This feels like a very different direction for Cecilia Ahern whose oeuvre is invariably described as Chick lit / romance / contemporary. At the same time i think it is very indicative of her writing which creates strong female characters dealing with difficult situations. I have not read many short story collections and often struggle with the open-ended nature of them but this collection has really captured my imagination. Each short story is entitled "the woman who ....." and for me each capture a different aspect of women and society today. Some felt like moral fables whilst others captured the way women are expected to - indeed expect themselves to cope with whatever life throws at them and then wonder why it all falls apart. There were a few that felt out of place in general these were the ones that had an altered societal norm such as "the Woman who wore Pink" and "the woman who spoke Woman" Overall this was an excellent collection with a unified focus that kept me entertained throughout

I have never read Cecelia Ahern before. I do not like short stories! I am not a feminist! BUT I loved this book - so different from anything I normally read. These made me think of essays rather than short stories - each had a point to make whether it be humorous, educational or thought-provoking. I loved that some were definitely there to make women poke fun at themselves, some as a warning. Some definitely gave me food for thought. The Woman who was swallowed up by the floor and who met lots of other women down there too was my absolute favourite because it made me laugh out loud and I could visualise the scenario. Many thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

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 collection of stories about women in all kinds of situations which seem familiar. They are mothers, daughters, wives and workers – they are us. Although they are all nameless, all being referred to as ‘the woman who…..’, they are all oddly familiar: the woman who slowly disappeared, the woman who thought her mirror was broken, the woman who was pigeonholed. The themes are ones that most modern women will recognise: women who are unhappy with their bodies, women who find that aging has made them less important than before or women who feel that they are least important members of their families. Some of the stories can seem, at first, a little obvious but I did wonder if that was because I’ve been thinking about inequalities between the sexes for over forty years now. In many ways this would make this a good collection for younger women and men – who, although they may be aware of some aspects of inequality, may not know how things change for women when age, ethnicity or class are taken into account. Don’t think that this means these stories are preachy or dull. They certainly aren’t – they are funny, subversive and, at times, moving. The joy of short stories is that you can dip in and out, skipping ahead to stories you think sound more appealing than others: this was a collection that I read straight through, missing out nothing.

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