Absolutely beautiful.

Aesthetically, this collection of short stories is a 10/10. It's gorgeous. The cover is soft as velvet and sort of quietly shimmering. The insides however range from "really good" to "what the hell was that?"So I'm going with 3 stars overall. But to be honest, at least 1/2 star is based on the cover. I'm shallow. Sue me.

This is probably the best short story collection I've read in a long time, if not ever. I had a good feeling when I heard about this book and I didn't think my high-hopes would be lived up to, but in fact they were exceeded and I adored this. Every story was beautiful but the last one really hit me and, well, I cried.Preordering this was the best idea I've had in a long time!

I didn't think I'd be saying this but I loved this more than The Gracekeepers. Damn. She just keeps getting better and better.

All stories contain a truth if you look hard enough - but it might not be a good truth. Books as rewards for achieving tasks (like drafting your entire dissertation, go me!) are the best when they prove totally worth the wait, and A Portable Shelter was. It's about here I should admit that I never had any form of affinity for the short story until I read A Rental Heart and Other Fairytales, so on top of being thrilled to read more from Kirsty given that she sparked my interest in the shorter

This collection, sadly, really didn't work for me. I didn't like any of the stories much and would only rate them at a 1*, 2* or 3*. l think that most of them were 1 or 2*s as I just didn't feel as if I could connect to any. This whole collection had potential, every story, but they nearly all finished inconclusively or didn't have a real ending. This was a major source of frustration for me as it felt as if the author didn't know what she wanted to get across and just left it open. I like open

There are some books that don’t hold up to rereads. And then there are the ones that get even better upon revisiting them. Such was A Portable Shelter. Was a five star, still a five star, will always be a five star. I still hope to review this collection properly soon, but as with many favourites, I’m not quite sure how to approach that.

2021. This is why I reread: I found even more magic between these pages this time around.- - Kirsty Logan's writing is just magical. 'But life is not a fairy tale. It's brighter and darker, longer and briefer, duller and more magical. It's full of contradictions, but one thing it's not is neat.'

While two stories were interesting the rest in contrast were poor. When reading this one can tell the very amateur nature of the writing, unpolished and many with no discernable endings. Compared to The Gracekeepers this book comes across as the clumsy work of someone who hopes to be a big name writer.In conlusion it is understandable as to the reason why this book is fund published and not by one of the big mainstream publishers. Come on Miss Logan you have an amazing potential that is wasted h...

Lyrical, haunting and beautiful. It's not often that you come across a short story collection where all of the stories are a pleasure to read but this book is a rare gem. You feel for all of Logan's characters; she has a real flair for creating distinct lives amidst fantastical scenarios all embellished with a poetic fairy-tale narrative. A wonderful and exquisite read.

This short story collection is a bit like a novel in disguise: the stories are linked through the two storytellers-the mothers of the unborn child-and they all claim to be truths wrapped up in stories with no lies. Each story is preceded by a short introduction from either the mother carrying the child, or the other one whilst the carrier is asleep.This premise is, at first, nice and calming, and introduces the meaning of all the stories. They're meant to teach something to the unborn foetus, wh...

“The Cruellest things do not hide in the dark.” A long time ago, when there was still summer in the air and leaves on the trees, I sat across a little pond and read. And while I read I was enveloped by the waves coming from the book. I drowned in a sea of words, of wonder and magic. I fell in love with a writer, and it was no silent thing.Now, it's winter. The streets are not bathed in light, but covered in fog and mist. And I've finally found the time to revisit the writer who has such an impac...

This book follows Ruth and Liska as they secretly tell stories to their unborn child from their sea-beaten cottage in the north of Scotland. Many of the stories were set in Scotland or featured Scottish folklore and they were very interesting to read. The stories all had quite sad and dark moments, and this book seemed to be exploring themes of life and death.I must admit that I read this book on four hours sleep so I think most of the deeper meanings went over my head. I'm still quite new to sh...

A Portable Shelter is about two women who are expecting a baby and decide to each spend time alone with the unborn child reciting stories and tales. It is a mixture of folklore, fairytales, and myth, one I expected to enjoy after enjoying Logan’s previous novel, The Gracekeepers, but had to abandon midway through.Kirsty Logan is a beautiful writer, however the things she writes lack any meaning for me. One of the major weakness of a short story collection is the potential of feeling emotionally

Maybe 3.5. An interesting and enjoyable book, though not my favourite Kirsty Logan. I enjoyed a lot of the stories and loved the frame, but didn't always think they worked together.

2.5 out of 5 stars! ⭐ I must say that I really loved the first book by Kirsty Logan that I have read a while ago, but this one wasn't as good unfortunately, it was very confusing at times and there was no clear common thread throughout the novel - which made me really angry whilst reading... 😢😪😯 At the beginning of the novel, the readers are introduced to Ruth and her partner, Liska, who have escaped to the north coast of Scotland to await the birth of their first child. Having promised each oth...

Literally everyone and their mother loves this book. I actually borrowed the limited edition hardcover from my mum. I have to be honest though and say that I didn't really enjoy this collection of short stories.The writing was beautiful in parts but I found it a little clunky at points; there was something about the writing that distanced me from all of the stories.The stories themselves were okay but I found the majority of them to be extremely slow. However the second half of the book was much...

I don’t know how to explain eloquently that every story in this collection has so much soul and magic put into it that it often took my breath away, made my heart hurt or just feel so full of emotions. It’s so human, while also being so fantastical.I think you should just find out for yourself what it does to you.

3.5 stars. I'll be honest, I didn't enjoy this collection as much as Logan's first collection The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales. It started off incredibly strong with my favourite story of the collection, Cutting Teeth, but after that I found it to be a bit of a mixed bag.Logan's trademark lyrical, poetic writing is still there, so that doesn't disappoint. I just found this collection a little too whimsical for my tastes, and the fairytale, telling stories round the fire feel was a lot stron...

DNF @ 24%Despite my better judgement I picked this up from the library the other day (probably the pretty cover...) and I was going to force myself through it but decided life is too short. The stories I did read (I think 3?) were so boring, had no depth, just a lot of ~pretty writing~. That may be enough for some people but not for me unfortunately!