What a story! Insatiable really is a page-turner with so many cultural references. Violet is a dissatisfied Millennial woman who is at a dead-end in her job, estranged from her friends, and has just canceled her wedding. She meets a charismatic & posh couple who invite her into their lives and from that point on it becomes really really steamy (but also quite funny!?). I really appreciated her character development throughout the book and there were some unexpected turns towards the end. I’d say this is a great debut novel.

Oh my. What a book! I raced through this, relishing Daisy Buchanan's writing on every page. She has such a skill for making you invest in some truly messy characters, who experience a vast range of emotions, from deep sadness and loneliness, to curiosity and joy and back again. She's done such a wondrous job as well in writing about female sexuality and desire, in great detail, that rarely gets done so well and effectively, but it never feels out of place, so interwoven is sex into her story. And the story itself is unexpected too, it lets you ride this wave of emotion, knowing that it's going to throw things your way that you couldn't predict, but it's such a satisfying read. It's truly funny as well, some brilliantly comedic scenes play out, and there are delicious pop culture references peppered throughout, not least references to Shirley Conran's Lace, which in part inspired some of the writing. Loved loved, loved it.

This follows the story of Violet, a lost girl in her mid-twenties, pursuing a career she thinks she wants, in a job she hates, with a complicated relationship history and an estranged best friend. When she meets Lottie, Violet thinks Lottie is the solution to all of her problems - a new job on the horizon, a potential new friend and an exciting new social life. However, Lottie arguably makes her lose herself even more. Violet becomes entwined with all aspects of Lottie and her husband Simon's lives, including romantically and sexually and whilst she believes this is what she wants, she becomes more and more troubled as the story progresses.

Daisy is a brilliant writer, and creates a flawed protagonist that you're perhaps supposed to be unsure whether you are backing - I often found myself frustrated by her decisions and shortsightedness. There is a lot of explicit sex in the book, but Daisy also explores themes of monogamy, manipulation and relationships in interesting ways. I'm giving it a 4 rather than a 5 as I found that sometimes the plot suffered in favour of steamy sex scenes, and the ending fell short for me based on the way I felt that Violet was growing and developing as a character. However, I'd definitely read more from Daisy.

This wild ride of a novel by beloved book person and podcaster Daisy Buchanan is about love, lust, friendship, and figuring out your place in the world. It is also laugh-out-loud funny and so intricately observed on topics such as breakups, bingeing, and banging your head against the corporate ladder that I felt Daisy, and by extension her narrator Violet, had taken up residence in my mid-twenties head. You’ll hear a lot about how absolutely down & dirty filthy sexy LURID it is too (there is more than one memorable orgy scene...) but its greatest strength is its charm and purity of spirit. I loved INSATIABLE and I hope you will too.

Violet is a young professional working in London, who is dissatisfied with her job, when she meets Lottie and Simon, who offer her a job at their new start-up, which is still in the early stages of creation. Completely transfixed by Lottie and Simon, Violet finds herself immersed in a world of secrets and sex parties, that leaves her one moment content, and one moment confused.

I’d like to say that Violet needs to learn to be sated, but I don’t think this is what the message of the book is : being insatiable is what makes us strive for something better, and never settle for mediocrity. But, in Lottie and Simon’s case, being Insatiable also means being extremely cruel and keep trying to fill a void they simply won’t be able to fill with sex parties and glamorous holidays.

I quite liked this novel, even if towards the end it made me feel incredibly sad: the pain Violet feels is incredibly detailed and vivid it’s painful to read.

I don’t think this is a book for everyone, but if you were a fan of Boy Parts by Eliza Clark, you will definitely love this novel too! 🧡

I raced through this book in under 3 days - the pacing was really good. My reason for giving it 3 stars is that I just didn't connect with the narrator, and couldn't relate with some of her decisions in the book.
Overall, great writing and interesting character development.

TW: Eating disorders, sexual abuse

After reading Daisy Buchanan’s How To Be A Grown Up, I was excited to read her new book Insatiable, and I didn’t really know what to expect...

I felt that the protagonist, Violet, made some very questionable choices throughout the book in order to find her place in the world, and I think that made her very relatable (everyone makes questionable choices in their lives, believing they’re the right ones). She ends up tangled in a messy (and very filthy) “relationship” and lost without her best friend in her life.

This is a funny, very explicitly sexual book, that I enjoyed reading as something a little bit different from my typical genre.

Stuck in a dead-end job, broken-hearted broke and estranged from her best friend; Violet's life is nothing like she thought it would be. She wants more - better friends, better sex, a better job - and she wants it now. So, when Lottie - who looks like the woman Violet wants to be when she grows up - offers Violet the chance to join her exciting start-up, she bites. Only it soon becomes clear that Lottie and her husband Simon are not only inviting Violet into their company, they are also inviting her into their lives.

This book is laugh out loud funny, I had moments where I could not stop smiling at the book and what I was reading out - think reading 50 shades of grey in public! This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This is absolutely not my kind of book. I only read it because I love the author's podcast, and I'm glad I did.

It's quite a stock concept in some ways: disillusioned millennial falls in with slightly older, glamorous and wildly inappropriate crowd, and shenanigans ensue. The narrative voice, however, is highly enjoyable - funny but not unrealistically so, self-deprecating and sometimes self-hating, just the right side of self-aware, judgemental to just the right degree of irritatingness. The amount of brand name dropping is off the scale, but perhaps that would be less irritating if I'd heard of literally any of the brands mentioned.

I am also delightedly surprised to find that somebody can write graphic, explicit sex scenes without them being toe-curlingly embarrassing. This is a much harder feat to pull off than you would imagine
(see the <a href="https://literaryreview.co.uk/bad-sex-in-fiction-award">Bad Sex in Fiction award</a>).

If I have one mild criticism it's that the ending is a cliche. No spoilers, but if in the middle of the book you took a guess at what would happen at the end, you'd almost certainly be right. That's not necessarily bad - originality isn't always best! - but it's a slight disappointment from such a fun and bold book.

My thanks to Little, Brown and NetGalley for the ARC.

Not what I expected in all the right ways. Filthy, honest and surprisingly relatable considering I've never been to an orgy in my life, Insatiable has that hunger that so many young women have felt about wanting and deserving more. I tore through it in a day, I really loved it. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was such a refreshing read! I have been in a bit of a slump lately and this has really helped me get out of it. Insatiable had me laughing and I quickly got sucked into the steamy situations Violet found herself in. I read it all within a day, which says a lot considering it has been taking me about week to read anything this month.

There is masturbation and a threesome all within the first few chapters, so this is definitely a sexy read. I absolutely adored Violet. She always makes questionable decisions throughout this book, but she was real and relatable. She is a feminist but has not so feminist sexual desires. I love how self-aware she was and how she went about exploring her sex life. Lottie, who she meets in the first chapter at an art show, and her husband are the ones who lure her in with the guise of a job offer. Violet instantly starts fantasizing about her life working with them. She is soon thrown into a sex party and gets caught up in the world and dynamics of the group.

The writing was brilliant. It had us in Violet’s head and what a delicious mess that was. She really desires to have her life together and you couldn’t help but root for her the whole time. She comes across self destructive, but really I admire her for putting herself first at the worst times where it would be hard for others to do. There are definitely moments where it gets quite dark, so please check the warnings if you are sensitive to some subject matters.

I am happy to say I was very satisfied with the ending. A love story for greedy girls sums this up perfectly. I feel fans of Melissa Broder would eat this up!

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK – Sphere and Netgalley for the arc! This title was released February 11, 2021.

Insatiable follows Violet, a naive, vulnerable 26 year old who is lost in terms of her career, friendships and relationships. Violet meets Lottie and is instantly obsessed with her and seduced by Lottie's life, her husband, her £2.8 million London townhouse and luxurious lifestyle. She's even further seduced by the sex parties, group holidays, the newness of the 'relationship' and once in a lifetime job offer.

There were things I did like about this book, but also things I didn't. I found the ending too convenient and Violet was a really annoying character. I found Violet to be very 'woe is me' and wanted to give her a good shaking, her decisions were not sensible and she seemed to be in pure self destruct mode throughout the book. It seems the main appeal of this book is that it is described as being 'sexually woke' and 'revolutionary' which it's not really, yes there is a lot of sex, which is graphic. But this isn't the first book of its kind. The sex also all comes from a toxic and manipulative relationship...

I think Insatiable portrayed a variety of toxic and manipulative relationships well and the naivety and vulnerability you feel when you are in those, especially when you don't realise it.

I've seen this described a few times as a light read, which it's certainly not. It's quite a heavy read involving rape, sexual assault, manipulative relationships, grief and bulimia.

Violet, Violet, Violet, what have you got yourself into, was what I found myself saying on more than one occasion whilst reading this book.
Violet is a 20 something, who is not fulfilled at work and has little confidence in herself, so when she is approached by older woman Lottie at a party she is very quick to attached herself to this attractive and highly confident woman. As Violet is drawn into their world we watch and read as things spiral out of control.
This book was FILTHY in capitals, and at first I found this refreshing, a character that spoke her mind and explained in detail her everything move, but as the story progressed it felt more and more seedy, not romantic and lovely, it wasn't the acts so much as the environment Violet was in.
I think I needed this book in my late teens/early 20s, not for the explicit sex scenes, but for the underlying message of learning to love yourself and to feel confident in yourself and to not to be drawn into situations that feel wrong, but you do them anyway.
An interesting read that made me stop to think of more than one occasion and I will certainly be watching for what else this author produces.

"Insatiable" is a wild ride of a book that does not shy away from exploring sex and the ways we use it to hide pain or to free ourselves. Well-written and well-paced, with intriguing characters and conflict.

This book is getting so much love and all the right reasons, it’s is so different and so out of this world that it is what we all need right now! You won’t regret it!

nsatiable story follows the slightly tragic Violet, she's stuck in a dead end job, heart broken and broke, though her sexual fantasies help her pass the time. She soon meets Lottie, enter an exciting job offer and even more exciting Friday nights. She's soon seduced by Lottie's whole way of life, private clubs, lush townhouses, expensive candles and the casual yet organised sex parties.

This was a very different book to what I normally choose but I enjoyed how accurately contemporary life is portrayed and how refreshingly honest she is about the state of 21st century dating. It didn’t blow me away but I think many will get a huge amount of enjoyment from this book. It made me cackle with laughter and I think that is something we all need as lockdown here in the Uk continues.

It's a filthy, fun look at the need to be loved whilst also being tender and hopeful. Great contemporary novel, perfect as a little respite from lockdown. Erotic, funny and distracting.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK & Sphere for the ARC.

Perhaps I'm about 10 years too old for this book because while it's certainly a page-turner, I expected more substance than I got.

Violet is another of those lost millenials (think 'The New Me' and similar) frustrated with her low-pay job, her charity-shop wardrobe and her grotty bedsit in a flatshare with strangers. She's friendless and has recently called off her marriage to a man she didn't love and is drifting aimlessly... until she gets seduced by an older couple and drawn into their sex-party group.

I found Violet unconvincingly naive for a 26 year old - the ever-receding job offer that finally just drops out of the story, the neediness as she wants to be mothered, coddled and rescued from her own life; just the idea of a 26 year old going on holiday with a group of 40-50 year olds takes some believing. Even the ending is just a variation, somewhat out of the blue, of an old-fashioned rescue where Violet never really has to grow up or take responsibility.

The much vaunted sex is pretty clinical and all those descriptions of mechanical body parts with no passion just became boring to the point that I started skimming them. Will Violet keep up her orgy life-style now that she's found true love? If not, it feels a bit sensationalist rather than genuinely exploring alternative sex lives. Big issues of eating disorders, grief, assault almost appear as tick-box items - they make their appearance then are forgotten about.

The narrative voice is that generic one that appears in chick-lit-style books: self-deprecating, dropping designer names, full of cute little victimising anecdotes of how the narrator is wearing drap, holey, smelly clothes... yet, somehow, this doesn't stop everyone desiring her.

Yet there are interesting things going on as well and I'd like to have seen this redrafted to have placed more emphasis on the toxic inequalities in Violet's relationships, and some kind of resolution to her aimlessness in life and job, rather than love coming along as her rescuer. And there are some funny lines that made me grin: 'the only vaguely artistic thing about Alan is that he looks like what would happen if Gilbert ate George' - ha!

Wow, erm, okay, what did I just read?! 😱 So I went into this book not really knowing anything about it or what to expect, aside from the fact that it seemed like it may be a little bit... "raunchy"? Well... it certainly was that! *exhales sharply*
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Insatiable is a book that's very quick off the mark and gets into the main storyline within the first two chapters. YES! (No faffing about here, thanks v. much). Then we have sex scenes from chapter three onwards?! Alright then!
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I'm not even sure what else to say about this book without ruining it, aside from the fact that I loved every page and you all need to go out and read it right now!
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Due to the graphic sex content I don't think it'll be everyone's cup of tea, but I'd definitely recommend to fans of: Conversations With Friends, Amazing Disgrace and My Dark Vanessa. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks for letting me review this book! There was loads that I loved about it. The dark humour and the steamy sex for one. I thought Violet was a really relatable character (and became increasingly so throughout the novel) and I loved how she stumbled headlong into situations; you're on the edge of the seat thinking...please don't, please don't...and of course, she does, which is very human! I also thought it was really well-plotted; the sexual dynamics between the characters added a lot of intrigue

What didn't gel with me as much is the dwelling on surface details; outfits, social media etc. It at times felt a little superficial. This is of course very subjective though!

This was such a brilliant, relatable and contemporary novel in every sense of the world. Violet wants more from life yet her imposter syndrome seems to halt her in her tracks for what she deserves but won’t allow herself to reach for.

The book is filthy and the sex scenes are vivid and real and sexy. Violet as a character is funny and dry and real, I enjoyed reading her and felt that her decisions were realistic.

I loved the ending ♥️