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cosmith2015's review
I DNF'd this a little over half way through, when the viewpoint was first from the lion cub. This book is wonderfully written. I couldn't finish it though. I am a master's student in biology focusing on restoration/conservation. While poaching and wildlife trading aren't my areas, I'm well aware of them. Reading from the viewpoints of the humans was rough but bearable. But when it became from the viewpoint of the animals... Well it was just too much for me.
actuallyahorsereads's review
5.0
Oh I am such a sucker for overly descriptive stories especially when they involve wild animals and tales from places I live.
ashleysue75's review
4.0
3 1/2 stars rounded up. I enjoyed the storyline as I’m a sucker for anything involving wild animals, and the characters (flawed and wounded but deeply empathetic towards animals) drew me in. It sometimes seemed a little heavy handed, though, especially the scenes when characters would imagine prehistoric times as if that’s something it would be common for a group of individuals to do. I found myself very compelled to continue reading and this author is one I would definitely look to again. I don’t think it’s a novel for everyone, but it (mostly) worked well for me.
bella_and_the_bookstack's review
3.0
3.4 stars out of 5
Firstly, I want to say that this is not a typical read of mine. I won it through a Goodreads giveaway when I randomly entered for it. I did not expect to win.
HOWEVER, this book has very much surprised me! I won it about a year ago, and it has taken me this long to read it. I dnf'ed it for a bit, but I am glad that I made the decision to pick it up again. The beginning was a bit slow for me, as again this is not my typical read. Yet as the story began to unfold, it really drew me in.
Pride of Eden is quite an emotional book. It deals with the unfortunate reality of animal cruelty. Some moments throughout the book were a bit gruesome and very emotionally challenging. It portrays instances of animal neglect, abuse, and brutality. Yet, as we follow the journey of Anse, Malaya, and Lope, the story provides a light in the darkness. They bring hope that sometimes these animals can be saved, and the "bad guys" can get what they deserve.
I honestly really enjoyed it. I could only give 3.4 stars though, as I felt the ending was extremely anticlimatic. The build up to the ending was spectacular, and then it kind of just ended? I don't know if I simply was longing for more to the book or what, but I do wish there was more.
Solid book that I would recommend
Firstly, I want to say that this is not a typical read of mine. I won it through a Goodreads giveaway when I randomly entered for it. I did not expect to win.
HOWEVER, this book has very much surprised me! I won it about a year ago, and it has taken me this long to read it. I dnf'ed it for a bit, but I am glad that I made the decision to pick it up again. The beginning was a bit slow for me, as again this is not my typical read. Yet as the story began to unfold, it really drew me in.
Pride of Eden is quite an emotional book. It deals with the unfortunate reality of animal cruelty. Some moments throughout the book were a bit gruesome and very emotionally challenging. It portrays instances of animal neglect, abuse, and brutality. Yet, as we follow the journey of Anse, Malaya, and Lope, the story provides a light in the darkness. They bring hope that sometimes these animals can be saved, and the "bad guys" can get what they deserve.
I honestly really enjoyed it. I could only give 3.4 stars though, as I felt the ending was extremely anticlimatic. The build up to the ending was spectacular, and then it kind of just ended? I don't know if I simply was longing for more to the book or what, but I do wish there was more.
Solid book that I would recommend
itsmarkyall's review
5.0
There are some writers who are so damn talented at what they do it’ll make you a little bit jealous. PRIDE OF EDEN proves why Taylor Brown is one of those writers. This book is one of the most gorgeous and imaginative works I’ve read in a good long while.
mommasaystoread's review
4.0
This book quite literally wore me out. It's that emotionally draining as Taylor Brown took me into a world of animal cruelty and poachers with details that are not for the faint of heart. I'm not usually squeamish, but this one got to me so much that I had to set it down more than once for something lighthearted. Don't misunderstand me. I didn't lay it aside because it was a chore to get through, and I always had the intention of picking it back up, and I did. Taylor Brown is quite the gifted storyteller, and he certainly knows his stuff when it comes to drawing a reader in. So, it wasn't that the story wasn't good, it was just the heart-wrenching nature of it all. When I think about the people I might recommend this book to, I have to say the list is rather short, but it's completely due to the graphic nature of what is done to the animals. But there is also beauty here with the people who go to great lengths to save them. So, I'll say this - if you're squeamish or can't read about animal abuse of any kind even in fiction, then I'd skip this one, but I would recommend reading other books by this author because he surely knows his stuff.
mommingandreading's review
4.0
Happy Pub Day to Pride of Eden, a new novel by Taylor J. Brown, out today from St. Martin’s Press! I was honored to receive an ARC of this novel through a Goodreads giveaway, and this was an excellent read.
This book follows Anse, a Vietnam veteran who runs an animal sanctuary called Little Eden on the Georgia coast. His specialty is exotic animals — lions, elephants, giraffes, and more — that have been rescued from collapsed circuses & abandoned roadside attractions. Anse is assisted at the sanctuary by Tyler, his veterinarian girlfriend; Lope, a falconer; and Malaya, who used to hunt down big game poachers in Africa. The way that Anse gets his animals isn’t always on the up-and-up, and this gets him into some trouble along the way.
This was a brutally beautiful read. Brown weaves together vignettes about the characters and their background, as well as about the animals that are apart of the sanctuary. This author is a phenomenal writer, one that takes you into the wilderness and makes like you’re being stalked by a wild lion. It was intense but almost poetic in tone.
This has been described as a ‘fever dream of a novel,’ and I absolutely agree. There was so much cruelty against animals & humanity, juxtaposed with the beautiful descriptions of the animals and wilderness. It’s not an easy read if you’re an animal lover; there are multiple scenes of violence against animals. I thought this was a 4/5 star read for me and I’m interested to hear what you think too!
This book follows Anse, a Vietnam veteran who runs an animal sanctuary called Little Eden on the Georgia coast. His specialty is exotic animals — lions, elephants, giraffes, and more — that have been rescued from collapsed circuses & abandoned roadside attractions. Anse is assisted at the sanctuary by Tyler, his veterinarian girlfriend; Lope, a falconer; and Malaya, who used to hunt down big game poachers in Africa. The way that Anse gets his animals isn’t always on the up-and-up, and this gets him into some trouble along the way.
This was a brutally beautiful read. Brown weaves together vignettes about the characters and their background, as well as about the animals that are apart of the sanctuary. This author is a phenomenal writer, one that takes you into the wilderness and makes like you’re being stalked by a wild lion. It was intense but almost poetic in tone.
This has been described as a ‘fever dream of a novel,’ and I absolutely agree. There was so much cruelty against animals & humanity, juxtaposed with the beautiful descriptions of the animals and wilderness. It’s not an easy read if you’re an animal lover; there are multiple scenes of violence against animals. I thought this was a 4/5 star read for me and I’m interested to hear what you think too!
joshniesse's review
4.0
Pride of Eden is rich, dark, and atmospheric. It is a southern novel whose nature loving outlaws are reminiscent of those in Edward Abbey’s classic environmentalist adventure tales of the southwest. Brown’s skill and sophistications seems to grow by leaps and bounds with each new novel. This Southern novelist’s career is just taking off and I am here for it!
lilyaronovitz's review
2.0
When I started this book, the first couple chapters drew me in, with exciting characters and unique settings. But now, having finished the novel, I could barely tell you what happened in it. The writing seemed to be moving a mile a minute, because I found that when I would skim paragraphs, I would realize a couple pages later that I had absolutely no clue what was going on. It required my full attention to follow the somewhat chaotic storyline (which I didn't give, hence probably why I couldn't tell you what happened in this book). But I also felt like almost nothing happened. Roughly 75% was exposition or build up to the eventual "heist", and there were so many different storylines/perspectives that the author was trying to weave into the main storyline of Anse wanting to find a new tiger. In my opinion, these all detracted from the main storyline, only making the book more confusing. Overall, I just felt like so much of this novel was trying to move too fast– which worked against the story because given the uniqueness of the setting, this was a topic I don't know much about, and definitely could've used with a little more explanation or description in some areas–while the plot felt like it was going nowhere for most of the story. And all of these personal opinions could have been skewed from me early on in the story just deciding that this book isn't for me and proceeding to skim the rest and confuse myself, but maybe not