Hello Everyone! Today I am coming at you with a very special and exciting review. I am proudly participating in the “I Am The Dark That Answers When You Call” Influencer/Blog Tour to celebrate the release of Jamison Shea’s sequel to “I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me,” which is out today!
Big thanks to Fierce Reads for sending me an advanced finished copy of “I Am The Dark.” All thoughts and opinions are my own. Read on to check out the official synopsis of the book, my review, and a bit about the author!
Synopsis
Monsters and mortals, rejoice! Acheron is back . . .
Though Laure has tried to close the lid on her ballet shoes and the feelings she once held for dance since the Palais Garnier incident two months ago, Laure is spinning out. Between partying, drinking, and avoiding anything and, well, everyone, she has no time to be anything but a monster. But when Laure stumbles across a mysterious dead body during one of her nights out, she’s forced to notice the cracks stretching beyond herself.
Below the streets of Paris, Elysium is dying, and Acheron and Lethe’s influence is spilling into the streets like a blight. Laure isn’t the only of Elysium’s beasts to rise from the ruins of Palais Garnier, and someone is mobilizing an army of monsters with plans greater than Laure, Andor, and Keturah could have ever guessed. While Laure is warring between her wants and Acheron’s ever-demanding appetite, she and her circle of monsters are left to reckon with a not-so-simple question: how do you save yourself from oblivion?
Jamison Shea’s sharp and unflinching voice will bring readers to terrifying new heights in this vicious sequel to the “relentlessly gory and almost euphoric in its embrace of the horrific” (NPR) I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me.
My Thoughts
It has been eons since I’ve completely fallen in love with a duology. “I Am The Dark That Answers When You Call” by Jamison Shea, sequel to “I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me,” was a highly anticipated read of mine this year, and it has completely blown me away.
Let’s be real, a lot of sequels tend to falter. I had my worries. But I should have known based off how much I thoroughly loved “I Feed Her to the Beast” that “I Am The Dark” would not disappoint me in any way. I am telling you, it’s perfection.
To begin, we jump right into where the last book left off. We only have about a month time jump from the events of book one, and we are thrown right in and don’t stop moving until the very end. This is something I really loved–the steady pacing throughout the entire book, that still managed to afford our main characters the time to process the big events of book one while still progressing. Nothing ever felt like it lagged, which I find can be an issue with sequels sometimes.
Speaking of our characters! The joy I got from seeing the development of Laure, Andor, and Keturah’s friendship was like no other. Their growing pains and struggles felt real within their dynamic and solidified the strength of their friendship in my eyes. It made later moments in the book so much more impactful.
Another character I simply must mention is Acheron. I won’t go into too much detail in case you haven’t read the first book (I’m not sure why you’re reading this if you haven’t lol), but someone tell me why sometimes Acheron had me giggling? We could never fully trust Acheron throughout the book, obviously, but the sass and comments he made to Laure sometimes genuinely were funny. And sometimes kinda sweet? I’m assuming that was all very purposeful, but it was a funny juxtaposition–this literal evil demon, being sassy and sometimes caring, even if only for his ultimate benefit. I loved it.
The ending of this one was perfection. Everything felt wrapped up exactly how it needed to be and I’m not left with any lingering dissatisfaction. I genuinely can’t remember the last time a duology has left me so satisfied and happy with the ending.
This is just one of those stories that pulls you in immediately and keeps you until the very end. I am honestly so glad to have read it.
★★★★★ (5/5 stars)
About The Author
Jamison Shea was once a flautist, violist, anthropologist, linguist, choreographer, dancer, professional fire alarm puller, digital producer, and account executive—but they’ve always been a writer. Born in Buffalo, NY and now surrounded by darkness and gloom in Finland, when Jamison isn’t writing horror, they’re drinking milk tea and searching for long-forgotten gods in eerie places. I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me is their debut novel.
Selina Falcon 