Buy: Amazon
Review
2.5 stars
The follow up to the amazing Anathema, this book is a continuation of Maevyth and Zevander’s story and absolutely cannot be read as a standalone. While the first book rocked my world, this one is a lot slower paced with not a whole lot of story progression, and it felt like a bit of a slog to get through it.
In Anathema, Maevyth was ripped from her life in the mortal world and transported into the land of Aethyria, full of danger, intrigue and magical powers. She met the broody and mysterious (of course) Zevander, and his friends and family, and started to uncover unknown powers and understand why she was such an outcast in her small village.
Now, Maevyth and Zevander have travelled back to the mortal world on a desperate mission to find a hidden artefact which will break the devastating curse that is causing him to slowly lose his mind. But everything has changed. Maevyth’s village is overrun by supernatural monsters, and an evil power is lurking, threatening to break down the wall between the two worlds and bring death and destruction to all.
This book is written in multiple perspectives, from both Maevyth and Zevander on their journey, and Zevander’s friends in Aethyria trying to help them. As with the first book, I enjoyed the dual POVs, but I really don’t feel like Kazhimyr’s POV added much. There’s also a large proportion of the book which gives us Zevander’s backstory. Honestly, I didn’t need it. It’s devastating and tragic and undoubtedly triggering to a lot of readers. I feel like I understood him already, and though we are given some insights which bring depth to the relationships and connect to the broader story, the flashbacks felt too detailed and drawn out for what they added overall.
What I did enjoy was the romance. Maevyth and Zevander’s relationship continues to develop, and I enjoyed seeing them be vulnerable and open with each other, and to honestly let their feelings out. Their love story is beautiful, sweet and steamy, with lots of swoony moments.
“I have stood on the brink of death more times than I can count, have endured all levels of pain, but nothing would bring me more suffering than losing you.”
“I love you, Lunamiszka … I’m a godless and selfish bastard, but I’ve never loved anything, or anyone, more.”
It’s a long read, and for the most part it’s pretty slow moving. I did a reread of Anathema before starting this one, so I was fully in the zone and raring to go, but even listening to this as an audiobook, it took me a long time to get through it. It reads like a ‘filler’ book since this changed from a duology to a trilogy, and most of it felt very unnecessary.
The setting is dark and gothic, with moments of horror and gore. There are some scenes which are pretty freaking gross, and this book felt nasty just for the sake of shock value rather than the rich world building that I enjoyed about the first book.
Having said that, I am invested in the story and look forward to the third and final book in the series. I need to see how the nasty cliffhanger plays out, I need certain people to get their well-deserved vengeance, and I need to see happy endings for everybody!
Slightly disappointing, but I’m still holding on.
2.5 stars.
Like the first book, the audio is narrated James Cassidy and Melissa Barr in duel narration style, and they do a wonderful job! They bring the characters to life, and Cassidy’s range of character voices is fantastic.
The Eating Woods
