No puns, but I really, really loved this book! Like The Handmaid's Tale meets Let The Right One In, Sunyi Dean will see your vampire lore and your zombies and raise you - book eaters and mind eaters, a secret society comprised of six 'Families' who devour knowledge in rather different ways.

I wish I could absorb stories by eating the actual pages - book eaters are probably the people who bemoan the existence of Kindles - but I have to start small, with the characters and the plot, and I was fell right in with Devon and Cai. Their world is dark and dangerous, on the run from the men who control them and the monsters who can kill them. But Devon and Cai are monsters too.

Devon - I thought that the quirk of naming Family members after place names was cute - is the princess of Fairweather Manor and grows up on a diet of fairy tales about heroines being rescued and living happily ever after. A very different fate awaits her, however. The female book eaters exist only to intermarry with other Families and have children - but they cannot be mothers. They must move on and marry again. When Devon is taken away from her young daughter, she is heartbroken and a seed of rebellion is planted. She tries to hold onto the fantasy that she will be rewarded for following the rules, but then her son is born and must be protected from those who want to kill him. Her brother in law, the wonderful Jarrow, persuades Devon to break the cycle and save her son Cai.

The worldbuilding, though! Vampires are old hat and I have never understood the appeal of zombies but a hunger for knowledge? A taste for the written word? Makes sense to me! Book eaters, although superhumanly strong and able to see in the dark, cannot write for themselves Mind eaters, born with a proboscis like tongue, go straight to the source and drain intelligence, memories and personality from people by sucking parts of the brain out of their victims' ears. While the Families are in control, ruled by patriarchs, 'knights' are charged with controlling mind eaters, or 'dragons', with a drug called Redemption. The women are valued only for their reproductive role and are biologically 'retired' after having two children, to become 'aunts'. The patronising faux chivalry and old-fashioned attitudes of the Families drove me mad, which is entirely the point, I realise, but luckily Devon's narrative flips back and forth between the past and the present, so we can feed on her fire to save herself and her son. Cai, incidentally, is also an amazing character, a young boy with an old soul who takes on the lost lives of his victims.

I honestly haven't been so addicted to a book in ages! I was reading at home, late at night, on the bus, during my dinner hour, and couldn't get enough. The UK setting probably helped, even if a few Americanisms (and shootouts) from the author slipped in every now and again! Definitely recommended for book eaters everywhere, and I hope there's a sequel in the pipeline! ( )

This was a very unique story. It explored themes of patriarchal systems, isolated communities, what it means to be a monster, and how good people can become corrupted. Devon is a strong, complicated woman who has had to make some tough choices to protect her son. The world building was interesting and I found myself wanting to know more when the book ended. Overall it was a different type of fantasy story that would appeal to those that like their fantasy to have a literary feel. ( )

This was weird, but thoroughly engaging with its escapism and strong world-building. The use of flashbacks and different timelines kept me turning the page and staying up to finish this book as I rooted for Cai, Jarrow, and Devon. ( )

This novel was different from what I was expecting for the publisher’s summaries. I love reading and books and thought it would be more about the book eating itself and how that affected the eaters. Instead, I got a bit of a thriller with continuous action. I did enjoy both the story and writing thing. Got some echoes of the Handmaid’s Tale. Definitely recommend if you are looking for a fast paced fantasy that’s a bit different. ( )

So we learn in the very first chapter that Eating Minds implies a whole lot more. Strong scene of implied and alluded to violence. It was "fade to black" variety, so I overlooked it.

Struggled through Chapter 2 which was written at a lower level, like a fairy tale or children's fiction. Appropriate as it may be, I found it tiresome.

Then, in Chapter 3, at 6%, we talk about scooping out brains. That's it. I'm out. (Minds are not necessarily Brains, so I feel mislead.) ( )