This was an interesting concept but definitely a copy of Jurassic Park but cave lions and bears instead of dinosaurs. I didn't find the characters dynamic or engaging but I also felt like they were secondary to the plot. I did enjoy the tension with the lions and I wish we had stayed there rather than introducing complicated layers of human drama later in the book. I'll still order this book for my store but I do feel it would have been better with more finessing.

NetGalley review- 3.5 🌟🌟🌟.💫

I've got mixed feelings about this book. I want to start by saying I have enjoyed reading it. I liked the mystery of what caused the boys death and the team trying to 'fix'
the problems within the rewilding projects.

The beginning started well with it kicking straight off with an animal attack. As the characters were introduced, I found it hard to connect with them and feel like I truly cared about what happened to them. The read was interesting and I was intrigued and curious to find out what was going to happen. The middle for me didn't keep the interest going BUT the last 30 percent did pick up and was more like what I was expecting to read from the way this book is being marketed. I didn't see the twist coming so enjoyed the last part.

The end felt quite abrupt. It just ended on a random sentence for me. You'll understand what I mean if you read it 😅.

Overall I enjoyed the read! The idea was quite good and nothing I'd read before. I think I just wanted some more gore. So if you're looking at this for gore, its not for you but if you want an easy read with some grizzly animal related drama, it's spot on.

This is a fast-paced eco-thriller set in the Scottish wilderness, where a young biologist named Steph Patel investigates a strange death linked to a secretive rewilding project. The idea of bringing back extinct predators is both cool and a bit terrifying, and the story plays with that tension really well.

The atmosphere is great — cold, isolated, and kind of eerie — and Steph is a solid main character: smart, driven, but also in over her head at times. Some of the science stuff gets a bit heavy, and the “bad guys” could’ve been more complex, but overall it’s a fun, thoughtful read.

If you like nature, thrillers, and a bit of science fiction, this one’s worth checking out.

Robert Evans' debut novel, The Rewilding, plunges readers into a tense and intriguing mystery set against the backdrop of the Scottish countryside. This is not just a typical whodunit; it cleverly blends a murder investigation with a thrilling dive into the ethical and potentially terrifying implications of genetic engineering and rewilding gone awry.

The story kicks off with a chilling discovery: a young boy found dead in the quiet Scottish wilderness, with no clear explanation for his demise. This inexplicable death piques the interest of Steph Patel, a field biologist motivated by the potential for a lucrative opportunity. However, her investigation quickly leads her to a clandestine rewilding project, a secret facility where geneticists are reportedly working to resurrect extinct predators. The suspicion is immediate: could this ambitious, scientific endeavor be linked to the boy's death?

As Steph delves deeper, the lines between scientific ambition and dangerous consequences blur. She soon finds herself embroiled in a fight for survival, facing threats far more dangerous than any creature brought back from the past. The novel seems to draw parallels to the classic "Jurassic Park" trope, exploring what happens when humanity's desire to control nature, especially through genetic modification, spirals out of control and I can totally agree with the similarity!

I thought this was a captivating and exciting read, keeping me on the edge of my seat with its blend of intrigue, suspense, and heart-thumping twists.

If you're looking for a novel that combines a compelling murder mystery with high-stakes science fiction and thought-provoking ethical dilemmas, The Rewilding looks set to be a strong contender for your reading list.

I enjoyed the reclusive town atmosphere of this book, the eeriness and the mystery in the beginning. But I found that the plot took a turn that did not interest me, and unfortunately, all of the aspects that I was loving the book for, were left behind. I hope that this finds its perfect audience, because I can see this being a five-star read for a lot of people, and I would still recommend it to people.

The Rewilding drew me in with its eerie description of the unexplained death of a boy, the secret site of a prehistoric experiment, and an investigation by a field biologist with a questionable motive. As someone who enjoys horror and sci-fi, I was intrigued by the possibilities.

That said, this novel didn’t quite land for me. The concept seemed like an appeal to lovers of Jurassic Park, but it struggled to present a fresh angle to set it apart from the classic. This, coupled with the writing style, was a challenge. Clunky, run-on sentences and dialogue often felt unnatural, and the plot lacked the pacing and tension this type of story needed. I also found the characters unlikable and their interactions underwhelming, which made it difficult to connect with the story. I only made it through about a quarter of the book before skimming to the end.

While this one wasn’t a fit for me, I appreciate the ambition behind it. The concept of man against nature is always compelling, and the vision of a “rewild” world is an interesting idea. I’d like to see the author could continue to explore this type of bold, high-concept storytelling with more polish.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rewilding is the story of a field biologist who travels over to Scotland to investigate the mysterious death of a young boy. Her goal, as someone who writes what felt like (to me) tabloid articles about cryptids, was to gather interest for her next book. When she arrives she stumbles across an estate owned by a mysterious tech billionaire who is Jurassic Park-ing it by bringing back long extinct creatures to live in the Scottish highlands.

As interesting as the premise is, the book itself isn't at all. I found the characters to all be really one-dimensional and it felt like the scientific parts of this story were pretty glossed over. The main character was pretty vapid and the interactions between characters were really juvenile. The book was really a slog and I kept waiting for something to happen only to mostly be disappointed.

This would have been a one star for me, but I do think this book has an audience, I'm just not that audience. 2 stars.

i think i only just coped with the thought(and then obviously reassurance of myself) regarding Jurassic park. it freaks me out to think some group somewhere are actively trying to do this. and with all the tech we have today and gizmos to do things? no thankyou! they are already creating meats without needing animals. what if...
but yeh, this is definitely a up up up take of a Jurassic Park type project. and when someone dies from one of the creatures? then someone is sent to investigate? oh no nothing but dark trouble can this every bring.
and it does.
oh it very much does...
im not one to be made to be scared by horror as such. but when it scares me because of all the what ifs or reality of this coming to life. then i get a bit eeeeeekish. so this fell into a scary category for me for sure

2.5/5, rounded up to 3. Interesting premise but ultimately struck me as a poorly developed alternative to Jurassic park. Lacks compelling character development and key details to support even remote plausibility,

When “creature” journalist Steph Patel stumbles on the story of a young boy killed by a mysterious animal near a secret compound, she flies to Scotland to investigate.

Steph quickly becomes embroiled in eccentric millionaire Kelvin Handle’s experiment which aims to prove that prehistoric mammals could live near human populations.

Unsurprisingly, things go south and Steph and co are left fighting for their lives against ultra large prehistoric mammals and mercenaries alike.

A quick and exhilaring albeit not particularly well written read with an ending which felt too sudden. Personally, I had been hoping for dinosaurs.

For fans of Michael Crichton.

Well this was a bit of a roller coaster. It started of really well, intriguing well paced. And then it just got gruesome. Not my cup of tea and the ending was a bit daft. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC. rounded up.

I had a really difficult time engaging with this one, mainly due to the lack of connection I felt with Steph. I didn't find much within her to hold onto, which made the beginning of this novel feel like a slog. Instead of feeling a building interest in the core of "The Rewilding," I mostly felt annoyed. By the time the apex predators were introduced, I'd been annoyed for so long that I didn't really care either way. The premise was exciting, but the execution really failed.

This book is giving Jurassic Park vibes. I wasn’t really a big fan it felt rushed and I couldn’t get into the story.

A creature feature-featuring many creatures.

A young boy has been killed by something in the Scottish countryside. The boys body being discovered by a secret facility that specializes in working on bringing back extinct predators sure is suspicious. Field biologist Steph Patel has caught wind of the story and-with her motivation being money-pursues it. The further she probes into it, the faster things go south, will she be able to survive?

An interesting premise that evolved into a very jurassic park movie-like vibe in that there is a few competent characters, a very rich character who likes extinct creatures enough to try and bring them back, a scientist that will do anything to protect what they have created, many things go wrong, and the creatures hunt the humans. If you like that, you’ll like this book.

The language did feel a bit stiff at times and I had trouble distinguishing who was who with some of the background characters. I would have liked more character development as there wasn’t much substance in the characters. By the end some questions are left unanswered but it was still a fun read.

Rating: C-

Digital ARC provided by NetGalley.

The Rewilding is a confounding book. I thought it would be a tense and frightening story a la Jurassic Park, but instead of is kind of a meandering and unfocused story about a group of people who are part of an experimental park where clones of ancient mammals are cohabitating...with humans.

The book starts very very quickly - a child is killed by some monster in the Scottish wilderness and biologist Steph senses a story building and goes there from America to investigate. Once she enters the park, she runs into some park employees who work for billionaire, Kelvin, who started the project and the one who hires her on to work at the park.

I thought this might be more focused and a high-paced thriller trying to escape or fight the animals, but instead it turns to the human characters more. There was no tension, no real drive for me to finish this book. I didn't feel like any character had personality - it was all just random dialogue and random fighting on top of random animal kills that NO ONE reacted to. I even found the arguments between Martina and Steph ridiculous - it felt almost like two children who hated each other sticking their tongues out across the room. It was all just really lifeless.

I thoroughly disliked this one. Just read Jurassic Park instead.

Thanks to Netgalley and Cranthorpe Millner for the ARC!

3.75 Stars rounded up to 4.

I really liked the first 75% of this book. It’s fast paced, mysterious, and really holds onto your attention. It’s simple in writing, nothing outstanding, but gets the job done if you want a quick adventure thriller jaunt.

I wish that there had been more animals, and more exploration of the science. The ending and wrap up really left a lot to be desired, and while it didn’t impact my enjoyment of the first part of the book, it left me with a lot of questions. I also would have loved to have more character development, as none of the characters stood out to me or really made me attached.

Overall, it’s fun, there was potential, and I’d read more adventures of this MC if we got a little more character development.

The Rewilding - Steph is a field biologist/author who investigates and writes about strange occurrences. She travels to Scotland after she hears about the mysterious death of a boy by an animal and falls in with a rich eccentric's rewilding project. But there are lots of predators, and some of the hybrids, and people, are unpredictable... and dangerous.

I struggled through this. I did not care about the main character, Steph, at all. She was inconsistent and had confusing motivations. To be honest, the three other guys working there (Davey, Daniel, Michael) kind of blended together and I couldn't even really tell them apart.
She trespasses, and instead of getting into trouble they just give her a job? And then she spends pretty much zero time doing her job before everything goes down. Also, did they do any research beforehand or have anyone on staff who knew anything before she fell into their lap? Or did they just not care? She comes in and immediately knows that there are way too many predators for the area...

Overall it felt.. rushed, but also like not much happened, and I had a very hard time getting into the story or caring about any of the characters.

I rated it 1.5/5 stars rounded up to 2.
Thank you NetGalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Steph Patel is a field biologist, but not in the way you might think when you hear the job title. Steph investigates wildlife mysteries and writes books that allow readers to draw their own conclusions. Is Bigfoot wandering around Alaska? Steph's not going to say he is, but she's laying out how a large primate could live in the area.

So when Steph hears of the death of a child in Scotland, in a manner not explained by murder, foul play, or any of the common local wildlife, she jumps on the chance to investigate. And near the site of the boy's death, a walled off area with not one but two large fences. None of the locals seem to know what's behind the walls, and Steph is determined to get to the bottom of things.

Sneaking into the fenced off area nets Steph a job with a billionaire formerly in the spotlight but forced to become reclusive after an allegation swayed public opinion against him. His new project is, on the surface, environmentally kind. Reserving a large tract of land for native animals, this billionaire wants to see if humans can live alongside larger animals previously native to the area.

With a clear Crichton-esque feel, Robert Evans brings an action-packed story full of twists and an a pervasive sense of dread. Unsurprisingly, the skeevy billionaire's passion project is not on the up-and-up and Steph is forced into a more dangerous situation than she could have ever expected.

This was a fun read, with a competent main character thrust into an environment where, unsurprisingly, things go poorly after people in their infinite wisdom make a lot of questionable choices, and then make even more in an attempt to fix things. 3.75 stars.

Thanks to author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book had an interesting premise and I'm totally on board with the Jurassic Park vibes and Scotland. This honestly wasn't my favorite book but it was still decent enough.

Honestly, I went for this ARC because of the cover and the title. When I found out it was based in Scotland and had a horror vibe, I was so excited!

This felt like non-stop action and rich with messy and complex characters. I loved the suspense and its Scottish setting, but some parts felt a bit stilted or perhaps not as emotionally invested as it could have been. Overall, a suspenseful read.