Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea

28 reviews

motz_stick's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

A really great read by a promising new author, but I also wished it was longer. A few parts felt rushed and glossed over (see spoiler section. )

The sudden mention of Rose Marie as Josephine’s killer was great for anticipation, but it never felt fully confirmed. Similarly, the anticipation during Coralie’s killing had me gripping the edge of my seat, but it later felt anticlimactic. I would’ve liked to see the ending extended more than some of the repetitive content in the middle where we saw her greed/monstrosity grow. It felt as though killing her best friend didn’t impact her at all, which I could understand considering how Acheron affects her, but then she suddenly dropped that she was affected by it. Similarly, what happened to Rose Marie after she ran off? We learn that Laure is presumed dead yet returns to the ballet to quit, but there’s little mention of the others.

Despite my qualms with the pacing and focus, I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the second one in the series. The characters, although flawed, are really loveable and the romance is intoxicating. I’m looking forward to seeing more from Shea.

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pastelhxrmony's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

I loved this story all the way through. I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me follows the story of Laure, a ballerina in Paris, as she sacrifices herself to the ballet and an eldritch god and slowly becomes a monster.

*SPOILERS*

The things I liked

Great prose
Absolutely feral main character
Lots of great elements that kept me intrigued
Very good attention to detail, I could visualize the story unfold in my head very vividly

Things I didn’t like

The pacing was a bit rough in some areas but not unbearable.
I found it weird how some details are brought up and never addressed again. For ex, it’s mentioned that Laure had talked to the police after finding Joséphine yet this is never brought up again although it seems important
I also feel like Joséphine died too early and I think she could have been utilized a little longer. It felt like she was set up to play a bigger role imo

Overall an awesome debut. I did enjoy reading very much and I will definitely read the sequel !

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msrae89's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! It’s a dark story of a girl becoming a monster and finding her power. The book was beautifully written, and the story was fascinating! For comparison it felt like a blend of Black Swan and Vicious by V. E Schwab but still wholly unique.
There were some pacing issues but my biggest critique is that I wish Laure would have gone darker at the end. She had to suffer so much racism and classism, and in the end

just giving her notice and staying “you wanted too much from me”

just felt a little frustrating. Those other characters will never know the kindness Laura showed them.

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katyakat's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

The story takes a bit of time to really get going, and it requires some knowledge of ballet to fully appreciate the nuances. Jamison Shea clearly did extensive research for this book, and it shows. She’s not afraid to delve into the darker sides of friendship, exploring themes like jealousy and toxic traits.

One aspect I particularly enjoyed, and something I always appreciate in books, is how Laure accepts that she has a darker, not always kind personality. It’s refreshing to see a character who acknowledges their flaws and struggles with the societal pressures to fit into a box of what others think they should be. This adds a layer of depth and realism to her character, making her journey all the more compelling.

The second half of the book truly shines. However, the first 150 pages felt a bit slow, lacking the pace that would make it more gripping. While this slower start does provide a clear insight into Laure’s character and mindset, it could have benefited from more action to keep readers engaged.

Despite this, Shea crafts a fascinating world that kept me intrigued, and I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel. She has a talent for creating compelling settings and complex characters, and I’m excited to see where she takes the story next.

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talonsontypewriters's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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menastarr's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.5

this is like a knockoff YA version of “black swan” with fantastical elements

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boomwormbrittany's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me follows Laure who is an aspiring ballerina who is trying to be a part of the cut throat world of the Parisian ballet. When she has the opportunity to sacrifice a part of herself to get ahead, there is nothing she wouldn't do to get ahead of those who would keep her down.
I thought this was such an interesting book to read. I do want to say that I know absolutely NOTHING about ballet other than it's cut throat and pretty brutal to the people who are a part of it. That being said I thought that this was a really interesting behind the scenes look at that scene and not only how brutal it is for normal ballerina's but with ballerina's who are people of color.
I thought Laurie was an intersting main character to follow. She is very much who she is and proud of who she is. She's someone who will do anything to get ahead including selling part of her soul to this unknown entity in the Paris catacombs. I don't think she was meant to be a likable character but she was realistic and I loved that about her. She had an appetite to get ahead and she wasn't going to let anyone tell her no.
A lot of this story does revolve around the ballet and the very difficult nature of what that entails. That being said, since it is so focused on ballet, it is not a quick paced book by any means but it is a fascinating one that will keep you hooked.
This book is also a horror so if you are sensitive to gore to descriptions of gore, I would recommend maybe being wary going into this. I didn't find the "gory" scenes to be too grotesque as this is still Young Adult but I could see how it could make other people uncomfortable.
Overall, I thought this was a pretty solid book. I enjoyed my time while reading it. I'm not sure if I will pick up the second book as I felt this was a great wrap up to the end and I wouldn't need more from the story. If you are looking for an interesting, Young Adult horror book to read, definitely pick this up.

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