katiemmarson 's review for:

Spoilt Creatures by Amy Twigg

3.5

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I’m struggling to conceptualise my thoughts on this one. Maybe this is a sign that I’m reading too many books in too short succession, but I walked away from this feeling like it wasn’t hugely notable and like I’ve read something like it before. Though I recognise that that’s not really fair! I thought this was really beautifully written and incredibly engaging. The writing style is very lyrical and vivid, and the world felt very real. I think my main gripe was I always felt like I was missing something. I don’t think I really understood the main character, and couldn’t wrap my head around what she was feeling and the decisions she was making. In theory, I like the idea of following someone as they get sucked into a cult that becomes increasingly violent. But I don’t think I really got the main character’s reason for being drawn in, and for not being able to see the cult for what it was. Frankly, I don’t think I got why the cult was that magnetic to anyone at all. There’s lots of hints to women “escaping bad men” and general mentioned of how the world treats women poorly, but I don’t think that’s enough and I wanted more. Similarly, a large plot point is the main character’s obsession with (crush on) another woman and how that keeps her from leaving. Though this didn’t feel fully fleshed out either. I don’t know, I think I just struggle to believe some of the choices made and I didn’t feel hugely connected to the narrator which made it difficult. I think we could’ve dug a bit deeper in general, though this was a very entertaining read and I’m glad to have read it.