Reviews with content warning for Death - The Book Eaters

The world was so fascinating. I admit to being disappointed we didn’t get more of it. I wanted more of the families, more about the Creator, more of the knights when they were good, and less of what they became. I wanted so much more Jarrow. I just wanted more. This story held such promise, but the way it twisted between overly complex to overly simplified and back again was jarring at times. I could make out pieces of the end before we got there, but not all of it. Not because I was kept guessing, but because there was not enough footwork left behind. Too many things came out of left field and others were painfully obvious. The end seemed abrupt and wrongly placed. I wanted more. Again.

Parts dragged so deeply I had to force myself to keep going, bored and distracted. Others had me eagerly turning pages.

Mani and Hester were interesting and I would have loved to have much more of them and what they went through in the past than what we got.

The morality of Cai was interesting, but barely touched on. Ramsey disappointed me so deeply in the depths of his cruelty. At the same time his character was flat, too one-planed and I so badly wanted more. I mourned far more for E and Ramsey’s loss of him than I did for Ramsey himself.

I enjoyed the way different sexualities were displayed and touched on in the books, but there wasn’t consistency.

Overall, this read left me wanting more of the world, but a whole lot less of Devon.

Content Warnings

purplatypus's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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georgia7's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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monnibo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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pamshenanigans's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Very interesting premise and was also well-executed. More than what I expected and is certainly one of my faves this year. It's pretty dense so you also have to be in the right headspace for this. Highly recommended though!

Review to follow.

Content Warnings

books_and_fairy_lights's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

It was good, I can't say I didn't like it. I read it pretty fast and got somewhat into it because I really wanted to know what had happened in the past and what was gonna happen now. The story was well built, in that it really kept the reader wondering while still getting some answers. That part was great. The story was also quite original I think, or at least I don't think I've ever seen anything else with book eaters or anything close to that (which is actually quite surprising, thinking about it). So yeah it was a good book. However, it was often "too obvious" for me. Like it was very often trying to make a point/give a lesson/preach some point of view - and I'm not saying it was wrong in its ideas, it just didn't leave much room for nuance in those instances. Ironically I found it very black and white, for a book that was advocating that "things are more complicated than they seem" and "there's no good and bad" it made a heavy emphasis on what it considered "the right idea" and didn't really let the readers decide for themselves. Also, the whole "life isn't a fairytale" thing was really lacking in subtlety in my opinion. In addition to being (sorry if it's harsh) unoriginal, it was also very heavy and expressed too forcefully for me. Like, of course life isn't a fairytale, and I'm the first person to agree with the fact that reality is brutal and full of disappointment and disillusion, but you don't have to say it so plainly. In fact, I think that a less obvious, more subtle way of making it clear (through hints and ideas and metaphors and what not) is way more efficient than just saying it like that. It gives more room for people to interpret it in a way that resonates with their own feelings and experiences.

Anyway, although not groundbreaking, it overall was a nice read and I'm glad to have read it.

Content Warnings

mxbluet18's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Trigger warnings for The Book Eaters include: body horror, gore, explicit violence, domestic abuse and abuse against children. There is also violence against women; sexual assault, emotional abuse, homophobia, physical abuse, torture, gun violence and murder.
☆
☆
I wasn't necessarily sure how I was going to fair with this one, but I have really enjoyed it. I've read reviews describing it as 'a fairytale stapled to a thriller', and I wouldn't argue with that assessment.
~
I don't read much in the way of fairytale retellings, nor do I read many thrillers, partly because I don't like being scared. But this was struck a pleasing balance between suspenseful and uncertainty for the reader, with the calm of childhood.
~
I liked the way it went back to Devon's childhood and the experiences she had then, to show how her personality and resentment for the Families develop. And with the fairytale aspect of it, I liked that there was inclusion of dragons and knights, and Camelot.
~
Something I found interesting was the whole thing with the Ravenscar family, and how they had monopoly over an important element, and therefore to some degree had complete control over the other Families. Though I didn't like the arranged and forced marriages and pregnancies, however I'm aware that's the part of the plot that's intended to make people uncomfortable.

Content Warnings

atamano's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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