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Fragile Animals
When an ex-catholic woman develops a sexual relationship with a vampire, she is forced to confront the memories that haunt her religious past.
Struggling to deal with the familial trauma of her Catholic upbringing, hotel cleaner, Noelle, travels to the Isle of Bute. There, she meets a man who claims to be a vampire, and a relationship blooms between them based solely on confession. But as talk turns sacrilegious, and the weather outside grows colder, Noelle struggles to come to terms with her blasphemous sexuality. She becomes hounded by memories of her past: her mother’s affair with the local priest, and the part she played in ending it.
Struggling to deal with the familial trauma of her Catholic upbringing, hotel cleaner, Noelle, travels to the Isle of Bute. There, she meets a man who claims to be a vampire, and a relationship blooms between them based solely on confession. But as talk turns sacrilegious, and the weather outside grows colder, Noelle struggles to come to terms with her blasphemous sexuality. She becomes hounded by memories of her past: her mother’s affair with the local priest, and the part she played in ending it.
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 25, 2024
134 people are currently reading
11547 people want to read
About the author
Genevieve Jagger
3 books71 followersGenevieve Jagger is a queer writer and witch from Scotland. Deeply involved in the literary community, Genevieve is a co-editor for Witch Craft Magazine. Genevieve’s writing can be found across the web at such locations as, X-RAY Magazine, Expat Press, and Body Fluids Lit Mag. Additional to writing, Genevieve works as a tarot reader, dealing fortunes across Glasgow.
Genevieve was raised Catholic, which has very much influenced the themes of her debut novel, Fragile Animals. She is a Scorpio, a sinner, and quite distinctly autistic. You can most often find her feeding magpies and crying over the smallness of all things.
Genevieve was raised Catholic, which has very much influenced the themes of her debut novel, Fragile Animals. She is a Scorpio, a sinner, and quite distinctly autistic. You can most often find her feeding magpies and crying over the smallness of all things.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 543 reviews
April 17, 2024
Ah, I love the bitter taste of repressed Catholic sapphics with mommy issues, it hits like no other
October 7, 2024
listen i know this was a debut so i don’t wanna be too mean but wow did i find this amateurish. it’s a shame because this book was very hyped up on the internet before its release and the concept seemed interesting enough so i was really hoping i’d enjoy it. everyone kept going on about mommy issues and religious trauma but the way these two themes were presented was not compelling to me.
Firstly Noelle just isn’t an interesting character to me and for the first quarter of the book nothing about her really stood out personality wise like sure she was raised in a very religious home but that does not equal relgious trauma especially when in present day she’s not religious anymore and just kinda does whatever she wants but boy will she remind you that she USED to be religious, that she USED to care. religious trauma is something that goes down to ur bones and eats you away on the inside and noelle just never gave that to me, she has her “weird” writing and her long history of lovers and her gay best friend, gay white twink #6, like she’s very average. sure it can be interesting seeing a person reflect on their trauma in a “look how far you’ve come” kind of way but personally i think characters actively working on their trauma through the course of the narrative is more interesting.
she has mommy issues in the sense that yeah her mom was a bad person but has it effected the people shes friends with? her romantic relationships? the type of woman she’s attracted to? does she find herself drawn to women who cheat or desperately crave the approval of older women who treat her terribly?does she find herself sexually aroused by things that remind her of her mom and the realization disgusts her so much she has to atone for the sin of wanting to find comfort in a lover? not really, so once again very bland explorations of theme but maybe that’s my fault because i read too much IT fanfiction lol. I also read a lot of Good Omens fanfiction so when you say religious trauma i’m expecting a very thorough exploration of it, like you can even get freaky with it like this book revels in its sexual aspects so like why not make connections between catholicisms romanticism of suffering and bad sexual practices? like if noelle was a lesbian sleeping with men for self harm purposes maybe that’s could’ve been something but noelle doesn’t seem to be a lesbian, i get sapphic is a purposely vague term but she seems to enjoy being with men so she’s probably not a lesbian (plus if they wanted her to be read as a lesbian they’d probably use the term lesbian lol). they kinda get close to this idea with noelle hooking up with the husband of a lady she kinda crushed on but again it’s lacks punch. where’s the sauce? her brief encounters with women really pale in comparison to her sexual escapades with men too which was a choice.
Noelles main character traits seem to be how she’s always on the verge of shitting and liking women but not accepting it. other than that idk she’s like a writer?? i’m assuming she likes that…someone please get her some ibs medication or something! she can’t live like this.
the vampire stuff was so bland to me too like the vampire character in question literally just tells Noelle “I’m a vampire” in the very beginning of the book, no tension no mystery no sauce, and the two develop a relationship of them talking about past lovers and it was so boring to me like omg do something! im so tired of books where the characters barely do anything besides reminisce and talk! move around! interact with the setting!!
this book also includes hit lines like
“eyefucking a vampire all week”
“film me gaping my ass”
“shit going right through me”
“feeling that’s like peeing but won’t go away when i pee”
“sleeping is homophobic”
“fucked me with a candle”
like i have to laugh??? what is this??? what are these lines doing in a vampire book marketing itself as dark and deep. this writing would be okay if i was reading a contemporary rom com but not anything trying to be gothic. also very surprised noelle had an ex partner who wanted to do butt stuff with her considering how she stays on that toilet!
plot wise the blurb gave away most of the twists anyways so even the sections about Noelles past weren’t super interesting me like i know where this is going already! she was a bit more compelling in the past sections since she actually had religious issues during those parts but it was still such a snooze fest, nothing unique at all. ur dad became a satanist after ur mom cheated on him like girl that’s the set up to a comedy routine i can’t take this seriously! also there’s a part where our stereotypical gay friend character reads Call me by your Name and references the peach fucking scene like please be serious i’m begging you all to let that book/movie GO
i feel like poop references have gone up in books lately….i blame ottessa moshfegh
Firstly Noelle just isn’t an interesting character to me and for the first quarter of the book nothing about her really stood out personality wise like sure she was raised in a very religious home but that does not equal relgious trauma especially when in present day she’s not religious anymore and just kinda does whatever she wants but boy will she remind you that she USED to be religious, that she USED to care. religious trauma is something that goes down to ur bones and eats you away on the inside and noelle just never gave that to me, she has her “weird” writing and her long history of lovers and her gay best friend, gay white twink #6, like she’s very average. sure it can be interesting seeing a person reflect on their trauma in a “look how far you’ve come” kind of way but personally i think characters actively working on their trauma through the course of the narrative is more interesting.
she has mommy issues in the sense that yeah her mom was a bad person but has it effected the people shes friends with? her romantic relationships? the type of woman she’s attracted to? does she find herself drawn to women who cheat or desperately crave the approval of older women who treat her terribly?does she find herself sexually aroused by things that remind her of her mom and the realization disgusts her so much she has to atone for the sin of wanting to find comfort in a lover? not really, so once again very bland explorations of theme but maybe that’s my fault because i read too much IT fanfiction lol. I also read a lot of Good Omens fanfiction so when you say religious trauma i’m expecting a very thorough exploration of it, like you can even get freaky with it like this book revels in its sexual aspects so like why not make connections between catholicisms romanticism of suffering and bad sexual practices? like if noelle was a lesbian sleeping with men for self harm purposes maybe that’s could’ve been something but noelle doesn’t seem to be a lesbian, i get sapphic is a purposely vague term but she seems to enjoy being with men so she’s probably not a lesbian (plus if they wanted her to be read as a lesbian they’d probably use the term lesbian lol). they kinda get close to this idea with noelle hooking up with the husband of a lady she kinda crushed on but again it’s lacks punch. where’s the sauce? her brief encounters with women really pale in comparison to her sexual escapades with men too which was a choice.
Noelles main character traits seem to be how she’s always on the verge of shitting and liking women but not accepting it. other than that idk she’s like a writer?? i’m assuming she likes that…someone please get her some ibs medication or something! she can’t live like this.
the vampire stuff was so bland to me too like the vampire character in question literally just tells Noelle “I’m a vampire” in the very beginning of the book, no tension no mystery no sauce, and the two develop a relationship of them talking about past lovers and it was so boring to me like omg do something! im so tired of books where the characters barely do anything besides reminisce and talk! move around! interact with the setting!!
this book also includes hit lines like
“eyefucking a vampire all week”
“film me gaping my ass”
“shit going right through me”
“feeling that’s like peeing but won’t go away when i pee”
“sleeping is homophobic”
“fucked me with a candle”
like i have to laugh??? what is this??? what are these lines doing in a vampire book marketing itself as dark and deep. this writing would be okay if i was reading a contemporary rom com but not anything trying to be gothic. also very surprised noelle had an ex partner who wanted to do butt stuff with her considering how she stays on that toilet!
plot wise the blurb gave away most of the twists anyways so even the sections about Noelles past weren’t super interesting me like i know where this is going already! she was a bit more compelling in the past sections since she actually had religious issues during those parts but it was still such a snooze fest, nothing unique at all. ur dad became a satanist after ur mom cheated on him like girl that’s the set up to a comedy routine i can’t take this seriously! also there’s a part where our stereotypical gay friend character reads Call me by your Name and references the peach fucking scene like please be serious i’m begging you all to let that book/movie GO
i feel like poop references have gone up in books lately….i blame ottessa moshfegh
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2024
somebody please get this poor girl an imodium.
March 15, 2024
Me 🤝 sexy religious trauma 🤝 taxidermy
July 6, 2025
when it was good i indulged like a starved field mouse after a barren winter, when it was bad i considered watching paint dry
Fragile Animals is an offbeat and quirky debut that I'm sure will be popular amongst the litfic crowd especially those with a religious past or those who have grappled with repressed sexuality. The narrative voice of the novel is strong with an fmc that exudes a peculiar sort of charm and the setting is vivid and filled with damp and decrepit (and fecal) imagery that sets it apart from other vampire novels I've seen recently. Though the prose is stunning, with a poetry-like quality, the plot wavers. I often found many of the flashback portions of this novel to feel more like drudging tangents rather than essential backstory. If I were to give an example of where I think Jagger's writing shines in this story it would be the chapter "Judgement Day" during which I literally found myself at the edge of my seat awaiting which grueling detail would be revealed next. Despite its shortcomings, I can't wait to see what other works lie in Jagger's future and will most definitely be picking them up!
Fragile Animals is an offbeat and quirky debut that I'm sure will be popular amongst the litfic crowd especially those with a religious past or those who have grappled with repressed sexuality. The narrative voice of the novel is strong with an fmc that exudes a peculiar sort of charm and the setting is vivid and filled with damp and decrepit (and fecal) imagery that sets it apart from other vampire novels I've seen recently. Though the prose is stunning, with a poetry-like quality, the plot wavers. I often found many of the flashback portions of this novel to feel more like drudging tangents rather than essential backstory. If I were to give an example of where I think Jagger's writing shines in this story it would be the chapter "Judgement Day" during which I literally found myself at the edge of my seat awaiting which grueling detail would be revealed next. Despite its shortcomings, I can't wait to see what other works lie in Jagger's future and will most definitely be picking them up!
April 25, 2024
I was expecting a sexy sinful romantic vampire kind of deal from the description but Jagger gives us SO much more in this quirky literary fiction, I felt a bit cheap for hurrying into this for my spicy vampire fix (am I a whore?) this was a truly unique vampire story that explores religious/parental trauma, the character of Noelle has an ocean of depth that is slowly revealed to the reader throughout, I found myself deeply connected to her, vampires are having a resurgence in the literary world right now (rising from their coffins) and I thought this was a fantastic debut, this focused less on vampirism as it was more the catalyst for Noelle to face her past, crude, witty and often heartbreaking this was a beautiful journey not just a story I simply read, my favourite quote "I'm not lying when I tell you I despise men"
May 20, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley and 404 Ink and the author for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
— 4✮
"What did you take?" I ask, voice shallow.
"Her pinkie finger," Moses says.
"Fuck."
His glinting lips smile.
"Did you eat it?"
"No."
"Keep it?"
Moses nods. "I stuffed it. It's in my drawer now. At home."
Fragile Animals is about Noelle who is haunted by her religious past then travels to the Isle of Bute and meets a vampire.
this is a debut from genevieve jagger and i was blown away. i'm still new to literary fiction to be honest and i really enjoyed this one.
the first 30% was good however, i was kind of lost in the middle because it was a very slow-developed story, but after that it got picked up again and i loved it.
i really love jagger's writing style and how she describes every page. i was laughing at the absurdity and amazed and frightened at the same time. i loved each sentence, the metaphors in between, and the emotions of the characters.
my only complaint is that i wish we got more Noelle and Moses but nevertheless, i had an amazing time reading this.
Fragile Animals by Genevieve Jagger will be out 25th April 2024.
— 4✮
"What did you take?" I ask, voice shallow.
"Her pinkie finger," Moses says.
"Fuck."
His glinting lips smile.
"Did you eat it?"
"No."
"Keep it?"
Moses nods. "I stuffed it. It's in my drawer now. At home."
Fragile Animals is about Noelle who is haunted by her religious past then travels to the Isle of Bute and meets a vampire.
this is a debut from genevieve jagger and i was blown away. i'm still new to literary fiction to be honest and i really enjoyed this one.
the first 30% was good however, i was kind of lost in the middle because it was a very slow-developed story, but after that it got picked up again and i loved it.
i really love jagger's writing style and how she describes every page. i was laughing at the absurdity and amazed and frightened at the same time. i loved each sentence, the metaphors in between, and the emotions of the characters.
my only complaint is that i wish we got more Noelle and Moses but nevertheless, i had an amazing time reading this.
Fragile Animals by Genevieve Jagger will be out 25th April 2024.
March 24, 2024
This is about a young writer who goes to the Island of Bute in Scotland by herself to try and find some time to write her poetry. She ends up staying at a really weird boarding house with a strange older man who is a lot darker and more dangerous than he at first seems. The book deals a lot with Catholic guilt as the protagonist is an ex-Catholic and she reckons with how religion and the breakdown of her family life has always been linked. She consistently flashes back to the times in her life when the church was the reason for her own moral failings and emotional breakdowns. Whilst I loved both the flashbacks and the relationship between her and the guy, I struggled slightly to mesh the two in my head even though they both worked well thematically in the book. But sometimes it felt like a book of two halves. The pacing was also quite slow and so I wasn’t as addicted to this as I wanted to be. But it’s certainly an interesting and modern take on the supernatural and I’m glad there was a real religious examination in here too.
Read
June 22, 2024This dark piece of literary fiction fits nicely into the growing world of weird girl fiction—populated by authors like Eliza Clark, Ottessa Moshfegh, Melissa Broder, Sayaka Murata, and Eva Baltasar. Fragile Animals places us deep in the mind of Noelle, a young woman with deep scars left by her catholic upbringing and toxic mother. Noelle is wrangling with self-hatred, internalised homophobia, and enough guilt to twist her gut into knots.
While escaping to the Isle of Bute for a week, Noelle meets Moses, a self-proclaimed vampire. Over the course of a few days, the pair take nighttime walks at the edge of the water and confess to each other their sins; they tell stories of friends and past lovers, and how they treated those people. They become close, and even as Moses gently reveals his poorly-hidden behaviours, Noelle finds herself emotionally entrapped by this maybe-vampire.
Fragile Animals explores the traps that our grief, our regrets, and our shame can make for us, traps we often struggle to scramble out of. It's a novel that both follows the tradition of the vampire as an alluring object of lust and desire, and also reframes the vampire as a conduit for confession and absolution.
My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/essential-vam...
While escaping to the Isle of Bute for a week, Noelle meets Moses, a self-proclaimed vampire. Over the course of a few days, the pair take nighttime walks at the edge of the water and confess to each other their sins; they tell stories of friends and past lovers, and how they treated those people. They become close, and even as Moses gently reveals his poorly-hidden behaviours, Noelle finds herself emotionally entrapped by this maybe-vampire.
Fragile Animals explores the traps that our grief, our regrets, and our shame can make for us, traps we often struggle to scramble out of. It's a novel that both follows the tradition of the vampire as an alluring object of lust and desire, and also reframes the vampire as a conduit for confession and absolution.
My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/essential-vam...
August 4, 2024
"If I treat myself like an animal, maybe I won't go to hell either."
A QUEER LITERARY VAMPIRE NOVEL WITH RELIGIOUS DECONSTRUCTION, MOMMY ISSUES, AND A MC WHO CONSISTENTLY SELF DESTRUCTS?! What a mood!
Fragile Animals is an excellent little literary fiction set in Scotland about Noelle, a 20 something hotel cleaner who travels to the island of Bute to stay in a B&B for a short time as a reset/getaway.
Right off the bat (LOL) - love the setting. Bute is described as "cold, penetrative to the bones," with "craggy, old stone buildings," and people who are "friendly but in a rude way." It has a charm to it but also just did a great job at setting the bleary tone of the novel.
When Noelle arrives at the bed and breakfast there is only one other guest, a man named Moses who confesses to her that he is a vampire. This is the OPPOSITE of the romanticized sparkling twilight vampire or beautiful charming vampires we see so often in literature. Instead, Moses is portrayed as angular and hungry looking with dirty fingernails and barefeet. I found myself actually feeling some revulsion to him everytime he entered a scene, which was such an interesting contrast to most vampire stories I read.
Noelle and Moses begin to have a relationship built on their confessions, and it is captivating getting to see their regrets and past relationships.
Do not go into this expecting the vampire to be the main character. While Moses is clearly a large part of the story, more than anything else this is about a regular woman coming to terms with her past and her future.
Noelle is an ex-catholic and it was sooooo interesting reading about her transitions out of catholicism, her memories in the church, and how she viewed her religious mother as a child and as an adult.
There are some stylistic choices the author made that were really a cherry on top for me, but I understand others might not love.
Jagger constantly went back and forth from different timelines in Noelle's life, telling a story about her childhood and then connecting it back to present day within a sentence without any sort of transition. This can be confusing at times but it made the story feel very immersive - I felt like I was hopping along following the thought processes' Noelle was experiencing in real time. The author did the same thing with first and third person narration! Some scenes would be in first person, some in third. These shifts really just kept me on edge (in a good way) and held my attention.
Loved!
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review*
A QUEER LITERARY VAMPIRE NOVEL WITH RELIGIOUS DECONSTRUCTION, MOMMY ISSUES, AND A MC WHO CONSISTENTLY SELF DESTRUCTS?! What a mood!
Fragile Animals is an excellent little literary fiction set in Scotland about Noelle, a 20 something hotel cleaner who travels to the island of Bute to stay in a B&B for a short time as a reset/getaway.
Right off the bat (LOL) - love the setting. Bute is described as "cold, penetrative to the bones," with "craggy, old stone buildings," and people who are "friendly but in a rude way." It has a charm to it but also just did a great job at setting the bleary tone of the novel.
When Noelle arrives at the bed and breakfast there is only one other guest, a man named Moses who confesses to her that he is a vampire. This is the OPPOSITE of the romanticized sparkling twilight vampire or beautiful charming vampires we see so often in literature. Instead, Moses is portrayed as angular and hungry looking with dirty fingernails and barefeet. I found myself actually feeling some revulsion to him everytime he entered a scene, which was such an interesting contrast to most vampire stories I read.
Noelle and Moses begin to have a relationship built on their confessions, and it is captivating getting to see their regrets and past relationships.
Do not go into this expecting the vampire to be the main character. While Moses is clearly a large part of the story, more than anything else this is about a regular woman coming to terms with her past and her future.
Noelle is an ex-catholic and it was sooooo interesting reading about her transitions out of catholicism, her memories in the church, and how she viewed her religious mother as a child and as an adult.
There are some stylistic choices the author made that were really a cherry on top for me, but I understand others might not love.
Jagger constantly went back and forth from different timelines in Noelle's life, telling a story about her childhood and then connecting it back to present day within a sentence without any sort of transition. This can be confusing at times but it made the story feel very immersive - I felt like I was hopping along following the thought processes' Noelle was experiencing in real time. The author did the same thing with first and third person narration! Some scenes would be in first person, some in third. These shifts really just kept me on edge (in a good way) and held my attention.
Loved!
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review*
October 12, 2024
3.5*
thank you netgalley for the eARC copy of this book!
fragile animals is an intriguing debut novel and based on the writing, you wouldn’t be able to tell it is a debut at all. the story follows an ex-catholic woman that develops a relationship with a vampire which then makes her confront her past as well everything that shaped her life up until that point. i feel like this book needs to find its specific audience and so far, based on the average rating this book has - i would say it managed to do that quite successfully.
if you like literary fiction that’s introspective, where the supernatural elements play only a secondary role, this could be your vibe. if you liked “woman, eating” by claire honda and are looking for more literary vampire novels, i think this could be a perfect book for you. so even though my personal experience isn’t worthy of five stars, i can confidently say this could be someone’s absolute favorite book. and trust me when i say that is high praise coming from me.
if you don’t mind slow developing stories, a lot of analepses, as well as just observing the human condition through the life of someone who you can or cannot relate to (depending on your circumstances), you should pick this up. even while giving this book 3.5 stars i will be picking up anything this author does next because i think it can go only uphill from here. the writing is what sold it for me and i will be thinking about individual quotes and moments for months to come.
thank you netgalley for the eARC copy of this book!
fragile animals is an intriguing debut novel and based on the writing, you wouldn’t be able to tell it is a debut at all. the story follows an ex-catholic woman that develops a relationship with a vampire which then makes her confront her past as well everything that shaped her life up until that point. i feel like this book needs to find its specific audience and so far, based on the average rating this book has - i would say it managed to do that quite successfully.
if you like literary fiction that’s introspective, where the supernatural elements play only a secondary role, this could be your vibe. if you liked “woman, eating” by claire honda and are looking for more literary vampire novels, i think this could be a perfect book for you. so even though my personal experience isn’t worthy of five stars, i can confidently say this could be someone’s absolute favorite book. and trust me when i say that is high praise coming from me.
if you don’t mind slow developing stories, a lot of analepses, as well as just observing the human condition through the life of someone who you can or cannot relate to (depending on your circumstances), you should pick this up. even while giving this book 3.5 stars i will be picking up anything this author does next because i think it can go only uphill from here. the writing is what sold it for me and i will be thinking about individual quotes and moments for months to come.
January 14, 2025
4.0⭐️
Author Genevieve Jagger explores the tragic absurdity of being stuck in a human body that defecates, copulates, and suffers in her novel, Fragile Animals.
Noelle struggles with emotional baggage from her Catholic upbringing and is also questioning her sexuality. She befriends an older man named Moses, a vampire, and their relationship eventually turns sexual. Jagger utilizes conversations between Noelle and Moses to seamlessly jump between past and present timelines as Noelle works through her trauma.
Noelle’s voice as narrator is often self-deprecating with a heavy dose of sardonic wit. Following Noelle as she comes to terms with her past was a fun ride. Just be prepared, Jagger enjoys exploring the more grotesque aspects of being a human.
Author Genevieve Jagger explores the tragic absurdity of being stuck in a human body that defecates, copulates, and suffers in her novel, Fragile Animals.
Noelle struggles with emotional baggage from her Catholic upbringing and is also questioning her sexuality. She befriends an older man named Moses, a vampire, and their relationship eventually turns sexual. Jagger utilizes conversations between Noelle and Moses to seamlessly jump between past and present timelines as Noelle works through her trauma.
Noelle’s voice as narrator is often self-deprecating with a heavy dose of sardonic wit. Following Noelle as she comes to terms with her past was a fun ride. Just be prepared, Jagger enjoys exploring the more grotesque aspects of being a human.
May 4, 2024
3.5⭐️
This was a fun read that despite the lack of a huge plot, was a definite page turner.
For me, the downside was that the two different time switches felt very disjointed and not connected at times. I enjoyed both parts, but also feel as though they could have been two separate books.
This was a fun read that despite the lack of a huge plot, was a definite page turner.
For me, the downside was that the two different time switches felt very disjointed and not connected at times. I enjoyed both parts, but also feel as though they could have been two separate books.
October 19, 2024
contains the holy trinity: religious trauma, mummy issues, and lesbians🙏🏼
July 3, 2024
In parts breathtakingly beautiful and evocative. In parts it completely lost me. I found the central metaphor vague and unsatisfactory - is it falling for a vampire as metaphor for self harm? Or depression? Or mommy issues? There were some chapters where the perspective shifted to a kind of uncaring but close birds eye third person - these I loved so much, I wish we had gotten the whole book in this perspective.
October 21, 2024
Genevieve Jagger must've really loved Woman, Eating; the ~vampire as a metaphor~ in a coming of age plot, the ~gritty realistic filthy descriptions~ of blood and guts, the mommy issues, a big bird playing a big part in it (a swan here, a duck in W,E iirc), plus it being another entry in the "She's not feeling good at all/ Sad Unhinged Messy Woman" genre that's been so popular lately. To its credit, "Fragile Animals" explores a few more topics (like internalized misogyny, or hypersexuality as a trauma response), but unfortunately it did read like I'd read this all before.
Me? I was meh about both books. Had a fine time reading them, but I'm never going to reach for either of them again. I don't know why I keep reading in the They're Not Feeling Good At All genre when it's clear I don't really like it.
P.S. The blurb for this book is absolute DOGSHIT. Not only is it misleading ("When an ex-catholic woman develops a sexual relationship with a vampire..." They sleep together ONCE at the 80% mark. I don't care if that's a spoiler, but you need to know this in case you're coming into this hoping for Some Hot Vampire Sex all throughout the book), but it also spoils pretty much the entire book (WHY should I know from the get go about the Mother/ Priest affair??) Not to mention flat out wrong .
Me? I was meh about both books. Had a fine time reading them, but I'm never going to reach for either of them again. I don't know why I keep reading in the They're Not Feeling Good At All genre when it's clear I don't really like it.
P.S. The blurb for this book is absolute DOGSHIT. Not only is it misleading ("When an ex-catholic woman develops a sexual relationship with a vampire..." They sleep together ONCE at the 80% mark. I don't care if that's a spoiler, but you need to know this in case you're coming into this hoping for Some Hot Vampire Sex all throughout the book), but it also spoils pretty much the entire book (WHY should I know from the get go about the Mother/ Priest affair??) Not to mention flat out wrong .
January 19, 2024
absolutely gut wrenching. the final few lines tied this whole book together perfectly; even reading them in isolation i want to cry.
the intertwining of the story of noelle on the island, her childhood with her mother & father, and what happened with lomie was executed so well. i was desperate to know what happened in each part of her life and the movement back and forth was incredibly well paced. i was expecting more focus on the vampirism & her relationship with moses from the description i read, but i was surprisingly glad we didn’t really get that. it felt a lot deeper to have that presented as merely the thing that caused her to assess her life and how she ended up there.
also i always love a catholic guilt story, what can i say.
thank you netgalley & publishers for this ARC <3
the intertwining of the story of noelle on the island, her childhood with her mother & father, and what happened with lomie was executed so well. i was desperate to know what happened in each part of her life and the movement back and forth was incredibly well paced. i was expecting more focus on the vampirism & her relationship with moses from the description i read, but i was surprisingly glad we didn’t really get that. it felt a lot deeper to have that presented as merely the thing that caused her to assess her life and how she ended up there.
also i always love a catholic guilt story, what can i say.
thank you netgalley & publishers for this ARC <3
June 8, 2024
I was expecting a slick story about a woman who meets a vampire and this causes her to question her catholic upbringing (as the blurb implies) but it’s mainly anxious and depressed ruminations and flashbacks to seemingly disconnected years of the characters childhood, sex life and bad decisions, with quite random supernatural-ish moments with the vampire character sparsely thrown in to the present day.
While there are some interesting linguistic techniques used in this book, the writing style is extremely descriptive and uses convoluted metaphors to convey emotions. Quite often this made it hard to understand the point of the sentences. I’d say it was 80% descriptions of the MC’s feelings like how cold/sad/lonely/confused she was and 20% plot.
The setup in the first third was quite interesting but the heavy descriptive style made the text dense and I found it difficult to understand the motivations of the MC other than she was bored/sad with her life in Edinburgh. It also set up the idea that the vampire element of the male character would be central to the plot when really he was just used as a tool for the MC to think about her past, and besides that he does nothing interesting.
The middle section of the book was the most dull for me, with barely any plot (apart from the vampire holding Noelle over a lake a few times which was odd).
The bulk of the plot comes in the last third of the book where a lot is revealed and at that point I did find it hard to put down. Having said that, there are also some revelations towards the end that don’t feel tied into the rest of the book - the MC is apparently suicidal, the B&B owner starts acting ominous about asking the vampire to leave, and most randomly of all Noelle’s relationship with Lomie comes out of nowhere and I felt had not been hinted to enough previously.
Some other things:
- [ ] 2 important characters from Noelle’s past have similar names (Lomie and Lorne) which I thought was a weird choice and I initially got confused as to who the scene involved.
- [ ] In the phone call with Lorne near the end I’m not sure why we’re asked to feel sorry for Lomie when she seems quite horrible to Noelle? I think it’s meant to come across as a toxic codependent relationship where we feel sorry for both people but it didn’t work for me.
- [ ] There’s no resolution with a central idea which is Noelle’s relationship with her mum. She sort of just decides not to call her but she already hasn’t spoken to her in years so I’m not sure what this achieved.
- [ ] The Isle of Bute barely features as a location, with most of the plot happening elsewhere or inside the B&B
- [ ] There’s a bunch of typos
- [ ] Why is there a character called Lorne in a story set in Scotland?
- [ ] The vampire just leaves one day and that’s the end of Noelle’s relationship with him. She doesn’t seem to care even though her time with him has been a catalyst for opening avenues of past trauma - so you’d think she’d care more about never seeing him again?
While there are some interesting linguistic techniques used in this book, the writing style is extremely descriptive and uses convoluted metaphors to convey emotions. Quite often this made it hard to understand the point of the sentences. I’d say it was 80% descriptions of the MC’s feelings like how cold/sad/lonely/confused she was and 20% plot.
The setup in the first third was quite interesting but the heavy descriptive style made the text dense and I found it difficult to understand the motivations of the MC other than she was bored/sad with her life in Edinburgh. It also set up the idea that the vampire element of the male character would be central to the plot when really he was just used as a tool for the MC to think about her past, and besides that he does nothing interesting.
The middle section of the book was the most dull for me, with barely any plot (apart from the vampire holding Noelle over a lake a few times which was odd).
The bulk of the plot comes in the last third of the book where a lot is revealed and at that point I did find it hard to put down. Having said that, there are also some revelations towards the end that don’t feel tied into the rest of the book - the MC is apparently suicidal, the B&B owner starts acting ominous about asking the vampire to leave, and most randomly of all Noelle’s relationship with Lomie comes out of nowhere and I felt had not been hinted to enough previously.
Some other things:
- [ ] 2 important characters from Noelle’s past have similar names (Lomie and Lorne) which I thought was a weird choice and I initially got confused as to who the scene involved.
- [ ] In the phone call with Lorne near the end I’m not sure why we’re asked to feel sorry for Lomie when she seems quite horrible to Noelle? I think it’s meant to come across as a toxic codependent relationship where we feel sorry for both people but it didn’t work for me.
- [ ] There’s no resolution with a central idea which is Noelle’s relationship with her mum. She sort of just decides not to call her but she already hasn’t spoken to her in years so I’m not sure what this achieved.
- [ ] The Isle of Bute barely features as a location, with most of the plot happening elsewhere or inside the B&B
- [ ] There’s a bunch of typos
- [ ] Why is there a character called Lorne in a story set in Scotland?
- [ ] The vampire just leaves one day and that’s the end of Noelle’s relationship with him. She doesn’t seem to care even though her time with him has been a catalyst for opening avenues of past trauma - so you’d think she’d care more about never seeing him again?
April 25, 2024
*4.5*
Wow. First of all, Jagger’s prose is so weird and I’m in love. The way she describes the environment with living, breathing, human qualities sets such an unsettling tone. Almost like the setting itself is watching the story unfold.
Second, she has created my favorite vampirism ever(!!!). Moses is primal, feral, unkempt, and very strange. Yet he’s also so alluring and attractive in his self-assuredness. Not to mention his vampirism is so crucial and meaningful in the specific context of this story. I do love a metaphor, especially when vampires are involved.
Extremely flawed characters, Scotland, vampires, and Catholicism…I mean I was primed to love this book, and I do love every single thing about this book. Especially the way it handles nuance, sexual exploration, dissociation, and religious trauma.
I think really the only thing that kept me from fully giving this 5 stars, is the fact that the summary states that Noelle enters into a sexual relationship with a vampire. For me, this felt like a pretty major spoiler and I so wish I could have experienced the story unfolding without the knowledge that Noelle and Moses’ relationship turns sexual. Because that sex scene…it would have hit SO hard if I didn’t know for sure it was going to happen.
Thank you to NetGalley and 404 Ink for sending me Fragile Animals!
Wow. First of all, Jagger’s prose is so weird and I’m in love. The way she describes the environment with living, breathing, human qualities sets such an unsettling tone. Almost like the setting itself is watching the story unfold.
Second, she has created my favorite vampirism ever(!!!). Moses is primal, feral, unkempt, and very strange. Yet he’s also so alluring and attractive in his self-assuredness. Not to mention his vampirism is so crucial and meaningful in the specific context of this story. I do love a metaphor, especially when vampires are involved.
Extremely flawed characters, Scotland, vampires, and Catholicism…I mean I was primed to love this book, and I do love every single thing about this book. Especially the way it handles nuance, sexual exploration, dissociation, and religious trauma.
I think really the only thing that kept me from fully giving this 5 stars, is the fact that the summary states that Noelle enters into a sexual relationship with a vampire. For me, this felt like a pretty major spoiler and I so wish I could have experienced the story unfolding without the knowledge that Noelle and Moses’ relationship turns sexual. Because that sex scene…it would have hit SO hard if I didn’t know for sure it was going to happen.
Thank you to NetGalley and 404 Ink for sending me Fragile Animals!
March 10, 2024
Damn. What can I even say about this book?! I randomly requested this ARC through NetGalley because the cover was cool. Never heard of this book or the author. I am in shock at how much I love this book. I actually want to cry.
This book was unhinged in the best possible way. It was crude. It was funny. It was beautiful. It was heartbreaking. And at times I was on the edge of my seat, it was intense. Fragile Animals dives into many different types of relationships; family, romantic, friend, religious, self. Cover brilliant, chapter titles brilliant, dialogue brilliant. I did not want this to end.
I will be buying a physical copy of this, and this will be added to my all time favorites.
Just some of my Fav quotes:
None of myself makes sense to myself.
I’m not lying when I tell you I despise men.
I am punched in the stomach by the improbable passing of time.
Does any of it mean anything at all? I feel sad in my kidneys.
Have you ever considered the idea that there are too many organized religions for Christianity to be logically the right one?
The Church, like the whole thing, the big looming mass of it, you realize contradiction is rife at every turn. Love thy neighbor but not thy gay neighbor.
The cold hurts me carefully. Each grain of sand is like glass between my toes. My feet are supermarket prawns, squiggling away from my body.
This book was unhinged in the best possible way. It was crude. It was funny. It was beautiful. It was heartbreaking. And at times I was on the edge of my seat, it was intense. Fragile Animals dives into many different types of relationships; family, romantic, friend, religious, self. Cover brilliant, chapter titles brilliant, dialogue brilliant. I did not want this to end.
I will be buying a physical copy of this, and this will be added to my all time favorites.
Just some of my Fav quotes:
None of myself makes sense to myself.
I’m not lying when I tell you I despise men.
I am punched in the stomach by the improbable passing of time.
Does any of it mean anything at all? I feel sad in my kidneys.
Have you ever considered the idea that there are too many organized religions for Christianity to be logically the right one?
The Church, like the whole thing, the big looming mass of it, you realize contradiction is rife at every turn. Love thy neighbor but not thy gay neighbor.
The cold hurts me carefully. Each grain of sand is like glass between my toes. My feet are supermarket prawns, squiggling away from my body.
May 17, 2024
this book brought to you by catholic guilt and ibs
August 21, 2024
Why didn't the vampire sparkle more (´;︵;`)
September 17, 2024
I've been craving another Sad Girl Litfic book recently and this hit all the spots. MC Noelle goes on vacation to the remote isle of Bute, supposedly to work on her next book of poems, but really she's just running away from her life and herself. She stays at an inn owned by a quirky old woman and immediately befriends the only other guest, a vampire called Moses.
This is a gorgeously written, slow-paced character-driven novel. I loved the beautiful descriptions of desolate Scotland. Noelle and Moses befriend each other by telling the other about the people in their lives, and it is both revelatory and cathartic. Noelle is a repressed bisexual or a repressed self-hating lesbian (I'm not sure which) with extreme mommy issues and Catholic trauma. This book genuinely brought me to tears with how bleak Noelle's head could be — and in her refusal to accept herself. Yes, she and Moses get sexually involved but frankly there's nothing romantic or sexy about it. He is physically disgusting, and I couldn't feel the attraction at all (later it's revealed that she has a self-harming habit of sleeping with men she doesn't even like whenever she has a crush on a woman, which heavily points towards her being a lesbian with comphet). But really, Moses's presence is just a vehicle for Noelle to finally become unblocked from all the things she's hiding from herself.
And really it all points to three things: her mother abandoned them, she was a heavily repressed Catholic, and couldn't accept that she was queer.
But the ending offers light at the end of the tunnel, with Noelle taking a step towards healing. This book is haunting and atmospheric, with incredibly deep emotional cuts. A fantastic reading experience for me — but I have to warn you that it's not for everyone. It's not a romance. It's not a cute quirky read. It's not even a sapphic novel, not really. But it left me crying in bed!
This is a gorgeously written, slow-paced character-driven novel. I loved the beautiful descriptions of desolate Scotland. Noelle and Moses befriend each other by telling the other about the people in their lives, and it is both revelatory and cathartic. Noelle is a repressed bisexual or a repressed self-hating lesbian (I'm not sure which) with extreme mommy issues and Catholic trauma. This book genuinely brought me to tears with how bleak Noelle's head could be — and in her refusal to accept herself. Yes, she and Moses get sexually involved but frankly there's nothing romantic or sexy about it. He is physically disgusting, and I couldn't feel the attraction at all (later it's revealed that she has a self-harming habit of sleeping with men she doesn't even like whenever she has a crush on a woman, which heavily points towards her being a lesbian with comphet). But really, Moses's presence is just a vehicle for Noelle to finally become unblocked from all the things she's hiding from herself.
And really it all points to three things: her mother abandoned them, she was a heavily repressed Catholic, and couldn't accept that she was queer.
But the ending offers light at the end of the tunnel, with Noelle taking a step towards healing. This book is haunting and atmospheric, with incredibly deep emotional cuts. A fantastic reading experience for me — but I have to warn you that it's not for everyone. It's not a romance. It's not a cute quirky read. It's not even a sapphic novel, not really. But it left me crying in bed!
April 23, 2024
I made such a big ooops thinking this book was going to be ✨sexy vampire vibes✨ SPOILER? IT IS NOT.
I saw someone else’s review on here calling the sex scene rancid, and to me that describes it perfectly. I feel quite unhinged for wanting this, and I’m incredibly relieved it was only a mere 5 pages.
when I finally ditched my expectations, I really enjoyed it. Noelle’s flashbacks to her religious childhood kept me hooked, leading up to this ~thing~ that happened. I loved her use of AD for ‘after divorce’ and BC for ‘before crisis’. everything came together perfectly at the end
one day I will reread this again when my brain is not fogged down with wild fantasies of sexy vampires, something I clearly have to find elsewhere.
this is a great debut from a very talented author and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future
I saw someone else’s review on here calling the sex scene rancid, and to me that describes it perfectly. I feel quite unhinged for wanting this, and I’m incredibly relieved it was only a mere 5 pages.
when I finally ditched my expectations, I really enjoyed it. Noelle’s flashbacks to her religious childhood kept me hooked, leading up to this ~thing~ that happened. I loved her use of AD for ‘after divorce’ and BC for ‘before crisis’. everything came together perfectly at the end
one day I will reread this again when my brain is not fogged down with wild fantasies of sexy vampires, something I clearly have to find elsewhere.
this is a great debut from a very talented author and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future
September 13, 2024
Fragile Animals wasn’t for me. At all. Off the bat I didn’t enjoy Jagger’s writing. It’s tiringly descriptive and overwritten in places. I suppose out of morbid curiosity and resentment at having bought a physical copy (it has a really cool cover), I persevered with this book but was left disappointed. As another reviewer pointed out, the summary on the back cover gives away far too much so all the tension the author attempts to build in the book has already been revealed.
It just didn’t get there for me.
It just didn’t get there for me.
April 14, 2024
Thank you NetGalley and 404 Ink for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This was unlike any book I’ve ever read, really - there were many dark themes, and the religious guilt was felt strongly throughout. This is an incredibly intense piece of work, and I think that the author achieves exactly what was intended.
That being said, I found that it had a tendency to drag in parts, potentially due to the dense writing style. I also wish that the vampire aspect had been explored further, as we are led to believe this is a major part of the story in the synopsis.
This was unlike any book I’ve ever read, really - there were many dark themes, and the religious guilt was felt strongly throughout. This is an incredibly intense piece of work, and I think that the author achieves exactly what was intended.
That being said, I found that it had a tendency to drag in parts, potentially due to the dense writing style. I also wish that the vampire aspect had been explored further, as we are led to believe this is a major part of the story in the synopsis.
July 9, 2024
I don't want to be too harsh about this book since it is a debut novel. That being said, I didn't not enjoy reading this book at all. I feel like the description for the book was accurate but also misleading at the same time. Yes, we get it, Noelle's upbringing was incredibly religious. It's practically beaten into you at every chapter. And Noelle's mother leaving her family for the village priest is such a cliché it boarders on being a hallmark.
The sexual relationship with a vampire... not really there. They have sex one time and he's gone. The author doesn't even give the origin story of how Moses became a vampire! That could've been an amazing section and there was potential to tie that into the religious theme.
There was absolutely no character development for Noelle or anyone. She realizes at the very end, like the last 15 pages, that she needs help mentally. There isn't an explanation for why she doesn't talk to her loving father anymore. It seemed he was really loving toward her and then she just doesn't talk to him when he and everyone else are worried for her. There's also so much cringe in this book that there were times I nearly dry heaved from some of the sentences I had to read.
The sexual relationship with a vampire... not really there. They have sex one time and he's gone. The author doesn't even give the origin story of how Moses became a vampire! That could've been an amazing section and there was potential to tie that into the religious theme.
There was absolutely no character development for Noelle or anyone. She realizes at the very end, like the last 15 pages, that she needs help mentally. There isn't an explanation for why she doesn't talk to her loving father anymore. It seemed he was really loving toward her and then she just doesn't talk to him when he and everyone else are worried for her. There's also so much cringe in this book that there were times I nearly dry heaved from some of the sentences I had to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2024
I want to like this a lot more than I actually did. Does that make sense? I think I also found the ending a little trite but maybe that's why I'm in therapy?
Anywho, the island setting wasn't nearly as gothic and atmospheric as promised and the most interesting parts of the story were the flashbacks to when she was young, particularly of her mother and their congregation.
Maybe the writing just wasn't for me. Might still pick up another book of hers if she decides to write more.
Anywho, the island setting wasn't nearly as gothic and atmospheric as promised and the most interesting parts of the story were the flashbacks to when she was young, particularly of her mother and their congregation.
Maybe the writing just wasn't for me. Might still pick up another book of hers if she decides to write more.
Read
March 4, 2025Like if “Good Luck, Babe” was a slice of life novel set against a moody Scottish seaside town, with Catholic guilt, mommy issues, taxidermy and vampires. It’s not the most plot heavy novel; but, I enjoyed the atmosphere, the recurring metaphors and the writing style. It’s reads beautiful but also disgusting and captures the crushing weight of sacrilege and sexuality. Just an overall unique novel and huge for the raised Catholic girls who turned out a little weird.
February 11, 2024
fragile animals is not for the faint of heart. every single page, every long chapter made me absolutely feral with anticipation with what’s to come next and believe me, there was never a dull moment. genevieve jagger wrote a book so captivating and unexpected that i have created a special bond with the story, i didn’t want to let it go. it had all the wonders of a gothic novel. sin, confession, and more sin.
thank you netgalley and publishers for the ARC!
thank you netgalley and publishers for the ARC!
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