this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and i am so grateful to have received an earc! Fragile Animals is about Noelle who is haunted by her religious past then travels to the Isle of Bute and meets a vampire. the writing is so atmospheric and i really regret not being in scotland on a foggy morning reading this! such a cool story and def recommend all pickinig it up!

There's a sort of filmy, greasy, sticky ugliness to this book and its characters that just coats you as soon as you read the first line. The narrator is intensely pessimistic; her view of everything, from her accommodations in the Isle of Bute to her future love interest, is one of extreme skepticism bordering on disgust. In a revolution of sexy vampires intent on keeping their vampirism a secret, Moses is neither, and to someone who is accustomed to the sexy creature of the night tropes, it makes him all the more unsettling.

Literary vampire novels are my bread and butter. I absolutely adore them and when I say I devoured this, I am not kidding. For a debut novel this had such a vibrant voice, every character felt like they were somebody I could meet in person walking down the street. Everything, down to the bare bones, felt Real. This story had such a potency, that there being a fantastical element just made sense, natural even. The flash back and forwards to the past and present was done seamlessly, I was eager for every new page.

I am very much looking forward to what this author has in store for next time, I'm on the edge of my seat in anticipation.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and 404 Ink in exchange for a free and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it follows our protagonist Noelle; who travels to the Isle of Bute in hopes of overcoming her writers block (she is a poet). While there she meets a vampire and through this relationship they begin to reminisce about their past relationships. The book tackled a lot of topics, such as; religion, sexuality, self-worth and toxic family dynamics, I especially liked the section the discussion of conflict between religion and sexual identity (due to her mum's infidelity and knowing people that are part of LGBTQ community). Overall, very well written and engaging. Would highly recommend.

Oh my gosh, guess what? Vampires are back, and this book is everything! It delves into deep themes like religious trauma, repression, and the lingering sorrow of the living in such a beautiful, heart-touching way.

This was exactly the kind of weird girl fiction I've been trying to find all year so far.

Literally blinding. I devoured it, Noelle is such a compelling voice, and the prose is striking, grotesque and raw in its honesty to her character. I strongly adore a character who does unforgivable things and views themselves in such a disparaging way, there's something so honest and relatable about their portrayal. The non-perspective characters are similarly compelling and unique and put across the themes of the book brilliantly. This book is utterly unique within its field and it shows its hand perfectly.

I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

“Sometimes the lie is more honest than the truth.”

Genevieve Jagger’s new book introduces Noelle, an ex-catholic woman who has been struggling with family trauma from her upbringing leaves it all behind to work as a hotel cleaner on the Isle of Bute. This will give her a chance to work on her writing. Here she meets a man who claims he is a vampire. A strange relationship begins between them both and Noelle finds herself facing troubles from her past and coming to terms with her own sexuality.

This was not the kind of vampire story I expected. There is a lot to unpack with the main character Noelle and her past trauma. Through this supposed vampire she revisit those dark times and almost surprisingly to herself she accepts her past and present for what it is.

There was a build up to something bizarre but not one you would expect. The stories between these two characters were vast and at times disturbing. Witnessing their relationship did feel like you were waiting for the penny to drop at any moment.

The reader does embark on an emotional journey with Noelle and thats what was different about this vampire novel.

careful if you're a former catholic with mommy issues! but this book was gorgeous and haunting. it's a character-drive, self-reflective book and I really enjoyed it.

What truly original and gothic exploration of faith, Catholicism, sin, and the undead – and the implications of all of this in the wider context of people's lives. The fact that there's romance with a vampire really takes this to an unexpected and exciting place. It exudes rawness, poignancy and elegance, handling the question of divinity brilliantly.

This was really not what I was expecting and greatly exceeded my expectations. Can't wait to read more from this author.

DNF @ 50%

Genevieve Jagger's debut is centred around 23-year-old Noelle, who is spending time on a remote and rain-soaked Scottish island; she needs to get away from it all, to soothe her writers block, and to reflect on her troubled past. In her hotel, she meets Moses: Moses is an honest-to-god vampire, and the two begin a sexual relationship.

Fragile Animals isn't really about this though; instead it's about Noelle's childhood trauma and complex relationship with the Catholic Church. As an Irish person, born the same year as the Ryan report shook my good little Catholic country, I have a severe allergy to Catholicism in books; there's a LOT of it here, and I really strugged with it. At one point, Noelle remembers chanting the Our Father and I thought I was going to break out in hives. This is 100% a me problem but coupled with the fact that I requested this based on sexy vampire vibes, to say I was perturbed is an understatement.

It's by no means a positive book when it comes to the church; Noelle, raised 'brutally Catholic' , spends a huge amount of time panicking about her "relationship with the holy spirit" and whether she will be sent to heaven or hell. Add to this a powerfully complex relationship with her mother - known only as She or Her, and hyper-religious herself - this relationship is almost loveless and it was sad, and powerful to read.

I didn't get on with the writing in this one, either; dialogue and prose didn't seem to diverge at all, so characters were speaking in a needlessly flowery way. I also think I read this one a bit too soon after Leigh Bardugo's The Familiar, which has a similar enough premise that I couldn't help compare the two, and Fragile Animals was left wanting. 3 stars, one of Miss Fraser, who was just doing her best amongst all this weirdness.

Not for me sadly, but thanks a mil to the publisher for the proof copy.

This novel has been getting quite a bit of hype across instagram and booktok and that usually makes me a little bit wary as every other hyped book I've read has been a massive disappointment. Fragile Animals was an exception, in a way.

I was lucky to receive this ARC quite a while before all the hype started to ramp up, and based on the cover and the description - I was expecting to adore this book. I had expected that this would be a five star read, one I'd pick up and inhale in one or two sittings but considering this took me four months to finish... it's safe to say that isn't the case.

My main issue was the prose itself (there is no real sense of plot, but this isn’t uncommon in literary fiction), though there are some instances where it works really well, the vast majority of the writing is overwritten and forced - as though the author is trying to be poetic but it isn’t quite working and it just comes across as dense and sludgy instead. Good premise, not so great execution. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t really enjoy it either.

"Fragile Animals" is a story of identity rediscovery after childhood trauma. I rated this book 2 stars because I felt the craft was loose and the romantic story with a vampire was displaced in the main characters search for rediscovery. I would recommend this book to a very niche group of readers.

This book checked all my boxes for a creepy, sapphic, gothic vampire story.

The vampire was interesting, especially as an old taxidermist preying on a young woman who has been through some serious trauma.

This is dark, grim, and incredibly beautifully written. But unfortunately, I just didn’t connect with Noelle, the main character and it fell short for me on that particular point.

But if you aren’t big into characters and want a gross horror filled with weird sex and trauma, this could be for you.

Really interesting themes of catholic guilt and (for lack of a better word) mommy issues. I thought the capitalisation of He for God and Her for the mother was very clever.

That being said I felt it was a case of good premise, poor execution. I found the writing to be clunky and overly descriptive to the point of confusion at times. It was an uncorrected proof copy so I can’t speak for the final published version, but I do think a hundred pages could have easily been shaved off.

I’ve also come to the realisation that i am not a vampire girlie so that definitely impacted my enjoyment of the book.

What did I read? I am mesmerised by the craft of this writer. The characters, the premise and the setting and compelling, and fresh too, but the writing style was incredible. I will reread this again to make note of all the lines that can easily become catchphrases. I did not expect this to be so funny. I will devour this author’s books.

If you’re going into this hoping for a twisted vampire romance filled with catholic guilt, you will be disappointed. If you’re looking for the gothic novel of 2024, you’ll be good! An incredibly interesting exploration of isolation, traumatic childhood and religion. Super gloomy but definitely worth the read!

Enjoyed very much the style of writing of this book. It made me closer to the character than ever however I didn't feel like this kind of character was my cup of tea. Still enjoyed where the story was leading me on. I'll be keeping my eyes out for another book from this author.

Gorgeous. An incredible new voice in the modern horror and queer romance scene. Jagger keeps the reader on their toes, entices them closer, and terrifies them in a miasma of religious trauma, sapphic tension, and supernatural intrigue. The Catholic influence in the story was compelling from both a traditional horror perspective as well as a contemporary one. Recommended for readers who are interested in literary fiction. Might be a bit dense for readers who aren't used to a more introspective pace. .

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of Fragile Animals. It's out now!

Fragile Animals follows Noelle, a young woman who decides to take a 'writing holiday' to the Isle of Brute. There, she meets a strange man named Moses, who insists that he is a vampire. As their relationship progresses, Moses becomes a catalyst in Noelle's reckoning with her childhood traumas stemming from her religious past.

I pretty strongly believe this is a "it's not you, it's me" type of reaction I'm having upon finishing this book. On paper, it's everything I love: wintery, gothic atmosphere, Catholic trauma, trauma from having a shitty relationship with your parents, and vampires. There's a lot here that I should love, and I did enjoy them individually, but as a whole, it never quite came together for me. All of the plot points felt so disjointed and, unfortunately, a lot more tell-y than show-y. I never saw why exactly Noelle had all of this deep seated religious trauma. I wanted so much more from that.

So much of what happens is weighed down by the prose, which is at times beautiful but also at times overwrought and exhausting in its abundance. The narrative really, honestly, felt like a slog until the last like 15% of the story. There would be pockets of interesting things but in between that it was Noelle rehashing the same things without revealing anything to the reader because it was all saved for that last 15% of the novel.

I also never fully connected with Noelle as our main character. I never really understood her motivations behind her actions, either in the present or in the past. The motivation can be being deeply unhappy and unable to cope with your past, but that can still be conveyed in a way where it makes sense why the character does and says the things that they do. I never really bought that from Noelle.

I'm bummed I didn't love this as much as I wanted to, because the premise is great and the cover is stunning. I like the project of the novel more than the execution, as I've said. I can see myself returning to Jagger to see how her craft changes (if it does). We shall see.

I would recommend this book but it is best gone into blind besides that it centres a character who is grappling with her Catholic upbringing and there is a crusty vampire. That is really all you need to know...

Fragile Animals is such a weird book, but in a familiar way. The writing once it hits it's flow, within a chapter or two, is easy to fall into, and the main character, Noelle, is every unsure twenty-something figuring things out and coming to terms with her childhood. She is very well fleshed out which lead me to feel both annoyed and sympathetic towards her.

I think my only critique is that it was a bit too long towards the end, I think somewhere in the last 5-7 chapters could be trimmed a bit, so we could get to the "event" she refers to a little faster. I think this would allow the story to have a slightly better flow in it's last quarter,

A very different book that feels very literary fiction featuring a gross vampire but worth the plunge if you are open to it.