"The Sin Eater walks among us, unseen, unheard
Sins of our flesh become sins of Hers
Following Her to the grave, unseen, unheard
The Sin Eater Walks Among Us."

A strong round of applause for Megan Campisi for creating a unique and original book set in sixteenth century England.

Recently orphaned, fourteen-year-old May has been jailed and convicted for stealing bread. Her sentence - to be a Sin Eater. A "what?" you ask.... A sin eater, shunned, an S tattooed on her tongue, unseen until she is seen, not to speak unless hearing the sins of the dying. She is a cast out, who provides a service to those who are dying. She will listen to final confessions and for those sins she will eat certain foods so that they may be granted access to heaven.

It's a dark and dreary world. May's only solace is meeting another sin eater, who takes her in and shows her the ropes, then one day, May is once again alone. Her mentor has been jailed and executed because she refuses to eat a deer heart which has been left on the deceased coffin. Her reasons, the dead woman did confess to the sin which the heart represents. Left in a court where women are dying and deer hearts are appearing on their coffins, May knows something is not right at court. Someone out there is killing others and May is in danger but she can't/wont/refuses to stop investigating her mentor’s death.

This was an incredibly unique tale and Campisi did a fabulous job transporting me to sixteenth century England. May is a likable character who I couldn't help but feel for. She is an orphan trying to survive in the beginning of the book but through the course of becoming an outcast, suffering loneliness and having no one acknowledge her, she finds a strength within herself. She is a young teen in world full of royal intrigue, witchcraft, lies, manipulations and betrayals. The setting is dark and gloomy.

I enjoyed the contrast of how she was shunned, not looked at, not touched, considered cursed, until she was needed. Then they came calling, invited her into their homes, told her their sins and feed her for absolution.

The book started off strong for me but did lag a little in the middle and slightly towards the end, but then there are some "aha" moments, some reveals and a solid ending. I really enjoy book which not only entertain but teach me. I had no idea that sin eaters where real and sin eating is viewed as a ritual. You can learn more as I did by reading about sin eaters on Wikipedia.

Dark, original, unique, gloomy, and entertaining. It stands on its own and doesn't need to be compared to other books.


Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

A reinvented/alternate Sixteenth Century English Court had sentenced fourteen year old May Owens to life as an outcast. For the crime of stealing bread, May was given a life sentence: A Sin Eater...a social pariah...brutally marked with an "S" etched on her tongue...a shunned woman forced to wear a heavy brass collar with a hanging "S" pendant...cannot be touched or spoken to...cannot speak except during recitations or eatings.

What is a Sin Eater? "[Her]...fate is to hear the final confessions of the dying, eat ritual foods symbolizing their sins as a funeral rite...". "The sin eater bears the sins of all folk in silence to her grave. She alone may never confess and be absolved...". May finds herself apprenticed to an older Sin Eater."I am not to talk. Even to her." They dwell in Dungsbrook, "no place is as unfortunate". Daily messengers from all walks of life request the services of the Sin Eater for a "Recitation" of sins of the dying or an "Eating" of the ritual foods. "When the foods is et, your sins will be mine...", says the Sin Eater.

An Eating is conducted for Corliss, governess to Queen Bethany, daughter of King Harold II. Folk attend "the Eating" to bear witness. The elder Sin Eater stops eating, refusing to eat the deer heart placed atop Corliss's coffin.. The deer heart is a lie. No confession has been recited to warrant this ritual food. Disobeying a direct order, the Sin Eater is sentenced to death for treason.

May Owens is determined to discover who placed the deer heart on the coffin. She must avenge the death of her mentor,"Ruth". May is now the sole Sin Eater attending recitations and eatings. She lives on the fringes of society. "I wish [I] could show folk [my] insides...then they'd know I'm not wicked at all...folk would know I am goodly...".

"Sin Eater" by Megan Campisi is an imaginative, creative work of historical/ dystopian fiction. One cannot help rooting for May. An excellent read I highly recommend.

Thank you Atria Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Sin Eater".

Nope! It’s not fair to compare this book with the other novels and talking about the resemblances with Handmaid’s Tale, Wolf’s Creek or any other epic stories. Sin Eater is dark, unique, original, well-crafted, visionary, horrifying, twisty, surprising tale, a very well written, somehow quirky, absurd, complex fantasy!

For its uniqueness and eerie, creepy, dark, intense atmosphere and impeccable development, I’m giving my four solid stars!

This is story of a fourteen years old girl May sentenced to be an apprentice of a sin eater: eating the fests of sin left the coffins as she was expecting a standard punishment like being whipped or burned at a stake!

By eating foods which symbolize the sins, she helps the soul’s transgressions to the heaven. I loved the way of her naming the people with creative names in her nonstop thinking mind. Even though her weird traits, it is easy to connect with her character and follow up her journey!

And now May takes her first steps to the weird world, living in her own purgatory till one day a deer heart is found at the coffin. And May’s mentor rejects to eat it because it doesn’t represent any sin which results her brutal death.

Now May is alone, determined to find who is responsible from the killing of her mentor by searching the person put the deer heart and she eventually finds herself at the rabbit hole of lies, manipulations, and deceptions! And of course that ending is harsh slapping on your face coming out of nowhere! It rocks your world. (After seeing Parasite’s well deserved winning, I haven’t been shocked for so long!)
Reading this book is dazzling, complicated, devious but also exciting experience for me. I enjoyed settling of Elizabethan England and different writing technique keeps your attention alive from the beginning till the last page.

One of the mind crushing, soul shaking and different readings of the year!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this impressive book’s ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

I'm thrilled to have won a digital ARC of SIN EATER though a Shelf Awareness giveaway! The comparison to THE HANDMAID'S TALE piqued my interest, as does the story's historical roots in real-life sin eaters. I look forward to reading (and potentially reviewing) it!

A fantastic journey, thriller, historic overview of a young woman forcibly conscripted into being a Sin-Eater: one who takes on the sins of dying people to ensure their place in "heaven".

Sin Eater by Megan Campisi
Source: NetGalley and Atria Books
Rating: 4/5 stars


**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: Upon reflection, I can’t say I loved this book, but I can definitively say I found it fascinating. Though the names have been altered, the setting is clearly England during the reign of Elizabeth I and there are nefarious deeds being perpetrated in the castle. Getting to the bottom of the mystery requires the abilities of one young lady, a recently appointed sin eater who is caught up in a mess she never should have been privy to.

In truth, I could have done without the whole court conspiracy bit and just read about the life of May, the sin eater. Her punishment is reprehensible, the people she lives among treat her as an outcast, at best, yet they need her on a daily basis to make themselves feel better about their miserable lives. The dynamic between May and the people she “serves” was the most intriguing aspect of this read, followed closely by the sins and the foods associated with them. Finally, “watching” as May comes to terms with her life sentence was like watching a train wreck, you know its’s bad and you should be watching, but you also can’t stop yourself.

The writing is top notch the story is fascinating, but this isn’t going to be a story for all readers. This book sort of defies placement within a specific genre, the abuse May suffers, and the matching up of the fake names with the real historical figures will be bothersome to many. For the rest of us, it’s just an intense and wonderfully weird read.

I am sorry to say that this book just did not do it for me. I simply could not get into the story.

My thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in April 2020.

In 16th Century England, 14-year-old May Owens, an orphan, has been condemned to a life sentence for stealing bread. It could have been worse. Her punishment is to be a Sin-Eater. Apprenticed to the old Sin-Eater. She can't speak and none should speak to her except the dying. It is she who will sit and hear all of their sins and take them into herself by eating the food that represents each sin.

She is treated brutally and marked with a collar around her neck and an S tattooed on her tongue. She has very little learning except for the letters in her name. And she can barely understand the old woman who is teaching her.

Called to the castle, they enter to hear the sins of a dying woman. A governess at court. When they return to eat the food, there is a deer heart on the coffin. But May nor the old woman heard her confess to murder. When the old woman refused to eat it, she is killed and May is left on her own.

As more women die in the castle, May thinks she may have figured out why. And along the way figured out who she really is. Now she just needs to figure out who! Before she is the next to die.

This was in no way what the blurb said. The Handmaid's Tale meets Alice in Wonderland.  I think that is a disservice to the book. This was a dark, gritty tale full of mystery and legend with characters both tragic and humorous. May Owens may have been born to be much more than her life became, and her strength and determination was that of a warrior.

Most of the book was hauntingly sad but this was the 16th Century. The one definitely made a mark on my heart.

NetGalley/ April 7th, 2020 by Atria Books

First I would like to thank NetGalley and Atria Publishers for allowing me to read this book.

I found Sin Eater to be one of the most thought provoking and creative stories I have read this year. While it is historical fiction, the author changes the historical characters names slightly, allowing for the reader to have more of a dark fairy tale reading experience rather a historical fiction experience. For those that are familiar with the Tudor family, they will be able to pick out who the author is talking about, but still enjoy the atmosphere the author has created. The author does a great job of introducing the reader to what a sin eater does, and the role they play in this society. Going through the beginning of the book I had a lot of questions about sin eaters and the author does a good job of answering them without making it feel like a Q&A.

The main character is named May, and as a punishment for stealing a loaf of bread, she is made a sin eater. No longer able to stay in her own home, she finds another sin eater on the outskirts of town to apprentice under, and gains a better understanding of her new responsibilities. When one of the queen's ladies and waiting mysteriously dies, food arrives on her coffin that is not attached to the sins she confessed. May searches to find answers regarding her sins, that go deeper into the queens past before she took the thrown.

I read this book in one weekend. Even though it is rather short, it is a packed full story of characters and their backgrounds, giving it depth. I became got attached to the main character and her determination to get answers about the mysterious murder. I finished reading it a few days ago, and still this book consumes my thoughts, and I can't stop telling people about it. It is definitely one of those books that stays with you.

I found this story about young May who was made to be a sin eater in 16th century Britian disturbing, yet engaging. I have not read this type of book before and it took me awhile to get into it. I did find the murder mystery intriguing and the courage May shows is inspiring.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Description
The Handmaid’s Tale meets Alice in Wonderland in this gripping and imaginative historical novel about a shunned orphan girl in 16th-century England who is ensnared in a deadly royal plot and must turn her subjugation into her power.

The Sin Eater walks among us, unseen, unheard
Sins of our flesh become sins of Hers
Following Her to the grave, unseen, unheard
The Sin Eater Walks Among Us.

For the crime of stealing bread, fourteen-year-old May receives a life sentence: she must become a Sin Eater—a shunned woman, brutally marked, whose fate is to hear the final confessions of the dying, eat ritual foods symbolizing their sins as a funeral rite, and thereby shoulder their transgressions to grant their souls access to heaven.

Orphaned and friendless, apprenticed to an older Sin Eater who cannot speak to her, May must make her way in a dangerous and cruel world she barely understands. When a deer heart appears on the coffin of a royal governess who did not confess to the dreadful sin it represents, the older Sin Eater refuses to eat it. She is taken to prison, tortured, and killed. To avenge her death, May must find out who placed the deer heart on the coffin and why.

I didn't get any vibes that made me feel this was a mix or relation to The Handmaid’s Tale meets Alice in Wonderland.

Some of the writing wasn't all that clear during many of the conversations in the book.
There's lots of potential with the book and it will definitely have an audience.

I had never heard about Sin Eaters before reading this book and I am absolutely appalled and fascinated by their roles in history.

May is a fourteen year old girl who is arrested for stealing bread in 16th Century England. Her sentence is to become a sin eater- a role given only to women- she is now destined to live her life with no one to speak to or who will even look at her and forced to eat and take on the sins of the dying. The story unfolds and fills with mystery and intrigue when the sin eater is called to the palace to hear the sins of one of the Queens governess’ and an extra “sin”, a deer heart, shows up on the casket after the governess’ death.

May is thrown into a dangerous game of court intrigue and deception as she tries to find out the truth of what the deer heart means.

The author did a phenomenal job of pulling you in to Elizabethan England and making you feel like you were right there. She also did an amazing job at portraying a fourteen year old who has been thrown into a very adult life. She makes rash and dangerous decisions, has odd “names” for people she doesn’t know the given name for, can handle herself for the most part but also reacts in very child like ways when it becomes too much. The dynamic of reading some adult themes (death, sin eating, witchcraft, etc) from the perspective of such a young girl but the story not veering unto YA territory was really interesting and well executed.

I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and will recommend it often!

This is a fascinating story of girl who is sentenced to be a sin eater- a rarely touched upon ritual that Wikipedia tells me has roots in a wide variety of cultures and time periods. Basically, the sin eater "eats" the sins of the dead and dying so that they may enter the afterlife with a pure soul. The author creates a sort of alternative history where a different sin is assigned a specific food. For example, if on your deathbed you confess to the sins of adultery and lying, the sin eater would eat raisins and mustard seed to absolve you of your sins. There's a comical moment in the book when a women confesses to letting her goose attack someone and the sin eater is not quite sure which food would cover goose attacks. The plot also circles around some poisonings happening in the castle, but in all honesty I would have been just fine reading about the day to day life of the sin eater because it was all so bizarre and interesting.

There were many aspects of this book that I enjoyed. I loved how descriptive the author was when describing the atmosphere of the town and it’s people. How scared the people were of the sin eater, no matter if they were rich or poor. I also loved how the sin eater would have all the foods for each sin memorized, even though that seems impossibly hard. Overall, I think this was a great read and I’ll be recommending it to my friends.

<i>Sin Eater</i> by Megan Campisi was a fascinating historical mystery, and I was intrigued by the idea of sin eaters. It's not a part of British history that is well-known, at least not in the US, but knowing that one's sins could be taken on by someone else reminded me of the days of the Catholic church where one could be absolved of your sins... for a price, of course. However, this notion is rather cruel to the poor women (as there's no mention of any male sin eaters) who are judged and punished as narrator May was. Then again, given their view of Eve in this setting, it comes as no surprise that they should be treating women as such.

I really enjoyed getting to know May and watching her grow even as she is forced to take on this mantle, which isn't revealed why she was punished so until much much later in the story. While the initial mystery revolved around her Sin Eater mentor's death, the heart of that mystery is found much deeper within a tangle of webs. Readers will definitely feel for May and the elder Sin Eater and their lot in life, but there is also relief in the semi-allies or at least "companions" that May finds following the death of the elder Sin Eater. It might also inspire more interest in the history behind sin eaters and when that practice both started and then came to an end.

Definitely recommended.

Being that a sin eater is, in fact, a real piece of history, this concept seemed to make for an intriguing story, Similar in a fashion to The Handmaids Tale, this book scared me when I thought of what poor May had to go through and the life she had to lead. I didn’t love the ending which is the only reason I gave it less stars.

OOOOO y'allllll I love it! I mean already the title just captured my attention instantly. Now this one was a creepy one, which is exactly how I like my novels. Highly recommend... the characters will grab you're attention right at the beginning!

I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to read an e-galley of “The Sin Eater”. What an intriguing story! I like to read a variety of different subjects, and the fantasy/fiction mixture that this book was made for a good change of pace after lots of contemporary fiction and thrillers! Great character development and story line!

The Sin Eater is equal parts fantasy, historical fiction, and political intrigue. Sentenced to a life as a Sin Eater, May is forced into a life even more desolate and lonely than the one she left. Forced to eat the sins of the dead, her new occupation is seen as unseemly and shunned by society. With no one allowed to speak to her, she is forced into the silent apprenticeship under an elderly woman who dies soon after May comes into her care. Caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy against the crown, May must use her wits to not only solve a series of murders, but to survive.
I believe my interest in the synopsis led to higher expectations that what was delivered on the page. The pacing felt uneven and I was left with more questions than answers. I would like to have seen more of how May learned the specifics of her new position and much of the story seemed to move in convenient coincidences.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.