Synopsis:
What really happened to Cabrina Brite?
Ivory’s life changes irrevocably when she discovers the body of Cabrina Brite on the sands of Cape Morning, along with a mysterious poem. How did she die, and why does it seem she was trying to swim to Ghost Cat Island, the center of so many local mysteries?
Desperate to uncover the answers surrounding Cabrina’s death, and haunted by her discovery, Ivory begins to see the pale ghost of Cabrina, only to shake it off as a mere hallucination. But Ivory is not alone. Cabrina’s closest friends have also seen a similar apparition, and as they toy with occult possibilities, they begin to unravel the truth behind Cabrina’s death.
Because Cape Morning isn’t a ghost town, but a town filled with ghosts, and Ivory is about to discover just what happens when you let one in.
Review:
In “All The Hearts You Eat,” Piper evokes fear, and captures perfectly the irresistible pull of the unknown. With the folkloric dread of King’s “Pet Sematary,” (lethally) combined with the visceral intimacy of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s “Let The Right One In,” Hailey Piper’s latest is gut-wrenching, heart-stopping, and generally extraordinary. A blood-soaked banquet, that leaves the reader both sated and starving for more, whether you’re looking for a fresh take on the vampire sub-genre, a sleepless night, or simply to get your feelings hurt, “All The Hearts You Eat,” is the novel for you. October 15th- Titan books- prepare to be devoured, mind, body and soul.
The story opens with a splash, if you will, when Ivory stumbles across the bloated corpse of Cabrina Brite whilst out on her morning swim. She is unsettled by her discovery, a nauseating start to the morning, yet one that pales in comparison to what follows her home. Having swiped her cryptic not-suicide note from the scene, Ivory finds something unknowable and strange has latched on to her, and that she has an insatiable need to find out… “What really happened to Catrina Brite?”
That very brief summary is quite a deal shorter than what I usually (with reckless abandon so I’m told) fork over to you folk, but this is a book that deserves its secrets kept. Beneath the fangs, Piper meditates on identity, society, but above all, love, how it can heal like a balm, and cut like a blade. Piper’s world, just like our own, is messy, selfish and cruel at times, it’s not a welcoming place to live, particularly for the trans cast of characters. With this backdrop, Piper explores what it means to belong, and more importantly, what it feels like when you don’t. She confronts these feelings head-on, using the vampire mythos as, yes, a source of fear but also as a mirror to the terrifying realities of the human condition.
With a wholly original take on the vampire in conjunction with the general madness one grows to expect from Hailey, the vampyrism in “All The Hearts You Eat,” serves not just as an excellent excuse for the impending body horror, but as a potent metaphor. A symbol of otherness and transformation: the hunger to belong, the fear of being trapped in a body that doesn’t feel quite right, and the horror of living in a world that refuses to accept your existence are all explored. Likely a deliberate parallel to the transgender experience, in this very, fictional, cosmic horror novel, the fears, desires, and triumphs of real-world trans people are reflected. With this in mind, Hailey’s tender afterword only deepens the bite.
Piper’s writing is consistently raw and lyrical, but easy to adjust to. It’s immersive, tactile and darkly seductive. Comprised of 5 acts, all of which are distinct but seem to bleed into one another almost seamlessly, the novel feels like slipping between worlds, utilising diary entries, poetry and fever-dreamish sequences, leading the reader in one direction and then jerking them in another. If you enjoy the work of Gretchen Felker Martin and Sara Tantlinger, and you haven’t yet indulged in the ethereal prose of Hailey Piper, then you must. Every sentence feels poised to bite, and this novel sure does sink its fangs into you.
For readers looking to escape all that is wrong with the world, and peacefully float away from their troubles, this book is not for you. If you’d rather be dragged into churning waters where the waves crash hard and the people still suck, but there’s the addition of bad-ass vampires, then congratulations, you’ve just found your next obsession. Unputdownable, cosmic, queer horror- give me 14 of ‘em right now.
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