133 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 29, 2019
4/5 Stars
If Sarah Tantlinger makes one thing clear with her novella To Be Devoured, it's that you don't need a big cast or various locations to write a good story. In fact, the story takes place in locations mostly around the protagonist Andi's house and this fact helped drive her isolation and loss further.
Andi's entire life has been filled with grief and loneliness, so when she meets Luna, she is certain that her life will finally turn around. Ever eager to visit her therapist, the young woman stops at nothing to strengthen her bond with her girlfriend. Things seem to go well for a while, but soon Andi realized her therapist isn't much help, and she starts to feel a hunger that can't be sated by anything but the flesh of the Dead. Andi finds herself caught in an obsession not only over the vultures circling her neighbor's house, but also to become on of their flock.
Tantlinger's novella is dark, gritty and oh, so gory. I felt myself tense up inside a few times, trying to get past certain scenes, because they felt so real and uncomfortable. The author stops at nothing, and there are a lot of triggers within this novella. Definitely check these out before diving in. Still, I found such poetic language within these pages that the story almost felt surreal and dream like. Or is it nightmare-like?