Thank you NetGalley for this incredible arc ❤️

This was a phenomenal debut about a girl dealing with the trauma and also eating eyeballs.

The writing was so good and visceral, I can't believe this is Kim's first book! The descent into madness was so well done that by the end you wanted Ji-won to get whatever she wanted- mostly George's eyeballs.

My only complaint was the ending. It seemed so lackluster and hurried compared to the rest of the book. I wanted an A24 ending where Ji-won finally got a taste of what she's been craving and what the whole story has been leading up to. I wanted blood dripping down in an empty field. It felt too neatly wrapped up compared to the rest of the book.

Still, the rest of the book made up for the ending and I will recommend this to everyone!!

“I’m certain that blue eyes would taste amazing, much better than brown ones.”

When her father leaves their family for another woman, Jiwon’s life is upturned. Her mother inconsolable, her college grades slipping, her younger sister confused–and the dreams about the eyes. When her mother brings her new boyfriend George into the picture, Jiwon’s hunger grows–she knows those blue eyes will be delicious.

I support women’s rights…but more importantly… I support women’s wrongs.

What a punchy, gorey novel with a delightfully unhinged narrator! I was immediately hooked into Jiwon’s life as she descends into this frenzy of wanting to eat eyes as her life falls apart. What can I say, folks? Cannibalism for the WIN! (Okay, also, I want to warn some people that it may make you queasy).

But on the deeper level: this book addresses East Asian women fetishization and objectification and racism, but also explores the complex relationships of a family that has fallen apart. Jiwon may be a master manipulator, but she also deeply cares about her mother and sister; she carries a lot of responsibility. I found the struggle that Jiwon has with her mother–the resentment of her mother’s powerlessness and her struggle to understand her mother, but ultimately, still wanting to protect her–to be very compelling.

While sometimes we may struggle with Jiwon’s choices, HOW CAN WE BLAME HER WHEN SHE IS THE ELDEST DAUGHTER??? (and her mother is dating George–the absolute worst type of white man).

The eye horror part was so well done, I sort of wish she ate more eyes. Anyways.

Very focused on the Korean-American experience; I enjoyed how the novel was laden with Korean myth.

Definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of horror or if you enjoyed the snappy tone of Yellowface, the themes of Disorientation, & the blurring of reality/dreams in Rouge. Go forth and read about eating eyes.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

This was so wild. I had no idea where it was going for a majority of the book. I really enjoyed how feral and just unhinged it was, it's truly a 'I support women's wrongs' book.

While this was quite slow to build up to anything, it did really allow you to sit with the character and her madness? If that's what you would call it. It was interesting to see how she dealt with the situations thrown at her, including one's full of racist and misogynist assholes. It was so satisfying to see her mess with people and build up to her final moments.

As I said earlier, it was quite a slow beginning, but when it started it really didn't stop. This was disturbing, feral and gross, but also somewhat satisfying and very entertaining.

I'm not sure if it was intentional, but it was quite queer coded as well. There was some underlying sapphic moments and I really saw a lot of parallels with a queer identity.

This is an outrageous, feminist serial killer that truly pulls no punches. I'm excited to see where Kim goes from here.

MUST-READ HORROR.

"The Eyes Are the Best Part" is the new rage-fuelled body horror from author Monika Kim.

This is Kim's first novel, and it centres around Korean-American college student Ji-Won, whose life unravels when her Appa (father) abandons their family for a younger woman. Ji-Won's Umma (mother) fills this void with a new boyfriend, who fetishizes Ji-Won's family and overstays his welcome in their cramped apartment. As the tension builds, Ji-Won unexpectedly develops a craving for eyeballs that spirals into a full-blown, all-consuming, revenge-filled obsession.

TEATBP is a visceral take on feminine rage and the birth of a serial killer. It's well written and well paced, and depictions of body horror are graphic enough to leave you squirming (TW if you're squeamish). All of the characters are developed with complexity, and Kim blurs the line between reality and madness in a way that has you questioning your own understanding of events as they're unfolding.

I also really enjoyed the intersection of themes (cultural assimilation, sexism, fetishism, family dynamics, sisterhood, and gender roles) and the social commentary around these themes, which I thought was excellently done.

I had so much fun with this. It was an excellent read and a phenomenal debut. I especially recommend it to fans of Eliza Clark and C.J. Leede.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted to @girlsinpaperback (instagram) on publication day - June 25.

<b>TW/CW: Cheating, child abandonment, grieving, mourning, depression, suicidal mentions, divorce, sexual harassment, racial slurs, misogyny</b>

<b><big>*****SPOILERS*****</b></big>
<b>About the book:</b>
Ji-won’s life tumbles into disarray in the wake of her appa’s extramarital affair and subsequent departure. Her mother, distraught. Her younger sister, hurt and confused. Her college freshman grades, failing. Her dreams, horrifying… yet enticing.In them, Ji-won walks through bloody rooms full of eyes. Succulent blue eyes. Salivatingly blue eyes. Eyes the same shape and shade as George’s, who is Umma’s obnoxious new boyfriend. George has already overstayed his welcome in her family’s claustrophobic apartment. He brags about his puffed-up consulting job, ogles Asian waitresses while dining out, and acts condescending toward Ji-won and her sister as if he deserves all of Umma’s fawning adoration. No, George doesn’t deserve anything from her family. Ji-won will make sure of that.For no matter how many victims accumulate around her campus or how many people she must deceive and manipulate, Ji-won’s hunger and her rage deserve to be sated.
<b>Release Date:</b> June 25th, 2024
<b>Genre:</b> Horror
<b>Pages:</b> 288
<b>Rating:</b> ⭐

<b>What I Liked:</b>
1. Writing flowed

<b>What I Didn't Like:</b>
1. Hate dream sequences in books
2. Endless plot holes
3. Repetitive
4. Confusing scenes

<b>Overall Thoughts:</b>
<b><i><small>{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}</small></i></b>

Reading about Umma's husband leaving and the way she was just waiting on him to return was absolutely gut wrenching. I kept wanting to give her hug.

The whole thing that Umma believes that white men are the best to date and marry is insane. There is no guarantee that someone won't leave based on the race. The whole article seemed very racist. Saying that white men are superior to Korean men when dating. Humans leave humans no matter the race or even sexual orientation. I'm with Ji-won on this - you can't judge Koren men by the actions of one man.

Loving how much of a piece of crap their father is though. Barely even talks to them on the phone just with vague conversation. And he hasn't even seen them.

Knew George wasn't going to be good once you read the bumper sticker about welfare. The way George dismisses the pronunciation of their names and rather than try and get it right besides he'd rather just give them nicknames. How completely racist.

<i>Thwack. I leap up and grab her, throwing her to the ground. She screams. The door creaks open and in the doorway, our doorway, is George. His eyes are twinkling. “Whoa, whoa. You guys having a pillow fight without me? At least let me watch!”</i>
Yeah - nope nope how gross. This man needs to get the hell out.

I guess no one ever explained love bombing to Umma. George is pushing her so fast - relationship, meeting family (hers), moving in, and now engaged, all within a few months. It's at the point where Umma describes the proposal as "romantic" when they simply went to get meds at CVS and he asked her in the car to marry him that I now understand that Umma is a little delusional to what's happening. She's just so happy to not be alone that she's missing the red flags.

I'm 150 pages in and I imagine what's going to happen is Ji-won is going to take the sleeping pills, grab her knife from her bag, and cut out George's eyes OR she's going to drug him and remove his eyes.

Geoffrey has to be the one stalking Ji-won. The way he knew where her mother worked. God, and getting her chop sticks. Imagine being friends with someone for months and they get you the most stereotypical gift just being of your race.

I don't get how she's just finding all these random men dead or dying outside. Like they're just always out of it and she's able to attack them to cut their eye(s) out.

And now she's picked up the dude that was in the coffee shop he was saying things about Asian women being sexy. It's just like what are the chances of all the people in LA it being this dude. I also don't understand how this character is able to just randomly find blue-eyed people even when she can't see their eyes.

I didn't understand why the gas station attended didn't put a lock on the door outside if he says that people keep coming to the gas station to use it. I also don't know very many gas stations that have bathrooms outside in La that don't have a lock. Homelessness is a huge thing in La so why wouldn't they put a lock on it plus you have addicts it would do drugs and pass on him. That part didn't make any sense.

We also get this part where it said that she gets covered in his blood when she stabs him in an artery and that makes sense, but then she goes and sees Alexis and she's clearly covered in blood however Alexis never calls her out on it. Also also I guess she just walked into her house with blood on her clothing and her sister said nothing? I get its late at night but her sister is pretty nosy so she would turn the light on and ask what's going on.

Some parts of this book are absolutely confusing. We'll have parts that deal with her hallucinating and then some parts will just randomly jump into a dream in the middle of the day. I wish it was more linear so it made more sense. The jumping back and forth makes this very hard to follow what's going on.

So Ji-won meets up with George through the dating app at 5:00 p.m. She drives them to a construction zone that's wooded but it's night time because she mentions it's dark but how did we get from 5:00 p.m. daylight to darkness? I mean it's summertime how would it be dark that fast? Did she talk to George for 4 hours? Did it take her 4 hours to drive somewhere? She mentions that she has to work quickly because Geoffrey will be arriving soon but when did she call Jeffrey to tell him to come meet her here? The last time we left off in the book was her telling Geoffrey to leave her alone even though he mentioned having her backpack and now she somehow meeting him here. What did I miss?

She wakes up in the hospital with zero idea of what had happened. Her family tells her what went down and that Geoffrey actually showed up and saved her from being strangled, which we know. They arrest him for trying to kill George. And inside all of this we find out that Ji-won has a brain tumor and they had to do emergency surgery when they did an MRI on her head. It just felt very weird and convoluted. Are we saying that the tumor is what caused her to have these blinding migraines and behave with murder?

Hospital doors don't have locks on them.

So let me get this straight George is in the room right next to Ji-won (yeah okay). She is able to just slip over to the room and kill George who is hooked up to monitors that regulate his heartbeat and blood pressure. No one notices he's dead though his monitor would sound that he coded. Hours pass and not one nurse notices. They pass out food to the patients, but why George not get food? He's right next to her. Wouldn't the person see him dead? I think this author has never stayed in a hospital or visited one. They never leave you alone, there is always someone in your room coming in and out. Anyways, she calls Geoffrey and frames him for the death of George. He's been there for 2 seconds and he has no blood on him. And also also also there are cameras in the hallways. Oh and she gives Geoffrey I'm imagining a butter knife because the hospital wouldn't give you like a steak knife they give you a butter knife. So he went with that into George's room.

Ji-won talks about how when they search his home they'll find the pocket knife that has DNA match to the other murders but what in the knife also have her fingerprints on it? It is her knife and she didn't get to wipe away her prints so her prints would still be on there.

So that's the end. Her next target will be her father.

<b>Final Thoughts:</b>
Lately there's been a resurgence with eye horror within the last few years. Some are hit or miss.

There are some disturbing images in this book. Just picturing a human body with holes and eyes in those holes makes me want to vomit.

Not only do you get this story of gore and violence, but we also get the clear tone of fetishization of Asian women. Plus the large amounts of racism. It's all so disgusting how people think it's okay to talk to another human being like that. Perhaps that's the author's way at telling us how people can't even see that they are being racist to people when it can come off very obviously.

I do wish there was more to the story. It feels like it's missing something. We get this story of her eating a fish eye and suddenly she escalates to eating human eyes. She starts hallucinating and having night terrors. It all just feels really rushed and random.

Once you get to the ending it felt rushed and full of countless plot holes;
• She left her mom's car at the coffee shop - she bought coffees too
• She mentions she called George to meet her at the construction site to talk but never explains why the car is still at coffee shop. If she was meeting George at the construction site would Umma's car be there with her and George.
• Geoffrey shows the police that she had called him after George was murdered but why wouldn't he show the police that she had called him before George was attacked to meet at that location
• Police do little investigation into understanding why she would ask Geoffrey to meet her at a location that she was also meeting George
• Ji-won mentions that Geoffrey was stalking her and she called him from the hospital to leave her alone, but don't find it weird that she'd call him to meet her in person if he was stalking her.
• George is murdered in the hospital and no one at the hospital notices despite monitors. Lady dropping off food never noticed either nor a nurse checking vitals
• Ji-won drives George's truck and has to pull the seat way up since it's mentioned before how much taller George is to her
• Knife found at construction site has Ji-won’s prints on it and came from her house.

Have you ever read a book and you were enjoying it greatly? Only to have the second half of the book turn into this totally different vibe. In the end for me that's what this book was. I was enjoying the tone of this book and how fast pace it was to read it. I loved learning about their culture and the foods they ate but when we got 75% into the book I started to find so many plot holes it was driving me insane. It also started to feel very repetitive with Ji-won saying/feeling/thinking/doing the same stuff. I'm convinced this book is 25% dreams & nightmares.

I will say I loved how the words flowed and loved the authors writing style. The author made me invested in their lives and wanting to follow along with each characters day to day.

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/horrorghoulreads/"><b>IG</a>|<a href="https://bookwordreview.wordpress.com/"><b>Blog</b></a>

<b><small>Thanks to Netgalley and Erewhon Books for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“The Eyes Are the Best Part” by Monika Kim started pretty interesting. The cover alone intrigued me as I am an avid horror reader. This is her first novel, and I was excited to see what would await. Unfortunately, this left much to be desired for what I look for in a typical horror novel.

Before I jump into my review, here are all the trigger warnings I found while reading…

- Cannibalism
- Stalking
- Sexism
- Racism
- PTSD (war)
- Infidelity

If any of these trigger you, please do not read this novel. Moving along, this novel felt like a slow burn at first. I hoped it would deliver once things got scarier and to the horror parts, but it just took way too long to get there. It never came as quickly as I wanted, and ultimately, I wanted way more horror.

It’s an okay story, and I appreciated the whole family dynamic about what happens when your parents have marital issues, but this was too heavy on the story and not enough on the horror. The scary parts were very well written, which is a shame since I wish more of that had happened to redeem this novel. I credit Kim for a refreshing new take on "eye horror" because I have never read such disgusting, creepy, and insane takes on eyeballs. These parts were fantastic but got lost due to drowning in endless dialogue, dreams, texting, and things that messed up the overall pacing.

I also didn’t connect with a single character; I felt better character development was needed. Several times, things got boring while waiting for something to happen. The dream sequences also got confusing and felt out of place. This would have been significantly better if this was a more straightforward story that got right to it, grabbed you, and never let you go. Instead, it’s a few decent horror parts here and there, too much dialogue, and too much family stuff.

The novel didn’t get good until the last 30%, which frustrated me because I hoped there would be a huge payoff or insane plot twist at the end. Nope, just more of the same, straight to the ending, which was lackluster and predictable. I saw it coming a mile away, and it just left me feeling like this needed more time to be refined and polished to deliver a better horror story, with eye horror being the main focus and bringing it all together for a memorable read.

I give “The Eyes Are the Best Part” by Monika Kim a 2/5 for having a creative spin on taking eye horror to a whole new level I’ve never read before. This novel needed to be a lot scarier, have better character development to be invested in the main characters and protagonist, and have more of a backstory to certain parts of the story as they unraveled. The pacing is bad, and many parts feel out of place. It gets good, then it fizzles out. A scary part finally happens, and we go back to endless dialogue, texting, or repeating things the reader knows already happened. Hopefully, Kim will continue to write because the talent is there. The horror just needed to be amped up big time in this one.

I want to thank NetGalley, Monika Kim, Kensington Books, and Erewhon Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

You might think it's too soon to say but The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim could be my horror book of the year. In an age of “good for her” stories that disappoint, here is one that finally resonates. The novel is advertised as a “feminist psychological horror about the making of a female serial killer from a Korean-American perspective” and I couldn't love more how this book realizes its feminism. The novel opens on Ji-won, a young college student, as her home life with her mother and sister has become disrupted after her father leaves the family following an affair. Her mother, in a method to acquire luck for the family, teaches her daughters to their initial disgust how to eat the eyeballs of fish for good luck. Amma believes good luck has been brought into her life in the form of George, an obnoxious new boyfriend who fetishizes Asian women, flattens cultures, and shows little genuine regard for the feelings of Ji-won's mother or the family.

The novel deals with questions of fate and lot in life, that some people may just be doomed to not have power or happiness. Ji-won takes this message on from her father but later learns that even if the destination is the same, she has power to move forwards on her journey in a way that she sets. The book makes no apologies for the actions that Ji-won takes. She is confused about the reality of her actions at first but there is no handwringing about if she is doing ”the right thing.” Really beautiful rendered escalating gore and violence that feels an appropriate response to the racial and gendered aggressions that are a daily occurrence for Ji-won. There is so much to explore too in the role of female cannibalism as a rejection to the control over women's eating and women's bodies in the most abject sense. 👁️

Thank you to Erewhon and Netgalley for providing me with ARC for review 👁️

I really enjoyed the different perspective of the book and how you saw the main character go from a great student to a murderous madwoman.

It was unhinge and kept my attention throughout the whole book.

it's a 4.5 from me.

i think i was led astray about this book.

i was under the impression that this book was just about a serial killer cannibal which - okay - it's not NOT a book about that, but it's also about so much more.

i really loved hearing from ji-won, living in a shitty apartment with her lonely mother and her little sister, ji-hyun. after losing the house, her dad leaves to move in with the woman he's been cheating on her mom with and her mom cries every night.

we slowly learn bits and pieces about ji-won. she's definitely an angry character, angry with the fact her dad didn't believe she or her sister were good enough because neither of them were the son that he wanted, angry with friends for getting into berkeley when she got rejected, angry with geoffrey who never misses a chance to talk about how feminist he is yet won't take no for an answer, and angry with the presence of george, a creepy old republican with a fetish for asian women that her mom has fallen for.

slowly, we get to watch ji-won unravel and it's... delicious. perhaps, much like the fish eye that she ate to cheer up her mother because her mother says the eyes give luck. ji-won loses herself to the obsession of blue eyes. the pieces fall away slowly, starting with sneaking george's keys into the fridge so he couldn't find them and culminating in the beginning of her spree: with a deceased man with blue eyes.

this is a story about revenge, first and foremost. but this is also a book about holding accountable men who are violent, men who fetishize, and men who won't take no for an answer. it was a delight, truly.

the only reason this didn't get a five was because of a plot twist at the end. i'm not too sure why that was necessary. but over all, a really fantastic read.

Dark and fascinating, The Eyes Are the Best Part take you through the devolving mental state of a character experiencing both trauma and the weight of societal pressures. Ji-won is struggling after her father leaves the home and is replaced by a gruff, unintelligent white man named George. While her mother is happy to feel a connection again, Jo-won and her sister see right through him. Ji-Won develops a fascination with blue eyes and wanting to carve them from a man’s head which leads her down a trail of vengeance. This story was layered and insightful on what it is like to be a young woman caring for her family while also understanding her role in the world.

This horror/thriller revolves around a Korean-American family, focusing on young Ji-won as she grapples with her parents' recent separation. As her mother struggles to cope with being a single parent and brings a home a new ‘friend’, Ji-won begins to spiral, having nightmares and experiencing unsettling waking urges. The story delves into many dark themes such as misogyny, racism, stalking, bullying, body horror and much more! It's well-written, fast-paced, and emotionally gripping. It’s also incredibly hard to put down.

This was such a quick read and so good. I consumed this in such a short span of time and wanted more.

It’s not your typical horror story, there’s not much dread going on, but more of “what the hell” feeling, wondering is she dreaming, is she insane (would have to be) is this real life? I could feel our main character’s emotional and mental downward spiral in my bones and even though she was unhinged, I really felt for her. I really liked the end twists, and I was quite surprised that this is a debut, it was so good to me. Many thanks to Erewhon Books for my eARC. The Eyes Are the Best Part will be published tomorrow, 6/25. If you like unhinged women, feminist horror, and psychological horror, you definitely need to read this one.

This one would probably be more enjoyable to own voices readers, it follows the Korean American experience and a serial killer, it’s quite a wild read !

As soon as I read the premise of this book, I knew I needed to read it ASAP: A female serial killer psychological horror....with eye imagery??

I have always loved anything to do with eyes and eye imagery, and this book really delivered with that. I actually hated the way eating an eye was described (hated...in a positive way). And all the other weird eye imagery was great for me. One of my complaints with this book is how surface level/spelled out for the reader some of the commentary feels, but I will say the male gaze/perception of woman and in particular, Asian women, by white men, was very well done through the abstract eye imagery. I just wish a more sparing approach was used throughout the book in that regard.

I think I am landing somewhere between a 3.5 and 3.75 on this one, but I will round up to a 4, since a 3 just feels too low. This is one that reads incredibly quickly, has plenty of horror (both real and psychological), and feels like a fresh take on serial killer horror. I would recommend this one!

3.5 stars. Love a good female serial killer. And Ji-Won is smart and deadly. I'm giving 3.5 stars because I feel that it started a little too slow for me and Ji-Won's mother was on my last nerve. But once it gets going, hang on.
This is the story of an unraveling. A family unraveling and a young intelligent mind. Ji-won will protect her family at all costs. To her that includes her mother, Umma and her sister, Ji-han. Her Appa (father) left them to fend for themselves and Ji-won's mother has come undone. That is, until she meets George, a white obnoxious fetishist.. Ji=won's rage knows no bounds and it will not be sated until George pays.
A cool subversive novel that ends in the best possible way for Ji-won.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for this e=arc.*

Monika Kim comes out swinging in her debut novel The Eyes Are the Best Part. An engaging novel following the unraveling of a young Korean-American woman in the wake of her father’s affair and subsequent departure. You know it’s wrong, but you’ll be cheering for Ji-Won at every bloody twist and turn as she descends further into her cannibalistic serial killer ways. This one tackles multiple heavy topics that may be triggering for some people, these include racism, misogyny, and fetishization. I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait to see where Monika Kim takes us in her next novel.

When a young woman’s life starts to unravel, her stress begins manifesting in strange and violent ways that I promise you won’t see coming. No spoilers but if you ever wondered what it was like to eat a human eyeball, look no further! This is good for her/unhinged woman horror at its finest. It was also really funny and full of important commentary on racism and misogyny. Loved!!

I haven't been actually afraid or disturbed by a book for a while--this one filled me with dread, rage, and disgust in all the best ways. It was expertly paced and plotted, didn't skimp on character development in favor of suspense, and used the unreliable narrator trope very well (complete with reality-blurring dreams and hallucinations). A delicious addition to the "good for her" horror canon.

Thanks to netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I saw horror, revenge, and female serial killer so naturally I wanted to read this immediately. We dive right into the mess of the main character’s life and it gets messier but still somehow stays relatable. Her fixation on eyes was gross but the description of eating! them! made my stomach turn…
It took me a while to get into 50% of the book but then the other 50% I read in one day lol
So if you’d like a character based, unhinged, delicious?, violent, and fast paced novel then this is the one!
It comes out 25th June so it’d be a great read to get into spooky season 👻

This was a very intriguing premise, but I thought that the book did not execute it well. But I am very excited for Monika Kim, have been watching her since she commented on PubTips! Thank you NetGalley / Erewhon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.