SFF anthologies as well, doesn’t have that issue. Because the book is full of short stories there isn’t a lot of time dedicated to worldbuilding, they just don’t have it. It made it so easy for me to read. I had a couple of questions about some of the scenarios, but I was usually able to garner what was going on in each story.
This is an anthology full of stories. Some of them are love stories, others aren’t. They feature people healing from trauma and holding out hope even when facing down dire straits. These stories are amazing. I plan on following each of these authors in hopes of reading more from them. If you’re like me and you don’t often read SFF books, consider giving this one a shot. It might surprise you, it did for me.
January 10, 2022
Words cannot describe the feelings these stories left with me, but I’ll try my best.
An anthology of queer stories, surrounding themes of love, hope, and healing. I wish that Young Me got to read something so hopeful when she was crying, upset from struggling with her sexuality. To see queer stories with positivity, with characters that are flawed but deserving of happy endings, it’s something that I think we all need, regardless or age or if we’ve got our whole life figured out or not. In a time like today, this beacon of light made me feel warm inside.
This was my first anthology that I’ve read, and each story was perfectly paced. What a beautiful gathering of stories to start off the new year.
An anthology of queer stories, surrounding themes of love, hope, and healing. I wish that Young Me got to read something so hopeful when she was crying, upset from struggling with her sexuality. To see queer stories with positivity, with characters that are flawed but deserving of happy endings, it’s something that I think we all need, regardless or age or if we’ve got our whole life figured out or not. In a time like today, this beacon of light made me feel warm inside.
This was my first anthology that I’ve read, and each story was perfectly paced. What a beautiful gathering of stories to start off the new year.
January 13, 2022
** Was provided an ARC copy by Hansen House for review***
Elixir is an anthology of short stories that revolve around the idea of hope and healing while celebrating falling in love in both Science Fiction and Fantasy settings. That is a tall order for any novel let alone ten short stories. However, all the authors in this anthology manage to not only pull it off but make me crave a novel set in each of these worlds as they all magically wove in romance with stories of resistance, hope, healing, and finding home in many cases.
It is hard for me to pick a favorite story out of this anthology as I loved all of them, even ones like Adia's Garden that I wasn't sure of in the beginning. Once each story clicked, I found myself falling in love with their worlds and characters, wanting to know more about their journeys into the future as the stories came to the end. It was hard to say goodbye to each story as I was not ready for them to end but eagerly devoured the next one, wanting to meet even more fantastical character.
Each story has a poem in the beginning written by Elizabeth Jeannel and help set the mood for each story that we read. Having those poems helps a reader get into the mood for the stories that are to come in the next pages. In short, it's a nice touch to a book that is extremely well crafted.
Elixir reminds me of a mug of tea on a cold day. Something that fills you with warmth and happiness along with a sense of peace. I can not recommend this book enough and hope all who read it have as much joy reading it as I did.
Elixir is an anthology of short stories that revolve around the idea of hope and healing while celebrating falling in love in both Science Fiction and Fantasy settings. That is a tall order for any novel let alone ten short stories. However, all the authors in this anthology manage to not only pull it off but make me crave a novel set in each of these worlds as they all magically wove in romance with stories of resistance, hope, healing, and finding home in many cases.
It is hard for me to pick a favorite story out of this anthology as I loved all of them, even ones like Adia's Garden that I wasn't sure of in the beginning. Once each story clicked, I found myself falling in love with their worlds and characters, wanting to know more about their journeys into the future as the stories came to the end. It was hard to say goodbye to each story as I was not ready for them to end but eagerly devoured the next one, wanting to meet even more fantastical character.
Each story has a poem in the beginning written by Elizabeth Jeannel and help set the mood for each story that we read. Having those poems helps a reader get into the mood for the stories that are to come in the next pages. In short, it's a nice touch to a book that is extremely well crafted.
Elixir reminds me of a mug of tea on a cold day. Something that fills you with warmth and happiness along with a sense of peace. I can not recommend this book enough and hope all who read it have as much joy reading it as I did.
January 13, 2022
I was honored to receive an ARC of Hansen House’s first anthology, Elixir.
Elixir is a queer SFF anthology featuring stories of hope. Featuring 10 stories, this anthology has a wonderful line-up of diverse stories. For brevity, I will talk about my three favorites.
It Counts by Mel Miranda is a story about witches, trauma, emotional healing. The MC has a list of things to accomplish as homework from her therapist and sets out to accomplish them as best she can, such as reading something funny and listening to music. What she doesn’t expect is to meet a beautiful fellow witch who immediately captives her. The romance is cute and believable, and the portrayal of PTSD hits close to home. As someone with PTSD myself, I appreciate when a story does justice to the condition. Fans of magic, witches, and heart-wrenchingly realistic depictions of mental instability will love this story.
Emily’s Heirs by Lea Falls features an autistic MC in a future where genetic “imperfections� are now kept from the “pure� gene pool. Being autistic myself, I absolutely adored this story. I could tell on the first page that the MC was autistic, and I love that the author actually said that she was instead of alluding to it. I don’t get to see that kind of representation often and I’m in awe of being able to read it. Story-wise, this didn’t disappoint either. A slapdash plan, double agent, and harrowing escape all take place, and I loved every line. Fans of dystopian sci-fi, autistic rep, and suspense will love this story.
Adia’s Garden by Cate Pearce is a story about a soldier planting a garden of wildflowers with a beautiful stranger. The extended metaphor of the piece is really what drew me in. There is longing, despair, and hope all wrapped together in such a short story, and I could have read so much more, but Cate knew exactly how much to give her readers. The use of emotion “reading� is used in this for the MC and Adia to better understand each other, and I’m gonna be real, this would be so nice to be able to better understand the people around me! Fans of soft love, gardening, and emotional growth will love this story.
This anthology has a little bit of everything, and people who love queer romance will absolutely find a new story to love among its pages. Elixir is a spectacular debut anthology and I’m so excited to see what Hansen House releases next.
Elixir is a queer SFF anthology featuring stories of hope. Featuring 10 stories, this anthology has a wonderful line-up of diverse stories. For brevity, I will talk about my three favorites.
It Counts by Mel Miranda is a story about witches, trauma, emotional healing. The MC has a list of things to accomplish as homework from her therapist and sets out to accomplish them as best she can, such as reading something funny and listening to music. What she doesn’t expect is to meet a beautiful fellow witch who immediately captives her. The romance is cute and believable, and the portrayal of PTSD hits close to home. As someone with PTSD myself, I appreciate when a story does justice to the condition. Fans of magic, witches, and heart-wrenchingly realistic depictions of mental instability will love this story.
Emily’s Heirs by Lea Falls features an autistic MC in a future where genetic “imperfections� are now kept from the “pure� gene pool. Being autistic myself, I absolutely adored this story. I could tell on the first page that the MC was autistic, and I love that the author actually said that she was instead of alluding to it. I don’t get to see that kind of representation often and I’m in awe of being able to read it. Story-wise, this didn’t disappoint either. A slapdash plan, double agent, and harrowing escape all take place, and I loved every line. Fans of dystopian sci-fi, autistic rep, and suspense will love this story.
Adia’s Garden by Cate Pearce is a story about a soldier planting a garden of wildflowers with a beautiful stranger. The extended metaphor of the piece is really what drew me in. There is longing, despair, and hope all wrapped together in such a short story, and I could have read so much more, but Cate knew exactly how much to give her readers. The use of emotion “reading� is used in this for the MC and Adia to better understand each other, and I’m gonna be real, this would be so nice to be able to better understand the people around me! Fans of soft love, gardening, and emotional growth will love this story.
This anthology has a little bit of everything, and people who love queer romance will absolutely find a new story to love among its pages. Elixir is a spectacular debut anthology and I’m so excited to see what Hansen House releases next.
January 1, 2022
Elixir is a wonderful collection of short stories, all in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre, all centring LGBTQ+ stories and characters. There is a huge variety available here; from spaceships to mermaids and back again.
The large variety means that, inevitably, readers will enjoy some stories more than others. I have no doubt though that everyone will have a different favourite, and that each story will appeal to different readers in different ways.
My personal favourite was ‘New Atlas� by Shawna Barnett. I am slightly biased as her novel ‘Windfall� was a new favourite for me this year, and I am a sucker for anything that features mermaids but it was a beautifully written, tender story. Another highlight for me was Cate Pearce’s ‘Aida’s Garden�, another beautiful tale.
One of the key things that distinguishes the stories from each other is the different approaches authors had towards incorporating the LGBTQ+ elements into the Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Some, like the two stories mentioned above, were stories that just happened to include queer characters. Others however, such as ‘Emily’s Heirs� by Lea Falls, weave the queer themes into the storyline itself. What is true for all the stories, is that they are clearly all written from a place of truth and care.
This is a great way of discovering new LGBTQ+ SFF authors, and a lovely collection to read.
Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.
The large variety means that, inevitably, readers will enjoy some stories more than others. I have no doubt though that everyone will have a different favourite, and that each story will appeal to different readers in different ways.
My personal favourite was ‘New Atlas� by Shawna Barnett. I am slightly biased as her novel ‘Windfall� was a new favourite for me this year, and I am a sucker for anything that features mermaids but it was a beautifully written, tender story. Another highlight for me was Cate Pearce’s ‘Aida’s Garden�, another beautiful tale.
One of the key things that distinguishes the stories from each other is the different approaches authors had towards incorporating the LGBTQ+ elements into the Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Some, like the two stories mentioned above, were stories that just happened to include queer characters. Others however, such as ‘Emily’s Heirs� by Lea Falls, weave the queer themes into the storyline itself. What is true for all the stories, is that they are clearly all written from a place of truth and care.
This is a great way of discovering new LGBTQ+ SFF authors, and a lovely collection to read.
Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.
January 9, 2022
Thank you HH for providing me with a copy of Elixir.
This is a stunning anthology, put together with care and attention and each story written with love.
Every story is beautifully written and inspires hope in the reader. You'll fall in love with each world and the characters.
There is something for everyone in this anthology. Each story is LGBTQ+ in theme, but they encompass a wide range of SFF genres. You'll be enthralled.
My personal favourite was Adia's Garden by Cate Pearce.
This is a stunning anthology, put together with care and attention and each story written with love.
Every story is beautifully written and inspires hope in the reader. You'll fall in love with each world and the characters.
There is something for everyone in this anthology. Each story is LGBTQ+ in theme, but they encompass a wide range of SFF genres. You'll be enthralled.
My personal favourite was Adia's Garden by Cate Pearce.
January 23, 2022
Thank you to Hansen House Publishing for sending me an eARC of this anthology!
4/5⭐️
Elixir is a beautiful collection of short fantasy & sci-fi stories that all feature LGBT+ characters and stories of hope. There are mermaids, demon hunters, aliens, witches, and more. But my favorite part of the whole collection is the original poetry from Elizabeth Jeannel that frames and contextualizes each story, bringing even more relevancy and connection to real life.
4/5⭐️
Elixir is a beautiful collection of short fantasy & sci-fi stories that all feature LGBT+ characters and stories of hope. There are mermaids, demon hunters, aliens, witches, and more. But my favorite part of the whole collection is the original poetry from Elizabeth Jeannel that frames and contextualizes each story, bringing even more relevancy and connection to real life.
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