I am not much of a short story reader, so I was suprised, happily so, at how much drama and emotion were packed into these stories. They were little slices of emotional life and I liked being able to finish in a shorter time. Mr Coake is a very good writer, able to conjure drama and emotion and help the reader get into the head of his characters.
Thank you to NETGalley and the author for allowing me to read this ARC.

This book was free and sent to me an an ARC on NetGalley. However, all reviews are of my own opinions.

This book surprised me a lot. I went in not knowing much about the book just that the book arrived in the midst of the #MeToo Movement.

This book follows a story collection of stories - each story was finely articulated and all had strong points.

All stories dealt with people that wanted that second chance in life. However, I don't see how there was a connection to the #MeToo movement. The book did deal with situations around difficult situations between men and women but was not connected to the movement.

All of the stories screamed originality and the attention to detail was done well. I loved the concept of the book.

The only problem (I wouldn't say problem as per say) is that when I read a short story, I'm always left wanting more so I personally prefer to read a story surrounding one story line. However, this book was well executed and I really did enjoy it!

You Would Have Told Me Not To blew me away with its originality, attention to unusual detail and its self-help quality.

I seriously did not expect to love this book as much as I did. I'm not usually a big short stories reader because I find that once I connect with a character, I want to stick with them for longer than a duration of a story. Even though this was partially true even in this collection, I found that the resolution in each story made them all just perfect - and left me reflecting for a long time. Such a great reading experience.

Ladies and gentlement, this story collection is all about failed relationships. I loved that because people are usually keen on presenting only the good parts of their lives, so this book felt a bit like peeking into someone's dirty secrets. There's just something magnificent about reading about other people's problems (sue me).

Finally, I think was made it a 5 star read for me was the writing style. Coake clearly put a lot of work into setting the scene and describing the events in a way that made me feel like I was there. There's so much unexpected detail that it was a true delight overall.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.
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These stories didn't really land with me. They kind of flew over my head and didn't leave that much of an impression on me. Overall, I think the author could've dug deeper and pulled some really disturbing shit up and hit a nerve. The writing was good, the stories were convincing and realistic.

Favorite stories: Her Kind of People, Waste, Getaway

Where to start with this book
I loved all the stories in this book and i loved that they talked on real life issues but my personal favourites were That first time, Big guy which i resonated with and This will come as a surprise to you
So if you're looking for something fresh and quick to read this is the book for you

In this collection of short stories, Christopher Coake takes us into the lives of folks who have been kicked around in life, but now have a chance to dispense a little grace and in so doing, perhaps regain a sense of hope.

Coake is a wonderful writer. He describes things in such a way that you’re right there with him, seeing what he’s seeing. He writes just enough, no more or less. The descriptions are perfect, as when this mother of a struggling young adult stays over at his apartment one night:

"Suzanne tried to sleep on the lumpy couch - an old one of hers she'd passed along, now greasy and smelling like an animal - but couldn't. Her brain had taken in too much tonight."

Coake writes of hope, but it’s so subtle. Each of his characters grapples with something about their own nature that stands in their way, whether they realize it or not. They arrive at a situation where they might change a little, just enough to shift the entire trajectory of the rest of their lives. The question is, will they?

I enjoyed all of the stories, but the last one, Big Guy, still haunts me a couple weeks after finishing the book. Doug, a beloved high school teacher, is heartbroken when his wife leaves him over his obesity. With the encouragement of his students, colleagues, and a new girlfriend, he reaches his goal weight but with disastrous results. I wonder if, as a result, Doug understood the larger message, that we can change our shapes but the mind is the only thing that matters? Coake doesn’t answer that, in fact, I’m not even sure that’s the theme he intended because he’s never that obvious, only showing us life as he sees it and leaving us to draw our own conclusions. A wonderful book. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read.