Thank you very much to the publishers, Macmillan, for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
In her first collection, Rainbow Rowell gives us nine beautifully crafted love stories. Girl meets boy camping outside a movie theater. Best friends debate the merits of high school dances. A prince romances a troll. A girl romances an imaginary boy. And Simon Snow himself returns for a holiday adventure.
I love reading short story collections. So, when I saw that one of my all-time favourite authors, Rainbow Rowell, was going to be releasing one I knew I had to give it a read. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories in this collection. Some of them stood out more than other but I enjoyed the entire collection. Some of these stories are brand new and others have been in other anthologies in the past. I wanted to give a quick story-by-story review breakdown as I feel it is the best way to share my thoughts on this one. I will most definitely be picking this up again in the future to re-read some of the stories.
Midnights – 4 Stars
This was a lovely sweet start to the short story collection. I’ve actually read this one a couple of times before in another anthology that I dip into every year and still I love it each time. It is told of the course of a few New Years Eves and it is just a lovely story I can always return to.
Kindred Spirits – 4 Stars
This is another one that I have read a number of times already and I love it every single time that I read it. It has a a lot of Star Wars references throughout as the characters are camping out for one of the film premieres. Despite the fact I haven’y watched any of the Star Wars films I could understand the references in the story. It is such a lovely story about two people having a common interest and bonding over that. It could have been any fandom at all so I’m sure those in fandoms will relate.
Winter Songs for Summer – 4 Stars
This is one of my favourite stories in this collection. It is a lovely story about finding new love after a breakup. Living on the floor just beneath Summer, Benji is fed up of hearing the same breakup song over and over so he creates a mixtape for her. I love seeing how the character communication through the music and watching their romance develop. It is such a lovely short story.
The Snow Ball – 3 Stars
This story felt very similar to Midnights but is still a lovely romance story. We follow Owen and Libby who are clueless of their love for each other. I loved how this story ended it was cute. It isn’t a story a would come back and re-read but I did enjoy it.
If The Fates Allow – 4 Stars
This one features Reagan, from Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, who is now single and in her 30s when COVID hits. When visiting her family for the holidays she re-meet an old high school class mate. I was a bit worried at first when this one mentioned COVID as I’ve not been a fan of when books do this. But, it actually tells a lovely story of two people and some light moments whilst they struggle through a horrible time. It shows there is light at the end of the tunnel and looks at how different families handled the pandemic.
The Prince and the Troll – 2 Stars
I was not a big fan of this one. It has a completely different feel to it than all the others and I struggled to get into it. It has a fantasy element to it which I struggled with too. I’m sure some people will love this one.
Mixed Messages – 3 Stars
It has been a while since I read Attachments but it was lovely to revisit the best friends from this book, Jennifer and Beth. I enjoyed that the majority of this one is told via text messages. It always has an interesting topic running throughout. It has a lovely message to it and I felt it was a lovely addition to Attachments for me.
Snow for Christmas – 3 Stars
This one was a fun look into the Simon Snow trilogy which I have yet to pick up but have been on my TBR forever. It certainly made me want to pick up the trilogy soon and to find out more about the characters. For now, it was a lovely taste of both of the characters and a lovely short story.
In Waiting – 4 Stars
I loved this one! It is such a lovely take on what characters are like when they are formed in the writer’s mind. It is lovely and unique and got me thinking about all the characters that are still ‘in waiting’. I love reading about Anna and James and the fact they want to be together but they aren’t sure if that is what the author wants for them.
Overall, this is a lovely, fun and intriguing short story collection. It is full of unique stories, fresh looks at favourite characters and so much more. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is a Rainbow Rowell fan or those looking at getting a taste of her writing!
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