Show Them a Good Time by Nicole Flattery // Bloomsbury Book Review 2019

Show Them a Good Time by Nicole Flattery // "At seventy, after suffering several disappointments, the first being my mother, the second being me, my father died. One evening he gathered the family in his room and asked if anyone had any questions. No one did. The next day he died. At the funeral everyone looked like someone I might sort of know"... 

Hello everyone, it's certainly been a while. 3 months and 10 days to be exact. Having felt that I was becoming a little bit obsessed with social media and blogging, I wanted to have a wee digital break and enjoy some offline activities for a while, and my favourite offline hobby of them all? Reading. Reading books is escapism for me and distracts me from the stress of every day life. I particularly enjoy reading last thing at night, as it helps me to forget about the day just past and puts me into the perfect sleepy slumber. 

I'm posting on here today to share my thoughts on a new book, 'Show Them a Good Time' by Nicole Flattery. I was kindly sent this book to review by the babes over at Bloomsbury and it is a set of ten short stories. Short stories are my favourite, for obvious reasons; you can just pick up the book whenever you feel like diving in and one story a day is all you need - short and sweet as I like to say. Even after the first story, I knew this book was for me. The stories feel so raw and Flattery has the unique talent of being able to make us laugh and almost cry within the same sentence.

What I loved most about this book is that many of the stories are not what they seem, which is the appeal with most short stories, they always leave the reader guessing and wanting more. One of the stories within the book, 'Not The End Yet', is a perfect example of this, as it appears to be set in this world, but as the story unfolds, we quickly realise things are not always as they seem, making the appeal for these stories all the more great. Sometimes with short stories, the lack of closure at the end of a tale can annoy me, as I find I can get incredibly invested in characters over such a short number of pages. Although frustrated, it also always reminds me of how talented short story writers are, at how they are able to convey so much in such a small amount of pages. Flattery's book left me wanting to read more, not just short stories, but more of her work in general and she's definitely one to watch out for in the future. 

My verdict? 4 out of 5 stars. I would definitely recommend this book to people looking for a quick, yet engaging, deeply enjoyable read. 

More soon,

Helen

x

* I did receive a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. *