This book sounded darkly funny, and it was, some of the time. However, the rest of the time it felt oddly dark and hopeful at the same time. Hester gets a terminal diagnosis and decides that, at 40, she is going to choose to fulfill her dream of revenge instead of getting treatment to prolong her life.
Despite her prickly nature, Hester was surprisingly sympathetic to me. She has to drive to her father's home, so she can bring her gun, and ends up bringing along someone she meets on the road. I guess what I really liked was how unexpected this whole adventure was.I thought I would feel one way but with a whole different perspective. Those are the best kinds of stories for me, and I'll be thinking about Hester for a while.
The narrator did a great job with the audiobook, and I thought she brought out her personality.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this.

I love a messy protagonist! It was quite an adventure following Hester, as well as John as they drove across the US. I would have loved to hear more about John and his environmental activist activities. However, exploring Hester's narrative was plenty between seeing old faces, dealing with her emotions, her sickness, and her mission to kill her dad.

This book started off decently strong then just got very boring and weird for me. Almost DNF but luckily I was listening at work and let it play.

This was a great book! I've been waiting for it and this was a great audio book I really enjoyed it and think the prose were well written and the characters really came out and showed their multiple layers and complexity.

Sooooo.... this is NOT AT ALL what I thought it was going to be.

I don't know why, but something about the book's description made me think it was going to be funny. I got a "with only 2 months to live, bada$$ beeyotch sets out to unalive her lousy dad and shenanigans ensue" vibes from the description.

But this book was NOT funny. It had some mildly humorous bits and lines of dialogue, but it wasn't funny. Instead, it was kind of heartbreaking. It's about loss, anger, loneliness, regret, neglect, abuse, acceptance, mortality, death, anger at death, and more.

It kind of broke my heart, but not in a bad way.

I went into it expecting one thing, but it became something else entirely, and in this instance, I'm okay with that. I actually liked what it was better than what I thought it was going to be, if that makes sense.

In short, it's a book about coming to terms with ones own mortality and realizing that maybe the things we always thought were important aren't that important after all.

A real quality read. I was very pleasantly surprised.

A forty year old lawyer with few friends or family connections due to a slew of emotional and interpersonal issues, finds out she is about to die. Instead of fighting the cancer she decides to drive across the country to exact revenge on her father. The premise is pretty strong and the narrative is fun. With a pretty unlikable protagonist who tries her best to not be redeemed this is not a novel for everyone. I, however, thoroughly enjoyed this book. I giggled constantly, thinking that if I let my own questionable ID out of the box, I would probably do the same type of fuckery.

I read and listened to this novel, and I really enjoyed the narrator. Cia Court’s delivery puts the humor and satire the focus. Allowing the more fantastical and hyperbolic elements to be what the author intended

I actually started to sympathize with what she was doing but I wanted more for her in the end. It felt so raw for her to push everyone away to complete her mission. In some ways it felt relatable but not too familiar.

I loved her journey to California. And I was glad that her and John relationship wasn’t a typical sexual mess. It was more meaningful for her that way. Definitely a good read. I recommend the audiobook. The narrator was perfect, her voice really fit the character, I think she helped find the compassion I had for Hester. The story was easy for follow.

I felt like this didn't quite know what it wanted to be: dark comedy, quest, modern relationship novel, something else? And, as a result, it didn't quite work as anything.



Review copy provided by publisher.

I really enjoyed this book! Very dark at times, with a little bit of humor thrown in. A LOT going on so really had to pay attention but I hung on because I really wanted to see how things would end up.

(2.5/5, rounded up)
This started out so strong that it backfired. When I'd expect some sort of build up, we'd already plateaued. The tension that <i>is</i> built, <spoiler>then comes crumbling down anyway with that ending. I have never written and will never write a book so you'd think I'd have no room to talk- but unfortunately the task at hand is reviewing this book soo... That ending made me really aggravated, I spent all this time reading...for what? </spoiler> The premise is so strong, ugh.

This especially breaks my heart because narrator Cia Court is possibly my #1 fav. She did a great job as always.

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Ariel Courage, Macmillan Audio and Henry Holt & Company for the ALC in exchange for my honest review! PUB DATE: 4/1/25}

Hester, Hester, Hester. What an incredibly insane character. When Hester is given a terminal cancer diagnosis, she decides to killer her father as her last act alive. She embarks on a cross country road trip where she encounters all types of people. She even looks up former friends or associates on her farewell tour. The woman she evolves into is quite remarkable. The trip is more than the journey. Funny, irreverent and totally unforgettable. A very fresh and enjoyable book.

5 stars

The narrator, Cia Court, was amazing. She was able to deliver Hester and multiple other characters superbly.  The production quality was phenomenal.

I love unhinged heroines on a quest for revenge.
This 40 years old has no one and nothing to loose, after avoiding relationships all her life and being diagnosed with only a few months to live.
I liked the roadtrip format, and it gave a good pacing.
I also liked the dark humour and the great honesty the main character has about herself and her shortcomings. I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator was really great and helped me a lot to get invested in the characters and the story. It really made the story better in my opinion.
It was original and interesting, but but thought it liked something for me for me to get really immersed into the story, even though I'm not sure what.

I find it a bit difficult to properly articulate my feelings on Bad Nature, due in large part, I'm sure, to it's unrelentingly understandably gloomy nature.

After a terminal diagnosis, our lead, Hester, decides she has nothing left to lose and begins a cross country road trip to kill her abusive father. I wish I related less to that sentiment. Along the way she makes acquaintance with a religious eco-pest hitchhiker, they have on going arguments, debates and judgements of each other about their perspectives and lifestyles, and have the occasional low-impact misadventure.

It's all very slow burn, and almost slice of life-esque, but with an opressive and morbid tone you're never quite sure will lift or not. It's an interesting read, but not what i expected.

ARC provided by NetGalley & MacMillan Audio

When receiving a damning cancer diagnosis, I'm sure there are many thoughts that flood through a person's head. Rather than go through despair or worry, forty-year-old Hester prepares for revenge. She makes it her personal mission to kill her estranged father after twenty-five years. Along the way, she meets John, a young environmental activist that needs a ride. Together they travel across the country and have many interesting, revelatory discussions.

I enjoyed the uniqueness of this story and haven't read one quite like this. That being said, it didn't wow me like I hoped it would. I don't mind an "unlikeable" main character, but I didn't find myself particularly engaged in Hester or her journey. The environmentalism, while appreciated, was a bit of an odd addition. The narration threw me off as well, primarily when John or any other male character was voiced. They all ended up sounding a little dopey, which took me away from the story.

Even so, it was a gritty book with some dark humor, and I can see why it's gotten so many positive reviews so far.

What the heck was this book even about? I liked the idea of it and I love a good revenge plot. But it just wasn't there, the whole middle was mediocre and I got bored. I kept having to remind myself I was listening to an audio book and what it was about because it just wasn't following the storyline and was a bit all over the place.

I was expecting a dying woman making self discoveries on a road trip. There was a little of that, but I feel the environmental plot line overshadowed it. There was far too much of that. I was disappointed. And bored through most of the book. Definitely not for me- and maybe part of the problem was my expectations.

Cia Court narrates. I really have nothing to say- I was too busy hoping the book would get better.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.