Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
So nihilistically bitter as to make me view my own cynicism with clarity and see it for how silly it often is, what a nice gift. Invokes a certain type of mental poison that is not unfamiliar to modern women. Sour candy in a short story collection.
3 1/2
3 1/2
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sadly, I didn’t enjoy this one, even though I loved Taddeo‘s other books. In all of the stories, the main driver of the plot was the women being in love with some horrible men or having horrible experiences with men. I also didn’t like the constant comparison of the characters with other women. I get that all of this is probably meant to criticise our society and the patriarchy, and I did enjoy these tropes in her book Animal, but with the short stories it just felt very repetitive. I wish there would be more diversity in the settings and story lines.
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was nooooot for me. I thought this would be a great way to get a little taste of her work. Instead I found myself once again reading a book that revolves around the male gaze. It’s just straight up not interesting. I’ve read heterosexual romance novels with less of a focus on men that this. Maybe I missed the point? Regardless I don’t really care.
I am not a ~stories~ person whatsoever. I always find that they feel emptier and just don’t grip me the way novels do… but this collection had me from the jump!
Lisa Taddeo shows that she’s a brilliant writer once again and manages to craft short stories in a way that leaves me wanting more, but satisfies me nonetheless?
Adding Lisa Taddeo to my list of “immediately yes” authors.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Avid Reader Press for Thai ARC!
Lisa Taddeo shows that she’s a brilliant writer once again and manages to craft short stories in a way that leaves me wanting more, but satisfies me nonetheless?
Adding Lisa Taddeo to my list of “immediately yes” authors.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Avid Reader Press for Thai ARC!
I couldn’t bear to read past the FMC getting ready to lie about being sexually assaulted by an old bf because he’d moved on. Too despicable for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
DNF: The writing was fine. I'm just not in the mood to read about more upper class, thin, and beautiful white women complain about their lives....
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rating this against the likes of animal and three women probably does this a disservice, plus the fact that these short stories were originally published individually and have now been put together in one book — this makes them feel quite repetitive after a while. That said, I cannot fault taddeo’s writing style and I’ll read anything she writes!
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
you could put a gun to my head while im reading this book and i stg i wouldn’t even notice