4.25 stars

When the matriarch of the Behre family dies suddenly, Sunny thinks it only a matter of time until her mother’s plan for Sunny to take over as head of the family becomes known to her siblings. Instead, all Sunny gets is a vague note from her mother to take care of her youngest brother Dom. The brother she barely knows and who’s been charged with second degree murder. When another student is found murdered, Dom is firmly in the frame as a suspect. But Sunny is determined to fulfill her mother’s last wish by proving Dom’s innocence. As Sunny and Dom investigate, more bodies start falling and long held family secrets are unearthed.

I really enjoyed this book. I’m convinced that no one writes complex family relationships the way Liselle Sambury does. Sunny as a character has such a great arc throughout the course of the book. Separate from any horror elements, there are some really nice moments that comment on a person’s self-image versus how other people see them. It’s got interesting characters layered with some generational trauma and an unputdownable mystery. Plus some creepy horror (that’s not too scary). All of the elements are woven together so well, I would definitely recommend it.

I did have a couple of small issues. There were a couple small lags in pacing, and this book didn’t quite reach the emotional heights of Delicious Monsters for me. But those are minor complaints in an otherwise very fun read.

Liselle Sambury is now one of my favourite authors and I definitely want to read her other books!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for the eARC. This is my honest review.

This is a YA novel set in Ontario, where our main character Sunny lives with her wealthy family who run an exclusive needs-based private school.
Things seem great until bodies start turning up - and Sunny’s brother is the main suspect. As Sunny works to uncover information, readers learn of a mysterious entity, her deceased mother’s journals revealing decades old secrets, and some complicated family dynamics.

I’ll be real - I didn’t LOVE this book. The premise is good on paper, but maybe a bit lacking in terms of narrative. It was a lot of “telling” and not a lot of “showing”, which impacted my enjoyment while reading.
The ending twist took me by surprise though, and while I didn’t love the “milk man” angle of things, it was a satisfying end for me.
I struggled with there being no supernatural elements in the book whatsoever until the last 50 pages or so, when we find out that the entire book rides on the “milk man” beast.

That being said, I think YA readers might enjoy this more than I did!

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC of Tender Beasts in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

I loved this book! It has a dark academia and horror theme, while delving into family trauma. The main characters' relationships with their family and friends made it incredibly relatable. The twists and turns in this book in the story made it even scarier, and I found myself looking over my shoulder while reading it (in the best way possible).

Another plus for me was that the story takes place in Toronto, which made it feel even more immersive since that's where I'm from.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys murder mysteries with a scary twist. However, I suggest reading the trigger warnings first.

"They're the perfect family, until you scratch the surface."

This was my first book by this author, so I didn't know what to expect when I requested the #arc, and halfway into the book I still didn't know what was happening, so of course I had to inhale the 2nd half in one day! 

It had murder, it had mystery, it had family drama, it had highschool drama, it had TORONTO and even a quick reference to #Mississauga 🙌

It also had a lot of questions, mainly: is it supernatural or are the beasts within us real? You'll have to read it to find out! 

Thank you @simonschusterca and @netgalley for the e-arc, but with that gorgeous cover, I also had to get myself a hardcopy!

This story would be great on film!

#horror #academia #darkacademia #readlocal

Liselle never dissapoints! This new thrilling YA book is an absolute show stopper. The characters are gripping and feel so real. The setting itself is eerie and absolutely transports you to another world.

I'm usually such a huge Liselle Sambury fan and I was really looking forward to this latest one but I found myself struggling to get into it. A complex, layered (and LONG) family drama/horror/mystery that sees one sister trying to defend her younger brother when a number of dead bodies show up. Twisty and dark, this was good on audio but took me several attempts to finish. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and Simon Schuster Audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Liselle Sambury is an amazing author! I loved every minute of Tender Beasts! It was chilling, sad and an overall great mystery! A true YA horror! Not just cause of the characters ages but this is the 1st in awhile where the YA has actually been written like it was for young adults not 12 year olds as some authors think

I received an arc copy of this book from Simon & Schuester Canada and I was very excited to read it.
It started off as a solid 4 star read for me, but the redundancy and disjointed writing style kept taking me out of the story. This book could have easily been 100 pages shorter.
I enjoyed the family dynamics and the “villain,” although the lore around the milk man could have gone more in depth.
The epilogue saved the story I think and finally gave the characters the depth they were missing.
It was spooky enough and I kept turning the page. I just wanted more.

Sadly, i’m going to have to DNF this one at 42%. I’ve been trying to get into it for what feels like weeks, but it’s simply not catching my attention. I’m not invested in the characters, or the story. It feels repetitive and i just don’t think this one is for me.

5⭐️

I want to say a big thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC! And thank you to Liselle Sambury for this incredibly captivating horror novel.

I enjoy going into my books blindly and I highly recommend it for this novel. Not knowing about the storyline really took me on a rollercoaster ride. I was trying to do my own detective work with Sunny and thinking of possible endings but I absolutely never saw it coming.

I was shocked. I was confused. I was blown away. I cried. I was on the edge of my seat. I did not want to put this novel down once! Also, I enjoyed it being set in the GTA because I knew exactly where they pinpointed some places and roads.

Tender Beasts is expected to release on February 27th, 2024. Do search up the trigger warnings in this book before reading!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital arc.

This was a creepy and very unsettling book that I couldn’t put down. Loved a Toronto-based book (my personal bias!) but this was a goodie! The pacing was mildly slow at times but overall liked it a lot.

In TENDER BEASTS, Sunny has to decide how far she'll go to fulfill her mother's dying wish—protect her younger brother—and how many bodies she's willing to overlook to do it. Being falsely accused of murder once could be bad luck, but twice? And if Sunny's mother wanted her to protect him, does it even matter if he's guilty?

The voice in this novel is truly phenomenal. Sunny's compulsion to please leapt from the page to rip my heart out, which was perfectly juxtaposed with her Mom's teen diary entries. TENDER BEASTS shows two very different approaches to protecting family, and the lengths people will go to for success. If you love horror and complex family and sibling dynamics, look no further; your favourite read is right here.

I especially love that this book takes place in Toronto. Canadian locations don't come up nearly enough!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5⭐️
Omg, what did I just read??? I had fun reading this book! Even though I had no idea what to expect, it was an enjoyable read. I did notice that the writing felt a bit repetitive at times, and there were parts where the author included more information than was necessary.
I didn't think the characters were likable, but Dom was the only character I liked and felt sorry for.
I recommend this book to anyone who is into Horror and Mystery books.

I either love horror, or really don't; Tender Beasts was absolutely a love. I was second guessing and eager to find out what was going on the whole way through.
Not just a horror thrill ride, Tender Beasts also touches on mental health, and family legacies, relationships, and traumas.
I also *loved* the connection to the authors previous book, Delicious Monsters!

Maybe the writing/storytelling is just not for me. I found it repetitive and the characters annoying. Not very exciting, so I decided to dnf it at 30%. But thank you Simon & Schuster Canada, author and netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange of my honest opinions.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book but unfortunately it did not hold my attention. I did not like the writing and it was oddly repetitive and lengthy, I had to stop reading.