This tale of supernatural revenge takes awhile to unpack its elements but climaxes in the Southern Gothic inspired destruction of a family.

The story was beautifully written but I don’t think it was for me. The double timeline was boring and confusing at times. I enjoyed the narration and the thought of this book.

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.

Sacrofcoa; Animals were just not for me. It felt way longer and then I got over 50% and sadly just couldn't get myself to read anymore and I have the audiobook. I kept reading over things or chose to watch TV just so as not to read this. If it was much shorter I think I would have enjoyed it. If it sounds like something you would like then give it a try. The narration was done well, and the tone and vibe was good. The story just didn't click with me.

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.

SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS
Kailee Pedersen

AITA or is it hard to find good horror books to read? It took me all year to find only a handful of reasonable contenders, and this was one of the top ones I read this year.

In SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS we are following Nick. Nick was living his life, that what it was, minding his own business when he receives a letter from his estranged abusive father. He must return home as he has responsibilities and things to do and take care of. It is the last thing he wants to do right now, but it is the only thing that seems like the right thing to do.

The only relationship more complicated than the one between Nick and his father is the one between Nick and his brother Joshua. They lived a long and hard childhood together. They might be the only ones who know the bounds of their father's abusiveness, If not for Emilia, who knows it the most.

What will happen when all three of them return home and are made to live again in the confines of the only hell they have ever known? Only time and SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS will tell. And you’ll have to read it to hear the story yourself.

This was great. I had a good time reading and I did not guess the twist. I love when that happens. This is my first Pedersen, and I hope it won’t be my last.

The writing is fierce and quick, and the character development is strong. The writing and the characters are not my only favorite things about SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS. The storyline, which I’m sure sounds familiar to you is like revisiting an old friend. Except the friend has changed and morphed into something unrecognizable. Something wicked and terrible.

If you’ve been waiting for something to impress you and haunt you, look no further. SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS is it.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies! I loved this on audiobook.

SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one wasn't super for me. It was bogged down a bit by the writing and I felt bored when I expected more thrilling aspects.

Spooky Season 🧛🏻‍♀️ 🕷️ 🔪 ☠️ 👻 ⚰️

Not for me. I don't even think I hated this. It was just boring. Zana peaced out mid-buddy read, but I like to finish ARCs.

You know those stories told in two timelines where one storyline is vastly better than the other? No. Not here. I hate the past. I hate the present. Nick and Joshua grow up with their racist father, Carlyle, in bumfuck nowhere. Interesting spelling of Carlisle. r/tragedeigh?

Joshua marries Emilia, an Asian American woman. Carlyle says no. Joshua, like Zana, peaces tf out. Nick remains, because he's the youngest, and boohoo, oh so sad. Except it's not sad. It's boring.

Things are supposed to take a sinister turn when Carlyle is dying in the present day storyline. He invites Joshua and Emilia back. Nick, like every other white guy, fetishizes his sister in law. The more things are supposed to be scary, the more boring they become. The end.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

This book is difficult for me to review. On one hand I hated it and on the other I loved it. This book is an extremely slow burn. Most of the horror and revelations happen at the very end and this was the part that frustrated me. I felt like not a lot I happened for large chunks of time and I just wanted it to hurry up and start moving along. This really frustrated me and detracted from my overall enjoyment of the novel. Pederson’s prose is beautiful, poetic in style, but ultimately it could not make up for the slow pace.

This book is a family drama filled with trauma and it is dark to say the least. There isn’t much levity to be found but there is a wonderful forbidding atmosphere that is created. I loved the blending of Chinese mythology with midwestern sensibilities and the culture clash that it created. So a mixed bag for me. I will say that the audio was well done and the narration was wonderful and probably helped me stick with the book. Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for this arc.

SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS by Kailee Pederson. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @macmillanaudio for the audio-ARC.

🦊🦊🦊

Nick's old, abusive, curmudgeon of a father has invited him and his older brother Joshua, including his wife, Amelia back to Stagg's Crossing where they grew up. His father Carlisle is dying and though he has barely spoken to his boys for years, he seems to be itching for a reunion. Nick treads lightly assuming a trick or deceit from his father who has played games with them his whole life, when the real deceit has been lurking in the shadow for decades.

🦊🦊🦊

This book was just ok for me. I kept going back and forth as to whether I was enjoying it. I appreciate the sentiment/message of this story but it was REALLY slow and almost too nuanced for me- while I generally enjoy this specific folklore trickster trope, it was not even apparent where the story was going for much of the book. I wanted a little more uncanniness or action but didn't really get that until the last couple of hours of the audiobook.

What starts as an unobtrusive yet sad and dark novel, quickly evolves into a dark horror story that leaves you thinking WTF...

I will say I was surprised starting the novel given the description and inspiration, however, after getting into the book more (and because I happened to read the Fox Woman earlier this year), I quickly realized the myth that inspired the story. I will say though, I certainly had a moment of WTF as I was listening to the novel.

I would recommend to those interested in horror books, or retelling of the specific myth (not to give too much away).

The audio quality was good, and the production enjoyable.

DNF @ 10%. Unfortunately I could not get into this book and at this time have decided to put it aside.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book is visceral, atmospheric, bleak, and full of creeping dread. It is a very slow burn horror novel that deals with themes of generational trauma, child abuse, coming to terms with sexuality, toxic masculinity, and racism.

I thoroughly enjoyed the past/present storylines and the way they came together. I also greatly enjoyed the prose in this book. It was so beautifully written, and these themes were dealt with so masterfully. I think the slower nature of this novel will deter some readers, but I found it perfect for the story that was being told.

The narration of this audiobook was wonderful, and it made me like the story even more.

Publication date: 20 August 2024

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio (#MacAudio) for the ARC/ALC!

When Nick left home, he never expected his abusive father to invite him back to their Nebraskan farm. But neither Nick nor his brother, Joshua, who has been disowned for marrying an Asian woman, can ignore their father’s request, as he is dying and hoping to reconcile with his sons. Joshua quickly falls into a routine with their father, while Nick ends up earning special interest from his brother’s wife, Emilia. It doesn’t take long for Nick to wonder if Emilia’s interest is more sinister than heartfelt.

Considered supernatural horror, “Sacrificial Animals” contained everything I love in a horror book! The instant feeling of unease and darkness looming drew me in quickly. I found the use of flashbacks to Nick and Joshua’s childhood to be the perfect way to dig into their past; the use of dual timelines worked very well. I also loved learning more about Chinese mythology, and seeing how the author drew from her own experiences was really cool too. I was fascinated by the character of Emilia, and I felt the pacing always picked up when she was the focal point.

The author also tackled the dark topics of racism, homophobia and childhood trauma in such a respectful way as well. Those topics were all interwoven into the story in such a way that this also read like literary fiction to me. Overall, a deeply atmospheric and spooky read, “Sacrificial Animals” is not one to miss!

This story is out now! This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly )

I did not particularly enjoy this book. I couldn't get into it and I'm not sure what the point of it was.

This was such an interesting debut! I loved the way rural American life, queer identity, familial expectations, horror, and Chinese mythology all intersected. This is a dark and subtly strong debut novel, that is written beautifully and has a story that subverts all expectations. A slow burn that builds in drama and tension until the last page. I will definitely be checking out what this author does next!

This is a difficult review to write because it's one of those times when it's probably not the book, it's me. I was very intrigued by the premise of the book, but somehow it never really grabbed me. It might've been my mood, quite possibly had I read it at another time I'd have been pulled in. But while I enjoyed the writing, and I've never been one that needs to like the characters in books as I read them, I found it especially easy to actively dislike all of these characters. It was hard to find someone to "root for", and therefore I didn't much care what happened to any of them. And since this is a slow-burn of a horror story, it just felt like it took way to long for the horror part to get going (not that there wasn't a fair bit of horror in the flashbacks to hunting scenes and abusive father scenes). In the end I can see how this would appeal to many readers, but it just wasn't for me. On the other hand, I did enjoy Kailee Pedersen's writing style (if not the subject matter) and hope she'll continue writing, I'd definitely be willing to give her future books a try.
I had both the Kindle edition and the audiobook, and found myself mostly listening to this one. The narration by Yung-I Chang was nicely done.
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing copies for an unbiased review.

This story centers around the Morrow family. Carlyle is the tough, abusive father and owner of the thousand acre farm in rural Nebraska. He has two sons, the oldest Joshua, who is the favorite, and Nick. Both have returned to the farm after 20 years at their father’s request. Joshua was disowned after marrying Emilia, a beautiful young Asian woman. Nick went out to live his own life as a writer away from the oppressive life he had with his father. As the story unfolds we are given insight to Nick’s younger years as he struggled with his father’s brutality and favoritism of his brother and his own sexuality. Upon their return to the farm Nick finds himself an outcast again when his brother and father reconcile. The difference this time is that Emilia is also left out. Nick and Emilia already had a connection but this amplifies things between the two. Nick is inexplicably drawn to her and finds himself questioning her past by reflecting on his own. There is more to Emilia than meets the eye.

Let me begin by saying this is incredibly well written. The writer delivers an atmospheric story that talks impressively about humanity, life in rural Nebraska and a dysfunctional family. The story was interesting but moved at a snail’s pace. Instead of feeling like it’s 320 pages it felt like it was double that. The actual “horror” part of the story was not revealed until near the end. What an ending it was!! I would have liked to see more tension built up earlier that hinted at more of the center of the story because it was so interesting!! I wanted more of that and less of the flashbacks. Overall a very interesting and well written story, the pacing was just too slow.

3 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an advanced copy

I really wanted to love it. The premise was amazing and I was so excited...

It was slow. Like painfully slow. It felt stuffed out to me. There were some really solid elements to the book and had it been about a 1/3 shorter, it would have worked.

It didn't feel like a horror either. There wasn't any suspense building, nothing really scary about it. The characters were decent, I think a lot of the interactions were well written but I was just underwhelmed with the book as a whole.

3 stars

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.