Reviews

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

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eemaher's review against another edition

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challenging reflective

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

5.0

confundu's review

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challenging dark

3.5

thepetitepunk's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5 stars

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. Usually I like weird books that are a bit more than magical realism but not exactly fantasy, but this one didn’t do it for me as much as I was hoping. I liked some of the gross, odd descriptions, which is kind of what I came for, but the plot itself dragged, if you could even call it a plot. The themes of motherhood were exactly what they were expecting them to be, but there was something keeping me from being fully immersed in the story. I wanted to actually imagine a dog, and not just think “ah yes, look at this great big metaphor” the entire time. It’s a fast, easy read though if you’re intrigued.

✧ ✧ ✧

≪reading 31 books for 31 days of may, 2024≫
╰┈➤ 1. nightbitch by rachel yoder

meme__theory's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? Yes

3.0

alicemorrison1029's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

tildahlia's review against another edition

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2.0

This book is totally polarising. It has its evangelists and I understand them - Yoder’s writing is great and she knows how to create suspense and tension. The way she describes the banality of parenting in a way that makes you feel like you are watching a horror movie takes skill and is quite confronting - particularly as even ‘honest’ descriptions of motherhood are usually still pretty layered in ‘but it’s amazing though’. When other reviews point out this book is likely to be received differently by people with kids, I believe it! That said, while I admired her commitment to the ‘bit’, I did find it tiresome and strangely boring by about halfway through and had to bail. I really think this would have been an incredible short story but as a book it was too laboured and long for me.