Reviews tagging 'Acephobia/Arophobia'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

27 reviews

kurumipanda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Sexism

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Rape, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Medical content

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, and Suicidal thoughts

quihi's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

I really enjoyed it once I got into it. Unfortunately, it took me two thirds of the book to get really into it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Cannibalism, Confinement, Grief, Body horror, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Abandonment, Misogyny, Child death, Gore, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, and Acephobia/Arophobia

ashwaar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

3.5

Living secretly within British society are the book eaters, ancient families that survive on literature to sustain and give them knowledge. Devon is part of one of these families, and as a rare girl, her future is carefully negotiated to ensure she produces heirs for their dwindling population. But when she gives birth to a mind-eater, a being who craves and survives on human minds rather than books, Devon must escape from the families to save her son.

A lot is happening in this book, and the story only becomes more intense, gritty and grotesque as it continues. It comes with all sorts of trigger warnings, so be sure to check those out if you’re unsure! But overall, I thought this was a pretty interesting premise, if a little contrived. It sounds a little like an idea I’d think up in my English class at secondary school, but it’s also pretty cool to see someone write it in an actual book.

The story is complex and compelling, jumping between present-day on-the-run Devon and her past, growing up within the families. There is a lot of legacy and lore in the book, and I think the author does well blending it all with the current narrative. You learn more alongside younger Devon, and as a reader, I felt very comfortable with this pacing.

At the same time as I found this book interesting and engaging, I also found it pretty tough to read at points. Because every character does terrible gruesome things, I found it hard to have sympathy or find a connection with any of them. I also found the setting a bit weird, and juxtaposing these mysterious families with the average UK life didn’t feel right. Maybe it would have felt more fitting in its own world, but I know that’s even more lore and background to commit to. It’s not a big complaint for me, and I got used to it as the story went on.

Overall, this was a pretty solid book, just not completely my cup of tea. It’s very plot-heavy, and I’m more of a character-and-vibes reader. I also thought it was very gory, and although I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it doesn’t make it very enjoyable to read at points. It’s one of those books where I think you’ll be able to tell from a review if you’ll like it or not, and hopefully, I’ve been able to help you out a little bit.

Read more on Wordpress at Bookmarked by Ash: https://book990337086.wordpress.com/

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Infertility, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Death, Drug use, Murder, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcoholism, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Alcohol, and Child death

Minor: Vomit

superiour_medium's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A delightfully dark and often disturbing aversion of a vampire story. All of the horror of a vampiric life but without the broad Gothic romance, but instead a very ground-level look at a mother son duo.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Alcohol

Moderate: Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, and Cursing

Minor: Confinement and Acephobia/Arophobia

daffodilcherry's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

A book about monsterous love and burning down the whole damn system. It took me until about a quarter of the way through the book to really get hooked, and then I devoured the rest of the book. I loved the development of Devon & Cai's relationship, their gradual understanding. I especially loved the worldbuilding of the 'eaters, and the different relationships between the cast.
Wheelhouse items: monsterous love, mother-child relationship, secret society, immersive worldbuilding, butch lesbians, chaos lesbians, burning the whole system down, fairytale subversion. 
Content warning explanations:

Devon is coerced into relationships with older men for conception of children, one of which is outwardly physically violent towards her.
 Theme of forceful separation between mother & child is very prevalent.
The eaters either eat books or people's minds, many scenes showing mind eating done by the child character, including that of a baby. 
One of the 'eater families trafficks humans to work for them.
One of the villanous characters has religious delusions about mind eating.</Spoiler>

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Trafficking

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia

innastholiel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Rape, Death, Infertility, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Torture

purplatypus's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Murder

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Trafficking, Acephobia/Arophobia, Cursing, and Infertility

sunnydale's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.0

This book succeeds as a gothic allegory exploring the ways both targeted abuse and impersonal violence are used to maintain an oppressive culture. If it were marketed primarily as an introspective novel about a woman's journey to free herself and her children from abuse, people might not be so disappointed that the SFF elements aren't at the forefront. I don't think the physiology and culture of the otherworldly race are underdeveloped, but they aren't emphasized. 

I wasn't disappointed by the focus on Devon's personal arc. I was, however, disappointed that the crucial parts of that arc happened almost entirely in the past. The present-day chapters feel like they're only there to build tension as you wait to figure out what led up to them—they don't carry the narrative weight of half the book, despite getting half the book's "screen time." Characters like Hester, Cai, and Killock are intriguing, and I wish they'd been given more depth. 

Overall, I found the worldbuilding compelling, and I'd be interested in revisiting the world to learn more about mind eaters in particular. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Sexism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Abandonment, Slavery, and Gun violence

Minor: Drug use, Acephobia/Arophobia, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Body shaming

Physical abuse specifics:

Matley chokes Devon until she passes out, and it takes her a long time to recover. This happens immediately after she gives birth to Cai. She is also pinned down when Matley and his guards arrive to take Cai away.

There is no explicit sexual content or description of sexual assault, although Devon's relations with her husbands are nonconsensual. A lot of discussion of Devon's children being taken away from her. Her children are also threatened with violence.

rainbowrachel's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Trafficking

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Pregnancy and Acephobia/Arophobia

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-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

I really liked the premise of this. The set up is really interesting and Devon is a very interesting character. The overarching themes and finale kinda fell apart in the last act for me. It felt like it need to be longer or the first in a series. But overall I enjoyed it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Confinement

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Pregnancy, Trafficking, and Acephobia/Arophobia