I've been frothing at the mouth for this book ever since it was just a query letter and first 300 words posted for critique on an online forum, and I'm thrilled to report it was just as unhinged and brilliant as I'd hoped. I devoured it (ha) in a sitting. Every element landed for me: the clean prose, the meaty character work, the tragic family drama, the tight plotting, the furious, ferocious treatment of theme. It was a desperate, feral ride with such masterful control of pacing and tension that it left me breathless, as well as screaming at the top of my voice I SUPPORT WOMEN'S WRONGS.

Loved it. Already one of my top releases of 2024. If you liked Eliza Clark's Boy Parts, you'll love this.

Massive thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

4.5

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!:)

Great pacing and execution, had me half-horrified and half-engrossed, unable to look away, loved the writing and build up of the story. I really felt for Jiwon and her family. The only thing is the ending was a bit abrupt and wrapped up in a clever way but required me to suspend my disbelief. Compulsive and enjoyable read!

SPOILERS BELOW




I’m not sure My Sister the Serial killer was the right comp, but the pacing definitely matches. I would’ve liked the friendship / (love?) with Alexis more developed bc their scuffle emerged and was resolved really quickly. The brain tumor bit felt unnecessary? But Jiwons psyche was very interesting

more books like these pls

Darkly funny and viscerally disturbing in all the best ways, THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART should be the next read for any horror-lover out there! Ji-won is an incredible protagonist, and Monika Kim does a wonderful job at bringing the reader along on this gory ride. You never once stop taking Ji-won's side, even when she's doing the most horrific things. Great book!

I love a good unhinged girlie book!

Everything seems to be falling apart for Ji-won after her dad walks out on her family for another woman. Ji-won starts failing her first semester of college, she starts having nightmares, and her mom starts dating a creepy, gross white guy named George.

After Ji-won meets George she starts getting an insatiable obsession over blue eyes, and not just George's.

The Eyes Are the Best Part had me fully immersed from page one. Not only is this a fantastic psychological horror story, it's also a wonderfully written story about feminism and family.

I loved that this book was in first person POV. I enjoyed reading about Ji-won and her family, and everybody felt so real that I found myself getting uncomfortable and disgusted alongside Ji-won whenever she talked to George or her college classmate, Geoffrey.

The Eyes Are the Best Part is a fast-paced "good for her" horror story that I found extremely difficult to put down. I highly, highly recommend checking this out when it releases on June 25, 2024.

A big thank you to NetGalley and to Erewhon Books for the gifted copy! I can't wait to read more from Monika Kim!

This is a chilling unsettling look at a Korean/American girl who slowly begins a descent into becoming a serial killer.

When her father leaves for another woman, her, her younger sister, and their mother are devastated. The richly detailed backgrounds of this family and how they got to where they are is told with a depth that automatically makes you feel sympathetic towards their plight.

When the mother starts dating a white man, things start spiraling out of control. This man is a true example of white privilege and he exhudes an air of superiority. He's also a cheat, and has eyes set on younger Asian women and girls. Their mother is clueless and she believes him to be a knight in shining armour to make their lives better. But the sisters know better.

Told in first person perspective, the older sister begins to have fantasies about this man dying and she dreams about one day being able to eat his eyes. But when her twisted fantasies provide an opportunity to experience the thrill of it all, she takes advantage of several men along the way.

You want to feel a small level of vindication for her. The men she experiences all have the worst traits of toxicity in some form or another. But as her desires continue to grow and start throwing her academic and personal life into chaos, her anger soon overtakes any guilt she might have had.

We'll also find out some things about her from the past that were probably red flags to begin with. But it seems this situation unleashed those hidden desires and she relishes the chance to murder and eat the eyes of her victims.

This novel is not a gore fest, nor should it have been. This one unfolds at a tension building pace and each chapter is short, to the point, and wonderfully written. The progression from fantasy to reality is unnerving and terrifying to watch unfold.

I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

This book is going to haunt me for a while. I will definitely have to reread it.

The Eyes Are the Best Part is a fast-paced horror I finished in one night. The synopsis was so striking that I had to pick it up. I generally don’t read the horror genre, but the voice-y prose made me love genre conventions I usually don’t gravitate toward. There are some gory parts, but they didn’t bother me, and it all served the story/wasn’t excessive, which I appreciated. The writing was

This story was gruesome, yet by peeling back the layers, I found a tender story about family and womanhood. While I read, the characters were all vivid, real people whom I had encountered in my own life as a mixed Asian woman. (Who hasn’t met a Geoffrey in a freshman-year philosophy course?) And though a bit unhinged, Gi-won resonated with me, especially as the eldest daughter who struggles to keep her family together.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book, especially if you love unhinged female protagonists but find the current landscape lacking a little color)

Thank you to Edelweiss and Erewhon for the e-ARC.