Emotive is a tale of life, love, compassion, and the pursuit of happiness as told through the eyes of the story’s narrator, Linus. Linus is a puppy living in a small city located in the rolling hillsides of upstate New York. When the abnormalities of his owner Sam are all he knows since birth, he gains a perspective of unyielding acceptance and love towards the man who feeds him, takes him to the park, and murders women in his basement.

 

Thanks to Ikigai Publishing for the ARC of Emotive!

 

 

 

My Thoughts:

 

I absolutely love that synopsis- particularly the last line. It was what convinced me to give this book a try, when my last attempt at reading a dog’s viewpoint turned into a DNF before even the second chapter. Luckily, Emotive paid off. Emotive is a unique and interesting story about a dog’s struggle for survival and a life worth living.

What I found most remarkable about Emotive was the tone of it. Plenty dark at times, somehow Emotive managed to take the optimistic and naive personality of a dog and bring it to life. I found myself loving Linus, who was the perfect characterization of a loyal and unconditionally loving companion. It’s so interesting to see the dark acts of a deranged murderer from the viewpoint of a retriever mix.

One of my favorite things about Emotive was the ending. There are some books that are tied together so well, it leaves you with a breath of relief, and Emotive was one of those books. It was tense up until the very end, and the resolution was tied together so intricately in the eyes of the narrator that it left me with a feeling of relaxed contentedness, even though this was certainly not a feel-good book.

Love this GIF because it’s legitimately how I felt about the ending

Overall, Emotive was compelling, intelligent, and – towards the end – heartwarming. It’s a story that truly stands out in the midst of cookie-cutter novels and leaves you with something more than you felt before reading it.

Five Stars