A stunning and powerful read!

This was such a different historical/fantasy fiction read. I was totally drawn in and fascinated by what happened to fourteen-year-old May for stealing a loaf of bread. In the 18th century she probably would have been transported. In 16th century England she's sent to be a Sin Eater. A young girl sentenced apprenticed (can one really say that?) to an older Sin Eater, to a life of isolation where she must hear the last confessions of the dying, must learn what is eaten to mark their sins, and then take those sins upon herself. Somewhat like a court imposed Pardoner, without the freedom and ability to mix with people.
May had a somewhat checkered upbringing. An orphan raised by a criminal family, which I think colors the way she moves forward once she decides to take control of her destiny. The journey towards that independence is fraught.
This is a story of incredible resistance, and hope despite the horrific sentence May's received.
Complicating the situation is the plots surround the royal court and the virgin queen, Queen Bethany.
A deer heart is placed on a coffin of a royal attendant, and the older Sin Eater refuses to eat it. She is tortured and dies horrifically.
May vows to avenge her death, a road that will be dangerous and frightening, as May comes into her own and rethinks who she is. A personal reinterpretation of her role gives May a new perspective. An exciting moment!
As the plot develops May meets a host of different people, bringing into focus the daily lives of various groups of society, especially the poor and persecuted, during these times. The rich and powerful are also exposed to us.
The cover is a striking comment on the Sin Eater's burden, referencing European and British sixteenth century still life works. I've always loved these works, the richness of the colors reflecting the food! And that cover, the intricacy of the pomegranate, the fruits displayed, certainly aided my imaginative reinterpretation of the story.
I was struck by the amount of food the Sin Eater must eat in a day--to the point of obesity if the description of the older Sin Eater is any hint. In fact I found myself repulsed by the amount of food they are required to eat, and the type--deer's heart. Grimacing now!
It is no wonder Trish Todd of Atria books in her forward says this is, "An extraordinary, lyrical feat of imagination, Chaucerian in its cast of characters."
The journey with May is an exceptional dark fantasy adventure into reinvented Elizabethan times, ending with the hope for May.

An Atria books ARC via NetGalley

This was a more interesting, in a way, historical that I've read. . A sin eater- branded on the tongue with a collar around their neck. Their purpose is to hear the sins of others before they die. They should only talk to say the "Maker's prayer". Then they are to eat foods associated with the sins.
I had never heard of such a thing but they used to have them!
May is made a Sin Eater. She doesn't know why. She soon discovers a plot in the queen's kingdom and tried to find a way to expose it with the only tools she has.... Her ears.
This was a hard book to read because I didn't find most of it engaging. I didn't care for the slowness of the novel.

I did not finish this title. I was unable to connect with the characters and just could not see where the storyline was going. I was under the impression this would be a “page-turner” and I just didn’t get that feeling from this.

This is not the book for me. I was intrigued by the plot, however, I felt the execution fell short. The writing was awkward and didn’t flow well. I also felt like it took forever for anything to start happening. I couldn’t stay interested, so it was a DNF at 38% for me.

Tiny Synopsis: From @goodreads: 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.

My Review:⭐️⭐⭐⭐/ 5 stars

Usually if I can read it through in less than 2 days, it’s that entertaining of a read. What an original story (from what I’ve read). It’s perfectly graphic, but not too much, and the world that Megan Campisi creates is absolutely terrifying in the most subtle ways. I am getting the Handmaids vibe as suggested on other reviews, but this is totally something else on its own. My only criticism is the use of Maker and the New Faith/Eucharistians and the “alternative” religious names which is very obviously Catholicism/Christianity - but yet the “Jews” and other religious groups remained the same. I think if you are going to create a whole new religious world, just do the whole thing. It took me out of the fantasy element a bit. I wish there was a more dramatic ending dealing with the Queen - Other than that, it was a solid read and I highly suggest.

Megan Campisi's Sin Eater is a reimagining of a historical reality set in an 16th-century Tudor-Era England. After stealing bread to survive, 14-year-old orphan May Owens is caught and imprisoned. After a long time of wondering what happens to her next, she's collared, inked with an S on her tongue, sentenced to a fate deemed worse than death as a Sin Eater. A Sin Eater is the least desirable job by society’s standards, shunned - never be spoken to or even acknowledged.

Her only human contact will come when she is called to a death bed. May makes her way to the house of the elderly Sin-Eater and sees first hand the lonely life she faces. The Sin-Eaters cannot even talk to each other, though a bond is formed between May and her mentor. May's job as a Sin Eater is to eat specific foods (such as "pig's heart" for "wrathful murder") to represent the various sins of the dying or newly deceased. As she settles into a life forced onto her, she begins to pick apart all the layers of injustice that have been heaped onto the women of her country.

When her reluctant mentor refuses to eat a particular food and is subsequently killed, May is determined to get to the bottom of things while being ostracized by her community. May’s illiteracy and social isolation complicate her dangerous quest to unearth answers. Her spunky humor and determination to assert her own value, even in a dead-end occupation at society’s nadir, make her a captivating heroine. May is flawed in ways that are not over the top and make the reader feel a connection with.

Set during the contentious reign of the Virgin Queen Bethany (a stand-in for Elizabeth I), a series of mysterious deaths at the palace draw May into a complicated court conspiracy and her survival depends on finding her power in her curse. The royal household is teeming with intrigue and drama, but does it also hold a killer? If May can figure out who put the deer's heart on the coffin, she will be able to unmask the killer. But this is not jolly ole England, and the cost may be her life.

Actual Rating 3.5

A fascinating concept and a story that I found quite un-put-down-able. I was drawn in by May, who really was a an endearing protagonist. Her voice and spirit throughout the entirety of the novel was strong and clear. I was swept along in the mystery, which was not too difficult that I felt at a loss when making my guesses but not too simple that I figured it all out. Overall, a very entertaining read with a great cast of characters and a premise that I find myself still thinking about, even though I finished the book days ago.

Happy Publication Day!

So funny story ... I didn't realize this was Historical Fiction when I requested this book. I was blown away when I learned Sin Eaters were a legit part of history. Crazy!

What is a Sin Eater? A person who consumes a ritual meal in order to spirituality take on the sins of a deceased person. The food was believed to absorb the sins of a recently dead person, thus absolving their soul.

I enjoyed this read ... it was really bizzare and entertaining. May Owens, our main character, steals a loaf of bread, her punishment, to live out the rest of her days as a Sin Eater. From there things get all kinds of interesting ... we meet many unique characters along the way and are introduced to some interesting food facts that relate to each sin. You'll see...

Huge thank you to Atria and Netgalley for my review copy!

May, is a Sin Eater. It's worse than being a beggar or a vagabond. She can't speak and folks won't look at her. She's a curse bound to take the sins of those dying so that they can rest with the Maker. She wasn't always this way. She use to have her da and live in their own home with a decent livelihood.
The premise of this book is fantastic. Alice in Wonderland is my all time favorite and any book that aims to have some sort of Wonderland environment, I immediately am sold on. I really wanted to like this book but I just didn't get there for me. The writing is beautiful and the story itself is unique. However, I couldn't get over how this is basically a retelling of Mary Queen of Scot's and Queen Elizabeth's feud.
The main features of the story are based on a the old religion and the new religion. Mari, the previous Queen wanted everyone to stick to the old religion, while the current ruler Bethany has mandated that everyone should follow the new religion. There is quite a bit of references to the war of the religions, which even though the author using different words, the reader can certainly tell it's the same story.
Outside of the setting, the story follows May as a Sin Eater. May, when doing a 'Eating' at the castle, realizes that there is a murderer a foot and vows to determine who it is. Since she is a Sin Eater, people pay her no mind, and don't question her wants and destinations. Spoiler, she of course solves the murder, but really to me (even though it was the main plot line) that bit of the story just didn't feel as flushed out as I would have liked.
Overall, the idea is great. I just couldn't get invested enough to enough the story though. Maybe if the book was not advertised as Alice in Wonderland meets The Handmaid's Tale, I would have gone in with different expectations and enjoyed the book more. Even if it was just advertised as a retelling of the British throne during the 1500's, I would have probably enjoy the story more. Instead, I kept expecting something crazy to occur, and was ultimately let down.

An amazing novel by a gifted story-teller. This is the story of a Sin Eater. A woman condemned to listen to the dying’s deathbed confessions and eat foods representing their sins once they pass. All because she stole a loaf of bread. It’s a hard life for May. She’s a natural chatterbox, and now she is sentenced to a life practically devoid of words. The only time she can speak is when hearing a confession. To make matters even worse, she is treated like a social pariah. Everyone avoids her, won’t look directly at her, and thinks they’ll burn if she touches them. Though illiterate, May is intelligent and inquisitive, and when her fellow Sin Eater is wrongfully executed, she is determined to find out why.
I was so fascinated by the concept of a Sin Eater that I had to go online and do further research. They really did exist as recently as the late nineteenth, early twentieth century. It’s hard to imagine why anyone would choose that occupation, let alone the horror of being forcibly made one. May is an affecting character. She’s clever, curious and dogged in her determination to uncover the truth. My heart really felt for her. The portrayal of the period is well done showing the harshness and brutality of life as well as the great divide between the classes. It’s a moving story filled with lots of intrigue and some surprising twists. I only wish the ending had been different. I think it’s an excellent story. If you like historical fiction don’t miss this one!

An odd, gothic book about the sin eaters who are a group of women who eat food based on the dying who confess their sins to these women who symbolically eat the food of their sins to lift the burden on the dying it was a gruesome historical fiction that I"m not sure I would recommend to those who are sensitive to reading emotional issues and horror novels. Thank you to net galley and Atria Books for my review copy.

I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn’t the right read for me. I was going to give it two stars, but I decided to bump it up to three because I didn’t know much about what a sin eater was. It gave me quite an insight and I did learn a lot about it. I found this story to be very slow and just really strange. I always enjoy stepping away from my usual genres, but I just didn’t enjoy this read. Thank you to Atria books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Dark, eerie, imaginative, and creative are just few words to describe Sin Eater by Megan Campisi. This book was such a treat for me. The 16th century England setting was superb and it effortlessly allowed me to transport myself into the book’s pages. May’s character was well developed and it was masterfully dissected into pieces, which showed May’s most inner feelings and struggles. I was also nicely surprised to learn some historical facts about sin eaters and the 16th century England. I found these facts fascinating, which prompt me to do some more research about these topics.

Sin Eater has it all: great characters, intriguing mystery, phenomenal setting and a writing style that brings originality and freshness. I highly recommend this book to all historical fiction lovers who also enjoy dystopian stories.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A quick, sad read, bordering on the bizarre. I would have appreciated more closure toward the end, and maybe a bit more happiness and hope. Thanks, Netgalley, for this arc.

I Loved Sin Eater. This was a thrilling and imaginative read. Set in 16th century England this Historical novel will keep your attention while you fly through the pages. The characters are amazing, creepy and disturbing. May is tough and resilient as she is plunged into a nightmare. I was captivated by the story, funny at times and very serious at others. I loved the ending and I'm looking forward to reading more from this Author.

I give Sin Eater 5 stars for its unforgettable read.
I would recommend this book to Historical Fiction Fans.
#SinEater #NetGalley

DNF at 40%.

I originally requested this book on NetGalley after all of the rave reviews for this one, but after hitting the 40% mark, I just can’t with this one.

This book is WEIRD AF. It has a suspenseful, Gothic atmosphere that I enjoyed, but the plot is so bizarre.

I’ll be honest, I was ignorant of the history surrounding sin eaters. Sin eaters people who listen to the last confessions of the dying as the recite their sins. Once they are done, the sin eaters eat foods that represent those sins, and in doing so, they absolve the dying party of their sins since they consume them as their own.

The premise was definitely intriguing, but the execution fell flat. The storyline seems to ramble on about sin eating until we finally get to a scenario where a mystery is unfolding, but you’re still bogged down with details that detract rather than add to the plot. So, I’m done. I don’t want to invest anymore time into this.

I wanted this book to be so much better than it was. It was kind of similar to The Grace Year with how women are viewed (evil, wrongdoers, sin incarnate, etc) but that book was so so much better. This book is being touted as a feminist novel but I didn't see any feminism at all. A woman doesn't rise up against the patriarchy. Nothing changes from the beginning of the novel to the end. There's no revolution, no uprising, nothing. So how it is a feminist novel? I was disappointed by this book and the only interesting thing was the act of sin eating which was a real thing at one point in time.

"The Sin Eater walks among us. Unseen. Unheard. Sins of our flesh become sins of hers."

Sin Eater by Megan Campisi is a creepy, intriguing story that's a mix between historical fiction and dystopia. The plotline only further adds to the appeal, making this book near impossible to put down. I read the whole story in less than 2 days.

Main character, May, has gotten caught stealing bread to keep herself from starving. In turn, she's sentenced to become the town's new Sin Eater, having to learn the trade and get used to being treated as a curse.  When she's called to the Queen's residence to take on the sins of a dying chambermaid, her life starts to take another unexpected turn.

Disclaimer: The quoted text is from an uncorrected proof of this book that I received from Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster through Shelf Awareness in exchange for my honest review.

"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."

Sin Eaters have always fascinated me.

I have never heard of a sin eater before and so I was completely fascinated by it! I'm not a religious person, but I found the whole Eve being the sinner and not Adam, very interesting and explains how and why they treat the sin eaters so terribly. I thoroughly enjoyed Megan Campisi's writing but I felt kind of strange about the end. Almost as if there could be a second book. It did wrap up well, but I still feel like the "mystery" is still left hanging. It was a very good and imaginitive read.