I was drawn to asking to review this book as I have been a big Cecelia Ahern fan for many years. It was the format of 30 short stories all about women that intrigued me and it didn't disappoint.

All of the stories raise interesting points about women's lives. Some of them are indeed very clever. A highly enjoyable read.

I’m a huge fan of Cecelia Ahern so I squealed with joy when a copy of Roar arrived at my house, along with an invitation to be part of the blog tour. I’m so happy to say that Roar exceeded all of my expectations and I completely and utterly adored it!

Roar is a collection of thirty inspiring, quirky and powerful short stories; all are written from the viewpoint of unnamed women and each examines a different facet of female experience.

I loved how the protagonist in each of the stories remains unnamed as it really allowed me to get engrossed in the story and to either remember what it was like to be in a similar situation to the woman, or to imagine how she must feel.

I think this might be the first time I’ve ever read a short story collection and loved every single story. Some affected me more than others but each one stands distinct and on its own; each story is memorable and none have become muddled in my head since I finished reading.

It’s near impossible to pick a favourite story but I think if I was pushed to choose one it would be The Woman Who Was Pigeonholed. It just really spoke to me how all the women were put in neatly labelled boxes and despite having many other elements to how they were, they were mostly judged on one trait. The ending of this story made me smile, and I could so identify with it because I have pushed from being seen as weak and disabled to being seen as tenacious and determined.

I also loved The Woman Who Was Swallowed Up By The Floor And Who Met Lots Of Other Women Down There Too. We’ve all been in that situation where we’ve done something embarrassing and just want the ground to open up and swallow us, and this story explores that. I love how we get to see what has embarrassed other women and how it makes you see that your own embarrassment isn’t that bad, and that it can be got through.

The Woman Who Walked In Her Husband’s Shoes was also incredibly powerful and is definitely food for thought. I kept thinking about this story for ages after I read it, it’s one I think everyone should read.

Each story in this collection is brilliant, and the joy of the book is that everyone who reads it will connect to something different in it depending on their own life or their emotions at the time. There is real power in this collection as a whole, but also in each individual story. It’s a wonderful book that can make you read one story and connect so closely with the character, and then the next story you perhaps haven’t had the experience but you feel like you’re standing with that woman and that you can better understand the women in your life that have had the particular experience. It feels like a book to treasure, and I know that I will read this book again and again. Perhaps when I need a boost I will return to a particular story and remind myself that I am woman, hear me roar!

I’ve already sent a copy of this book to my oldest friend and I know I will be buying copies for other people for Christmas this year. I urge you to grab a copy and read it, it really is an incredible collection!

Roar is a thought-provoking, empowering and beautifully written book and I adored every single minute that I spent reading it.

I was sent a copy of Roar by Cecelia Ahern to read and review by NetGalley.
What a tremendous book – I loved it! A collection of short stories about women which I’m sure will resonate with others as much as it did me. This is primarily a book about women for women, but I don’t think it would hurt for men to read it too – they might just learn something! The tales are witty, heartfelt, poignant and magical. I read it from start to finish as a novel, but it would equally suit dipping in for a few moments escapism. Cecelia Ahern at her absolute best – Enjoy!

I have read a couple of the authors books before, and in contrast this book seems to be very different from the romances I had read so I was a little reticent to begin with. However, thought provoking and witty, this book of short stories is one I’d happily recommend.

Each story in #Roar is about a woman, and I recognised myself and women I know in them. I felt uplifted and connected after reading the short stories, which I dipped in and out of.

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for my advance copy in return for an unbiased review.

This is a book of short stories. So far so predictable. But this collection is anything but that. Ms Ahern has written stories which are called "The Woman Who..." and then each has a little vignette about a woman and her life and the impact of others, of politics, of society, of close relationships etc etc. This is an excellent thought provoking book and, if read properly, will take some time to get through because although the stories are only a few pages, each is rich with symbolism. You need to read one or maximum two stories and then put the book down and ruminate. For that reason, I found it very rewarding. I liked the story of "The Woman Who Grew Wings", "The Woman Who Was Featherbrained", and "The Woman Who Guarded Gonads" but each will amuse while making you think. What more could you want from a book?

Recommended to anyone struggling to explain feminism or women centred cultures to another person, anyone who enjoys stimulating short stories or anyone who loves to think.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I have read almost of Cecelia Ahern's books and I am a huge fan of hers. This is unfortunately the first book that I have not enjoyed and really struggled through. I really appreciated the messages behind the stories but I just did not find them interesting. I think it was probably because they were all so short and so I couldn't connect with any of the characters. Some of the messages also seemed very obvious so the storyline and ending wasn't a surprise at all. This meant I struggled to motivate myself to keep picking it up.

I have read a couple of Cecelia’s books and really enjoyed them. When I was asked if I would like to review Cecelia’s new book ‘Roar’, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Usually I read full length novels so reading ‘Roar’ is a departure from the norm for me but as they say a change is as good as a rest. ‘Roar’ is a collection of 30 short stories about 30 women. I couldn’t wait to dive in to start reading. Well I have to say that I really, really enjoyed reading it but more about that in a bit.
It would be unfair for me to single out any one short story for a more detailed review. As a whole the stories are always brief (I know hence the name short story), to the point, emotive and have the underlying message that you shouldn’t hide your light under a bushel, you should just get out there, find a life for yourself and live your life as you want to live it and not live it how other people think you should. I’m not sure if they are the messages that the author wanted to get across but it’s what I have taken away.
The author’s writing style is such that she grabs your attention from the word go and her writing casts a spell over you. By that I mean that she keeps your attention until the moment you close the book. I binge read the book over a couple of days and it so worked. I was so taken by the wide variety of stories and the characters within that I found it extremely hard to put the book down. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it came everywhere with me. The stories do contain some tough topics but Cecelia writes about them in a sensitive and compassionate way. She uses such vivid descriptions that I got a real sense of exactly how the female characters felt. Every emotion that they went through, I found myself going through. I also found that I was drawing parallels between my own life/ situation and those that faced the women in the book.
In short, Cecelia has another sure fire bestseller on her hands with ‘Roar’. I admit that before I picked the book up I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy a book full of short stories but I am pleased to say that I was so wrong. I absolutely loved reading it and I would definitely recommend that you read it. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

A brilliant collection of very unique and thought provoking short stories, different from Cecelia usual stories but totally captivating and wonderfully put together. It makes a refreshing change to read some short stories, I thoroughly enjoyed all of these.

A collection of funny short stories. This is a series of short stories designed to make you laugh and to make you think. This is a book you can read in one go or dip in and out of. I want to sit and read it again and laugh some more.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I love Celcila Ahern books but I’m not keen on short stories. This is 30 short stories all about women. Quite feminist. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. A little different I enjoyed for a change however still prefer full novels.

This is a very different read by Ahern, deviating from her 'norm'. A series of short stories, all focused on women and womens rights, I found that I was desperate for each one to be made into a full length novel. The ideas for each story are original and interesting but I felt that the length of them actually let them down rather than being a complete short read. I was also a bit sick of the 'I am woman, hear me roar' flavour of the book after the first couple of stories - much as I am an advocate for womens right, I think this book is a little too feminist for my taste. Not one of my favourites I'm afraid.

A group of ‘girl-power’ short stories. Great to dip in and out of when you have a spare ten minutes. I have always loved Cecilia’s writing, and still do, but I much prefer her novels and hope she goes back to writing what her fans enjoy.

A brilliant collection of really unusual and thought provoking short stories.
I really loved some of the women, they were extremely relatable and almost familiar.
Ahern brings magical realism and feminism together to create a insightful look at what it is to be a woman.

Not what I expected, but nevertheless this anthology of stories written about women for women is uplifting and inspiring. Easy to dip into and would make a great gift for a woman friend. My thanks to Net Galley, the author and publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Not sure what to say about this book which is a collection of 30 short stories. Usually I love every book from Cecelia Ahern, I always found her books really enjoyable, magical. But I found those short stories all very strange, way too strange for me. Every of those short stories is telling a story of a woman and every of those short stories pin point a different issue that women face around the world. I understood the point of this book but unfortunately the stories were a bit too strange for me as previously said and after a while I found the stories a bit too repetitive. Also I wanted to mention that I unfortunately didn't recognized the usual Cecelia Ahern writing. So it was a bit of disappointment to me but this book is still worth a try!

A woman goes invisible – because post an early menopause, to all intents and purposes she might as well be. A woman finds herself attacked by some vampiric force when she dumps her children with carers and gets back to work. A woman is shoved on a shelf by a man as a trophy, only to find the winning of her getting less and less important as the years pass. Yes, here, thirty times over, women see what it's like when their life bears out a cliched saying. Here is the woman for whom the ground really does swallow her up, the woman with a ticking biological clock, the woman who let a camera seize the day for her – until she decides she wants her days back; and all in perfect little parcels of prose. What's intelligent about this book is that, while it says so much about the modern woman's life, it doesn't come down against mankind at any time, and turn into a harangue. What's marvellous about these stories is their scope for adding a sort of Twilight Zone tinge of sci-fi to the everyday. What's miraculous here is that it would at first appear to be one simple shtick, but it's done with ever-varying approach and a lot more nuance than that. The authorial voice and tense is consistent, but not repetitive to the book's detriment.

I do think the decision to not name or define any of the thirty-plus title characters beyond "woman" robs them of a little personality and status, however – yes it allows each to become an 'everywoman' that all readers can relate to, but it also suggests to me that not even Ms Ahern can completely accept and individualise all these females. But still, this is such a clever and witty read it really does stand out as a remarkable collection. I'd defy anyone to pretend one was much better than any of the other 29 – even easy targets like post-new-gender gender politics (one of two adverts for transgenderism), and airheaded 'influencers', give us deliriously arch results.

A collection of well written femininist rants, reminding women of the importance of looking after ourselves and our sisters

I enjoyed this book. Each story only takes about 10 - 15 minutes maximum to read, so it's ideal on a commute/advert break. I thought there was a great variety in stories, most of them made you think - from the woman who unravelled, the girl who was blown away, and the woman who was bitten by guilt. I could relate to a few of these stories, and I loved that they were humorous, but with that underlying message.

Overall, a good set of short stories.

I have loved all of Cecilia Ahern's previous books and was excited to be given an arc of this from Netgalley.
Roar is a collection of short stories about women celebrating their differences and similarities.
Each story will be relatable to at least one person. Each story brings a touch of realism and a touch of the magical escapism that is Cecilia

I am woman - hear me roar!

This a short story novel but everyone of us will recognize ourselves and someone we know in the stories. We are all individuals who know our own strengths and weaknesses and can change these if we really want to. These stories are touching, funny, sad and true and show we can Roar when we want to.