The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente

I love Cat Valente's books - my daughter and I read all of the Fairyland books together and I ADORED Space Opera. So I was excited when Tor announced what I thought was a sequel to The Future Is Blue, my favorite story in Ms. Valente's short story collection of the same name.  So I was initially confused and disappointed when I started listening to the audiobook eARC I got from NetGalley and it turns out that The Past is Red is an expansion, not a sequel.  The story was enjoyable, but so incredibly grim that it really detracted from my enjoyment of the book - until the end, when a glimmer of hope sparkled, and I could climb out of the funk that the book had put me in.  The narrator, while good at her job, had a very thick accent and I don’t personally think she was a good fit for the content.  This wasn’t my favorite Valente,  but even weak Valente is still pretty darn good.