I received this ARC sampler from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK | Scribner in exchange for a free and honest review.

The short story featured was titled "Tongue tied", it follows a couple that are house hunting and their realtor is a former student of one of them. Cilia, their realtor was a little strange in school and she remembers incidents from her past that link them together. A short but good read and I can't wait to read the whole collection.

With thanks to the author, publishers Simon and Schuster UK, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC containing a sample of this book in exchange for my honest review.

NOTE: This review is based only on a single story “Tongue Tied”.

This was an interesting short story about a couple who are house hunting, and the estate agent showing them the properties. I enjoyed how the author was able to flip my initial impressions of both the couple and the estate agent on their heads within a relatively small number of pages, and was encouraged to want to read more!

This review is for the short story 'Tongue-Tied', a sample from Chloe Wilson's debut collection Hold Your Fire.

This short story reminded me of 'The Dinner Party and Other Stories' by Joshua Ferris - precisely written, unsettling and with a clear-eyed cynicism which finds humour but not always kindly (however, this might not be the voice of the whole collection, as 'Tongue-Tied' is narrated by a rather bitter P.E. teacher in an unhappy relationship...).

The quality of the descriptions of places, atmospheres and human foibles is outstanding, for example this description of the interior of a house: "it had the thin, held-breath confidence of someone trying to get away with something", or this about a young woman in shock: "It was the look of someone still blankly waiting for a bus long after everyone else had realised it isn't coming."

If I had a criticism, it's that while the story was carefully and precisely structured, it could have benefitted from a bit more pace and forward momentum. It was a satisfying read, but one I had to make a conscious effort to be patient with as it unfolded. Overall though, it is an intriguing taster for the rest of the collection - good stuff.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book sample.

I'm a huge fan of short stories and they form about half of the books I read. I definitely know what I like and I definitely enjoyed this sample story. In a short space of time I felt like I'd dived deep into the two main characters, neither of which were likeable (which I love!) There were a few surprises which weren't where I thought the story was going to go at all. Loved the ending! I'd be keen to read more by Chloe Wilson based on this sample.

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An interesting short story about house hunting and memories from the past. My narrator seemed difficult to impress or to get a reaction out of. I felt sorry for Cilla as I read the anecdotes from school.
I’d read more of this book.

A compelling short story sample, with complex characters who are explored well despite the story's length. The way the main character was written was particularly impressive, as Chloe Wilson was able to shift the reader's opinion towards them throughout the story.

This was a pretty good short story by an author I've never read before. I don't usually like lit fic or contemporary, but I'm glad I read this.

I like how by the end I could empathise with the main character, as before the lady few pages I thought she was awful.

Overall, I liked it and I'd try other work by thir author

Thank you to both Netgalley and Chloe Wilson for the sample

I enjoyed reading this compelling sample and it definitely left me wanting more. I'd love to be able to read the rest. What I did read was dark and fresh with flawed but deeply relatable characters and scenarios.