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lanid's review
challenging
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Acephobia/Arophobia, Body horror, Classism, Self harm, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Confinement, and Torture
larbster90's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Child death, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Cannibalism and Toxic relationship
heavensdark's review
dark
tense
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death
canderson's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’m still confused as to what the Noble and Vile are and what the difference between them is… the world building was a bit lacking and I felt like there were inconsistencies and contradictions to plot throughout. Overall, concept was interesting and the last quarter of the book held my interest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
anniereads221's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of my absolute faves of the year
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Child death, Blood, Confinement, Self harm, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Classism, and Body horror
epsyphus's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
I struggled a little bit with the way she went about worldbuilding and, I think as a result, with connecting to the characters, but I really liked the magic system. It was a very intriguing concept, plus, the title really piqued my interest and only made me think more about it as I was reading. I think I'll enjoy this more on the reread when I don't feel so stuck in the worldbuilding.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism
jamielikestoread's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Murder
folded_between_pages_of_books's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder
obscurepages's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Okay, so. I just finished this book and???? That was not the ending I expected! I don't know how I feel about it 😭 I like it? But at the same time, it just feels harrowing and melancholic, and yet hopeful at the same time??? I don't think I can process much of my feelings and thoughts right now.
So what did I like about the book? I absolutely love the magic system and the world-building. I'm a sucker for scifi/fantasy books with intricate world-building, so it's not a surprise that I loved the world and the magic here in What We Devour. I also liked the eeriness of it. I liked the writing style, which was both poetic and dark. I liked the characters, especially Lorena's character arc. It's not perfect or righteous, but instead we see someone change and do things, not just for their family and friends but for other people. I also absolutely loved the asexual rep in this book! The word wasn't mentioned here at all, but the way Lorena thought about it, explained it, and how people always judge and misunderstand her felt raw to me.
My only issues with the book? I guess wanted more action? I wanted more of that dangerous/high stakes feel? But that's just my personal preference for this story. This was still very much entertaining and the plot twists did not disappoint me.
Overall, this was a good read. A perfect choice this spooky season!
E-arc from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. This, of course, did not affect my overall opinion of the book.
So what did I like about the book? I absolutely love the magic system and the world-building. I'm a sucker for scifi/fantasy books with intricate world-building, so it's not a surprise that I loved the world and the magic here in What We Devour. I also liked the eeriness of it. I liked the writing style, which was both poetic and dark. I liked the characters, especially Lorena's character arc. It's not perfect or righteous, but instead we see someone change and do things, not just for their family and friends but for other people. I also absolutely loved the asexual rep in this book! The word wasn't mentioned here at all, but the way Lorena thought about it, explained it, and how people always judge and misunderstand her felt raw to me.
My only issues with the book? I guess wanted more action? I wanted more of that dangerous/high stakes feel? But that's just my personal preference for this story. This was still very much entertaining and the plot twists did not disappoint me.
Overall, this was a good read. A perfect choice this spooky season!
E-arc from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. This, of course, did not affect my overall opinion of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Gore
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 Neglect