Ji-won’s Dad suddenly moves out leaving a trail of emotional havoc on their family and her Mom goes into severe depression. Ji-won and her sister try to be patient and understanding with their Mom even when she suddenly has a boyfriend, George, only months after her Dad moves out. Ji-won can’t sleep, her grades are suffering and she becomes obsessed with the eyes of the fish they eat seeing them in her nightmares and hallucinations from the stress and abandonment of her father and George moving in. As she is headed for a nervous breakdown a series of murders occur near her college campus where the eyes have been removed. This is a psychological suspense that will leave you shaking your head as you try to decipher and understand Ji-won!

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC!
#NetGalley #TheEyesAretheBestPart

this book is weird and disturbing, obviously I love it!
Absolutely recommended, I can't wait to buy the paperback

Love the female rage, couldn't bring myself to feel bad for any of the victims, they deserved it. So hard to put down.

A commendable addition to the burgeoning "women who kill" subgenre. We need more books about female serial killers!! 👁

Ji-won is a college student whose family begins to collapse after her father leaves and her mother begins dating a really creepy white man. Spiraling out of control, she finds herself increasing obsessed with eyes and the desire to eat them whole. What began as an attempt to cheer up her mother—eating a fish eye—quickly escalates to violence in a desperate bid for control. What better way to gain power over male objectification than by consuming the vessel used to oggle and ostracize?

The very short chapters are an attempt at invoking frentic tension and a sense of mental instability. It works better in some portions of the story than in others. There are some clunky moments that fast-forward in time and seem more like the author planned on adding to that section but forgot before submitting a final draft. Other people may not be put off by this, but it annoyed me enough to drop my rating. Again this choice was clearly intentional, it's just a writing technique I personally dislike.

This novel weaves together the gratuitous gore and violence one expects from a serial killer/slasher story descending into madness and obsession with racism and sexism. The fetishization of Asian women is viewed just as, if not more, horrifically than the protagonist's bouts of violence. Full of both micro-agressions and explicit bigotry, those sensitive to such topics should tread lightly.

If you enjoyed "Maeve Fly" but wished that book had less 'sad girl' vibes and more social commentary, this is the book for you!!

To me, this book had a YA vibe, and I would recommend it to adult fans of YA. This book is definitely brutal, which I would expect from an adult book, but the writing style reminds me a lot YA. I also feel like the relationships between characters are less nuanced than what I would expect from an adult novel.

I really liked the idea of this book, but I feel as though it might have worked better as a novella rather than a full length novel. Some of the dream sequences became repetitive, and I didn't feel as though all of the threads of the story had a satisfactory conclusion.

Additionally, I wish that there was a little bit less hand holding with the themes of the book. Every "bad" character is only ever saying the MOST stereotypical racist things possible in a way that comes across cartoony. Real racism is often much more subtle, and I think the characters, George and Geoffrey especially, could have done with more nuance.

A refreshing horror novel, full of nuance, food for thought, and female rage. In less than 300 pages, Monika Kim paints an extremely detail picture on the close correlartion between sexism and racism, which is still a topic that many people still don’t take into account nowadays. I would very much recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Erewhon Books, and Monika Kim for the opportunity to read an arc for The Eyes Are the Best Part.

This novel follows Ji-won, a Korean-American woman, during a time in her life where so much is falling apart around her. Everything feels unstable after her father leaves, and they take a turn for the worst when her mother meets a man named George. He is not only a misogynist, but he fetishizes Asian women and treats them like objects, especially Ji-won’s mother. We watch as Ji-won starts to lose her mind and is fantasizing not only about killing George, but eating his eyeballs - and begins finding other men to enact these fantasies on in the mean time.

This novel was phenomenal. I love reading horror books about unhinged women, and would put this in the “good for her” category. The commentary on racism, specifically against Asian women, is done masterfully through witnessing Ji-won and her sister and mother’s journeys. Ji-won starts as a passive and introspective MC, spending more time in her inner world than participating in reality. She’s an observer more than anything, often avoiding conflict as a means of self-preservation and peacekeeping. This passiveness in her own life mirrors her observation of her mother constantly “waiting,” an excellent representation of generational characteristics and trauma that play out in new ways. However, we start to see her passiveness is a mask for her influence on others. She silently affects their lives and relationships, planting ideas and quietly watching her actions take effect. She sticks to the shadows to play out her fantasies of eating someone’s eyeballs, and becomes more bold as the story reads on.

The imagery of Ji-won eating the eyeball is brilliantly written. Not only is the actual horror of it well-portrayed, but I loved the idea of our quiet MC doing something bold and new, despite how horrifying it is in nature, and the dead eyes “watching” her. She’s finally “seen” by something without the repercussions of someone alive seeing what she has done. The eyeballs, though inanimate, have their own personification to them as Ji-won’s personal audience to her darkest urges.

Eating the eyeball represents losing control - both in a positive and negative way. Ji-won discusses feeling homesick for a time in her life when things made sense. She’s getting older and facing the hardships of school, her father leaving, carrying her mother’s depression and her sister’s needs, and her mother’s horrible new partner. Eating an eyeball for Ji-won is both the loss of control in her life, as well as her letting go and giving into to a wilder, darker part of herself.

I also loved the duality of the characters George and Geoffrey throughout the novel. George and Geoffrey represent two sides of the same coin: racism that exists on both ends of the political spectrum. George, an extremely conservative man, shows the more severe, outward forms of racism such as fetishizing Asian women, using slurs, etc. And Geoffrey, a performative extreme liberal who ultimately ends up man-splaining concepts of oppression to the oppressed, and commits micro aggressions under the guise of solidarity.

I had so many thoughts after devouring (pun intended) this story and I know this is one that will stick with me for a very long time. I cannot wait to read more stories from Kim and would highly recommend this to fans of feminist horror, or horror books overall.

Oh my god!! I can not believe this was a debut novel! This is going to be extremely hard to beat for a place in my top 3 books of 2024! My (blue) eyes were glued to every word and I could not read fast enough! I will be reading any book this author ever puts out! 5/5 stars!

Nothing like a good story of female rage.

I read this book without reading the summary so I didn’t know what to expect. At first, I thought it would be a family drama about learning to live with a broken home. In a way, it was like that, but a much more psychologically complex version.

The story starts with a mother and her two daughters coping the best they can after the head of the household decides to leave. Ji-Won, the older of two sisters, is left to pick up the pieces and coddle her inconsolable mother. The downward spiral of her mental health starts slow and rapidly picks up. What begins as a series of dreams takes a turn for the worst when her mother meets a new man. A man who has anything but good intentions for the family.

When her dreams turn bloody, there’s no going back. Especially when she can no longer distinguish her dreams from her reality.

This was a fantastic body horror, especially with the <spoiler alert> eye eating. My only problem with this book was how suddenly the story came to an end. I’m hoping this means there’s a part two in the works because I’d love to see where Ji-Won takes the story next.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I had a hard time getting into this one at first but I’m so glad I stuck with it. This book is brilliant.

The Eyes are the Best Part is a horror story that gets weirder and wilder as you keep reading. We follow Ji-won, a college freshman whose mother has a new boyfriend. This man is trash- racist, perverted, disrespectful, etc. Jo-won makes it her mission to get rid of him while she slowly spirals out of control.

Not for the faint of heart, this gruesome story is a winner for any horror fan.

This was a book that I just could not put down. <spoiler>I am not sure how the author made me feel sympathetic towards Ji-won. I can't say that the random people she killed deserved it. But George definitely did.</spoiler> We watch the descent of Ji-won as her mental health spirals out of control, after her father leaves and her mother starts dating a new man. Along with that we see the familial drama between mother and two daughters, who seemed close but all become at ends with each other. We also see asian fetishism which is not a topic that is broached nearly enough despite being very prevalent.
This one can get a bit graphic with the body horror aka<spoiler>tearing out and eating of human eyes.</spoiler> The writing is also a bit choppy, which I feel like worked well for the story. But this writing style may not be everyone's preference.
Such a strong debut and I can't wait to see what else this author does!

I am blown away by how much I loved this book. I mean I seriously seriously LOVED IT!!! If you’re a fan of horror I think you should give this one a go. It was perfection.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for this ARC! This book will be out in June!

One element and purpose I’ve always appreciated and loved about the horror genera is the mirror held for humanity at its worst or ugliest.
This story is terrifying at its core, both physically and psychologically. You get introduced to the pained histories of the parents which immediately come apart at the seams tearing down the family dynamic leaving the eldest daughter in a stressful position. You get to learn her experiences growing up. The sour choices made by the parents resulting in suffocating conditions despite their efforts. Watching her mother fall apart after appa leaves becoming a ghost of herself only to quickly accept a replacement, George, who is a genuine pig with “yellow fever”. Yes, I got to learn about some Korean-American cultural acclimatization and glad I have a better lens for certain things now.
The unraveling reaches into Jin-won’s friend circle and education which gives us our first glimpse at a recall before college lending us light in a very dark corner.
There’s a point of no return when Jin-won’s dreams become so distracting and so comforting that they become her new reality. I had to sweat through a few passages because the gore is ridiculously on point and just so well done, you’re right there…it’s so vivid! Seriously, standing ovation. I heard the sounds I smelled the notes.
There is a wonderfully crafted ending that is creative and is bloody sinister!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC and to Monika Kim for creating true psychological horror.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩.”

Well this was a juicy little morsel 😋. A female serial killer from a Korean-American perspective.

Ji-Won is struggling thru college while also struggling with home life. Surrounded by racism and asian stereotypes as well as cultural fetishization, she develops an unhealthy obsession with eyeballs.

I really enjoyed this one. The main character was so well done, with great descriptive writing, and not to mention a great ending 🙌.

A debut psychological horror to put on your radar that will be unleashed on the world this June 🤩.

I give this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

4.5 stars!
Looove a good unhinged female rage plot line! 😙👌🏻
I really enjoyed following Ji-won on her tumultuous spiral to avenge her family and truly found myself rooting for her…cannibalism and all..
This book touches on themes of misogyny and racism with some crazy twists!!
Thanks NetGalley for the e-ARC!

I enjoyed the horror and the squeamishness in this book, it was interesting to see a young woman and her descent into serial killings particularly how gruesome the killings were. The book felt a bit long though and I struggled to always pay attention as it felt slow at points.

This book is weirdly good, in all the best ways. It’s a bit repulsive in parts, but that fits in with the story.

When Ji-Won’s mother starts dating a misogynistic, racist man, Ji-Won goes through some odd obsessions about craving eyeballs. We’re taken on a journey through her rage, her nightmares and her need to bring the family back together.

It’s hard to believe that this is a debut author. She does a wonderful job with great characterization and descriptive emotions. Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC.

I am torn between 2 and 3 stars for this one. It was good, proper horror and the writing was, for lack of a better word, easily digestible. Monika Kim has created a fabulous FMC in Ji-won. She stressed me out, she is so messy, I was rooting for her and cringing for her at the same time. But a lot of the dream sequences or dark fantasies were redundant, and the ending felt totally abrupt and unfinished. But I still definitely enjoyed it and would recommend it to all the people looking for examples of "Good For Her" horror.

The Eyes Are the Best Part is a crazy ride with Ji-Won , our Korean American girl whose life is just going off the rails.

First her dad leaves the family for another woman and her mom starts dating a truly disgusting man with a fetish for Asian women.

Ji-Won has a past of not being the best person and causing drama but her decent on an unhinged killing spree is next level.

I do not have a trigger of eyeballs but man the description that Monika Kim writes made me audibly react.

I so thought the ending was going to explain her actions with a neat little bow but I was pleasantly surprised. And sounds like a sequel could be on the horizon.

Thank you to Net Galley , Erewhon books and Monika Kim for the e-Arc in exchange for my honest review.

For Ji-won revenge is a dish best served with a side of eyeballs.

This the most gruesome and best horror that I have read in many many years.

The way the main characters repressed rage takes a deadly turn is fascinating. I support her rights and her wrongs.

The ending gave me CHILLS!

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-arc.