Reviews tagging 'Death'

Animal by Lisa Taddeo

121 reviews

asummerdream's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I wanted to like this book so much... yet, once again, the advertising was better than the work. I barely managed to finish it.

Nothing happens for 300 pages and then there's too much action, yet somehow I am still looking for the catharsis. 

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meglee7's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Fairly vulgar descriptions and touches on heavy themes. I loved Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women but this felt unsatisfying. Start was slow and doesn’t really get interesting until about 60% through and even after finishing I’m not entirely sure what the plot was as story seemed to get lost throughout 

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lilacwhisker's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Eh. I liked the ending the most but other than that it was mostly boring and hard to keep track of. All the characters were pretty much the same person and I didn’t really feel like I was there (I get that’s it’s like a letter but still). 

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karanextweek's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I hated this book. I hated everything about it. Every single character annoyed the shit out of me. I hated the way it was written, even though my visceral hate from literally page 1 is proof that the writing is good.
Pretty much every type of SA/r*pe is covered in this book. It was a lot. I hated it. Am I mad I read it? Kinda. But I don’t regret it. Maybe I do.

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laynemandros's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75


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lilysaddler's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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wallanderem's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

The introduction hooked me and kept me engaged for the first 50 or so pages, then it dwindled. I felt like the middle of the book read like a memoir, which was still interesting, but not what I felt like I was promised. The last 100 or so pages were incredible and makes the grateful for the chunk of book that I was tempted to skim. I would read it again with the knowledge I had by the end.

Updated my rating to a 4.75 because I finished the book weeks ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it, even after finishing another book and starting a new one. I miss reading Animal.

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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have had this book on my radar for about a year, before I finally picked it up. I did listen to this as an audiobook, which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in this story. The audiobook is narrated by Emma Roberts and she is EXACTLY who I picture the main character to be. 
"Animal" follows a young woman named Joan. Joan lost her parents when she was very young, and consequently grew up too fast and without too much adult intervention. She learned from a very young age that she could get men to do things for her and pay her way through life. One of these men ended up falling completely in love with her and is so distraught when she breaks it off, that he kills himself in front of her and her new date. Joan moves across the country to LA to start new with no money and no prospects, but she tries to continue her ways to get by, by using men. 
Joan is definitely the epitome of a morally gray character. She clearly uses men to get what she wants, but she often targets men who "deserve" it in her eyes. She grew up without parents and had to learn how to get by on her own, and when she discovered that men would do anything for her, it was too intoxicating of a trick to let go of. Yes, most of the men were married and well off, but it takes two to cheat, so is Joan the sole villain? She is manipulative, often cruel, and seems to know what she is doing is wrong, but she does not know how to do anything else. You kind of root for her, but also hope she can turn things around. She is a highly unlikeable character, but you still want her to succeed. It is Joan's complexities that make her so captivating to read about. 
I was impressed by this book, and I will definitely keep Lisa Taddeo on my radar in the future. 

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bxcvi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5


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natthahlyh's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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