Reviews

Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury

bookishlass's review

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4.0

Definitely disturbing

Content warnings: murder, violence, death, animal death, child abuse, racism, animal cruelty

cakt1991's review

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4.0

 I really enjoyed Liselle Sambury’s prior books, especially her first horror title, Delicious Monsters, so I was pleased she would be writing more in this vein with Tender Beasts. I liked the concept of the book a lot more than the execution for the most part. While there are some great elements here, others missed the mark. 
I really liked the central family bond between Sunny and Dom, and how they’ve never particularly been close, and she’s predisposed to view him with suspicion, Sunny becoming aware of her mother’s concerns for Dom, and how it tied into their intense family history all was also fairly interesting too. And while the journals did bog down the pacing in places, they further added dimension to the family dynamics beyond what was presented in the present. 
The plot also was very odd, and I found myself struggling to remain invested, as while there were some interesting, odd things happening, I struggled to know what to make of it, the story overall meandered along where I would have expected a bit more excitement, given the content.The book was just too long for what amounted for a rather underwhelming payoff. 
I was very underwhelmed by this book, but I can see how this might work for others. While I would recommend Delicious Monsters first as the better book in this style, I think you’d enjoy it if you’re looking for a thriller/horror novel with complex family dynamics. 

india_nalani07's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

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shesochi's review

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

3.25

Well…that ended in a way that I didn’t expect it to. Which I guess is the point. Even after all that, I am not clear on the “Milk Man” lol. How did Shirley come to know about him? Like how did a kid “game” turn into all of this?? Lol. 

sharpiemyshoe's review against another edition

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

3.75

africhik's review

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

tresaspen's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

hillaaaa's review

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

5.0

rubybereading's review against another edition

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

2.0

"2stars" is kind of generous, but I didn't completely hate it, so less than 2 didn't seem fair. 

...Idk. The ending kind of saved it, but I just really didn't enjoy this. It was too long, for one, and very monotonous throughout a good chunk of the middle. Just past the halfway mark, realized that I did not care at all who the murderer was. I didn't like any of the characters, and I was extremely bored. This book was very boring. Its only saving grace is that it was an absolutely NOT predictable at all, and the ending twists were very creative. That saved it from being a complete dud for me. Still, I wasn't entertained at all. Despite all of that, I do want to give the author a second chance. I can tell she's a good writer. This one just wasn't for me.

lzprsn's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0