The Book Eaters is centred around an urban fantasy/horror world, where ‘Eaters exist. The main character, Devon, is one such ‘Eater and one of the titular Book Eaters in fact. Book Eaters are slowly essentially becoming extinct though, largely due to how they live separate and in secret from humans, without any way of getting identification to pass through borders to where other ‘Eaters are.

This leaves the six remaining Book Eater families slightly out of options, and they end up forcing daughters into arranged marriages in the hopes that a girl will be born. Sons are seen as a disappointment, but even worse is when the baby isn’t even a Book Eater, but a Mind Eater instead (identified by a very long tongue).

The Book Eaters starts with Devon on the run with her son Cai, born a Mind Eater, in the present day, carrying out some… extremely morally grey acts. We’re slowly drip fed more of the past throughout, in interchanging past and present chapters, and it definitely helps you to keep your attention and result in you absolutely needing to read more.

To elaborate on the morally grey, one of the biggest factors in this story is that Devon will do whatever it takes to look after Cai. She’s seen as “wrong” for how much she cares about him, when Book Eater women are really supposed to just have the child, look after them for a couple of years and then never see them again. Devon isn’t supposed to have any kind of bond at all.

Likewise, this is a story that delves into the main character discovering her own sexuality. She’s been told she has to be with men, and she has been to keep the families happy, but she realises she actually likes other women. I found it really bittersweet when she meets a man from one of the families… he tells her he’s asexual and the stark contrast seeing how that is just a part of him and doesn’t interfere with his life because he isn’t “required” to make baby ‘Eaters, to Devon having no choice in the matter, is fairly hard-hitting to read.

The world building is fantastic, the book ends up being a kind of hybrid fantasy horror but set in the real world, and there were a couple of endearing characters also. Devon herself starts off as very standoffish from the start, but as we learn more about her story it becomes clearer that really she’s just trying to do the best she can to protect those she cares about.

Quick note about the ending: I’m very glad I bought the Waterstones edition because the epilogue (bonus content) was exactly what I needed after finishing the main book!

A dark fantasy with a very unique execution. Was very curious about this book since it was Illumicrate’s pick of the month and I can see why it has been selected. The intriguing premise and the great storytelling, made for a page flipping read

I know it sounds like a cliche to say I devoured this book, but really…I did! I read through this in 3 days flat - without even trying or meaning to or realising! Sunyi Dean is an incredible storyteller and has crafted a spectacular piece of literature here. This book is incredible and so so clever. The horror mixed with the fantasy, the unique magic of the book-eaters, the people who eat minds over books…everything was so clearly thought through with so much depth that the world and everyone in it was so fleshed out and vividly brought to life. From the first page I was hooked until the last. I was racing through the pages determined to find out what happened next, and next, and next. The characters I loved, the plot I loved, the whole book: I am obsessed. The plot moved fast enough to keep me interested but not so fast I felt like I had whiplash. The natural representation was also so heartwarming for me. I was expecting to like this book, but I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I do. This is definitely one I’ll return to again and again. Spooky, magical, clever and creative. This book is my perfect cup of tea - and just in time for spooky season!

I was looking forward to this book as its a monthly book in one of my book subscriptions, so surely it must be good if they've invested in it, and I wasn't wrong.

It has a very interesting concept, people having to survive by eating books instead of food but then the rare people that need to consume brains instead. This is a very dark fantasy with really good world building and descriptions throughout.

The Book Eaters has been one of my most highly anticipated 2022 books since it was announced. The concept of characters who eat books?! It's a bookworms worst nightmare really, but also incredibly intriguing. I loved learning more and more about these fascinating monsters who devoured books, quite literally and the effect this had on them.
From the moment I started this book I was hooked! Devon is a brilliant morally grey main character who is attempting to protect her Mind Eater son, rather than books he has an appetite for human minds. The story is so beautifully written with regular flashbacks to Devon's past. The author keeps a fine balance between the past and the present, ensuring the reader is kept informed with just the right amount of backstory and current events.
Initially this book seems like just a unique tale about book eating creatures, but there's much more depth and darkness than you'd expect. Themes of the story include domestic abuse, controlling patriarchal families and oppression of women.
My only criticism would be that the ending felt very rushed and took away some of my enjoyment of the story. The pace of the rest of the novel was fantastic and really built up suspense for a slightly disappointing ending.
This is definitely a book I would recommend but please make yourself aware of trigger warnings.

This is an amazingly original dark fantasy book about a secret society of supernatural beings that must consume books to survive. However females are not as common as males and therefore their numbers are dwindling, so the females muse marry and follow a number of laws and follow rules which included childbearing.

We follow Devon, a mother to a "mind eater" which must consume human minds in order to survive. After her first born child, a female got taken away from her, Devon fled with her second child and struggles to live among humans and to rear and child with an appetite for them.

This novel was gothic and darkly compelling, with family drama woven in it felt fresh and original. Highly recommend!

This was such a fascinating concept: a species of people that feed on books of any kind, rather than food, but with the exception of the rare ones that require actual brain matter to survive, thus practically killing the humans in the process.
This was quite a slow burn, a deliciously dark novel full of lots of themes on morality, sexism, and questions of what's right and wrong.

What an interesting concept! What a wild ride!

I love the idea behind this book, and all the backstory and world-building that has obviously gone into it. The book eaters fascinate me, and so do the... other eaters, so to speak. It's a really cool little world the author has built, and there's an excellent story to go with it.

Devon was an extremely enjoyable character to read about. She was complex and complicated, just the way I like them. You could always understand her motivations. Her story was also really interesting, with so many twists and turns. I love all the different games she was playing and the different people she was deceiving, and I enjoyed the slow unravelling and revealing of every part of her story. Her little romance was also really good, and I was rooting for them the whole time. So many other great characters as well, like Jarrett, Amarinder, and even Killock and his family. They're all complex and well-developed with their own stories and backgrounds. I definitely recommend this unique book to most readers.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

This is touted as horror/fantasy horror which isn’t a genre I would normally reach for but the premise sounded really interesting.

I’m so glad I did read this. I loved the idea, I found it really original and found the makeup of the Book Eater society fascinating. The characterisation was fully realised, I really felt like I understood the motivations of the MC.

I do wish the ending wasn’t quite as rushed/more complete, but that’s a personal preference as I like my stories not left open-ended in any way.

I definitely would recommend this, and I will be looking out for the authors next book.

The Book Eaters is an outstanding horror fantasy novel about six groups of families that live on a diet of stories, legends, and books. The number of Book Eaters is dwindling, so producing offspring is vital. When Devon's second child is born a Mind Eater, she runs before her family can use her son. How far will one go to protect someone they love? This is such an original concept with fantastic world-building throughout. Highly recommended! Be sure to check out The Book Eaters today.

Absolute banger about a mother's unwaverable love for her children. I was gripped to both timelines from the beginning. Loved the world building and the tour of the UK. The characters were brilliant, especially Devon. The development there was so good, from her past to her present. It just really worked!

Anyway I literally ate this book up (lol). It's pretty short for the genre but that means it's packed full. Just vibes to be honest.

This book really wasn't for me. I just couldn't get into it and I dnf at about 60% I'm sure some will love this book it's very well written just not for me.

Dark and vivid world building, an involving story that delves into the maternal instinct and the power of friendship. It's a bit different and fascinating.

Wow. I have never read a book like this before. What to say 5 stars definitely it was dark, moody. The characters were well written it was just brilliant. I'd like to thank Netgalley for allowing me to review it.

Firstly I'd like to say thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
I've managed to get to 20% of this book, and I will keep going with it because I am now enjoying it. I must admit though that it did take me an awful long time to get into the story, only just beginning to fully get into and enjoy it. It confused me a lot, I've now begun to get round to the back story and the present story so it's making more sense. The book is well written by the author and well thought out (to this point anyway) I look forward to seeing where this story leads to.
Happy Reading 🙂

Book Eaters! Dragons (Uhm, please don't try to imagine the flying beasts though..)! Knights! Nothing is as it sounds. I absolutely love the concept of this parallel world and people living beside and amongst us. And they are not your traditional fantasy book kind of supernatural creatures, such as vampires. The blurb of the book is quite accurate, so I'm not going into the details, that might ruin your appetite later!

It's a beautifully written book. The language is rather modern but not simple, furthermore - craftily woven without being overwhelming. A pleasure to read. An absorbing and engaging read, lovely pace, which grows the speed as you read until culmination at the very end. Lovely twists and turns.

Reaching the end of the book.. it begs a question though... will there be a second one? I'm already curious of what happens next!

The book eaters is a truly unique urban fantasy novel based around a humanoid race of book eaters instead of food they consume and absorb literary worlds to survive.

You follow Devon as she grows up in this fairytale world that soon becomes more of a nightmare.

As female book eaters are becoming more and more rare arranged marriages are the norm and Devon is forced into a life she would have never chosen she is there for one reason and that is to produce heirs.

How will she ever escape this world?

This book has stunning imagery , great politics and I found it overall a really enjoyable read and would love to come back to this world and see what Devon does next!

The book eaters is a truly unique book that was so entertaining to read. In it there are groups of families who survive by eating books, a concept that I've never heard of before.

Our main character Devon comes across as morally grey, but only because the world she lives in has forced her to be. She has grown up in a world were woman are married off and made to produce offspring as the book eaters number are dwindling. When her second child is born different, she runs away with him rather than risking losing him like her first child. She is willing to do anything to keep him safe.

Usually I'm not one for books that are based around parent/child relationships, but I'd make an exception for this. I adore morally grey characters and this book really satisfied my love for that.

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean is a clever fantasy horror with a unique premise. Spread across England are six Book Eater families. Physically they look human, but they are something different entirely, and they live in heavily guarded seclusion with as little interaction with humans as possible. Their numbers are dwindling an an unoffial breeding programme between the families mean that Book Eater women are forced to marry off and bear children at a young age. To diversify the gene pool they are separated from their children at the age of three and sent off to another family to begin the process again, something that our protagonist Devon has railed against from the moment she realised her fate. As the name suggests ,most Book Eaters eat books not food, chewing on the printed pages and retaining much of the knowledge that they absorb in this manner, but a small minority crave the knowledge found in the human mind. These Mind Eaters are born different, and it is obvious from birth because they have a proboscis like tongue that they use to feed by inserting it into their victim's ear. The craving was irresistible so many of these creatures were killed at birth until one of the families developed a drug which controlled the urge to feed , but with the sudden disappearance of that family supplies of the drug are rapidly running out , and once they do, it will be a nightmare, not just for the Book Eater families but for the human world too. When Devon's second child is born a Mind Eater she is forced to flee or see him die. Life on the run with him forces Devon to do things she never would have dreamt of , and soon she realises that her only hope is to find the missing Family and the secret to the drug that only they know.
This is a tense book, constantly keeping the reader on edge as they follow Devon and her son. The concept of Book Eaters was so interesting and the Mind Eaters was a clever and terrifying twist on the vampire idea. The author uses dual timelines to help the reader understand Book Eater society and culture by telling us about Devon's upbringing while keeping the pace moving with the current day escape storyline. Devon is a great character. strong willed , stubborn, brave and above all determined to save her son no matter the cost. She is certainly not always likeable, but she is always interesting.
This is a dark survival story with a difference and I highly recommend it.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Wickedly dark and deliciously unique, I devoured this story as if I were a book eater myself. I just couldn't put it down!

Through a fast paced plot and a truly fascinating concept, Sunyi Dean introduces us to an extraordinary species, who survive in our human world by, you guessed it... eating books.
The world building is just incredible and by alternating between past and present, the story delves deep into the Book Eaters history, and questionable family dynamics so we can learn of troublesome traditions, lies and betrayals and of a "curse" that can befall their kind - it's all very, very intense!

When the unthinkable happens and Devon's son is born "cursed" it is her path that we follow, as she tries to escape the cruelty of the Book Eater way. What ensues is a gothic and gritty tale that highlights the defiance AND loyalty of one woman willing to do anything in order to protect her child - it's one hell of a journey, full of twists, unease and deeply complex relationships. I really enjoyed it! 📖🍽️