Thank you to @NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton Audio and Sceptre for my free ALC. I enjoyed this audiobook!

It's about a bi-sexual young woman dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault. She dives into a strange relationship with an older woman who seems to be a little twisted. This was an enjoyable LGBT read and those that enjoy macabre will like this! Very quick read!

Let me begin by saying I loved this book. It is the story of a young women suffering the aftermath of an unspeakable event. She bonds with the ex-partner of the man who committed the crime. They form a close relationship. Meanwhile, the narrators life spirals slowly into a maddening reality in which moldy walls scream, chairs stack themselves, and class divide rears its ugly head.

As a fan of new adult horror, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed "Nightshift" by Kaire Ladner, "A Bit Much" by Sarah Jackson, and "None of This Is Serious" by Catherine Prasifka.

As a note, I want to add that the audiobook narrator is perfect. Honestly perfect. New to audiobooks, I wasn’t sure how I would feel reading with my ears. But the narrator instantly hooked me. I started the audiobook again after I had already finished it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette UK for the ARC.

(3.5 stars)

Our unnamed narrator wakes up covered in bruises after a party. She doesn't remember much, but she remembers a man. She soon meets Helene, another woman he hurt who wants to get vengeance for them both.

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this one. On one hand I loved the exploration of abuse and the struggles that young people face. I enjoyed the blurring between what is real and what isn't (sometimes it wasn't clear which side of the line things fell) and the exploration of the complexity of relationshi0ps and pain and struggles. But at the same time I was hoping for something a little more. Sometimes I wished the author delved into certain scenes or events a little more. While they do all contribute to who our narrator is and why she is how she is, I think some interactions had less of an impact on the story than others and could have had more done with them. I especially wished for more when it came to the ending, which was rushed and a little vague.

If you enjoy audiobooks I would definitely recommend reading this book in audiobook form. The first person perspective really lends itself to that (although the start is in second person. I'm glad it changed - I think I would struggle to read a whole book in that point of view). The narrator also did a phenomenal job. The somewhat deadpan (but not emotionless) tone enhances the experience - it is definitely a common way in which people talk about their trauma.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

dark and twisted unreliable narrators are my perfectly brewed cup of tea, but unfortunately this book fell short and didn’t hit the spot for me!

there is no denying that this isn’t a difficult read, with its dark themes there’s not really any room for enjoyment. that being said I think it highlighted these themes really well, I felt quite uncomfortable at times and I’m not easily triggered.

I don’t think this book lends itself well as an audiobook format, as it was at times quite hard to follow. Especially the supernatural horror? what was that all about honestly!

lastly, the ending I felt was rushed and I would’ve loved more from Helene in those last moments before the epilogue. But overall for such a short book, it really did pack a few punches.

for anyone wanting to read this I would recommend looking up the trigger warnings first.

Wow! What an interesting novel!
I was definitely unsure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised by the narration style and characters! I liked the main character very much and found her to be very relatable.
I was also very intrigued by the development of the plot and the way the main characters was slowly but surely more obsessed with Helene. Their relationship had a lot of interesting facettes that I enjoyed exploring throughout the book.
The ending really surprised me because I had expected an even more shocking and extreme end to the constantly rising tension.
The audio book was very pleasant to listen to and I had a good time!
A short novel that tackles important topics and invites its reader to think for themselves and form their own opinions.

Loved this - super quick to read and very easy to get into. Would 100% recommend to fans of Cleopatra and Frankenstein and My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

A captivating tale of a young woman at the mercy of our patriarchal world, seen in various settings where another has more power, some more overtly than others. It begins with a sexual assault. The details of which are as unclear to us as they are to the protagonist. She can't remember what happened, left only to be haunted by bruises and psychological scars. She's also at the mercy of her job, her colleagues who mock her for being vegetarian and force her to eat animals (both covertly and openly), her flat and landlord, her psyche, and her new friend. All of these hold power over her, often reducing her to a piece of meat or an animal. Sometimes other humans are too. Whilst it can be annoying that the protagonist remains nameless, it is fitting to her story and how she sees herself (and how the world sees her). She's replaceable in a world that doesn’t care. She sees all the ways she is lacking, and I think that's what draws her to Helene - she seems to have it all but was also abused by the same man. A shared connection that becomes more. I think she's desperate to be cared about and for, and will take many a hit for it - kind of like how there's 'no bad publicity', there's no bad attention. Until there is. She's so scared and she should be, because the world is cruel. I enjoyed how the book makes you doubt what's real - is it supernatural, hallucination, or psychological abuse? Was the bedsit actually that bad? Why do so many things keep breaking? It captures all of this wonderfully. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

I'm a sucker for foxes on covers. The cover as a whole is very alluring. The story was also alluring - I could relate to the main character, likely made easier by them being nameless and otherwise characterless besides their key experiences (which I didn't mind, since it lent to her being relatable). However, the ending was very anticlimactic and predictable. If it had been one or the other, I wouldn't have been so disappointed by it. It's the kind of story that saunters rather than drives forward, but I actually liked that (until the end when it flipped).

Weird, wonderful, mesmerising story of SA (so triggers!) and the aftermath and the intoxicating queer relationship that follows the incident and the weirdness that then ensues. So hard to describe but a brilliant mind f***

This book intrigued me the blurb and the cover sealed the deal on me reading it. However I was left feeling a little flat once I read it. The premise of the book was good but I feel like the story needed more development and the ending was rushed. So a 2 star read for me.

This was intriguing and had me hooked right from the beginning. I enjoyed the mounting tension and the gradual increase in horror. The author portrayed the main character with sympathy, and the audiobook narrator added nuance and personality.

A sad and chilling tale on the repercussions of violence and the damage and danger it can cause.
Written beautifully and in detail, this story sets the scene and won’t let you go until the devastating finale.
A compelling, terrifying yet tragic story that is both believable and relatable.
Five Stars.
Exquisitely narrated too.

finding herself bruised and disoriented after a night out, our young protagonist soon realises the violent truth and the events that followed. Haunted by what occurred, a panic attack ensues at a party weeks later, leading to an unlikely encounter with the enigmatic Helene, who knows what has been done to her. However, Helene will not sit idle and decides to align herself with our protagonist in order to seek revenge.

This was a really engaging story. I really liked the pacing and found myself burning through it quite quickly. I like how our protagonist remains quite anonymous as it fits with her narrative of being disregarded at work and socially.

I liked how we saw elements of Helene’s characterisation quite quickly, and how she wasn’t as nice as we initially thought. I think the subtle depiction of abuse was done really well.

The audio itself was really great. The narrator was very engaging and depicted each character with a lot of distinction.

Overall a great book!

This kept me intrigued until the end. It is the story of a young woman living alone in London. She is a waitress struggling to make ends meet and also struggling psychologically. Until she meets the pretty and rich Helene, who is clearly manipulating her and plotting something sinister.

I like it when one single sentence colours the entire book and this is what happens here when Helene makes a certain remark to the main character.

There is tension and an eerie atmosphere that reminded me somewhat of Ottessa Moshfegh, but also Sisters by Daisy Johnson.

Thanks to Netgalley for the audio-ARC - the narrator fit the story perfectly!

This is a creepy and downright strange story that explores themes of trauma of queer romance in the most twisted way. This book will hold you in a lingering feeling of dread throughout; you'll wonder where this story is going. You'll wonder if, perhaps, this story follows an unreliable narrator. This book will confuse you, and you won't know what to think of it as you read it, but it will hold you. It'll hold your attention in the most spine tingling way,

The story follows a young waitress holding heavy baggage and trauma. Living her life in a tiny little bedsit, you truly feel the isolation of this character and grow to love and sympathise with her.

The story takes a turn when she meets a mysterious woman named Helene. Helene is gorgeous (you can feel her aura through Stuckes' beautiful writing) and you can understand why our narrator is so enticed by her. But there's a dark side of Helene which we begin to uncover the very day they meet. There's something not quite right about her; there's a secrecy in the weight of her words. You'll wonder what the deal is with Helene as you learn more and more about here, with every piece of information about her disturbing you more and more, but you won't be able to stop reading. This book fully invests you in their relationship, and though it is twisted and somewhat macabre, you'll be desperate to discover more.

This is a short but disturbing story, and you'll feel a tad numb once it finishes. It'll all end too soon, and it'll take you a while to understand the story you just read. Hours after finishing, you'll put two pieces of the puzzle together; you'll remember something from the early half of the book which appears far more disturbing now in retrospect. This story will linger with you like the sorrow and trauma that lingers with the main character. And that's a good thing; it just proves the power of Stuckes' delicious writing.

The audiobook narrator is perfect for the main character, and her performance of this book really enhances the experience of the story. She really embodies the characters, sprinkling the perfect amount of emotion and energy into each line, but not too much. She allows you to imagine the story yourself, her performance guiding your imagination, allowing you to simply enjoy picturing the scene,

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Sceptre for providing an audiobook and eBook via NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for my copy of this audiobook.

Where to start, it was a short listen of only 6hrs.
I found the book hard at first to get into and when I did it finished !
It was a strange one. Placed in the genre of General Fiction (Adult), LGBTQIAP+, Horror.
It begins with a young woman waking up with scratches and bruises after a party and a gap in her memory. As her memory comes back to her with events she struggles to name- the anger builds. Then she meets the enigmatic Helene, who seems to know what the man did, had suffered at his hands too. A relationship grows between the women and with Helene being fairly wealthy they live together in her place. But Helene is planning revenge, an act of violence deserves one in return.

Now besides the lesbian romance, the revenge plot and rape back story we have a kind of supernatural element to the story strange shadows in her periphery and some strange popping of lights and falling ornaments when our main character feels agitated or thinks of Helene. So if I’m honest at times I had no clue what was going on 🫣 ! Then the main event happens and it comes to a sudden end just as you’ve got yourself in the loop.
I didn’t find it much of a horror, it was not particularly scary or shocking at all. An average read for me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

i enjoyed this but not as much as I wanted to. we follow an unnamed narrator who wakes up with gaps in her memory and covered in bruises. she then meets and falls in love with the enigmatic helene, the perpetrators ex, who is planning her revenge. this book is really good at capturing the upset & anger after something like this happens, but I wanted more of the revenge.

> ARC review: Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the audio advanced copy.

Dead Animals is the story of a woman that wakes up after a night at a party with very few memories and a lot of bruises on her body. We follow her journey as she remembers little by little the abuse she went through at the hands of a man.

She meets the mysterious Helene who suffered something similar through her relationship with the same man our main character met at the party.

Through the entire story, the atmosphere is quite dark as we follow the main character's thoughts. She tries to navigate her life and her new relationship with Helene as they both deal with anger from the violence the man brought upon them. Helene clearly seeks revenge, while the main character is pledged by nightmares and fear.

As this book is written in the first person, the narrator in the audiobook does a fantastic job at making the main character feel alive. Which also made it hard to pause as I wanted to know the development of this story very badly.

Initially drawn in by the captivating cover, a delightful mix of pink and green, I'm confident this book will rank among my top reads of 2024. The depiction of trauma, inner turmoil, and grief after experiencing a sexual assault is masterfully written, allowing me to truly feel the main character's pain. Without hesitation, I'll be purchasing this book as soon as it's available.


It's giving Eileen vibes. The Moshfegh girlies will connect with this book.

Incredibly well written and narrated.

A part of me feels sad knowing how many people will relate to this... how collective this experience is. I know so many of us will feel the same level of tension, the dread sinking in our stomaches, the cold seeping into our veins, our bodies seizing up. But therein lies the sheer beauty and intelligence of this story. One that is often so hard to capture in words, yet Stuckes has managed to do so in the most haunting way.

Honestly, the only criticism I have is that it isn't long enough because I so thoroughly enjoyed the writing style, imagery, and the ability of both the author and narrator to invoke such visceral emotions.

I will definitely be looking out for more of Stuckes work in the future