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nsfonline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
justacowboy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Abandonment
hollyd19's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I was surprised (perhaps I shouldn’t have been, given the word ‘secrets’ in the title) by how heavily sex factored in nearly all the stories. It was never gratuitous or explicit, but it did play a much larger role than I had expected. Additionally, I had the impression that the collection would be more... fun? Honestly, for the most part I found it fairly bleak. That’s not to say it wasn’t tender and at times funny, but most stories left me feeling rather melancholy. Each woman featured faces some significant strain — emotionally, relationally, etc — and I would have loved at least one story to be robustly joyful (the closest is How To Make Love to a Physicist). Finally, there is ample mention of church life & culture, but I wouldn’t define any of the protagonists as “church ladies.” They are all church-lady-adjacent, but perhaps that was Philyaw’s chosen device: a window into the lives of church ladies from those who are in some way outside the fold.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Grief
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Murder
gm_vak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Abortion
jayjm94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Dementia, and Religious bigotry
plumdrop6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Abortion
competencefantasy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
gracefulbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I just want to say I am completely floored by this collection of short stories. I rarely ever find myself so fully enjoying short stories because I'm just not used to having to fall for characters or a plot within a couple of pages. It's just not my speed by Philyaw has changed that-because I legit fell for so many of the stories within this book.
First of all, I listened to this on audiobook, and Janina Edwards has such a soothing voice and she's incredibly versatile. I'd love to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her. I fell in love with her talent.
Also, I want to say that I also really enjoyed the versatility within this collection of short stories. I feel like Philyaw really worked to make each story have its own sort of style and it really worked. None of the stories felt completely the same whether it was the plot, the style, or the characters. She managed to take these short stories that spanned only a couple of pages each and give them life.
I will also say she managed to make me cry about two times because of one particular short story which I did not think was possible given how I have such a hard time with short stories BUT Philyaw did it. She worked a miracle. I really really highly recommend this collection of short stories.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Homophobia
books_and_mags's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Racism, Grief, and Death of parent
sarahaf712's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Dementia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent