Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

An unflinching, compact first novel(la) from Nash, who clearly has a talent of covering uncomfortable subjects with ease (including graphic sex scenes, self-harm and BDSM among others). Definitely a literary "one to watch"

Really enjoyed this book. So well written and carefully put together. Sexy, beautiful, searing. A gem of a novel.

I really didn’t enjoy this book. In fact; it was a DNF for me unfortunately. However, I do think that others would enjoy this book. The writing style just wasn’t for me.

I was provided with a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My description of Animals Eat Each Other by Elle Nash, in three words is complex, impressive and incomparable.

Book synopsis:
A young woman with no name embarks on a fraught three-way relationship with Matt, a tattoo artist, and his girlfriend Frances, a new mum. She begins to recognise the dark undertow of obsession and jealousy that her presence has created between Matt and Frances, and finds herself balancing on a knife’s edge between pain and pleasure, the promise of the future and the crushing isolation of the present. With stripped-down prose and unflinching clarity, Nash examines madness in the wreckage of love, and the loss of self that accompanies it.

My musings:
I wish I could say that I absolutely adored this book and that it was one of my best reads of the year but sadly, in spite of the very unusual and enticing synopsis, I just can't. Nevertheless, I found it a remarkable début, though it did contain some depressive elements. Essentially a coming-of-age story, it's extremely well-written, the prose is poetic, it's gritty, and it's easy to spot the self-destructive tendencies of youth in the lead character, but I had very little connection with her. She had no strong opinions,and clearly had some problems made worse by a lack of support from anyone in her life. She was swept into situations, like sex with her boss or the awkward ménage à trois with Matt and Frances.

Although gripping and edgy, Animals Eat Each Other was an uncomfortable read in places, as I wondered what Lilith was willing to do to keep Frances and Matt's attention. With its dysfunctional and damaged characters and feelings of obsession and desire, this was a fascinating read. Elle Nash certainly has talent, and this is a very confident début.

Verdict:
Recommended for those looking for a more unusual, slightly disturbing read.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from 404 Ink via NetGalley at my request, and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

A girl with no name enters into an erotic relationship with Matt & his girlfriend Leanne what ensures is a fraught game between passion and pain. I tried so hard to find the good in this book I really didn't enjoy the writing style. It was jarring, which I'm sure is the effect the author was going for. But it meant I didn't connect with the characters at all. On the plus side it was a short book so it didn't take me long to get through it.

I wasn’t a big fan of this one. It felt like the characters were too undeveloped for the raw emotion the author was trying to put out there and the effect fell flat.

Disappointing! Very dull for such a short book, with one-dimensional characters and a shallow writing style. Not for me!

Animals Eat Each Other is a rather bleak tale of a young girl in small town America at the bottom of the social ladder and her life of sex , drugs and self-destructive behaviour. She,we never learn her name, leads a hedonistic but empty life and gets involved with a young couple who are as screwed up and unbalanced as her.
The book is gripping and edgy but not for everyone,some of it is raw and will make the more sensitive cringe.
Very well written and engaging the book is full of dysfunctional and often damaged characters ,people who have already given up on life at an early age and pass the time in a haze of narcotics and sex with whoever is
Elle Nash is a real talent and this is a very confident debut,it is however dark and some might find depressing.

Thanks to Elle Nash,404Ink and Netgalley for the review copy

I read this book back in February and I'm still struggling to process my feelings on it.

I honestly can't decide if I love it, or hate it.

Let's start with the positives. It's extremely well-written, the prose is beautifully poetic, even at its grittiest moments, and it's easy to recognise the self-destructive traits of youth in the lead character. However, I found it difficult to connect with her. It's not just that she's often unlikable, I've read and loved my share of wayward, badly-behaved and often deeply unpleasant characters and still managed to find a bond with them. Whether it's a positive or negative bond is another story! But, this nameless girl, was just so difficult to like or dislike. She was just, there. She never really expressed any strong feelings or views, and was instead swept up into situations, like sex with her manager or the awkward (and very realistic) ménage à trois with Matt and Frances.

The self-loathing and destructive behaviour of the lead character wan't resolved with a happy Hollywood ending, which I liked. But I would have enjoyed some sort of redemption or self-realisation from her to add more dimension to her character.

In conclusion, I still don't know how I feel. I think perhaps I'll draw more from a second read. Perhaps there's parts I'm missing, and I certainly enjoyed the writing enough to give it a try.

The "Hillbilly Elegy" meats Ottessa Moshfegh.

"Animals Eat Each Other" is told from the perspective of a coming of age young woman who engages in a relationship with a heterosexual couple and becomes entangled in their emotional lives. Actually, the book is less about emotions and more about the unstable (and somewhat scary) lives of the lower class Americans, which painted much better, if somewhat raw, picture of hillbillies than the "Hillbilly Elegy". Beware, this book is difficult and frightening, like a "playful" knife to one's throat.

The psychological precision of writing reminded me of fine writing of Ottessa Moshfegh, and I say it as a compliment.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing the book for free in exchange for a fair review.

I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC and the publisher 404 ink for sending me a physical proof in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw the synopsis for this I was definitely intrigued, I wouldn’t say it is my usual type of book to reach for, but had this been a movie then it would definitely be something I would look into.

I can’t say there was any character development at all, but there was a very edgy gritty feel to the characters, and Nash wrote about the addiction and obsession so well you almost felt like you were there living that life with them.

There was also a level of despair that was so apparent, “Lilith” is by no means a likeable character but she is clearly a girl who has problems and doesn’t have a support network around her, the only people she has actually enable her lifestyle and make it easier to lie to them, so there were times that I actually felt for her, it would be easy to assume that Frances and Matt were drawn to her because she seemed like she would be “easy to break” after all we don’t really know what made them want to pursue a “relationship” in the first place.

I am torn in regards to the ending, on one hand it felt like an open ending and like it wasn’t really finished, but there was definitely an ending between Lilith and Frances & Matt that felt very final.

If you like chick lit with a little angst then this is not for you, this is raw and it cuts deep to the bone.
To say this is less than 200 pages long I was hooked instantly and like Lilith I wanted more

A brilliant coming of age tale, of a mysterious young woman starting a relationship with a couple which inevitably ends in hurt feelings, frustrations, great sex, lust and distrust. So well written, I found myself liking the narrator and understanding her flaws and how obsession, love and desire can play with our own sanity.

Animals Eat Each Other is a short novel about an unnamed young woman who starts a relationship with a couple: Matt, who is a tattoo artist and his girlfriend Frances who is the mother of his child.

Things start to get complicated when the young woman falls for Matt and the feelings of obsession and desire are heightened. She also begins to question who's calling the shots in the relationship and how manipulating the rules in place are. It's a dark coming of age story about lust, self-destruction and trying to mould yourself to fit other people's expectations which I think my younger self could definitely relate to. Animals Eat Each Other is a very intense and wonderfully written debut. I absolutely devoured it in one sitting.

Thank you to @netgalley @4in4ink and @saderotica for letting me read this book pre-release for review 🥰
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A mysterious young female with no official name embarks on an erotic relationship with a couple. Twists and turns mean that she gets caught up with many people around her, but it all comes crashing down.
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I really liked this book, and would rate it 3.5/5 stars. I liked the main character (despite feeling like I shouldn’t), and how the reader really got a feel for her thoughts and feelings. I read it in less than 24 hours, and I just really enjoyed the varied use of language (anyone else find that erotic scenes sometimes just repeat themselves)? The only reason I didn’t rate it 5⭐️ is because I feel like her Mum could have been more prominent in the story. And also the ending was abrupt! Does she get a reply? Would she even know?! I have questions!!
But overall, a good book and I would recommend!

'Animals Eat Each Other,' is short, sharp and brutal. I'm not entirely sure I can say that I like it, but I certainly know that I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

It's a tale of obsession and the terrible choices we make when we're teenagers and think we know it all. The thing which struck me with this book is how young everyone featured in it is, despite them all acting (and wanting to be) so much older. They all feel trapped in the shitty town they live in, the shitty decisions they make, the shitty booze they drink and the shitty drugs they take just to get through the day. In such a pressure cooker environment, it's understandable that the narrator becomes fixated on one man who she thinks can save her and who will eventually prove to be her undoing. People get off on consuming each other, until there's nothing left but the bones.

Elle Nash's use of language and Biblical references can sometimes feel a little overdone, although I did laugh at the fact that the male love interest was a Marilyn Manson loving Satanist - he felt like such a perfect reflection of so many men I met around the year this is set in (which I believe is 2005?) I finished this book with such empathy for 'Lillith'. I really wanted to know what happened to her and how she slowly recovered from this traumatic time in her life. I'd also have loved to get a greater insight into Matt and Frankie - who they were, why they were living their life like this.

People will inevitably call this sexy, but I find it about as sexy as a chokehold. What it is is just deeply melancholy and - like the Colorado landscape Elle Nash describes - oddly beautiful.

In all honesty, I didn’t really understand this book. There seemed to be no real point or direction to the story, and what story there was, was very weak. It centred around one character and her sexual proclivities which were almost a form of self harm, with virtually no story in amongst her self abusing thoughts and actions. To be honest I didn’t really enjoy this book at all.

Previously never heard of Elle Nash before, but I'd most certainly seek out one of her one works based of the quality of her writing on display in this short novel. Animals Eat Each Other is a smorgasbord of self-destruction and human egotism with deeply flawed characters throughout its pages. This not a title for someone looking for a light, flyaway story. Animals is raw, unrelentingly bleak, and makes for an uncomfortable read.

While admittedly, not something I'd normally go for, and perhaps I would have appreciated the main character's journey of self-discovery more in my student years, I can't deny how well written it is.

With thanks to Netgalley and 404 Ink for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Will repost on Goodreads.

This book raises a lot of questions which it does not answer at the end. It may appeal to other readers but I found it to be a difficult read and ultimately did not enjoy it.

Edgy, raw, erotic. Sparse writing but packs a punch on how messy life can be and how people lose themselves in the search for the comfort of others.