As a fan of Cecelia Ahern I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in this book. Whilst all of the women have a message to inspire us I did not feel the same loyalty to the book. Part of the excitement for me is getting to know the characters, empathizing with their life and being compelled to read on to find out what happens next. Because they are all short standalone stories it is impossible to get to know the women well enough.I finished the book but it was a struggle, not for me unfortunately.

This wasn’t my favourite of Cecelia’s books, a collection of short stories about women facing various problems such as prejudice and discrimination, ageism, racism etc. They were very empowering stories they’re just not the sort of thing I like to read. But they were beautifully written.

Having read many of Cecelia Ahern's previous books and enjoyed them, I was a little apprehensive to read this book of hers, being aware it was a book of short stories rather than her usual longer novels. However, once starting this book I instantly enjoyed the usual style of her writing. As it is a collection of short stories it is the kind of book you can dip in and out of, reading a quick chapter here and there if pushed for time. Each story tells an individual tale of a woman exploring various situations that women (and possibly men) may find themselves in from time to time, such as dealing with the various stresses some of us are put under with day to day life, or coming up against particular views or stereotypes. Whilst we may not all be able to relate to all of the situations presented in this book, there will be at least one chapter that many of us can relate to in some way. What I loved about this book is that whilst Ahern explores these different situations that women may face from time to time, she continues to use the magical element that she includes in so many of her previous novels to explore these issues. Whilst the magical element we know is not entirely true, I found it really helped to illustrate points and situations in a literal way, but also making it entertaining to read at the same time. Such as, the chapter where a woman literally has a 'melt down' and becomes a pool of liquid in a bucket, the woman who literally has a feather in her brain and also the chapter where a woman passes wind whilst delivering a presentation in front of work colleagues and literally falls into a black hole. These literal depictions of the situations really help to demonstrate, in a slightly humorous yet quite simple way, how life can present itself sometimes, and encourage us to stand back and look at ourselves in life at times. As stated in one chapter, 'it is about the choices we make in life', and so it is with this statement that I feel this book explores some difficult and challenging situations in life, but encourages us to stop and think about these for ourselves and look at the choices in life we make. If you find life getting the better of you at times, I would recommend this book as a way of taking time out with some light hearted reading that will leave you smiling but also make you think about how to deal with situations in life. Another good read from Cecelia Ahern and my thanks go to netgalley and HarperCollins publishers for the ARC.

I love reading Cecelia Aherns books I have enjoyed them all so couldn't wait to start on this one, but this is not a novel it is 30 short stories about different women
Some of them I loved and wished they went on longer but some I just couldn't understand like 'the woman who ate photographs' I couldn't understand others too
All in all I am disappointed in this book I have read a lot of the stories but some I just gave up on

I have never read any Ahern, but this is not what I expected; this collection of stories about feminism and empowerment bought me so much joy.
The woman who disappeared was particularly memorable as well as The Woman left on the shelf.
The stories explore what it is to be a woman today, in bite size, funny instalments.
I recommend this for all your female and male friends !

An easy to read book of short stories featuring women and everyday situations we all find ourselves in but given from a different perspective. The central character of each story is a woman who never has a name but as one gets to grip with the style, this is unnecessary and one realises there doesn't need to be a name as it's a generalisation of women's lives. I liked the format, it was different but engaging in a slightly surreal way. It was thought provoking but with more than a touch of humour. The various situations, which were well written as expected with work by Cecelia Ahern, worked perfectly as a collection of short stories and could easily be picked up and read at odd moments.

A book of 30 short stories by Cecelia Ahern. Although I didn't enjoy it as much as her usual books I love that it was something new and a little different. The stories were inspiring, interesting and well written. Perhaps not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed in nonetheless.

It started off as pretty annoying - I thought what silly stories those were! But then it quickly grew on me! What an array of thought provoking, entertaining, occasionally heart-breaking stories! 30 stories of 30 women. Some are better than others, but an excellent example of magical realism and allegories.

Don't take it too seriously. But then do!

"All women speak man, they were raised bilingual."

This book as enjoyable
It had a clever way of creating real life situations while all along hinting at something else
The topics of each story were all criteria that us women worry about, live and experience in every day life

I am not usually a fan of short stories, but this book is definitely one I do like!
Written by a woman about women and their experiences though life, each of the 30 allegorical stories features a different character and situation, with some unusual ways of illustrating the feelings and emotions the women are going through.
It was easy to just pick it up and read one of the stories whenever I had some free time, and I found it an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed the humorous nature of these stories. The stories are based on literal interpretations and have a fairy-tale feel to them. However I don't think they were my cup of tea.

Absolutely loved this! Perfect dip in and out for wonderful inspiration! Full blog posting going up at the weekend

Moving, funny, witty and thought-provoking - A great collection of women led stories of every day subjects.

At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this book let alone understand it. But it is really rather clever writing. The more you read the more the short stories resound with you. The use of woman in each story I didn't like at first but thinking about it is I've gone along I realised it is women. It is all of us. How we view ourselves how we feel about ourselves and learning to stand up speak out not feel guilty and love ourselves. A pretty unique and powerful book.

This was a very lovely collection of short stories.
Ahern delivers 30 stories that are short and easy to read, yet impactful enough to leave you thinking about them long after. As they're so short you can easily dip in and out of this book whilst reading something else.
The stories are imaginative, insightful and all carry a strong, empowering message.
As with all anthologies i preferred some of the stories to others but that's not to say they weren't as good, they just weren't for me.


Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful book to dip into, 30 short stories about different women, always referred to as “the woman” although in many of them the central character could just as easily have been the man. I particularly liked the ones with humour such as the ones who fall into the hole that we’ve all wished would open up and swallow us out of sight of that gut-wrenchingly embarrassing moment that everyone with any sensibi must have faced at some point in their lives. Not a book you could read in one sitting but great when you’ve just got a few minutes to pass.

I enjoyed Cecelia's books year ago and hadn't really read anything from her since but I was intrigued by this collection of short stories. I really liked the concept and knew it would work well for my busy lifestyle with each of the stories ranging from 5-10 minutes long. I really like the fable-like nature of each of the stories with an important lesson in each one although I felt a few of the stories could have done with being longer and had rushed endings which was a real shame, While the premise of the each of the stories is obviously really empowering but this seems somewhat tainted by the fact the main protagonist of each story is named 'the woman.' Considering the nature of the collection, would it really have hurt to give each of the women in the stories a name?

Overall, definitely worth a read but could have been better with a few tweaks. Thanks for NetGallery for my ARC copy.

I didn't know what to expect from this as I haven't read any of Ahern's other books. However, I was intrigued by the blurb and interested to see how I got on with the short stories, not my normal genre of choice.

I did really enjoy the book. It seemed that Ahern had captured a whole range of women's experiences, from young to old, different sexualities, different races, etc. If anything, it felt a bit like a challenge not to leave anyone out! Each of the stories took a simple idea or idiom and extended it to its extreme, e.g. the women who was literally put on a shelf, the older woman who was disappearing in society (actually rather than metaphorically) and the woman who was swallowed up by the floor at a moment of intense embarrassment. All the stories were positive and quite uplifting, showing for example that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Women were presented as supporting and encouraging each other throughout, which was a nice message.

A couple of things grated - the protagonist in each story was referred to as 'the woman' which I understand shows universal experience, but somehow made it feel a bit clinical to me. I didn't love all the stories, but there was a good range and none were too long.

Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in women's experiences and lives. There's certainly things that will chime with everyone in the book and it does present some real food for thought.

A great collection of short stories focusing on women, lots of different stories, some you connect with and some you won’t, but that’s the great thing there will be something that resonates with everyone, probably best read over time as can be repetitive in read in one sitting, but great inspiration to stand up for ourselves and each other

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I don't normally read a lot short story collections, but I'd a lot of good things about Roar so thought I would give it a try.

30 stories about women each with and u underlying message about being stronger and braver, being valued and valuing others and supporting other women.

Quick reads - I enjoyed some more than others. Some thought provoking ideas.

Thank you Netgalley for the ebooks in return for an honest review.