Thank you so much to Kensington Books, Erewhon Books, and the author, Monika Kim, for providing this eARC for me in exchange for an honest review.

The horror novel, The Eyes Are the Best Part follows our Korean-American main character Ji-won as her life seemingly falls apart. When her father leaves her family to start another, Ji-won's life is practically turned upside down. Paired with a new man--a white man with the most startling blue eyes--in her mother's life, this young college student has a lot on her plate; eyes to be more specific.

I absolutely loved this book and I am so grateful to read this before the general public. The themes contained within this story are some of the things that made me think so highly of this book and Monika Kim's writing overall. The themes of misogyny, systemic racism and the fetishization of Asian women work together to shape our main character into the unreliable narraror that she is.

The main character's descent into a murderous madness is done extremely well, and I liked that we were able to see the ways in which certain characters influenced Ji-won's reactions and thoughts on society. There was practically no clarity between the scenes that were part of her "nightmares" and her real world actions. With lines this blurred, her loss of sanity makes sense when noting the impact of the men in her life, particularly white blue eyed men and their power over young asian women.

This might just be an issue with the kindle document itself, but it is worth noting that the eARC veresion that I read from did have some glaring formatting issues. Every so often the headers of the page were formatted as part of the rest of the text, meaning that mid sentence "ADVANCE READERS COPY" and "MONICA KIM" would occasionally disrupt the writing.

Ultimately this was a great read and I am definitely recommending this to all of my horror/feminist writing friends. •ᴗ•

If you're looking for a feminist horror novel that packs a punch, you've come to the right place.

Ji-won's dad suddenly decides to leave his wife, and with it, Ji-won and her sister, leaving the whole family in a state of disarray. Ji-won's mother falls into a state of depression, doing nothing but working and waiting for her husband to return. This all changes when she meets George, a monstrous human being, who treats women like objects. Ji-won's anger builds as she realizes that George is also racist, and is using her mother. After trying a fisheye for good luck, Ji-won suddenly craves other eyes as well... Blue eyes...

Ji-won is a college student whose family dynamic changes drastically in a short time. Her father leaves her mother for another woman and abandons the family, shortly after her mother starts dating an arrogant white man named George. Through all of this, she develops an obsession with blue eyes after trying a fish eye at dinner said to bring her luck.
I absolutely loved this book. It is such a well done take on the 'good for her' unhinged female main character. There's a lot of commentary on misogyny, systemic racism and the fetishization of Asian women which gave this story much more meaning and depth.
With the short chapters and writing style, I found this story fast paced and very enjoyable.

Wow! This book was amazing from the get go. Didn't want to put it down. I loved how it was about the making of a serial killer as it's not an aspect that is written about alot. It was very gripping and couldn't wait to see what happened next. I have just added Monika to my favourite authors list. Loved her writing style. This book was quite thrilling. Can't wait to see what Monika writes next.

The Eyes Are the Best Part follows Ji-won, a young college student struggling with the departure of her father, her mother's new boyfriend, and on top of all of it - academic probation. I wanted to love this book truly, a descent into madness, unhinged killings to spite George (her mother's new and outwardly racist boyfriend turned fiancé), and going to extreme lengths to assure her sister that their family is not cursed. However it fell very flat for me.

This was one of the slowest slow burns I have ever encountered. Nothing really started happening until I was about 75% of the way through the book, and even then the bounce between nightmares and real life was so disjointed. I can only compare it to a horror film that presents as normal for almost the entire movie and then in the last 15 minutes finally gets interesting.

While mildly disappointing, I do think this would be a good starter book to get into body horror for someone who isn't familiar with the genre.

Ji-won's massive life changes made a great set up for the unhinged spiral she finds herself going down.
It hit all the high points I expected from this book.
-toxic masculinity *specifically white men*
-an ACTUAL unhinged character who's unreliable.
-discussion and showing of asian fetishism.

I feel like the electronic copy doesn't do it justice and I think reading from a physical copy will help me like the way the chapters are set up better.
Would I recommend the book, yes.

*Was recieved as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review*

I loved this book so much! The writing was amazing and I was hooked!! I would definitely read from this author again

Holy fucking balls!! I'm not a squeamish person, but The Eyes Are the Best Part had me nauseated 🤮.

The vibes were The Vegetarian by Han Kang mixed with Earthlings by Sayaka Murata and a Good For Her serial killer twistiness.

I can't believe this is a debut and I am definitely putting this author on my auto buy list.

If you like complicated family relationships, coming of age stories, sister drama and body horror this is for you!

I got this for free from NetGally.

Ugh, this book gave me another reason to dislike hard-boiled eggs. This was so well done and satisfying. Like Ji-won with eyeballs. The Unhinged Woman protagonist has become a favorite of mine. I would love to read more from Monika Kim.

I couldn't put this own down! Creepy and haunting, a terrifying display of a young woman's descent into madness. More that it seems, this is a book you really can't miss. But maybe check for trigger warnings before you pick it up.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

You HAVE to add this one to your list of books with an unhinged FMC.

Fresh and engrossing, this horror story certainly deserves the hype. Our protagonist is Ji-won, the eldest daughter of an Asian-American family reeling after her father’s abandonment. As she struggles to shelter her little sister from the pain and keep her grades up, she’s surprised when their mother suddenly smiles again… and tells them she’s seeing a man. An obnoxious white man, with piercing blue eyes that Ji-won can’t stop thinking about. Soon enough, eyes are *all* Ji-won can think about, especially what they might taste like if she were to pop them into her mouth like the fish eyes her mother is so fond of.

But this isn’t mindless horror: there’s a solid heart beneath that explores the immigrant experience, family dynamics, sexism, Otherness, and in particular, the fetishization of Asian women. You can’t help but empathize with Ji-won as she reckons with her father’s rejection and gross men; you feel her growing rage and want her to act on it. And when she begins to accept that nobody is going to protect her and the women in her family… oh, that’s when the fun begins.

In some ways, this book reminded me of Mona Awad’s “Bunny” - it’s claustrophobic and hallucinatory at points, straddling the line between dreamland and the waking world. Is Ji-won out there killing people, or is she just losing her grip on reality? Part of the story also takes place in an academic setting and a dingy cityscape, and there’s (imo) a theme of repressed queerness here too.

This is an unmissable read for fans of Asian-American literature and body horror, and I’m looking forward to the author’s next works!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCHHHHH!

GIVE ME ALL THE GOOD-FOR-HER NARRATIVES!!!

I am so thankful to Kensington/Erewhon Books, Netgalley, and Monika Kim for granting me advanced digital access to this gem before it hits shelves on June 25, 2024. This novel about family, love, and revenge is oh-so-sweet to the taste.

Ji-Won and Ji-Hyun are witnessing their Umma grieve the sudden leaving of her husband and their Appa. Left behind, Umma is eager to get back out on the dating scene and brings home a white man named George, who is struck with yellow fever in the creepiest, fetish way. He lurks where he shouldn't, and it creeps the two daughters out, knowing their Umma is too love-blind to see his misdoings. Determined to break up their relationship, Ji-Won develops a desire for eyeballs, mainly from fish at the dinner table. Still, as George continues to creep them out, there's almost nothing holding her back from scooping out one of those eyeballs and savoring it for herself.

To make sure she likes human eyeballs, Ji-Won tests out this craving with a side of serial killing as she takes out students in her area for the weeks to come. The nearby university grows nervous about this finding, with parents requesting heightened security measures be put in place, but that only amplifies Ji-Won's needs. With a fresh wedding proposal in Umma's life, Ji-Won is running out of time to save her little family from the grimy hands of a perverse man, so she takes this situation into her own hands and lures George into a scenario he cannot resist.

I really enjoyed the good-for-her narratives and this really is like if you mashed up My Sister the Serial Killer and Crying in H-Mart. I couldn't get enough of Ji-Won's antics and cravings -- she won Daughter of the Year in my book.

I was SO excited to get approved or this ARC as it was a very anticipated release for me and it did NOT disappoint. It was the perfect mix of gory but emotional. You really found yourself feeling for Ji-won, even while she was uhhh.. scooping out eyeballs. I think this book perfectly represents the pressure and consequences of times in your life where a lot of things are changing and it's scary. As a person AFRIAD OF CHANGE, it really resonated with me and honestly covered so much including misogyny, racism, toxic relationships, and violence. I think the pacing and length were perfect and the characters were really fleshed out. Geoffrey was INSUFFERABLE and I have met many Geoffreys in my life and he was written perfectly and I LOVED the ending, it really wrapped up nicely. What an absolutely stunning debut!

Ji-won's life takes a dramatic turn when her father's infidelity shatters her family, sending her academic performance spiraling from top grades to failure during her freshman year in college. Haunted by disturbing yet oddly compelling dreams, she finds herself navigating through surreal landscapes filled with a multitude of eyes, all reminiscent of her mother's new partner, George—a man characterized by his obnoxiousness and racist attitudes.

As mysterious deaths begin to occur around her on campus, Ji-won's inner turmoil of hunger and fury remains unsatiated. The book, filled with intense scenes, captivated me from the start. One aspect I particularly enjoyed was the consistent presence of the title's thematic relevance throughout the narrative—a clarity often missing in other works. Despite its brevity, the story delves into a multitude of issues including misogyny, racism, toxic relationships, cannibalism, and violence, each handled with skillful execution.

While the horror elements were indeed grisly, eliciting a visceral response, it's not the kind of read I'd recommend during mealtime! The brisk pacing immediately drew me in, keeping me engrossed until the satisfying conclusion. The ending felt fitting given the events that transpired.

For a debut work, this book was remarkably well-crafted—I wouldn't have guessed it was a debut until the end!

10/10 concept, the execution is ify tho. It's good enough, but you can tell that this is a debut novel.

There were more hard-hitting themes than I expected. The mother is such a deeply sad character. She sometimes felt more like folklore than a human for some reason. I struggled to see her as a real person. Her decisions and reactions are very much believable but there's just something cartoonish about her.

I related to Ji-wons academic failures more than I care to admit. Also, this might just be my opinion, because I didn't pick up on the author confirming or denying it, but her relationship with Alexis has undertones of a crush. Maybe in a next book we'll see (I assume by the ending that a book 2 is planned).

Ji-won's other uni friend however... The wayyyyyy Geoffrey irked me from his very first appearance is incredible.. Later the book makes it clear that his pretentiousness and surface level feminism are intentional, and he's meant to be a loser like that, but still.

George was also incredibly infuriating but I kinda skipped over some of his bullshittery because I figured that he's probably gonna die. And that brings peace into the reading experience ngl. Most of my annotations about him were simple like "JAIL" and "HELL NAH".
On the topic of disappointing men, it's ironic that the root of all troubles is the father and yet we never see him.

Ji-won's unreliable narration takes us on trips sometimes, made me question what's real and what isn't a few times. I enjoy lucid dreams in fiction, they have lots of potential.

The events that did happen were.. a choice. The rest of the book is so woven through with serious subjects that I can't not take the serial killing part also seriously. There's no way in hell that this girl got away with all that. The first kill is later in the book than I thought it would be, and sometimes Ji-won's violence is quite out of the blue. But that's all fine, the unrealistic thing is that on every scene there is her DNA, she pays no attention to hiding what she's done, and all bodies are found near to where she's been last seen. I get the part that the police is looking for a man and she probably won't be charged because they underestimate her. But even the book acknowledges that she could very easily be caught based on all the evidence she left behind.
In the end I think it's supposed to be a girlboss moment the way she ties everything together and pulls it off, but dude it was mere luck. If you wanna read her as a girlboss that's fine, but I just don't buy it.

It was still better than A Certain Hunger, this one has a lot more value and important themes, would recommend this one over that.

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.

This book is of the horror genre but also highlights racism and mysogynism, which is neatly intwined in the plot. George is a pig. Facts.

Ji-won is a deeply troubled character who takes on the burdens of her family in order love honour their race and gender and therefore creates an anti-hero of her generation.

Basically moral of the story is don't piss off Ji-Won and don't be a racist, sexist pig and your eyes will remain on your face and you'll be all good.

Great plot, great characters, and personally for me a great addition for Korean-American literature.

“I imagine that, even in the darkness, I can see his eyes clearly. Their brightness and their beauty. They’re so close, just on the other side of this wall.” 🥢👁️

Rating: 4.75/5 ⭐️
Review: From a Korean-American perspective, we see the personal standpoint of a female serial killer in the making. I have been loving books of unhinged women this year. Ji-won is added to my favorites list; she has SO many problems, but after she does something absurd, I am excited for her. The short chapters made this read so much more fun; it felt like I was moving fast through the story, but I didn’t want it to end at the same time.

THIS WOULD BE SO GOOD AS A K-DRAMA. I cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy. Not only is it gross, there are depictions of misogyny Asian women face, as well as how they are fetishized and looked upon. It was so close to a 5-star read, but there was something in the plot I strongly disliked; the overall story was extraordinary though!! It was deranged, sentimental, and violent; I will absolutely be rereading this.

Release date is June 25th. Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC! 🧟‍♀️

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

All I can say is…wow! I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book initially (I was on the fence about how I felt about Ji-won’s character - she was hard to love sometimes), but just a few chapters in and I was undoubtedly hooked.

This story is unhinged and disgusting in the best of ways. Definitely one of my favorite reads of 2024 so far! I know I’ll be thinking about Ji-won and her story for days to come!

Beautiful writing by Monika Kim! So excited to see what she releases in the future!

4.5
You’ve got body horror, revenge, unhinged woman, misogyny, racism, fetishization and just so much! The descriptions of the eyeballs! All I can say is WOW, my jaw definitely dropped a few times. Definitely had my eyes rolling at the rage-inducing behavior of the entitled, fetishizing, and manipulative white men in this book. They also felt like too much at points but thinking about it there sadly are men like that that exist.
I really liked reading about the relationship between Ji-won and her sister and how they deal with their mother and her new boyfriend. The chapters are also really short which makes the book fly by! I enjoyed the writing even though at times did feel like it dragged just a bit.

Looking forward to whatever Monika Kim writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC

This book is such a wild ride. We follow Ji-Won a Korean American girl dealing with the fallout of her father cheating and leaving the family. Ji-Won begins to develop a fascination with eyeballs after being told that eating a fish eye will bring good luck. Her mother begins dating a truly disgusting white man that treats her terribly and fetishizes asian women. As Ji-Won's life begins to spin further out of control her obsession with eyes, particularly blue eyes grows. This is an impeccably written horror book. I was as invested in the characters as I was the plot. I could not put it down. It is perfect for anyone that enjoys complicated female characters.

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