Peep Show by Isabella Starling ARC review

Peep Show by Isabella Starling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


3.75/5 rating for Peep Show by Isabella Starling, the first novel I’ve read by this author.

Bebe Hall is a tall, built, rich, party girl who is looking for ways to forget the loss of her friend 6 months ago. She is set on a path of self destruction while really just looking for someone to love her unconditionally, screwed up and all.

Miles Reilly is a self-described freak, he hasn’t left his apartment in about a year and can’t deal with the outside world. He is tall, muscular and covered in ink, he is intimidating and knows it, and it is his defense against the world.

This novel is basically about 2 virtual strangers, who “meet” looking out the windows of their respected apartments, a basic peep show beginning. They quickly realize they have more in common than they originally thought and set out on a new adventure helping one another with their “issues”. Can they help each other with their demons and start something new, fresh, and exciting. I will say the ending is not at all what I expected and was honestly refreshing in light of the darkness of the novel.

Though this novel wasn’t one I normally go for, it was dark, depressing, manic, drug filled, party girl, sex wildly, often and rough. There were also a couple aspects that upset me both in the graphic descriptions but also in knowing that it was possible someone somewhere was having these same urges. It seemingly was, according the author’s acknowledgements, a loosely storied look into her own head at some ways we mentally exist on a daily basis. I won’t pretend to understand the grip of mental illness, panic attacks, drug scenes or body harming. I will say thank you to the author for putting it out there, as uncomfortable as it may make us, to see the world isn’t all sunshine and roses. Thought this novel fell a little flat for me, I can say I would probably give another go to this author to see what stories she could weave again. I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of the novel all opinions are my own.





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