Review for The Space She Made For Me by Jo Boyle

I wasn’t planning on starting another book after going on a bit of a binge, but something about the excerpt provided with The Space She Made For Me was too captivating. What I thought had been a cliffhanger was the entirety of the first story in this anthology, though. It’s also a very good indicator of what you can expect from the rest of the collection. Bite-sized stories with compelling characters that make you feel, even if they aren’t exactly “happy feels” much of the time.

Every piece of the collection is beautiful in its own way, exploring both hopeful and hopeless situations. I gave the rating for this review based on the overall work, but the parts making it up each deserved it as well. I also appreciated that each one started with possible triggers and sometimes a prompt that inspired the story. Unlike many anthologies, there’s also a connection built across a few of the stories, though they all can still function as a standalone.

Missed connections, what ifs, and life just being the random chaos it can be appear heavily among many of these stories. I thoroughly enjoyed each one, but I want to stress again for potential readers that happy endings are less of a feature. In addition, there is one story that kind of implies it’s better not to be truthful at therapy. Overall though, I was struck by how fast I got sucked into these tales with so few words needed.

I have seen enough reviews recently that make me feel this should be pointed out. If the subtitle isn’t noticeable enough, this is a sapphic collection. That means each of these short, evocative stories feature the relationship between two women as the romantic focus. While I know that isn’t for everyone, the situations the characters find themselves in, and the emotional responses they have to those situations, are largely universal. Anyone looking for a quick read, or collection of quick reads, should enjoy The Space She Made For Me. Short stories don’t always mean you can’t develop connections with characters.

The Space She Made For Me is available to buy on Amazon.