Small, Burning Things

I know I'm going to be in the minority with my rating, but it seems to perfectly align with the fact that I'm also in the minority of the reader demographic this far: the only guy. I shed light on this observation simply because I feel like Cathy Ulrich's Small, Burning Things is a collection of disconnected short stories that certainly seem to aim for more of a female readership. I don't know how to explain it, but I jus found myself struggling to relate or latch onto these shorts that felt more like fleeting thoughts shared intimately between two friends under the stars. Now this isn't to say that it's something akin to a Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey—as it's not romance—but I couldn't help but feel like I just wasn't being spoken to throughout. About halfway through when some of the stories began to lean a little more supernatural—minus the suspense and thrills—another collection of unique yet more enthralling shorts came to mind, Darrin Doyle's The Dark Will End the Dark (which I think Lori also worked with in promotion). Small, Burning Things felt like reading an American-Midwest high school girl's intimate collection of diary entries–I'm feeling during the transition from summer to fall near the end of fair season.

Regardless, many thanks to Lori of TNBBC fame for providing me with an advanced review copy.