Again, Harder

by Alice Stoehr

Cult author Alice Stoehr’s debut short fiction collection about the messy, intersecting lives of a community of Midwestern trans women.

Again, Harder gathers the uncompromising short fiction of Alice Stoehr, which investigates the inner lives, evolving relationships, and often violent marginalization of a community of trans women in a large Midwestern town.

In these stories, a commune of trans separatists seduces a suicidal writer. An obsessive TERF and the trans woman she’s fixated on circle one another with building intensity. Polyamorous triads bloom and wilt, hookup app messages fly, friends sit for post-surgical care, and women fall to the toxic allure of Dorothy Lipko, the worst ex-girlfriend you have ever known.

Among this, there is regret, there is poverty, there is depression and sexual anxiety and despair; there is also fleeting, shared joy. Again, Harder is the sardonic heartbeat of a new generation of American trans women.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Queer, Transgender, Contemporary, LGBT, Adult

304 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 2026

Reviews

[Leland Graber · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book!! the interconnected stories make you want to reread again and again

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect book to kick off transbian summer

[Bek (MoonyReadsByStarlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im so glad to have received an ARC copy of this from the publisher. I took my time reading through the stories, taking notes as I've started doing with short story collections and I'm glad that I did. This is definitely in the same wheelhouse as Nevada by Imogen Binnie and Torrey Peters's works. Anyone who loves weird lit that contend with messy and complex realities of being human will enjoy this. 

These stories twist around a group of friends and aquaintences. They are profoundly messy people, mostly trying to find love with some bad actors and others who are grasping at existing through self-hate. These stories are sometimes visceral and weird. We see everything from kink to cults, biggots, polycules, and more.

While the stories are all quite short, some of the characters are seen throughout. I had a fun time connecting the dots and building the picture of this group in my head. I definitely want to reread it because I know there are parts that I can still get more from.

[Kat ⋆.˚ ☾ .⭒˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Feminist Press for an ARC (and whoops apologies that this is kind of late).

I saw this on the list of upcoming books and was immediately drawn to the cover. There's something provocative yet tender about it and I think that accurately describes the stories within this collection.

While there are quite a few of them, there's a through line between the stories, with the same characters being mentioned every so often. Lengths between the stories vary, but I'd say they're in that sweet spot of not too short but not too long.

It was difficult getting into this originally, just because of how jarring the language is. Once I got through a few of the stories, I settled in with it and the rest flowed. My one issue, which seems to be the overall issue others had, was that it felt like it dragged with some parts, despite the stories being short. There were points, probably around a third of the way in, that I thought could either be combined into one story or saved for a second book.

[charlotte · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

god i love this fucking cover so much what an inspired choice
the short stories were good on a whole, but some of the earlier ones failed to wow me---they improved the deeper you got into the book and the more interlocking the threads become---very realistic, sometimes meandering, and at times shockingly beautiful. the moment when the title was dropped in a line of dialogue was genius also.

[auggie (⁠・⁠o⁠・⁠) · Rating 5 out of 5]

love, love, love the breadth of this collection, it was like getting my heart broken and mended over and over and over!! a few ideas in here that will probably stick with me for the rest of my life.

[sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was such..... an interesting and wild read. i loved the interconnected stories that make up one larger story and the bold, "shoved in your face" writing style that the author has! every time i finished one story and would turn to the next i had no idea what was in store for me and that made it impossible to put this book down! reading about the messy and at times alarming personal lives of multiple trans women proved to be a reminder that you don't know what the HELL is going on behind the scenes in people's lives (i mean. the hookup messages. the poly triad. DOROTHY LIPKO. things get wild.) i loved every bit of this and wish we got a little bit more in terms of knowing how these stories connect with each other but overall i cannot WAIT to see everyone's thoughts on this one!

huge thank you to feminist press for sending me an ARC!

[Lily H · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked this, i like short story books a lot! i didn’t realize all the stories would be interwoven. definitely a cool concept, but because i wasn’t anticipating that i didn’t keep track of names super well. probably would have enjoyed it more if i was better at names and saw connections between stories, and i think someone reading it slower than me would really enjoy it! still, i would recommend that the author include some sort of L Word-style chart to show all the connections. i think at the end of the day, i prefer short story books where things are connected by theme rather than same characters, hence why stag dance is so good

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know it feels when you get the run down of drama and gossip about a group of people you don't know? And then after the fact it feels like you know them and you're invested in their world and gossip like it's a reality tv show except it's just people living their life and you were being told about them? That's the feeling this book gave me. I got all the deets. I got all the gossip. And I loved it.

[charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong debut collection from Alice Stoehr! Dynamic and heartbreaking characters with crisp writing and pacing. Also really enjoyed tracking characters throughout the book. There were a few stories I wouldn't have missed and a few where I don't think the form factor worked especially well, but I will for sure be picking up whatever she writes next. A few of my favorites: "Real Life Tests," "A Place Where People Raise Their Kids," and "The Bædlings."

[M. K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Messy, fun, heartfelt, hard-to-put-down short stories full of unrealized want. The stories uplift villainous trans people, shitty decisions, and a desperate desire to survive a world with so few options. I found myself turning back to prior stories to figure out how all these women hurt and fucked and loved and survived each other ~ the connections surprised and delighted me. Highly recommend!

[Nadia Salomea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The titular story will stay with me for a while. As a collection, this book has impressive breadth, while each story hosts a living specificity. Also the cover makes everyone think you're reading furry erotica.

[John]

Review TK in the form of a blurb ^_-

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet realism reminiscent of "Nevada", while building up a world distinctly its own. Excellent.

[Kate Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

trans women are going to be passing around dog-eared copies of this book to each other for decades to come!!! she is truly on another level from the rest of us

[Lauren (sharonoldsfanclub) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.

[Eliza Guerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these stories. They make me feel less alone as a trans woman.

[Jennie DiVito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an addicting read. It’s a beautiful, messy look at love. So happy I read this.

[Jaiden]

I got this as a free blind date with a book. The cover and title felt misleading. It was very slice of life type stuff or like depressed women genre maybe (think my year of rest and relaxation).

[Lukas Sarnow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glad to see this content but wow - probably some of the worst metaphors I've ever read.

[kat]

cried a lot, got horny once or twice, etc. a good read

[Ruby · Rating 1.5 out of 5]

dnf

[Julia Rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Again, Harder” by Alice Stoehr is a short story collection, primarily chronicling the lives of trans women in the midwest. The stories wind and intersect, it was always fun to catch a name and frantically flip through my pages read, asking myself, “where did we meet this character previously? have we met this character?” Heed my warning though, there are A LOT of characters, many of which appear multiple times. I tried to keep notes to remember who was who, but still got lost occasionally.

This book falls victim to the short story collection “curse”. Some of the stories are fantastic while others were a slog to push through. There were some that truly shone, but I felt they were spread out quite a bit.

As a non-cis person, it was refreshing to hear stories that I felt more connected to or felt I see around me in my everyday life: dating-app conversations soured by unwelcome fetishism, the exclusivity and isolation of polyamorous groups, hell even a group turning weirdly culty. It was a fun, punch in the face. I just felt it lacked consistency.

Thank you Feminist Press for the free ARC!