I really wanted to enjoy this but I just found the pacing frustrating and there was something a bit cold about the writing- I just didn’t feel emotionally attached to the story or to Ellen

Sadly not a book for me.

The interesting description led me to request this, but desipte some flashes of brilliant writing and references to abadoned hotels & snow capped mountains,the exciting premise turned out a little too flat, little else happens & the characters were not brought to life.

Author seemed to want to present this as a deeper reflection on the meaning of life, but it doesnt reach these more profound heights. Appreciate this maybe because have recently read The Secret History for the first time, which others cannot match

I particularly enjoyed the writing in this book, which was beautiful and quite poetic. I had a really strong impression for the snowy, deserted setting and each of the characters, who were mysterious and curious in each of their own ways.

It took me a while to get into the rhythm of this book but once you start to ‘go with the flow’, you do get swept up. Elen is a 30 something woman, who’s life is disintegrating. She meets a group of 4 British ‘students’ in a bar and tags along with them on their gap year adventures.

Elen is well developed, although a bit two dimensional. The 4 youngsters are barely described at all. The skiing is beautifully captured and although I’ve never worn a ski in my life, I felt the adrenaline and enjoyed those scenes.

The concept of ‘socialism’ and ‘group living’ is talked about by the boys especially but they’re all fairly wealthy and living cheaply in closed hotels out of season etc.,

This is not a plot driven book and if you don’t warm to the characters, you’ll get little enjoyment from following the five as they meander through various states. The ending is a bit rushed but somehow the pacing works. I’ll be looking out for more from Ashani Lewis. This is accomplished writing.

I was given a copy of the book by NetGalley

"Winter Animals" by Ashani Lewis invites you into the intriguing world of Elen, stranded in the shadow of snow-capped mountains after her husband's departure. Enter four English teens, blending wealth with an anarchic lifestyle. Lewis spins a mesmerizing tale of Elen's entanglement with these enigmatic youths, revealing a dark undercurrent beneath their utopian facade. As Elen grapples with their allure, she confronts the complexities of desire and friendship. Lewis's debut is a vibrant exploration of youthful idealism's allure and peril. "Winter Animals" is a captivating journey through freedom, friendship, and the blurred lines between love and longing that will leave you utterly transfixed.

Winter Animals is about a recently-separated woman who joins for younger students in gap year type skiing travels. There were elements of this that I enjoyed - the writing was beautiful at times and I loved some of the character details - but I mostly found it confusing and pretentious. Maybe it was just me but at times the writing became so lost in itself, that it became frustrating. There were also elements of the plot that just didn't gel and seemed more odd than interesting.
The plot had structure and I liked the premise of the story. Some of the details and descriptions were excellent but overall, it just wasn't for me really.

I read this book enticed by the comparison to The Secret History- I wasn’t disappointed (also brings Madam to mind). I love the setting (a snowy town- Instagram perfect in my head, but with those fake almost creepy smiles, an abandoned holiday park- I’d have liked more of that- and an uninhibited holiday home). I didn’t like the characters but that was the point, I think. I was slightly confused by the storyline about the incident with the brother/watermelon and thought it could have been explored further and there wasn’t much of a driving plot but I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be buying the hard copy to revisit (much like my very dog eared copy of TSH.) an exciting debut!

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

This was a well written book but it just didn’t really go anywhere for me

An interesting premise and certainly a unique tone. Lewis does a fantastic job of constructing characters and transporting readers into an intriguing world. I would definitely recommend this to readers who seek out character-driven plots. Great sense of tension throughout.

This was clever and intriguing, and the writing was often beautiful, but I struggled to get on with the characters, who never seemed to spring from the page. I did enjoy it at times, but it wasn’t compulsive.

Winter Animals follows the story of Elen, a woman residing in Oregon, who turns to drinking as a coping mechanism after her husband departs. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she becomes entangled with four affluent squatters, teenagers from England, who invite her to join their escapades visiting ski resorts, squatting in buildings, and envisioning their "ideal future" community.

As their journey unfolds, the novel delves into themes of freedom, friendship, youthful idealism, and the intricate dynamics of relationships and love. Through Elen's experiences, readers are invited to explore the complexities of human connections and the pursuit of personal fulfilment amidst the backdrop of adventure and uncertainty.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Very interesting and different. I thought the tone and pace was good, and the clash of Elen with a younger very different group of people travelling around was a good premise. The different characters are well defined and the unusually close relationships between the group and Elens impact on this was well judged.

There was much to like about this. The writing was atmospheric and the nuances of friendship and love were sensitively explored. Ultimately though I found it lacked substance, resolution or any sense of satisfaction on completing it. For a book with a dark academia/thriller vibe, there was very little plot. I kept waiting for something dramatic to happen. The couple of revelations that were made didn’t feel as if they really landed. I love books which are more about character than plot but I didn’t really feel there was enough character either. It was an interesting premise that I don’t feel quite lived up to its billing or its early promise. It reminded me very much of Emma Cline’s The Guest and a little of The Things We Do to Our Friends and The Memory of Animals. I do think the author has promise, I just didn’t feel this book had as much to say as it thought it did.

Winter Animals is a solid debut for fans of Leave The World Behind and The Guest.

Elen is in her late 30s, her husband has disappeared and she has been kicked out of her house. She meets a group of rich kids who travel around the world skiing and living in abandoned holiday homes.

The novel explores the dynamics of the group, their privilege and their flaws. It is definitely more concerned with character than a propulsive plot, so if you are looking for a pacy thriller this will not be the one.

I did enjoy the tense atmosphere throughout and will be excited to read what Lewis writes next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Elen’s marriage has dissolved, her husband has disappeared in the night and she is left homeless. Preparing to leave the town of Bend, Oregon, she makes a stop in a brewery nestled in the shadow of the mountain. This is where she meets the four affluent young British travellers, in their early 20s but referred to throughout as ‘the teenagers’; perhaps a nod to their carefree and reckless travels, void of any responsibility, hitting remote resorts and abandoned/unoccupied chalets off season, availing of the ‘free’ accommodation from which to enjoy their perpetual ski trip. Before she knows it, Elen, who is 15 years their senior, is dazzled by these bright young things, swept along for the ride and caught up in their ideals of a nomadic existence, a communal way of living and a ‘return to the land’; but things are never as ideal as they might seem. Moving back and forth in time, contrasting her time with the teenagers to her early happier marriage, her marriage as it began to crumble, and the new insights gained as we learn about her life before her marriage, this is a slow burning book exploring themes including privilege, youthful idealism, class, convention in life and relationships, and what happens when we don’t have or want it, and the lines between friendship and desire. There were standalone elements to this book that I enjoyed but somehow it didn’t quite tie together overall. In some ways it read more like an extended short story, with some strong passages and vignettes. The first half seemed to be building up some tension towards the question of why exactly they might want her on this trip with them, while the second half diverted towards more in-depth character studies, and passages on the philosophy at the heart of their quest; probably in a bid to better understand each of the characters’ motivations, but it somehow lost momentum through this. The writing is at times sharp and atmospheric, and I enjoyed the way Lewis captured the sense of place in the isolated, mountainous settings, and the effect this could have on people who are already struggling in some way. Ultimately, there was some great writing in here and interesting themes broached so, while this book didn’t quite work for me, I would still be interested in reading future books by this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC.

A beautiful cover and endorsements comparing this book to The Secret History is what led me to request this book of Netgalley. I was sold a pup. Despite some occasional flashes of brilliant writing, this was for the most part, a poorly executed, pretentious novel that believes itself to be saying something profound when really it’s just a bunch of one-dimensional privileged kids on an ill-conceived gap year.

Elen is a 38 year old woman from Oregon whose marriage has ended. Drinking herself into a spiral, she is picked up by some posh English teens/ski bums. She decides to accompany them on their trip north towards Canada, where they opt to crash in deserted/unoccupied ski resorts and chalets, spending their days skiing and their nights ruminating on their own self-importance.

One of the group Luka is obsessed with an 18th Century French philosopher Fourier whose idea of a utopian community with relaxed sexual mores and a health dose of misogyny can only augur badly for the group.

Despite an interesting premise, nothing much happens, characters aren’t well fleshed out (Clover and her endlessly mentioned beautiful hair doesn’t count) and there is little to like beyond some eerie descriptions of abandoned hotels and snow-capped mountains. This was a slog. All vibes, no plot. A disappointing 2/5⭐️

*Many thanks to Dialogue Books for the arc via Netgalley. As always, this is an honest review.

Winter Animals by Ashani Lewis feels like a non-book. Lewis can definitely write well but the story here feels empty, shallow, and ultimately bathetic.

I felt personally victimized by the misleading comparison made between Winter Animals and Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which massively skewed my expectations for this book…

Winter Animals is a "no plot just vibes", character-driven story, so if that is not your cup of tea, this one may not be for you. The concept had such potential, but the execution was completely fumbled. Every aspect of this book fell flat – the writing style, the abrupt, disappointing ending, the two-dimensional, archetypal characters, the numerous questions posed and then left unanswered and undeveloped. These undeveloped ideas particularly irked me – why did Elen keep having visions of murdering her friends and violent hallucinations that were never explained? Why did the author spend so much time centralising Elen's queer desire only to discard it, leaving readers to question its relevance? The cultish aspect of the narrative was probably the most intriguing thing about the book, and could have been the focal point for unfolding drama, but this too, fails to deliver on its potential.

Ultimately, the writing style, dialogue, characters, and themes collectively create the uncomfortable impression that this is evidently a novel that is trying really hard to appear clever and profound.
The characters come off as contrived, overly familiar to the literary fiction/dark academia genre – the privileged intellectual teens who are obsessed with themselves and their mission are too two-dimensional to deliver.
Dropping in philosophical discussions uttered by pretentious characters does not equate to a clever novel that is on par with The Secret History, whose erudite characters, while unlikeable and definitely pretentious, display a depth, a complexity, an insight into the human psyche that the flimsy characters of Winter Animals lack.

I brought my rating up to two stars because I will concede this book had moments of great writing, and as mentioned previously, it had so much potential, but the execution left much to be desired. Winter Animals struggles to live up to its own aspirations.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I always try to give a fair review and being totally honest this was just not my cup of tea and a bit of a slog to read.
Nothing much seemed to happen at all, the story seemed to centre around Elen who has been left by her husband Robert.
She is drifting and rootless and picks up with four hedonistic teens squatting aimlessly wandering between ski resorts to break into.
So starts a seemingly endless round of bed hopping, drinking and drugs.
It all just seemed rather pointless, random and I think I may have missed something in the meaning that maybe other readers will pick up on with this.
I truly did find it rather boring and I couldn't engage with ANY of the characters as I didn't like or empathise with them.
The graphic scenes of animal cruelty I just glossed off as it revolted me and is a personal trigger.
This purely wasn't my kind of read so fell flat for me.
Thank you for the chance to read this but sadly not for me on this occasion.

Winter Animals is the story of Elen. Her marriage has ended and she is about to leave the town of Bend when she meets four young British skiers who are travelling around squatting in empty ski resorts and she ends up joining them on their journey. This is definitely a leisurely read with beautiful prose and interesting commentary on relationships, ownership and wealth. I, however, have to be in the right mood for a story without a compulsive plot to drive it forward and I don’t think I was in the right frame of mind for this type of read…so while I can appreciate the quality of the writing and premise, this did not hit the mark for me.