A review by acouplereadss
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Hidden across England and Scotland live six old Book Eater families. The last of their lines, they exist on the fringes of society and subsist on a diet of stories and legends. Children are rare and their numbers have dwindled, so when Devon Fairweather’s second child is born a dreaded Mind Eater – a perversion of her own kind, who consumes not stories but the minds and souls of humans – she flees before he can be turned into a weapon for the family... or worse.

Living among humans and finding prey for her son, Devon seeks a cure for his hunger. But time is running out – for her family want her back, and with every soul her son consumes he loses a little more of himself...

A little bit of cult vibes, a bit of fantasy folktale elements, a splash of gothic, and an undertone of horror - The Book Eaters completely caught me off guard in the best way. There’s a bit of all the genres melding together and the atmosphere was everything. Mixing both present amenities and gothic countryside was not an easy task but Sunyi Dean pulled it off. The two alternating storylines of 2 different timelines kept the pacing of the book at an even tempo and kept me flipping those pages.

The characters were well flushed out and definitely had layers of grey to them. This was such a solid read, recommending you add this to your TBR to grab come August. My favourite part was how deliciously dark this was, those horror elements were *chefs kiss*. Not to mention the entire concept - people who survive by consuming books!? Many elements were brought together and the execution was a wonderful new type of fairytale.

Thank you @torbooks for sending a copy of the advanced reader edition my way in exchange for an honest review, 4✨!