howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

 Unfortunately, this was kind of awful. It was so erratic and hard to follow, and I assume that's because the author was trying to keep the reader guessing enough to avoid figuring out the twist, but like many other reviewers have mentioned, I saw it coming from the first page. I spent most of the story vaguely annoyed and wondering how Harry Potter fanfic masquerading as a short horror story got placed into this collection.
 

 This was a fun, interesting little short story, and while I saw the twist coming a mile away, I really enjoyed how it unfolded. This was my first piece of Lisa Unger's writing, but I'm definitely interested in reading more of her work!
 

 I don't really know why this didn't work better for me, it just... didn't. It's a really cool concept (a world where people have their hearts removed so they can avoid the distraction and pain of human emotions), but everything felt pretty flat and boring despite the potential. The art was interesting and I liked the minimal uses of color to notate specific things like flashbacks and certain emotionally charged moments, and I'd definitely give this author another chance in the future. This is the sort of book that will probably work better for a lot of readers, so if you're into the idea, I would definitely give it a chance!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

 I read the original version of Hide last year when it released, and while I enjoyed it, I remember thinking it had a lot of facets that didn't translate well to a written novel and would have worked better in a visual medium, like a film or mini-series—or, lo and behold, a graphic novel!

I was right: this format works so much better for telling this story! While the vast array of characters felt too same-y in the regular book, they were so much easier to tell apart with visual depictions (kudos to the artist for making even fairly similar characters very easy to tell apart!), and the theme park setting and its secrets were so much fun in this format.

I had a blast re-visiting this story and I highly recommend picking up a copy of this graphic novel for your summer horror reading, whether you've read the original novel or not. It's a brilliantly done, enjoyable, faithful adaptation and I liked it a lot!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

 Let me preface this entire review by saying that I have been a fan of Eric's since reading Starving Ghosts in Every Thread back in 2020, and I have given every release of theirs 4-5 stars. I generally think of myself as someone who "gets" (and thoroughly enjoys!) Eric's particular flair for traumatic, bizarre horror and purple prose.

Unfortunately, we all know the saying "there's an exception to every rule", and it seems that Everything the Darkness Eats is my exception for Eric's books, because this book did not work for me on multiple levels.

First, the biggest issue I had was the writing. The narrative voice was so heavy on metaphors and similes that it became distracting. I found myself re-reading paragraphs because my attention was continuously being snagged by lengthy similes, sometimes back-to-back with multiple in the span of just a few sentences.

Second, the split plot lines became frustrating for me. Everything the Darkness Eats follows two unrelated main characters, Ghost and Malik, and their stories have nothing in common until the last few pages. Even when the story all came together, it felt unnatural to me and I still found myself wishing that these had been two entirely separate novellas instead of one combined book.

Third, while I have no issue at all with queer trauma in horror, I do have a problem with sexual assault being handled poorly: specifically, a rape victim - in the middle of a graphic rape scene - thinking of his attacker as "his god", and then later empathizing with his rapist and viewing the man as attractive. I won't harp on about this one too much because I know everyone reacts to assault differently, but as a survivor, I was immensely uncomfortable with this depiction.

Fourth, the ableism regarding a blind child made me mad every single time she was mentioned. Whether she was on the page or being mentioned by another character, it was a constant barrage of comments about how pitiful and helpless she was, or what a burden it was for her mother to raise her, and so on.

And finally, there were many moments where the suspension of disbelief was too much of a stretch for me to accomplish. A little blind girl wandering off on her own all the time, a mother instantly falling for the man who (very creepily) plays with her disabled daughter at the hospital, a man stopping in the middle of a ritual sacrifice to answer the doorbell... the list goes on.

Truly, I'm heartbroken writing this review. It pains me to leave a scathing review for a hyped new release from an author I love with my whole heart, but I can't help feeling like this book needed much more editing work and to be split into two smaller pieces. If that had been the case, the base storylines had potential and could have been just as great as everything else I've read from Eric, but the end result here didn't work for me in any way.

I still love Eric's books and will excitedly read their next release because this is only one miss for me after a long line of hits, but I won't be recommending Everything the Darkness Eats and would instead strongly encourage you to pick up any other title from this author.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Malik is gay and Muslim, Brett is gay, Ghost is bisexual and disabled (walks with a cane), Heart is gay, Piper is blind 

 I forever love all things Animorphs, so when I saw these graphic novel adaptations at my library, I checked them out so fast! This story is perfect for a graphic adaptation. The artwork is gorgeous and does justice to the freaky nature of the kids' shifting in a way that CGI never could, plus the aliens all look incredible (especially the Andalites, who are perfectly illustrated). Needless to say, I loved this - both on its own, and as a faithful adaptation to the original first book - and I highly recommend it, whether you're a life-long Ani-fan like me or someone brand new to the franchise.
 

 A gay main character who's obsessed with horror films, an ominous gothic mystery taking place in the ranch family's vacation home, and a syrupy sweet forbidden queer romance? Sign me up.

I absolutely loved this graphic novel! Cade is such a sweet little softie and I adored the Henries (especially Henrietta). I appreciated the content warnings in the author's note at the beginning of the book, as this book does involve a fair bit of the cruel realities that queer teens (especially in rural areas) are used to living through, and I thought it was all balanced really well with the fluffy bits to keep things from getting too sad.

I highly recommend this graphic novel and will most likely be grabbing a finished copy for my shelves, because this is the sort of story I could see myself revisiting for sure!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Cade is Latinx and gay, Henry is gay, Dale and Alice are Black