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ageckocalledachilles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Body horror, Torture, Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Sexual violence
zombiezami's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, Grief, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Violence, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Chronic illness, Sexism, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Cursing, Infertility, Cannibalism, Car accident, Bullying, Pregnancy, Stalking, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Body horror
Minor: Incest and Child death
Eugenicsidontlovejessica's review against another edition
Graphic: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
eggfartz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Cursing, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Vomit
squisheebee_'s review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Incredible, flawed, queer anti protagonist & her “monster” child who I could not help but adore.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Trafficking, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Death, Pregnancy, and Grief
Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, and Rape
asolis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Medical content, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Pregnancy, and Rape
ashhearddwrites's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Murder, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Vomit, and Pregnancy
captainsillypants's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Rape
Moderate: Slavery, Grief, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Minor: Trafficking and Slavery
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Narrated by Katie Erich
Unabridged
This was just okay for me. It had a really cool snd unique concept but I just lacked any emotional connection for the story and ended up more or less having it on as background noise, unfortunately.
I wish I had had a stronger feeling for this title.
Graphic: Death, Rape, Misogyny, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Physical abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Body horror, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Addiction, Abandonment, Violence, Torture, Outing, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Sexual violence
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As one of my most highly anticipated reads, I was a little disappointed by how average this book turned out.
The Book Eaters has an intriguing premise that I’m sure would attract every bibliophile out there — after all, what’s not to love about a book where books play a prominent role? To make it all the more interesting, this book features a species of human-like beings that subsist on either books or brains only. They’re hidden from the watchful, fearful eyes of many humans and they have long lifespans. However, their females can only give birth to two children all their life which means that if not enough females are born, there will come a time when they’ll become extinct. As such, knights and dragons play a crucial role in arranging marriages between the Families, which contributes to maintaining and enforcing the status quo.
This results in an insular and strongly patriarchal community where a female’s only worth is the offspring she has…and she’s not even allowed to care for the child past them turning 3 years old. All this gives a lot of room for social commentary on patriarchy, misogyny, misandry, toxic femininity, toxic masculinity and other gender issues. It also allows for explorations on trust and identity.
Sadly, both the execution and characters were lacking. Although there were some complexities and depth to the social commentary, the way the story was written wasn’t strong enough to uphold those notions. It also didn’t help that despite the clear system and context on book eaters and mind eaters, their presence was more secondary. So in overall, these two aspects made for an underwhelming story.
Moreover, I found it difficult to care for the characters. Sure, I could sympathise with them and their situations, but there remains a distance that somehow made them feel flat even though they were all distinct, compelling and memorable.
Everything considered, The Book Eaters has a lot of promise and potential, which makes it a shame that I didn’t find it as mind-blowing as I had hoped for. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a read where the focus is more on an underdog’s journey to gain freedom and independence away from all that confined them and their loved ones, this is a book to try.
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Death, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gore, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, and Rape