What We Devour

By: Linsey Miller

Narrated by: Amy Scanlon

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of Mask of Shadows comes a dark and intricate story of a girl who must tether herself to a violent ruler to save her crumbling world.

Lorena Adler has a secret. She holds the power of the banished gods, the Noble and the Vile, inside her. She has spent her entire life hiding from the world and her past. She's content to spend her days as an undertaker in a small town, marry her best friend, Julian, and live an unfulfilling life so long as no one uncovers her true nature.

But when the notoriously bloodthirsty and equally Vile crown prince comes to arrest Julian's father, he immediately recognizes Lorena for what she is. So she makes a deal - a fair trial for her betrothed's father in exchange for her service to the crown.

The prince is desperate for her help. He's spent years trying to repair the weakening Door that holds back the Vile...and he's losing the battle. As Lorena learns more about the Door and the horrifying price it takes to keep it closed, she'll have to embrace both parts of herself to survive.

This heart-pounding YA story of magic and danger is perfect for listeners looking for: epic books for tweens and teens, gay and lesbian fantasy, science fiction, gripping stories with queer and gay magic and sorcery, dazzling world-building, relatable characters, tween and teen LGBTQ+ books, high fantasy with asexual and aromantic representation, and lesbian and gay fairy tales.

©2021 Linsey Miller (P)2021 Recorded Books

A diverse dark fantasy with an intriguing premise.

I've been wanting to read this since it was first released and I finally got around to reading it. The entire premise of this story was right up my alley and I was so excited to dive deep into this book.

I really loved the ideas at the root of this story. The magic system based on sacrifice and self-harm and rooted in lore about banished gods intrigued me. I loved its clever construction and execution. It was utterly unique.

Linsey Miller has a very lyrical writing style that is engaging and concise. I was drawn into the story easily. There were some parts of the story that were confusing in some places but overall I really enjoyed the author's writing.

I adored the diversity in this book. It was a breath of fresh air. The female lead character in this book is asexual and I strongly believe that the male lead character fell under the asexual umbrella as well. However, that could have just been my interpretation of his interactions with the female lead. There is a side character that is gender fluid. There is bi/pan representation as well. I was just overjoyed to see so much diversity.

I am on the fence about my feelings regarding the ending of the story. There is a part of me that feels the ending was fitting and fits well with the story but another part of me yearns for something different. Any more speculation on it would lead into spoiler territory so I'll leave it at that.

Overall, this was a great dark fantasy with an intriguing premise and wonderfully diverse characters. If you are a fan of morally gray characters, this book surely fits the bill. Before jumping into this one you should check the author's content warnings because there are many different triggering things in this book.