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adancewithbooks's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Thank you to Jackie Douglass from Sourcebooks Fire for the book in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.
What We Devour is yet another standalone fantasy by the hand of Lynsey Miller. Another dark tale with intricate world building and interesting twists and turns.
We meet Lorena Adler as she takes care of the death in a small town. Still considered an outsider despite having lived there for a few years now. She hides a secret. She is a noble and a vile. Normally those that hold the power of the banished gods either hold noble or the vile. Holding both is extremely rare and it is why she catches the eye of the Vile Crown Prince. It throws her into court politics, experimentations and sacrifices.
The world and its magic is an interesting take. One has to sacrifice something to be able to use their powers. A memory, blood or anything that the noble or the vile you carry wants. The prince for instance creates intricate contracts for his vile so it cannot step out of its boundaries and interpret the demand in its own way. It is an interesting way how to deal with magic and powers. I guess one can see the noble and vile as some kind of demons, the way that Lorena refers to them. But even with all the information I still feel a bit out of the loop when it actually comes to the vile and noble. The differences between the two and the long history before that.
There is also a door that is keeping a type of demons out of their world. But that door is breaking down and our vile prince and lorena want to find a way to keep it closed so the sacrificed to the door of the people can stop. At one point one runs out of criminals. There are twists and turns throughout the book. Curses, ghosts, murdering queens, talking doors etc. There is a lot here and yet the story moves painstakingly slow at points.
The story explores the themes of sacrifice and morality. Is it okay to sacrifice a few for the good of the many? And who gets to decide that? The constant tension between the various characters also plays with that. One can sacrifice someone else's memory to heal a wound or change someone's memory as the end goal. What is okay to take? What is okay to use your powers for?
Lorena gets a strong relationship with our prince and there seem to be some romantic feelings there. However there is also room for Lorena to be herself in this. She seems to not be interested in sex. She is interested in physical interactions by cuddling or holding someone. But she doesn't seem to have a sexual interest, making her asexual. The word isn't used in the book but the author has confirmed it. It was interesting and pleasing to see how the prince seemed to give her this room. There was never any push for more than she was willing to give.
All in all I do think that What We Devour is a very interesting dark fantasy standalone to give a try!
What We Devour is yet another standalone fantasy by the hand of Lynsey Miller. Another dark tale with intricate world building and interesting twists and turns.
We meet Lorena Adler as she takes care of the death in a small town. Still considered an outsider despite having lived there for a few years now. She hides a secret. She is a noble and a vile. Normally those that hold the power of the banished gods either hold noble or the vile. Holding both is extremely rare and it is why she catches the eye of the Vile Crown Prince. It throws her into court politics, experimentations and sacrifices.
The world and its magic is an interesting take. One has to sacrifice something to be able to use their powers. A memory, blood or anything that the noble or the vile you carry wants. The prince for instance creates intricate contracts for his vile so it cannot step out of its boundaries and interpret the demand in its own way. It is an interesting way how to deal with magic and powers. I guess one can see the noble and vile as some kind of demons, the way that Lorena refers to them. But even with all the information I still feel a bit out of the loop when it actually comes to the vile and noble. The differences between the two and the long history before that.
There is also a door that is keeping a type of demons out of their world. But that door is breaking down and our vile prince and lorena want to find a way to keep it closed so the sacrificed to the door of the people can stop. At one point one runs out of criminals. There are twists and turns throughout the book. Curses, ghosts, murdering queens, talking doors etc. There is a lot here and yet the story moves painstakingly slow at points.
The story explores the themes of sacrifice and morality. Is it okay to sacrifice a few for the good of the many? And who gets to decide that? The constant tension between the various characters also plays with that. One can sacrifice someone else's memory to heal a wound or change someone's memory as the end goal. What is okay to take? What is okay to use your powers for?
Lorena gets a strong relationship with our prince and there seem to be some romantic feelings there. However there is also room for Lorena to be herself in this. She seems to not be interested in sex. She is interested in physical interactions by cuddling or holding someone. But she doesn't seem to have a sexual interest, making her asexual. The word isn't used in the book but the author has confirmed it. It was interesting and pleasing to see how the prince seemed to give her this room. There was never any push for more than she was willing to give.
All in all I do think that What We Devour is a very interesting dark fantasy standalone to give a try!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Suicide, Child death, and Child abuse
Depictions and discussion of self-harm | Mass Murder| Reference to Mass Suicide | Child Neglectmelaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
This book is delightfully dark and twisted, with morally grey main characters and hardcore "I love you but I'm still going to kill you" vibes. Honestly I loved everything about this. I was immediately addicted to how dark the writing was and the complexity and uniqueness of the magic system. Let me just say, it took me A WHILE to figure out why sometimes it said wright and sometimes wrought, but once I figured it out it made way more sense and I was even more in love. The way Lorena uses her powers is incredible and I am completely in love with her. I also love Alistair! You wanna a Darkling-esque love interest but he actually has redeemable qualities? Miller's got you covered.
Also because half of my brain is filled with memes, may I present:
Looks like a cinnamon roll, but could kill you: Lorena
Looks like they could kill you, but is actually a cinnamon roll: Alistair
Looks like a cinnamon roll, is a cinnamon roll: Basil
Looks like they could kill you, would kill you: Carlow.
Kthxbai
Also because half of my brain is filled with memes, may I present:
Looks like a cinnamon roll, but could kill you: Lorena
Looks like they could kill you, but is actually a cinnamon roll: Alistair
Looks like a cinnamon roll, is a cinnamon roll: Basil
Looks like they could kill you, would kill you: Carlow.
Kthxbai
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Murder, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Suicide
foreverinastory's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Deliciously dark and a wild ride!
Rep: Alloromantic Asexual female MC, nonbinary side character.
CWs from the author: The magic system in this book is based off of sacrifice and heavily features self-harm (specifically cutting) and actions that mirror self-harm. The characters also discuss self-harm at different points in the book. Scenes describing it do occur in first person. The book also features on-the-page murder and mass murder, references to child death, the deaths of parents, discussions and depictions of sacrifices/executions, references to factory-related accidents and deaths, references to child neglect and abuse, references to filicide, references to sibling deaths, and multiple scenes about death. There is also a reference to mass suicide.
For more general content, please be aware that this book contains cutting, violence, blood, murder, abuse, and death.
Rep: Alloromantic Asexual female MC, nonbinary side character.
CWs from the author: The magic system in this book is based off of sacrifice and heavily features self-harm (specifically cutting) and actions that mirror self-harm. The characters also discuss self-harm at different points in the book. Scenes describing it do occur in first person. The book also features on-the-page murder and mass murder, references to child death, the deaths of parents, discussions and depictions of sacrifices/executions, references to factory-related accidents and deaths, references to child neglect and abuse, references to filicide, references to sibling deaths, and multiple scenes about death. There is also a reference to mass suicide.
For more general content, please be aware that this book contains cutting, violence, blood, murder, abuse, and death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Sexual content
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