Overall it was a nice read into the slice of life of motherhood, where mothers are not portrayed as perfect people, but rather complex and faulty.

Read if: you are interested in short stories around motherhood
Don't read if: you do not like stories that are not linear or do not have a conclusion; those stories are rather a slice of life and do not have conclusions

Unfortunately I couldn't get along with this one. The writing was good, but the subject matter just didn't appeal to me. I hadn't realised how focused on motherhood this would be & thought it would be more a tale of 'malicious, subversive & untamed women'.

I've chosen to DNF this for now.

First of all, thank you to the author and Net Galley for allowing me a digital copy as ARC.

This book was a peculiar short story collection with the shared topic of pregnancy, motherhood and its related struggles. While some stories were interesting, I found a couple of them to be confusing (especially Dino Moms) and bland. Overall it was a nice read into the slice of life of motherhood, where mothers are not portrayed as perfect people, but rather complex and faulty.

Read if: you are interested in short stories around motherhood
Don't read if: you do not like stories that are not linear or do not have a conclusion; those stories are rather a slice of life and do not have conclusions

This was an interesting set of short stories, some more compelling than others but all very accessible. There is the overarching theme of motherhood linking them all. I enjoyed them, it was more vibes than substance but ultimately readable. The last story did feel a bit out of left field and very different from the others.

DNF after the first story - I just couldn't get on with the cynical writing style. I've read a novel by Naomi Wood before, hence why I requested the book, but I really didn't enjoy the sneering nature that the first story was written in. This might be the wrong book at the wrong time, I don't know, but it's just not for me.

This book consists of short stories that explore women's deepest desires, untold grief, wildest dreams, pure wishes, and secret obsessions that entangle the very existence of life in the motherhood world. The author makes a clear remark that sometimes the world and the living will test our patience to the very edge. Hence, I am preparing a bag of rage in advance to be able to create a connection to the stories.

I found out that this book does not amplify the rage I bring the way I wanted it to, but it was thought-provoking enough to easily resonate. The stories were complex yet presented in their simplest form for the reader to understand the struggle that has never been told out loud about being a woman and mother. Ranging from contemporary as well as everyday society standard struggle to a kind of dystopian world, this book offers you perspectives that you never thought you had before. It is a good read, especially for a mother.

The ebook copy was provided from Netgalley, however all opinion are my own.

Love the title, its so catchy and I thoroughly enjoyed delving into these eccentric short stories exploring the realms of womanhood and motherhood. Their quirky nature provoked deep thought and wished they would continue for a bit longer, the writing style was also so enjoyable. Thank you Netgalley.co.uk I really appreciate the chance to read these. These Short stories are very enjoyable to pick up in between longer reads. .

no. A fun slightly wicked read. A collection of short stories with themes of motherhood, pettiness, savagery with an eye into our protagonists inner monologue. Every salty detail is laid bare. It's the kind of novel where you sort of think "Oh that would never be me!" before you realise that you can relate on some level. I want to know some the characters and take them for a glass of wine and tell them that things will be ok.

I really am a fan of Naomi Woods' writing style, after reading this I'm going to seek out some of her other works.

Powerful, joyful and uncomfortably tense. And what a brilliant title.

From a Dino Ranch, to Italy, to suburban Britain on lockdown, this collection of stories explores the joys and difficulties of women’s lives while they are also (or are becoming) mothers.

The mother theme is the constant in all stories but the stories are about the lives of women whilst they are mothers or pregnant, giving each a layer of context but not defining the story arc or the woman. The themes explored are rage, family, anxiety and what makes someone a good person. And what does make a good person!?

Short story writing is an art form and this is a wonderful piece of art. The immediacy of the narrative and the characters is unfaltering. I enjoyed every single story and cared about every character during my short time with them.
A pure joy to read.
Thank you Netgalley for my review copy

I haven't really picked up books with short stories but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the various plots. They all revolved around a recurring theme but each was unique and somewhat strange which was why I had fun reading them.

I enjoyed these short stories on womanhood and motherhood. They were weird and quirky in a thought provoking way. The writing style also captivated me. If anything i wanted each story to carry on a little longer!

A weird little book of short stories. They're quite literary and definitely not for everyone but I really enjoyed them. An exploration into motherhood, womanhood and existing in the world.

I loved these stories. Each circles around a woman whose life has been affected by motherhood or impending motherhood. What stood out for me was the quality of the writing and often the wry humour. I enjoyed each on an 'Uh-huh, I've been there' level, or because it was written well enough to engage me. The final speculative fiction Black Mirror story was my least favourite, but overall a great collection.

I like the writing style, but couldn't really seem to connect with the stories. They're all very similar and monotone in the sense that they're all about mothers who have issues. And I'm all for female rage and rebellion, but this wasn't it. My favorite story was <i>Wedding Day</i>, though.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for this book.

A really well written and unique set of short stories.
I hardly ever pick up a short story collection but the cover and the premise were interesting. A lot of the stories center around motherhood, I’m not a mother but I still found the stories engaging and really enjoyed reading.

I enjoyed the narrators' voices throughout this and although i am not like the protagonists of each story i felt like i could relate to them in some way which kept me reading. I particularly enjoyed the thread around the loneliness of motherhood alongside the freedom of men and their abandonment, even when they were still physically there with the protagonist. The impact of covid played a part throughout each story along with other themes such as grief, cruelty, apathy and social media and these were all handled in a really intriguing way. Throughout each story was the feeling that i hadn't quite read anything like these before

I love Naomi Wood's novels. I had heard very good things about her award-winning short stories. And yet... I just didn't enjoy this collection.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things presents an exceedingly narrow perspective on womanhood: white, upper middle class, professional, and either pregnant or a mother to young children. There was so little variation in character between stories that at times I forgot which story I was reading - in multiple tales, pregnant bumps undulate with the movement of the foetus (to the horror of an onlooker).

There was one story which stood out for me: Comorbidities, which won the 2023 BBC Short Story Award and is one of several in the collection that dwells on the loss of sex life after the birth of children. However, the others either bored or irritated me through repetition.

I so enjoyed both Naomi Wood's Mrs Hemingway, a wry take on what it might have been like to be married to Ernest, and the Bauhaus-themed thriller The Hiding Game, that I jumped at the chance to read her debut short story collection which is made up of nine lengthy pieces.

Each story is told from the point of view of women, all mothers or pregnant, some of them them relishing behaving badly. Many explore work life balance, the stresses and strains on relationships and the experience of parenting in the modern world and there’s a good deal of dry humour to enjoy. Just one dud - set on a scripted reality TV set which includes dinosaurs - which is an excellent hit rate but while I enjoyed Wood’s stories as I was reading them, I was left slightly underwhelmed and can’t quite put my finger on why. Thanks to her previous novels, expectations were sky high which, perhaps, was the problem. Should she publish another collection, I'm sure I'll read it but I'm hoping there's a novel in the offing.

I had listened to Naomi's short story "Cormobidties" on BBC sounds and really found it insightful, witty and heartwarming so I really looking forward to reading more of her short works.

This is a great collection of short works all of which reflected and examine the world we live in today, there is running theme of motherhood and pain throughout, am not a mother myself but I could still identify with the characters and themes. For short works each of the stories contain strong well developed characters. Each is the stories are unique are set in a variety of places. I liked the reflection on the Covid that was in some of the stories, the family stuck at home during the height of the pandemic was all too familiar. The writing is strong and has flair, there was real sense of wit and dark humour while making really important observations on life. Some of the characters within the stories were a little stereotypical but that was my only bug bear. The last works was mad but strangely was my favourite one.

Great book to carry in your handbag to dip in and out whilst travelling to and from work.

I will look out for more of the author writing both short and long

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!

2 stars???

I was so ready for this. I loved the cover and the fact it was short stories I was really excited, but for some reason I just could not get invested in any story. I started skim reading at one points because nothing really grasped my attention. Maybe it's just not not relating or feeling compelled by any of the characters in the stories, but I really didn't connect well while reading this. However, I did enjoy how it was written.