This one was not quite what I was expecting. I am a huge fan of subversive fairy tale retellings so this seemed like it would be right up my alley. Sadly it was not for me.

This was a dark twist on a few of our favorite fairy tales and modernized by having the women from these stories come together for a group therapy session and help them grow through what they went through. A little darker than I like to read but overall enjoyable.

a fun, funny, and thoughtful book about trauma, feminism and economic status, related through a support group for women who have experienced a fairy tale in the modern day. The characters come to life through pitch-perfect dialogue and detail, and the story is compelling fun but has deeper meaning too. I haven’t read anything quite like it and would love to read more by this author. Note that this is more a contemporary story with magic realism elements than a typical fantasy, so may appeal to a slightly different audience.

As a lover of fairy tales, and someone who has studied them at university, I had very high expectations for this book based on the cover and description alone. It met those expectations while also surprising me greatly. I found myself never wanting to put it down, totally enthralled by the prose, story, and characters. It was a deeply provocative retelling that, I personal, have not seen done before. While I understand this isn’t for everyone, it amazing to me. I highly recommend this to lovers of classic fairy tales (and want to deepen their view of them by seeing a new perspective), and feminist readers.

Dark, a little humorous, edgy.

This assortment of fairy tale retellings takes the original Grimm allegories and spins them to be even more shadowy, even more punishing. Set in a pseudo-support group, women who have seen their traumas scattered across headlines are reluctant confidants, each sharing their story from metal folding chairs.

I was profoundly wary. Retellings of classic fairy tales are total catnip to me, but more often than not they're not especially well-executed. How to Be Eaten wasn't my favorite spin on modern fairy tales, however, it's really effective. Adelmann's thoughtful renegotiation of Blackbeard, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and more, are each profoundly modern without sacrificing any horror. It's impossible to forget that being a woman means living in an every day horror movie, for some.

Thank your NetGalley, for giving me an eArc in exchange for an honest review!

Fairy Tale retelling are a favorite of mine and this book did not disappoint! I loved trying to figure out who each of the characters are in their respective tale as they unpacked what happened after in group therapy.. Highly recommend.

Excellent book -- in the vein of Alix Harrow's Spindle Splintered and Mirror Mended. It's a refreshing twist on the low-fantasy fairytale retelling, except this time, the women are real people with agency; they're angry, hurt, and tired. The inclusion of reslity TV as fairytale is smart and spot-on

This book was absolutely fabulous! A totally fascinating retelling of some of the most famous fairy tales through the lens of women's trauma and survival. The episodic and highly contemporary narrative made How to be Eaten unputdownable, and the characters were unique, complex, and powerful in their own ways. I think that this novel is an extremely necessary one, and it implicitly asks questions about violence against women, and why so many of our classic stories are focused on hurting, possessing, or silencing women. I loved this book and I can't recommend it enough. One of my favorites of the year.

I'm a little obsessed with reimaginings of fairy tales, so I was excited to get a chance to read this when it was published. I thought the premise sounded interesting but the book fell short of my expectations. I am glad to have read it though because it was entertaining. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting premise but the ending or denouement was sort of a let down. But it was fun trying to figure out who each woman was supposed to be.

What happens to the girl in a fairytale after it’s over? According to this book, nothing good. 🧌🦄🏰🧚🏻‍♀️

🐺 REVIEW: HOW TO BE EATEN 🐺

By Maria Adelmann

📖 SUMMARY: Five women gather in an NYC rec center basement once a week for group therapy. Each week, one woman unpacks her past trauma, tells her story from her own perspective, and they all discuss. The twist: they’re all characters from fairytales.

💭 THOUGHTS: I love reimagined fairytales and fairytale retellings, but this is definitely NOT your typical retelling. The summary calls it “darkly funny” and that’s super accurate. It’s very dark and you come to find that there are no happy endings — even for Ashlee, the winner of The Bachelor-like show “The One,” whose inclusion in this group of fairytales-gone-wrong I found hilariously perfect. Besides Ashlee, we’ve got a fantastic cast of characters that I couldn’t get enough of. I loved this all the way through, but the ending fell a bit flat for me as I was expecting/hoping for something else. Would absolutely still recommend this to everyone though!

Thank you to @netgalley and @littlebrown for the ARC. This came out May 31 and I’m tempted to buy a physical copy!

✨ RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥰 YOU’LL ENJOY IF: you loved the show Once Upon a Time or Greek mythology retellings

As a fan of fairy tale retellings (especially in the vein of Angela Carter,) I was so looking forward to this book. The premise is contemporary female characters from fairy tales meet in a support group in New York to share and deal with their individual experiences and trauma. The book reads a little like a short story collection, with each chapter focusing on a different character and their story. While the idea is quite compelling, I think I would have been satisfied reading only the first story as a stand-alone. Dark, gothic, modern, I hope fans of fairy tale retellings are more enamored with this book than I was. Thank you to Little Brown and Company for the advanced review copy.

This is a quirky, fun read. Reminiscent of Grady Hendrix books, but also a unique read.

A support group for women who have been wronged in fairy tales is such an interesting concept. The writing is clever and witty.

I recommend this one if you want to read something a bit different than your usual read

4.5 stars. I love twisted retellings of classic fairytales, and How to Be Eaten didn't disappoint! Five women get recruited to be in a therapy group to deal with their past traumas. As the book poignantly points out, fairy tale characters grow up to become adults, and this book tells of their scarring experiences and the fallout from their struggles, the media, and public perception. I appreciated that each chapter was a narrative of a separate character, who told her story and got honest feedback from the other group members. It had a good contemporary setting, had good psychological insights, was dark (but not too dark) and entertaining and snarky and humorous.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for this e-ARC!

If Christina Henry, Riley Sager, and Grady Hendrix got together in one of their mom’s basement and decided to use an old spell book to craft an author, the product would be Maria Adelmann.

How to be Eaten is an intriguing novel made up of multiple POV characters, each a reimagined fairy tale character, that attend a support group to tell their tales. Little Red Riding Hood covered in stomach acid and being interview by Barbara Walters. A girl who’s billionaire boyfriend turns out to be a psychopath with a creepy home decorating addition. Gretel, who may or may not have been trapped and starved in a house full of candy. And other characters you don’t want to miss!

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was how each chapter was a mini story about someone new in the support group. So if you get bored with one part you don’t have to wait too long before the storyline switches up.

A downside to this book for me was the ending. It felt way too rushed and almost like the author just ran out of time and had to cut out early or something. I wanted more from each character’s chapter, especially the entire story as a whole in the end. Even with that in mind I definitely still want this book on my shelf and look forward to more from this author.

The modern retelling of fairy tales through the lens of the women in group therapy sessions was a very intriguing concept, however, it felt a bit long and drawn out. Because the book focuses on each persons story one at a time, it felt a bit repetitive in the way each story was being told. By the time we got about halfway through, I wanted something different to happen, something that interrupted the storytelling. We got that a little bit but it felt a bit too late by the time it was introduced. I think interactions with the women outside of therapy would have been an interesting addition or just snippets of their current lives outside of the session. We follow one of the characters briefly but that is about it. I think this book had a lot of potential it just unfortunately fell a bit flat for me.

What a fun and addictive book this was! I flew through it, because I couldn't wait to hear the story of every woman in this support group. I will keep the twists a secret, but imagine the victims of some of the more popular fairy tales (Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, etc) and what their stories might be like in the present day. I find myself caring about every person in the group. This was a very satisfying read.

I am a huge fan of fairytale retellings, quirky and strange stories, and don't mind an occasional dark read. This book seemed like it would be one that would be right up my alley.

Unfortunately that wasn't entirely the case. I kept picking up and putting this one down. The beginning started off strong and I was very curious about how each characters' story would go. But ultimately they didn't hold me. It felt too much like The Final Girl Support Group, to be honest, without the action.

With that being said, this may be one of those books that I just read at the wrong time so I may try again in the future.

How to Be Eaten was fantastic. A retelling of classic stories told by women at a self-help group. Each chapter we learn one of the women's story while also navigating the current-day plot at the group. I highly recommend for fans of Carmen Maria Machado!

Delighted to include this title in the June edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see review at link)