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zombiezami's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Well, that was fucked up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Blood, Death, Murder, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, Body horror, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Cannibalism, Mental illness, Cursing, Drug use, and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
india_nalani07's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Murder and Violence
jase_0z's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Stalking
jay_da_bookworm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Tender Beast had its moments where it had me clinging on to every word, but in between those moments, I was bored.I really wanted to enjoy it, but it just kinda missed the mark for me overall.
I wanted a thriller that kept me guessing until the very end, and unfortunately, this wasn’t the book. I was able to figure out a majority of the plot twists by the time I was halfway through because the clues made it so obvious where the plot was headed.
Honestly, I was more stoked than surprised when the big reveal took place because I had pretty much guessed what was going to happen by the time I was halfway through the book. I hope Liselle’s other books live up to their hype."
I wanted a thriller that kept me guessing until the very end, and unfortunately, this wasn’t the book. I was able to figure out a majority of the plot twists by the time I was halfway through because the clues made it so obvious where the plot was headed.
Honestly, I was more stoked than surprised when the big reveal took place because I had pretty much guessed what was going to happen by the time I was halfway through the book. I hope Liselle’s other books live up to their hype."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Torture
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit
paronomaniac's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Blood
Moderate: Gaslighting, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
wheeliebridge's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Damn. This was such a trip of a book! Every time I thought I could predict what was coming, something came out of left field. I really appreciated the growth of Sunny and her siblings, as well as the nuanced look into toxic family relationships and dynamics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Murder
jjsbookcase's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
sp00ky_girl28's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Murder, Classism, Mental illness, Grief, Blood, Abandonment, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Racism, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Cursing
danaslitlist's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
*Coming back to edit my review and lowering the rating from 4.5 to 3 after sitting on my feelings.
Tender Beasts is a multilayered thriller that delves into the deep twisted emotions of familial relationships that are burdened with generational trauma and the lengths one would go in order to preserve what they feel matters the most; legacy and survival, or family and future? Or I should say that’s what it attempts and wants to be. Instead by the end we get a book that really shows itself to be trying to say a lot of things at once and results in an archetypical and trope filled novel.
I rounded up my rating because while this book is nowhere near as good as Delicious Monsters, and even feel like a weird paradox to it, I still had fun with it. This book got me out of a reading slump and I think that’s because it’s a compulsive enough story that I had a good time even though the material itself isn’t fantastic. And that kills me because of how much I wanted to LOVE it. I’m someone who yells “READ ‘DELICIOUS MONSTERS’” over and over to anyone who will listen.
Everything about this book felt like leaning into the most predicable set of tropes and that extends to the entire cast of characters. Was our protagonist, Sunny, the best vessel to narrate the experiences on page? I don’t know. I actually really think this book would’ve worked if we were with Dom, an unreliable narrator. Everyone else felt entirely too flat and one dimension, tropes instead of people.
I felt that the mystery and the supernatural element was one of the highlights of the novel. The stakes felt high the entire time and throughout the story I truly was worried about the safety and the wellbeing of the characters. Sambury knows the perfect balance between utilizing gore and violence to enhance her work without it becoming overly excessive to the point of exaggeration. There were genuinely moments where the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up on end and I had my hand over my mouth in shock.
But this suspense doesn’t culminate into anything but a rushed and unsatisfying ending.
The use of the mother’s journal entries to bring us back to her childhood for the flashbacks was also a treat and a very smart way of providing information on the Milk Man without spoiling (pun intended) too much in the present time line.
I’m still unsure of how I feel about the ending. I keep fluctuating between loving it because I understand the metaphorical nature of the themes and also wanting a bit more of a pay off.
I’m leaning more towards the latter, wishing that certain moments hadn’t ended so quickly and we had more time to ruminate. There were also a few plot points that felt ….too convenient, but overall being content with the book.
List of Content Warnings: Death of a parent/grief, animal death (on page - cow and lizards; off page, referenced but not described - cat; off page, referenced and somewhat described - unspecified animals), mentions of self-harm/suicide, drinking and drug use, infidelity, discussions of toxic intimate relationships, detailed body horror/gore, violence, death (includes child death)
Tender Beasts is a multilayered thriller that delves into the deep twisted emotions of familial relationships that are burdened with generational trauma and the lengths one would go in order to preserve what they feel matters the most; legacy and survival, or family and future? Or I should say that’s what it attempts and wants to be. Instead by the end we get a book that really shows itself to be trying to say a lot of things at once and results in an archetypical and trope filled novel.
I rounded up my rating because while this book is nowhere near as good as Delicious Monsters, and even feel like a weird paradox to it, I still had fun with it. This book got me out of a reading slump and I think that’s because it’s a compulsive enough story that I had a good time even though the material itself isn’t fantastic. And that kills me because of how much I wanted to LOVE it. I’m someone who yells “READ ‘DELICIOUS MONSTERS’” over and over to anyone who will listen.
Everything about this book felt like leaning into the most predicable set of tropes and that extends to the entire cast of characters. Was our protagonist, Sunny, the best vessel to narrate the experiences on page? I don’t know. I actually really think this book would’ve worked if we were with Dom, an unreliable narrator. Everyone else felt entirely too flat and one dimension, tropes instead of people.
I felt that the mystery and the supernatural element was one of the highlights of the novel. The stakes felt high the entire time and throughout the story I truly was worried about the safety and the wellbeing of the characters. Sambury knows the perfect balance between utilizing gore and violence to enhance her work without it becoming overly excessive to the point of exaggeration. There were genuinely moments where the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up on end and I had my hand over my mouth in shock.
But this suspense doesn’t culminate into anything but a rushed and unsatisfying ending.
The use of the mother’s journal entries to bring us back to her childhood for the flashbacks was also a treat and a very smart way of providing information on the Milk Man without spoiling (pun intended) too much in the present time line.
I’m still unsure of how I feel about the ending. I keep fluctuating between loving it because I understand the metaphorical nature of the themes and also wanting a bit more of a pay off.
I’m leaning more towards the latter, wishing that certain moments hadn’t ended so quickly and we had more time to ruminate. There were also a few plot points that felt ….too convenient, but overall being content with the book.
List of Content Warnings: Death of a parent/grief, animal death (on page - cow and lizards; off page, referenced but not described - cat; off page, referenced and somewhat described - unspecified animals), mentions of self-harm/suicide, drinking and drug use, infidelity, discussions of toxic intimate relationships, detailed body horror/gore, violence, death (includes child death)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Vomit, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, and War
bellebookcorner's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you’re looking for a horror thriller family drama then this one might be for you!
The plot is fascinating, it’s one of the reasons I keep on reading because I was intrigued by the mystery behind all these murders and also the supernatural element of the ‘Milk Man’.
The characters are flawed and complex, each of them has their own struggle and dark secrets which makes to be a complicated family drama.
I have to admit I admire the FMC’s action after knowing the secret of her own family that has been kept hidden from her all these years.
As much as I enjoy this book, there are parts that felt a little bit dragging. The writing felt repetitive - the same things being repeatedly mentioned. Hence, making the book feels longer than it actually does for me.
Overall, this is quite an enjoyable read that was wrapped up quite nicely – I did like the ending which comes surprising to me.
I’ll keep an eye out for the next book by this author!
Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tour, Netgalley, author and publisher for giving me an e-ARC of the book and for having me on this book tour. I’m leaving this review voluntarily!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child abuse