This was a unique and fascinating mystery! I was told to go into this blindly and not read the synopsis and so glad I didn't. I had to put this down a few times- was freaking me out a little too much-dark and such a gritty novel-unredeemable characters-dark humor-unsettling ending--loved it!

I have since purchased a copy of this book for my own library at home.




I received an arc of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Doubleday Books in exchange for an honest review.

Louise is poor. Lavinia is not. Lavinia takes Louise under her wing. Lavinia is young, lacking in common sense, with a very aggrandized sense of herself. Louise sees an opportunity and takes it. How much would you put up with to live the rich lifestyle? And what would you do to maintain it?

First warning - The characters here are all unlikable. Lavinia, especially, was just so obnoxious, so pretentious, so needy it was hard to see why she was so popular. The supposedly so desirable lifestyle comes off as empty. I came close to putting this book down several times. I really kept with it just to see how things would play out.

Second warning - the blurb says the book is propulsive. But I found parts of it a real slog. And I found the ending extremely unsatisfying.

The book does an interesting job in presenting the digital life in all its fake glory.

Maybe I’m just too old for this. It’s getting a lot of buzz and a lot of good reviews. I am definitely in the minority.

My thanks to netgalley and Doubleday for an advance copy of this book.

I may be in the minority with this review, but the book was not as good as I expected it to be. It sounded promising, but fell completely flat by the third or fourth chapter in. I could not get into the "glamorous lifestyle" and I will unfortunately be shelving this on my "Did Not Finish" shelf.

I was immediately drawn to Social Creature because of the covers, both versions are so beautiful and mysterious. The setup was good, although I was never a big fan of The Talented Mr. Ripley. However, toxic female friendships are always interesting to read about. And I thought there were parts really strong in Social Creature especially seeing how easily Louise can drawn into a lifestyle so different than her own. The social commentary aspect was solid, but I think the characters needed to be somewhat likable. Their personalities were so distasteful that it made me not invested in the outcome. The narrative was engaging though since small hints are given leading to an explosive end.

This book shows the toxic friendship set against a sparkling Manhattan backdrop. The characters were objectively unlikeable, but I enjoyed following the weird, dark circumstances scattered along their journey. The writing was atmospheric and made it easy to keep turning the pages. While different, something felt missing in this story and by the time I finished, I had lost some of the interest I had earlier on.

The first time I saw the movie Black Swan with Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, I was astounded, scared, and even inspired by how far the boundaries of psychological thrillers could be pushed. I needed to find some book equivalent to the way the movie made me feel, how it made me question my own perception of my reality, my own morals, and my even own ambition. When I requested Tara Isabella Burton’s Social Creature from NetGalley to review, I was a little hesitant. Normally well-reviewed thrillers fall short on the psychological twists that keep me hooked to the very last page. But Social Creature didn’t just keep me hooked to the last page: I was deep into this book until the very last word.

Told from the point of view of an omniscient unnamed narrator, we follow twenty-nine year old Louise as she gets swept up in the extravagant social life of twenty-three year old Lavinia. A chance meeting — an unnecessary tutoring session for Lavinia’s younger sister that turns into an all-night babysitting job — sweeps Louise up in the tidal wave of Lavinia’s influence. It’s hard not to: she’s wild, free, beautiful, privileged, and has a seemingly limitless bank account. She is, and has, everything Louise is not, does not have. When someone extends a hand and invites you into the mouth of the rabbit hole it’s hard to say no. Not that Lavinia takes no for an answer. Ever. From Louise’s perspective, people like Lavinia have earned, or somehow deserve, the privilege to be above hearing no. Any door Lavinia wants opened does. Anything she wants, she gets. Louise, on the other hand, is poor, working multiple jobs, living in a city that’s just a constant reminder of everything she’s failed to become. That someone like Lavinia even looks at her makes Louise feel special — and that’s really all Louise needs to feel in order to shift her entire life around Lavinia’s. What neither of them know is that there’s a time limit on just this time together, but life itself.

With Lavinia’s death coming closer and closer with each page, there’s a palpable bass-line of tension woven in through the constant stream of people, parties, bars, speakeasies, private clubs, drinking, drugs, and dancing. The more Louise is pulled into Lavinia’s world, the easier it is to leave everything she has, and everything she was, behind. A The Secret History for the social media age, Social Creature circles closer and closer around the idea that not only is (conventional) beauty is terrifying because of how powerful it can be. What Louise fears is losing being around Lavinia, being part of this life — losing everything. After all, what did she do to deserve someone like Lavinia to take her in? To Louise, Lavinia is unstoppable, untouchable, mythological, invincible. If Louise is the Richard of this The Secret History, Lavinia is a combination of Henry, Charles, and Camilla on a cocaine-fueled mania trip, careening towards the edge of a cliff. And like with Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, Tara Isabella Burton’s Social Creature is a story of love and hate, lust and power, and the blurred lines between not just friendships but identities, too.

The exploration of identity, of those blurred lines between people and relationships, between platonic and romantic love, between love and power of one's own actions, how that love can be weaponized is what makes Social Creature such a compelling read. What I was left with at the end of the book was what the line between fixation and obsession is (if it even exists) and what (if any) actions are understandable (justifiable?) when the object of your fixation suddenly vanishes.

Sadly, this one just didn't work out for me, but I liked enough that I'm definitely willing to pick up the author's next release.

A fun reinvention of the Talented Mr. Ripley. It was fun to read about places I've been, such as Sleep No More, but I did find myself suspending my disbelief a lot. It was enjoyable, and I've thought about it in the time since I've read it, but something about it just wasn't as convincing as I'd hoped.

Social Creature was such a wild ride of a book! There were so many twists and turns that I never saw coming! Definitely a page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat.

The main character of this novel, Louise, is a young woman in Manhattan struggling to make ends meet when she meets frivolous rich Lavinia who takes her under her wing and pulls her into her life and social scene - and as Louise starts to like this life, things get darker and creepier from there. Dark books about (intentionally) unlikable characters are not usually my thing but this one was really atmospheric and page-turning and interestingly written.

Loved the cover, couldn’t stick with the book. I was instantly annoyed by both of these characters, I think I am just too old to understand or relate to them. They were so obnoxious, shallow and self-absorbed. And besides the characters, the writing in this book was pretty terrible. Maybe if you are a young twenty something with not a care in the world, and trying to live your best fake life on social media, then you might like it. Hard pass for me.

**I received a copy of Social Creature from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

SOCIAL CREATURES is one of those books that will seduce you into reading it. It will pull you in with the prose and the author's ability to weave together a compelling story. I lost myself in these pages as I delved further into the world created in these pages. A solid read.

The title, the cover, the description all should have been indicators that this would not be something I'd like, but I guess that's why you shouldn't judge things too hastily.
This book was shocking, crass and dark and really good.

Two young women meet randomly in NYC. One is rich, a self-absorbed party girl, the other is poor, struggling to make ends meet and adrift. They meet when the poor girl, Louise, is tutoring the rich girl, Lavinia's sister Cordelia.

Lavinia if frenetic and intense and when Louise is absorbed in to Lavinia's orbit her whole life changes
and not for the better. Lavinia can't be alone and her mania rubs off on Louise as the story takes on darker and darker overtones.

This book starts like it is going to be a fun romp and then it turns dark and edgy. I love a book that makes you want to stay up late into the night flipping pages.

Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton was a really fun read! I couldn't put this one down! Loved the suspense and this would make a great beach read.

I debated putting this book down and walking away from it multiple times. It felt like a shallow look into New York's rich, drug loving high society and how easily a struggling writer could be pulled into it's depth. Sadly, nothing about this book made me care about Louise's struggles or Lavinia's carefree life.

This novel tells the story of a struggling young woman in New York who gets befriended by a socialite and then decides to take over her life. This trope has been done many times before (and better). I was willing to give it a shot because I thought it could be done in a fresh way with a social media lens. However, a lot of it was predictable, and the writing style just felt really stilted and stale. The worst part is that I hated every single character - which meant I didn't care what happened to any of them. Won't be recommending this one.

This book is certainly written in a unique style, very stream-of-consciousness with lots of social media references. I enjoyed it although this isn't a style I would want to read all the time. Lots of damaged, self-centered characters in this one, and if was fun seeing how they all self-destructed in their own ways. An interesting read, although I suspect people much over their mid-thirties might find the style pretty annoying.

Somewhat of a guilt pleasure. But a twisty and mysterious story. Loved the links with media and technology.

I read a few chapters but just could not get into this book or the characters. I can't make it through and will not review it on Goodreads or anywhere. Sorry. Guess it was just not for me.