Reviews tagging 'Acephobia/Arophobia'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

34 reviews

looseleafellie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

This contemporary fantasy novel introduces a secret society of creatures called Book Eaters, who eat books instead of food to gain knowledge. As a Book Eater woman, Devon grows up only allowed to eat fairy tales, doomed to a life of forced marriages and being torn from her children for the furtherance of Book Eater society. But when she gives birth to a Mind Eater — a boy who craves minds instead of books — she must break free of the system to save both her son and herself.

This is a relatively short read that packs a wildly imaginative premise into its pages. The Book Eater concept is so WEIRD, but I happily ate it up.

The point isn’t the biology or abilities of the Book Eaters, but rather how their society is set up. Just like real oppressive systems, there are any number of “logical” reasons for Book Eater society to function the way it does, but no amount of logic can justify the way the system strips its marginalized members (in this case, women and mind-eaters) of their agency.

Devon is a sharp and savvy character hardened by her circumstances. I guess she’s a classically “unlikeable” protagonist, but even before I learned about her past that made her that way, I couldn’t help sympathizing with her motivations for doing questionable things.

The story is told in both the present day and flashbacks, which propelled the plot along while revealing more about Devon’s backstory and the Book Eater world. Toward the end, when the flashbacks got close to the present day, I felt like they slowed things down, but I generally liked the dual timelines.

Overall, I would recommend this book to those who want a dark, imaginative, compelling fantasy read. Also if you like books. But if you’re reading this, that’s probably a given.

Spice level: None.

CWs: Violence (inc. toward children), gore, murder, domestic abuse, misogyny, forced marriage, forced parent/child separation, childbirth, and mentions of human trafficking, SA, and acephobia.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Acephobia/Arophobia

sydresnik's review against another edition

adventurous 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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Toxic friendship

isaaah's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Slavery, and Grief

Minor: Infertility, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Trafficking, Acephobia/Arophobia, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

imds's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

idontlovejessica's review against another edition

medium-paced

 YMMV on the scope and depth of this novel. Admittedly after a diet of hard sci-fi and political thrillers, I was a little disappointed by this. There are so many fun threads and lore details I wish we could nail down and explore! My friend informed me that the author drew on the experiences of people who escaped cults and that greatly helped me contextualize this novel in a, honestly, smaller scope. Others have compared it to Handmaid's Tale and I found myself also comparing it to that, but if it is a cult allegory rather than a Conservative Republican American allegory I think it works really well! If there are future additions I'd love to explore how firm the Bookeaters abilities/disabilities are. Can they not read because of society, trauma, or is it because of biology? How effective is the ability to eat books? I'm currently obsessed with multi-personalities and fusion personalities (Shout-out The Locked Tomb and Steven Universe) so I'm very excited to explore how Kai evolves. Overall a read I found underwhelming, but so full of neat ideas I spent many more hours trying to dissect and fix what I thought was lacking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

mo345's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Trafficking and Acephobia/Arophobia

touchegiantsquid's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Brilliantly forces the reader to confront the truth that everything actually does have a price, that perfect is unobtainable, and that living in the real world requires accepting tradeoffs. Even though the main character repeatedly says there's no price on love, the plot reveals there is nothing without a price.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Acephobia/Arophobia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Trafficking

kurumipanda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Acephobia/Arophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

quihi's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

I really enjoyed it once I got into it. Unfortunately, it took me two thirds of the book to get really into it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

ashwaar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Living secretly within British society are the book eaters, ancient families that survive on literature to sustain and give them knowledge. Devon is part of one of these families, and as a rare girl, her future is carefully negotiated to ensure she produces heirs for their dwindling population. But when she gives birth to a mind-eater, a being who craves and survives on human minds rather than books, Devon must escape from the families to save her son.

A lot is happening in this book, and the story only becomes more intense, gritty and grotesque as it continues. It comes with all sorts of trigger warnings, so be sure to check those out if you’re unsure! But overall, I thought this was a pretty interesting premise, if a little contrived. It sounds a little like an idea I’d think up in my English class at secondary school, but it’s also pretty cool to see someone write it in an actual book.

The story is complex and compelling, jumping between present-day on-the-run Devon and her past, growing up within the families. There is a lot of legacy and lore in the book, and I think the author does well blending it all with the current narrative. You learn more alongside younger Devon, and as a reader, I felt very comfortable with this pacing.

At the same time as I found this book interesting and engaging, I also found it pretty tough to read at points. Because every character does terrible gruesome things, I found it hard to have sympathy or find a connection with any of them. I also found the setting a bit weird, and juxtaposing these mysterious families with the average UK life didn’t feel right. Maybe it would have felt more fitting in its own world, but I know that’s even more lore and background to commit to. It’s not a big complaint for me, and I got used to it as the story went on.

Overall, this was a pretty solid book, just not completely my cup of tea. It’s very plot-heavy, and I’m more of a character-and-vibes reader. I also thought it was very gory, and although I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it doesn’t make it very enjoyable to read at points. It’s one of those books where I think you’ll be able to tell from a review if you’ll like it or not, and hopefully, I’ve been able to help you out a little bit.

Read more on Wordpress at Bookmarked by Ash: https://book990337086.wordpress.com/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Car accident, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit