Thank you to Netgalley for giving an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. The heroine is flawed and very interesting to read. I loved the prose, so dark and somewhat bleak atmosphere of the whole novel. It was fascinating and I had a good enough time. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and 404 Ink for the eARC. I requested this book because of the cover art and the premise. Religious trauma and vampires? Count me in!

But sadly, it was a little too bleakly introspective for me. I wanted more of a supernatural romance based on the angle that the description and the cover depicted. I will try and read it again at a later stage and see if I just need to sink into the story more to fully appreciate it.

The main character, Noelle, is born incredibly dull while also maintaining the kind of self importance that usually makes me want to fling a book across the room. If the prose didn’t make me want to stop reading the numerous times we had to read about Noelle’s bowels would have. DNF.

I read Genevieve Jagger's debut novel slowly; I could only cope with short sections at a time because I found it had such a visceral impact on me. I felt a crawling queasiness and unease as the story progressed, which isn't a criticism, rather, it speaks to Jagger's effectiveness at creating discomfort and exploring those dark and painful parts of ourselves.

Noelle travels to Bute, seeking an escape from her life. There's a real sense of a young woman trapped in her past, which is slowly revealed throughout the novel; scarred by religious trauma, internalised homophobia, and maternal neglect and abandonment.

I saw Noelle as fragile a creature as the animals which Moses, the 'so-called vampire' preys upon. Her relationship with Moses enables Noelle to process past traumas (to some extent), or at least to recontextualise them, and to find a way forward.

I found this a unique and thought-provoking read. I look forward to seeing what Jagger writes next.

Thank you to to Netgalley and 404 Ink for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and 404 Ink for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Perhaps one of the most unique and fascinating reads I've had in awhile. Noelle, our main character, is deeply plagued by her Catholic upbringing and it bleeds through every moment of her days. While the vampirism was definitely more of a subplot, and I wished there had been more of Noelle and Moses, he was a spectacular addition that forced Noelle to face certain things she'd done. She's a deeply flawed woman that I couldn't help but relate to and root for - even when I found myself wondering how truly reliable of a narrator she was.

To summarize - mommy issues, religious trauma, queer confusion, and a vampire. If that isn't enticing enough, let me tell you this novel has some of the most beautiful prose I've ever encountered. Genevieve Jagger has a way with words that you feel viscerally and is somehow still fantastical. I cannot wait to see what other work she does and will be getting my hands on a hard copy ASAP.

Imagine running from your dark deep-seated Catholic traumas straight into the arms of a brusk, cryptic, and intriguingly ostensible male vampire (but definitively not in a Twilight or angsty romance novel way.)

Noelle, a former house-keeping employee for a seedy hotel, attempts to outrun her own self destructive tendencies and intense religious trauma by escaping alone, sans phone, map, guide, etc. to the Isle of Brute. After a long ferry ride, and hailing a tenuous ride with a seemingly friendly man in a worker van, she arrives at her B&B style hotel, which is run by a singular potentially judgmental older woman, who is almost suffocatingly accommodating. Despite her selfish craving for alone time, Noelle soon meets the only other tenant: A man who confesses to be a vampire, ironically named Moses.

Soon settling into a companionable ritual of long chilly walks and confessional like conversations of their own incredibly intimate personal histories, yet communicated vaguely and shallowly, Noelle finds Moses to be just as much of a non-judgmental confidant as he is a sinister enigma.

We slowly unravel the intricate knot Noelle has toxically externally and personally tangled in herself, through feverishly disclosed admissions of sin, formative vignettes of her tumultuous childhood, and flashbacks to strained adulthood friendships and paramours. In an ironic sense, in our reading we almost adopt a role of the priest on the other side of the confessional booth, absorbing Noelle’s confessions and deciding what she needs to apologize for and how she can possibly be forgiven.

For a debut novel, I think this is a very promising start, and a very apt novel for the both recent and current resurgence of vampire related content, and also reminiscent of popular media rife with an undercurrent of religious resentment and processing. This novel seems to ask, among many other inquiries, the impossible question of “How can we process our childhood, teenage, and young adult sins and traumas while simultaneously committing and experiencing the sins and traumas we encounter everyday? and which ones do we believe we actually need to?” and proffers that maybe the answer is just to let ourselves live and come to terms with ourselves and our deep rooted flaws as we go, or so it seems.

Damn. What can I even say about this book?! I randomly requested this ARC through NetGalley because the cover was cool. Never heard of this book or the author. I am in shock at how much I love this book. I actually want to cry.

This book was unhinged in the best possible way. It was crude. It was funny. It was beautiful. It was heartbreaking. And at times I was on the edge of my seat, it was intense. Fragile Animals dives into many different types of relationships; family, romantic, friend, religious, self. Cover brilliant, chapter titles brilliant, dialogue brilliant. I did not want this to end.

I will be buying a physical copy of this, and this will be added to my all time favorites.

Just some of my Fav quotes:

None of myself makes sense to myself.

I’m not lying when I tell you I despise men.

I am punched in the stomach by the improbable passing of time.

Does any of it mean anything at all? I feel sad in my kidneys.

Have you ever considered the idea that there are too many organized religions for Christianity to be logically the right one?

The Church, like the whole thing, the big looming mass of it, you realize contradiction is rife at every turn. Love thy neighbor but not thy gay neighbor.

The cold hurts me carefully. Each grain of sand is like glass between my toes. My feet are supermarket prawns, squiggling away from my body.

Thank you so much for an e-ARC of this brilliant text. Fragile Animals is a really interesting mediation on religion and sexuality. It does not shy away from difficult conversations around internalised homophobia and sin. I think that it was more of a human interest story than a supernatural romance. I really enjoyed the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and 404 Ink for the ARC. The story revolves around ex-catholic Noelle, her traumatic past family life and denial of her own sexuality, and her relationship with Moses, a man who may (or may not be) a real vampire. This is Genevieve Jagger’s debut novel but she writes with the confidence and assurance of a much more experienced author. The style is very readable (apart from one explicit sex scene which gave me the ick so much I had to skip it) and the intertwining timelines and themes (guilt (religious or otherwise), love and loss, betrayal etc)are really well done. My only slight criticism is that the cover and description of the book are pushing the vampire element of the book, but I felt this was the least well developed and in many ways a slightly irrelevant feature of the storyline.

I received this book by Genevieve Jagger as an arc through 404 ink and I have never been so impressed with a book before (and i am not even exaggerating.) There has never been a time where I have read a book and genuinely felt such a connection to a character and her experiences like I did with this book and Noelle. While the synopsis of this book talks about Noelle and her formed relationship with a vampire, it is SO much more than this. This book explores themes in religion, specifically catholicism (and the guilt that often comes from this) and Noelle's relationship with her mother- and how these two things are connected and affect the rest of her life. Throughout this book Noelle explores the isle of Bute that she has spontaneously (and truly manically) retreated to to write her second book, and in doing this and speaking with Moses (the self proclaimed vampire) reveals truths from her past and questions her decisions, her beliefs and sexuality, and so much more. Moses was such a beautiful catalyst for Noelle's development and still brought so much to this story without overdoing it. This author also did an absolutely amazing job in transitioning between past and present in explaining Noelle's childhood and what led her to where she is now. This book was so relatable and so well written and I could genuinely go on and on about it for hours and continue to find things i loved.
One of my favorite things about this book is the subtle association of her mother and God and the capitalization of both’s pronouns to show such importance, fear, and a disconnected authority in both.
I also loved the changes of pov from first person to third person when dissociation occurs or when discussing a past event. I think this is super hard to pull off but was done perfectly!

If you don’t read this book for the mother issues, religious trauma, queer guilt, and/or vampires, read it for the AMAZING prose and story that plays out. i cannot recommend this book enough!!! I ❤️ Noelle.

Fragile animals is Jagger’s first novel, and it follows Noelle; an ex-catholic who develops a relationship with a vampire. Noelle travels to the Isle of Bute where Noelle comes to terms with her sexuality but also her feelings around her mother. Noelle’s relationship with the vampire is based on confession and mirrors her Catholic upbringing.

This was a fantastic debut. The writing was really good, it flowed well, and it meant I was able to read this book in pretty much one sitting. The story itself was extremely compelling and I loved reading it. It felt realistic and honest. Noelle is coming to terms with her sexuality and that was painful but also beautiful. It has to be 5 stars and I’ll be buying myself a physical copy when it releases. I would recommend this novel and I’ll pick up whatever this author releases next.

Such a super unique premise for a book and the touch of vampires is what initially peaked my interest. A great work of literature. Cant wait for the next.

Fragile Animals is about Noelle who is haunted by her religious past then travels to the Isle of Bute and meets a vampire.

this is a debut from genevieve jagger and i was blown away. i'm still new to literary fiction to be honest and i really enjoyed this one.
the first 30% was good however, i was kind of lost in the middle because it was a very slow-developed story, but after that it got picked up again and i loved it.

i really love Jagger's writing style and how she describes every page. i was laughing at the absurdity and amazed and frightened at the same time. i loved each sentence, the metaphors in between, and the emotions of the characters.
my only complaint is that i wish we got more Noelle and Moses but nevertheless, i had an amazing time reading this.

Sadly, despite my love for vampires and personal experiences with religious trauma, I couldn't connect with both the characters and the story itself. Some moments felt dull, I felt especially impatient reading Noelle's flashbacks. I hoped there would be more focus on the sexual relationship between the vampire and Noelle, and how it's viewed through the religious lenses. The cover art is amazing though!

thank you netgalley and publisher 404 ink for the eARC copy of this book!

fragile animals is an intriguing debut novel and based on the writing, you wouldn’t be able to tell it is a debut at all. the story follows an ex-catholic woman that develops a sexual relationship with a vampire which then makes her confront her past as well everything that shaped her life up until that point. i feel like this book needs to find its specific audience and so far, based on the average rating this book has - i would say it managed to do that quite successfully.

if you like literary fiction that’s introspective, where the supernatural elements play only a secondary role, this could be your vibe. if you liked “woman, eating” by claire honda and are looking for more literary vampire novels, i think this could be a perfect book for you. this is one of those books that has objective and inherent literary value (as in, it is extremely well crafted) even though it wasn’t really my cup of tea. so even though my personal experience isn’t worthy of five stars, i can confidently say this could be someone’s absolute favorite book. and trust me when i say that is high praise coming from me.

if you don’t mind slow developing stories, a lot of analepses, as well as just observing the human condition through the life of someone who you can or cannot relate to (depending on your circumstances), you should pick this up. even while giving this book 3.5 stars - i will be picking up anything this author does next because i think it can go only uphill from here. the writing is what sold it for me and i will be thinking about individual quotes and moments for months to come.

Fragile animals
Beautiful lyrical writing
Gothic
Moody
Atmospheric
Romance
Literary
A lot to dissect and decipher
Explored childhood trauma
Explored religious trauma
Sexuality
Unique storytelling
Set in Scotland

This was such a unique story. It follows a woman called Noelle who seems lost in life, she’s a poet, but doesn’t like identifying as one, and sets off to a b&b in Scotland to finish writing her second book.

There she meets another guest, Called Moses who is a vampire. She ends up falling for him and having a sort of relationship with him but this is not your conventional “paranormal romance”.

It is an exploration of love, life, trauma, religion and sexuality. Told from Noelle’s point of view as she recounts her past to Moses.

It’s written in a very lyrical way, it feels moody and gothic and atmospheric. It was very nice to read, and decipher and dissect Noelle’s thoughts.

If you’re into unusual stories, written beautifully, that have a nice deep meaning, then this is for you. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you so much to 404 Ink for providing a digital ARC !!

If you’re looking for heavy vampire romance, you’re not going to find it here; instead this book deeply focuses on the intricacies of Noelle's Catholic upbringing and the profound impact it has on her life. One of the standout aspects of this book is its exploration of religious trauma. Through Noelle's journey, the author skillfully navigates the complexities of faith, family, and personal identity, shedding light on the often overlooked consequences of religious upbringing.

The prose in the book is undeniably beautiful, the language is imbued with a lyrical quality that effortlessly transports the reader into Noelle's world. However at times, it veers into overly descriptive territory. Personally, I found it challenging to maintain my focus, and once I put it down, it was difficult to pick it back up.

Ultimately I enjoyed reading Fragile Animals. Its willingness to tackle difficult themes with nuance and sensitivity sets it apart from other works in the genre. It's perfect for fans of unconventional books, with some parts that elicited visceral reactions, which I found intriguing.

Read this in one sitting and was blown away. It wasn't what I was expecting but I was hooked. Although it took me a few chapters to get into it I did enjoy Noelle's voice. Also loved the bits of humour (especially from Miss Fraser) amongst Noelle's traumatic memories.

This book took me on a wild ride and I was absolutely obsessed with it. I felt like it had a jarring start - like the first sip of a really bitter coffee - and I wasn’t sure I liked the writing style. It felt disjointed and awkward but it was eventually those very things that made it endearing and addictive to read.

Noelle had a very unique character voice and I really felt like I was in her head which was a very relatable and, at times, extremely confusing place to be. The occasional short sentences and unique phrases made her feel very authentic but at the same time, the stories she told Moses and the questions she raised had me trusting her reliability as a narrator.

The book reminded me a lot of the way Jeanette Winterson writes and the nods to Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit made me very happy. I think my favourite part came towards the end when the impact of the church and Noelle’s sexuality was explored. If you’re a fan of Winterson or Julia Armfield, I think you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

!!!! This wasn't what I expected it to be, but in a much better way. I think that the reckoning of religious trauma is done in a beautiful way in this book, and I hope that when it is published it gets the attention that it rightfully deserves.