The Dangers of Female Provocation

by Zoe Coyle (Author, Narrator)

Vengeance is coming.
 
Odessa Odin has it all – a successful career, an adoring husband and a close circle of friends to whom she is fiercely loyal. On the surface they’re living a glittering London life of wealth and cosseted privilege, but underneath this veneer lies painful truths of betrayal, neglect and unfulfilled ambitions. It’s a tightrope of holding themselves and their marriages together as their men transgress the promises they made at the altar with the blithe entitlement they’ve enjoyed all their lives. For the women, there’s just too much to lose.
 
When Odessa discovers her husband is having an affair, her carefully constructed life falls away, and the mask slips to reveal a vast reservoir of rage, fed up with the ways the patriarchy stack the odds against her sisterhood. Training her sights on her friends’ husbands, Odessa becomes an avenging warrior – aiming to chasten them into being better partners, picking them off one compromising situation at a time…
 
But as Odessa’s mission becomes all-consuming, it blinds her to the reality that the score is about to be evened in a way she could never anticipate.
 
The Dangers of Female Provocation  is a razor-sharp, delicious testament to the force of women stepping into their own power. 

9 hrs. 48 min.

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Feminism, Thriller, Contemporary

10 pages, Audible Audio

Published May 3, 2023

Reviews

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable book!
A woman who has it all - CEO of her own business, a husband she adores and a close circle of girlfriends.
It all changes in an instant and the life she once knew is no more.
Grief. Anger. Revenge. Rage. Deception. Betrayal. This book has it all.
Highly recommend.

[Geraldine Nordfeldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I demolished this over a weekend, shocked and thrilled by Odessa’s outrageous vengeance plan to educate the husbands of her beautiful friends. It’s such a delicious idea for a novel - push a woman too far and what does she do? Sink or swim, or in Odessa’s case, become the praying mantis on unsuspecting men who may or may not be due for a karmic life correction.
Odessa’s perfect life unravels when she discovers her beloved husband has been unfaithful. He’s not the only man in their circle taking liberties while good women carry the burdens of their families. Odessa’s shocking plans are driven by a mix of her own fury and pain yet also love and loyalty to her sisterhood, a thrillingly original idea.
An entirely new direction to Zoe’s stunning debut, but true to her style of strong feminist protagonists on life-altering journeys, sprinkled with timeless wisdom.

[Amy-Lauren Penning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written but an awfully tacky story line.

[Sophie-Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

would some intersectionality have killed????

[fal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fk yeah go OFF Odessa

[Aretha K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down, even though some of the storyline are vulgar and outlandish.

[Vivian · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is such a mediocre book. The main character, Odessa, whose dramatic responses to events, grand gestures and gigantic ego are all symptomatic of a rather simplistic writing style and a plot which relies on histrionics rather than substance. Coyle also employs the approach of constant shouting at us (the reader) and this is truly irritating. Odessa’s propensity for self harm as a means of stress relief is treated obliquely and irresponsibly.

The plot focuses on Odessa seeking revenge on her philandering husband by having sex with her closest friends’ husbands. Really??? This is a truly ridiculous book.

[Chana Hagege · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book!
Coyle has such a unique and beautiful voice, using an extremely large vocabulary I found my self having to google a lot of the words in the book throughout but it didn’t feel forced or unnecessary.
I was hooked from the first few pages and struggled to put this down!

[Miranda Bryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure I've read any other book like this before. I thought that anything that is classified as 'feminist' would be hard-going. I didn't realise feminism could be this fun! This book challenged me in the wonderful way that some do, begging the question of 'how should I feel about this?' but manages to do it in the frame of a page-turning thriller. It's a fabulous read filled with characters I'd love to meet at a dinner party and clothes I'd kill to own.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did, but so many of the choices the main character made were unnecessary and could have been done differently. I thought towards the end it was going to be redeemed but it was too brief and then cut to an ending that was completely unsatisfying and made no sense to the rest of the book

[Michael Beeche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Loved this. Funny and insightful. Couldn't put it down - this will be a TV series.

[Susan Quick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhhhh! This book is devilishly fun! I loved following Odessa through her roller coaster of love, betrayal, revenge and friendship. Beautifully written and I couldn’t put it down!

[Jordy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up.
Towards the end lost me a bit, but overall loved the chaotic female vibe and story of the book.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

I skimmed 2/3 of this book . I didn’t think it was particularly well written and the characters weren’t developed

[Shannon Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved Odessa, the writing and storyline right up until THAT moment with her friends husband. It confused me and ultimately made me dislike the protagonist and made it difficult to understand her decision making.

Also completely unrelated but I’ve never had to look up so many words in the dictionary whilst reading before wtf ???

[Teeya · Rating 2 out of 5]

so so so disappointing

[Maddison Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really surprised by this book. I wouldn’t normally have picked this book up based on the title and the cover. However it was a book club pick. And I loved it. It had me laughing and wanting to scream in bits. But also feeling for Des. Highly recommend to any woman wanting a funny and engaging read

[Chenise Sinclaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!!!!
I have had a reading slump recently & this was exactly what I needed to get me out of it.

Recently I’ve tried Fourth Wing & Fairy Tale by Stephen King & neither of them had managed to keep my attention enough to make me pick them back up.

I love the female rage in this, the flawed characters & all.
Fantastic read. 🫶🏼

[Isobel · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”

I love angry, vengeful women. This was very good, a little cringey at times with some of the big speeches, but so good. I love women. Although I found some of the speeches cringey they were still very meaningful and important, about womanhood and feminism.

[Rachel Platt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A definite page turner that everyone should read, written with intelligence and a depth that lands you deep on every page! So fabulous just like the author!

[selin · Rating 5 out of 5]

love

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping

[Anne Gillian]

Returned to library before finishing. 7%

[Jemma Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good holiday read. I enjoyed the writing style but the story line was a bit odd. The concept was good. I found it hard to get invested in the characters - even the protagonist.

[Kecia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this is one heck of a ride! While it’s a great read, there are some serious themes in the book.

[Anne Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was Greek mythology that first captured the storytelling power of the vengeful woman and the havoc she can wreak (think Medea). Ripe with themes of betrayal, oppression and violent reprisal it’s a theme that’s been mined by countless writers (and movie makers) through the ages. “The Dangers of Female Provocation” reiterates the familiar trope but goes further. Coyle cleverly sets her tale of violent revenge firmly within the framework of today’s #MeToo culture where real women are speaking out about male abuse of power.

Odessa Odin has the perfect life – dream job, wealth, luxury home in London and blissful marriage. Until, with the discovery of husband Ian’s infidelity, it begins to unravel. Flailing and furious at his betrayal, she starts to see her own predicament writ large in a wildly aggrandised cinemascope of rampant male oppression. What follows is a descent into ever more bizarre acts of reprisal, not against her own cheating husband, but those of her “sisterhood”, the “Greek chorus” of close friends. It is these men she determines to punish for the crimes of the patriarchy as a whole.

Odessa isn’t an empathetic character, although you can’t help but root for her, albeit wishing she’d turn the force of her rage on the vapid Ian, where it belongs. Following her escalating “bunny boiler” type exploits is gripping reading, although towards the end the impetus falls away as the story metamorphoses into a morality tale. For my taste, the writing was overwrought and let down by a way too technicolour use of metaphor. Less would have been more. It is however an innovative take on the “hell hath no fury” idea and the plot is bizarre enough to keep the reader guessing.

Review published in June edition of Good Reading Magazine.

[Karina May · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, THIS BOOK!
I've been telling everyone in my life to read it because I loved it that much. The writing is just divine, the plot is "out there" (in all the best ways) and the protagonist, Odessa, is so well drawn. I think I most loved how Coyle flipped the overdone "scorned woman" trope on its head. Instead of an insane female MC we're taken on a page-turning journey of a woman stepping into her power. Despite some morally dubious choices on Odessa's part (I won't spoil anything!) it feels like Cole is completely in control of the story. The book offers a powerful commentary on gender roles and inequality without ever feeling ranty (no mean feat). This delicious book is biting, boundary pushing, and will leave you wanting to buy a box of matches and set fire to the patriarchy!!!

[Georgia Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know how I feel about this book. On the one hand I think it's an interesting look at anger and vengeance and the fact that though someone may appear to have completely justified actions they aren't necessarily doing the right thing.
But on the other hand I couldn't help but feel that this was just the story of an incredibly privileged woman feeling morally superior and more intelligent than those around her, Often condescending and undermining the friends she was supposed to be helping. though I know that that was the point and at the end she learnt things aren't so black and white I don't think it made up for this feeling like reading about a women who despite believing she is oh so righteous makes no great impact on anyone outside her small bubble of rich prick friends

[Elara · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 62 pages
I was not particularly into the narrative voice of prose. It felt like both author and character were discovering female empowerment for the first time and getting a taste of feminist thought. However I believe that this was Coyle's debut novel, so more experience + a stricter editor can fix a fledgling author's problems. Another reviewer commented a need for intersectionality, I fully agree.

Apparently at some point Odessa slept with some of her friend's husbands, maybe I would have found those plot points interesting.

[Devilish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tumultuous events are happening in Odessa's life. She has a good life in London and a close circle of female friends. She seeks to 'educate' some of the men in her life about feminist ideology, how they are treating the women in their lives and the effect this has them.

She has captured many of the daily instances of the patriarchy at play in our society and how they make her Odessa feel. Zoë writes really beautifully. I kept coming across tiny gems throughout the book that filled me joy at her use of language.