How to Be Eaten is one of those books which could have been absolutely brilliant but ended up being just decent. For a feminist retelling which was set up to explore such interesting themes, I was left somewhat underwhelmed by the lack of originality in said themes, and disappointed by what could have been the books biggest strength. The concept of fairy tale protagonists in modern day New York City going to therapy was sheer brilliance and opens up the floor for a lot of interesting discussions and character interactions- which unfortunately didn’t really happen. Don’t get me wrong, there’s quite a bit of themes explored regarding the representation of women in media, but none of it is groundbreaking or particularly insightful- mostly revolving around how the self you see in media is not your real self and how women’s stories in particular get distorted and weaponized against them. These themes are important to discuss, and underexplored- but none of them were done in a way I felt was particularly groundbreaking or insightful. I did enjoy seeing how each of the stories would be adapted to the modern world, and how they were changed from the original story. Yet here too, I was somewhat disappointed. Some of the stories where basically indistinguishable from the originals, sans a different setting and spliced in with details from their lives which could have been parts of basically any city-liver’s story. I liked how Rania’s story (Rumpelstiltskin) and Ashlee’s (Cinderella,) were changed and enjoyed being introduced to the story of Bluebeard through Berniece (although I really didn’t like her character). There have been a lot of complaints about the characters in this book- and yes none of them are girls girls, none of them made all of the right choices, but maybe I just have a higher tolerance for annoying characters than most people because I honestly didn’t mind them, although I did find them frustratingly flat particularly considering they were supposed to bring life to very stereotyped and pigeon-holed personalities. Nor did I feel the impact of trauma, something else that this book was set up to explore was ever fully developed and we never really got to see how it impacted their characters all that much. Something which I would have loved to see further developed, and which this book tried to do was how women can connect and help each other heal. This was a perfect opportunity to create strong relationships between the characters, and have the women take the lead from Will (which they kind of did,) to explore their own stories and bond over their shared experiences. But I never really felt like there was that strong of a connection between them, despite it being set up at the end like there was. Overall, an amazing concept which was set up for success but managed to get only halfway there and brought up some important points of discussion but didn’t add anything original to them. Overview How to Be Eaten was… just fine. It had a lot of potential and room to grow, but never fully reached the level I wanted it to, leaving it somewhat surface-level and me underwhelmed. There were some genuinely interesting parts in how some of the stories were adapted- but not enough behind the stories to really make it meaningful. Would I recommend? This one is tricky for me because on the one hand, the concept says yes, and there were genuinely parts that I enjoyed, but on the other hand I don’t actually think it was that well done. But if you love retellings (or obviously for the read along!) I’d give it a shot.

It has nothing to do with the idea of us becoming dogs, and everything to do with the fact of us being girls.

Heart wrenching, enchanting, and a biting commentary, The Hounding had me hooked from the first page. Girls and women are so frequently forced into a box defined by men-but The Hounding explores what happens to those who don’t conform. What I liked First the simple narrative choice of having several perspectives-but none of them the girl’s was sheer brilliance. This is a story about men’s perception of women, and how they are persecuted because of it. Both the characters that we were in the heads off and the Mansfield sisters themselves were exceptional. Each of them to say something about how women are seen. Thomas is a love-struck fool, but brave and kind, nonetheless; he has no interest in girls until he wants one. Joseph Mansfield, well-meaning, good intentioned, yet unable to save the girls he loves because he didn’t listen to them. Pete Darling, the epidemy of an insecure power-hungry man, who hates any woman who doesn’t like him, and even those that do if they threaten to have any independence. Robin, poor gentle Robin is our example of how the patriarchy hurts men, by forcing them too into a box of violence. My heart broke for him. Temprance, our single women’s perspective, shows how women are so frequently and easily ignored, or brushed over. Then there’s the Mansfield’s themselves-Anne, Elizebth, Hester, Grace and Mary. Each of them beautifully unique and independent, all of them defying something about what women “should be” according to men. They are tightly woven together and always look out for each other. What I didn’t like There’s no denying that this is slowly paced, although I wouldn’t necessarily consider that a bad thing. It takes a bit for the story to get started, and for things to actually get going. I personally didn’t mind it, though I could easily see how that would turn some people off. I also wish there was a little more meat to it. Don’t get me wrong, it makes amazing points about being a woman and how women are perceived, I just wished those points were developed further, as at times they felt kind surface level. Overview The Hounding is a brilliant look at how girls are perceived by our society and what happens when they deviate from that unachievable perfect perception. The characters really shine through, although the pacing drags in some places. Would I recommend? If you like slower, literary books with strong characters than yes. The speculative fiction elements are used as a metaphor beautifully, exploring what happens to girls who don’t fit the male standard.

Look, I’m about to be a hater, but I’m also going to preface this review by saying this was Not For Me, and I knew that going in. Romance centered books are just not my thing. But I think it’s almost worse when there’s a plot which could have been interesting, but which was instead relegated secondary to the romance. Which is fine, but again not for me. But when both the actual plot and the romance plot are both so annoying, both so unrealistic, and both so stereotypical, with nothing- no good worldbuilding or interesting characters, to prop them up I found myself asking if this book was for anyone. Which clearly it was, it has its fans but I found the whole thing significantly lacking. What I liked Some of the dialogue was genuinely witty and clever, some of the banter genuinely funny. I am someone who loves banter and clever dialogue. But the majority of this fell flat for me and ended up just feeling cheesy. The concept of magical birds is an amazing one. One which failed to be executed well on. What I didn’t like Let’s start with the part I could have liked- the birds. Magical birds as seen by ornithologists, sounds fascinating and it could have been. If the birds were actually given the attention that they deserved. For what seemed to be the book’s biggest selling point, way more time was spent gazing lustily into each other’s eyes then gazing at the birds. When the birds were gazed at I was left somewhat unimpressed by the lack of creativity and variety of the birds. Frost themed, or flesh-eating birds are hardly unique. Honestly most of the birds felt like re-themed dragons. I am as much as a dragon fan as the next person, but I want a bird book, not a dragon book with feathers. Perhaps it’s fortunate that I didn’t want a bird book because this is really a romance book. A romance built solely on long gazes and insubstantial bickering. From academic rivals to lovers, except the rivals part was only mentioned when Holton thought it was convenient. Namely at the biggening of the story to establish a little bit of tension, and then never again significantly. Because their instant attraction was too overwhelmingly powerful and their insta-lust so strong they couldn’t help but fall in love with each other. And that insta-lust immediately took over what little plot there actually was. But the plot that was there was not that great to being with. Yes, the concept of a magical ornithology competition is amazing, the potential high. Unfortunately, in addition to the heavy focus on romance at the expense of the plot, the plot was the most boring, cliqued nonsensical thing I’ve ever read. The amount of newspaper reporters running around without any of the characters noticing anything weird was genuinely insane. But then again, they were too busy gazing at each other, and for supposedly accomplished professors they demonstrated a remarkable lack of intelligence. All of the characters seemed to just be the most stereotypical versions of themselves they could possibly. If I heard “By Jove” one more time I think I would actually turn into a raging Brit. But by far the most frustrating of all the characters was Beth. Being a woman in academia is hard. But she let herself get walked over and showed a remarkable lack of understanding, (do NOT get me started on the French Fishermen) agency, and just general intelligence. Overview An excellent concept, but poor execution. I went in with my expectations low and knowing this book would not be for me, but I underestimated just how much I would not enjoy it. It could have surprised me, but instead it was one of the most stereotypical, insta-lust books I’ve ever read. Would I recommend? Frankly, no. If you are more of a romance reader than maybe, but I don’t think the romance that’s here is even that great. Unless you’re going for the sparkly fall read along badge, save your time. It’s not worth it.