Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Spirit Riots and the Body Glows

I received an ELC of this book from the author via NetGalley as we are mutuals on bookstagram❤️

I am delighted to have finally read We Ate The Dark— it feels like forever ago and yesterday that the publication announcement was made! I always have said I’m not a horror person, but that was before I discovered queer horror. Now I think it’s one of my favourite genres.

I loved the setting of the story, and I could feel the muggy North Carolina summer even though it’s the dead of winter in Canada right now. I felt like I could smell the damp earth, hear the cicadas buzzing, it was so immersive. The prose was dynamic and deeply descriptive, positively overflowing with metaphor and emotion. The characters felt real and complicated and super messy.

I feel like if you like the Raven Cycle, but wish it was sapphic, this is the perfect book for you. I think I’m still processing that ending (cause like wtf) and maybe need to read it again because I’m not sure I really got / understood what happened in the last few climactic scenes.

My #1 complaint about the book is that I don’t think I really connected with the audiobook narrator. I’m not sure if it was an accent thing but the word “skull” was always pronounced like “scoll” and it took me out of the story every time!!!

Content Warnings

nicdoeswords's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

*My copy of this ARC was gifted by the author. Aside from wanting to keep up my netgalley rating, I was under no pressure or obligation to read or review it ahead of its release.

We Ate the Dark is a masterclass in atmosphere. This book covers a lot of thematic ground — female friendships, the dark side of magic/witchery/power, growing up and away from the people you love, death and loss, jealousy and guilty, etc — and does so through meticulous setting and character work. The town of Loring sparkled with description, and I felt like I could practically taste each winding road and bend in the river and sticky vinyl seat at a diner.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this book was the ways it navigated the idea that you can often find yourself disliking someone you love. Many of us do have this seemingly unbreakable bond with people we met when we were young, and the ways that bond can be tested teach us a lot about what it's like to love and be in relationship to another person. The lines between lover and friend and family member blur into a really beautiful tapestry dedicated to telling us about love! How cool is that.

This book is marketed as sapphic literary horror, and delivers on all counts. I'm a weenie so the horror felt like the perfect amount for me: unsettling and creepy and a little gorey but very much within what I felt like I could handle. The lyrical language and descriptions also offered a bit of distance from the grotesque, which I appreciated. The messy sapphic relationships also slapped, and I think every character felt deeply deeply grounded in what it's like to be a queer woman in the world. I felt really seen as a lesbian in this story! That always means a lot to me as a reader and it's no surprise that Pearson nailed the execution.

My other favorite thing (and I think an important note for potential readers!) is about the ending. I'm not going into any specific details so don't worry about plot spoilers, but skip the following if you want to go in totally blind.

The ending, both in terms of plot and in terms of relationships, was left really open, and I think that was such a smart choice. We get some closure around Sofia and the Fissure but not much, and Pearson really trusts the reader to figure it out and close the loop on their own. I am a "too easy closed ending" hater so this was ideal for me. I also LOVED that Marya and Frankie didn't end up putting labels on anything or sharing a Hollywood kiss. The messy in between works perfectly for them as characters and the way their relationship blossomed over the course of the story.

I could say so much more but I think I am going to leave it here for now and share more gushing on my booktok account. For now just know that I loved this story and cannot wait for it to come out and find its readership!

Content Warnings

savvylit's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

We Ate the Dark is an impressive debut from a new author to watch! The characters in this novel are written incredibly well. Each protagonist is palpable, nuanced, and impossible not to love. We Ate the Dark is a delightful blend of horror, fantasy, and mystery with so much heart. But this book is also much, much more. It's a celebration of witchiness. It's an ode to enduring friendships. It's an exploration of queer identity and romance in a rural setting. And most of all, We Ate The Dark is about the love between members of a chosen family.

To read We Ate the Dark is to gradually fall in love with Frankie, Poppy, Cass, Marya, and Finder. Pearson has created a world that I genuinely couldn't look away from. I can't wait to read whatever she writes next!

Thank you so much @lesbrarycard and @netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Content Warnings

ladyinverse's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was able to read this eARC thanks to the author directly and i immensely thank her for the opportunity to read it early and thusly my opinion is freely given.

sapphic? Southern Gothic?? folklore horror????

sign me the f up.

I absolutely loved this book. I got a bit confused sometimes trying to keep up with the multiple narratives and who was who but really, it wasn't that bad. I enjoyed the big bad of the book and the way it tapers off at the end I can definitely see a second book on the horizon and I will definitely be there first in line for that book as well.

the characters are believable and charming, but also aggravating in their flaws which just makes them more loveable imo.

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