Girl Imperilled is a short story anthology from author Ellie Rose McKee. Through thirty short stories, each ranging from one to eleven pages long, a range of themes are explored including sexuality, fertility issues, mental illness and familial relationships.

There is fantastic LGBTQIA+ representation throughout and two of my favourite stories were ‘Coming Out’ which is set in a society where everyone has to publicly come out and announce their sexuality and ‘Dynamics’ which focuses on a girl supporting their trans sibling when they come out and are rejected by the wider family. I also though the story ‘Tried and Tested’ about a couple trying to conceive was really beautiful.

The stories do definitely vary in quality. Although some were really impactful, such as the two mentioned above, others didn’t seem as well written and just weren’t engaging. I also didn’t feel the book necessarily delivered its promise of being feminist as some of the stories didn’t feel particularly empowering.

Girl Imperilled is a very quick read and it’s easy to dip in and out of. Not all of the stories will work for everyone, but that’s often the case with short story anthologies.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published are completely honest and my own, and are in no way influenced by the gifting opportunity. Thank you to NetGalley, Ellie Rose McKee and Elowen Press.

This just wasn't for me. It was a bit too slow and it wasn't able to grasp my attention for too long. I think it was an interesting premise, but didn't sell the story to me!

Thank you for my gifted copy!

Unfortunately I was unable to read this before it was archived. Would love to give it a go on another occasion though, as the plot sounds intriguing.

A unique anthology, with some stories being only two pages long. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

I feel like the book doesn't fully deliver what its synopsis promises as not every story was empowering or feminist; many felt directionless and completely went over my head. Like, I have no idea what they are supposed to be about... There are a handful that pack a punch though. Some of my favourites include Quest, At World's End and Triggers.

Overall, I liked the idea of this collection even though there were more misses than hits for me. Not your conventional read and I believe different people will interpret and appreciate each story differently. There's potential here, which makes me look forward to the author's future works.

Girl imperiled is a collection of stories about damsels in distress.
There's a variety of story types that would appeal to different readers. My favorites were the ones with the twist ending or mysterious backstory (Planned, Earworm, Locksmith).
There were some that felt more like "finish the story" prompts, and I would have appreciated if they were a little longer. A lot of them missed the mark for me and left me wanting more.

The stories in this were very short and I felt like I couldn’t get into it as they were over by the time the had started

It sounded like a great idea and I could see people loving this but it’s just not the style for me

In the anthology girl in peril they have some tiny stories and some short stories but all are clever it will make you chuckle. I loved earworm but I think the fence was my favorite the stories aren’t as long as typical short stories and before I knew it the book was over and I wanted more. I will definitely be looking for more stories by Ellie Rose McKee she seems to have a great talent for getting her point across and not too many words and telling the whole story in just a couple of sentences I honestly love this book and definitely want to read more by this author. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I have included this book in a recent tiktok linked below! But I also want to give more specific feedback here.

First of all, I really loved this book! I found the short stories to be interesting, funny at times, shocking, and dark. There was such a wide range of stories and I loved experiencing them all. The horror was my favorite I think I found it really impactful and the reveals left me shocked. I also liked the more emotional stories, but the horror had me wanting way more of that vibe throughout. I think Ellie Rose McKee should write more in that style it feels like a very fitting and comfortable writing style to read! My only "downside" and reason I didn't give it a 5 is the organization of the stories. I LOVE having a mix of tones and takes but I felt like just when I wanted more of one vibe then it would switch again.

Also THANK YOU for the TWs in the back. I felt very informed while reading and it made the things like body horror or suicide ideation not jumpscare me.

I was curious by how this novella was framed - women saving themselves - but the stories are a lot shorter than I expected them to be. The style of writing isn't my personal favourite, very fragmented with short emphatic sentences. I need more payoff in stories and there just wasn't enough time to be hooked by any of the stories. There wasn't enough substance because they were so short and everything was very, very simplified. The idea of a female robin hood is cool, but when it's less than two pages, it has no real impact. I'm sure lots of people will love these stories, but they weren't for me!