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.

I am just not tracking with this one at all which is unfortunate. Characters and plot are falling flat. Interesting creepy vibe but not enough to make me finish

Dark academia summer camp meets lord of the flies is the best way I can describe this book. I am just.. so blown away by this. It gave me all the atmospheric creepy vibes I was hoping for. But then it also gave me mystery and thrills. I highly recommend this book for horror/creepy book lovers!

Listen, I get why this book isn't for everyone - but it as for me. The reviews I saw were so varied that I was real nervous about picking this one up, but it was the collection of tropes for me. This book is graphic and I would highly recommend looking up trigger warnings. If you don't like gore - do not pick up this book.

This book is a fun trifecta of unhinged teenage girls (my fave!), rich kids at summer camp, cults, and ambiguous endings. I am here for it. The atmosphere is spectacular - especially the bugs and how Arlee is afraid of them.

I do agree with some other reviews that Arlee is the worst character, but I think the book still works that way. You can see why Arlee feels the way she does, acts the way she does, and still think she's wrong.

This was a dark and twisted read about a secret (dare I say) cult at a summer camp and the horrors of getting wrapped up in the bonds of "sisterhood". It was disturbing, to say the least. It was interesting and I sped through reading it, eagerly absorbing the plot and wanting to get to the bottom of the mystery. The atmosphere was so creepy and the writing style so immersive, it was easy to step into Arlee's shoes as she felt the sense of dread looming over her. I only wish there was more detail about the history of the sisterhood and the ending was explained in a bit more detail.