Eat the Ones You Love
Sarah Maria Griffin. Tor, $27.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-250-91069-1
At the start of this heartrending gothic horror story from Griffin (Other Words for Smoke), Michelle “Shell” Pine has just lost her job, broken up with her fiancé, and moved back into the jumble of her parents’ house in the Dublin suburbs. She needs a win and jumps on the first opportunity she’s seen in months: a HELP NEEDED sign in the window of a flower shop in a decaying mall. Her new boss, Neve—beautiful, mysterious, and fresh off her own broken engagement—has secrets Shell can’t wait to unravel. But Neve’s secrets run deeper than Shell could imagine: she’s the keeper of a massive, monstrous orchid that’s taken over the mall’s infrastructure and Neve’s whole life. Not content with Neve simply helping it survive, the orchid wants to possess and consume her totally. Now Shell is caught in the middle of a love story, both her own and one much stranger and more terrifying. Griffin makes a premise that could feel a bit too Little Shop of Horrors instead feel lush, eerie, and sensual through prose that’s equal parts romantic and horrifying. This poignant and original examination of desire and decay is a stunner. (Apr.)
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Reviewed on: 01/21/2025
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror