𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: April 22, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

This was my first book by Sarah Maria Griffin and it will NOT be the last. This book was the best wild ride ever. If you love Little Shop Of Horrors, this definitely will give you that feel and vibe and I was intrigued and obsessed with this book. You understand the complexity of what toxic and unhealthy relationships and friendships can do to a person. This is such a wonderful dark twisted LGBTQIA+ love/horror story.

We follow our main character as she moves back to her parents after a divorce looking for a change with her life and to start over. She takes a job in a florist shop and realizes that the owner of the shop has a lot of dark secrets and something lurkers within that shop. The secrets’ name is BABY who is a very hungry orchid.

If you’re looking for a book that’s going to give you that sense of dread, anxiety, heart pumping feeling and beautiful writing, this book is for you. You need to read this book to understand why I put this as one of my favorite reads of 2025

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Tor Publishing Group | Tor Books

Orchids are notoriously difficult to keep alive, who knew all they needed was human flesh?

I thought this was a fun concept, I loved the slowly dying mall setting and the way you bond with people you work with. I wish there had been more of a focus on the plant (Baby) and their past deeds. The plant tells the story but I want more of their story!

Definitely travels into the unsettling body horror near the end and the conclusion was very satisfying!

3.5

This dives into how love and attachment can go really wrong how something that starts out tender can turn obsessive and toxic. Baby, the plant with a terrifying craving for Neve, becomes this creepy metaphor for that kind of all-consuming possessiveness. Meanwhile, Shell, still raw and vulnerable from her own heartbreak, gets pulled into something way bigger and darker than she expected.

The writing is vivid but it’s also eerie, with people going missing and something sinister growing under the surface. What’s super unique is that a lot of the story is told from Baby’s perspective. It’s the kind of book that creeps up on you and sticks in your head long after you're done, leaving you with this uneasy, lingering feeling.

Thank you netgalley and torbooks for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/176309131-nicki

Creepy tale of a sentient plant in a crumbling mall. Slow start, finds its rhythm around the halfway point. For strongest impact, read in the middle of the night when you have insomnia. 3.5 rounded up.

A queer retelling of Little Shop of Horrors but with a modern twist, After losing her job and her fiance, Shell Pine is determined to get a new start and when she finds a help wanted sign at a florist shop, she is drawn in. There she meets Neve, the beautiful shop manager who is hiding a secret in the back green house... a dark and dangerous secret that will consume them all ( quite literally). Neve has a plant she refers to as "Baby" who has become obsessed with wanting to consume Shell... and as the romance begins to spark between Neve and Shell, so does Baby's obsession with wanting to eat Shell. Can Shell make it out alive or will she be eaten alive? This was definitely a unique twist and the ending kind of has you scratching your head wanting one more chapter or a little longer of an epilogue. I can definitely see this being made into a artsy horror movie and I think it would be really fun to watch. I loved the plant horror of it all and Baby was such a unique POV to read from. Seriously this is a fun plant horror story with a touch of queer romance!

Release Date: April 22, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I have mixed feelings about Eat the Ones You Love. On the positive hand, I really love the voice & perspectives that the story is told through. I also liked our main character, Shell, and loved the setting of the mall, as someone who used to be the store manager for a mall store. The orchid at the center of this story (and the mall) is superb and I really liked everything about him!

On the other, the pacing is very slow for the first 60% and then speeds up so exponentially that everything seems to happen all at once (which isn't the worst thing for a book under 300 pages) so I wish there was an extra 50-100 pages to pad out all of the things that happen at the end. I also found most of the characters to be very 2D, though I think this could've been on purpose considering the perspective of our narrator. I have a few more spoiler-y thoughts: I think the bits about Shell's old friends detracts from the story because her "before" timeline with her ex & those friends is not explained nearly enough. Without the necessary backstory & impact, it's a really disappointing aspect of the story that would've been better left out entirely. Also, while I do like the inclusion of Jen's character, I'm not sure the random emails were the best way to introduce her.

I did enjoy Eat the Ones You Love and the weird & creepy bits were easily the best! There are some minor themes that were a bit ambitious to try and include and ended up falling flat for me. But when things were happening, they sure were happening. The atmosphere and visuals really came to life in my mind's eye during some of the creepiest scenes.

Thanks to Tor Books & Netgalley for the chance to review Eat the Ones You Love!

Fun and campy. I was surprised that it wasn't too gory but was still scary. I will never look at plants the same. I enjoyed the romance and the rep.

This book was interesting, and had all the elements to be a stellar novel, it just didn't work in a way that I felt fully worked. The horror is fantastic and had me on my seat.. It just felt like the book took way too long to get to the point. I did like the sapphic elements.. I just kinda have mixed feelings about it.

Eat the Ones You Love is a strange, eerie, and oddly charming read that blends sci-fi, horror, and romance in a way I wasn’t expecting—but absolutely enjoyed. The story follows Shell, who’s at rock bottom after a breakup, a lost job, and moving back in with her parents. She stumbles into a flower shop in a dying mall and meets Neve, a florist with a magnetic presence and a desperate need for help. What Shell doesn’t realize is that she’s stepping into something far darker than retail work: a relationship tangled in obsession, secrets, and a sentient plant that won’t stop growing—or hungering.

The premise sounds wild, and it is, but it works. The cast of characters is vibrant and weird in the best way. Shell is sympathetic and real, Neve is mysterious and alluring, and Baby—the possessive, predatory plant—feels like something out of a fever dream. There’s also something painfully relatable about the setting. We all know that liminal, faded mall where time seems to stand still, and this story uses that atmosphere perfectly to amplify the creeping dread.

While I loved the concept and character dynamics, I did have a couple of issues. The point-of-view shifts between Shell and Baby could be a little muddled, making it unclear who was “speaking” at times. I also found the ending a bit too ambiguous—I don’t mind an open ending, but I wanted a little more resolution. Still, those were small things in the grand scheme of what was otherwise a truly unique and enjoyable story.

It’s not traditional horror—it’s more unsettling than terrifying—but I had a great time with it. If you like stories that are bizarre, bittersweet, and a little grotesque, this one is for you. Especially recommended for fans of Little Shop of Horrors, unconventional monsters, and character-driven weird fiction.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this advanced copy!

Eat the Ones You Love is a fascinating mish mash of "feed me Seymour" LSoH vibes, cringey body horror a la The Ruins, and tosses in some mall rat nostalgia for funsies.

The Woodbine Crown Mall is home to a cute flower shop that's got a Help Needed sign in its window. Shell, recently recovering from a breakup and back home at her parents place, decides to inquire about the position while running errands one day and immediately becomes obsessed with its owner Neve. As the two women begin feeling each other out, and Shell learns the ins and outs of preserving and displaying floral arrangements, we discover that the Mall is also a crumbling sanctuary for a horrifically hungry little plant who is cleverly hiding in a moss encased atrium located at its very heart, the food court. Baby, as Neve calls him, needs to feed, and he will let nothing get in his way.

This is a story about deadly secrets, co-dependency, and the dangers of letting those you care about most getting too close. More weird than scary, sapphic but not sappy, campy but not kitschy, it's plant vs man in the most cannibalistic and creepiest of ways.

It has all the right ingredients to be a great book but I had a really hard time connecting with it. I didn't hate it, but I expected to love it more than I actually did.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Maria Griffin, and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC ebook.

Content Warnings: Body Horror, Toxic Relationships, Gore, Violence, Murder, Death, Gaslighting, Child Death, Mind Control, Minor Possession, and Blood.

One part "Little Shop of Horror," one part queer love story, and one part display of beautiful body horror, "Eat the Ones You Love" by Sarah Maria Griffin is a flower-filled, blood spattered romp that I highly enjoyed.

Shell has lost it all--she has broken up with her long-time fiance extremely close to their wedding day, she has lost her friend group, and she's found herself living with her family again. What's more, she cannot find a job for the life of her--until she stumbles upon a "Help Needed" sign posted at the local florist's, located in a mall that is heaving its last breaths. This is where she finds not only a job and a purpose (posting beautiful blooms on her freshly cleared Instagram page), but Neve, owner of the little shop. Shell is instantly smitten with the woman, hoping beyond hope that Neve will feel the same about her.

Things are not as they appear, however, for sweet Neve has a secret; one that has grown under the length of the mall. One that has an insatiable hunger. One that has Neve wrapped around its roots, and she around it. In order for Shell to become a part of Neve's world, she must lose herself to the whispers in her head and the flower that grows in secret, beyond the atrium's moss covered walls.

"Eat the Ones You Love" is beautifully written from the 'monster's' perspective, allowing the reader glimpses into its thoughts and emotions, while being omniscient enough to also explore the thoughts and feelings of other characters within the novel. I will admit, I love just about everything about this novel. The creeping horror, the twists and turns, the complicated love stories within its pages…The characters are lovable, unpleasant, relatable, and deliciously human.

With that being said, there are a few things that I was not a fan of. The one thing that irked me the most--and I'm not entirely certain why--is that the book takes place in Ireland, with Irish characters, save for one American. I'm not sure if it's because she has lived in Ireland for a period of time or what, but her mannerisms and way of speaking are not American in the slightest. She still reads as a great character, but it took me out of it a bit to see her use Irish slang and phrases. I also wish there had been a bit more to the ending of the novel; it wraps up almost too quickly. I would have loved for at least one or two more chapters going into what happens next, but I also understand that going longer may have ruined the overall feeling and theme of the book. Maybe I was simply sad to see it end.

I highly recommend "Eat the Ones You Love" by Sarah Maria Griffin if you like creeping unease, body horror of the flowering variety, and above all else, what it means to be in love.

Eat the Ones you Love is a weird, campy little novel about a throuple between a florist, her assistant, and a plant living inside a crumbling mall. I know, A+ premise.

If anything, I wish the novel leaned even further into the weirdness. I wanted more, more grotesque, more unsettling, more viscosity. The pacing felt slightly off - which is a shame, because I think the slow beginning might make some people not finish it, and the end half is where it really picks up!

Overall, I'm intrigued by the author's imagination and would definitely consider picking up another one of their books. The characters were funny and dry in a way I quite enjoyed, which made me wish we had more dialogue because I really wanted more of their interactions and dynamics!

3/5 stars - the others. After a while I just had to go with it and read a while only to realize it was from a different p.o.v. It was also pretty slow in parts, especially in the beginning. Once it ramped up it got more interesting.

Eat the Ones You Love is a compelling, campy, deranged story of a sentient plant named Baby that eats humans and lives within a crumbling, decrepit mall. Lush, languid prose builds tension and atmosphere with creeping suspense. Themes of obsession, desire, romance, and friendship intertwine throughout the narrative and play out over the day-to-day activities of retail workers.

The characters are complex and dynamic, and one of my biggest complaints as a reader is that we didn’t get to see more of certain characters. A majority of the narrative focuses on Shell, but the occasional glimpses we received of the different characters made me want more – I especially loved the chapters focused on Jen.

I also didn’t love the pacing. The plot dragged during the first half just to wrap up in a rush at the end, leaving me feeling a little unsatisfied as a reader. However, even with my critiques, this is a book I would absolutely recommend to horror readers who love Little Shop of Horrors and who are drawn to a story about a plant that hungers for human flesh.

Thank you to Tor, Netgalley, and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review posted to Goodreads 4/10/25.

Review to be posted to my Instagram closer to release date, and in my April monthly reading wrap up.

✨ARC Review✨

Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin

WOW. After finishing this book, I am unsure if I am lucky that I cannot keep a plant alive. Eat the Ones You Love is a horror and love story at the same time. It taught me that not all love is good, some of them are manipulative and cruel.

We start with Shell who just wants a new start. She found it with Neve and her flower shop. Together, their relationship evolved into something deeper. However, in the middle of them is Baby - a carnivorous and evil plant.

Reading this book made me wonder if something can be deemed evil if they are designed that way. If Baby needs to eat flesh to survive, does that make Baby evil? Sure, Neve has been doing her best to try and control Baby. However, Neve was suppressing what Baby needs.

I think the other characters were not full developed especially Bec and Jen. They had a good dynamic, but their part felt rushed. I wish the author included them in the story more, so their role in the end made more sense.

The ending of this novel felt anticlimactic. For everything that Baby did and Neve went through, the ending felt very rushed. The story focused more on scenes that could have used less spotlight.

Also, the POV was a little confusing jumping from Shell to Neve to Baby to Jen. If there are markers on each chapter on which POV I am reading from, I may have read the book faster.

Was the story scary? Yes. It had Little Shop of Horrors vibe to it. The story also gave us a glimpse of how our past can come tumbling down no matter how hard we tried to hold on to it. The mall is the perfect example of that. No one and nothing is immune to change.

This novel is deliciously dark and spine tingling. The unconventional narrator is a mix of Joe Goldberg (You) and Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs). The plot, which seems inspired by Little Shop of Horrors, is interesting and frightening. Some of the characters seemed a bit one dimensional and not fully formed but otherwise, a definite must read!

This book started off really intriguing and I like the connections to LIttle Shop of Horrors. However, halfway in, I got really bored with the "plant voice" and it started to lag a lot. This book had so much potental and I wanted to like it more than I did.

Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin is a haunting and beautifully written novel that blends dark fantasy with deep emotional resonance. Griffin’s evocative prose creates a captivating, immersive experience from start to finish.

I really enjoyed Eat the Ones You Love! Set in a rundown strip mall, the story follows several different characters who have all been affected by the giant carnivorous plant that lives in the secluded greenhouse at the center of the mall. The characters were interesting and dynamic, and the main POV of the book (the plant) has an interesting and unsettling voice.

I absolutely loved reading Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin. It's a charming love letter to floristry, and to the shopping malls of our youth. It also captures the spirit of starting over.

It is a perfect mix of humour and heartfelt moments, with relatable characters and complex relationships that truly mirror real-life friendships. And the man-eating plant named Baby as the narrator is pure genius!

I'm so grateful to have read an advance copy, and can't wait to grab a physical copy. I recommend it to everyone!