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.

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.

Please note my original review of this collection did not save properly, a shame.

I enjoyed this collection but it was nothing ground breaking, that being said it was a very easy read - I read in one sitting. None of the stories have really stayed with me and I think it is a shame, I think Ahern's writing lends itself better to full length pieces where characters get a better/deeper rounding.

Would be a good gift idea for a colleague or a secret santa (slightly early to be thinking of that!) as everyone will relate to at least one of the stories. Particularly good for those who you know like reading but you don't know the genre or are not certain, a good safe gift idea.

I have never read anything from this author before but was intrigued as to how these stories of women would progress.

Well I was overwhelmed they were wonderful, funny, weird, and insightful. Some were my favourites especially the woman who disappeared and the woman who couldn’t remember her name. Strangely my least favourite was Roar which I felt was too repetitive.

A superb read.

This is completely different to anything else I’ve read by Cecelia Ahern but equally as good.

This is an excellent book of short stories, all about women. I could relate to so many of the women in this book and felt it was very cleverly written. A change from the authors norm but in my opinion a very successful change.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing me with an E-copy of this book by Cecelia Ahern.

Ahern has carefully written and curated a beautiful set of thirty short stories revolving around and having very important messages for women. Some of the stories are a little fantastical but are made all the more fun and frothy and imaginative for it. I dipped in and out of this book reading a story whenever I had the time or inclination, sometimes on a break from other books or work, sometimes before bed. I can imagine it making a wonderful for gift for friends, I see it remaining in families, handed down from woman to woman with sticky notes beside the most encouraging or relevant story to them.

I understand the idea of why Cecelia wrote this book of short stories but I’m upset to say that I really didn’t enjoy them.. I found some of the stories bordered on ridiculous and although I’m sure there was a message in each story, they just didn’t work for me. I have always enjoyed Cecelia’s books which is why I jumped at reading this. I’m afraid to say I was completely disappointed.

I didn't like this book. The stories were so short that I couldn't get invested in the book or the characters. I gave up a quarter of the way in.

Roar by Cecelia Ahern is a collection of uplifting, witty and engaging short stories. As with many of Ahern’s stories, she ventures into magical fantasy realms. This book is a great piece of escapism.