Anathema (The Eating Woods)

I had put off starting this series because I am very much a mood reader! I’m so glad I was finally in the moody because Holy Monsters it was way more than I imagined. The dark, spooky worlds drag you in by your feet and the characters sink their nails in and hold on tight! The MMC yearns in his mask and hooded cloak so hard. I very much enjoyed the world building and the slow burn, the magic system is really cool as well. I look forward to starting Eldritch tonight. I will say I picked up the audio book and it was 5/5 star. It also helped to hear how some of the name and places were probably pronounced.

This book was utterly beautiful and the writing was absolutely stunning. The gothic atmosphere is incredibly immersive and really makes you feel like you are surrounded by it. The characters are done extremely well. They are very in depth and all filled with amazing backstories. This book is extremely slow moving though. I was intrigued but beginning to lose steam around the 40% mark. We start to get a little more of a pace pickup after that but honestly not a whole lot happens until you get to the last 30% of the book. I love other books written by this author so I pushed through it and I’m glad I did. I’m hoping, since this is a series, we will get more action in the next book. The world building is out of this world (I’m a big fan of elaborate world building) so that definitely plays into some of the slow pace in the beginning. I did keep having to refer to the glossary in the front to be able to keep up with the story as well as it is very intricate and reads more like high fantasy. The magic system is unique and the worlds are incredibly interesting with all the different creatures and races. The ending is beautiful and leaves you wanting for more. It’s dark, poetic, and emotional. I’m very excited to continue this series.

From the cover to the blurb to the very first chapter, Anathema had me. Once I started listening, I genuinely did not want to leave this world. This is a story that asks for patience with its worldbuilding, but for me, that was part of the experience. I was completely invested, surrendering to the flow of Keri Lake’s beautiful prose and allowing the world to unfold around me. With every chapter, I fell deeper into a place I wanted to wrap myself in and never leave. The atmosphere gave me serious The Witcher vibes: dark, dangerous, immersive, and filled with battles and monsters grotesque enough to make my skin crawl. Add an incredibly fascinating magic system and a story woven with hope, love, loyalty, grief, and trust, and I was completely consumed. And then there’s the slow burn. My undoing. I became completely invested in Maevyth’s journey, while Zevander officially earned himself a place on my fictional crush list. The audiobook narration only made that obsession worse. The voice, presence, and emotion of the performance brought his character to life and made an already immersive story even better. Anathema is the kind of experience that leaves me chasing the high afterward. I finished completely fascinated by this world, attached to these characters, and nowhere near ready to let them go. Five stars, one new fictional crush, and immediately on to book two.

"He'd lived too long with the practicality of knowing the stars were too far out of reach, and yet, in his arms lay the brightest of them all. The girl with the moon in her eyes and fire in her soul." THIS IS HOW YOU DO A GOTHIC FANTASY! The prologue traps you before the story begins, luring you into what's to come. Filled with rage, agony, and immeasurable sadness-it demands your attention. I couldn't stay away for long. The world building and magic system is fresh, digestible, and unforgiving. Keri Lake truly did not hold back! The story follows Maevyth who is casted as the disease in her hometown due to being found in The Eating Woods. Not knowing who or where she came from, the people of Mortasia never fail to remind her that she will never belong. The only person she can claim her own, her heart, is her stepsister, Aleysia. The two are an unlikely pair that depict deep and true sisterhood. The other POV we follow is, Zevander's- which had to be some of my favorite time spent in this book. He embodies the very meaning of morally gray. Cursed at a young age and deemed unlovable in ways he aches for yet fights for scrapes of, while looking for a cure- he is shackled into caring for his siblings while also serving the king. When a mage sends him on a mission to collect the very thing that can cure him, the two POV'S finally collide. What I appreciated as a reader who has been seeking out Fantasy books that carry weight more in its plot rather than romance, is what this book is. We could not receive the climax between the main characters without the story being woven throughout, giving you the WHY first and then letting everything else unravel later. The action felt like watching a movie! There were moments I audibly yelled "WAIT WHAT" with a smile on my face. It was vivid, provided comedic relief and had me on the edge of my seat. The pages where we saw Maeve and Zevander blossom romantically (even the crumbs) were well earned, EXTREMELY well paced, and packed with feet stomping banter. When we do get a sliver of something, the story begs for them to be apart, but when they're back on page together, they seamlessly pick up where they left off. It was absolutely mouthwatering. The audiobook was a stunning production by James Cassidy and Melissa Bar. Sometimes you pick up an audiobook and one narrator out shines the other, not here. Both left no crumbs- from their passion, different voices, and ability to capture the aura and essence of both main characters- left me with my jaw on the floor! One of the best audiobooks so far this year! **Please be sure to read all TW/CW. Although an enjoyable read, some of it's contents and eeriness, may not be for suitable for everyone. Your mental health comes first. **

This book was so incredibly written to where one minute I was on the edge of my seat and the next I was swooning over Zevander and his cold charm. This book was a book that had a unique touch that I haven’t read in a while. It’s a Gothic Romantasy. That alone gives you an idea of how this novel was. For a while, my husband knew this book as “the scary book”. To give you some context, I never read or watch anything scary or horror of any kind. I embrace the fact that I’m a chicken and am totally fine with it. Anyway, the book had some horror moments that made me turn on the lights during night reading. It was descriptive, intense, and the most horror-ridden fantasy book I’ve personally ever read. With that being said, I actually loved it despite my unease. It was immersive and intriguing in a different way that I have nothing to compare it to. Now the romance is a whole other story (pun intended). The slow burn between our two leading characters was fiery, angsty, and entrancing. I’m not spoiling anything but may I say that the pain and sorrow is real in this book and is completely relatable to those who have been there. So the romance is a mix of so many emotions and intoxicating to read. I hope this review will entice you to enter Anathema and enjoy every bit of it.

I want to be fair, but also honest here; this book was excruciatingly slow and difficult to read. During the first 200 pages, I felt as if the author was just spewing facts just to get it on paper and out of the way. There were a lot of unnecessary descriptions, like a sexsell for example. It's pretty easy to determine what they do for a living without needing a description. It made for messy and confusing world building and also a really confusing magic system. Massive run on sentences full of too many details immediately took me out of the story. It wasn't until I began to skip them, that I was able to enjoy the plot, which is pretty decent. The story is told from two main characters, except one is in first person and the other is in third. This was jarring for me and frankly off-putting. What was done well; the monsters were brilliantly described and perfectly creepy! Action scenes were swift and to the point, even when written in first person. There was a lot of thought put into the world building and while it was way too much in the beginning, by the middle of the book slowed down and gave me time to process who was who. Will I read the second one? I'm not sure. I felt it could have used a heavier hand with editing the run on sentences, so if the author's other work is written the same way then I'll skip it.

I've said this before and I will say it again with the whole my chest: Keri Lake is incapable of writing a bad book. The queen of gothic romance has done it again, but Anathema - the first book in her The Eating Woods duology - feels notably elevated. In tone, cadence, craft, and feeling. This gothic romance is more dark gothic high-fantasy than anything else, but it still has the hallmarks of everything I've come to expect and love from Keri's books - from the exquisitely crafted heroines down to the vicious, broody, emotional constipation of her heroes. Maevyth is shaping up to be my new favorite Keri Lake heroine. The way Keri balances all of these different facets and nuances to Maevyth's character is nothing short of masterful - she's astonishingly resilient and has a mouth on her, but she's also deeply vulnerable and compassionate, even after everything she's had to endure. Her arc isn't quite done yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed the growth she's undergone so far and I can't wait to see the woman of ferocity and power she has the potential to become. Zevander is delicious. Tortured, broody, and the walking definition of "he hates everyone but her". Okay, so not everyone. He does love his sister (as do I. Rykaia is a devious, meddling hoot. Hopefully we'll get some scenes with her and Maevyth's sister, Aleysia. The absolute HAVOC those two could wreak would be nothing short of legendary - but I digress). This is one of the most masterfully executed slow-burns I have read in recent memory, perhaps even ever. This first have of the duology is over 700 pages long, but I was never bored for a single moment. The lore and world-building in this book is rich and decadent and the way Keri crafted each intricate detail was so vivid at times, it was almost effortless to see it all playing out in my head like a movie - and that is a feat only a small handful of authors have ever accomplished, and I can count them all on one hand. There are a number of tangling plots and threads and excellent moments of foreshadowing throughout the book, and several passages that almost felt almost lyrical in their construction, a beautiful dark kind of magic that makes me think of the highest quality of dark chocolate. I don't know - I'm struggling to adequately describe what this book made me feel throughout. It's just... it's just so good. While there is indeed a lot going on in this book, let's focus on the crème de la crème - the budding relationship between Maevyth and Zevander. From the very moment their paths cross, it's clear these two share something inexplicable. This dark assassin from another realm who has never hesitated or faltered couldn't bring himself to harm a single hair on an unassuming mortal's head. But as the two are thrown together by fate and exist in close quarters to one another for the following weeks, anyone with eyes is able to see that there's a darkness in Maevyth that is able to reach Zevander (and his poor elder brother, Branimir) when no one else has been able to. The mystery surrounding who and what Maevyth is is still in the process of being fully unveiled, but what we do get in this book is endlessly intriguing. As mentioned previously, this book is a proper slow-burn - in particular where the romance is concerned, so if you're looking for copious amounts of spice, this book won't be for you. Keri makes you wait for it, and the few teases we do get before those final chapters (yes, I said final chapters) are nothing short of delectable. It takes some serious talent to make doing anything but going all the way as effective as she has and I am forever in awe of this woman's talents. This book is dark and there are a number of deeply disturbing and sometimes outright horrifying moments (which made that whole aforementioned "easily able to picture this playing out in my head like a movie" thing a double-edged sword, if you will). So if you have any sensitivities at all, I would recommend changing the content and trigger warnings first. Otherwise, I cannot recommend this book enough. Anathema was one of my most anticipated new releases of 2024 and it absolutely did not disappoint. Not even a little. Can't wait for the final book! I am desperate to know how all of this ends! INFINITY STARS! The whole firmament! Absolutely brilliant and masterfully executed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a slow burn gothic fantasy with rich characters and a winding plot. I truly struggled to put it down towards the end. I cannot wait to read the next few! This book is well written, original, and encapsulating. Well worth the read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the next. The gothic layers and world building was so satisfying. I enjoyed the characters, specifically RyKaia and hope to see more of her story.

Anathema by Keri Lake completely consumed me. I dove in not knowing much beyond the cover and title, and honestly? That made the ride even more exhilarating. What I found was a beautifully written, dark, and twisted tale that blurred the line between fantasy and horror in the best possible way. From the first chapter, the atmosphere hooked me—gothic, eerie, and richly immersive. The world Lake created is filled with shadowy forests, old magic, and a haunting sense of danger that gave me serious Sleepy Hollow and The Witcher vibes. I imagined Zevander as a black-haired Geralt, and that image absolutely lived rent-free in my head the entire time. He’s everything I want in a morally grey MMC—ruthless when he needs to be, but never with her. He's definitely earned a top spot on my Book Boyfriend list. This story isn’t driven by romance (though it’s there, and deliciously tense in moments). Instead, it’s a dark fantasy at its core, which was such a refreshing change of pace from my usual reads. There are a few classic tropes peppered in—Forced Proximity, the One Bed Trope—and my favorite of all: Found Family. That dynamic added a surprising depth to the story and made me even more emotionally invested. The plot is full of unexpected twists and turns, with a creeping sense of horror that I genuinely didn’t anticipate. It's violent, visceral, and at times downright chilling—but balanced by lyrical prose that makes even the darkest scenes feel strangely beautiful. My only complaint? That cliffhanger. What the actual F. I need the next book now. If you're thinking of picking this up for romance alone, you might want to reset your expectations—but if you're craving a brooding, witchy, medieval fantasy with stunning writing, morally grey characters, and gothic atmosphere, Anathema is an absolute must-read.

ANATHEMA → KERI LAKE ⭐ 4.5/5 🔥 2/5 · Maevyth Bronwick, a excluída da vila, sempre foi avisada para ficar longe da floresta Eating Woods. Um lugar onde, se você entra, nunca mais sai. Mas quando ela é forçada a correr para o meio dessas terras assustadoras, um novo mundo se abre diante dela. Literalmente. Ela acaba num lugar cheio de magia sombria, criaturas aterrorizantes e magos que só querem vê-la morta. Será que ela vai conseguir sobreviver? Mal sabia ela que lá encontraria Zevander Rydainn, o senhor amaldiçoado de Eidolon, que a alguns capítulos atrás estava tentando assassinar ela (que fofinho ☺️), porque o sangue da nossa bruxinha é uma das chaves para curar sua maldição. Claro que ele não consegue cumprir essa missão, já que a sua magia estava atacando ele em vez dela. Então imagina a surpresa dele quando ela aparece ali, no seu mundo. A escrita da Keri Lake é sempre envolvente e vívida, mas nesse livro ela se superou ao criar um mundo fantástico e perturbador, cheio de línguas, lendas, linhagens, criaturas únicas e um sistema de magia fascinante. Esse é o romance mais slow burn que você vai ver, mas é claro que não falta a tensão insuportável do nosso casal, diálogos engraçados e uma química elétrica. Eles não se suportam, mas o Zevander precisa treinar a Maeve, para que ela consiga atingir todo o seu potencial, já que ela é um mistério para todo mundo. Esses dois personagens realmente trazem o melhor um do outro, e mal posso esperar pra ver como o relacionamento deles vai evoluir no último livro! · ⚠️ Olhem os gatilhos com antecedência e se divirtam.

This book is phenomenal, perfect spooky, gothic read.

My copy is missing pages...