From frustrated housewives and medical processes to maybe haunted houses, It's No Fun Anymore covers a whole variety of topics I find intriguing. It is something of an investigation of middle-aged female ennui and frustration. As such, Brittany Micka-Foos' collection should have been an immediate winner for me, but something in the execution of it all didn't entirely hit home to me. Thanks to Apprentice House Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this collection in exchange for an honest review.

The stories in Brittany Micka-Foos' collections felt, in some ways, more like extensive vignettes than full stories to me. This is not in and of itself a bad thing, because getting a brief little peek into a life can be fascinating and not everything has to be explained. However, in the case of many of these stories, I felt the need for a little more, either in the sense of context or a more thorough examination of the themes that got brought up. The first story, 'The Experiment' is a good example for this. A stay-at-home mom draws inspiration from a self-help book that praises the divine feminine of the submissive wife and, in the hopes to either find some rest or inspiration for a new book, she sets out to cosplay a tradwife for a while. At the same time, a young girl has gone missing and is found murdered. All of this is a premise I find really intriguing and Micka-Foos takes it in interesting directions. For some reason, however, it doesn't all come together in a way that works for me. The role the murder plays is a little unclear, except I guess for providing an external stressor. The relationship between husband and wife is also not worked out enough that I felt I understood either of their motivations and actions and it left me with something of a bad taste in my mouth. That slightly bad taste remained for many of the other stories and, in some way, this does feed directly into the title of the collection. Sometimes life isn't fun anymore and you end up saddled with all the consequences of your own actions and those of others, with that feeling that something is off which brings everything out of balance.

Women being pushed to the brink is one of my favourite things to read about. In each of the stories featured in It's No Fun Anymore, Brittany Micka-Foos has a fascinating kernel of a story in which a woman is faced with a moment that feels like a make-or-break situation. In 'The New Jenny', for example, we have a woman recently divorced because her husband found someone younger and more exciting, but Jenny finds a certain strength in her acquisition of a gun. From there, decisions are made and actions undertaken that technically create a very tense situation that is rife for exploration. It is a solid story idea that is largely built up well, and yet, for me, something felt missing. I wasn't connecting to it in the way I wanted to and I can't fully decide whether that was due to something in the writing or to how I was reading/feeling in the moment. I think there are a lot of interesting things at play in It's No Fun Anymore, including a lot of promise when it comes to Micka-Foos' imagination, but this collection isn't necessarily at the top of the list for me. However, I would love to read more by Micka-Foos in the future to see how her craft develops.

While I enjoyed all the stories in It's No Fun Anymore, each somehow left me wanting something a little bit more, either in the sense of a resolution or a deeper exploration of the themes. However, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more by Micka-Foos.

Girls just want to have fun. But unfortunately womanhood isn’t always fun. This collection showcases eight short stories that tap into the collective knowledge of trauma that women experience, the societal shackles, the stripping of power and control, the politicisation of our bodies — and tries to find some understanding and meaning in all the suffering and madness.

The Experiment highlights the double standards in parenting and work, following a woman trying out living as a “tradwife” as another attempt to connect with herself and figure out what role she wanted in her life while the town grieve the murder of a young girl. It was a brilliant opener, toeing the line between suspense and reality; showcasing the many routes a woman can do when not stripped of her agency.

In our anthologies namesake, It’s No Fun Anymore, a couple are at a convention with their child and Melanie thinks about how different the world is for women as they age, become mothers and wives and comparing her life with her sisters. From The Waist Down opens in a hospital room, where a woman waits for surgery on her daughter’s 4th birthday, contemplating her own relationship to her body in it’s glory and pain with a powerful punch.

During Estate Sale, a woman’s neighbour becomes ill and his paintings are being sold to fund his care as she examines her feelings about her aging father, in a short but impactful snapshot of living grief and family.

In The New Jenny, she gets a gun - offering a new taste of dangerous freedom and confidence, but still not protecting her from the real things she fears and definitely not from snapping under the pressure. It was tense, frenzied, and the picture of woman scorned and pushed too far.

Moving to a Safe Haven for Writers, we arrive at an isolated house to recharge and write but finds herself absorbed in tales about the people there before her, in a dark history that was too recent for comfort. Thumb Stump introduces a new mother worrying if her child will inherent not only her “deformity” but generational curses too - this one really highlighted the brutal reality of childbirth, and inherited trauma.

Our final tale, Border Crossings finds an MLM sales woman go from one prison to another, from her marriage to being held captive at the Canadian Border - showing the hidden lives behind typical families.

These stories exist on a strange plane, with the beautiful, poetic language and deep haunting suspense of a horror but rooted so deeply in real trauma and real life. They manage to set just enough of a scene without turning into novellas, offering a quick read with no wasted lines.

Setting itself apart from so many collections, this stays consistently strong throughout, each story holding a something of value and invoking a deeply emotional response.

The writing in this book leaves you in constant suspense thinking that something huge will happen. But by the end of each story you're left in that moment of suspense because they're stories of life and life just goes on.

This collection looks into the various layers of human relationships, societal expectations and personal struggles.

The Experiment: sets the tone with Leah, who keeps chickens as a substitute for a second child, despite her not liking eggs.

It’s No Fun Anymore: we look at a couple engaged in cosplay, presenting a unique take on escapism and the complexities of intimacy.

From the Waist Down: the story powerfully captures the emotional turmoil of a woman awaiting surgery while celebrating her daughter’s birthday. The symbolism of the pin the tail on the mermaid poster reflects the mother’s own struggles, as the mermaid's missing lower half parallels her health challenges.

Estate Sale: explores the aftermath of Alzheimer’s and the family.

The New Jenny: tells the story of a woman reclaiming her identity after her husband leaves her by purchasing a gun. An act of empowerment.

A Safe Haven for Writers: the anuthor introduces an intriguing dynamic as a woman embarks on a writing retreat, only to confront strange occurrences that blur the line between reality and paranoia.

Thumb Stump: offers a moment of realisation as a new mother reconciles with her changing body post-C-section.

Border Crossing: takes a darker turn, exploring themes of trust and betrayal as a wife receives a message about her husband.

Overall, this collection portrays stories of victimisation, trauma and vulnerability, showcasing how abuse can manifest in various forms across different characters.

This was an interesting collection of short stories with themes of womanhood, motherhood and their relationships with men and their own bodies.

I really enjoyed this! The writing style and voice was really intriguing and I always looked forward to picking it back up. It had a weird girl fiction tone to it that I think will appeal to a lot of people.

Some of the stories may have gone over my head a little, but that's probably because I like to get lost in them rather than thinking too deeply about them. Maybe other readers would gain a more deep understanding and meaning from them.

My favourite stories were The Experiment (I would love a longer version of this!), The New Jenny and Border Crossings.

I would definitely read more from this author in the future.

I didnt connect with the stories or maybe just missed the point. I found the women in these stories to be weak and I just couldnt get into it. Maybe the author made it this way but I wasnt crazy about the story lines at all. This might be something that some women may like just my librial thinking just couldnt get behind this book.

Brittany Micka Foos isn't just channeling Lucia Berlin; she's refracting her through a distinctly modern lens. Like Berlin, Micka Foos excels at excavating the raw, often unsettling beauty within the mundane. She captures the jagged edges of domestic angst with a dark, almost gleeful humor, setting her stories in wonderfully unexpected landscapes. From the surreal spectacle of a cosplay convention to the tense space of a Canadian border crossing, Micka Foos proves she's a master of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Her prose is vivid and deeply moving, evoking the most visceral emotions with startling clarity. Consider this passage from "Thumb Stump": "Polly’s body was rolled into the OR for an emergency C-section, which Polly experienced as a waking autopsy. She thought she had died on the operating table. Afterwards, she couldn’t explain this continued conviction that her body was a shattered, glasslike object, and not the malleable lump of flesh her rational mind knew it to be." This isn't just a description; it's a plunge into the disorienting depths of trauma, a moment where the physical and psychological become inextricably intertwined.

Micka Foos doesn't shy away from the messy realities of life. She confronts them head-on, with a sharp eye and a relentless honesty that leaves the reader both shaken and strangely exhilarated. She doesn't offer easy answers or tidy resolutions. Instead, she invites us to sit with the discomfort, to acknowledge the inherent absurdity and fragility of existence. In a literary landscape often saturated with saccharine narratives, Micka Foos offers a bracing antidote. She reminds us that even in the midst of chaos and uncertainty, there is a strange, undeniable beauty to be found. And for that, her work is utterly essential.

This book doesn't pull any punches when it comes to tough situations for women and mothers. I kept putting myself in to these women's situations which was uncomfortable but powerful. The reason for the three stars is because each story felt incomplete. I kept hoping we would get some kind of resolution (good or bad) for each story but that never happened. I was also hoping for the stories to weave together at some point but they never did which was kind of jarring. The author is a strong writer and I look forward to seeing what else they write in the future.

These short stories felt completely random and incomplete. They did not grab my attention or have anything intriguing that left me thinking about it once I finished. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, but this book was not for me.

This collection looks into the various layers of human relationships, societal expectations and personal struggles.

The Experiment: sets the tone with Leah, who keeps chickens as a substitute for a second child, despite her not liking eggs.

It’s No Fun Anymore: we look at a couple engaged in cosplay, presenting a unique take on escapism and the complexities of intimacy.

From the Waist Down: the story powerfully captures the emotional turmoil of a woman awaiting surgery while celebrating her daughter’s birthday. The symbolism of the pin the tail on the mermaid poster reflects the mother’s own struggles, as the mermaid's missing lower half parallels her health challenges.

Estate Sale: explores the aftermath of Alzheimer’s and the family.

The New Jenny: tells the story of a woman reclaiming her identity after her husband leaves her by purchasing a gun. An act of empowerment.

A Safe Haven for Writers: the anuthor introduces an intriguing dynamic as a woman embarks on a writing retreat, only to confront strange occurrences that blur the line between reality and paranoia.

Thumb Stump: offers a moment of realisation as a new mother reconciles with her changing body post-C-section.

Border Crossing: takes a darker turn, exploring themes of trust and betrayal as a wife receives a message about her husband.

Overall, this collection portrays stories of victimisation, trauma and vulnerability, showcasing how abuse can manifest in various forms across different characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC

This book shares 8 essays about women and the trauma they all share. I related to a few of these stories, from not being taken seriously to generational trauma. This book does a great job at making you feel all the emotions from immense anger to sadness to doubtfulness.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. Due to be published June 17, 2025.

In this collection of short stories, the author explores the complex and often painful journey of women as they navigate the shifting landscapes of identity, shaped by both personal and societal forces. Each story delves into the roles women are expected to play, from those imposed upon them by a patriarchal system to those they struggle to define for themselves. The characters wrestle with the weight of internalized misogyny, confronting the subtle and overt ways it affects their self-perception and relationships. Through poignant, nuanced narratives, the book highlights how women both lose and grow into their identities, often contending with the contradictions of societal expectations and personal desire. The stories offer a deeply resonant portrayal of the ways in which misogyny permeates the fabric of daily life, affecting not just the outward roles women take on but the very core of who they are.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

What a strong collection. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this collection exceeded my expectations. Lots of stories about motherhood and struggling partnerships. I was reluctant going into this, as I like short story collections but find many of them to be random and meandering, and I'm kind of burnt out on the topic of motherhood in literature.

Overall, the collection feels focused and the voice confident and fresh. Partway through the first story I forgot it was a short story - I would've been happy to read more of it. What an exciting debut!

One note - I don't feel like the cover accurately conveys the tone of the book? The cover feels like a classic horror, and while some stories were horrifying in a way, they're definitely not Halloween-spooky like the cover implies.

This book is a collection of short stories with most characters being women who seem to be looking for fulfilment in their lives one way or another. These stories tend to be centred around straight married couples who clearly need therapy or to separate. I personally had a hard time with this one. I found it to be slightly dry and I didn’t really relate at all. Which I mean makes a ton of sense as I am queer and think most people should probably dump their crappy boyfriends/husbands. This was not a bad book by any means and I think it would resonate with others it just was not for me. I probably would not really recommend this to people but again I think this is just because the content is not much for me/those around me.

to begin, i will mention that this is not my typical read, but the description was intriguing and i wanted to know more. here are some of my thoughts:
first, i am giving this book 3 stars, even though i wasn’t able to finish the whole book. now let me explain—these short stories were written beautifully, and the author did an incredible job. this book is a compilation of short stories describing the effects of trauma on women, and each story explores how each woman finds meaning through her journey. it’s truly a very interesting read. however, i struggled with the decisions of some of the women and how different their decisions are to my own. but, i understand that’s the point of these stories—to make the reader feel uncomfortable while also learning to understand the situation these women were in.
some of the short stories i needed to skip for my own mental health. there were other stories like the new jenny and thumb stump that really stuck with me.

I don’t want to give this a star rating, I just. Dont know how to rate this (not in a bad way). This is a short story collection exploring victimisation and politics relating to women’s bodies, and how women may try to gain meaning from their suffering.

This was so well written. It isn’t something I’d usually pick up but it was on Read Now and I was curious. Rating as 5 stars on here, but will not be including a star rating elsewhere