What a wild ride this was! I really enjoyed Animal Instant. The writing style got a while to get used to. The only thing I have to complain about it is the pandemic setting. I usually don't read books with anything about that part of life, but muttered through for this one. Looking forward to reading more by this author!

Animal Instinct follows newly divorced Rachel as she navigates her newly single life during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the glow of sexual freedom, Rachel creates an AI chat bot as a companion, using her messages from various dating app conquests to make the perfect lover.

For a book about social isolation and the pandemic, this had a lot of characters in it. I felt like this book was let down by having a huge range of characters. I wish that there had been more to Rachel's relationships with the important people in her life, especially her sister, her children, and her friend Lulu. I kept being told that Rachel had these strong bonds, but nothing in the narrative actually proved that to me. Additionally, her relationship with Josh felt totally one dimensional, and I was missing some nuance there.

The thing that sets this book apart from all of the other books about complicated women having a lot of sex is the AI element. I also think this element of the book was not as fleshed out as I'd have hoped. Frankie was not really in the book until pretty far in, and I never found their relationship to be that believable. I also felt like the ending was pretty rushed.

Here are some words and phrases that come to mind after reading this novel: brilliant, emotionally astute, wise, humorous at just the right places, psychologically relevant, intelligent, wise, sexy, sensuous, courageous, and powerful. The author leads us into Rachel’s life and we follow willingly because she is so relatable, so real, so recently wounded from a boring, hurtful marriage. The pandemic becomes another character in this story about one woman’s journey to discovering what she wants and needs…and more than that… her journey to realizing that those needs and desires are important.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was a neat tale of self exploration and experience, and the weird and wonderful journey of being a woman who's both free, and chained down. I have a hard time with pandemic books, but this hit the aimlessness well, that weird floating feeling. Overall, fun!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to relive the pandemic through the eyes of our main character Rachel. She had a lot more fun than I did…

Rachel is in the process of getting divorced, from Josh her college boyfriend, who used to be funny, a feminist lover and all-around great guy. Somehow after kids, and life, Josh becomes the opposite, and Rachel decides she is better off alone. Her life in her Brooklyn apartment with so many friends in the same boat fuels her rage. Being in her declining marriage has left her wanting, and the thing she wants the most is sex. It is a tough call during the pandemic, but Rachel figures out a way to satisfy her itch.

The story really goes in to all the effort Rachel puts into her friends, her many sexual encounters, and keeping her children grounded during the lockdown. She practices a safe distance from her parents and sister but finds many ways to meet with her various sex partners. Does she grow from this experience? Is she a better ex-wife, mother? Does it improve her ability to create apps and bots? (she is an ace programmer).

Rachel does seem to find some peace at the end of the book, as she final hooks up with someone who feeds her soul. I certainly don’t want to ruin the book for other readers, and I am not discussing the fun ways that each of the sexual encounters are written.

The book is breezy, fun and an easy read. I see the author’s own life in this book and I can only imagine she had fun writing it. I hope she did all the research.

Rating: 4/5

Being a woman is hard. Add in a (not so great) husband and three (actually really great) kids, life gets difficult.

Rachel is a forty-something year old living in Brooklyn, figuring her life out in the middle of a divorce and a global pandemic. This novel highlights quiet feminine rage, believing in your own self worth, and the simple power of being a woman. Rachel is specifically relatable in the way you can connect to her loneliness and desires. She is witty and matter-of-fact about just how hard life can be. Her journey of self-discovery, being okay with the unknown, and figuring yourself out later in life is heartwarming and touching.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC!**

This story is a wild ride. I couldn't put it down. It's relatable, sexy, funny, hopeful, confusing, all at the same time. Raw emotions jump off the pages. Shearn is super talented at writing a memorable book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.