I had very mixed thoughts about this book. I love the concept and the world building, but the writing fell a little flat. The concept of others absorbing the sins of the rich is such an interesting one. A lot of the characters were understandably jade, but I feel like all of the good things just kind of... plateau towards the middle and the book gets less interesting. It got more interesting towards the end, although it is the set up for a sequel (which, honestly, I don't feel all that motivated to read right now, although that may change in the future). ( )

I do recall the decision to stack my to-reads with a variety of undersung authors working in genre lit, and I don't regret that. However it did result in a whole lot of YA/fantasy picks, and I'm not a huge fan of this genre. I can like it, but I can't read it indefinitely. All that is to say I wasn't thrilled about starting this book when I did, through no fault of the book. In fact this is a compelling idea of a book. The world-building comes on strong, but once you adjust, it becomes great living context. I was interested in the plot, both as a story and a metaphor, like all good fantasy. I would like to see more of the characters. The pacing, especially at the end, is not perfect, there is too much revealed at once and not fully resolved. Still I would read on to see how these elements resolve themselves, and to see this voice develop. ( )

RGG: Thin on plot, but interesting premise of sin eaters. And the main character Taj is well developed. The ending is so clearly a set-up for a sequel and not at all satisfying. Reading Interest: 13-YA.

😰 This is a really promising start to what I hope is a series. The pantheon and conventions of this world are fascinating. Some of it feels a little unresolved but that is what makes me think the next book will deliver big. ( )

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If there is one way to guarantee I'll read your book, just mention sin eaters, and I'm in. The concept of people existing for the sole purpose of consuming the sins from another is just so fascinating to me. So, when I picked up Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi, I already went in with high expectations and was not disappointed! Though, I did need to step back away from it for a moment.

The concept is a fantastic one, and not all that far-fetched considering the real life medieval use of indulgences. In the city of Kos, there exists a specific subset of people that have the ability to swallow sins. Each sin they swallow, they take into themselves, the feelings of shame, madness, revulsion. They are permanently marked with these sins. As such, you can only imagine how the sin-eaters are treated. Not with reverence, but disgust over the various marks of defect on their skins. The fact that they "seemingly" have no problem with taking another's sins. Little do they care that the sin-eaters are forced to do so by a corrupt system that relies on them entirely. None moreso than the wealthy and the royals (I have so much I want to say about this book but with regards to the royals, I'll simply say I love how it does not follow typical YA convention -- tweet me if you want to discuss!).

There is a smidge of romance, which really leads to the amazing build-up at the end! And boy, that ending was just fantastic! I cannot wait for the follow-up. It was a great payoff to everything that Onyebuchi steadily built and weaved through from the start.

Now, all that said, why did I mention earlier that I needed to step back away from it for a moment? Easy peasy. I was reading and kept wondering WHY I wasn't as into it as I should have been. It had all the elements and the writing was strong. So, why? I stepped away and thought about what I was having trouble with. That's when it hit me -- the culture/language, it wasn't something I was used to. Most YA fantasy tends to come to us from a very European backdrop. We have a few that stray (The Bone Witch is one), but they tend not to really use the words. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova does, but I felt comfortable with that because I am latinx. So, after realizing that was what was giving me difficulty, I looked at myself and said get over it. If I can read Tolkien and all the gobbledegook languages he made up and not have a problem with it, this should be no different. I picked it back up, and it was night and day. Everything was so much easier. I got sucked it and loved every second of it. All it took was me identifying what was blocking me, to get my head in gear, unblock, and fall into an amazing story!

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi is an amazing YA novel that finally breaks away from traditional European fantasy. It creates its own wonderful mythos and is so extremely rich in detail, I could taste the foods, smell the smells, and believe in the culture. I really cannot convey how much I want everyone to read this, and if you think you don't 'get' it, think about why, and go again.

// I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this title. // ( )