Thank you so much for the opportunity to read an advance copy of [Insert Title Here]. I really appreciated the chance to sit with these stories—there’s a quiet emotional resonance throughout that stayed with me long after reading.

I especially loved the three love stories. The exploration of missed chances and the idea of parallel lives—the paths we didn’t take and the losses we might not even recognise—was really moving. The story with the “touch heartbeats” stood out as a favourite too; its delicate handling of grief, the space it created for sorrow, and that paranormal twist gave it real depth.

That said, I did find some stories more cohesive than others. A few felt a little disconnected, and I wasn’t always sure how they fit together as a whole. Some of the descriptive phrasing felt a bit awkward, and there were a few misused aphorisms that occasionally pulled me out of the narrative.

In particular, I think Locked and Lost City could benefit from some polishing. The structure in these jumps ahead quite abruptly at times, without the transitions needed to ground the reader. That may be an intentional reflection of how loss or grief often works—but when telling life stories, even fractured ones, there still needs to be a sense of flow. Lives unfold mostly in a linear fashion, so when you break from that, the shift needs to feel purposeful and fluid. Some additional attention to point-of-view consistency and syntax would also really elevate these pieces.

Overall, I’m really glad I read this. There’s something special in the way these stories reach for meaning in the mess of human emotion. With a little more refinement, I think the collection could be even more impactful.

Thank you again for the chance to read early!

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this book.

If I can trace a single characteristic for these short stories that compose "The Unshatterables" that would be the sense of empathy. Yeah, the ability to understand and share another person's feelings as ours, biding strangers and building up possibilities for a better world. Some of these stories happen by using alternative options to evolve them, like "what if" stories. That is the case in "Three love stories" and some others. They may work nicely if you like "what if" stories. I am not much into them, but I admit I enjoyed reading some of the parts.

The one I mostly enjoyed reading was the first story, "Lipstick", I felt emotional most of the time, and though it sounded a bit unreal at times, at other moments it was the one exuding empathy. I could easily see it become a beautiful novella.


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The Unshatterables is a collection of short stories that tackle grief, love, loss and friendship. Most of the stories had alternate endings and realities too. I think I enjoyed about half of the stories and found the other half boring but it was an interesting read.

<b><i>Thank you to Koehler Books and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review</i></b>