I enjoyed this well-written and interesting collection of short stories! My favorites were Damascus, and Twist and Shout.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Having read both of her short story collections I’d say it’s clear that Katherine Heiny has a talent for capturing relationships, both romantic and familial, in snapshots. I definitely enjoyed this collection, and though I wasn’t a massive fan of all of the stories I really adored some of them, specifically Twist and Shout, 561, and Turn Back, Turn Back. These stories all delivered such a gut punch that I felt like I was left reeling after reading them (in a good way).

I do feel like Heiny seems to have a tendency to focus her short stories on tales of WASP-y families and affairs so her writing can sometimes begin to feel a bit one-note, but then again she is so good at writing this sort of story that I can understand why she stays in this vein.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a great collection of emotionally-charged short stories regarding the games and rituals we, especially as women, play to get to the next day. Did every one of them connect with me? No (the title's sake), but the ones that hit hard went for the jugular. For example, "Turn Back, Turn Back" kicked and screamed at my heart so unexpectedly that I had to sit with it mentally for a while.

Highly recommended.

I have been a fan of Katherine Heiny since reading EARLY MORNING RISER and have been thinking that charming book for nearly two years. Her newest collection of stories was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023.

Heiny’s short stories about human connection, memories, aging and relationships are filled with warmth, wit, and a touch of darkness. I sometimes find it hard to connect with short stories, but the honesty and humanity Heiny infused into these stories made it easy to get invested in and relate to these characters. My favorite stories were “Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented,” “Twist and Shout,” and “Turn back, turn back.”

This is such a great character-driven, slice-of-life short story collection! The stories mainly focus on relationships, whether they're romantic, familial, or platonic. I loved the witty and humorous, yet thought-provoking and sentimental writing style that was always present throughout—it reminded me of Curtis Sittenfeld's writing, which I also really enjoy. My personal favorite stories were "Turn Back, Turn Back," the titular "Games and Rituals," and "561," but each one left me feeling invested in the characters and often wondering what would happen next. This was my first book by Katherine Heiny, and I'm now looking forward to reading her other works! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed these short stories, there is no doubt Katherine Heiny comes up with very novel ideas. I appreciated the the witty and humorous tone of the stories.

Good short stories but (typical to this form) they left me wanting more. The author is an excellent writer and comes up with such interesting ideas….I confess that I hope she’ll go back to novels from this point on. All to say…recommended for readers who like their reading in quick, fully formed doses.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

A collection of short stories that are entertaining enough but will be forgotten an hour after you read them. Does not live up to her earlier works

Each short story was beautifully written. This book was a definite comfort read that exposed life, heart, and pain. Looking forward to more from this author!

So many short story collections can be overwhelmingly bleak and dark. While there are some dark stories in GAMES AND RITUALS, the author's witty humor provides a nice touch. I especially enjoyed her detailed observations about daily life. The characters are varied, and the themes are entertaining. There is some repetition in the storylines, which did not necessarily impact my enjoyment.
Highly recommended.

I have become such a fan of Katherine Heiny. I read and loved two of her novels last year, Early Morning Riser and Standard Deviation, so I jumped at the chance to read her new book of short stories! Although I had some favorite stories within the collection, Twist and Shout was one of them, I enjoyed every single story. Thanks to NetGalley and aaknopf for the early copy.

I had really liked Early Morning Riser by this author so I was excited to check out this short story collection, a format I usually enjoy. This collection did not disappoint and I found that many of the stories had the same kind of subtle insightful commentary about human nature that I found in this author's debut. My favorite story in this collection was "561".

Games and rituals is a collection of 11 short stories that primarily navigate relationships, both romantic and platonic. Some I enjoyed more than others (Damascus, games and rituals, cobra and pandemic behaviour were my favourites). There seemed to be a theme of a much older man/woman going for someone 20 years younger than them which I found to be quite repetitive. Overall I did enjoy these stories and would recommend picking this up!

3-3.5/5

A great selection of short stories. I really enjoyed these and immersing myself into each of the characters worlds. The length of the stories were also great as it provided enough detail to form connections to then feel the emotions that each story promoted.

This is an excellent collection of eleven short stories with themes of life, love, aging, and desire. Heiny captured a range of vibrant, humorous, and heartfelt moments. I saw myself and my loved ones in these stories which is perhaps what made them so special to me.

These tales are a tribute to how we function as humans; a reminder of how we live, love, and lose. They capture the beauty of everyday existence in an extraordinary way. Ultimately, Katherine Heiny helps us to understand the human heart in all its beauty.

This might be my most favorite collection of short stories. It’s up there with Patchetts these precious days which were more essays. Haiku has such an amazing way of capturing the mundane day to day of life, and even though these were short stories I understood the scenes, the characters, their motivations. We’re done stories more compelling than others? I guess but I still really enjoyed them all, no skipping or skimming. 4+ stars and can’t wait for more of her work!!

Contemporary short stories - ranging from a complicated father-daughter relationship to co-workers at a driving testing location, Katherine Heiny writes with a wink and a sense of honesty about human connection.

The wife of a busy couple realizing her marriage is at the end. A mother spinning out about the possibility of her good son maybe, just possibly, doing drugs....spinning out and doing drugs with her ex-husband. It's all very fun. "Twist and Shout" being the stand out of the entire collection for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another phenomenal collection from Katherine Heiny, "Games and Rituals" had me riveted. Yet again, Heiny manages to shed fresh light on the eternal topics (adulthood, marriage, parenting, wealth) and her laugh-out-loud sense of humor remains a hallmark of her writing.

Great collection of short stories! I will admit it took me a little while to get into some of them because I felt like some of the writing styles (which were different for each story) just didn’t work for me, but some of the stories were still enjoyable.

If you are a lover of shirt stories then I recommend this book to you! A lot of these characters are interesting and there seems to be a lesson taught in some of these stories,

I hope to read more by Katherine Heiny in the future.

Very good short story collection by the always dependable Katherine Heiny. Each story is about different kinds of love: friendship, family and romantic. Some of the stories made me feel slightly melancholy but that might be because I’m a little jaded about romantic relationships 😬

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin/Random House for the advance copy of the Kindle edition in exchange for my honest review. Release date April 18, 2023