PositiveNerd DailyWhile the mystery is a bit predictable, the characters are well developed and the story is intriguing enough to make up for it and keep the readers fully immersed. The premise is original and its execution is equally impressive. Jeng’s strength resides in her ability to create compelling characters that react very realistically in the contexts they are put, no matter how outlandish these are. The only weakness is that the ending is quite abrupt and ties up too nicely and too quickly all the loose ends. The readers might be left with the impression that the first half of the book is too slow while the other half is fascinating, but put on high-speed ... The Other Me combines the intricacies of an identity crisis with exciting discussions on technology, ethics, and the future of it all, succeeding in opening readers’ minds to new possibilities and horizons.
Taylor Jenkins Reid
PositiveThe Nerd DailyWith this book, Taylor Jenkins Reid delivers a multifaceted perspective on family, love, fame and what it takes to start over ... One of the downfalls of the story was that it promised so much with this party, yet the delivery fell short for me. It delved a lot in the shallow side of Hollywood with an emphasis on the excessive drinking, the sex scandals, the drugs and the violence, which almost made me lose track of what was important. It almost made the book lose its substance.Malibu Rising is a fast-paced story that explores what it takes to be a parent, with all its intricacies. At its core, it is about how you can love someone with all your heart and still mess up horribly. What matters, in the end, is that you commit to loving them, you show up each time and you try to do better.
Lisa Taddeo
MixedThe Nerd DailyThe plot didn’t seem to go anywhere for more than half of the book even though there are numerous shocking and violent events ... The book promises an explosive woman who is ready to take back everything that has been stolen from her, right every wrong, and not let another man get away with using and abusing her ever again. But the execution fell short especially because of the drawn-out mystery around Joan’s past, but also because her rage never seems quite palpable. It seems very dormant even when she exerts this revenge in a scene that is definitely the highpoint of the book. The book’s strengths are the representation of abuse and the discussion regarding how normalised it tends to be in our society along with the masterful craft of complicated female characters ... this is by no means superior to Taddeo’s Three Women where she tackled similar themes and did it much more naturally than here. In Animal, the approach feels way clumsier and more inauthentic ... an intriguing, at times bizarre, story about female rage, violence, and revenge. While it failed to hit the mark, for me at least, the writing was really beautiful and haunting which definitely attest to Taddeo’s talent and potential.
