Anathema: The Eating Woods, Book 1

8.5⭐️ - rounded down for Bookclubs Wow! This one has caught my attention big time! I really enjoyed the dark fantasy world that this provided. The world building and magic system were unique yet had some of my favorite fantasy components. It also felt oddly historical like it was mixing in the Salem/witch hysteria we know while mixing it with dark myths and stories. I really liked Maevyth - I thought she was a more realistic fantasy FMC. And of course Zevander is the morally gray, villainous, undying and hot MMC that we want to see in a book like this. I listened to the audio which I thought was incredibly well done with the duet narration, and I would highly recommend in that format even though I think I would’ve loved it physically as well. I cannot wait to read the rest of this series because I already know it will be one of my favs and recommended moving forward.

A must read if you are a romantasy fan!

Keri Lake writing gothic dark romantasy feels like she personally checked my reader wish list and said, “Say less.” This story has a cursed assassin, a forbidden murder forest, blood magic, grotesque creatures, a shunned mortal woman with untapped power, and a slow burn so slow I was basically gnawing on the furniture waiting for these two to stop acting like they were not obsessed with each other. Maevyth Bronwick has spent her life being treated like a bad omen in Foxglove Parish. She is blamed for misfortune, famine, and every terrible thing people would rather pin on a woman than try to understand. Tragedy forces her into Witch Knell, also known as The Eating Woods. She crosses into Aethyria, a dark and dangerous realm filled with immortal mages, vicious creatures, old magic, and Zevander Rydainn. After their first meeting, I made room for him on my book boyfriend shelf. Zevander is known as The Scorpion. This is exactly the sort of dramatic assassin title I support. He is cursed, lethal, broody, morally gray, and far too attractive for anyone’s peace of mind. He needs Maevyth’s blood to break the sablefyre curse spreading through him. The magehood wants Maevyth dead because her blood is tied to a prophecy and the slumbering evil inside Witch Knell. Naturally, this means these two are forced into danger, proximity, training, tension, and enough yearning to make me pause the audiobook just to stare at a wall. The romance is deliciously slow. I mean slow, slow. These two are suspicious, sharp-tongued, reluctant, protective, and clearly down bad long before either of them is ready to admit it. The banter had me laughing out loud. The tension had me kicking my feet. The magical horny potion scene had me saying, “Well, dang. Heck yeah!” Keri Lake knows how to write romance that feels dangerous, emotional, sexy, and tender all at once. Anathema proves she can bring that same talent into fantasy without missing a step. The worldbuilding is rich, moody, and completely addictive. Aethyria feels brutal and beautiful throughout the training scenes, friendships, creatures, blood magic, political danger, and gothic horror threaded through every corner. This book is long, but I was having too much fun wandering around the murder woods with my cursed boyfriend and my powerful girlie to care. Maevyth’s arc from unwanted omen to powerful woman made my heart so happy. Zevander’s arc made me want to grab him by the collar and tell him to stop being noble and claim his woman. The audiobook is out of this world. James Cassidy did not narrate Zevander. He became Zevander. The voice, restraint, danger, and tortured hotness. Sir, thank you for your service. Melissa Barr was fantastic as Maevyth. She perfectly narrated when Maevyth was scared, stubborn, funny, and completely exasperated with the ridiculous immortal man in front of her. The duet narration made the whole book feel cinematic, like I was watching a dark fantasy movie through my headphones. Someone please pick this up as a TV series. Anathema gave me worldbuilding, atmosphere, friendship, creatures, training, yearning, banter, villains, strong female characters, and a romance that made me feral. I finished it, went straight to Instagram and TikTok to look up fan art, then immediately preordered book two like a responsible adult with no impulse control. Keri Lake, please add me to your ARC list. I am begging, respectfully.

I liked the book. Has a darker more gothic feel and the relationship takes time to develop but I would recommend this book.

I really enjoyed Part 1 of the book, which was engaging and well-paced. Unfortunately, Part 2 felt unnecessarily long, with very little actually happening. If the book had been about 200 pages shorter, I think I would have enjoyed it much more.