3.6

This is a strange book. It has provocative elements and interesting visuals, but it doesn't quite line up in the end.

The pacing is something I could see working for some and not others. This story has a slow build, giving you plenty of time to get acclimated and feel the camp out. If you're a fan of building dread, then the compelling mystery of it al works well. But it does lack tension in the middle, and I think could lose people there. However, if you go into this expecting a smaller scale, more introspective horror, I think it works.

The atmosphere of this book is also done well. The not-quite-right feeling of it all it subtle, but you never forget that this is a weird place, somewhere that Arlee is just getting to know and yet is also trying her best to fit herself into. There are hiccups that remind you that Arlee and you are both new here, and you don't really know what is possible or what is expected- something that makes the eventual descent all the more eared.

This book also feels very now. Feminist horror is in at the moment, so I think readers clamoring for more of that, fans of things such as Midsommer, are going to enjoy this book.

But while the conceptual elements of this book were interesting they weren't held up by enough. The eventual trauma reveal was unsatisfying for all the build up. It didn't feel organic and it didn't impact the story itself. I also felt the same about the ending, where everything teased was meant o come together, and yet felt suddenly caricature-level.
I also expected Arlee's unreliable narrator set up to effect more of the story. I simply don't understand making hallucinations part of her character without ever playing with that uncertainty past the very beginning.
And, as I stated, the pacing of this took a while to get right. Unfortunately it took me a while to get invested in this book after all the mystery dangling and exposition and then the middle fully plateaus.

I liked the writing and the concept, but I can't help but feel this book needed bulking up or severe edits in the middle.

Ahhh Summer, and with it the opportunity to go to camp. Arlee is excited to go to camp Rockaway, the same camp her mom attended when she was young. Her mother thinks it will giver her a fresh start and perspective. Along with camp comes friendships and crushes, especially on one of her roommates. Things are going good until she’s picked for the damps strange secret society, then things start to take a dangerous turn.

Ya Horror, well any horror, is my jam. Especially ones where it could really happen. The plot was engaging and had me wishing I could have gone to camp as a kid and join a secret society, but not a dangerous one as in this story. How flaws and secrets could put on display, and fears that help shape us and grow.

I really enjoyed the story the author weaved. I even loved the flaws the characters exude.

Encouraged by her mother to face her fear of bugs, Arlee Gold attends a college prep summer camp where her mother is a legacy. Arlee’s mom continually assures her that she’s going to have the best summer ever. So, there’s nothing to worry about, right?

Wrong. There’s something not quite right about Camp Rockaway and everyone who attends the camp. That’s a huge part of why this YA Horror is so intriguing. The mystery only grows with the introduction of a secret society and murder. But the questions remain: Who is Caroline Gold? Why is she so infamous at Camp Rockaway?

I went into Primal Animals thinking this book was going to be a sweet, cutesy fun summer-camp read. Nuh-huh. This young book is fun, but it is dark! Camp Rockaway turns into Camp Crystal. With that being said, I LOVED this book! Primal Animals held my interest from the beginning, and I read Primal Animals in one sitting.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy and for the amazing opportunity to read and review Primal Animals.

2.50 Stars. This was weird AF, but unfortunately not in a good way. I’m really bummed about this one. I was so excited to get the ARC of this book since it was one of my more anticipated reads of the year. I love YA horror -especially with a sapphic twist- but this was a head scratcher, and I’m left wondering what did I really just read?! The really disappointing thing is that the premise had some really good potential. There were so many interesting paths the main storyline could have followed; instead it took the least interesting one possible.

First off, well maybe it is just me, but is this even horror? This just felt like a dark drama with a little psychological suspense in it. Yes, there were a few gross things, and I have a genuine phobia of spiders like the main character had, but bugs and some violence doesn’t make horror in my personal opinion. There were so many ways to stick some horror into the story, and I kept waiting for it, but I just never got to see it.

There were many things I didn’t really understand or felt like the set-up was too unbelievable for this type of story. For instance, the whole piano thing really threw me off. Sure, I understood the connection, but seriously why would it be a part of what happened, and why was it even such a big storyline of the book. My mother wouldn’t let me play drums and forced me to take piano lessons, which I hated. Trust me that livid experience was not worth half a book and it wasn’t worth half a book for this main character either. There were other things I didn’t get like about the black-out/ zone-outs the main character kept having. I was waiting for something, anything to happen with them… but just like all the time spent on her bug phobias, everything seemed to fizzle out. I’m trained to expect that if an author spends a lot of time on a certain subject that it will mean something, instead it was the opposite in this book.

The only thing I liked a little bit was the sapphic romance. The more I kind of think about it the more messed up it actually was, but there were some sweet and well done moments that stuck out in the bit of mess that kind of was everything else. I do have to say the way the romance ends is kind of iffy. I’ll put a spoiler up for those who are interested. (view spoiler)

TLDR: I’m sorry to say that this was not the book for me. I’m disappointed as I was very excited to read it. I will say that for every 1 and 2 star rating; this has a 4 or 5 star rating to match it. I have not seen a book this polarizing in a long time. There are almost no 3 star ratings as people seem to either really like it or really dislike it. While this didn’t have the horror elements or interesting story I was looking for, and I cannot recommend this read, there clearly are people who enjoyed it so YMMV.

An ARC was kindly given to me for a review.

Have you ever read a book that should’ve been interesting… but wasn’t?

The Good
– The romance is almost cute?
– Decent prose, telling-over-showing aside
– Solid concept

The Bad
– The execution FLOPS my dudes
– Nothing HAPPENS for most of the book
– Fails to build atmosphere or tension
– Alllll the telling over showing!! All of it!!
– Weak ass message
– Has Rubin ever read a single book on storycraft???

I don’t know if I’d call it talent, but it sure requires SOMETHING to take secret societies/cults, bloody rituals, murder, and dismemberment, and produce a dull book.

This is why Primal Animals is SO FRUSTRATING: Rubin’s collected all the right ingredients, but she executes it like she hasn’t read a single fucking thing about storycraft in her life.

You can see the book it’s supposed to be: Arlee’s lack of self-worth leads her to a cultish secret society of sisters who offer her unconditional love and acceptance. Although Arlee wants to do something about how the boys harass the girls, the sisterhood’s methods leave her doubtful until they push her too far.

And this would’ve been a great book! I would love to follow along with a protagonist as things get messy and complicated and we don’t realize how far gone she (and we) are until we have a moment of ugly clarity and things unravel HORRIBLY.

The problem is Primal Animals is not that book.

And the problem is that nothing happens. Primal Animals is 95% Arlee glossing over her day, doing boring shit or wallowing FOREVER in self-loathing—we get it, she did piano and no one said good job—with an ungodly padding of heavy-handed “but something is ~off~ about camp” every five minutes. Maybe two things worth reading happen in the entire book, and then Arlee caps it off with a weak, “All violence is bad—even against rapists!”

Setting aside the telling-over-showing, Rubin’s prose was decent.

Unfortunately, I have little good to say. I liked the book concept, and the core of Arlee’s character, even if the execution sucked. The romance was sweet, if a bit fast, but ends in a bury your gays. Also… Rubin doesn't seem to know the difference between "not rich" and "poor.” Arlee's mom's a lawyer, but she talks about public school like she lives barely above the poverty line.

(Primal Animals is out May 24th. Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! And I’m sorry!)

Story—★★★☆☆ (2.5 Stars)
Characters—★★☆☆☆
Writing Style—★★☆☆☆
Themes and Representation—★★☆☆☆
Enjoyment—★★☆☆☆ (1.5 Stars)
Overall—★★☆☆☆

Recommended For...
Readers who really must have that scary summer camp vibe, regardless of quality.

Hey! Due to reading recent negative feedback for this book, I no longer have an interest in reviewing it. I have to review / rate every NetGalley book or my ratio won't increase, I hope you understand. Thanks!

Rating: 3.5 stars. Primal Animals is a mix of mystery and horror. I’m not a huge fan of horror but I was able to read this book. However, some of the horror elements included dead animals which for me was hard to read. I did enjoy the mystery element and that kept me reading wanting to know more about this Secret Society and what Arlee’s mom did to make people scared of Arlee. I wish we got more of answer on that instead of just lots of rumors about it. I also wanted more background on the Secret Society. The book overall felt a bit rushed and I wanted it more fleshed out to really be able to understand the history and motives of the Secret Society and how it relates back to the camp. I did enjoy Arlee and Winnie as characters, but again I wanted more. The insect phobia that Arlee had was sometimes weird to read and felt random. I don’t feel I got to really understand Arlee since the pieces we were told seemed to be all over the place…she’s an “animal” who played with a dead animal and has some anger issues but then she’s all about doing the right thing and turning in these people that lied and killed people including her own mom. It just felt very disconnected.

Overall, I did enjoy most of this book. I love the secret society at a summer camp setting, I just wish it had been fleshed out more. If you’re a fan of horror and mysteries, then I think you might enjoy this book. My rating was lower due to the horror elements, the rushed feeling didn’t ruin the book for me. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it with caution due to the triggers/horror elements.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this eGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were super fun to follow and the writing was pretty good. I want to check out more by this author.

A summer camp story with a dark and twisted secret society - I can't think of a better kickoff to the warm weather season. We follow Arlee Gold as she gets a fresh start as a college prep Camp where her mother was a legacy. While the rest of the camp steers clear of her, only increasing her paranoia, Arlee is able to bond with her bunkmates and join a new "sisterhood" ... before things start to get really crazy.

This book was a quick and easy read - but that was the best part. I wanted so much to like this story, the concept is great, but it just left me unfulfilled and irritated. There wasn't enough interaction with the secret society so when things started to go off the rails it didn't feel right. The flashbacks were just weird and honestly, as Arlee's character played out, they just added confusion and I'm not sure they were necessary for her development. They felt like they were just there for the gruesome factor.

Overall, the story is a little bit creepy and a whole lot of crazy. I'm still not completely sure how I felt about it. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it.

#PrimalAnimals:⁣
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Initial Thought: Someone tell old Arles what’s going on! ⁣
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Review: Primal Animals had the potential to be a real banger. The sinister vibes, the campground setting, the “protect the girls” sisterhood, ooh it was so good. Unfortunately, it took a hot minute to get there and to also get answers. The build up was great, until I got tired of it and was ready for some answers.⁣
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I’m all for any kind of “we will find a way for our kids to be successful” kind of plot. This takes place at Camp Rockaway (now lean back, lean back.. IYKYK), which is a college prep camp. But this place has secrets bigger than my hair at a sorority formal. ⁣
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This is what I’d like to think of when I hear YA horror. I was throughly creeped out, but also questioning what is real? People really were getting away with ANYTHING, and not an eyelash was batted. The flashbacks from Arlee were sinister and had me worried this was about to be a Carrie 2.0. The entire time there’s a lingering question or two. No one wants to talk about it. It’s so taboo. The revelation was extremely dark and actually audibly gassed whenever they were all revealed. I just.. gruesome. ⁣
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I listen to this on audio and so I had other things to distract me while I was listening. (all my laundry is officially done thx) I still felt it took a bit too long to get to the big reveals. I feel like if I didn’t have this things to distract me, I probably would’ve given up or I would’ve flipped a few pages. But, once we got there, oh I was shocked. I just wished we got there quicker. Suzy Jackson MADE this narration, and I highly recommend if you’re going to read this, get it on audio.⁣
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Overall, This bit creepy and sinister with a jaw dropping ending. However, it was met with a lukewarm reception by how long it took to get there. If you’re into horror with a dash (and I mean a sliver) of a summer romance, and love YA, check out Primal Animals! Thank you so much @wednesdaybooks and @recordedbooks for the gifted copy. Primal Animals is out 5/24! ⁣
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QOTD: Give me a horror movie/book/attraction recommendation!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Rubin once again crafts a haunting story that seeps into you, leaving you breathless and fully satisfied. This book was chilling in the best ways. I was continually left wanting more. I love the voice and prose that Rubin uses and the way she can craft a story that leaves you on the edge of your seat.

The idea of secrets and treachery at a school type camp is something I never knew I needed, but loved nonetheless. This gave me Blair Witch vibes in the best way possible. This spooky read is one that I will be recommending for a long time!

The book started off interesting and the summer camp setting was really fun. I liked getting to know the girls in Arlee’s cabin and the hierarchy of the camp. Unfortunately, the further we go into the story, the less I liked about it. A lot of the horror and more grotesque scenes felt like they were there for shock value rather than being part of the world if that makes sense. Also in the final third of the book, Arlee starts doing things that felt out of character for her, especially when she was sooo paranoid throughout the first part. Also if I had to read her full name one more time I was going to scream. Why is everyone calling her by her first and last all the time??? Who does that?

I’m sure there will be many people who really love this book, but for me it was just okay.

I think I would give it 2.5 stars overall.

Primal Animals was a fun and eerie YA horror/mystery. I loved not really knowing what would happen and what secrets the cultish camp would hold.

I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot because I feel like it’s best going in with no real idea of what it’s about.

The writing won’t be for everyone, but I liked how dreamy it felt. I definitely recommend the book and enjoyed the mystery and characters.

This YA horror was a quick and creepy read. There were some moments that felt a bit over-the-top for my personal tastes, but I think that it will be highly enjoyed by other YA horror readers. Arlee is a good unreliable narrator and it was interesting watching the mystery unfold through her perspective. I liked the premise of a cult in a mountain summer camp, and I was really interested to get all of my questions answered, but I found some elements to be a bit under-developed and rushed towards the end. Overall this was a fun buddy read with my friend Colleen who also got the arc, so I'm glad I read it!

Some content notes to be aware of: body horror, insects (SO MANY INSECTS), blood, death, gore, sexual harassment/assault, and drinking.

A big thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Primal Animals has such a delicious concept; queer YA horror at a prestigious summer camp, summer romance, secret sisterhoods, mysterious incidents, and being creeped out in the woods. Honestly, I heard "lesbians at summer camp" and was already thrilled to read it before even finding out it was also horror. However while this book does have a fun exciting concept, the execution just falls flat.

The beginning and set up for the plot are pretty solid. Arlee is being dropped off at this prestigious college prep summer camp that her mom was apparently an "it-girl" at when she was young, and Arlee is obviously still grabbling with some disturbing trauma in her own recent history. When she arrives at the camp things are immediately creepy (because of course they are) and the whole camp seems to already know more about her and her mother then Arlee does. That's where the plot threads start to unravel a bit. All this mysterious stuff starts to happen or past events are vaguely mentioned, but then it immediately falls into the "no one will talk about these things, no matter how unrealistic and extra the secrecy is" trap. There are so many moments in the book where I was just like why are they brushing off these totally valid questions & being super cagey? Because plot. That's the only reason. I get it this is supposed to be a horror book, it's meant to be mysterious and spooky. But rather than building tension I was just frustrated and a little bored with all the secrecy from the characters b/c it just stops making sense after a certain point.

The pacing was also not quite right for this book. Sometimes days would go by for Arlee but it wouldn't feel that way in the writing. Over the course of a paragraph or two a week or so would be unceremoniously summed up. Like nothing at all happened during that time period. I think if this book had been longer and allowed to slow down a bit to really soak in the creepy atmosphere of this summer camp and to really get to know the setting and the characters better it would have really benefited. All around I feel this book would have benefited from being longer. As is, the characters feel kind of shallow (including the MC & love interest) and the setting only a cookie cutter "summer camp". I have no sense of place from this book, & for me horror is very much so rooted in setting and mood/vibe.

While of course I came here for the lesbians, I'm sad to say that the romance just didn't do it for me in this book. I never felt like Arlee or the reader really got to know the love interest in any significant way. Arlee was just instantly infatuated with her because...she was nice & cute? I don't know. And then they kinda fall in love apparently over the rushed through couple of weeks, even though Arlee is sneaking off, keeping secrets, pretending, & lying for most of the time they know each other. By the end of the book, I didn't even care enough about their relationship to have feelings about any of the twists or turns.

In terms of horror, I will say that the book is fairly creepy. Even though I felt the summer camp setting itself could have been utilized more fully, I will say that Arlee's psyche is a scary place to be. This story is full of disturbing creeping imagery that's got a kind of "unpleasant to look at but can't look away" unsettling quality to it. And of course Arlee's almost crippling anxiety is all but contagious. The secret sisterhood/cult element was genuinely unsettling and disturbing. I think that's where the author's writing really had a chance to shine. They very clearly enjoyed writing the horror elements/imagery more so than other parts of the story. You can expect graphic body & insect horror, as well as animal mutilation, dead bodies, some violence, some blood & gore, and just in general some creepy cult ritual stuff.

Ultimately, I think this book just really struggled with what it wanted to be. I came away from it with very mixed messages about the kind of story the author wanted to tell or how I was suppose to feel about that story. I was pretty unsatisfied with the way things ended. I guess, I came into this book wanting a creepy queer summer camp romance, and that's just not really what this book delivered. Rather I'd say Primal Animals is a psychological thriller full of twists and teenage anxiety, that will certainly keep you guessing until the end.

This book exhausted me so much I just want to forget I ever read it. So, since everything about this book was weak as heck, so too shall be my efforts at sharing my thoughts.

Arlee: girl has demons and trauma. too bad I couldn't figure out half of what it was

Pacing: off off off. the beginning is so boring and nothing substantial happens until way too late

Cult: lol okay. honestly, I'm just embarrassed for Arlee and how she handled all that because there was so little to work with

Characters: way. too. many. There are so many people introduced that I forgot almost half of them, couldn't figure out the significance of any of them, and I didn't enjoy the mean girl vibes

Bugs: apparently Arlee is scared of them because of something that happened but I don't get it

Horror: disgusting. for such a boring book, the small scenes of gore felt there for shock and awe only and were highly unnecessary and inappropriate

So little in this book made sense and it felt like a half-baked idea that needed a strong overhaul. It tried to be edgy without knowing how to follow-through with it.

I was excited about the story at the outset, but ultimately I didn't like where it went or how it was set up. I do think this will work for some people, but it just didn't work for me. It was definitely unsettling and the horror elements came through.


SPOILERS:
I was confused by the basic motivations of the characters and the point. I was confused when the MC learned of the cult. She went from "WTF is happening" to "these are my sisters" so quick and I did not understand how she got there. I didn't feel the characters or relationships were fleshed out enough for me to be invested.

Primal Animals is a compelling and atmospheric horror that falls short in just a few ways. We follow Arlee, who is attending summer camp for the first time. Her mother also attended when she was a teen, which leads to a lot of judgement from other campers. Eventually she is invited to join a secret club, and learns more about the camp and her mother's past while falling in love with one of her bunkmates.

While I enjoyed this, and know it has an audience, it didn't do anything new and exciting for me. I love a summer camp setting and love a sapphic horror moment, but I have read this idea so many times. Girl gets involved in a secret society that looks to punish men who hurt girls, things go to far, and she struggles to put an end to it. This is always fun to read, but I need a little more from it. I wish the author dug deeper into the feminist themes. My other issue is the amount of unnecessary gore in this. One scene in this book is so weird and gross, only to not further the plot at all. Still, its not bad and its a great addition to the collection of sapphic horror I've read.

Overall, I know people will love this and I can't wait for them to read it. I love the setting, the cast and the themes of sisterhood, and think this will resonate. I didn't love it, but I really liked it and am excited to read more horror.

I know this is supposed to be a horror story, but it was such a slow burn, I just couldn't get into it. It's definitely creepy and some pretty terrible stuff happens, but because of the pacing, I just didn't stay interested. Thank you for the chance to read and review this.

3.5 stars. This is a YA horror novel, although as an adult, I did not find it very horrific. Don't get me wrong, there are some seriously messed up things happening at this summer camp. But it's a slow burn. However, I DO think the title, Primal Animals, is PERFECT. Because really, when you are a teenager, what are you other than emotions and hormones? - very primal.

"Protect the girls

Arlee Gold is anxious about spending the summer at the college prep Camp Rockaway—the same camp her mother attended years ago, which her mother insists will help give Arlee a “fresh start” and will “change her life.” Little does Arlee know that, once she steps foot on the manicured grounds, this will prove to be true in horrifying ways.

Even though the girls in her cabin are awesome—and she’s developing a major crush on the girl who sleeps in the bunk above her—the other campers seem to be wary of Arlee, unwilling to talk to her or be near her, which only ramps up her paranoia. When she’s tapped to join a strange secret society, Arlee thinks this will be her shot at fitting in...until her new "sisters" ask her to do the unthinkable, putting her life, and the life of her new crush, in perilous danger."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.