Content Warning: This book contains body horror, confinement, domestic abuse, forced marriage, gore, graphic violence, misogyny, forced pregnancy/childbirth, and violence against children.

Cover Story: Paper Reigns Supreme

This cover by Su Blackwell is so cool and unique. Paper artists are on another level. If I knew nothing of the story, I would pick it up for the cover alone.

The Deal

Devon belongs to a family of book eaters, supernatural beings that eat books and retain all the contents of the book. Book eater women are rare and if you are unfortunate enough to be born a girl, as Devon was, then you will be treated like a princess aka you only eat fairy tale books and then your family marries you away to another family of book eaters to produce children.

When Devon births a son who prefers human minds over books, she knows she must flee the safety of her kind in order to give him a chance at a normal life. If she were to stay with the family, her son would be taken and raised as a dragon (a type of army that protects the different families of book eaters). The only problem is that her son relies on a drug that allows him to eat books instead and keep the murder of humans to a low. The book eater family that produces the drug has gone MIA, leaving Devon scrambling to keep her son fed while also searching for the drug to save him. You can’t live on brains alone; it’s messy.

BFF Charm: Caution!

BFF charm wrapped in yellow "Caution" tape
Devon is the definition of mama bear. She would betray anyone and do anything to help her children (I know the feeling). She has a few close friends but her loyalties lie with her children alone and I would be so nervous about stepping out of line, lest her book eater teeth find me.

Swoonworthy Scale: 4

It seems like fate when Devon meets a woman named Hester in a bar, but that only grazes the surface of their relationship, which is full of betrayal, Chanel bags and violence. There isn’t a lot of time for flirting when their lives are on the line, but I am happy they found each other in a world where a woman’s worth is based on how many babies they can pop out. The lack of romance is refreshing and makes sense with the story. Who has time for love when you got a kid to save and book eaters hunting you?

Talky Talk: You Are What You Eat

It was such a strong concept and I really enjoyed learning about the book eaters. I was loath to find that even supernatural beings have to deal with misogyny and patriarchy. IS NOWHERE SAFE?!

There is a lot of violence in the book. I wasn’t expecting the gore but I didn’t mind it at all! Might not be for most but I really think it was warranted in the situations the characters were put into. Sometimes you just need a little fictional violence in your life.

Factor: World Building

There was such a potential to dive deep into how book eaters interact and function in the human world. Devon eating a train schedule was brilliant and I wanted more of her adapting and thriving. I basically wanted less religion and fighting, more world building and book eating.

Anti-Bonus Factor: Strained Family Ties

There is only one sibling relationship in this novel that is “healthy”, and I use that term loosely because one of the people in it has been so badly traumatized that half the time she doesn’t even know where she is. Every other relationship is strained or toxic, which is not surprising but it does leave you wanting for a sliver of sunshine in the darkness of the book eater world.

Relationship Status: Still Thinking About It

Still thinking about it in a good way! My mind often wanders back to this concept and has me wishing that I could chomp on a book or two. THE THINGS YOU COULD LEARN. It’s fantastical read with many layers and I will be making another reservation with this book in the near future.

Literary Matchmaking

Evil Librarian (Evil Librarian #1)
For some more supernatural horror involving books, you need to read Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudson.


Gallant
For more strained family ties with some supernatural elements, check out Gallant by V.E. Schwab.


Wilder Girls
Need some horror with a dash of LGTBQ longing? Read Wilder Girls by Rory Power.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received this book from Raincoast Books and have not received payment for this review but I now have a weird urge to eat books? The Book Eaters is available now.

Devon Fairweather is a book eater, a supernatural creature that sustains herself by literally eating books. In return, she gains the knowledge the book contained. After a lifetime of being fed a strict diet of fairytales, Devon’s used to doing what she’s told and patiently waiting in the hopes of one day having the happily ever after she craves. But when her son is born with an offshoot craving to consume human minds, Devon finds herself fiercely fighting to escape the control of the family factions and find freedom for her and her son.

THE BOOK EATERS is a deeply unsettling read that manages to invoke the fierceness of a mother who will do anything to protect her son. This is not a book that pulls punches. Devon has a son whose feedings leave humans catatonic, and she is willing to sacrifice human lives to provide for him. Mind eaters are disturbing creatures, especially due to the way they feed, and one of the reasons this book veers into horror; in fact, mind eaters and book eaters alike are just vampires of a different variety.

But balancing out this horror aspect is the burning passion Devon has to protect her son Cai. I am not a mother myself, yet I was filled with Devon’s rage at the book eater society that tried to dictate what happened to her and her son, without any input from the mother herself. Women in book eater society exist solely to reproduce and are not given any consideration in any matters, from where they live to what happens to their children. And because the books a book eater eats shapes their personalities, Devon is prone to thinking that the bad things that happen to her are her fault, that she shouldn’t have caused trouble. At least, that’s how she behaves until the Families finally go too far.

The story itself is told in alternating timelines, going back and forth between a present day Devon (in the early 2000s) and Devon’s life growing up. There’s plenty of tension in both storylines, and I was equally excited to solve the mystery of Devon’s early life as I was to see how she would handle her current predicament. I was a bit surprised to find this was a relatively modern day story, but it wasn’t any real hurdle to my enjoyment of the story once I adapted my expectations. (In fact, since the Families are isolationists, large parts of the story felt like they could have been Any Time.) I especially liked that video games became a way for Devon to experience stories outside the ones she’d been fed; it was a fun addition to looking at the way different medias shape our lives.

THE BOOK EATERS is a quick read, but one that has plenty to say on motherhood, sacrifices, patriarchy, and cultural impact. It will make you reach for your children (even if you don’t have any) with a desire to protect them. And most of all, it will have you thinking about how the stories we read become a part of us long after we finish the tale.

5 Stars! Excellent read for the autumn season and perfect for fans of Starless Sea and Piranesi! The US cover is really unappealing though.

This story unwound through an alternating timeline, telling the story of Devon and her young son Cai, who are part of a small race of human-like creatures who eat books instead of food. While there were a few points where the characters felt a little one-dimensional and there may have been one too many things happening at the same time, overall I absolutely loved this concept and the story. Devon grows up in the modern world but sequestered among very traditional, patriarchal structures of the Families, the six remaining clans of Book Eaters. There were fascinating tie ins to modern gender roles and birth/parenthood, with the overarching question "what would you be willing to do for someone you love more than anything in the world?". While I wish that Dean had tied up a few more loose ends and answered some of the questions about the origins of Book Eaters, I finished this book satisfied.

I found the last tenth of The Book Eaters very compelling, but I struggled quite a bit to get there. I also had a hard time caring enough about any of the characters to be invested in the stakes.
Good for fans of urban fantasy and slower paced fiction.

An invigorating riff on vampires and a delightful nod to being a bibliophile, too. Dean's plot cracks along with a woman on the run, seeking to protect her even-stranger-than-she-is child -- the rare kind of 'eater' that feeds not on books but human souls. The braided timelines work well together, although the book bogs down a bit as it positions all of the characters (and the reveals) for the final denouement. And after a conversation with the author, I find the ending less satisfying than I originally did... but in a good way!

The exact kind of mystical realism that speaks to me! I would very much compare to V.E. Schwab's world type. The main character was really well thought out and I love that you live the current drama, while also living the steps to get there. Simply great! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars—

This one was weird. I have to admit I dragged my feet on reading this one after I requested it. I was expecting stuffy Victorian-inspired upperclass English gentry (but with magic) vibes that I tend not to enjoy. But boy was I wrong. Sure, the main character, Devon, does indeed grow up in a mansion on a scenic estate in the English countryside. But only because she’s a member of a mysterious alien species with a real fucked up patriarchal culture and family structure. Yeah, the world building of this one is WILD.

Why so patriarchal? Females are rare, so in order to ensure the continuation of the species, they are strictly controlled. Girls are denied knowledge and education beyond consuming fairytales of princesses. When they reach sexual maturity, young women are sent to another family (carefully selected to reduce inbreeding), where they enter into a temporary marriage with a man who they are contractually obligated to conceive and give birth to a child with. Once the child is three years old, the woman is removed and sent to another temporary marriage, after which she is usually past her childbearing years and is sent home to live out her days with the family of her birth.

There’s another catch. Most of this species are book eaters, meaning, quite literally, they eat books for sustenance and consume the knowledge therein. However, every once in a while, a book eater woman gives birth to a child who cannot eat books. These children are called mind eaters, because they have long tongues which they use to suck out a person’s mind through their ears, thus absorbing all of their memories, personalities, idiosyncrasies, etc. Mind eaters are a nuisance to book eaters because they risk drawing unwanted attention from human society if they are allowed to follow their hungers and urges. Therefore, book eaters keep mind eaters captive, drugged, and use them as threat and weapon to keep female boo keaters in line.

Despite ALLLLLLL this summary I’ve written, I’ve barely scratched the surface of this world. Ultimately, The Book Eaters is a story of a woman’s resistance to patriarchal domination and the unboundedness of a mother’s love and sense of responsibility to her children. But delivered in a very strange, intriguing way.

Many thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic debut that had me hooked from the beginning. Filled with gore, a race against time and the resilience of a mother, The Book Eaters takes on an intriguing concept of book and mind eating capabilities.

Almost every reader has used the phrase “I devoured this book.” For most, this term means that we loved the book so much that we read it in one (or two) sittings. But The Book Eaters is about to put a whole new spin on that notion.

The Family has always been good at staying out of public sight. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes. They reside on the Yorkshire Moors and are perfectly content living their lives away from the rest of society.

For The Family is a family of book eaters. That is to say, novels are their food source and need no other sustenance. For most book eaters, that is. Some are unlucky enough to be born needing another source of nourishment.

“Maybe, Devon thought, that was the best anybody could hope for in life: to be missed when gone, however one had lived.”

Over the years, I have learned that there are certain tropes and promises that I cannot avoid – because I love them too much. If you promise me a book about books, I will read it—end of story. Enter The Book Eaters, which turns out to be a surprisingly literal title.

Devon is like everyone else in her family (The Family, if we're being technical). She eats books for sustenance. And that's arguably not even the strangest thing about her family, though it is pretty close.

It takes a while for the family history to unfold. It takes even longer to understand Devon's place in this convoluted history or what her current goals are. It made for a twisting story with an urban fantasy setting. Or maybe science fiction? It has strong cosmic horror vibes, even if they are on the milder side of things.

Everything said and done; the character development and mystery kept me invested in The Book Eaters. I was determined to discover what Devon was hiding from everyone (readers included). Likewise, I was interested to see how she changed throughout the story as more of her plan came to light.

I ended up enjoying The Book Eaters. I'm so happy that it came across my plate and that I took the time to read it. If you're looking for a dark and mysterious yet quick read, let The Book Eaters be your choice.

In a world where girls grow up consuming the fanciful ideas of princesses and fairytales, The Book Eaters is a stunning story of a woman who learns that sometimes the princess has to become the monster. Devon as a character struggles throughout the entire novel; first, with her own innate curiosity, then with the book eater tradition of marriage and childbearing and then leaving, and finally with the moral dilemma that only the mother of a mind eater can face.

The characters were absolutely the driving force of this story. Even Cai as a child mind eater embodies all the people he consumes, and somewhere must find himself among all of it. The Families are all too familiar when you grow up in any tradition/religion-based family, and the correlation with religion and Redemption and even communion at the end is just a notch over creepy. Overall, this story is a fantastic critique of how tradition has always treated women, and forced them to become the monsters they fear.

This is a twisty gothic-feeling thriller that leaves one contemplating who the real monsters are in a fantastical exploration of trauma, self-determination, and family.

This is a completely different kind of fantasy than anything I’ve read before. Ingredients: seedy family politics, dark appetites, female oppression and subsequent fighting for independence, the ties that both bind and break families, a hint of cannibalism. Creepy, stressful, page-turning.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was...Well, I'm not exactly sure - not quite fantasy, not quite science fiction, but a hybrid between the two maybe? It's not something that I would honestly read, but the title intrigued me, and I'm always more willing to venture outside my 'reader zone' when it has such a cool and unique literary bent. I will say that it was interesting, but it was just a little too out there for me. That said, I've no doubt that there's an audience for this, and ones that will find it more transfixing than me.

“Does anyone have family that grows up functional? At all, anywhere?”

(Spoiler alert- I do not think so!)

THE BOOK EATERS is… complex. I’m not even sure how to review it so I’m gonna go with my gut here and just say that I REALLY liked it. I have a few lingering questions, but this is such a unique and beautiful (uh… weird word choice for a book that involves brain sucking, but I digress) story.

Things about this book I loved:
1. The completely unique magic system.
2. The entire story of Nycteris.
3. The chapter titles.
4. The character names.
5. The imagery, such as origami apples, a character’s “heart turning to a ball of spikes inside her chest”, and this line:

“If shame were an open wound, his handshake was a dose of salt and lemons.”

6. The dollops of humor:

“She gazed at the ceiling above her bed, stunned to be alive and seething with betrayal because fairy tales had never described birth.”

7. The mother/son relationship of Devon and Cai:

“You’d eat the whole world to help me out and I think I’d do that for you, too. You’re my monster and I’m yours, and even though I’m sad you lied to me and I’m sorry that we have to hurt more people, we must go together because we are a monster family.”

I can’t say this for sure, but I think this book will hit a bit differently for readers with kids. Devon’s instincts and yearnings that resulted from the Family systems for reproduction/child-rearing squeezed my heart a lot. I imagine it will tug most heartstrings, but they felt visceral to me.

What didn’t work as well for me? While the final “battle” scene was fun and satisfying, the rushed alliances leading up to it felt a bit too convenient. I also have a lot of questions about the book eaters origins and “The Collector”- maybe sequel material? It felt like there was a glimmer of world-building there that didn’t get fully fleshed out.

We’ll end with this, I think:

“Everyone is a monster to somebody.”

Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for the review copy!

(Can’t wait for my Illumicrate edition.)

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean is unique in some aspects and reminiscent of Handmaids Tale in others. It was the perfect mixture to create an unforgettable story. I was immersed in the story from the first sentence. Devon was full of flaws and there were times when I wasn’t sure I should be rooting for her but I just couldn’t help it. The way this whole magic system was set up was intricate and detailed that I felt invested in the entire world. I am really hoping for a sequel.

This book was incredible. I loved the dark and atmospheric world. The concept of there being people who eat books and absorb the contents of the books was unique and I loved the descriptions of what books tasted like. Such a stunning and heartfelt story.

I didn't really know what to expect going into this book, but the idea of non-humans who eat books--or worse, brains--who can obtain information that way is fascinating, and so is the look into a world that might develop into. it makes sense that some sort of nobility bent would find its way into that type of existence, especially with some of the details revealed in the story. Also, I'm not sure if it was the publisher or outside sources who billed this as an LGBTQ+ title, but I wouldn't have placed it so firmly in that category. Is there WLW in it? Yes. Is this a WLW romance story? No. Sure, there's some romance, but it's barely there and is only a minor part of the story/plot.. I was disappointed on that front. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, a very interesting idea, and I'd definitely recommend this to patrons who are looking for something unique.

Good but not mind-blowing.

I liked the premise, enjoyed the plotline, but felt it could have been taken farther? Also, despite the unique premise of book eaters, I felt like I had read this book or something very similar before?

I do recommend it though. It was good. Dark and gritty and yet filled with heart.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

An excellent read with a lot of fun world building. One of those books that have you thinking about the content later on.

Would recommend it to those that like books about books such as the Invisible Library series.