A extremely slow burn of a book that almost had me not DNFing, but I am glad I stuck it out. A story about two estranged brothers who are called home by their toxic and abusive patriarch. The narrative shifts between past and present, illuminating the horrific childhood the brothers had to endure. The mythological elements don’t really show up until the end, but if you can endure the slow pace, you will be rewarded.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book is about Nick Morrow, who is nothing like his father Carlyle and his brother Joshua. They’re both hardened by the world and everything that has happened to their family. Where Nick is not; he is still caring, introverted and wants the best in life. Nick didn’t have the best life growing up and all he has ever wanted was to be able to live the life he wanted without his brother and father, but when his father calls him and tells him that he is sick and that he needs to come home with his brother too. He goes for some closure with his father but when Joshua's wife Emelia comes back to the house with him, Nick can feel that something isn’t right.

This book was beautifully written, it is a mix of Chinese mythology and gothic horror. I liked that the chapters alternate from Then and Now, and you get to see how Nick grew up and how his life is now, and what is going on the farmland where his father still lives. With Carlyle having everyone come to his house, even Emelia who he swore would never step foot on his land or house ever again all because she is Asian and “he is not having that in HIS family” yeah, he is one of those kinds of people. This book is a slow burn, and in my opinion, I do think that it could have been shorter and still been an amazing book but I felt at times that I was getting an info dump or information that wasn’t really necessary. However, that didn’t take away from the beautiful writing and the story that Pedersen wrote. I did love having a mix of Chinese mythology, and gothic horror; I found it to be beautiful.

If you pick up this book just know that you will see trauma, violence, dark family issues, Chinese mythology, gothic/horror, as well as points that the author had to deal with being an adopted child of Asian descent in Nebraska, and her experiences as a gay kid coming of age throughout the book.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to review this book.

I don't know how I felt about this one. I see what the author was going for, but the pace and the alternating didn't quite work for me. I think I probably wouldn't have finished this one had it not been for the audiobook. I enjoyed the narration by Yung-I Chang.

. The story follows protagonist Josie, who is struggling to navigate her personal demons and emotional turmoil after the tragic death of her brother. As she grapples with her feelings of abandonment and confusion, Josie’s journey unfolds with raw intensity, uncovering the ways people cope with tragedy—through self-destruction, denial, and, ultimately, acceptance.

Pedersen’s writing is poetic and introspective, capturing the fragility of her characters’ lives. The novel is both a deep character study and a meditation on how individuals find meaning in the wake of trauma. The pacing is reflective, allowing readers to immerse themselves in Josie’s inner world and the emotional weight she carries.

While the novel may feel slow at times due to its introspective nature, *Sacrificial Animals* offers a rewarding experience for readers who appreciate nuanced, emotional storytelling. Pedersen’s exploration of grief is raw and unflinching, making this a powerful read for those who enjoy literary fiction that delves into the complexities of the human experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I'm going to be honest. I DNF'd this book after only a few pages. For me, it was the book equivalent of static. With every single sentence trying so hard to be filled with pomp and importance, it made nothing important at all. i just couldn't read it.

The father figure in this book is one of the most reprehensible characters that I have run across in years of reading. He is racist, abusive (both mentally and physically) to his sons. As grown men they return home when they learn the father is dying.

If nothing else, this story will have you feeling a range of emotions. Dislike for the father, empathy for the damaged children he raised.

Not for everyone. May trigger folks who have experienced trauma in their lives. Overall, good story with characters you won’t soon forget.

[arc review]
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc n exchange for an honest review.
Sacrificial Animals releases August 20, 2024

To put it bluntly, this was not what I was expecting. I can see what the author was trying to do by mirroring the literal animal sacrifices on the Morrow’s property to Nick’s upbringing as a child and the way he was treated and viewed by his father, but for the most part, I found that the underlying mythology was painfully obvious where it tried to be obscure, and the conflicts were too slow to reveal themselves considering what was given away in the blurb.

I’m curious what the thought process was behind basing this as a literary horror/mystery novel instead of centering it somewhere in the contemporary fantasy genre with horror elements.
I believe this would have had much more potential as a short story split into two parts, rather than utilizing a then/now narrative.

cw: animal death/cruelty, physical abuse, infidelity, racism + racial slurs

A horror thriller diving into themes of adoption, abuse, & inherited trauma. Nick Marrow is called back to his family farm in Nebraska for a deathbed reconciliation. Nick's brother Joshua and his wife Emilia are also there. As Joshua grows closer to his father, Nick grows closer to Joushua's wife Emilia. But Nick is starting to think that this flirtatious affair might have sisnter motivations.

This book was really not my cup of tea, It was boring and pretentious and not at all interesting, It could have been more effective as a 15 page short story, but it was overwritten and trying to be something it wasn't. It took me two and a half months to read something that should have taken a few days. I found that almost nothing happened until the 80% mark and by then it was much too little much too late. This novel could have really used an editor and really simplify the writing so the story was more of a central focus. There was absolutely no tension, no characterization, and no humanistic elements. I couldn't connect with any character and couldn't connect to the story. It didn't delve deep into the themes of generational and systemic trauma, only brushed the surface and I was unsatisfied.

I'm not sure I will read anything else from this author.

Here is my full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6585567694

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the EARC.
This was a wonderfully written story that is a bit slow at times. It has a great sense of mystery on what is truly happening. There's hints all through on what Emilia is but the pieces aren't so easly put together.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

This was so interesting. I couldn’t put it down.

2.5 stars

Was this a bad book? No, not exactly. But it was written at a high reading level and with all the stress of this year's elections, I just had a hard time focusing on this book, as evidenced by how long it took me to finish it. The story moves back and forth in time, and while the story is told from Nick's point-of-view (I'm not sure I could have handled multiple POVs), there is enough overlap between what he felt then and what he feels now that I couldn't always keep track of where we were in time. Moreover, I didn't like any of the characters, although I suppose in some ways, Nick was the most potentially likable character there was. But the damage wrought by his father and brother, as well as the loss of his mother left a broken and not very likable guy.

I liked the melding of horror and Chinese mythology, and I've read other stories of the nine-tail fox (the most recent of them being Red Winter by Annette Marie, which I loved), so it was interesting reading Kailee Pedersen's take on the myth. This was much darker in many ways, and there were moments when I wanted to yell at Nick to run far, far away (although I'm not so sure that would have helped).

I mentioned earlier the prose, and while it was beautifully done, I'm grateful I was reading this on a kindle when I could hold down the word to look it up because this happened often. Perhaps I just needed to be in a different frame of mind, but while I respect the author's writing (it really is well-written), it just didn't connect with me in a way that made me want to keep on reading. I am glad I did persevere, because I appreciated the ending, and for that, I rounded up in my rating. But overall, this was not really my cup of tea. I suspect, based on the mixed reviews, that people either love it or are bored by it. I wasn't bored exactly, but I didn't feel connected the way I was expecting to. Still, I am glad I gave it a try.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a very interesting read that I liked but didn't love. I think it lands with a 3.5 stars rounded up.

Congrats to the author on her debut novel; writing and publishing a book is a remarkable achievement.

I was really hoping to love book this but sadly I did not. Folklore and horror combined sounds great but the story and characters were a bit predictable (for me at least). None of the 3 main characters had any redeeming qualities and I disliked all of them. The story started out with terrible animal cruelty that made me accurately and correctly guess the end of the book and really the whole story. The story was monotonous and drawn out, very very slow moving.

I will probably give the author another chance with her next book.

**Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.**

An interesting premise with an eerily sinister tone and foreboding for days, this atmospheric horror novel creatively incorporates Chinese mythology into the story. If you're a fan of graphically gory fiction, past and present timelines and rich, complex writing, you might enjoy this one.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to the e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was not a fan. Very tedious to read, very monotonous, didn't like Nick AT ALL. Same themes, and literally nothing happened until the very end of the book. I almost didn't finish, but the synopsis sounded so good, I was like, something has to happen right? Right?????

The same themes just kept repeating over and over: abusive dad, a crazy connection to stags crossing, dad favors Joshua, Nick slept with a man, and he's never been able to forget about it. Just to sprinkle in something positive, the time shifts were well done. Sometimes authors get things jumbled up when it comes to time jumps, but she did a good job here.

Overall disappointed because I was so looking forward to this book.

This one got kicked down my TBR list and took longer to read than I expected. It wasn't fantastic, but it was enjoyable. I'd love to read another work by this author.

This was not a pleasant read for me. I thought the premise was intriguing but I was not a fan of the flowery writing. I hated the characters. Nick was just miserable and he constantly felt sorry for himself, his father was an abusive a-hole, his brother Joshua was another a-hole.

There is a lot of animal death in this book, which I did not like. It is gruesome, especially the deaths of the baby foxes in the beginning.

The story moved very slowly, and the action did not pick up until the very end. I was so ready to dnf the book multiple times, but I pushed on through. The ending is what made me change my rating. I was going to rate this 2 stars but the ending moved it up to a 3.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an eARC of this book via NetGalley for review.

Inspired by Kailee Pedersen's own journey being adopted from Nanning, China in 1996 and growing up on a farm in Nebraska, this rich and atmospheric supernatural horror debut explores an ancient Chinese mythology.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me an ARC of this book! I’ve decided to DNF this book at 61% because I don’t like the writing style. The story is too slow. I don’t care about the characters or what’s going on in the story.

Meet the Morrow family. Carlyle is the patriarch of the clan, a racist man who intimidates and terrorizes his sons, Joshua and Nick. Nick, the youngest of the two, faces a majority of the violence and rage from his father. The family lives together at Stag’s Crossing, a grand estate built on a large parcel of land, but when Joshua falls in love with and decides to marry an Asian woman he is quickly disowned by his father and sent packing. Years later, when Carlyle is knocking on Death’s door, Carlyle allows Joshua and his wife Emilia to return to Stag’s Crossing, but this isn’t the happy family reunion some had been hoping for.

Sacrificial Animals is a supernatural horror novel whose roots can be found in Chinese mythology. It is a novel that explores not only mythology but race and family drama as well. I was intrigued by the premise, but it moved a little too slow. I also feel like there needed to be more of a focus on Emilia. The narrative jumps between timelines, taking the reader on a journey both within the present and to the past, which is a literary device I often enjoy, but I feel like Pedersen was trying to do too much and this would have worked better as a novella.

The audiobook for Sacrificial Animals was well done, however I really began to enjoy the audiobook more at ¾ of the way through the novel because that is when things really started to pick up. The pacing and inflection were good and I was drawn into the novel as much as I could be at various points within the narrative, but being a slow-burn novel I struggled to maintain focus on the audio at times, especially when I did not have the book in my hands.