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A review by w0lfyfr3n
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

dark tense medium-paced

4.75

"We can only live by the light we’re given, and some of us are given no light at all. What else can we do except learn to see in the dark?”

This was like The Handmaid's Tale but featuring unique fantasy creatures instead of humans. I was pleasantly surprised by the casual queer rep, MC was a lesbian and another side character was ace. 

There was a lot of intriguing lore to get into, and the way the story flits between past and present ensures that neither of the storylines become too overwhelming to continue reading. I say overwhelming because a majority of my reading experience was feeling outraged on Devon's behalf. Read the trigger warnings carefully, it gets downright cruel at several points. I would criticize this more if it was wanton violence that contributed little to the story, but in this case it was crucial to the book's commentary of how different kinds of people fall victim to broken systems (be it familial, marital, military or even broadly societal), ultimately even those who claim to hold power/privilege within them. 

Full of really nice quotes, both original and from other books. The only minor issue I had was that some careless sentences didn't quite add up (Spoilers:
like how everyone in Easterbrook somehow steers clear of a very loud murder scene for HOURS
), and that would sometimes snag at the back of my mind, but they were so few and minor in an otherwise intense and suspenseful plot that it was easy to ignore imo. 
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