After sipping away at this lovely collection of short stories like a fine bottle of wine, I'm finally ready to post my review. What can I say other than I enjoyed this short story collection from Kimberly Sullivan?The emotions evoked varied from surprise at cunning twists, to sympathy for a woman cast off like a pair of old, worn-out shoes. The thread that united these stories was the women, all of whom were going through some sort of transformation, whether small or significant. Thank you, Ms. Sullivan, for sharing these stories. Reading them was both heartbreaking and healing.

Run, do not walk, to order this award-winning collection.

Thank you for the chance to read this early, and I apologize for my extremely late review!

I love anything travel-inspired as an avid solo female traveler, but this one did not hit the mark for me. It is a collection of short stories, all either based in Italy or based on Italian travellers in another country. The author is American but lives in Italy - I am not Italian so I can't be sure, but nothing read particularly authentic to me.

Some stories were slightly compelling, but overall this felt quite juvenile.

Thoroughly enjoyed these short stories all centered around women's challenges and friendships. I was immediately drawn to the title, as I love wine, and the synopsis pulled me in further. I've always dreamed of traveling to Italy, and I've finally booked it (!), so these short stories were the perfect prequel to my trip. Upon initial reading, I wasn't sure if I would like them, but I related to the first story right away, as I actually made a friend over a mutual ex of ours as well. Trauma bonding, amiright? I think my favorite and the most memorable story for me was the couple on a trip in an attempt to save their rocky marriage. The ending was perfection!

I loved that almost all the stories took place in Italy and Europe. Although I've never been there, I could picture the setting and transport myself there, feeling the sun on my face and the breeze on my skin. I appreciated that all the women were from different backgrounds and walks of life, facing different challenges, but all so dynamic and nuanced.

The lovely thing about short stories is that one can read them in whichever order they prefer. One here and there between other books, all at once, in order or a random order. No matter how you choose to read them, the stories in Drink Wine and Be Beautiful are a delight and a joy to read.

I haven't read this author before, but I love short stories so I gave it a try. I'm so glad I did! The stories were beautifully written and compelling.

This was a beautiful collection of short stories, easy to dip in and out of t your own pace.
A perfect holiday read, think glass of wine in hand by the pool.

There is something freeing about opening a book of short stories. There is an absence of long-term commitment as you are free to pick up the book for a quick short story, set it down after reading one or two and not look back until you are ready for another. Or if you like, you can zoom through the characters' lives and experiences in a fast and frenzied pace, The choice is yours.

Short commitments, no worries about a slow burn to get through to the twists and turns and great writing make this book by Sullivan a no brainer for a recent trip I took. While I got through a few on the plane, I was also able to devour another armchair adventure while waiting at the gate to board.

These stories can make you think about things you might have buried and would rather not but trust me, you should pay these thoughts a visit. Kimberly Sullivan has a talent for using few words to convey so much meaning and emotion. I recognized my family in some of these stories. I cried to my own story after a trigger of loss of a grandmother surfaced. Somehow within just a few pages, a flood gate opened of memories and nostalgia and in just a couple pages of one story, all those superstitions came flooding back. After finishing others, I have added places to visit on my travel list and may have crossed a couple off too!

I have purchased a copy of Drink Wine and Be Beautiful to gift to my mother who will no doubt love this collection as much as I do. While I received a ARC of this book, I highly recommend you grab a copy for yourself as it is just that good! Many thanks to Netgalley and Kimberly Sullivan for this opportunity. More of this authors work can be found at https://kimberlysullivanauthor.com/

3.5⭐️
This collection of stories brought all the feels.
I enjoyed some of the stories but some felt less developed.
But it's still good enough to finish.

Thanks Netgalley & the author for this.

Drink Wine and Be Beautiful is an excellent collection of short stories. I skipped around depending on how long the story was and how long I had to read. Each story that I read was engaging and left me wanting more - especially the first one.

“They travelled for thirteen hours down-hill whilst the streams broadened and the mountains shrank and the vegetation changed, and the people ceased being ugly and drinking beer and began instead to drink wine and to be beautiful” - E M Forster
Beautiful collection of 21 short stories, described as ‘Italian tales of love, betrayal, longing and desire and hope”
Depicting the if’s and but’s of life.
The common theme is they’re all strong women
Loved the author’s style of writing.
Thanks @kimberlyinrome & @netgalley for the eARC

A collection of stories that takes you on a beautiful vacation. Loved most of these stories and found them well written, a good flow, and was excited for each new story. I loved some of these stories so much i was sad when they ended and needed more from these characters and their journeys.

3.5 stars

A lovely book of short stories. This was my first time reading a book like this and it was a nice experience. I love reading books about Italy, France, Paris, etc.., It took me to wonderful countrysides that I’ve never been before and gave you a glimpse how other people live and their ups and downs. An enjoyable read.

I received this advanced copy for free. I’m giving my review voluntarily.

Drink Wine and Be Beautiful by Kimberly Sullivan has multiple short stories, from multiple author about love, hope and life.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

Wow, this book had me hooked from the cover.
I recently visited Italy so it was nice to read stories about the countryside.

There are 21 stories in this book and it follows womens journeys with love and betrayal.

I highly recommend this read.

Took this book on my holiday, perfect reading short stories. Loved it! Would definitely buy for friends.

Thank you @kimberlyinrome and @katerockbooktours and @netgalley for my digital copy. My thoughts are my own.

I so enjoyed this book! When I first read that the author of 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 (see my review on 10/26/22) had published a collection of short stories described as “Italian Tales of love, betrayal, longing, desire - and hope,” I knew I had to read them. I thought I could read the collection in a day or two (and I certainly could), but these stories are rich with drama and emotion, so I found myself savoring them and reading one or two each night. I really enjoy this author’s writing style. If you enjoy emotional stories surrounding strong females (who don’t necessarily always make the best choice), you will enjoy this collection.

This is a great compilation of stories all surrounding Italian women around the globe. Some are tenderhearted and others are vindictive. Some will have you laugh out loud. What an interesting set of short stories.

A delightful collection of short stories either based in Italy or featuring Italian characters. The protagonists are almost exclusively women and there is a recurring theme of relationship difficulties, but these stories are a welcome distraction from the boredom of daily life and provide a glimpse into everyday Italy. As the author points out, there is a regrettable dearth of opportunities for publishing short stories and consequently, there is a dearth of short stories to read, and it's a format that really should be brought back. #DrinkWineandBeBeautiful #NetGalley

Kimberly Sullivan does not disappoint with this read. I felt like I was transported to Europe and on a vacation myself. The range of emotions and human feelings while navigating through the relationships and their complexities held my interest and left me wanting more. I can see this book garner lots of attention and praise. Well done Kimberly and good luck.

Isn’t this the best title? It’s a great life motto!

Drink wine and be beautiful is a collection of 21 short stories all mostly taking place in Italy. There are several stories that show women who have needed strength to leave a bad marriage, or to rekindle with an old flame. I especially liked the very first story, about an American who meets a handsome Italian man, but his wife knows he’s sleeping around and she tells the American to avoid him. They become life long friends and she asks for the American’s help many years later when she gets cancer.

Some of the stories were very short and I went through several quickly. I could easily imagine myself in a Italian piazza with a glass of Chianti reading this book!

Thank you @katerockbooktours and @kimberlyinrome for my gifted ebook. The collect of short stories is out now!

I had trouble getting into these stories. Although I loved the European settings, I found the characters on the thin side. If you're looking for very light reading, you might like these stories.