Such a great collection of short stories. Each story took me on completely different journeys. I wish there had been more!

I think this book was lost on me.
It started off strong with the disturbed youth of a young girl and her discovery of sexuality… and then flaked out a little. The book was very short as well, I expected more.

I loved this collection of short stories for debut writer Saba Sams, and am excited to see what she does next.

This collection delves into the lives of different women at various stages of their lives, it was as if the stories were a snapshot of someone’s life. Each story examines womanhood, sexuality, and modern day issues. There are some very detailed and graphic topics such as abortion, abuse, sexual assault, adult/minor relationships. Although these themes are dark, the writing is simplistic and honest when writing about them.
At times I found some of the stories slightly odd, and was unable to connect at all with the characters. “Tinderloin” was an example of this, where the character seemed completely passive and distant to the reader. Maybe it could be due to the length of the stories, but some didn’t immerse me fully into the narrative. There are stories that stand out more than others, but each person who reads this will have their favourites. My own favourites were “Flying Kite” and “The Bread,” and I thought both these stories had more tenderness and emotion to them. I think this collection had a lot of promise, but some of the stories don’t hit the mark.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this – one never is when it comes to collections, but, I’m not sure what I got was what I hoped for. The blurb had me anticipating something unique, breathtaking, revolutionary and … well, at least a bit different.

This isn’t.

So, in all honesty, I was left feeling a little disappointed, despite the fact there wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with the collection per se. Of course, some stories are better than others, or more appealing, more relatable, more something. That’s just inevitable. However, I did feel that there was a degree of inconsistency in regards to the quality of the writing.

Perhaps the author was just trying out different styles, and for me, some of them didn’t work. For others, they’re an example of sublime literary genius. I don’t know. All I do know is I’m not entirely sold.

It was OK, but a bit tedious by the end. If you like unlikable female characters and short story collections that don’t really go anywhere, then this is probably ideal for you. Certainly worth a shot, but I personally wouldn’t recommend reading it all in one go – one story a day would suffice.

Not an easy short story collection to read. Deals with difficult themes and is very bold/graphic in how it deals with them (tw: sexual content, abortion, abuse, adult/minor, infidelity, mental health, sexual assault). Some of it felt, for lack of a better term, messed up. But then again, life is messed up.

The quality of writing is very good. It has a candid and sparse quality about it that made it very readable - albeit, the subject matter and content was much harder to read. There were some excellent descriptions of people or actions that came across very vividly.

As with every short story collection, some were better than others. Tinderloin, Here Alone and Overnight illustrated toxic/harmful ways men treat women. I preferred the "developmental" stories such as Blue 4 eva and Today's Square as it looked at familial relationships rather than romantic/destructive ones.

I preferred some of the stories over others, but that's pretty normal for a short story collection!
The stories themselves were very short and quite simple, yet they all had quite an impact. I enjoyed how the stories featured women in different stages of their lives. Just be aware of some troubling themes., e.g. abortion and miscarriage.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This was a good introduction to this author. With almost all short story collections there are always a few stories you connect more with than other, but overall this was a good collection.

REVIEW: Send Nudes by Saba Sams

Send Nudes is a collection of ten short stories. Sams looks at the experiences of young women coming of age in Britain.

As I keep saying I keep reading short story collections, but I always finish them feeling a little lukewarm. This short story collection was great and is probably my favourite one I have read so far.

Sams writes about sometimes gross and traumatic things. I liked that these were just stories of young women growing up, being reckless, being taken advantages of or taking advantage of others. Moving between clubs, music festivals, holidays in villas, we see lust, love and friendship.

The collection includes stories on abortion, sexual assault, miscarriage, sending nudes, intense relationships with mothers and daughters, friends, partners and even a dog.

For me the strongest stories were Tinderloin and Snakebite, as I think I prefer a longer short story so I can feel more immersed in it. Sometimes with shorter stories I am left wanting more in a bad way.

Overall, a really strong short story collection that pleasantly surprised me. I will definitely read what Saba Sams writes next as I think she will only get stronger from here on out.

A selection of short stories exploring girls/women and how society might shape their thinking.
I’m grateful toNetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this and I get the feeling this author might be one to watch. Unfortunately, for me, the stories all felt incomplete or lacking something to resonate fully with me.
My immediate response on finishing most of the stories was a sort of stunned disbelief that it was over, feeling as if I’d missed something. Some of the stories were just odd. While they explore girlhood/womanhood I couldn’t help but feel the characters were either passive, accepting whatever life threw at them, or dangerous in their determination to make their mark on life.
I found The Mothers The Daughters and Overnight the most engaging of the collection, but I couldn’t say I enjoyed reading them. They certainly provoked a reaction. Perhaps that’s enough.

Send Nudes / Saba Sams

I finished the final story today with the House of Commons in the background. A mother and daughter in a high rise housing block cross off each day on their calendar as lockdown dragged on. They searched for smiles in the faces of the builders working opposite, looking for any kind of connection. 4 years spent saving for a holiday that didn’t happen. Deep in depression and despair, someone took their own life in the flat above. Then the windows were barred shut and their world shrunk even further.

Sams’ stories span the experiences of young women coming of age in contemporary Britain. They ward off encroaching adulthood with acts of wrecklessness, all anchorless in the space after childhood, before responsibilities. They all reek of cloying bedroom air and last nights knickers. From festival campsites to dingy basement bars, each character competes and regrets, falls in love (or more like lust) and back out again.

Although political in their remarks, not one feels like a lesson, no fingers pointed or aha I got you moments. Its merely storytelling at its best, readers left to wonder what to make of each woman, what you would have done in their place, or brought right back to the moment you did it too. Trauma imprints on most, carrying the weigh of societal wrongs on their shoulders, as they attempt to traverse what seems an ever changing set of goal posts.

Avoiding wholly nihilistic tendencies, these characters have some hope, reliant on friends over family but all longing to keep going, to persevere and overcome, a portrait of so many of the young woman I know and love and read and write about.

I enjoyed the writing style of this one and definitely got invested more in the characters and storylines compared to other short story collections I have read previously.
My only piece of feedback would be that for me, some of the stories I struggled to see how they fit within the collection, particularly the last one which focused on the relationship between mother and daughter.
Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend to others to pick it up.

This is an entertaining series of short stories about, mostly, young women in the current world - there's even a Covid-related story. They are all pretty superficial, and as with many short stories, you sometimes yearn for a little more detail or background.

I didn't care for the use of lower case letters, which was neither consistent nor relevant, but merely felt pretentious. Leave that to ee cumming please.

Overall interesting enough but I wouldn't particularly recommend any. I read it in a day.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Send Nudes is a collection of ten short stories traversing “girlhood and womanhood in all its glorious complications”. If you were a fan of Megan Nolan’s Acts of Desperation then this is one for you.

I’m not sure what I was expecting with this collection but it was definitely a lot darker than I was anticipating. The stories are weird, dark, violent. Nearly every one contains a reference to blood. They’re uncomfortable, and at times hard to read. And yet, I couldn’t stop reading. In fact, I read it in just two sittings.

Unrelenting, I’d still recommend the collection. Standout stories for me included Tenderloin which was shortlisted for the White Review short story prize in 2019 (teenage girl falls for an older man but then realises she’s actually in love with his dog more than him #relatable) and Overnight which was previously published by Sally Rooney in The Stinging Fly (where a character recounts her sexual assault in what is possibly the most powerful story in the collection).

Send Nudes by Saba Sams is published today, 20th January 2022, by Bloomsbury Publishing. Thanks to them, NetGalley and the author for my advance copy. This is, as always, an honest review.

Well, I am on a roll with my short story reading this year as Send Nudes by Saba Sams is another brilliant collection. These 10 stories are slices of contemporary life, all told from a female perspective. There’s a focus on loss and belonging; we see lives lacking strict structure and lives at the point of some sort of transformation.

But what really appealed to me were the moments of relatability. By that I don’t mean the whole characters as such, more some traits from each of that I saw in my younger self, or in my friends. The subtleness around the complex emotion that runs through these stories was really well done.

The stories in Send Nudes varied in length, which really worked for me to give this book great flow. Some, like The Bread, felt more like short palette cleansers – we are just listening in on a snapshot of a specific incident in someone’s life – and this balanced out the longer, more developed narratives, like Snakebite.

I found some of these stores so visceral – especially Snakebite featuring Lara. We have all known a Lara in our time – that party girl who you’re drawn to despite her vampiric, toxic tendencies. We also all have that friend who falls in love with any and every guy immediately – who we then have to coach through the drama, like Emily in Here Alone.

All of the stories left me wanting to know more about the characters they featured – particularly Grace from Tenderloin and the aforementioned, Emily who both broke my heart a little due to the reflective element I mentioned above.

Ending on a surprisingly tear-jerking lockdown themed story, this collection of short stories feels so relevant and personal, they are still rumbling around my mind days later. A great read.

I had no idea what to expect from Send Nudes, the second book I read in December, but what I got was an interesting and illuminating set of short – but not always sweet – stories.

It might not be the longest book but Sams covers a lot in it, from family, friendships, social pressure and so much more (there’s even the joys – and perils – of loving a dog in there!). I’m used to longer, more in depth stuff so – at times – I did finish a story and think what now?! (even though it was fairly obvious there wouldn’t be a follow up) but this doesn’t make it a lacking read.

Even though my university days are over and done with, this book reminded me of some of the stories I read (and enjoyed) at Uni – with not much going on but plenty to think about.

Everyone will take something different from this set of stories but, for me, Send Nudes brilliantly illustrated how being a woman – and all it entails – is interesting, exciting, romantic, annoying and confusing.

A selection of short stories exploring girls/women and how society might shape their thinking.
I’m grateful toNetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this and I get the feeling this author might be one to watch. Unfortunately, for me, the stories all felt incomplete or lacking something to resonate fully with me.
My immediate response on finishing most of the stories was a sort of stunned disbelief that it was over, feeling as if I’d missed something. Some of the stories were just odd. While they explore girlhood/womanhood I couldn’t help but feel the characters were either passive, accepting whatever life threw at them, or dangerous in their determination to make their mark on life.
I found The Mothers The Daughters and Overnight the most engaging of the collection, but I couldn’t say I enjoyed reading them. They certainly provoked a reaction. Perhaps that’s enough.

4****

As with most short story collection this was middle of the rating system for me but i am rounding this up!

This book shows the messiness but also empowering stories of different women: covering POV’s from women trying to navigate modern life. There were also some stories with mystery and intrigue, grief and humour.

This included stories on toxic female friendships, abortion, sending nudes (hence the title) a need a myriad of others.

I particularly enjoyed this as each of these stories were from an introspective point of view, and I love this from Sally Rooney, so it was great to see another piece of work using this.

Thank you to NetGalley for proving me with the e-ARC.

Send Nudes is a collection of short stories centering around womanhood, including love, lust, identity and sexuality.

I have only read a few short stories collections before this so was apprehensive if this would be to my liking. I loved most of these small tales but was left feeling a little deflated when some of these came to an abrupt ending. I wanted to get to know some of the characters deeper and for longer, and there a few that would make great full novels.

Due to various different stories, this will appeal to many readers. This would also work well for book club reads as there is a lot that can be discussed.

Over all, I will be looking out for more by this author in the future but I am still undecided if short story collections are for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the advance copy.

Send Nudes is a collection of short stories, centred predominantly around young women, including Meg, Grace, Sage and Maxine. A mix of topics are covered, including family, love, friendships, social pressures, and more. I found some of the stories more compelling than others, but a good read overall.