12 Apr 2016

Lessons in Love (by Della Galton)


I’ve always enjoyed short stories by Della Galton, who is widely published in women’s magazines; she’s also written some excellent books about writing, and a few novels. But there’s something extra special about her short stories, so I was delighted to find that she has published collections of them as ‘Daily Della’ in Kindle form, some of which are - or have been - available free.

Short stories are ideal reading when travelling, so on a recent coach journey I delved into ‘Lessons in Love’, part of the ‘Daily Della’ series. There are five short stories in this book, all very different. The first one, which gives the book its title, features a young woman who is trying to help a geeky (and attractive) man learn how to dress and behave on a date. I could where the story was going from the romantic point of view, but was pleased and surprised to find that there was an underlying twist to the story which I had not expected. The writing is excellent, as is the characterisation.

The second one isn’t so much a story as an exploration of synaesthesia, a condition which I have read about several times; there’s a low-key romance, but nothing unpredictable or surprising, other than the way that the author evidently understands this trait; the language is poetic and I enjoyed the story very much.

The three other stories were different again, all involving light romances, all well-written, and all with people I could relate to. I’d have liked there to be more stories - or longer ones - but since the collection was free I can hardly complain about that. It was slightly disappointing that I was only a little over half-way through, percentage-wise, when I came to the end of the short stories, but that was the case with the last ones I read too.

Overall I enjoyed this collection of stories very much; they offer something a little different from the average short story, and made great reading while travelling. Only available in Kindle form, as far as I know, and fairly inexpensive.

Review copyright 2016 Sue's Book Reviews

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