Reviews with content warning for Infertility - 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.

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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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bsparx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

3.0

I loved the concept of The Book Eaters. I enjoy the twists on original ideas, legends, and myths, but I feel it’s rare to come across an adaption of an idea which is so original. So interesting. The Eaters are akin to vampires, but not. They subsist on books. Books! What a marvellous idea to consume books and therefore consume all the knowledge within. I love that concept. Of course they have their supernatural gains and their limitations.

The Book Eaters have strength, night vision, move with stealth, and amass a great deal of knowledge, but they can’t write and they aren’t creative thinkers. Throughout I kept thinking, “but why not utilise accessible technology?” They’d just have to eat up on it. As I read on though I realised the eaters really do not think outside the box. They’re very controlled and regimented with their existence. What they’re fed with books dictates their worlds and they don’t get a chance to develop critical thinking. Their environments are quite abusive and toxic.

A Note: I didn't find the story too triggering though, regarding the toxicity and abuse, except for in some instances 
so please be aware of triggers if you decide to read The Book Eaters. It's a very controlled and misogynistic environment

Apart from the trigger warnings and toxic environments, which is part of and does add to the story, The Book Eaters is not only about survival and breaking against your predetermined confines, but it’s about love. What we do for love, how we define it, and how we define ourselves in the face of it.

The story itself was a steady pace and easy to follow along. I felt there could have been more, but the plot was entertaining and I do love there was some LGBTQ+ representation in there without making a big show of it. I feel there could be more stories in this world too. It’s a stand-alone novel, but I found the story of The Book Eaters had me wondering more about the hidden lives that only got touched on.

The Book Eaters is definitely a dark fairy tale full of interesting concepts. It’s a book I’m happy I was able to read and am pleased to be able to pass it on to someone else to enjoy.

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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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takarakei's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

This is a very dark book. Oddly it fits as a Christmas read since a lot of it happens during that time, there is a lot of reference to Christmas. I did enjoy it for the most part while reading it, but after finishing it and sitting with it a bit I'm still not sure how I really feel. The concept of Book Eaters is very cool, but I expected that cool idea to be a bigger part of the book. Ultimately this story is about a woman and mother who is brought up in a horrible patriarchal society (separate from ours) and is basically a comment on how far a mother will go to protect her children. It's told in multiple timelines (the past of her whole life for background and present).

Jarrow is the best character. Protect Jarrow.

There is also a minor romance subplot which feels... very underdeveloped. Hella insta-lovey and I just didn't really understand why it needed to be there if it was so underdeveloped. It does have LGBTQIA+ rep.

I'd say this is maybe give it a try if this is your genre cause it's short, but borrow it from your library.

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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.

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cadence99's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

1.25

Where to begin? This was not my favorite, to say the least. I almost DNFed this many times, but what kept me going was the potential of the main plot. I think the setup could have made a great story, unfortunately, this is not it.

To begin with, there is an undercurrent of ableism throughout in the portrayal of the main characters child being born a “mind eater”, and being portrayed primarily as a “burden” throughout the book.

Beyond this, the writing style frustrated me in many ways. It felt as if the author did not trust her audience to interpret even the slightest drop of material, as troupes were painstakingly spelled out, removing any chance for readers to explore this world themselves. The book is very guilty of telling readers what is happening instead of showing us.

In addition, many characters relationships and growth felt VERY unbelievable to me. Characters met and within days (with minimal interaction) were supposed to have developed deep feelings for one another. Other characters are portrayed as incredibly young children one moment, and the next are being expected to make life altering choices.

Overall, I would not recommend this book

1.25⭐️

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