Julia Armfield owns my heart.

I find the "short story collections published right before the debut novel" are truly hit-and-miss situation. But when they hit... bull's eye.

Do you like stories about lonely confused sad women making aching relationship decisions? Do you like depictions of woman as beast, as wolf, as the undead? Do you like creepy stories with sweet characters that also feel like they could probably kill you? Do you want to read short stories that feel like our wives under the sea (especially the Casandra one) while still having their own unique twist? I hope you've answered yes and will be picking this up.

Recommended if you like sad women who fall in love with other women but also sometimes men, love beautiful writing that's imbued with loneliness, and especially if you can get this on audio. What a great collection.