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A review by noellesmagicallibrary
Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I stayed up later than I intended last night to finish Tender Beasts -- it just kept getting better and better. Liselle Sambury continues to impress and remains on my list of favorite authors. She is a skilled writer who creates complex characters and interesting stories while making astute social commentary.
Sunny Behre was given one request in her mother's will, "take care of Dom". And Sunny always does what is expected of her.
Her younger brother Dom was accused of murdering his girlfriend, and now, there are more dead bodies piling up around the Behre family. As the outcast of the family, no one is convinced of his innocence, but Sunny decides she wants to solve the mystery. So is Dom a killer? Or does someone else want to ruin this wealthy Black family?
So here's why I love Tender Beasts:
1. Dual POV/timelines. The majority of the story is told through Sunny's perspective in present day, but we also get a good amount of story telling through her mom's old journal entries from her teen years.
2. I never knew what was going to happen. Even towards the end, I couldn't decide if the horror actually came from a paranormal source or it was all made up.
3. The Behre family -- as messed up as this family is, I loved them. Especially Dom. My heart ached for him.
4. The idea of the Milk Man. I still don't really understand what he is or where he came from -- I wish we had more of a backstory here. But it kinda sorta reminds me of Slenderman (which I find really creepy)
5. The epilogue. As bleak as this story is, the ending somehow came across as hopeful. I usually want everything tied up in a neat little bow (which didn't happen here) and I'm ok with it because that epilogue worked for me.
To be fair now, I do have a few areas where this could have been better:
1. Pacing was slow in the beginning. But as I said at the top, once I was at the halfway mark I couldn't stop.
2. I re-read the first chapter about Ainsley in the airport and I still have questions. Actually, I have at least 3 questions about that scene that I don't think were explained by the end of the story.
3. Again, I want more of a backstory on the Milk Man. I need to understand the milk maidens and little calves a bit better to appreciate this story.
Sunny Behre was given one request in her mother's will, "take care of Dom". And Sunny always does what is expected of her.
Her younger brother Dom was accused of murdering his girlfriend, and now, there are more dead bodies piling up around the Behre family. As the outcast of the family, no one is convinced of his innocence, but Sunny decides she wants to solve the mystery. So is Dom a killer? Or does someone else want to ruin this wealthy Black family?
So here's why I love Tender Beasts:
1. Dual POV/timelines. The majority of the story is told through Sunny's perspective in present day, but we also get a good amount of story telling through her mom's old journal entries from her teen years.
2. I never knew what was going to happen. Even towards the end, I couldn't decide if the horror actually came from a paranormal source or it was all made up.
3. The Behre family -- as messed up as this family is, I loved them. Especially Dom. My heart ached for him.
4. The idea of the Milk Man. I still don't really understand what he is or where he came from -- I wish we had more of a backstory here. But it kinda sorta reminds me of Slenderman (which I find really creepy)
5. The epilogue. As bleak as this story is, the ending somehow came across as hopeful. I usually want everything tied up in a neat little bow (which didn't happen here) and I'm ok with it because that epilogue worked for me.
To be fair now, I do have a few areas where this could have been better:
1. Pacing was slow in the beginning. But as I said at the top, once I was at the halfway mark I couldn't stop.
2. I re-read the first chapter about Ainsley in the airport and I still have questions. Actually, I have at least 3 questions about that scene that I don't think were explained by the end of the story.
3. Again, I want more of a backstory on the Milk Man. I need to understand the milk maidens and little calves a bit better to appreciate this story.