This was an intriguing teaser that I enjoyed reading, and I look forward to reading the full book when it comes out.

I was intrigued by the description and curious about Tadeo's foray into fiction. I loved the gritty descriptions and writing style of the sample. I can’t wait to read this one! Thank you Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for providing this sample.

Based on the teaser, I really want to read this book. It's about female rage and the need of revenge. It gave me some Lisbeth Salander vibes. I hope I can read the book at some point.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a sneak peek at Taddeo's debut novel.

This teaser provides the first two chapters of Taddeo's debut novel and the book definitely starts out with a bang. I can tell from the first chapter alone that these characters are unlikeable- which is my jam. I love stories with unlikeable characters, and love stories where we see the inner-workings of their minds, which is exactly what we get in this. Looking forward to the novel's release on June 8!

Thanks for the teaser, even though it was not listed this way when I requested and was approved for it.

"He was picking a pimple on his chin and staring at me. There are a hundred such small rapes a day."

With haunting and biting language such as the above, Taddeo creates a spellbinding environment that at once made me feel SEEN and uncomfortable. There's a rawness to her language that is so authentic and compelling, even when it talks about the mundane.

There are hints to an unsettling past full of trauma and pain, while also providing an unflinching look at our society and the way in which we violate and judge each other. It feels at once like a story all too familiar to many women today, but somehow fresh and new.

This excerpt definitely hooked me and the book will be an auto-buy for me.

Thank you NetGalley for a look at the exceprt!

I had already read Three Women, which is captivating non-fiction that feels like fiction. This books seems like it will be in the same vein, focusing on the dynamic of traditional male/female sexual dynamics and power imbalances between the gender roles.

It is hard to judge a book by a short excerpt, but I am not sure I will enjoy this one as much as Three Women. The author does an excellent job anchoring you into another person's day to day life using small details of every-day things. However, while this works great in the world of non-fiction, where you are humanizing and giving a snap-shot into a moment in a real person's life, it feels a little tedious and I found myself asking "what is the point?" when seeing this style applied to a fictional character.

Overall I think I will read this book when it comes out because the hedonistic voyeuristic component makes for compelling and consumable content and the author's insight into interpersonal dynamics is admirable.

After reading Three Women, I couldn’t wait for Taddeo’s newest book. Luckily I got the opportunity to read an exerpt, and let me tell you- I can’t wait for this book to be published. Really all I needed to know was this being about an: “exhilarating transformation from prey into predator in Animal”. As a huge fan of the movie ‘I spit on your grave’ I knew I had to read it.

The book right away starts with a literal bang, and immediately you’re wondering why Joan doesn’t care more. She then travels to california to find a woman named Alice. Who this is, you also don’t know yet by reading the exerpt. It gives you quite a good peek into how Joan thinks and how she views the men around her, and it reminded me of the protagonist in “My Year of Rest and Relaxation”. I personally can’t wait to read the rest!

Looks like we’ll have to wait until June to read some more 😩

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing an exerpt of this title. All opinions are honest and my own.

Cannot wait to read Taddeo's novel in its entirety, because reading this teaser definitely got me on board.

I'm very sad that this is only a teaser, as this was extremely engaging and I was left wanting more. What happened in the narrator's childhood? What events brought her to her present situation? I was hooked. I had never read Lisa Taddeo, but she is an author I will be following.

This teaser has definitely left me wanting more! I'm super excited for this book to be released as it grabbed me from the beginning and I was so bummed when the teaser was over! I feel like I can already tell where it's going but in reality probably have no idea... but I do know that it's going to be relevant to so many women out there and I'm sure loads of us can relate in some way to what this character goes through.

Thank you to Avid Reader Press for sharing this excerpt.

Lisa Taddeo’s Animal starts with a bang. The first sentence reveals a shocking event that takes place - and the relative insouciance of our main character at what happened right in front of her eyes shrouds her in mystery. Yet, this event shakes something loose in her and she begins to embark on a journey. Who is she looking for and what is that person to her? We do not know, we only catch snippets and glimpses here and there, all at the will of the narrator. But what we know early on is that this journey will end in a violent climax, which might be exactly what our narrator set out for.

Almost Moshfeghian, our main character is a woman with a dark past. She calls herself ‘depraved’ and ‘a survivor’, she uses men for sex, and keeps her parents’ ashes in plastic baggies she takes on her road trip. Taddeo’s known for her in-depth character study in Three Women and I am curious how she will construct this complex and complicated character. From the first two chapters, we get an idea of who she is and what motivates her but nothing concrete, the narrator is still too selective and secretive about what they want to share about themselves. That being said, I feel like her character could be more grounded in those first pages.

At times, I found the short sentences quite jarring, I couldn’t find a good ‘flow’ if you will. I wonder if this is a stylistic choice by the author to represent how our narrator’s mind works. Similarly, she seems to start a lot of her sentences using pronouns, almost as if she fixated on those characters (including herself).

This is promising to be a very captivating novel, I am looking forward to the release in June. If you liked Taddeo’s first novel and you’re a fan of dark, unreliable characters, I think you could really enjoy Animal. 4 Stars.

I receive and excerpt from NetGalley. Reading this has got me waiting for release day! Can’t waiting to binge the book.

After reading the teaser by Animal, the new release by Lisa Taddeo, I was immediately hooked. Although the teaser only contains the first two chapters, Taddeo expertly sets the scene for readers to be drawn into the plot and left with lots of questions about the main character, Joan.

After the man who was having an affair with Joan kills himself in a New York restaurant in front of her, Joan decides to leave New York and head to Los Angeles. From the first two chapters, it is not entirely clear why Joan is set on Los Angeles, the reader only knows that someone named Alice lives there and that Joan believes that Alice knows something important about her. Taddeo's detailed writing in just the first two chapters - from the description of Joan carrying around the ashes of her parents in plastic bags to the image of the heat reflecting off the beach in Los Angeles - reflect Taddeo's talent, last seen and enjoyed in Three Women. I am eager to read the rest of this book.

Note: A full review of this book will be posted on my blog, https://bookhouseblog.substack.com/. I'd like to feature this book in my summer preview post, however I would prefer to read the full ARC before giving it its own stand-alone review. Thanks!

I became a fan of Lisa Taddeo after reading Three Women. After reading the NetGalley teaser for Animal, I see she has not lost her unique and evocative writing style! I am hooked after two chapters and would love to read the remainder of this story. 4 stars with the potential to increase (or decrease, but I have high hopes!) after reading the book in it’s entirety ...

Wow, after reading the teaser of this book I am fully intrigued. Taddeo is such a talented writer who encapsulates the setting so well. I am keen on reading this full story.

Wow. Thanks for the teaser, Avid Reader Press!

The teaser was a blast to read. The main character reminded me of an Ottesa Moshfegh novel. I love reading books about complicated and troubled women. The vibe and tone sounds gothic, brooding, and morbid. I love the dark and foreboding undertone. And would you look at that cover?! It's stunning. I would love to read an ARC of "Animal". I devour novels like this.

First off, I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this book, Thank you.

I'm a HUGE Lisa Taddeo fan, Three Women was so powerful and just simply exquisite.

I think the cover is simply stunning and made me instantly want to read this book.

It was deeply dark, depressing, and emotional for me, but so fulfilling for me, Lisa Taddeo has a way of making every word and every page come alive, she's truly Sublime. I can't wait for the next breathtaking book from her.

This book comes is one where I need to add a trigger warning for suicide, rape, sexual assault, coercion, homicide.

A HUGE thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the teaser of this book. I can't wait to read on further!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this teaser. I am so excited for Taddeo's next book and this teaser definitely whet my enthusiasm for it! I look forward to it coming out in June.