I waffled between 3 and 4 stars for Megan Campisi's Sin Eater. A historical (kind of), alternate universe (kind of) 16th century story (with a AU version of Henry VIII as well), Sin Eater is May Owen's story - a 14 year old orphan who's punishment for stealing a loaf of bread (24601!!!!!!! *insert Les Mis joke*) is to become a Sin Eater, a woman who listens to dying people's sins and then eats the food that represents their sins in order to absolve them. May begins "training" under the current Sin Eater, attending Recitations and Eatings to learn how to be a Sin Eater. Then the Sin Eaters are called to a Recitation and Eating in the palace, but a deer heart shows up on the coffin and the elder Sin Eater refuses to eat it. What follows next is a strange, fantasy type novel that dives into what it means to be lonely, the ways that the most vulnerable are marginalized and treated poorly, and how we are so often at the whims of religion and those in power.

Overall, I didn't hate Sin Eater but I didn't love it either. I was expecting SO MUCH MORE. The blurb is amazing and I hadn't heard of Sin Eaters before at all. I was super intrigued but when I saw that it was supposed to be a mix of Alice in Wonderland and The Handmaid's Tale I was worried I would be disappointed. Whoever put those books in the blurb should lose their job because it is a disservice to Sin Eater to make these comparisons - nothing can compare to The Handmaid's Tale and the Sin Eater, of course, doesn't live up because that is not the kind of book it is supposed to be. Unfortunately, the story is a bit too confusing, a bit too slow, and the resolution is a bit too quick. Campisi also has a tendency to be overly descriptive which makes for long flowy, unneeded passages.

An interesting premise unfortunately didn't turn into the best read, but I would recommend if looking for an intriguing, somewhat genre bending novel.

I really tried to get into this one as I was so fascinated by the the premise. I had no idea that sine eaters even existed, so I was looking forward to learning more about this part of history and May’s story. Unfortunately, I just found it hard to get fully absorbed into the story like I would have liked to. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

Did ever a more perfect cover exist? I think not. That, coupled with the fascinating synopsis, made me more excited than I've been in a while for a new book. What a phenomenal concept, right? Somehow, I've made nearly three decades without having ever heard of a 'sin eater'. According to Wikipedia, "A sin-eater is a person who consumes a ritual meal in order to spiritually take on the sins of a deceased person.", though it seems there actually isn't a ton of information on the subject. Given that, I assume Campisi must have made up a lot of the practices, as well as creating from scratch the experiences a sin eater might have had. Though imagined (i.e. fantasy), the world feels vivid, almost historical, in its depiction. But it is the unique plot of this novel that really sets it apart from other novels and makes it a worthwhile read. Where it fails to forge a connection with/between characters-- due to the difficulty inherent in writing a story in which the protagonist cannot converse with others-- it succeeds in its originality and storyline. I think this is one of those rare instances where the movie adaptation would be better than the book, because this world is so visceral and visual.

Comparing this book to Alice in Wonderland makes absolutely no sense to me. Handmaid's Tale, I sort of get in that it's dystopian (though it could be described as such, rather than compared to a book to which it bears little resemblance). I would describe this as dystopian YA-meets-historical fiction, as its tone is more like historical fiction than fantasy. The dark content may make it a tough read for strictly-YA readers, so perhaps this would be best for those more advanced readers who have graduated from Hunger Games, The Selection, etc., but aren't yet ready for (or interested in) more literary works.

Rating: 3.5/5, rounded up to 4 for Goodreads.

Megan Campisi has created a world in Sin Eater I have not read before. What a sad life for May Owens who loses both her parents and when she steals a loaf of bread is thrown into jail then assigned a life as a sin eater. This means a life of solitude, shunned looks, people avoiding her touch and not having a family of her own. She must listen to a dying person's sins and translate the transactions into certain foods. Then she must eat those foods. What a horrible long life for someone who is around 14. But soon May learns of royal murders and tries to solve them herself. Even though May has been given this sin eater life unfairly, she learns how to use it to her advantage and how to have somewhat of a life that is bearable. I really enjoyed this book.

I received an electronic advanced reader’s copy of Sin Eater by Megan Campisi from the publisher (Atria Books) in exchange for an honest review. Sin Eater is scheduled for release on April 7, 2020.

May is an orphan who finds herself facing punishment for stealing. Expecting death, she is surprised to be sentenced as a sin eater, her flesh marked, and banished to live with an older sin eater to learn her new role in society. At an eating, there is an unexpected item waiting for them. As it was unconfessed, the older sin eater refuses to eat and finds herself between a rock and a hard place. May sets out to fulfill her role as a sin eater and find out why the additional food item was there.

As a sin eater, May is not allowed to speak and most of the people she encounters will not look at her, much less speak to her. This makes it very difficult for her to find out what is happening in her world. May also has the habit of referring to the people around her by a characteristic that she notices, rather than using their names.

Going into this novel, I did not know much about sin eaters (a real historical thing!). The research Campisi did shows throughout this novel, giving us insight into the role of the sin eater and other societal outcasts. I found the history of this novel absolutely fascinating, which definitely kept me moving through the story.

What was less successful for me was the character development. While I felt somewhat connected to May, there was a lot about her that I did not understand. Once she is cast as a sin eater, any connections she may have had to others is expected to be cut. The problem for me was that it didn’t seem that May had any ties to sever. While we do get some snippets of her past later in the story, I felt throughout that she did not exist before she became a sin eater. She came into the story with no dreams, goals, or wishes.

I also got a bit lost when it came to the characters around May. In particular, there were several woman (girls? I’m not sure of their ages) that blurred together. While May referred to them by physical characteristics, it wasn’t enough for me to keep them straight when she encountered them later in the story. This caused a problem for me toward the end of the story, when the mystery was finally solved. A lot happened in a few pages, and it revolved around characters that I wasn’t clear on. I ended up reading this section several times to try to figure out what had actually happened.

Overall, Sin Eater was a thoroughly interesting read. I would have like it to be a bit longer, however. I think this might have helped with the confusion I had toward the end of the novel.

What a fascinating, unique tale! From the very beginning, the world building pulls you in a completely engrossing, atmospheric way. The reader gets to experience this kinda medieval, kinda British worldbuilding with all five senses throughout the novel and I absolutely loved that. I was curious the whole way through to see more of the world and intrigued by the similarities and dissimilarities to historical periods of our own.

But it's not just the world that's so interesting. May herself is a protagonist you can't help but root for. You're scared when she is, confused when she is, and righteously angry for her in a world that will absolutely not give her a single win in life. May has the worst luck, which only makes you root for her that much harder.

When she decides that she is 'the curse', I could've leapt out of my seat. I was thrilled for her fight to surface, for her to recognize and use the power she had. Such a triumph!

It's a dark story (which at times is very uncomfortable and so gritty) that comments on social isolation, the innate need for human interaction, and the feeling of being invisible. I was addicted to read each next page as the court intrigue ramped up, particularly because royal court stories so often feature someone within the court rather than peering from the outside. And, the ending wraps up flawlessly.

I would absolutely recommend this novel to any reader but those who like intriguing worldbuilding based in historical fiction and a little darkness in their stories will enjoy it even more so.


Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Atria Books, and the author Megan Campisi for the opportunity to do so.

Let’s start with an explanation: a sin eater is a woman, shunned from society and performs the ritual of consuming a meal, thus the sins of the dead, taking on those sins as a way to atone for their own. Our story starts with fourteen year old May, marked for the task after stealing a loaf of bread after she was orphaned. The setting is England, and roughly comparative to Tudor times with the Catholic purge, the Protestant reformation and the subsequent upheaval throughout the country when fear was rampant, death close to hand, and people, all people were looking for a ‘connection’ to understand their place in the world.

Comparisons of this book run to Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, with twists from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – and I’ll say that the connections that fit for me were the ‘position’ of women in society and the clever and often surreal feel to the tale – but I didn’t find it directly correlative. But on to the story: May, as a Sin Eater is not to be noticed or seen, speak not, never be touched, and constantly presented with foodstuffs that are meant to represent, and thus remove through her consumption, the sins of the dead. Thought to be a direct pathway to Eve, the original sinner, the life is difficult, particularly so for May who was known for her chattering on about any and every thing she notices. May’s internal dialog is the narrative voice of the story: with her questions, her snide comments and thoughts, and even moments that feel hopeful buried in the bleakness that is her situation.

“Apprenticed” to another Sin Eater, marked with a collar and tattoo on her tongue, she’s expected (we can only glean this information from the story) learn by watching: until her ‘mentor’ refuses a ‘meal’ and is summarily executed for failing in her duty. From here, it becomes May’s task, self-assigned, to discover who was responsible for the uneaten meal, and why such a thing was done. This brings us to the search and her constant efforts to untangle the web of lies, manipulation and secrets – secrets which, as a Sin Eater used to spending time with the dying and hearing their sins have even her surprised. May was wonderfully complex, caught in a task she didn’t ask for and keeping herself amused with descriptions and names for the people she encounters, discovering the dark underside of human nature, and finding her own place in the strangely isolated existence she’s been placed in. There are places where the story feels repetitive as May’s days are very ‘samey-samey’, but the twists, when they come are fast and hard, with a particular ‘never saw that coming’ ending that was both fitting and wholly unexpected despite several ways I had in my head that suggested where the story would go. Want something all-encompassing and utterly unique? This is the story…..

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aFd/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I kept vacillating about this one, with a semi-alternate history of England (Queen Bethany instead of Queen Elizabeth I, for example) and the idea of someone being branded and sentenced to being a sin eater, forbidden to talk unless hearing the confession of the near dying. There are lists of sins and their equivalent foods to memorize, some of which are make May - a newly created sin eater - gag.

Somehow, May stumbles into a mystery: a dying woman confesses, but at her Eating there is an additional item. Then this happens again. Who is adding this public display of sin to the Eating? And why? May's investigation seems to revolve around luck more than real detective work. There's also a question of why she was sentenced to the sin eating but that appears to get short shrift. Having said that, the originality of the parallel world and her life redeemed this story and the ending provides a good sense of "there's more to her story but you can imagine that part on your own," something a little rare these days.

eARC provided by publisher.

At just fourteen-years-old, May receives a punishment that some say would be worse than death. For stealing some bread she is forced to become a sin eater. A sin eater is not allowed to talk and will sit with those dying and eat their sins. Every sin has a piece of food associated with it. If you've lied in your life, a sin eater must eat mustard seeds. Envy of anyone would mean the consumption of a cream but what type would depend on the type of envy. Even a small child just born will force the sin eater to consume bread for the original sin we all are born with. If a sin eater refuses to do her job and consume the food of the sins they are killed.

May as a sin eater acts as apprentice of sorts to an older sin eater. When they're called to the deathbed of one someone within the Queen's court they list to their sin making a list of the food they'll consume. When they arrive for the feast, a deer heart is on the altar of food. The consuming of hearts typically means a murder has occurred at the death of the deceased, but they did not confess to murder. The older sin eater refuses to eat the heart and she is taken away to be killed. May is left with the decision, don't eat the heart and die or eat the heart although you know the deceased wasn't a murderer? May decides to eat the heart and find out who set up the old sin eater and the deceased for a wrongly committed crime.

I thought parts of this book were really interesting. Megan Campisi changed the gender roles of the sin eater, typically a male in Victorian times, and turned them into females. I think that change made for a more compelling read. I did feel like the book at times felt very repetitive and it took quite awhile to get to the root of the problem May was trying to find. I found the ending a little lackluster but I don't know if I would have been blown away but any ending given what was happening in the actual story. If you read this book on an e-reader I highly recommend taking a photograph at the beginning compendium of the list of foods and their sins. I was constantly looking back on the list, once I took a photo, to see what each chapter's food meant. To me that was the most interesting component of the book.

When I first picked up this book, I wasn't sure what to think. It was a little slow and a little weird. I love historical fiction but don't dabble in much pre 1700s, so this was a bit out of my comfort zone. But I wanted to give it a fair shot... And boy was I impressed!

I was drawn into May's story by her pure humanity and her determination to not be dragged down by her circumstances. I loved her desire to fight injustice and solve a mystery years in the making despite personal risk. The author's writing is lyrical and lovely. I wasn't familiar with sin eaters before, but what a concept.

This book is well worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Before reading this book, I had heard of sin eaters, but really knew very little about them. This was an eye-opener to say the least! A macabre story set during 16th century England, the tale gives readers a fairly detailed account of the the sin eating duties that were prevalent during that time.

May Owens, a lonely and hungry orphan, gets caught stealing bread and is given a harsh and unexpected sentence. She is to spend the rest of her life as a sin eater. Only fourteen, May knows little about the life of a sin eater. By chance someone directs her to the home of another sin eater. There, May is taken under a sort of apprenticeship, where she learns what is expected of her going forward.

At first, her new role seems like a prison, but May soon discovers there is a sort of freedom in being an outcast and being invisible to others. She learns that she has a certain power that stems from other people’s fear of death.

When May realizes that there is treachery within the Queen’s royal household, she sets out to get to the bottom of it and set right the past wrongs that have been done. I had no idea I was in for such a wonderful historical mystery. This was an enjoyable read and I highly recommend it to readers who love folklore, mysteries and historical fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

This story intrigued me right from the get-go. The idea that you could confess your sins, and then someone would eat those sins after you die so that they're burdened with them instead of you is fascinating. I loved May's character. It's so interesting to see how she handles her isolation and the cruelty she endures from others. It's a fascinating look at the boundaries and labels we allow others to put on us and the ones we put on ourselves. I loved it!

A lot of people are saying this is fantasy, but I'd just put this squarely in historical fiction. It's an alternate world of sorts, like instead of Elizabeth I, you get Bethany, and Anne Boleyn becomes Alys Bollings, that sort of thing, but that's about it. There isn't any magic or dragons or wizards. You know, awesome fantasy stuff that you expect to find in a fantasy novel. This is just a world very much like England with some names changed.

There is a very brief moment of animal abuse. It's very, very brief and not glorified in any way. I hate animal abuse, but I was able to still really love and enjoy this book.

A super big thank you to Netgalley and publisher for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! :)

DNF @ 40%

I really wanted to like "Sin Eater" but I had a hard time following the narrative. Historical fiction can be tricky for me. Some historical fiction I absolutely love, and some I just find boring and patronizing. I liked the protagonist but didn't enjoy the plot. Too pretentious and morbid for my taste. Thank you, Atria for the digital copy.

Release date: April 7, 2020

"I only follow that I am not to be hanged or fined. I am to be given a different punishment. "

The punishment May receives for stealing warm bread is to become a sin eater. A clever, original idea for a historical fiction novel, I’ll give Megan Campisi that! Sin eaters, however, are not made up in the writer’s imagination, they actually existed. Said to go back as early as 1600 (in the British isles) it was a job where sins of the dying/dead were consumed in the form of food, hence allowing the sinner a sort of absolution that allowed them into heaven. As is human nature, the sin eaters were outcasts, damned by the very absolution they provided, swallowing poisonous sins. “The sin eater walks among us, Unseen, unheard”…

Once the Makerman places a collar around her neck, so long as she serves faithfully with true piety and obedience, keeping silence, carrying the heavy sins of others to her grave, her soul may rise to the Maker. Easier said than done. May stumbles home only to learn that her punishment bans her from the life she knew before. No longer will anyone talk to her, not even her own kin, nor will anyone explain to her what she is meant to do. All she knows is she is meant to go to the other. There is another in the village damned just like her.

It is through this other sin eater, also a woman, for only women can eat sins, that May learns the way. Mouth shut, and nothing to look forward to, no husband, no children, not a lover nor friends. It’s like being the walking dead. Soon after she attends a dying man as he confesses sins, and foods are called out to cover each sin. Such as Oat Porridge and dried raisins for holding a grudge and faithlessness. At least there will always be food, she will never starve.

When the Queen’s messenger calls them to the castle, May discovers there is a deception taking place. A deer’s heart represents murder, a sin the royal governess never confessed. The elder sin eater’s refusal to devour it seals her fate, she is taken away and May knows she herself must partake of the deer’s heart if she has any chance to save her mentor. But nothing ever goes to plan, and she has become trapped herself in the deceit at the royal court. How can someone who cannot communicate, who others shun so as not to be cursed get to the bottom of such treachery?

One thing is certain, there are many sinners at court and lies can alter even the fate of one’s people. There are many reasons for lies, hunger, fear, pride, vanity, and our own safety.

I enjoyed the story, and the choices May makes in the end. Sometimes we have to embrace what’s thrown at us. It’s a rotten existence, but more than anything it was a unique idea for a novel. I had never heard of sin eaters, just another page in the strange history of human beings. I am always tickled by the old superstitions and folklore and wonder what people of the future will think about our beliefs, traditions one day. I wanted more from May, more fight, more anger and life. I wanted to care about her more, and I was expecting the tale to turn out differently in regards to the mystery at court. Still it was a strange journey and a decent read. And a nod to the book cover art.

Publication Date: April 7, 2020

Atria Books

I thought this book had a fascinating premise, but I struggled personally with the execution.

The idea of being a sin eater is really interesting, and I was eager to learn more about their role in this society, how they are chosen, how they get through the day, how they communicate with the world and each other, (seeing as they are shunned by society and cannot speak unless they are interacting with someone on their deathbed.) Like the handmaids in "The Handmaid's Tale," I wanted to read a story about the women in this role and what their lives were like.

To be fair, the book DID touch upon all of the topics above. However, those details often took a backseat to the central mystery over who did what in the palace, a baby that was or was not killed, and the Queen's role in the whole affair. Sadly, I really didn't care about that story at all, and found those passages to be distracting from the stuff I found more more interesting.

Obviously, this is a matter of personal preference--this book simply did not ultimately tell the story I was most interested in reading. But I still found it to be a unique and compelling read.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

In Sin Eater, Megan Campisi took two ideas from our history and spun them into a strange thriller. The first idea, the sin eater, was a rare custom that involved literally eating bread and salt to figuratively take on a dead person’s sins. The second idea comes from rumors that hint that the Virgin Queen might not have been all that virginal before she took the throne. May Owens’ world is very similar to ours, but the names are just a little bit different, just enough to be uncanny. That said, the drive to keep secrets in order to preserve one’s power is clearly universal.

May Owens’ normal life ended when, for the crime of stealing a loaf of bread while starving, she is sentenced to be a sin eater. Sin eaters, in May’s Angland, means that no one will speak to her and will pretend that they do not see her. The only time people will talk to her is to summon her to the bedside of a dying person, to hear their sins and match them to the foods she will need to eat later to take their sins into herself. Even her mentor, an older sin eater, won’t speak to her. It’s a lonely, confusing life.

Because everyone needs a sin eater, May and her mentor are one day summoned to the castle of Queen Bethany. Her governess is dying and must recite her sins for the sin eater. This woman’s abrupt death and the strange events that follow leave May alone and in danger. Her mentor is whisked away to be tortured for her secrets. Other women who attended the queen before her ascension are poisoned just like the governess. May can’t find any allies because everyone she might talk to runs the other direction. How can a girl forbidden to talk to anyone, who can’t write, tell anyone that she’s discovered treason and murder?

Sin Eater may be triggering for readers with disordered eating. To be honest, I got uncomfortable with the descriptions of how the sin eaters have to gorge themselves to ritually take on the sins of people wealthy enough to get creative with their bad behavior. For me, it wasn’t so much the amount or varieties of food the sin eaters had to eat, it was the idea that these women had no choice but to absolve people for the price of a meal (however big). What I felt for May and her mentor was a lot like the feeling of disgust and disappointment I felt when I learned about papal indulgences. (Clearly, some parts of Lutheranism resonated with me, even 400 years too late.) It really bothers me that money—or food, in this case—can be used as an easy way out of perdition for people who refuse to genuinely atone for their sins.

Sin Eater is a vivid novel of treachery and poverty. While this book has fantastical elements and recasts English history, it feels incredibly real. I ended up enjoying it quite a lot, even though it disturbed me as much as it entertained me. I would recommend this book to readers who like history-based fiction that doesn’t just ask, “What if,” but shouts it and runs off down an interesting side street.

After being caught stealing a loaf of bread, 14-year-old May Owens receives a life sentence to serve as the town's sin eater. Marked with a tattoo and forced to wear a collar marking who she is, she is shunned by everyone, even her own grandmother. She finds refuge with an older sin eater who, though forbidden to speak to anyone except during recitations and funeral rites, shows her her new life. Families of dying relatives bring the sin eater to hear a recitation of their sins. Foods representing those sins are then presented at the funeral for the sin eater to eat, taking the sins upon herself and allowing the now sinless dead into heaven. But when summoned to hear the sins of the royal nanny, a deer heart appears at the funeral representing a sin that the deceased never admitted to. May's mentor is imprisoned for refusing to eat, leaving May to solve the mystery and attempt to rescue her.
Based on true 16th - century history, only the names of the royals are changed. History is full of religions trying to find ways to easily absolve their sins, so I wasn't surprised to find out that sin eaters actually existed. But to pin this life sentence of loneliness and self-sacrifice on a hungry young orphan girl whose only crime was stealing bread to feed herself was shocking. I was cheering for May as she found her own ways of payback for the town's cruelty and as she found ways to accept and even enjoy her new life.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!

“Sin eaters existed in parts of Britain until roughly a century ago. (…) They ate a piece of bread beside people’s coffins to absolve their sins in a folk ritual with Christian resonances.”

16th century England. Fourteen year old May Owens is arrested for stealing bread. Her penalty is to be a sin eater. With all eyes averting her, she walks to a house of an older Sin Eater. After her first Recitation, it sinks in that she is to hear just folk’s sins, not their joys or blessings.

The first 15% which concentrates on May is phenomenal. Once she is with the older Sin Eater and learns the Recitation, it seems as the story keeps going in circles. It doesn’t progress.

When they go to the castle for Recitation, it feels as the story is about to pick up again when May’s thoughts colored with her humor come out, but then the story becomes descriptive, with slow moving dialogue.

A deer’s heart is placed on a coffin. The older Sin Eater refuses to eat it. She is taken to prison, tortured and killed. Now, May is on a mission to find out who did it and why.

Once May is on her own, there are parts when I thought I was getting back into the story. But I struggled with reconnecting with her.

Overall, this story wasn’t grasping for me and I’m disappointed, because this book started with such a strong, colorful character. That despite this dark story, she made it very interesting. But only at the beginning, at least for me.

Loved her mind and her analogies. She is such a loveable person with an honest heart. At moments, it’s very touching how lonely she feels and how she’d love to talk to someone and has no one. At times, it’s hard not to laugh at the names she tags people with: Painted Pig, Mush Face, Black Fingers, Willow Tree. In a whole sentence, sometimes it becomes a comedy.

The writing is certainly of a talented writer. So I hope the story will be more grasping for others than it was for me.

Oh, I want more. I want a sequel to this (there could be, you know!).

Sin Eater is one of those lush novels that just completely captures your attention. In fact, I was almost late for work this morning because I only had a little left and had to finish the book.

I loved everything about it - our characters, our setting, and our dark mystery.

I truly hope the author brings us more!

Five well deserved stars!

Campisi’s book is riveting! This dark, historical fantasy book delves into a parallel world of Tudor England. May Owens steals bread and must pay a steep price. She’s conscripted to the role of Sin Eater and falls upon a mystery.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.