THIS WAS AMAZING!

While it wasn't the longest horror book, I think this was the perfect length for what it was trying to do. Monika Kim hit the nail on the head with this one.

The character motivations were clear, the descriptions were gory and disgusting, and that ending... ooof.

This was so weird and I loved it. Ji-won is so unhinged which is something incredibly enjoyable in a female character. The short chapters made this such a quick, fun read that I couldn't put down.

It's gripping, enticing, gross and a book I'm still thinking about and have been recommending to everyone!

*"When you take everything from him, you can say what these men say about us: He was asking for it. He was begging for it. He must have wanted it, since he didn’t fight back."*

Ji-won and Ji-hyun live with their parents in a tiny apartment. When their father leaves the family, their mother falls into a deep depression. Quickly—perhaps too quickly—she recovers and brings a new man into their lives: an American named George. George is everything their father wasn’t: loud, selfish, and utterly convinced of his own entitlements. Ji-won immediately hates him—his personality, the way he takes over their cramped space, and the way he treats the sisters and their mother.

Meanwhile, a parallel storyline unfolds, fueled increasingly by Ji-won’s hatred for George (and men in general): after being pressured by her mother to eat a fish eye—a delicacy and symbol of good luck—Ji-won suddenly develops an appetite for eyes. Her craving is strongest for blue eyes—blue, like George’s…

**THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART** is a wonderfully gripping story that takes us to Korea, where we delve into the backstories of Ji-won’s (our narrator’s) parents. The narrative touches heavily on poverty and the dream of one day moving to America to earn a better living. At the same time, we learn about Ji-won and Ji-hyun’s lives as Korean-American young women navigating their daily realities. These two highly engaging plotlines are topped off with a dash of blood and gore, which, in my opinion, fits perfectly into the story.

Even though the story shows some major plot holes toward the end, I genuinely recommend this book. The writing style is accessible, and the chapters are so short that you’ll keep wanting to read *just one more*. 😁 A fast-paced novel that dips its toes into the horror genre.

The best way to get icked by a book, I don't say it lightly, it was amazing. The relations in this book were realistic and I cannot get enough by the amazing graphic depictions of let's call it gore/bodily horror. I couldn't put it down!

I am really disappointed to say that I did not love THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART. I am typically a huge fan of Asian horror authors but this one just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for my arc!

I don't read a lot of horror, but I am very glad I read this. A great debut and exactly what I expected and also even more. Truly a gaslight gatekeep girlboss of a book.

This was a solid mix of thriller and horror that kept my interest continuously through the multiple internal and external conflicts that occurred. He deserved everything that came to him. When you read it, you'll understand. Personally, one of the best debut novels I've ever had the opportunity to read. I could not put this one down and even when I forced myself to, I could not stop thinking about it. Monika Kim is a force and I'm waiting on whatever comes next from this brilliant author.

a really great horror novel! so creepy and well worth the read. i am very excited to read her next works and where her stories go

I absolutely love a horror novel like The Eyes Are the Best Part that inventively tackles the casual racism and misogyny so many people face every day. It’s rare to find stories that not only confront these pervasive issues but do so with the nuance and creativity this book brings to the table. These experiences are too often erased or overlooked in media, so when a novel like this emerges, it feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s a testament to the author’s courage and the publisher’s commitment to amplifying these essential voices. While we still have a long way to go in achieving true diversity and inclusion in media, it’s exciting to live in a time when stories like this are gaining more visibility, offering an honest reflection of the world and pushing the boundaries of the genre.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I read the eyes are the best part and it was weird and I liked it. This is considered a horror book but I would more so classify this as literary fiction with slight horror aspects. The eyes are the best part follows a young Korean American woman Ji-won who’s father up a left her family for another woman. This creates conflict in the family but her mom meets a new man George who Ji-won and her sister hate. Ji-won starts to have this obsession with eating eyeballs after her mother offered her a fish eyeball. This is the story of the making of a serial killer and much more. I highly enjoyed the authors writing it really kept me wanting to keep reading and she wrote some extremely unlikable men though like I wanted to just scream at them. It was slightly gross at times though as you can imagine so if you don’t want to read anything about cannibalism I don’t think this is for you.

The Eyes are the Best Part
by Monika Kim
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow. Get ready for a wild ride - into the mind of Ji-won, a Korean American college student/ serial killer. Ji-won, her younger sister and mom’s life get turned upside down when her father abandons them. When her mom starts dating and brings home her new boyfriend who has an Asian fetish, Jin-won struggles with schoolwork, her friendships, family and her horrific desires to kill. This is a horror story but much more. We get a glimpse of life as a Korean American family, struggles of a college student, encounters of racism, sexism, and misogyny and the rage that develops. Even with Ji-won’s killer thoughts and urges, you can’t help but want to root for her and her fight against misogyny. Some parts are descriptively gory and not for the faint of heart. Great job for this debut author! Thank you @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for the advanced e-ARC of this brilliant book! Also currently on KindleUnlimited.
#theeyesarethebestpart #monikakim @monikakimauthor #thrillerbooks #horror #books #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #bookreview #netgalley

I enjoyed this read - Monika has a way of roping you into the story pretty early on. There was also great social commentary told through eyes of a young Korean-American woman, which was very well done. Looking forward to reading more from Monika Kim!

I really enjoyed this book! It was intense and gory, and it kept my attention in the best way. I love being grossed out, and this book gave that to me, as well as an intriguing story line.

The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim dives deep into the "Good For Her" genre, delivering a satisfying story of revenge with a chilling female lead who reclaims power in terrifying ways. Kim’s writing pulls no punches, offering disgustingly vivid descriptions that sometimes verge on body horror—a style that keeps the horror palpable and intense. The grotesque elements might not be for everyone, but they add a raw edge to the story’s dark themes. Overall, it’s a deeply creepy, engaging read that’s perfect for fans of revenge-driven horror.

this is a quick, absorbing, and really fun read -- with some proper gross moments, as you would expect from the title. but it's also, i think, an interesting take on fetishisation of asian women. mostly it's interesting because of what monika kim chooses to do with it. ji-won very literally turns to consuming others in reaction to and retaliation for a society which predominantly hopes to consume her. i thought this was often very funny and quick. the writing style is sharp and simple and it absolutely drags you along. it's compelling and a real page-turner: i found i continually had to remind myself not to jump ahead and read more down the page.

outside of the commentary associated with cannibalism and fetishisation, i think the way kim dealt with the family unit, with misogyny and fear and the feminine ideal of the "waiting woman" was really fun to read. this was really sharply written and it mostly makes me excited to see what else she does, because i think this had some really great ideas and it was such a good book to read at this moment for me. even though i've read some great stuff lately, i feel like i'm slumping and i think this would tear you from it.

i do have some issues with it, insofar i found that a lot of stuff just veered a little too far into unbelievable. i do think this was deliberate -- there's a grossness to this, a campness, which winks at the reader. but it still wasn't necessarily my favourite. the characterisation wasn't always the strongest and i struggled with much of them. but this was good enough fun that i'll give it a pass. like a 3.5!

Oh i absolutely loved this book! It does take a bit to get going on the action-y and horror, but i loved everything leading up to it. i love the perspective of the narrator being a young Asian american woman, i feel like it really brought a lot to the story. At the end I was rooting for her and her sister, lol. I will definitely recommend this and keep an eye for this author in the future!

3 stars. This was okay for the first half, and pretty good for the second half. The ending was a bit lackluster for me, but I loved the commentary alongside the spiraling of our unhinged main character. Some of the sentences/paragraphs in the book were so poignant and wonderfully stated, and the writing was overall fantastic.

“Eat the eyeballs” = the narrative the entire time in my head while reading this book.

Ji-won’s life takes a turn when her father leaves her, her sister and her mother to fend for themselves. She’s failing her college classes, her sister is hurt and confused and her mother has spiralled into disassociation and depression. When her mother starts dating George, Ji-won can’t help but notice his blue eyes. When he overstays his welcome and his behaviour becomes increasingly disgusting, Ji-won knows she’ll have to take matters into her own hands. No matter how many bodies are piling up on her school campus and how many eyes go missing, Ji-won can’t be satiated.

The Eyes Are The Best Part was such a page flipper, I was devouring it. The writing is excellent and packs a punch. The comps Crying In H Mart and My Sister The Serial Killer is the perfect mashup to describe this title. The ending… *chefs kiss. Highly recommend, 4.5✨!

I feel like this books is the talk of the town these days, and it's with good reason! It;s extremely readable - I didn't even know how I read it all and finished it in what felt like one breath.

I don't often reach for unreliable narrators these days, this was my first run-in with one in a long while, but it was a RIDE.

I, for one, am used to much nastier stuff, so you won't hear me complimenting the gore much - I thought it was so-so, to be honest, some eyes are not going to disturb me much - but I can honestly compliment almost everything else. The main character, the twists and turns the plot takes, the good-for-her nature of it all, the way it talks about racism and how it's really just a coming of age story underneath it all, which I certainly wasn't expecting.

It's written well and I think I would HIGHLY recommend it to people who don't have a lot of experience with mixing horror and general fiction. Because, honestly, THIS is what horror can and should be.

Controversially, I think it could have gone even more unhinged, though. Super satisfying ending, anyway, after all the anger you naturally feel with/for the main character.