I received this as a free ebook from story cartel for my honest review. This book was more to an extreme than what I was expecting. I thought it was well written however I was extremely disappointed in how the end was left as a huge cliffhanger- I felt it ended a little abruptly and thought maybe I hadn't downloaded it all. I liked how it was written through both twins. Overall I would be interested in reading the others in the series however to some this may be a very offensive or disturbing reads. Not for those who are light hearted. ( )

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

I have to confess, I don't have much to say about Jess C. Scott's new dark bizarro novel Playmates, book one of a coming "Wilde Twins" series, because there's simply not much to say about it in the first place -- a transgressive noir in the style of Kathy Acker, like many of these books it is cartoonish in the level of abuse and degradation on display (in this case, by a set of dysfunctional parents towards their twin children), which serves as the catalyst for a series of ultra-violent, Tarantinoesque adventures (involving the Wilde Twins of the book's title, who go off on a streak of chaos when older that is so over-the-top as to be deliberately ridiculous). And that's...well, you know, it is what it is, and those who like these kinds of books (you know who you are) are sure to like this one as well, although for general readers be warned that this follows a well-worn set of easily guessed tropes and doesn't really contain much more of interest besides that. A book tailor-made for the hardcore bizarro fans it was designed for, but that likely won't appeal to anyone else, it is getting the middle-of-the-road score today that such an assessment deserves.

Out of 10: 7.2 ( )

Are killers born defective or made by their circumstances? Jess C. Scott shows us that the answer might sometimes be a little of both.

One of the things I love about this author is that she puts us right into the messy circumstances, with no apologies and no sugar-coated scenes. We feel what it's like to be these kids, with all their hopes and misery. We follow them as they grow older, as their hopes are continually squashed and their misery turns to something else entirely.

This novel is not for squeamish or easily offended readers. The material is raw and unflinchingly honest. The truly sad - and scary - part is that this story could easily be playing out in reality at this very moment.

Playmates is the first book in a trilogy, and it ends on a cliffhanger. Be forewarned that there isn't a comfortable ending here. I will definitely be reading the book 2, so I can find out what happens next with the twins. ( )