This book was fine. All of the stories were witty and the quick to read. None of them were “laugh out loud”. My favorite was Double Date by Lucy Vine- very clever and cute. I also enjoyed Glue by Clare Shaw and found that one to be very funny. Overall this was an entertaining and perfectly fine collection of short stories. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book. Out April 25, 2024

I was really looking forward to reading The Book of Witty Women. Names like Kathy Lette and Helen Lederer drew me in. Now, I know that witty is not the same as funny, but the cover states that the book contains “laugh-out-loud stories by women writers”. I suppose that I should have realised that anyone using “women” as an adjective is likely to have a similarly post-grammatical approach to “witty” and “laugh-out-loud”. How can I describe my disappointment? Imagine you’re five years old again and you’re promised an ice-cream in the most exciting flavour ever, but, when it arrives, it’s melted in the dish.

Paula Lennon’s Sorry, Delivery has some witty one-liners and is perhaps the high point of the book, although Wendy Hood’s Care Home Capers is a contender too. I felt that “poignant“, rather than “witty”, is perhaps the more accurate description of several stories such as Kathryn Simmonds’ Ways With Mince. I enjoyed reading some of them, although Josie Long’s Poets Rise Again left an unpleasant taste – it’s neither witty nor funny.

I’d emphasise that these stories are mostly OK. They’re not going to win the Nobel Prize for Literature; and many of them will be forgotten within a week; but they’re OK. However, do not buy this book based upon the assertion that you will laugh out loud.

In a Nutshell: Supposed to be a collection that makes us ‘laugh out loud’, but practically, I *smiled* during only two of the fifteen tales. Very disappointing!

The intent behind this fifteen-story collection is excellent. Rarely do we get to see the comedic voice of women. Whether in stand-up comedy or politics, comedians are mostly male. (That’s my little contribution to prove myself a witty woman! 😛) So to see an anthology penned by diverse women writers under the theme of wit gave me high hopes.

The maximum damage to this book is done by the tagline. ”Witty” doesn’t necessarily mean “funny”. It could also indicate “lively”, “amusing”, “inventive” or “quick-witted”. But as the tagline promises “laugh-out-loud stories”, I expected every story to contain varied doses of humour. This doesn’t happen at all.

The mood in the stories spans all the above meanings of wit, and goes even beyond that. But not all of them are funny. As is common in a multi-author anthology, some of the stories just don’t hit the bull’s eye, whether in terms of character detailing or plot development or satisfying endings.

I must admit, the content had plenty of comic potential. From competitive shopping as a sport to “penis puppeteering” (I don’t wanna explain that!) to a woman celebrating her 52nd birthday as her 50th one because the covid years don’t count, the themes touched upon the wacky and the weird. But somehow, the potential didn’t translate to an impactful execution.

One thing I have realised with respect to humour is that it can never be forced. It either leads naturally from the situation or it fails to induce a smile. In most of these stories, the jokes appear very forced, and that kills the vibe.

Of course, humour is a subjective emotion. What is funny to me might be eyeroll-inducing to someone else. In this entire collection, only two stories managed to make me grin. In fact, one of them is probably going to be among the top short stories I read this year; it hit the right notes on every level! Unfortunately, a single story cannot salvage the book from its fate.

Unlike the usual norm, the contributing author's bio is right at the start of each story, just below the title. I appreciate much more than having the bios pooled together in one lump at the end.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Except for the above two stories, the rest were all at 3.5 stars and below, with a couple of the tales even getting just a single star, not something that often happens for me during anthologies.

These were the two stunners of the book:
🤡 Double Date - Lucy Vine: This started off as a typical story, going well but nothing out of the ordinary. And then came the reveal that transformed the whole tale into a chuckle-worthy ride. Loved it! - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🤡 Care Home Capers - Wendy Hood: If you thought that senior citizens in a care home enjoy all visits, this story will get you thinking! The best story in the book both in terms of premise and execution. Hilarious and heartwarming. Easily among my top favourite stories, ever! - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

All in all, I am disappointed. I feel like I am betraying my own tribe by rating a collection of witty tales written by witty women so poorly. I can only hope that there is some reader out there who finds this collection hilarious and enticing.

2.7 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.

My thanks to Farrago and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Book of Witty Women”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

It's better to read this book as an essay collection and read each short story one at a time. Since I tried to read multiple in one sitting, the stories didn't seem to have the sake staying power as I imagined. Still a cool themed anthology!

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrago for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was not the book I was expecting it to be. “15 new laugh-out-loud stories by women writers” I unfortunately didn’t find these stories to be Laugh-out-loud for the most part, and I’m someone who laughs out loud because of books very often. I liked most of the stories, and I’m always down for a collection of stories written by women, but I found the title of the book and what is said on the cover to be very misleading. This is a mixture of so many types of stories, some threw me off going from one to the other.
There were definitely stories that I very much enjoyed in this, but there were also some that I did not enjoy at all.

To be honest they need to remove the laugh out aloud mention from this book tittle because none of the stories made me laugh let aside out aloud. There were some stories I enjoyed but the others I honestly just couldn’t get through. The initial stories in the book were okay to read but not funny or witty. The writers definitely tried their best to be witty but it just didn’t tickle the readers funny bone. I had some great expectations from this book but I m disappointed.

Thanks to netgalley, the publishers and the author’s from this Arc.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I believe until now I have only read horror anthologies, but I'm glad I decided to explore The Book of Witty Woman. I did laugh or giggle quite a bit and was exposed to an entirely new literary world. Highly recommend

The Book of Witty Women is a collection of 15 short stories, described as laugh-out-loud stories. Some stories were in fact funny, some where interesting, but a few were confusing. Overall, I enjoyed this book. Thank you, Netgalley for giving me this book in exchange for my honest review

A collection of heartwarming, wise and often witty stories written by women. You are not being mis-sold in the title.

My stand out story is Lucy Vine’s ‘Double Date’ which had a very unexpected protagonist and was just lovely. Others I really enjoyed were ‘Glue’ by Clare Shaw which was very funny and very poignant; ‘Ways with Mince’ by Kathryn Simmonds where poor Sue has the world’s most awful mother-in-law; ‘The Art of Genital Persuasion’ Kathy Lette a look into the underrated world of penis puppeteering; and finally the pain of ‘Nothing Compared to You’ Annemarie Cancienne which cut to my heart.

This is a lovely collection of short stories, really great for readers who want to dip their toe in without committing to a novel.

This collection is full of tales of women looking out for each other, women competing (shopping gets serious) and women just trying to get by. There’s also one about a man and a pig which didn’t really fit the pattern but was equally as enjoyable.

Would highly recommend for a nice, comforting unwind.

Thank you to Netgalley and Duckworth Books for my #arc

The Book of Witty Women is a wonderful anthology of short stories written by some very funny women. The stories are all different covering so many aspects of life, including friendship, relationships, family, food and shopping! Every story brought a smile to my face and on top of being funny, most were heartwarming and poignant too.

Amongst my favourites were ‘Ways with Mince’ by Kathryn Simmonds, a hilarious tale of a woman starved by her mother-in-law and ‘Double Date’ by Lucy Vine, a beautiful love story told from the POV of a woman’s best friend.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was perfect for dipping into one story at a time, especially when I found myself with a free half an hour. Thank-you NetGalley and Farrago for sending me this ARC for free, I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A collection of short stories that are mildly amusing. I skipped through some of them, the writing overlong and not funny. A book to look at on a short journey or waiting for an appointment. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I’m currently loving exploring the short story genre, and the title and comic collective of this book really caught my attention.

Some stories really made me laugh out loud others weren’t quite as strong but overall I enjoyed the collection. The book felt well composed and the stories complimented each other. Thanks netgalley for an advanced copy of this book

This was very much a mixed bag of short stories for me. I expected from the title for them to be funny, but most weren’t at all. One (Hapless) was so awful I skipped it entirely. A handful I enjoyed but none were especially brilliant.

Kathy Lette, Helen Lederer and Josie Long mentioned on the cover - their contributions are ok, but I wouldn’t rush out to buy this book for a friend. A shame, because these kind of collections, mixed with humour, usually make fantastic gifts to cheer people up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Title hooked me, but after reading the first few stories I had to call it quits. Unfortunately I didn't find them to be witty, or well-written to be honest. Think this could use a few more rounds of editing.

A good mix of stories, some funnier than others, some easier to read than others.
I don't normally like short stories mixed by different people but I read this over a period of time, one at a time, and it worked well.
A diverse range of authors which made it interesting.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

I loved all the short stories in this anthology especially the first one by Kathy Lette (Biscuits and crime?!) This is a wonderful collection that is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Some of my favourite authors contributed but I was also introduced to some new ones and I can't wait to read their other work.

So refreshing to read a book of short stories instead of a full novel, which is usually what I go for. Loved the idea of supporting women writers and their work, too. I liked all the stories, my favorite being Double Date by Lucy Vine, Glue by Clare Shaw and Ways With Mince by Kathryn Simmonds.
They’re mostly a compilation of very light stories, some funnier than others but all enjoyable and entertaining. Very well written as well.

The cover and premise of this book really caught my fancy. Short stories are a genre I’m currently enjoying more of and often seek out books by female writers. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read.

The stories are a mixed bag. All are readable and the authors can write well but fewer are memorable with the ‘doggy dating’ and ‘mince’’ particular highlights for me.

There is also a mixture of the level of witty in the book with some stories stimulating a wry smile (or even an eye roll!) and others a more consistent chuckle or laugh. I would say not to expect to ‘laugh out loud’ as much of the humour is observational and relational rather than boldly hilarious.

Certainly, most of the stories felt fresh and new in their approach and each one was unexpected when it came. The flow between them was plotted well to give depth to the collection.

Overall, I love the idea of the book and there are some really shiny gems however, not consistently enough ‘witty’ to garner a higher rating. That said, I would try a similar collection by the publishers in the future as one of the key strengths of the book was how the stories were curated.

A fun read but not memorable. Great for a holiday. Amusing and sometimes quite perceptive. Good to have strong women as principal characters

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

So many funny stories with authors I want to go back and read more of! Each story was different but always put a smile on my face!