Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Mrs. Caliban

I did not like this. Deeply unsatisfying read. I don’t usually rate books based on plot/ending alone, but man was that so little payoff for a seemingly interesting premise.

I liked that in the end Larry was too other, too non-human to continue functioning as Dorothy’s escape or to truly care about human life. I love when authors depict the realistic divide between humanoids; other beings have no reason to talk, think, or act like we do given their separate evolutionary path. I also liked the prose; the sentences were so crisp and concise. It felt like snack reading.

That being said, -2 stars for:
- the sheer amount of fucking salad and veggie descriptions
- the sometimes hard to keep track of quippy dialogue between Dorothy and Estelle
- the car crash… what an unnecessarily messy conclusion to a whimper of a set of affairs
- Could Sandra have been his kid??????? GROSS
- Estelle also fucking Dorothy’s husband. her knowing who the man was and not telling Dorothy was enough of a betrayal to warrant the silly ending. The rest felt contrived
- Dorothy finally being free of her cheating, unsupportive husband and perfidious bff, only to be miserable at home looking for a froggy fling that isn’t coming back. she has a lot to work on internally, but the book ended with her not even trying. just going through the same motions.

idk this just wasn’t my cup of tea. i got to the last page and audibly scoffed. what was the point in all that retrospection on humanity and friendship and love just to end the book sad & yearning for a frog in between haunting your uncaught sex offender husbands grave. ugh

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readingwithgoose's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

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kananineko's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

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mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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ottercorg's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I picked this one up after seeing it in an article, recommended to those who enjoyed Where the Wild Things Are as a child. It was my favorite, so naturally I wanted to give this one a shot.

This was easy, funny, and pleasant. I loved the conversations, particularly between Dorothy and Estelle - they felt so natural and real, as if I was right there in the room with them.

I enjoyed Ingalls’ writing style, and enjoyed the plot. The only reason I’m not giving it a full 5 stars is because the ending was SO fast I nearly got whiplash and it was almost hard to follow. The pace suits the events of the ending, but still, I would’ve appreciated a little more.

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nialiversuch's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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hiashleynine's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I actually don’t know how I feel about this book. It was a very quick read, and a lot of the dialogue between Dorthy and Larry was nicely written and felt profound at times. I think I went into this expecting one thing and was met with something completely different. All I know for certain is FUCK Fred and FUCK Estelle!
This is not a bad book at all, just one I might need to think about a little more to fully gauge how I feel about it…

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savvylit's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a novella! Mrs. Caliban is so many things: a romance, a thriller, a feminist fable. Ingalls has managed to pack a heck of a lot of thought-provoking story into this fast-paced little book. Larry's arrival sets Dorothy free from her unsatisfying life. For one, she discovers her own sexual agency. Furthermore, Larry's constant questions about human culture help Dorothy discover the inanity of many societal expectations.

There's so much more that happens in Mrs. Caliban, but that's about all I can say without spoiling the novella. Suffice it to say, I love this book. A short feminist fable with magical realism? My favorite genre! I can't wait to track down more of Ingalls' work.

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