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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.*
I have had the pleasure of knowing Michelle online for nearly 20 years and have enjoyed all of her previous books. Obviously, some more than others, but all of her previously published works were historical fiction.
Darling Beasts makes a departure from type and tells a wacky family story with a paranormal twist.
This family drama tells the story of the Gunn family - targeting the three adult children that are heirs to a media fortune who are faced with the downfall of the company when their uncle is caught in a scandal and their father decides to save the family. name by running for office. The siblings have shared and individual trauma which is touching and somehow funny. One of them has a bizarre condition that causes the spontaneous appearance of wild animals.
I cannot explain why this works but it does.
I enjoyed the curious characters and the utter absurdity of the condition. I felt like the story ended abruptly but maybe that is because I wanted it to be a series.
*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Michelle online for nearly 20 years and have enjoyed all of her previous books. Obviously, some more than others, but all of her previously published works were historical fiction.
Darling Beasts makes a departure from type and tells a wacky family story with a paranormal twist.
This family drama tells the story of the Gunn family - targeting the three adult children that are heirs to a media fortune who are faced with the downfall of the company when their uncle is caught in a scandal and their father decides to save the family. name by running for office. The siblings have shared and individual trauma which is touching and somehow funny. One of them has a bizarre condition that causes the spontaneous appearance of wild animals.
I cannot explain why this works but it does.
I enjoyed the curious characters and the utter absurdity of the condition. I felt like the story ended abruptly but maybe that is because I wanted it to be a series.
*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Siblings Talia, Gabby, and Ozzie Gunn are each living their own lives when their father, Marshton Gunn, summons them to San Diego to help with his latest project—a political campaign. Still reeling from the fallout of his brother Doug’s arrest and the collapse of their family business, Marshton is hoping this new venture will be a comeback. Talia, the responsible eldest, agrees without much protest, while Gabby and Ozzie are far more reluctant.
As the siblings work together in close quarters for the first time in years, buried resentments and long-held secrets begin to surface. The strained dynamic between them and their father adds tension and emotional weight to the story.
Complicating matters is Gabby’s condition—PBS, a rare and magical illness that causes her to manifest wild animals during emotional flares. Whether it’s flamingoes or emus, Gabby never knows what creature might appear next, or when her itching flare-ups will begin.
At its heart, Darling Beasts explores the lasting impact of family trauma and the way the past can quietly shape our present. It also considers the cost of secrecy—especially the kind kept for decades—and the ways love and resentment can coexist within the same relationships.
The book’s short, punchy chapters kept the pacing brisk and accessible, which I appreciated. I especially enjoyed the dynamic between the siblings; each had a distinct voice and perspective, and the alternating points of view helped flesh out their individual arcs.
I picked up this novel for a reading challenge prompt involving “creatures,” and while Gabby’s magical condition intrigued me, the magical realism aspect felt a bit underdeveloped. The animal manifestations were quirky and fun, but I would have loved to see that element explored more deeply or connected more symbolically to the plot and emotional themes.
Still, Darling Beasts is an enjoyable, emotionally rich story about complicated family ties, generational baggage, and the awkward beauty of reconnection. A great pick for readers who enjoy character-driven fiction with a twist of the surreal.
funny
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
Darling Beasts is a bit out of my traditional wheelhouse, being contemporary magical realism centered around a hapless and once-affluent family. What initially grabbed me was the incredible cover, and I was sold by both the conceptual syndrome one of the characters has (where wild animals spontaneously appear against her will at odd times), and the Schitt's Creek of it all.
Gable has created a family loosely based off of the Scripps, where the family patriarch--after losing his family company and a lot of money--decides to run for Congress on a whim. This completely blindsides his three adult children, who are navigating chaotic lives of their own, deliberately separate from each other, especially when it's made clear that this run for office is going to involve all the members of the family, regardless of how they feel about it or each other. Moving even temporarily to the West Coast has the siblings scrambling, confronting the past injustices they've faced and their general inability to communicate with anyone they're related to. But against all odds (and often each other), will they still manage to be there for their father... and figure out why the hell he's running for office?
The concept of this is outrageous from the get-go. That is absolutely one of the book's appeals. Funny commentary on the ridiculousness of the wealthy with a backdrop of family secrets and old insecurities? Sold. Though I went in expecting the characters to be the antiheroes of their own stories, squabbling amongst themselves and wrecking havoc, I never really connected with any of them. My previous likening (and marketing) of this to Schitt's Creek may have in fact done me a disservice; while I couldn't stand the characters of that show at first, their quirks remain endearing despite everything, and they come into their own as individuals and as a family. Sadly, I didn't find that with Darling Beasts. The miscommunications--and refusals to communicate or listen--continue until the last minute amongst the Gunn family, but particularly among the three siblings. Talia, the oldest, cannot fathom that her siblings have experienced their lives differently from her own, especially when it comes to their deceased mother--and she refuses to try. The middle child, Gabby, presented initially as the kind one (and possibly the most sane), swiftly deteriorates as she attempts to find an answer to her PBS, calling her intelligence into question. And the youngest, Ozzie, is a quintessential influencer bro, his personality flat and unlikable aside from when he talks about Winnie the Pooh. Much of their personalities and utter lack of interpersonal skills can easily be attributed to their upbringing and their own traumas, but I still found myself constantly irked by them, seeing little to no redeeming qualities as the story continued. Then, towards the end, the reason for their gathering together for their father's campaign is revealed, and they... suddenly tolerate each other? The entire premise is supposed to be nonsense, but their almost deus-ex-machina-character-development is truly nonsensical.
That said, Gable has created her main characters' personalities extremely well in how they come across on the page. In each chapter from the siblings' individual POVs, who they are, how they think, even the slang they use paints a clear picture of them as people. I just wish that, like I eventually did with Schitt's Creek, I actually like these people.
If you're looking for something irreverent, silly, and don't need to love the characters in order to enjoy a story (that's definitely something I struggle with, as a reader), I'd absolutely recommend trying out Darling Beasts. It's unique and yet familiar at the same time, and its absurdity does not detract from the hope you feel at the end. Personally, I'm still proud of myself for figuring out it was a cassowary as soon as it was mentioned. (Seriously, they're dinosaurs. Look at them. They will mess you up.)
Thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Gable has created a family loosely based off of the Scripps, where the family patriarch--after losing his family company and a lot of money--decides to run for Congress on a whim. This completely blindsides his three adult children, who are navigating chaotic lives of their own, deliberately separate from each other, especially when it's made clear that this run for office is going to involve all the members of the family, regardless of how they feel about it or each other. Moving even temporarily to the West Coast has the siblings scrambling, confronting the past injustices they've faced and their general inability to communicate with anyone they're related to. But against all odds (and often each other), will they still manage to be there for their father... and figure out why the hell he's running for office?
The concept of this is outrageous from the get-go. That is absolutely one of the book's appeals. Funny commentary on the ridiculousness of the wealthy with a backdrop of family secrets and old insecurities? Sold. Though I went in expecting the characters to be the antiheroes of their own stories, squabbling amongst themselves and wrecking havoc, I never really connected with any of them. My previous likening (and marketing) of this to Schitt's Creek may have in fact done me a disservice; while I couldn't stand the characters of that show at first, their quirks remain endearing despite everything, and they come into their own as individuals and as a family. Sadly, I didn't find that with Darling Beasts. The miscommunications--and refusals to communicate or listen--continue until the last minute amongst the Gunn family, but particularly among the three siblings. Talia, the oldest, cannot fathom that her siblings have experienced their lives differently from her own, especially when it comes to their deceased mother--and she refuses to try. The middle child, Gabby, presented initially as the kind one (and possibly the most sane), swiftly deteriorates as she attempts to find an answer to her PBS, calling her intelligence into question. And the youngest, Ozzie, is a quintessential influencer bro, his personality flat and unlikable aside from when he talks about Winnie the Pooh. Much of their personalities and utter lack of interpersonal skills can easily be attributed to their upbringing and their own traumas, but I still found myself constantly irked by them, seeing little to no redeeming qualities as the story continued. Then, towards the end, the reason for their gathering together for their father's campaign is revealed, and they... suddenly tolerate each other? The entire premise is supposed to be nonsense, but their almost deus-ex-machina-character-development is truly nonsensical.
That said, Gable has created her main characters' personalities extremely well in how they come across on the page. In each chapter from the siblings' individual POVs, who they are, how they think, even the slang they use paints a clear picture of them as people. I just wish that, like I eventually did with Schitt's Creek, I actually like these people.
If you're looking for something irreverent, silly, and don't need to love the characters in order to enjoy a story (that's definitely something I struggle with, as a reader), I'd absolutely recommend trying out Darling Beasts. It's unique and yet familiar at the same time, and its absurdity does not detract from the hope you feel at the end. Personally, I'm still proud of myself for figuring out it was a cassowary as soon as it was mentioned. (Seriously, they're dinosaurs. Look at them. They will mess you up.)
Thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
This was great fun! So much different than @mgablewriter usual writing of historical fiction. This could be my favorite of her books. It was so funny and the family dysfunction was over the top in a good way. Three siblings are forced to come together as their father, who has lost the family fortune, decides to reinvent himself and run for political office across the country. The best part is that sibling Gabby has a disease that manifests creatures just as some disaster is about to happen…and lots of disasters happen. The family has a lot to work through and really the animals are the least of their problems. But they sure to add to the fun. This is so quirky and unique. I feel so lucky to have won an ARC. Knowing Michelle it was fun to see some of her personal life infused into the story in subtle ways. This book comes out July 8th and will make a super fun beach read.