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No & Other Love Stories
A deliciously dark collection of love stories to sink your teeth into, from the prizewinning author of NOW SHE IS WITCH
Can 'no' be a declaration of love? What happens when love is savage, dangerous and all-consuming? In this gorgeous and unsettling collection, women navigate the complexities and cruelties of desire across time and place, from a medieval convent to a Victorian parlour to a 1990s high school.
* An expectant mother feeds raw meat to the wasp's nest in her shed.
* A pair of sapphic lovers use ghost possession to fleece money from lecherous men.
* One woman in wartime London discovers that she loves her husband much more as a ghost.
* A teenage girl becomes infatuated with a bloodthirsty succubus.
Intensely atmospheric, surprising and darkly funny, this collection is a richly flavoured feast from a brilliant writer in full command of the form.
Can 'no' be a declaration of love? What happens when love is savage, dangerous and all-consuming? In this gorgeous and unsettling collection, women navigate the complexities and cruelties of desire across time and place, from a medieval convent to a Victorian parlour to a 1990s high school.
* An expectant mother feeds raw meat to the wasp's nest in her shed.
* A pair of sapphic lovers use ghost possession to fleece money from lecherous men.
* One woman in wartime London discovers that she loves her husband much more as a ghost.
* A teenage girl becomes infatuated with a bloodthirsty succubus.
Intensely atmospheric, surprising and darkly funny, this collection is a richly flavoured feast from a brilliant writer in full command of the form.
196 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 6, 2025
23 people are currently reading
834 people want to read
About the author
Kirsty Logan
80 books1,476 followersKirsty Logan is a professional daydreamer. She is the author of two novels, The Gloaming and The Gracekeepers, and two story collections, A Portable Shelter and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales. Her fifth book, Things We Say in the Dark, will be published on Halloween 2019.
Kirsty lives in Glasgow with her wife and their rescue dog. She has tattooed toes.
Kirsty lives in Glasgow with her wife and their rescue dog. She has tattooed toes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
January 26, 2025
DNF @ 41% (6 out of 13 stories), but Wow, what a ride.
Of the 6 of the short stories that I read - and they are powerful and imaginative short stories - none of them are about love. They are about lust, lack of fulfilment, desire, and self-destructive obsession. They are dark, and fierce. But also, when compared against the promise of being love stories, they are sad, and lonely, and painful.
This book was definitely not for me, and the most useful feedback I can probably give is that the blurb (and possibly the title) need adjustment. How to give it a star rating? The 4 stars are for the imagination, the power, and the writing - undeniably good. And for those people who are in the target market for this book, and for whom this book has resonance… I hope you find what you’re looking for.
Thank you #NetGalley and Random House UK Vintage for the free review copy of #NoOtherLoveStories, and the chance to dip my toe into this whirlpool, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are, obviously, my own.
Of the 6 of the short stories that I read - and they are powerful and imaginative short stories - none of them are about love. They are about lust, lack of fulfilment, desire, and self-destructive obsession. They are dark, and fierce. But also, when compared against the promise of being love stories, they are sad, and lonely, and painful.
This book was definitely not for me, and the most useful feedback I can probably give is that the blurb (and possibly the title) need adjustment. How to give it a star rating? The 4 stars are for the imagination, the power, and the writing - undeniably good. And for those people who are in the target market for this book, and for whom this book has resonance… I hope you find what you’re looking for.
Thank you #NetGalley and Random House UK Vintage for the free review copy of #NoOtherLoveStories, and the chance to dip my toe into this whirlpool, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are, obviously, my own.
February 7, 2025
She's done it again!
April 9, 2025
a mixed bag, but overall good
Rep: lesbian mcs
CWs: gore, self harm
Rep: lesbian mcs
CWs: gore, self harm
February 25, 2025
Oooooh I did love this. Yes, some stories were stronger than others, but each one had something to love. Such a bizarrely gorgeous short story collection!
May 22, 2025
No and Other Love Stories is the complete opposite of what I was expecting. The title and cover - both of which hint at love - suggest something sweet and highly romantic. Instead, what Kirsty Logan delivers is a provocative, unsettling exploration of desire, obsession, and the darker sides of love.
From the very first story, titled Piglet, Logan sets the stage for a book that isn’t afraid to make you uncomfortable and challenge your perceptions of romance and attraction. It tells the story of a woman adores her butcher husband with a love so obsessive, it borders on the grotesque, gives you a glimpse into the ways we view those we love - and the ways we objectify them. By the end of that first tale, you might never look at a butcher’s shop the same way again! Piglet set a tone I thought I’d be following throughout, but unfortunately, not every story had the same impact for me.
The other story that grabbed my interest was Darling. Written as footnotes to a female detective show script, it’s an eerie and unconventional narrative that blurs the lines btween - reality and fiction in a way that keeps you on edge. The unsettling atmosphere and the dual layers of storytelling had me hooked, and it was the only other story that kept me thinking long after I’d turned the page.
What Logan does brilliantly is that all the stories are inventive, weaving together a tapestry of vampires, witches, wartime widows, and fangirls, with each story having a unique take on the messy, complicated nature of desire. Yet, out of the 13 stories, I found myself only really enjoying two stories - Piglet and Darling - which made it hard to fully embrace the collection as a whole. While they are undeniably unique and provocative, not all of them resonated with me, and that affected my overall enjoyment of the book.
Additionally, Logan’s approach to sapphic storytelling is certainly unlike anything I’ve experienced before. The way she crafts desire through queer relationships is unique, but personally, it didn’t resonate with me. I suppose the intensity of the sapphic relationships sometimes felt more challenging than compelling.
The collection itself definitely embraces the gross, the ugly, and the morbid aspects of love. It’s not always pretty, and it’s certainly not always romantic. This theme runs through every story, making for a compelling and sometimes disturbing read, showing us the messy, uncomfortable sides of love that are often hidden or romanticised in other narratives.
From the very first story, titled Piglet, Logan sets the stage for a book that isn’t afraid to make you uncomfortable and challenge your perceptions of romance and attraction. It tells the story of a woman adores her butcher husband with a love so obsessive, it borders on the grotesque, gives you a glimpse into the ways we view those we love - and the ways we objectify them. By the end of that first tale, you might never look at a butcher’s shop the same way again! Piglet set a tone I thought I’d be following throughout, but unfortunately, not every story had the same impact for me.
The other story that grabbed my interest was Darling. Written as footnotes to a female detective show script, it’s an eerie and unconventional narrative that blurs the lines btween - reality and fiction in a way that keeps you on edge. The unsettling atmosphere and the dual layers of storytelling had me hooked, and it was the only other story that kept me thinking long after I’d turned the page.
What Logan does brilliantly is that all the stories are inventive, weaving together a tapestry of vampires, witches, wartime widows, and fangirls, with each story having a unique take on the messy, complicated nature of desire. Yet, out of the 13 stories, I found myself only really enjoying two stories - Piglet and Darling - which made it hard to fully embrace the collection as a whole. While they are undeniably unique and provocative, not all of them resonated with me, and that affected my overall enjoyment of the book.
Additionally, Logan’s approach to sapphic storytelling is certainly unlike anything I’ve experienced before. The way she crafts desire through queer relationships is unique, but personally, it didn’t resonate with me. I suppose the intensity of the sapphic relationships sometimes felt more challenging than compelling.
The collection itself definitely embraces the gross, the ugly, and the morbid aspects of love. It’s not always pretty, and it’s certainly not always romantic. This theme runs through every story, making for a compelling and sometimes disturbing read, showing us the messy, uncomfortable sides of love that are often hidden or romanticised in other narratives.
February 6, 2025
Oh this was nothing like I expected in the best way possible. It was weird and messed up and at the same time so engaging and intriguing. It is rare for me to read a short story collection where I don't dislike at least a few of them. And it usually doesn't surprise me because it's hard to create a collection that's full of good stories. Well Kirsty Logan managed that. The stories ranged from enjoyable to 'oh my god I need more of this'.
I do have some standouts, with the main one being 'Darling'. It's a story written as footnotes to a cop show script and I loved the unusual format of it. I loved how unsettling it feels and you don't know exactly what's going on. It's a story that works perfectly in a short story format, it gives you enough to hook you in and leaves enough to imagination. 'Unbury' is another great story, about a man who digs a mysterious woman out from the ground. It is such a great self contained story, even if I would love to get the full background of the woman and where she came from. But it's a nice snippet of a monstrous finding monstrous. 'Trussed' is almost two stories in one, the beginning feels like a perfect gothic set up with fake seances and women in love, and then it takes a turn into modern deep fakes and possessions. It's probably one of the sweetest stories in terms of romance, which says more about this collection than anything else. But I would have loved a full book out of this particular story as it feels like just a glimpse.
Each story in this book could bring it's own discussion, each has something unique and messy and messed up. And of course I love how queer this whole collection is. And it's certainly not your standard collection of love stories.
I do have some standouts, with the main one being 'Darling'. It's a story written as footnotes to a cop show script and I loved the unusual format of it. I loved how unsettling it feels and you don't know exactly what's going on. It's a story that works perfectly in a short story format, it gives you enough to hook you in and leaves enough to imagination. 'Unbury' is another great story, about a man who digs a mysterious woman out from the ground. It is such a great self contained story, even if I would love to get the full background of the woman and where she came from. But it's a nice snippet of a monstrous finding monstrous. 'Trussed' is almost two stories in one, the beginning feels like a perfect gothic set up with fake seances and women in love, and then it takes a turn into modern deep fakes and possessions. It's probably one of the sweetest stories in terms of romance, which says more about this collection than anything else. But I would have loved a full book out of this particular story as it feels like just a glimpse.
Each story in this book could bring it's own discussion, each has something unique and messy and messed up. And of course I love how queer this whole collection is. And it's certainly not your standard collection of love stories.
January 28, 2025
3.5
I loved that this focused on the gross, ugly parts of love in a world where women in particular are made to be pretty and quiet and delicate. I went into this thinking it would be more romantic than horror but, to me, it read more horror (that might be on me).
Although I didn’t love every story in this, I enjoyed a lot of them - my favourites were the one about a woman loving her husband during World War Two more as a ghost, and a story that was told partly in footnotes. A lot of these stories were creative and different from most of what I’ve read before. I especially enjoyed what it had to say about autonomy, power and who gets to have it, who gets to be gross in a relationship and who has to be pretty.
There are a lot of people I can think of to recommend this to, and I enjoyed it for the most part, I just think it wasn’t *for* me - if you love weird girl fiction, this is up your street!
Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the review copy
I loved that this focused on the gross, ugly parts of love in a world where women in particular are made to be pretty and quiet and delicate. I went into this thinking it would be more romantic than horror but, to me, it read more horror (that might be on me).
Although I didn’t love every story in this, I enjoyed a lot of them - my favourites were the one about a woman loving her husband during World War Two more as a ghost, and a story that was told partly in footnotes. A lot of these stories were creative and different from most of what I’ve read before. I especially enjoyed what it had to say about autonomy, power and who gets to have it, who gets to be gross in a relationship and who has to be pretty.
There are a lot of people I can think of to recommend this to, and I enjoyed it for the most part, I just think it wasn’t *for* me - if you love weird girl fiction, this is up your street!
Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the review copy
May 5, 2025
It's serving. I'm not sure exactly what it's serving, but it is.
4.5
4.5
January 28, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK Vintage for providing me with an ARC!
3.25 stars!!
This collection has it all and it's unique, weird, funny, WTF, relatable, dark etc. There's a whole different range of things to get into. I really loved how these were all written and how some formats were different for a few.
I would have loved even more weird thrown in but that's just me being greedy, but this is a certain read for anyone who wants to read a great collection of short, weird horror for the girlies!
3.25 stars!!
This collection has it all and it's unique, weird, funny, WTF, relatable, dark etc. There's a whole different range of things to get into. I really loved how these were all written and how some formats were different for a few.
I would have loved even more weird thrown in but that's just me being greedy, but this is a certain read for anyone who wants to read a great collection of short, weird horror for the girlies!
February 15, 2025
3.75 stars
loved the contrast between the content of the book and the cover, the pastel colours and the pink heart - gave you a false sense of security which added to the reading experience imo. very much challenges what you might assume a collection of love stories would be about, it's the ugly side of love that we're not so keen on talking or writing about. i didn't love them all but it's very rare that i love every short story in a collection. however, they were all very original, and my favourites were Darling, Unbury, Linger, and Devotion.
loved the contrast between the content of the book and the cover, the pastel colours and the pink heart - gave you a false sense of security which added to the reading experience imo. very much challenges what you might assume a collection of love stories would be about, it's the ugly side of love that we're not so keen on talking or writing about. i didn't love them all but it's very rare that i love every short story in a collection. however, they were all very original, and my favourites were Darling, Unbury, Linger, and Devotion.
May 2, 2025
If Kirsty Logan has 1000 fans, I'm one of them. If she has 10 fans, I'm one of them. If she has one fan, I'm that fan.
Loved this short story collection! My favourite short stories would have to be Nightfall, Wonder, Trussed and Sucker.
Loved this short story collection! My favourite short stories would have to be Nightfall, Wonder, Trussed and Sucker.
December 18, 2025
nice!!! i love weird women being weird!!! also i listened to the audiobook as read by the author and wow what a lovely voice to have in your ears
February 23, 2025
Absolutely love to read visceral female writing. These stories are that. From a woman as perverse as any man simply masquerading as the dainty, soft creature society wants, to that dread we have often felt walking alone in the dark. This collection is impossible to explain, other than to say you have to expect female rage, body horror absolute weirdness in the best sense of the word.
July 23, 2025
Alright, grab your cheapest vodka and settle in, because Kirsty Logan’s No & Other Love Stories is a feral, glittering beast of a collection that’ll burrow its way into your skull. This ain’t no fluffy romance anthology, it’s a raw, pulsating dive into desire’s darkest corners, served up with a wicked grin. Logan’s prose is a switchblade: sharp, intimate, and unafraid to draw blood. With thirteen stories, each a warped mirror reflecting love’s grotesque beauty, this book’s a must for anyone who likes their fiction as unsettling as a midnight hookup in a haunted carnival.
Logan’s got a sorcerer’s knack for blending horror with heart. In “Piglet,” Mireille’s obsession with a butcher spirals into a grotesque fantasy of being carved up and displayed, a stomach-churning ode to self-objectification that’s as seductive as it is repulsive. “Honey” follows Sigrid, a queer radio host suffocating under societal sweetness, finding liberation in a wasp’s nest—a metaphor so visceral it stings. “Unbury” is a fever dream where Avie digs up a woman who might be a goddess or a curse, her shifting names (Nora, Nona, Nova) echoing the story’s slippery, mythic dread. “Darling” channels cop-drama grit, with Chastity Charles haunted by her own televised trauma, while “Nightfall” delivers a vampire-adjacent tale of blood-soaked desire that’s more feral than romantic. Logan’s range is dizzying, from the gothic séance of “Trussed” to the cosmic yearning of “Wonder,” each story a fresh wound exposing love’s primal, often horrifying core.
What makes this collection sing is its fearless weirdness. Logan’s prose dances between lush and brutal, channeling Angela Carter’s fairy-tale menace with a modern, queer edge. She doesn’t shy away from the body, blood, piss, meat, and sex are as much characters as the people. Yet, for all its gore and grit, there’s tenderness here, a raw intimacy that makes you ache for these broken, yearning souls. The pacing falters in spots. “Privilege” drags with its navel-gazing ennui, and “Sucker”’s vampire shtick feels a tad derivative, but these are minor scuffs on a polished blade. Logan’s ability to weave dread, desire, and defiance into every sentence is what elevates this to a very strong collection.
This isn’t for the faint-hearted or the Hallmark crowd. Logan’s stories demand you confront the messy, monstrous parts of love, its hunger, its violence, its refusal to be tamed. It’s a bold, distinctive gut-punch that lingers like a bruise you can’t stop pressing.
Recommended for: Deviants who’d rather fuck a monster than marry a prince.
Not recommended for: Prudes who think love stories should come with roses and a PG rating.
Logan’s got a sorcerer’s knack for blending horror with heart. In “Piglet,” Mireille’s obsession with a butcher spirals into a grotesque fantasy of being carved up and displayed, a stomach-churning ode to self-objectification that’s as seductive as it is repulsive. “Honey” follows Sigrid, a queer radio host suffocating under societal sweetness, finding liberation in a wasp’s nest—a metaphor so visceral it stings. “Unbury” is a fever dream where Avie digs up a woman who might be a goddess or a curse, her shifting names (Nora, Nona, Nova) echoing the story’s slippery, mythic dread. “Darling” channels cop-drama grit, with Chastity Charles haunted by her own televised trauma, while “Nightfall” delivers a vampire-adjacent tale of blood-soaked desire that’s more feral than romantic. Logan’s range is dizzying, from the gothic séance of “Trussed” to the cosmic yearning of “Wonder,” each story a fresh wound exposing love’s primal, often horrifying core.
What makes this collection sing is its fearless weirdness. Logan’s prose dances between lush and brutal, channeling Angela Carter’s fairy-tale menace with a modern, queer edge. She doesn’t shy away from the body, blood, piss, meat, and sex are as much characters as the people. Yet, for all its gore and grit, there’s tenderness here, a raw intimacy that makes you ache for these broken, yearning souls. The pacing falters in spots. “Privilege” drags with its navel-gazing ennui, and “Sucker”’s vampire shtick feels a tad derivative, but these are minor scuffs on a polished blade. Logan’s ability to weave dread, desire, and defiance into every sentence is what elevates this to a very strong collection.
This isn’t for the faint-hearted or the Hallmark crowd. Logan’s stories demand you confront the messy, monstrous parts of love, its hunger, its violence, its refusal to be tamed. It’s a bold, distinctive gut-punch that lingers like a bruise you can’t stop pressing.
Recommended for: Deviants who’d rather fuck a monster than marry a prince.
Not recommended for: Prudes who think love stories should come with roses and a PG rating.
March 1, 2025
3,5
As always with Kirsty Logan this was sharp,horrific,twisted but also folkloric and very quirky...
Yes all of that at once. The word ''Love"" is coming to mind yes but not in the way you expect it to be.
As a short story collection there are some you will like more than others,also some you cannot fully grasp (Being a straight women i certainly did not grab all the queerness of them and that's perfectly ok, not every story has to be universal)
Also the bizarre Pictures depicted are certainly lingering. Her cutting prose i love so much has resonated with me more than once making the experience one of a kind.
To me the recurring theme of the book is female desire. And it made me question it, as It is so often belittled and stigmatized (we see that through public reaction towards romance. Sometimes totally deserved. But why the blame is always more virulent towards this genre in particular while every stories should be consumed with hinsight ? being aware of what they give and NOT give?)
This book shows that female desire is utterly complex. One's fantasy might not be embodied by one person only. one's desire about Barbarian, killer or vampire might be a way to be in control in their head while perfectly able to draw the line between fantasy and reality .
A woman fantasizing about being abducted by an alien with three appendages? why not. After all , why not.
specially enjoyed: Honey, Darling, fangirl, Wonder,trussed and Devotion (which is kind of a short story version of her novel '' now she is witch''. one of my favorite )
As always with Kirsty Logan this was sharp,horrific,twisted but also folkloric and very quirky...
Yes all of that at once. The word ''Love"" is coming to mind yes but not in the way you expect it to be.
As a short story collection there are some you will like more than others,also some you cannot fully grasp (Being a straight women i certainly did not grab all the queerness of them and that's perfectly ok, not every story has to be universal)
Also the bizarre Pictures depicted are certainly lingering. Her cutting prose i love so much has resonated with me more than once making the experience one of a kind.
To me the recurring theme of the book is female desire. And it made me question it, as It is so often belittled and stigmatized (we see that through public reaction towards romance. Sometimes totally deserved. But why the blame is always more virulent towards this genre in particular while every stories should be consumed with hinsight ? being aware of what they give and NOT give?)
This book shows that female desire is utterly complex. One's fantasy might not be embodied by one person only. one's desire about Barbarian, killer or vampire might be a way to be in control in their head while perfectly able to draw the line between fantasy and reality .
A woman fantasizing about being abducted by an alien with three appendages? why not. After all , why not.
specially enjoyed: Honey, Darling, fangirl, Wonder,trussed and Devotion (which is kind of a short story version of her novel '' now she is witch''. one of my favorite )
May 8, 2025
Girl, oh girl, this book! How do i even begin to describe the brilliance contained within its pages? Every story in this collection evoked something within me; I was disgusted, nervous, amused, sentimental and aroused, sometimes all from one singular story. My favourites were Piglet, Nightfall and most of all Trussed, these are also undeniably the smuttiest of them. So hot, so gothic, so morbid and really, really sapphic. Women written by a woman are captivating, sensual and human and i loved them all. Don't get me wrong, there's more substance to the stories than just smut, her style of writing and the narrative is what makes them so brilliant. Kirsty Logan created and told stories in a way that i've never experienced before. My copy was a library loan and thus, i couldn't underline my favourite parts, I enjoyed them so much that i copied them out in my review notebook instead, to hold them for a while longer. I wish i could read this book with fresh eyes, but since I cannot, I recommend that everyone else does. Read it, read it and luxuriate in it. I know i'll be revisiting this one. 10/10
Piglet - To be beautiful, a woman only had to look small and stupid, but not too stupid, (there was no such thing as too small).
Nightfall - I still have the scars, soft and silver, touchable and tender, the most beautiful part of me; a reminder that once, I was loved.
Trussed - This was it, this was all she needed in this life and whatever came after: the knowledge that they could bind one another and not be hurt.
February 15, 2025
If you don't want/like to admit you have a weird side, this isn't the short story collection for you. If, however, you are perfectly happy to acknowledge your weird side, then there will definitely be something in here for you.
The writing throughout is beautiful, but as with all short story collections, though there are no "bad stories", there are some I enjoyed/had more of an impact than others:
💖Piglet: the opening story gives you a good indicator of what you're in for. You may never look at a butcher's shop the same way again.
💖Honey: I, like Sigrid's boss, also think wasps are "stinging bastards" and yet it's a testimony to Kirsty's writing that I found myself interested and symapthetic towards them. 😅
💖Darling: A script from a female detective show where an even more disturbing story is happening in the actress's footnotes.
💖Wreckage: not sure I understood it all but I LOVED the vibes.
💖Nightfall: A big, 90s, Goth, Buffy-loving dream (though I don't think I'd eat those brownies).
💖Fangirls: Why are some attracted to evil?
💖Linger: sweet but also desperately sad at the same time, though I'm sure Nettie wouldn't see it that way.
💖Sucker: yep, the V word. Though I feel the ending let it down just a teensy bit.
The writing throughout is beautiful, but as with all short story collections, though there are no "bad stories", there are some I enjoyed/had more of an impact than others:
💖Piglet: the opening story gives you a good indicator of what you're in for. You may never look at a butcher's shop the same way again.
💖Honey: I, like Sigrid's boss, also think wasps are "stinging bastards" and yet it's a testimony to Kirsty's writing that I found myself interested and symapthetic towards them. 😅
💖Darling: A script from a female detective show where an even more disturbing story is happening in the actress's footnotes.
💖Wreckage: not sure I understood it all but I LOVED the vibes.
💖Nightfall: A big, 90s, Goth, Buffy-loving dream (though I don't think I'd eat those brownies).
💖Fangirls: Why are some attracted to evil?
💖Linger: sweet but also desperately sad at the same time, though I'm sure Nettie wouldn't see it that way.
💖Sucker: yep, the V word. Though I feel the ending let it down just a teensy bit.
December 25, 2025
So, I started this book at the end of January and have only just finished it now. This was a *long* time for me but the biggest aspect that caused that was the fact it was a short story collection and I never wanted them to end. Which ultimately ended up with this being a very long read even though each time I picked it up I read a full story.
That was an aspect I really enjoyed! I have only read one short story collection previously but this has fully cemented my enjoyment of them. Being able to pick up the book, read a whole story, then put it down but still feel accomplished is lovely.
Then moving onto the stories themselves, this feels so difficult to judge because although it's an overarching collection, they were all individual throughout. I enjoyed the dark and twisted aspects and how I never really knew what was coming next.
The story titles were also great fun to try and guess at what the plot would be.
The style changed throughout and so did characterisation and grammar choices. Some stories I felt that I understood, some I read and wondered what on earth had been happening. It was great fun to read such an eclectic mix!
Favourite Quote - I'll find another hollow man, and make him real.
That was an aspect I really enjoyed! I have only read one short story collection previously but this has fully cemented my enjoyment of them. Being able to pick up the book, read a whole story, then put it down but still feel accomplished is lovely.
Then moving onto the stories themselves, this feels so difficult to judge because although it's an overarching collection, they were all individual throughout. I enjoyed the dark and twisted aspects and how I never really knew what was coming next.
The story titles were also great fun to try and guess at what the plot would be.
The style changed throughout and so did characterisation and grammar choices. Some stories I felt that I understood, some I read and wondered what on earth had been happening. It was great fun to read such an eclectic mix!
Favourite Quote - I'll find another hollow man, and make him real.
January 15, 2025
- LOVED these!
- Such interesting perspectives on desire
- Each story is so inventive. Vampires, witches, tumblr fangirls, wartime widows, and many more unique characters are all mashed together in a really entertaining collection.
- I loved the range of stories & presentations. No 2 stories were the same and it kept me hooked and wanting to read more and more.
- The way Kirsty plays with form is really cool. In “Darling” the dual narrative of the script and the footnotes made for a really unique reading experience.
- There’s so much talk of female bodies, autonomy, menstruation, power, control - it’s SUCH a horrifyingly honest portrayal of so many of these issues in a patriarchy. Even the queer characters are still at the whim of men’s desire or the hangups of generations of heteronormative frameworks and it makes for such a compelling read.
- Calling these all “love” stories frames the book in a certain way, but each of the stories is its own beast. Love can be obsession, fantasy, acceptance, isolation; all of these being encompassed as “love stories” made for a really interesting reading experience.
- My favourite stories were “Piglet”, “Unbury”, “Trussed” and “Devotion”.
- Such interesting perspectives on desire
- Each story is so inventive. Vampires, witches, tumblr fangirls, wartime widows, and many more unique characters are all mashed together in a really entertaining collection.
- I loved the range of stories & presentations. No 2 stories were the same and it kept me hooked and wanting to read more and more.
- The way Kirsty plays with form is really cool. In “Darling” the dual narrative of the script and the footnotes made for a really unique reading experience.
- There’s so much talk of female bodies, autonomy, menstruation, power, control - it’s SUCH a horrifyingly honest portrayal of so many of these issues in a patriarchy. Even the queer characters are still at the whim of men’s desire or the hangups of generations of heteronormative frameworks and it makes for such a compelling read.
- Calling these all “love” stories frames the book in a certain way, but each of the stories is its own beast. Love can be obsession, fantasy, acceptance, isolation; all of these being encompassed as “love stories” made for a really interesting reading experience.
- My favourite stories were “Piglet”, “Unbury”, “Trussed” and “Devotion”.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2025
Clit-Fic for weird girls and women who are not afraid to embrace their kink; blood-soaked stories, deviant, debauched, and downright delicious. 13 short stories encapsulated in 208 pages explore whether ‘no’ can be a declaration of love. Scary and snark, and all things dark, Kirsty Logan is not afraid to examine what happens when love takes a dangerous, all-consuming, and sometimes savage form.
I loved every story in this collection, particular standouts were Piglet, Unbury, Nightfall, Fangirls, and Sucker, the latter of which was heavily annotated! This is unapologetic, seductively subversive, and full of ‘lesbian energy’.
The Perfect Galentines gift for the experienced and curious reader of weird girl horror fiction, No & Other Love Stories is out February 6, 2025.
I want to thank NetGalley, Random House Vintage Books, and the author, Kirsty Logan, for allowing me to read an advance copy of this in exchange for my honest review. As I always say reading is subjective but this is my honest opinion. Be advised, this is not for the conventionally-hearted.
I loved every story in this collection, particular standouts were Piglet, Unbury, Nightfall, Fangirls, and Sucker, the latter of which was heavily annotated! This is unapologetic, seductively subversive, and full of ‘lesbian energy’.
The Perfect Galentines gift for the experienced and curious reader of weird girl horror fiction, No & Other Love Stories is out February 6, 2025.
I want to thank NetGalley, Random House Vintage Books, and the author, Kirsty Logan, for allowing me to read an advance copy of this in exchange for my honest review. As I always say reading is subjective but this is my honest opinion. Be advised, this is not for the conventionally-hearted.
December 4, 2025
The stories were engaging and varied enough to finish the book, but generally not memorable. I think thats just how i experience reading short stories though- abit like doom scrolling in that you feel happy during and then after you’re mainly sat there thinking well what was the point of that. You might find one or two things float into your mind in weeks to come.. or you might not.
The ones I will actually remember for more than a week are :
Honey- this one was memorable and i think it had the potential really good. I think it was because it was more character driven.
Piglet - i will remember for the wrong reasons. Absolutely foul and the descriptions of the butchers tongue poking out genuinely made me nauseous (fair play to the writing i guess?)
Trussed - i just know the author has read and been inspired by Affinity and The Fingersmith ..and in theory id love that but the characters were just so underdeveloped i was like why bother.
Im deffo gonna read more novels by this author because her ideas are great i just want them developpped
The ones I will actually remember for more than a week are :
Honey- this one was memorable and i think it had the potential really good. I think it was because it was more character driven.
Piglet - i will remember for the wrong reasons. Absolutely foul and the descriptions of the butchers tongue poking out genuinely made me nauseous (fair play to the writing i guess?)
Trussed - i just know the author has read and been inspired by Affinity and The Fingersmith ..and in theory id love that but the characters were just so underdeveloped i was like why bother.
Im deffo gonna read more novels by this author because her ideas are great i just want them developpped
October 18, 2025
It’s so much harder to find an accurate rating for short stories..
Some of these were great, clever and punchy and a lot of it made me smirk or chuckle in recognition or indignation (@men). Lots of brilliantly phrased sentences and I liked the folk-tale feel.
But some were gory and explicit and underwhelming. I wasn’t excited to continue listening to this, and got confused about what was happening at times. I get that the explicit sex stuff is the mo for this book and is meant to reflect and de-romanticise/normalise female desire and lust, but I thought there was too much of it and that it was too vulgar. I didn’t like that it rarely sounded appealing, it almost always just seemed violent.
My favourites were Unbury, Wonder, Fangirls, Sucker, and Linger.
Some of these were great, clever and punchy and a lot of it made me smirk or chuckle in recognition or indignation (@men). Lots of brilliantly phrased sentences and I liked the folk-tale feel.
But some were gory and explicit and underwhelming. I wasn’t excited to continue listening to this, and got confused about what was happening at times. I get that the explicit sex stuff is the mo for this book and is meant to reflect and de-romanticise/normalise female desire and lust, but I thought there was too much of it and that it was too vulgar. I didn’t like that it rarely sounded appealing, it almost always just seemed violent.
My favourites were Unbury, Wonder, Fangirls, Sucker, and Linger.
February 21, 2025
Thank you Vintage for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
I think the initial marketing of this could do with a smidge of an adjustment (or at least what I received on the publisher PR list) - I love a bit of weird fiction, but I don’t think anything prepares you (title, blurb) for the content of this book.
I will say I quite enjoyed some of the short stories - they were dark, humorous, totally bizarre but had a strong message. Others, I just didn’t understand and I think that’s fine.
If this finds its readers, they’ll love it!! This was definitely an eye opener for me, just not a favourite!
I think the initial marketing of this could do with a smidge of an adjustment (or at least what I received on the publisher PR list) - I love a bit of weird fiction, but I don’t think anything prepares you (title, blurb) for the content of this book.
I will say I quite enjoyed some of the short stories - they were dark, humorous, totally bizarre but had a strong message. Others, I just didn’t understand and I think that’s fine.
If this finds its readers, they’ll love it!! This was definitely an eye opener for me, just not a favourite!
January 27, 2025
No & Other Love Stories doesn't really sound like my thing, but throw Kirsty Logan's name into the mix and it becomes a must read. Within it's pages lie tales of love in all it's guises: tender, brutal, abusive, horrific, undying and queer to name but a few.
The real standout for me was Darling, which takes the form of a film script annotated with her life story by a jaded actress who's waiting to start filming, but with such a variety of genres there's sure to be something for most readers.
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK Vintage and the author for an advance copy.
The real standout for me was Darling, which takes the form of a film script annotated with her life story by a jaded actress who's waiting to start filming, but with such a variety of genres there's sure to be something for most readers.
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK Vintage and the author for an advance copy.
May 17, 2025
This is the third collection I have read by Kirsty Logan. As with her previous collections, the stories are predominantly dark, atmospheric and immersive. Each describes women’s experiences of love, good and bad, but in most cases, sinister and surprising.
In Piglet, a woman who adores her butcher husband sees him as meat in a loving, obsessive way. In Linger, set during World War II, a woman discovers she prefers her husband as a ghost. Unbury offers a woman dug up from the ground by a man in a remote rural location. Oddly, he does not ask how she came to be there, as have others before, which results in his downfall. Darling tells a woman’s story through footnotes appended to a film script.
The stories illustrate the uniqueness of human experience and how couples often fail to discuss their differing views of their relationships, leading generally to failure or disappointment, but occasionally unimagined heights.
In Piglet, a woman who adores her butcher husband sees him as meat in a loving, obsessive way. In Linger, set during World War II, a woman discovers she prefers her husband as a ghost. Unbury offers a woman dug up from the ground by a man in a remote rural location. Oddly, he does not ask how she came to be there, as have others before, which results in his downfall. Darling tells a woman’s story through footnotes appended to a film script.
The stories illustrate the uniqueness of human experience and how couples often fail to discuss their differing views of their relationships, leading generally to failure or disappointment, but occasionally unimagined heights.
January 17, 2025
Another great collection! These stories are dark, visceral tales of desire. There's violence but also comfort, and they vary from the mundane to the magical with a real range of style genre.
There's also a strong theme of what it means to be a woman, physically and socially, in a patriarchal society and the stories play with and subvert this in different ways.
Expect explicit sex, uncomfortable violence, strangeness and love. Bloody, voracious love.
There's also a strong theme of what it means to be a woman, physically and socially, in a patriarchal society and the stories play with and subvert this in different ways.
Expect explicit sex, uncomfortable violence, strangeness and love. Bloody, voracious love.
August 1, 2025
Would I have ever finished this book if I wasn't stuck with it on a 3 hour bus and nothing else to do? No.
But that is what happened and so I did. I don't think this is a bad book but I think it has a terribly fitting title and blurb. The first two stories especially are grotesque and just not something I would want to read. I think if the collection was named or marketed differently it could reach an audience who would be obsessed.
But that is what happened and so I did. I don't think this is a bad book but I think it has a terribly fitting title and blurb. The first two stories especially are grotesque and just not something I would want to read. I think if the collection was named or marketed differently it could reach an audience who would be obsessed.
October 6, 2025
My first DNF of the year. I just couldn't get into any of the stories. Got halfway though and each story doesn't have a satisfying ending. They ate cliffhangers. It feels like there's the opportunity for the author to reach a conclusion with each story but she purposefully chosen not to. Maybe that's the point and I missed it.
September 6, 2025
Some real favourites here! Piglet, Honey, Unbury, Trussed, Linger, Sucker and Devotion.
Okay that’s most of the stories 😅 - I think the others just weren’t for me. Always the way in a collection, and the ones I loved, I really loved!
Okay that’s most of the stories 😅 - I think the others just weren’t for me. Always the way in a collection, and the ones I loved, I really loved!
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