Thank you to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for the eARC

Unfortunately, I am going to DNF this at 20%. I didn't care for the narrative voice and my eARC had many formatting errors that made it difficult to read. This has all the elementals I typically look for in lit fic, but unfortunately just didn't work for me. May revisit this as an audiobook in the future.

I read this in one day, which should give you an indication of how much I enjoyed this book. It pulled me in immediately and I often did not know where it was going. I think it was one of the most well developed character studies and motivation that I have read in a long time while also still being so thoroughly enjoyable. I can't wait for more from this author!!

Little Rabbit comes out next week on May 3, 2022, and you can purchase HERE! Definitely read this book if you liked Luster by Raven Leilani and/or literary fiction generally.

I knew, right then, that I would sleep with him. A flash of lightning down my lower spine, knowledge but also a question. Maybe not that night. But knowing sparked the space between us, turning it electric so I became uncomfortably aware of the distance between our knees.

This piece was really interesting and definitely a lot of fun to read! We watch the main character as she gets into an unconventional relationship with an older man. Their relationship is intense, and as she journeys through the new layers of her life she questions who she is at her core. I loved the writing style, and I couldn't put the book down once I started. Its also pretty short, which was great for me!

This is a highly original story from a powerful new voice in fiction. It focuses on a writer who enters into a relationship with a choreographer, surprising herself and the others in her life. As the relationship deepens and takes on new dimensions, it prompts the writer examine why she is drawn to the choreographer, what it means for how she and others view her, and how it will shape her future.

This is an always interesting read. Highly recommended.

A reflective, sensual read that explores themes of agency and power, LITTLE RABBIT drags at times, though it's elevated by the heady last chapter.

I appreciate that the book veers into unexpected directions, things never quite panning out like I initially predict them to. Another thing I enjoy is how Songsiridej portrays the lives of those in their 30s - an age where many suppose is full-grown adulthood though reality never quite measures up - with many changing and still struggling in their personal and professional lives, on the cusp of something reachable yet far-off.

The main relationship between the choreographer and Rabbit is a sensual and thought-provoking one as well, delving into topics such as power, agency, and trust, though I think that it could have been more subtle yet explored more deeply. The main character's relationships and conflicts with both the choreographer and her friend Annie are interesting, but they also feel repetitive at times with the same loops happening over and over, dragging the pacing.

The last chapter, however, is masterful, a heady crescendo of a conclusion spun by superb writing and the surprising revelations of Rabbit's and the choreographer's real names, and really elevating the book as a whole.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Little Rabbit is the story of an unnamed thirty year-old narrator and the toxic romantic relationship she forms with a much older choreographer. Much time is spent ruminating on the age difference and obvious power imbalance between the two. There's some interesting commentary here about personal boundaries (both with a romantic partner and within friendships). The narrator's roommate/best friend, Annie, has a lot of thoughts about what's happening with the choreographer (and understandably, given the sort of toxic behaviors she observes between them).

I enjoyed the author's writing style. It was easy to get roped into. It was very emotional. I would definitely classify this as a more character-driven text than a plot-based one. And while I don't have an issue with that ordinarily, there were just too many things that didn't make sense to me. That's probably more of a "me" issue than anything.

I found the dynamic between the narrator and Annie to be initially interesting, but ultimately frustrating. I could see why she might feel concerned about her friend changing up so drastically. But not for the reasons she fixated on. Prior to her relationship with the choreographer, the narrator predominantly dated other queer women. And Annie didn't seem to fully understand the appeal/attraction between her friend and this older man. I think the codependence and oftentimes abusive nature of the relationship was something for her to be concerned about, for sure. However, I did not understand why she was so offended by the narrator dating a cis-male. Sexuality is a spectrum and I personally couldn't figure out why that was so objectionable to her. I think Annie had a lot of issues with what she saw, but expressed them so poorly that it was hard to sympathize with her position. Additionally, while the age difference would certainly be a factor in how her friends and family received the relationship, they're two consenting adults. The narrator is (as mentioned) thirty years-old. I didn't find it to be quite as scandalous as some of the characters in the text did.

I also didn't especially enjoy reading all of the... BDSM. I knew I was signing up for a read about a toxic relationship. But, personally, it went into things that are just not my vibe. No judgment here for those who do enjoy experiencing that sort of thing. I just can't relate or understand it. And I don't feel anymore informed from reading about it either. I didn't fully "get" the narrator's motivations. It's hard to buy into a character-driven story when I'm not quite sure what's fueling the character, in general. There was a lot of commentary about how uncharacteristic all of this was for the narrator. I kind of expected that to amount to something in the end.

I guess I just had different expectations for where this would go. Judging by many of the reviews, there were a lot of people who DID get it and appreciated what the author did. So, again, this is probably just a "me" issue. I'm glad to have read something a little outside of my comfort zone. But, unfortunately it wasn't a satisfying read for me.

Not for me. Very one note book about a relationship between and older man and younger woman. The way the older man was depicted was stiff, strangely formal, and just bizarre. Reading this book felt like a slightly elevated 50 Shades of Gray with a romance novel ending. It's like a Lifetime movie with some dance scenes thrown in for good measure. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I'm giving it two stars instead of one because it's by a debut author.

If ever there was a literary companion to The Worst Person in the World, it’s Alyssa Songsiridej’s brilliant debut. An absorbing, eerily relatable portrait of the sexual politics between a queer 30-year-old writer and a successful choreographer 20 years her senior, it explores the escalating effect of an obsessive love affair on one’s art, friendships, and identity. Songsiridej’s beautifully-observed characters and introspective writing left me feeling cracked open in the best possible way. Gratitude to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the arc.

First, the good stuff: this was short enough to read in a day, if you don’t have much planned.
Now, the not as good stuff. I had a few issues with this book. the first being that neither the protagonist, nor her love interest have names for almost the entire book. Being that it is told in first person, the fact that the protagonist isn’t named wasn’t as noticeable, but why does she have to refer to her partner as “the choreographer” the entire time? Is the author purposely trying to keep readers from connecting to the character or…?
Secondly, early on this book seemed like it was just going to be lit porn, or erotica, or whatever the genre is called. Which is fine if you’re into that. I’m not, really, so I was glad to see that eventually a plot did start to emerge, even if it wasn’t that great.
Also, I’m not clear why the central relationship in the story is such a problem. Yeah, he’s twenty years older. But they’re both professional, working adults, who seem capable of deciding who they want to date. It’s not like the protagonist is eighteen. She’s thirty, for crying out loud, and a published author! Who cares?
And that leads to my last issue: why does her best friend care so much? Why is she such a complete disaster when the main character gets a serious boyfriend? Isn’t it expected that most people will eventually move out of the apartment they share with their college roommate into the next phase of their lives? It just became pathetic.
Thanks to #netgalley and #bloomsburypublishing for this #arc of #littlerabbit in exchange for an honest review.

(4.5!) This is a book that I wanted to like but was super apprehensive that I would because I don't usually vibe with older man dating younger woman centric plots but this book. This book!!! I don't even know WHY i liked it so much but everything felt so visceral and real I was so absorbed the whole time. I could see every character so clearly, their flaws and their perks and it was so complex. I honestly can't even accurately articulate what this book offers or why it's so good but it just is. If you love books about basically nothing but feelings this is for you.

as always, ling ma was right. this is "a darkly sensuous tale of awakening that will quietly engulf you in flames."

i need to take 14 deep breaths and watch a children's movie.

a protagonist who lives in boston who is from philly with sally rooney themes. how could i not like it?

if bobbi and frances' friendship in conversations with friends included the sex exploration part from normal people, and i liked the focus on friendship

Little Rabbit is narrated by an unnamed 30 year old biracial, queer woman who we only hear called "Rabbit" by the man she is in a relationship with. She is a published writer and at the beginning of the book is invited to attend a dance performance choreographed by a man that she met at an arts retreat. She did not like him much at the retreat, so it is a bit perplexing the draw she has to him now. She decides early on she wants to sleep with him, despite the 20+ year age difference, and is the initiator of their relationship. They quickly become enamored with the sexual connection that they have. What enfolds is the hold they both have over one another and how it is viewed by outsiders- her parents not understanding the attraction, her roommate and close friends who cannot understand how she is changing and it being for a man. After the sexual connection is already established, she says she wants to begin in a dominant/submissive relationship, and he agrees. What squicked me out was not the d/s component, but the lack of conversation about boundaries, what it would look like, etc. and they just jumped into it. It was unclear that he had any history of these types of relationships in the past, nor her. It seemed to be a bit of an unnecessary component to convey the imbalance in their relationship, considering there was already an inherent imbalance there. I appreciated Songsiridej's straightforward writing and the book was quite engaging- I read it in one day. On the book's cover, it mentions for fans of Raven Leilani's Luster and Garth Greenwell's Cleanness, both of which I have read and could get the comparisons, especially to Greenwell. It also follows in a similar type of writing about relationships and Sally Rooney and the multiple books that have come out more recently using similar writing styles. I would recommend for fans of those types of books.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

A beautifully written story that I'll be thinking about for weeks to come. I read this book in an afternoon because I was so engulfed in the story. I loved the characters. Everything about this seemed so realistic, like something that could happen to me. I don't know if this book will be for everyone but that's part of its beauty.

I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All expressed opinions are my own and do not reflect any stance or position held by the author or publisher. This did not affect my rating or review in any way.

For me, the strength of this book was in conveying how much lies under the surface in a person, and in a relationship, that can remain a mystery even to the people involved. I became absorbed into the lives of these characters, but I must say, it is a bit of a relief to come up for air after finishing the book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Little Rabbit is Alyssa Songsiridej’s debut novel that focuses on a unconventional and sexual relationship between a female queer writer and a much older male choreographer.

Without giving away too much of the plot, a lot of this novel focuses on sex and it became very graphic, with a lot of BDSM influence, which ended up giving me the creeps sometimes given the age difference between the characters (but don’t get it twisted, it’s no Lolita).

However, I ended up feeling really connected to our Little Rabbit - I think she made decisions based on her wants, needs, and desires. We as the readers question what it means to fall in love - is it normal to lose yourself when falling in love? Is it losing yourself if you didn’t really know yourself to begin with? How do you know if it’s lust or love? Ahhhh so many questions.

I would say that fans of Sally Rooney might enjoy this book. Little Rabbit places a lot of emphasis on human connection - we became increasingly aware of all the different relationships at play in this book, and they help build the foundation and carry the plot forward. This is something that I find is so undeniably integral in Rooney’s work.

Little Rabbit is all about artistic development and motivation, lust, love, desire, and punishment - it feels unhinged yet controlled. I will say, I don’t think that this book is for everyone - I found myself split between enjoying it and really struggling with the subject matter. Regardless, I do think it is a triumphant debut for Songsiridej.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

I'll be honest, after the first 10% I didn't expect to enjoy this very much. And now I'm almost disappointed with how much I enjoyed this? It's hard to explain appropriately - but while I understand our main characters are very flawed individuals, they still feel so genuine and real. I felt a pit develop in my stomach through this book and the authors choice to keep our main characters unnamed somehow hightened the sense of unease. I still don't know how to feel about the ending after a couple of days - all I know is that this one will stay with me for quite a while.

definitely an interesting read, steamy but thought provoking. i thought the concept was good, and the characters worked for this storyline. the sex scenes were dynamic, rough and enjoyable. the aspect of the age difference was well done and i enjoyed that the age gap was between established adults with their own identities rather than the usual heroine being a younger woman who doesn't know herself scooped up by an older, brooding , all knowing man.

Little Rabbit is a suffocating and overwhelming debut that still somehow manages to blend itself into all other books like it, until it all becomes an overbearing wave of abusive relationships and BDSM and unamed narrators with very little originality or thoughtfulness. Hand in hand with the likes of Sally Rooney, Little Rabbit focuses only on human connection, with the relationship with the narrador and her best friend often mirroring her relationship with her partner, though it lacked any sort of nuance that many credit to Rooney, reading as surface level discussions of sex and love in its many different forms. And for the BDSM, I have to admit I am so sick of reading about it being treated as a self harm technique used by countless Sad Girl protagonists.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel follows an unnamed narrator who enters into a sexual relationship with an older man. Sadly, this book was kind of a miss for me. I honestly just didn’t connect to or care about the characters or the plot. I don’t have any critiques about the writing necessarily, I just don’t think that this story was for me. Again, I think that Alyssa Songsiridei is a talented author, this book was just not a hit for me.

For me a quick way to describe this book would be a cerebral romance.

A 30 year old author meets a 50 something choreographer at an arts retreat. She doesn't take much positive notice of him at the time, but when he invites her to a show there's something there.

He wakes up something in her. To push him, to allow him to push her. She fully embraces the roughness in their physical relationship but chafes a bit as he tries to take care of her in other areas.

There's confusion and a lack of support from some of their friends and family, notably our author's roommate and best friend Annie is absolutely resistant to the change she sees in her.

We never learn the names of our duo until the final pages of the book, leaving us feeling like we've finally got a peek into their depths.

I'm not a huge fan of the typical romance novel so for me this was a hit.