Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Animal by Lisa Taddeo

12 reviews

orlagal's review against another edition

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

3.25


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rebeccakoury's review against another edition

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

2.5

This rating doesn't necessarily stem from the quality of the writing, but of my experience reading it. It was often hard to be slipping in and out of memories so often which connected but then also felt confusing. I understand what the author was trying to do but the book often felt so fragmented that I would question the intent of parts. I am not one to shy away from graphic scenes or writing, but at times certain scenes felt graphic just to be so. It's unfortunate because I was really excited for this book but it just didn't work for me.

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marinalikeaboatyard's review against another edition

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

4.0

A difficult but incredibly engrossing read. Taddeo brilliantly shows the generational trauma that women experience and the difficulty of breaking that cycle. The characters are incredibly complex and more anti-hero-esque than anything, but you still root for the main character. 

I’ve noticed this trend lately of so many authors using the structure of switching between past and present until it all catches up, and I wasn’t sure I could do it again. I will say, that structure - imho - doesn’t *always* serve the novel well, as it kind of holds up the plot at points in favor of exposition. I think maybe it should just have been better spaced out or cut down a bit. HOWEVER, in the second half, it really accelerates and you absolutely can’t wait to find out what exactly happened and how it’s going to play out. There’s a bit of ambiguity in the end, but you ultimately feel that the cycle has been broken in some way, and that the main character has made peace with past and is ready to begin again. 

Major content trigger warnings - some very challenging passages that some readers may find triggering. 

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frantically's review against another edition

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dark 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

2.0

I loved this at first (even though it made me feel like I was overdosing on my meds), then I took a break for 1-2 days and now I've realised it's just a really, really weird & disturbing book.

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edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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thecirclek's review against another edition

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

4.0

This book is a harrowing read with a lot of disturbing topics and situations. The main character is definitely a lot to handle. I really went back and forth on how I felt about her and the book as a whole almost the entire time that I was reading it. Ultimately, I quite liked it. It's not an easy read, but within the world that it creates it is satisfying. I would strongly recommend checking out the list of content items before reading. I was not entirely ready for a few of the things I encountered.

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etbliss's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0


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missbrookss's review against another edition

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

2.0


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ashlynregan's review against another edition

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

3.5

A good for her novel in the sense that this woman is crazy, but we love to see it.

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mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

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

5.0


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