[ Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing a proof copy in exchange for an honest review. ]

(With the exception of the last story - which I loved the message of but didn't massively enjoy in itself) I found this collection of stories very cozy. Despite having some very heavy subject matter (look up the triggers before reading if you have any), and despite the less positive nature of some of them, I found that the collection of stories as a whole has a really warm vibe. Maybe it's just that the essense of the bookshop story just stays with you throughout the rest of the book or the fact that I was cuddling a hot water bottle and drinking hot coffee while reading.

If you like short stories, there will be something in here for you, it covers a really wide range of subjects but mostly covers families (particularly different or disfunctional families) and complicated interpersonal relationships.

This would be just the thing to get you out of a reading slump, and a nice palate cleanser between heavier books!

3.5 rounded to 4 because I liked some stories more than others!

An excellent collection of short stories by the celebrated author of Writers and Lovers. Through the pages, Lily King examines themes of love, grief, and the ties that bind us - whether in romantic or familial relationships. The stories capture small moments that portray what it really is to be human. This collection has something for everyone.

Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.25 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan Picador for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#FiveTuesdaysinWinter #NetGalley
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A collection of ten short stories by the author of Euphoria and Writers & Lovers
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This is my first book by Lily King and it will not be the last. Her writing is stunning; she created fully-fleshed characters from the get-go and brought them vividly to life in just a few pages.
All those stories share common themes of love, loss and grief and the complexity of relationships, whether between parents and children, friends, siblings, lovers...
A couple of the stories didn't quite land for me (which is quite common with me and short story collections) but some of them were outstanding. The Man At The Door completely confused me; it was like a fever dream but it was fascinating. The titular story, Five Tuesdays in Winter, was sweet and wistful and so hopeful. When in The Dordogne was without a doubt my favourite in this collection, about a young boy coming of age story when two college students come to house-sit and look after him while his parents spend a summer in France - this was impeccable; I became instantly attached to the main three characters and their relationship and I loved the little epilogue of sorts. It was just beautiful.
⚠️ However, some of the stories deal with difficult and distressing topics and I must give content warnings for rape, sexual assault on a minor, alcoholism, suicide attempt, homophobia and grief.
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Really great collection of short stories, very emotive. I especially enjoyed the titular story, five tuesdays in winter, and when in the dordogne was very funny and heartwarming. Lily King creates very believable characters who you become attached to - i never wanted their individual stories to end! The only one I found i couldn’t really wrap my head around was the final story - the ending, whilst clever and surprising, felt a little far fetched to me.

Loved this, King is an amazing writer.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

This collection of short stories boldly explores the very real human experiences of desire, grief, longing, loss, self awareness and love. These stories are all told from such different perspectives from teenagers to a nonagenerian and characters in between.
These are not easy stories to read - they feel raw and evoke emotions that won’t necessarily sit comfortably.
I found some of the characters difficult to understand and to connect with. I was taken on a whirlwind ride into a minuscule section of their lives and perhaps being a British reader to an American author, I felt lost with some of the references.
I had a favourite story, tender and sweet and short ‘Waiting for Charlie’ and The Man at the Door was a close second.

I enjoyed and was simultaneously frustrated by some of the endings which didn’t feel like endings. Had these stories been novels then I would have felt let down but here as short stories, where I was not as invested as a reader, it left me pondering rather than steaming.

I don't usually pick short stories... and when I requested this book I probably didn't pay attention to this detail. So when I finished the first story and started the second one I was confused. I thought it was a new chapter, but it didn't make sense because it was a complete different story and setting.
I carried on anyway... some of the stories were beautiful. I could feel the characters, engage with them and feel part of their stories.
Others I could not. I think it was 50/50. I had to skip a couple of them cause I just couldn't carry on reading them.
The author has tried exploring all different kind of love. Some successfully.
Not my cup of tea unfortunately!

I really loved Lily King’s previous work so I was intrigued by her collection of short stories. I was so surprised how every story and character was truly individual and every theme was played out eloquently. I think it is such a skill to create a complete timeline and also an atmosphere in the short story form so for that King should really be praised for this release.

Lily King is an incredibly skilled writer, and each of these stories were really engrossing and gripping. I felt completely immersed in each of the characters she created, and could have easily read more of some of these short stories!

This was my first time reading short stories and I loved it. All stories provided for an interesting read throughout.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. I felt bored throughout it.
I felt the stories were very weak and didn’t interest me.
A major disappointment

I absolutely loved this—easily one of my favourite short story collections of all time. Truly just a perfect collection—every story vivid & distinct & moving & unforgettable.

Short stories that discusses loss, griefs and growing ups in such an exquisite way! Ive been a gig fan of Lily King since Writer and Lovers and this will not disappoint you.

Dear Ms King, if you’re reading this, can you make When i. The Dordogne asa a full novel? I’ll give u all my fortune.

I was looking forward to this one but unfortunately it just isn’t for me, I just couldn’t get into it.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

advanced review copy kindly provided by NetGalley and Pan Macmillan Publishing

this collection of short stories was so incredibly beautiful. stories fluctuated between wholesome and sweet, to eerie and unpredictable and I really enjoyed the variety - not knowing what kind of story was coming next. King writes relationships so well, I loved the tenderness of male friendships in ‘When in the Dordogne’, the recurring theme of parenthood which was both tense and soothing.

some stories were much more abstract and felt like a puzzle to be solved, whereas others felt more straightforward and uncomplicated. all of them were gorgeous though, with my standouts being the first three stories: Creature, Five Tuesdays in Winter, and When in the Dordogne. I often forgot that I was reading a collection of short stories because King’s ability to set the scene so efficiently is so good - I was immediately drawn into a new set of characters with their own story lines, with the thread of King’s writing style providing the consistency needed for the reader not to feel jarred. All stories could easily have been longer novels in their own right which I would happily read!

**trigger warnings for sexual assault in some stories**

Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King is a collection of ten short stories which explore themes such as "desire and heartache, loss and discovery".

I liked some of the stories more than the others. Five Tuesdays in Winter is the one I liked the most, about a bookshop owner falling in love with his employee and his relationship with his daughter. Creature was my least liked, I didn't really want to finish that one. I don't like the idea that 'coming of age' and 'sexual assault' are often paired together and don't like to read about it. Some I found pointless like the North Sea I understand the relationship it depicted between the mother and the daughter, but I found the end very odd and uncomfortable. Mansard was strange didn't see the point of it? I didn't feel like there was a plot or we were moving towards anything. Waiting for Charlie was interesting and to some extent memorable. The others fell flat for me, and I don't recall the plot for them. Timeline was trouble especially as we were flashing back to two relationships whilst in the present for the main storyline and I don't think it was as clear as it could've been.

King's writing however was arguably the best part of Five Tuesdays in Winter.

Book 168 of 2022

Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan, Picador, as I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This would be a fantastic gateway into short story reading, for anyone who is not yet sold on them. Having loved Writers and Lovers, I was ecstatic to be approved for this, and it lived up to my expectations.

These stories quietly hum with emotion and with drama. There were unexpected turns and twists that kept me turning the pages long into the night. King's prose is perfection: full of depth and subtlety, and these stories felt really emotionally authentic and astute.

Favourites for me were When in Dordogne and Five Tuesdays in Winter, but I genuinely enjoyed every story - every page, even. I sincerely hope that King has another hit on her hands here.

Creature: This was an interesting opening to the collection. The writing was great. It felt like it was set in the 80’s

Five Tuesdays in winter: Loved this story. Didn’t want it to be over.

When in the dordogne: this was was just ok for me.

North Sea: wanted this to be longer. Really enjoyed it.

Timeline: short and sweet. Enjoyable story.

Hotel Seattle: wished this was a whole book.

Waiting for Charlie: The writing of this story was visceral and enjoyable.

South: the way the writer writes relationships is so vivid.

The man at the door: saved the best story for last.

Having loved Lily King’s Writers & Lovers I was looking forward to reading more of her work and I can happily say (or write) that her first-ever collection of short stories did not disappoint. More often than not I find short story collections to be a mixed bag (with some good ones, some meh ones, and even a bad egg or two). But, I found myself drawn to all of the stories in Five Tuesdays in Winter. While the stories focus on characters who don’t always have much in common (be it their age, the time when and/or place where they are living, their fears or desires) their narratives are characterised by a bittersweet tone that will elicit feelings of nostalgia in the reader (regardless of whether they have experienced what the characters are experiencing). Despite the title of this collection many of these stories are set during the summer and easily transport us right there alongside the characters so that we too are experiencing the heat, elation, and almost-surreality of their summer holidays (that feeling of being free from the usual routines etc). King captures with unsparing clarity the thoughts and feelings of her characters, and conveys their wide range of emotions, honing in on the longing, unease, giddiness, and sadness they experience over the course of their stories. Some are in love with someone who may or may not reciprocate their feelings, others are in a phase of transition, for example, from childhood to adulthood, or mired in the confusion of adolescence.

In the first story, ‘Creature’, Cara, a fourteen-year-girl, is employed by a well-off family as a babysitter for the summer holidays. During the time she spends at this family’s house she becomes infatuated with Hugh, her employer's son, who is much older than her. Our narrator is an aspiring author who likes to envision herself as a Jane Eyre sort of figure but, one thing is to daydream about Hugh, another is realising that Hugh has no compunction about making a move on her (when she’s very much underage).
In ‘Five Tuesdays in Winter’ a single-father and bookseller falls for his employer who is also tutoring his daughter in Spanish. Mitchell is however unable to express his feelings and spends much of his time longing to confess his love to her. In ‘When in the Dordogne’ the son of two professors bonds with the two college students who have been hired to housesit his home and keep an eye on him. In ‘North Sea’ a mother and daughter are on vacation together but their strained relationship results in a less than idyllic time. While the following stories also present us with different perspectives and scenarios they explore similar themes (hope, connection, love). I liked how King manages to be both a gentle and an unflinching storyteller, that is able to make you happy one moment and sad the next. I also appreciated that the stories didn’t have neat endings or ‘valuable’ life lessons but often read like a slice-of-life that is providing us with a glimpse into a specific period of her characters’ lives. King captures how confusing feelings can be sometimes, so that we have characters both longing for something or someone while at the same time feeling uneasy at the possibility of attaining what, or who, they’d thought they desired.
My favourites were ‘Creature’, ‘When in the Dordogne’, ‘Timeline’, and ‘Hotel Seattle’.
King’s understated prose is a marvel to read and I had a wonderful time with this collection. If you were a fan of Writers & Lovers you should definitely pick this one up. Moving and wistful Five Tuesdays in Winter is a scintillating collection!