This wasn’t a bad read, and the idea of the petting zoos was certainly interesting. But it lost me at all the changes Lily made so rapidly. I expected to read more about the pandemic and less about open group sex clubs. The author seemed to be projecting their own fantasies onto Lily/Kate and I found some of the characters actions confusing and muddled. The plot “twist” with the character reveal was too obvious from the beginning. I felt the ending left a lot to be desired.

Wow, where to start with this book, I will say I didn’t like the very first part where it describes the pandemic as at this point I want to escape from hearing about pandemics but as soon as we pass that intro I was very much invested in every moment of this book, it delves into the need for human touch and what we are willing to do when we’ve been starved of it, what we’ve been missing out on and how to start living life again. A great read and not so far fetched as it may once have seemed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book hits home more now then ever. It takes place 10 years after a pandemic named "Henny Penny". It's very similar to COVID in that everyone has to wear gloves and masks after the pandemic to prevent further spread.

Lily is a writer who decides to write a story on the outlawed petting zoos, places people go to be touched. It was a very interesting concept and the author did a good of creating this post pandemic world as well as the lurid petting zoos.

I liked seeing the petting zoos evolve and become more sexual. The pacing sped up towards the end which made it easier to finish.

The Petting Zoos by author K.S. Covert is a novel I wanted to like. The idea of this book was fascinating to me since when I first encountered this book, there were still mask mandates and social distancing rules where I live. However, the execution just kind of fell flat in the end. The beginning of this book definitely had me more intrigued. I liked the world the author set up, and seeing as we just went through two years of a pandemic it was interesting to see how things could have been so much worse for others.
I thought the idea and the development of the story was so good and intriguing at first and loved watching the main character come out of her shell and form relationships, but towards the end it felt rushed and like the sole purpose of these relationships was just sex.
I don't know, a lot of people seemed to have liked this so maybe it's just me.

The Petting Zoos is a dystopian, post pandemic page turner. I could not put this book down and I think it will live rent free in my brain for a vey long time.
If your not ready to read a book about the aftermath of a global pandemic I would steer clear of this one.

Lily, a single women who survived the virus coined "Henny Penny" early on has been working from home, barely leaving her house. Missing the touch of another person. For over 10 years. I seriously can't even imagine. 10 years!! With strict laws still in place you have to wear masks and gloves at all time in public including specially treated clothing.
Forced to go back to the office and being a single women, set up by the government she must go to a touch clinic which awaken things inside. Her journey of self/ sexual discovery begins.

A pandemic called Henny Penny ravages the world for ten years and counting. Mandatory mask and glove requirements, combined with strict laws restricting practically any private gatherings, create unquenchable “skin hunger.” It causes some people to go insane and orchestrate mass acts of violence - but others go the illicit route and visit underground “petting zoos” where you can go to touch and be touched. Lily King has lived in isolation for the whole pandemic, not touching a single other human being - and her life is about to be changed by the petting zoos.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, and I absolutely loved the beginning of it. I was enraptured in the realistic (perhaps a little too close to home) speculative world building elements, almost like my favorite John Marrs books. The concept is undoubtedly creative, but the execution totally fell flat.

There are lots of ideas in the book that I liked, but I thought it was painfully slow after you get past the exposition. I found my mind wandering after only reading a few pages. Once the conceit of the premise and the plot are established - you’re aware of the pandemic, the world it’s created, the problem Lily is facing, and the concept of petting zoos - things come to a standstill. My interest flagged because it felt like there was little NEW happening, and the plot that was continuing was not one that captured my attention. I’m not sure why I was expecting the pacing or action of a thriller - perhaps because of the John Marrs comparisons - but this quickly turned into just speculative literary fiction.

Overall, I appreciated the unique concept, but I wish the story were better executed. Thank you to Dundurn Press for the ARC via Netgalley!

I don’t really know how to feel about this book. I’m not certain of what I expected when I began reading The Petting Zoos. Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me, and I found myself anxious to read a book with a pandemic. Too soon? Yes, I think perhaps this book is a little too soon and hits a little too close to home for me.

I nearly quit after the first five pages, but I wanted to know about the world of “petting zoos” and for some unknown reason, I was curious about a woman who has shut out the world for a decade. As a survivor of a virus that revenged world, she locks herself in her home for a decade and shuts out the world. During this time, she developed and suffers from multiple mental disorders like health anxiety, agoraphobia, and haphephobia (a fear of being touched). She vomits after any type of skin-to-skin with another human.

As the story processes, her character develops and evolves and in turn, quite honestly it made me wonder what society would be like if deprived of a necessity for a decade. It’s quite a scary thought. I did enjoy watching the mc redevelop her senses, but I was not prepared for a book about a sexual awaken in a post-apocalyptic world. I wish the synopsis stated that in the first sentence. Although, I still find the plot alluring and couldn’t stop reading the final page. I think there is a couple of relationships that were left unfinished. This novel will sit with me for some time. The plot of The Petting Zoos is both terrifying and fascinating.

This has a very, very interesting and close-hitting premise. It’s chock full of great writing, imagery, and an interesting plot that could have kept me hungry for more if it weren’t for the disconnect with characters that I felt. Lily, the main character, seemed to struggle with feeling like she anchored the story for me, leaving the rest to feel flat. There were also times when it was simply hard to read. Still, I would recommend and would definitely read more, just with the hope that there are improvements.

A post pandemic novel hits differently post pandemic! I read the author's note that the idea of this book came to her in 2009, and would be interested in how much of the story was formed before the Covid 19 pandemic started, and how much of it has been formed since. If I'd have read this in 2009 I would have found it fantastical, with no real chance of this happening to this extreme. However, after witnessing how quickly things were closed down in 2020 when the pandemic started, and knowing the very real fear that some of my friends and family still feel I think I have read this with completely different eyes.

Obviously the world created within this book is more extreme than the one we faced in the UK, however I can imagine that it is not far from the scenes in some other countries where the restrictions are still more severe than here. I can only imagine how our lives would be now had the virus been even more deadly, and this is the world depicted in the book, where 10 years have passed and half the population has been wiped out by the virus, losing almost whole generations.

The pain of loneliness is very real for some people and I can absolutely see how the Petting Zoos would become a must sought after commodity, especially if there is money to be made.

The writing started off grey and flat, much like the life of the MC, however as she ventured back out into the world and her life become more nuanced and colourful, so did the writing which I thought was very clever in reflecting her inner life and consciousness. I thought the premise was really interesting, however once she becomes a member of the zoos it felt like a different book, less about the affects of the pandemic on human nature, and more a study of how people's drives and needs change as they are given access to more and more sexual activity and I lost a lot of interest in it.

I found the last few chapters cliched and unoriginal and lost all interest in the characters. The book descends from an interesting study of the needs of society and individuals, into just another Fifty Shades of Grey.

It's easy to relate to Henny Penny, the virus that causes the pandemic, as it resembles what we've experienced in the last couple of years in our daily lives. Businesses struggle and eventually close their doors. The government mandates masks. Restrictions are put in place on how many people can gather together. The vaccines are produced to help protect, and either people are overly cautious about who they are around, or they are on the other side of things and don't care.

Our main character, Lily, has been working from home since contracting Henny Penny. She finds herself with "skin hunger" and finds herself wanting to "scratch the itch," but not before getting the gentle push she needs from her boss when he gives her a project. She must report about The Petting Zoos. Kaz is part owner of a Petting Zoo chain, quickly becoming more than just another option in the Zoo world. As he guides her through the illegal world he has helped to create, their story unfolds.

The idea of the Zoos is interesting, finding out there are different levels and what they consist of. Parts of the book really had my attention while others had me slightly bored. I found myself really interested in how the pandemic has affected the world and comparing it to how it aligns with our own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ten years after the vaccine for Henny Penny, a deadly virus that took over the world, Lily is forced to go out to the open and rediscover life in and out of herself.

I enjoyed this book. The pandemic setting was really exciting and with many details that made me feel intrigued and a bit part of it.
Lily’s journey in coming back to life felt like a nice process, but some parts made me feel like reading Fifty Shades of Gray all over again, fortunately, those were not as many as I could have imagined, but it made me lose track sometimes.
The book made me want more, especially about the other characters' backgrounds, moreover for Sophie. I consider that the book had a decent but rushed ending where everything is solved without us witnessing it, I wouldn’t have been mad about a larger book.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for this ARC.

*Thank you @Netgalley and publisher, Dundern Press, for providing me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Following a devastating pandemic, the remaining world has become sterile under strict government laws to control the spread of the virus. Lily has spent 10 years in isolation without human contact. When she is forced to return to work and leave her isolation, she discovers that she has developed "skin hunger." She is sent to a government mandated "touch clinic" to help with this issue but when that isn't enough she is introduced to the world of illegal underground petting zoos.

This was an interesting story concept and commentary of the mental health impacts of isolation and fears caused by a pandemic. Although the petting zoos start off as a way to adjust to the post-pandemic world, the protagonist embarks on a journey of self-discovery that goes back to her childhood. There was a bit of sexual content throughout the story but nothing overtly graphic.

The story got me hooked after a few pages. The metamorphosis of Lily was thrilling. It was interesting to read about what would happen if the sense of touch cannot be used on human skin for long periods of time. It was a great read!

For two years a viral disease ravages humankind. Businesses close. People work from home. Sound familiar?

I this story though, following the mass loss of life, the world stays locked down for 10 years and people are under some very strict protocols such as isolation and personal protective equipment…. Still sound familiar?

After 12 years working from home and living in complete isolation with no family, no love interest, no roommate and almost dying from contracting “Henny Penny”, Lily is experiencing skin hunger and her doctor refers her to what is basically a hug clinic. It is a massage without a massage and basically involves a clinician wearing gloves touching Lily over her clothed body. She becomes rather addicted to this service and it isn’t long before she is looking for something “harder”.

Two things happen - her editor asks her to write a human interest piece on the Petting Zoos that are known to exist and her doctor also recommends that she might seek comfort there. What is a Petting Zoo? It is an organized meet up for people looking for human touch and more advanced forms of human bonding (and yes they go there - full on sexual contact in a group setting) .

So all of this above - sort of intrigued me. I seriously wondered how people survived that nearly 2 year interruption in socialization and worried about the mental health impact of being isolated.

But - the book was also exploring how Lily became isolated and then “grew” into herself - leaving the safety of her long term employment and finding love (or was that still lust?) and friendship. I am not sure that we understood all she lost and how the pandemic changed her but we do get to see her road to recovery.

I find it hard to rate this book and don’t think it would be well accepted if we hadn’t all just lost ourselves a bit during COVID. That said, there is enough of a curious tale here and as long as you can handle a bit of sexual content in your books, I think this would be an interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn for an E- ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Petting Zoos was an interesting and unique read. As an erotic book focused on sensuality, I actually would have expected more explicit sexual content but it remained very evasive around the details, focusing more on thought process and character. Overall, this book was a lot more self-reflective than I had expected. More than anything, it is surprisingly a coming-of-age story, despite our main character being somewhere in her 40s, which I find very refreshing.

I enjoyed the progression of the book; the pacing was on the slower side but felt natural and well-executed. There isn’t much in the way of action or thrill but the worldbuilding and concept was highly intriguing, especially with Covid-19 acting as a real-world backdrop to the more dire fictional Henny Penny. As a main character, Lily’s development was great; personally, I found her struggle relatable and her transformation inspiring.

Why I can not give the book five stars personally was the lack of dimension in the other characters, as well as the long sections exposition in dialogue. Lily is well developed and in following her, we see the most of her. The second most developed character would likely be Kaz but I really don’t see much in him. He is personable and charming but by the end of the book, his development mostly amounts to his mysterious aura being dissolved through certain revelations. Otherwise, Lily singularly carries the book and while that may work for some people, it left me wanting her to face more contention and external conflict. I kept expecting the regency to play a more active role before the conclusion of the book (picturing 1984 but with a more uplifting ending).

Additionally, this book leans a lot into dialogue-based world building. I enjoy dialogue but this story tipped the scales of having too much telling over showing. If it had been broken up with a little more environmental detail or dispersed more artfully, that would have improved my experience.

All in all, I enjoyed Petting Zoos a lot and I look forward to seeing what this author makes next!

A novel set 10 years after a horrific pandemic. I liked the premise but the narrative was slow and in many ways the character of Lily was likeable but colourless, a sort of everywoman. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

This was such an interesting take on pandemics, I truly enjoyed this book. At first I was a bit apprehensive with the topic considering the current climate of the world. But it was so engaging I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the ARC in an exchange for my honest review!

This book just wasn’t for me. I’ve read a couple after pandemic novels recently and feel that maybe the timing was just off.
I really enjoyed the writing and how the story went from blah to bright. I’ve never seen the writing follow the characters growth before and it was really cool to experience.

Received a free copy from NetGalley

The Petting Zoos by K.S Covert is at first uncomfortable to read as the main character Lily fully embodies the unease (that many of us have felt with covid) of reintegrating into society after a virus has decimated global populations and laws regarding wearing of protective masks, gloves, and even clothing are still in effect even after 10 years from the onset of the virus.

Although the author conceived of this idea years before covid, it’s hard not to see the parallels between Lily’s world and our own and the possible outcomes if Covid was as intense as Henny Penny, the virus in the novel. In Lily’s world people are going insane from skin hunger and with the return-to-work order, Lily is sent to a clinic to receive physical tough therapy - not finding what she needs - she contemplates Petting Zoos, illegal clubs where people pay to touch others or have themselves touched. From “vanilla” zoos, that are merely just simple touching, all the way to “dark chocolate” zoos where sexual encounters with multiple partners is the norm.

From her self (and not) imposed isolation we see Lily confront her past and present self, as a woman, her sexuality, her place in society, and the friends she had before the virus and those she makes over the course the novel with these Petting Zoos as the stage/background. From her unease at going back into “in-person” society after 10 years of isolation to embracing the freedoms she discovers in the Petting Zoos and in herself.

The story makes you confront the imposed rules and roles that society has placed on individuals in regards to sexuality, sexual kinks, and outside of that our civil duties to society and ourselves.

Long story short, this novel was a meditative contemplation of life after a life altering event and how we should pause to really consider ourselves and our wants and needs outside of societies sometimes strict expectations. This was well written. Recommended to those who want to see what a possible future could have been for us had Covid taken a more drastic turn than it already has.

I don’t know what to say about this one but I’m gonna say it anyway. I am uncomfortable but also comfortable? Idk. This took me about 40 pages to actually get into, but then I was hooked and then the book really surprised me. Some of the chapters were very long and felt maybe too long, but overall I think it worked. It was weird and wonderful and I somehow liked the weird journey. I also didn’t expect the love story that developed and though I probably should have expected the erotic nature given the description of the book, that was a surprise to me. The pandemic stuff landed so close to home and I cannot believe she wrote this before our real pandemic because wow. I could imagine a world like this had things gone differently in our reality. I’m glad this book is in the world!