Deliberately uncomfortable and acutely sensory, Polly Hall spins a perfect modern gothic horror story in 'The Taxidermist's Lover.'

It's a rare thing these days, to read a true horror novel— with all the trappings of dreadful inevitably, and not one that bleeds into the realm of thriller/suspense with shocking twists— and Hall doubles down on the classic gothic tone by allowing the narrator's mental state and introspection to take centre stage in the downward spiral, not leaning on any kind of excess gore or eldritch mystery. The pure existentialism and unsettling sensuality of the entire tale shines in the best, most slow-build-horrifying way possible.

While 'The Taxidermist's Lover' is neither for the squeamish (which, what else to expect, given the subject matter) nor for readers put off by adjective use edging on purple prose, those who can stomach the macabre aspects and appreciate the precise attention to sensory detail as part of the eerie tone will leave Hall's debut repulsed and utterly satisfied in equal measure. Truly deserving of its status as a Bram Stoker Awards finalist.

I loved the dark, gothic tone of this book and I thought the author was very good at setting a consistent mood. I also enjoyed the description of all of the hybrid taxidermized animals and the names that they were given. While I felt that the middle was a bit slow, by the time I got to the end, I understood what was being built there and it was totally important and worth the read. I did not see the ending coming and very much enjoyed the brand of horror in this book.

However, I did not love the perspective the book was told from. It was a really interesting stylistic choice to have the book, about their life together, be narrated if first person by Scarlet to her lover (so that she was frequently saying "you did _______"). Maybe it would have been less disconcerting in print format, but as audio it was really weird being told that I ("you" in the book) was an old man taxidermist (and apparently a great lover).

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and quickly realized that I would prefer the hardcopy version. There were lines in the book that I would have loved to highlight and go back over later. The author is obviously a lover of words. She writes with a very poetic and descriptive tone.

The main character is very idealistic and romanticizes her relationship with her older lover. She naively sees the negative but chooses to turn the darkness into positives. Even as her lover's taxidermy takes a twisted turn.

The story goes back and forth from the beginnings of the relationship to Christmas. Tiptoeing us through the haze of her idealistic mind and the dark ending to come.

I would recommend this book to lovers of dark poetic tragedy. Especially someone who loves the written word and the art of stringing the most beautiful words together.

Thank you NetGalley, CamCat Books, and Polly Hall for allowing me to listen and review this audiobook

Neither the narrator nor the story was very impressive. As I found it challenging to understand the point and direction of the storyline, I didn't finish this book. I was super excited to listen to this book but unfortunately, it just didn't work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I've always known I don't like gothic/scary movies...this is the second 'gothic-esque" book I read and I discovered it's not my thing. The book was interesting and the narrator great, but it's not a book I would be recommending any time soon. Sorry!

The narrator and the story really were disappointing. I couldn’t finish, and found it difficult to grasp what the actually point and direction of the storyline was.

I tried really hard, but after several attempts I just couldn't get into this story and had to call it quits. I think it was just a little too weird for me.

2/5 ⭐️
I honestly couldn’t get into the story. I didn’t really like the narrator. The story was kinda weird, and I wasn’t a fan of the writing, it didn’t grab my attention. If you like odd books, definitely read this.

The debut novel The Taxidermist’s Lover by Polly Hall took much longer for me to read/listen to then expected. The first seven words in the prologue captured my attention and I was ready for a thrilling ride. Sadly, I restarted this story five times getting a little further each time. By the sixth time I thought there is no way I am going to finish this book.

This is a dark, gothic romance is slow paced set in the rural wetlands in South West England. Scarlet meets and marries Henry who is a taxidermist. She becomes engrossed in his work due to her fascination with dead animals. Scarlett is the narrator and she speaks to us, the reader as if speaking to her husband. It is written in two different timelines, past and present which at times made it difficult for me to follow. You know that something is not quite right from the start, but you wonder if it is just your imagination playing tricks on you. The further I got into the story, the more disturbing it became. It contains disturbing imagery and language. It reminded me of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells.

Everyone has secrets, but their secrets were unlike anything I anticipated. I restarted chapter twenty-two over ten times, even going back to chapter nineteen because I thought, surely, I missed something, are my ears now playing tricks on me? I could not have predicted this twisted, perverted and bizarre ending. This was total insanity. It is NEVER a good idea to mix species. The best part of the book for me was the last six chapters.

After reading this book, now I understand why it was nominated for the 2020 Bram Stoker Award. This book is not for everyone especially if you do not like the idea of stuffing dead animals and keeping them in your home or want a fast paced read. I recommend this book if you like dark, gothic, sensual, romantic stories.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and CamCat Publishing for gifting me an audio of this story. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm definitely on board with the kind of horror tone of this book, but the voice "I did this, you did this" really got on my nerves. I wish this had been third person omniscient or even just straightforward first person. I found the storytelling tone to someone who I assume knows the story very distracting and purposeless.

I quit. This book was just gross and disturbing. Within a couple chapters I was literally nauseated more than once. I read Alex Six & Verity. I enjoyed both even though they were gross and disturbing. This book? Nope. I'm done.

NetGalley and the publisher, CamCat Books, provided me with a review copy.

The Taxidermist's Lover is a gothic, disturbing narrative told from wife to husband, detailing their marriage. The book jumps back and forth between Christmas day and the year leading up to it.

Scarlett and Henry don't have a lot in common. They're not the same age, they don't share a lot of hobbies, but Scarlett is absolutely enamored by Henry. Henry seems to be into two things; Scarlett and taxidermy. He's a taxidermist by trade, and with some prodding from Scarlett, gets into mythological and hybrid taxidermy. Swans and dogs, the like.

As we go along in time, Scarlett really starts to hit the gothic beats. I don't want to go into much more of this because the ending is phenomenal, but this book is a fantastic example of gothic horror.

The characters are great. They're terrible people in a lot of ways, sure, but they're fantastic characters. They're engaging and really drive things along. The pacing is spot-on, and with a gothic novel, that means we start at a slower-to-average pace and pick up gradually as time goes on until we just go over the deep end. The plot, well, it's a gothic horror novel. The plot is basically just getting to the end.

Honestly, this is one of the better reads I've had in 2022 so far. This is a star example of gothic horror.

The cover is beautiful, but when it clicked and tied in with the story it made the book even better. It was like that moment when the name of the book finally makes sense, but with the cover art. I really enjoyed the way the author built Scarlett’s obsessive personality, and Henry sort of taking advantage of that, while also being obsessive himself. The way the narrator told the story: doing voices to distinguish characters, speaking very clearly and consistently the whole time, and her enthusiasm really brought the story to life and made it even more intriguing. This definitely had gothic vibes, and I think a lot of authors can struggle doing that genre well, but the author had the right balance between being moody, dark, and dramatic, but not being overly so. This was an insane book in the best way possible, and I loved it. I really enjoyed this audiobook, and I don’t usually listen to fiction on audiobook.

*a copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The second-person singular really jarred me at first and I found it hard to find a flow. Keeping up with the narration felt a little bit like a chore. I realize that sounds like I didn't enjoy this book, but that's not true, I did! I loved the gothic feel that this book brought with it, despite how this book felt exhausting to listen to at points. I found the ending to be really shocking and gruesome which is exactly what you want in a gothic horror!

Polly Hall’s "The Taxidermist’s Lover" is unlike anything I’ve listened to before. Scarlett meets Henry on the beach one day, and their love affair begins, both between them and between Scarlett and Henry’s taxidermy. They move in together, and the book follows about a year of their relationship, jumping between Christmas day in the present and the previous months of the year. As time goes on, the narrator slowly reveals exactly how their relationship has ended, and it’s not what the reader expects.

To be honest, if I’d picked up the novel, I probably would not have finished it. I’m not terribly fond of second-person narration, but it worked really well as an audiobook. The second-person perspective is what makes or breaks this story, and for the audiobook it suits. Listening to the narrator, Justine Eyre, really brought this novel into itself, and I was completely invested in following it through to the end. Her voice matched that of the narrator. I have to admit I sort of binged it. I was reminded a little of the TV series based on the movie Psycho, Bates Motel, because of the taxidermy and mental health issues in this story. That connection drew me in. I love taxidermy (though I’m not allowed to have any in the house). The narration feels like an extended love letter to Henry, which makes it quite intimate.

I am really looking forward to getting others to read this work because I want to talk about it with them! Because of the reliability of the narrator, it is hard to tell how much is real and how much is in her mind, and I want to explore that with other readers. I hope many, many people put The Taxidermist’s Lover on their TBR or “to be listened” lists.

This story is definitely disturbing! Here we follow our main character, Scarlett, who has a sordid family history. When she meets the love of her life, who is significantly older, she gets more than she bargained for. She convinces him to create these hybrid taxidermy, which begin to haunt her.

This story had a great “gothic” element, but don’t expect any haunted house elements to the story. All of the fear comes directly from the slow burn tension created through the main characters thoughts and dialogue. That being said, there isn’t really a plot. The main character goes on inner monologues for pages and pages and jumps around in time without much notice. I do wish this book went a bit further with the plot itself.

I enjoyed this a lot, but note that this is more geared towards people who liked “The Harpy” or Ottesa Moshfegh, and less for lovers of horror/gothic novels. The writing was impressive and had me spiraling along with our MC.

ARC audiobook provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“The Taxidermist's Lover” is a gothic tale that takes place in the rural moorlands of England where Scarlett, the book’s narrator, lives with her husband, Henry. The book is told from the perspective of Scarlett speaking or writing to Henry, telling him their story. Henry is a taxidermist, and Scarlett is passionate about both Henry and his taxidermy work. Scarlett tells the tale of how she pushed Henry into the world of artistic taxidermy that blends multiple animals together as a form of art, placing Henry in competition with Felix, who is supposed to be the best taxidermist in the world. As the book progresses and the depth of Scarlett’s obsession is revealed, questions are raised as to what is real, what is not, and what, exactly, will happen to Scarlett.

This book’s atmosphere was painted heavily as a gothic tale to the point I kept forgetting it actually takes place in modern times. The only reminder I had that it did was a reference to a cell phone or the internet. The book is set up as a solid gothic tale that gains momentum as it heads to a twist of an ending. The perspective of the narrator telling Henry their story was original, and as the book progressed, the reliability of the narrator was called into question. This book had a lot of promise.

That being said, I was under-enthused by the final product. Although the story was building toward an unknown ending, it was a slow burn that was, frankly, a bit too slow. I kept losing interest. There were interesting moments throughout, but overall, it was a bit boring to me. Prior to reading, I had seen other reviews with similar comments, but many indicated that the twisted ending was worth it. When the big reveal finally happened, I must say that I didn’t see it coming. However, I unfortunately don’t feel as though the whole of the book was worth it just to reach the ending.

My copy of this book was an audiobook, and I have to say I really liked the narrator. The voice was perfect for spinning a gothic tale, and she did well with the voices in the story.

Overall, this book held a lot of promise, but in the end, it just missed the mark for me. I give the author points for creativity and an interesting take on gothic horror, but the slow pacing, repetition, and drawn-out situations made the book fall flat. The ending was not what I expected, but due to the aforementioned, it just wasn’t enough to really raise my review. Fans of gothic horror may find this book interesting, but I think this would be best for an adult reader with ample patience to wade through the slower parts. I did enjoy the writer’s style and creativity, and I would still be interested in seeing what she does in the future.

Darkly romantic, lushly lyrical, and sparing the reader none of the gory details. Lots of sex, death, and dead animals. If that sounds appealing to you, you’ll probably like it. If not, I’m going to go ahead and say it’s probably not your cup of tea.

Do you like patchouli but not in a hippie way, but because it goes best with Bauhaus and red wine? I would describe this as unapologetically goth-y in a mostly cool way.

I’m not going to repeat the plot points of other reviews, especially because in this case; the title really says all you need to know.

I listened to the audio edition: the narrator’s versatile but plummy accent was a delectable accompaniment to the poetic prose.

Thank you to #netgalley, the author #PollyHall , and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5
-Characters: 3/5
-Cover: 1.5/5
-Story: 3/5
-Writing: 2.5/5
Genre: Horror/Gothic
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: For my taste? No, but for others? Maybe.
TW: Miscarriage

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to listen to this book. I want to start off with the same thing I have told a numerous amount of publishers and authors. Have a better chapter system for the audiobook please.

With that out of the way this whole book screamed gothic. If you like Frankenstein and the like you will adore this. I don't care for how it was told but I do see how it did well for the setting of the story. Another thing that got me was I always kept thinking it was in the 1800s or such, but there had been small things to bring me back like cell phones. Lol.

It was cringe to listen to her love a man basically twice her age. Like, love who you want to love but I just couldn't get into her mindset. With that the book was good but it was a dull black instead of a vibrant, if you get what I am saying. Other than that the ending was spooktacular.

Scarlett and her twin brother Rhett lost everything as children, when their parents were killed in a fire. Now a lonely adult, Scarlett finds herself trying to deal with her brother's self-destructive nature and finding nothing to hold onto when he goes away. When she meets Henry, a taxidermist, she falls madly in love with him. As they find themselves more and more entwined, Scarlett finds herself fascinated by the bizarre creatures Henry makes and the secrets this older man keeps from her. As Scarlett tells listeners the story of her relationship, we start to discover that not everything is as innocent as it seems.

If you're a fan of Crimson Peake and Damien Hirsch's art, throw a punch of horror into that and prepare for a bizarre story of The Taxidermist's Lover. It will leave you thinking about the ending long after you've finished reading or listening.  The audiobook is narrated by Justine Eyre. Her lulling British accent ensnares your listening, not letting go until the extremely visceral ending.