McDaniel has such a way of bringing up the most traumatic situations and still being able to tell a story beautifully. I’ve been waiting for something new since Betty comes out and cannot wait for the next.

This book tells the story of 2 sisters dealing with trauma, grief and bad memories in a small Ohio town. This book was very dark but tells an important, interesting story. It's not a typical book I would read, and while I didn't always enjoy this book, it was very well done.

🏞Book Review:
Title: On The Savage Side
Author: Tiffany McDaniel
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/4 stars

"When a woman disappears, how is she remembered?
By her beautiful smile? Her pretty face? The drugs in
her system? Or by the johns who all have dope breath
and graceless desires?"

This book was tough to read. It's loosely based on the true crime case from Chillicothe, Ohio. The Chillicothe Six is the unsolved murders of six women. It is so tragic that the women in this book were all found floating in the river.

This story revolves around twin sisters, Arcade "Arc" and Daffodil "Daffy" Doggs. They have been born and raised by their grandmother, Mamaw Milkweed, Aunt Clover and mother Adelyn. Their aunt and mother are so far into their drug addiction that they have turned a blind eye to the twins and the choices in life they themselves are starting to make. Living in these conditions these two young girls are exposed to prostitution, theft, sexual assault, physical/emotional/mental abuse, drugs, alcohol and much more.

They follow in the footsteps of their mother and aunt, after years of fighting the curiosity. They along with multiple female friends start to notice women going missing and then later being found dead in the river. They can longer deny that someone is targeting them and they soon are picked off one by one. What a nightmare.

I'm so very thankful that I've been blessed to never have been in of these situations that these young ladies were exposed to. Truly heartbreaking and so extremely disturbing.

Thank you, @netgalley and @knopfdoubleday, for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Published February 14th, 2023

In Chillicothe, Ohio, forgotten women are turning up dead. The river knows their stories, but few others, if any, bother to listen.

On the Savage Side is gut-wrenching, visceral and offers no reprieve. While the protagonist creates beautiful fables in order to make life tolerable, there is otherwise very little beauty to be found in these lives lived. Dreams are crushed, innocence stolen, bones broken. The bleakness and brutality of their circumstance is relentless.

This was a tough one and at times I really struggled (pro tip, don’t read it at night when you can’t sleep… You won’t sleep), but holy f*ck did this book make me FEEL - sadness, anxiety, fury and inevitably despair when I understood that light seldom shines in the shadows of this small Ohio town. Just as with Betty, On the Savage Side is a must-read if you are able to handle its topics.

I am broken. On The Savage Side is written so beautifully. The content is so hard but I just didn't want to stop reading. I loved it. I hate it. It's the best book I've read in such a long time. If this doesn't cause the biggest book hangover I don't know what will.

Thanks to the publisher for granting me access to an eArc via NetGalley.

Dreamlike and poetic, gutwrenching read. The author opens our minds to the ways in which sex workers and addicts are reduced to objects, and deemed disposable by painting deeply emotional portraits of lives of these women, characterizing them in ways that make the losses hit harder. Infused with lyric and magic, I found myself scribbling quotes madly as I read. Should you mistake this for a mystery you may be disappointed, but if you open your heart and mind to an emotional journey, you may be deeply rewarded.

On The Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel was a heavy drama. I went into it blind just based on the high ratings on GoodReads and the cover, which is always a gamble. I thought it would be something of a thriller. It was not. It was basically a fictional homage to a non-fiction series of murders and disappearances that happened in the author's home state. The author broke down in graphic detail how twin daughters of two addicts, the father having already died prior to the events of the book, seemed almost destined to also fall into the same path their parents took. The story took some mind bendy turns throughout that were made possible by the main characters being twins and on serious drugs. The men were universally evil in the story. Every man shown either molested, beat, tortured, or at minimum referred to women as subhuman. Every female main and supporting character was addicted to drugs and a prostitute. It was a lot. It was depressing. I also didn't see the point the author might have been trying to make. Is her assertion that children born to addicts have no options? That point would have been better illustrated if the book ever showed them with any desire to rise above their circumstances. So the strongest aspect of On The Savage Side was its realistic, gritty portrayal of addiction and poverty. Other books have done that as well. I just didn't enjoy this book even though the author did a great job of getting inside the main characters minds. I appreciate the author's efforts, though.

Dark, haunting, suspense with quite a twist in the end . The characters were realistic,honest and raw about the life they led.

This story, influenced by the Chillicothe Six, gripped me from the very beginning. You read about Daffy and Arc, who deal with an abusive, drug-addicted mom. The story follows the twins through their life, and readers even gain insight into their own demons and addictions. You definitely should beware of the trigger warnings and be in the mood for this type of book. It is memorable for many reasons!

Raw and poignant, On the Savage Side is the type of book that grabs you in a chokehold and refuses to let go, even after you’ve turned the final page. I fell in love with Tiffany McDaniel’s writing back when I first read The Summer that Melted Everything, and she continues to amaze me with each release she publishes. If you’re looking for a book that will consume you in every way possible, and you can tolerate the heaviness of what it means to be a woman, please give this one a go.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow!

Mind blown!

Speechless!

This was unputdownable!

Simply brilliant writing.

This novel is dark and gritty. It takes us to a world of addiction, prostitution, child abuse, sexual assault, rape, murder, violence, poverty, and it’s very dark and ugly cycle.

Inspired by a true story of 6 women who were murdered by a serial killer in Chillicothe, Ohio in 2015.

It follows the lives of twins, Arc and Daffy, who grow up in the shadow of their parents’ addiction and try to survive against all odds.

As is the case of intergenerational trauma, the twins’ story follows the same cycle as their parents.

The twins make friends with girls in similar and dire circumstances. They crown themselves the Chillicothe Queens.

Every male character is sinister and frightening, making the reader suspect that each man is the serial killer.

It’s a powerful depiction of depraved and gendered violence.

It is compelling and at times challenging to read.

It made me feel really uncomfortable, awkward and squirm for women who are born into places this savage.

Such vivid imagery, may haunt your dreams.

A-mazing.

Highly recommend!

Be warned - this is not for the faint-hearted!

Trigger warnings galore.

This book is bound to win some awards this year.

Thank you to Tiffany McDaniel and NetGalley for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ooof, this one got me good! I needed a few days to gather my thoughts and realised, this book will stay with me for a very long time. It’s a story of survival, addiction, poverty, child abuse, violence - of forgotten women and children - of so much more …

“When a woman disappears, how is she remembered? By her beautiful smile? Her pretty face? The drugs in her system? Or by the johns who all have dope breath and graceless desires?”

Inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, this hypnotic novel tells the story of two sisters in rural Ohio facing a legacy of guilt, addiction and devastating family secrets.

Set in Chillicothe, Ohio the novel follows identical twins Arcade Doggs “Arc” and Daffodil “Daffy”. Living in extreme poverty with their drug addicted mother Adelyn and her sister Aunt Clover, both sex workers. Their one constant is each other and grandmother Mamaw Milkweed. Mamaw encourages their imagination with word plays, games and stories transporting them out of their desolate, violent life.

This harrowing storyline travels between the twins childhood to the present day, woven together seamlessly. At twenty years old the twins have succumbed to their generational ghosts, heroin addicts and working in the sex industry, when their closest friends begin turning up dead in the river.

The River has her own voice, told through lyrical vignettes. Police reports written through short stanzas - “Occupation: Rides among the stars. Gender: A reflection of herself. Probable cause of death: Letting the devil know her name.”

McDaniels poetic prose is transcendent. Be prepared to be blown away and have your heart shattered.

Many thanks to the wonderful team @hachetteaus and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy #gifted

ive heard a lot about this author;s books but this was the first one i read and god it was so bleak and so hard to read at bits and it made me full on sob at the end but the writing was beautiful and i couldnt stop thinking about it

This was my first book by Tiffany McDaniel, her writing style is unique and was hard for me to get into. The chapters alternated with past and present following two girls, Arc and Daffy as they battled the many sad, oppressive and dangerous cycles they were born into. My heart broke for these little girls who wanted to be loved and cared for and everything they had to see and endure at such a young age. I have heard many great things about this book, even with the difficult subject matter and how heartbreaking it is, but I wasn't "excited" to pick the book up and found myself easily distracted when I was reading. At the 30% mark, I decided to put the book down. I may try and pick it back up at a later date, but I might not. This might not be an author or book for me and my review should not sway anyone who enjoys McDaniel's writing or is intrigued by On The Savage Side from picking it up.
.
.
Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review.


4.5 stars!


Wow....I'm an emotional wreck right now and have just finished it. This is hard to read if you find certain subject matters disturbing and thus too hard or triggering to read.

The writing is STUNNING. I can't even comprehend much right now other than I think I have found an author I would love to read more of.


Wow.

DNF this one.. It wasn't what I expected and not really my type of book. I hate to have to put stars for a book I didn't finish, but I'll give it 2-3 for others. Thank you for the ARC!

"The first sin was believing we would never die. The second sin was believing we were alive in the first place. When a woman disappears, how is she remembered? By her beautiful smile? Her pretty face? The drugs in her system? Or by the johns who all have dope breath and graceless desires?"

Every now and then, a book comes along that just knocks the wind right out of you. The writing stuns you, the plot captivates you, and the characters bury themselves so deeply in your mind that they haunt you weeks after you have finished reading. This was my experience reading Tiffany McDaniel's latest, On the Savage Side. The story was inspired by the unsolved murders of The Chillicothe Six, but I assure you, this is unlike any murder mystery you have ever read. McDaniels gives a powerful and devastating account of two twin sisters growing up in a small town gripped by poverty and addiction.

Nature plays a large role throughout the book, and I loved how the river is a character throughout the story, tenderly bearing witness to the lives of the twins and their friends as they grow into young women and try to find their way out. This is a very difficult read - the scenes of abuse are incredibly graphic (this includes physical abuse, child abuse, and drug abuse), so please be mindful of this going in. This will not be a book for everyone, but I have not been able to stop thinking about Daffodil and Arcade since I turned the last page. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Knopf for providing an arc. This book easily captures a spot on my best stories of 2023 list.

“My mama used to say that in life there is a savage side. But she also said you could turn the savage side beautiful.”
The story focuses on two sisters, twins Arcade and Daffodil, who are born one minute apart with fiery red hair that matches their personalities, and they are inseparable. They have grown up with their mother and Aunt Clover, both in which are heroin addicts as well as prostitutes. We follow the twins into adulthood and their own addiction and sexual behavior starts and that’s when the first body of one of their friends is found in the river. Arcade is forced to try keep everyone safe (and sober) so no one else goes missing.
Inspired by the unsolved murders of the "Chillicothe Six", McDaniel crafts a brutal yet tender story. This book is so heavy. It took me over a week to read because I would have to stop and put it down to protect my own mental health. I highly reccomend reading through trigger warnings prior to reading.
McDaniel reveals a humanity in these victims - sex workers, addicts - that is often overlooked, and for that I deeply appreciate this book. However, I cannot stress enough how relentlessly depressing the story is.
Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Tiffany McDaniel, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

If you’re looking for a light, feel-good book, this one is not it.
This story of broken, dead women being discovered floating in the river of a small, depressed town in Ohio pretty much never lets up. The author writes from the vantage point of the drug-addicted women who work as prostitutes to feed their addiction, and who dream of a life far removed from the one they have.
The book is as dark and sad as the lives of its characters, and has about as much hope for a happy ending.
While dismal, it was certainly engrossing.
One thing that kind of bugged, though, was how so many of the characters spoke in beautiful poetic detail. Maybe one or two people, perhaps, can just come up with such imagery, but a whole slew of junkies? I wasn’t buying it.
Thanks to #netgalley and #knopfpublishing for this #arc of #onthesavageside in exchange for an honest review.

This is a horrible story written beautifully. This is as far from an uplift story as you can get. It is the story of twin girls born to parents addicted to heroin. Their father dies at the very beginning of the book and they are left living in a house with their mother and Aunt Clover. Neither of which is sober enough to properly care for children. Their one saving grace at that point is their grandmother that makes sure they have basic necessities, but even that is taken away from them too soon. They have very vivid imaginations to help them escape the reality of their existence.

The story follows them into adulthood when heroin has cast its all-consuming web over them also. Then, their friends start disappearing only to be found later dead in the river. The story is written from Arc's perspective as she tries to figure out what is happening while also a slave to her own addiction. There were moments in this book so disturbing that it almost made me sick to my stomach.

The prose of this story is gorgeous. It is obvious that Tiffany McDaniel is as much a poet as a novelist. It did take a little bit to get used to in the beginning. It sometimes feels like the characters are speaking in rhymes. Once I got used to it, I no longer worried about trying to figure out the meaning of every phrase. There was a note from the publisher that stated this book is meant to be read twice. I can completely see why as I probably absorbed less than half of everything McDaniels was trying to convey. I am not quite ready to dive back into the world of Chillicothe, Ohio, but I would actually like to re-read this book again at some point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy.