Gleefully creepy!!

This book is for those who yearn for third spaces, making friends in your thirties, and needing a restart.

We start out from the POV of Chelle, while she is recently broken up and starting a new job at a flower shop. But she is by no means the main character of this story. That title belongs to Baby, the carnivourous venus fly trap that is utterly in obesession with Nieve, who also happens to be into Chelle. (a truly messy love triangle).

This book is poetically written, but that doesn't mean it's not wonderfully gory.

Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Thanks to NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for an eAudio ARC of this work in exchange for my review.

"Eat the Ones You Love" is about a rundown mall in Ireland with a florist shop and is primarily told from the perspective of a sentient and quite obsessive plant. The book doesn't really get gruesome as much eerie and creepy with the narration building tension. The characters are full of real flaws and quirks and the location of the story was described very well.

The narrators of the audiobook and the performance made the story pop. In fact I can't imagine reading without it and feeling the same vibe.

I really quite enjoyed the experience and was immersed from beginning to end.

SO good…SO good. Lush, mysterious, twisty. But also, friendship! Gays! Loved everything. I listened to this on my ways to and from work which is an hour commute each way and I kid you not I’d sit in the parking lot when I got home just to keep listening.

*4.5 Stars*

This was one twisty story, in the best way. I expected none of it, I kept being surprised at every turn. I can't even compute now and I've finished it! It was all so weird and strange, in the best way. A true Sarah Maria Griffin story. I was truly enthralled from beginning to end. What a story. I can't wait to see what Sarah Maria Griffin comes up with next!

Have you ever listened to an audiobook so good you immediately wanted to buy the book just so you can see the actual written prose…? This was that…

Shell finds a new start in a decaying mall set to close sometime soon where something is growing. Shell and Neve, the flower shop owner and parent?/owner? of baby, find themselves entangled. Blending body horror, social media commentary, and the aching intimacy of weird girl lit fic, this story is as mesmerizing as it is grotesque.

This is weird. This is uncomfortable. This literally made my palms itchy. This is beautifully narrated and it’s so so good.

I’ve fallen in love with weird girl lit fic all over again. Every character is likeable (kinda) and well written—hell, I even liked the creepy plant thing growing in the dying mall.

This was such a fun book and took me right back to my obsession with Little Shop of Horrors (but add lesbians).

The idea of a book switching points of view with a sentient plant that has yet to introduce itself to one of the primary characters was so entertaining. Getting the 'orchid's' perspective like it was a surveillance camera created an eerie atmosphere but also allowed us to see just how someone could be seduced by a dangerous, and murderous, being that wants to possess you.

While this sits within the horror genre, I think it may being a bit mis-marketed. This is a humorous book full of pulp like story and campy concepts that happens to have murder in it by a monster. The characters and their relationship and the added slice-of-life elements were really what drove the story with horror taking a bit of a back seat until the very end. Even then, the ending wasn't frightening.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Eat the Ones You Love gives total little shop of horror vibes, workplace romance gone wrong?, and social circle evolution in adulthood vibes and it was scarily relatable.

Baby is a man-eating plant who has big plans for the flower shop owner Neve, and her new employee Shell. Shell has just had a broken engagement and is realizing that her social circle wasn’t really full of people she truly wanted to be friends with. When she passes a “Help Needed” sign in the window of a local florists shop, she has a feeling it’s exactly what she needed.

Well friends, it all goes downhill from there! I love the flower “Baby” and all the crazy unhinged chaos that ensues with his appetite and nefarious plans. I didn’t love Neve, and could relate to something with Shell enough to be invested in the story til the very deranged end. The last 20% is my favorite and I wish the entire book was as unhinged as the ending, but we get what we get and overall it was fun!

If you’ve ever worked retail and thought, “This job is slowly consuming my soul,” this book says: what if that was literally true?

This was a dark, strange, and totally gripping story about love, control, and one very hungry plant. Shell Pine is newly single, unemployed, and living with her parents when she stumbles into a flower shop inside a slowly dying mall. There, she meets Neve—the beautiful florist with a secret. The real star of the story though? Baby. A carnivorous orchid with a voice, a hunger for power, and a disturbing obsession with Neve.

At first, I didn’t know where the story was going. But like a vine creeping through cracks, it grows until you can’t look away. This isn’t your average love story. It’s creepy, clever, and kind of beautiful in a twisted way. Baby’s monologues are everything—haunting, poetic, and full of twisted longing and concealed cleverness. I was shocked by how much emotion the apt narration pulled out of me, especially coming from a literal houseplant. The sound design blew me away too, especially in the final scenes. Voices merge. Reality crumbles. It’s chaotic and eerie in all the best ways. The ending was wild but felt right—satisfying and dark with just enough hope.

If you like botanical horror, sapphic slow burns, and the fading eeriness of shopping malls, I highly recommend this one. And if you’re listening to the audiobook? Even better. The voice acting adds an extra layer of tension that sticks with you long after it’s over.

Big yes from me. Just…maybe don’t listen to it near your houseplants.

Thanks to @netgallery and @mac.millian.audio for the advanced listening copy!
An odd book, for odd people this one is!

Basically, we have a dark and twisted tale, with a little magic and horror thrown in about a woman named Neve, another woman, called Shell, and a sentient, murderous orchid named Baby. Shell gets a new job as assistant at Neve's flower shop, just in the nick of time, as she is recently separated from her fiancé and feeling very lost. The flower shop is located in a dying shopping mall and hosts a real crew of characters, including the murderous and hungry 'Baby', who is obsessed with Neve.

This story is a trip! It is sometimes very darkly funny, a sort of commentary on the millennial urge to hold onto shopping malls, roaring 80's number one singles, pointless group chats and dying things. It is about feeling lost in the change, left behind, watching your friendships become irrelevant and die as you go in different directions.

Sure, it has a murdering plant, but it is more campy than gory.
The audio production is lovely, our main narrator has a beautiful and calming lilt, and is a pleasure to listen to. Sometimes the audio sort of does an echo thing between Neve and Baby and it is creepy and super cool.
Overall, the pacing was a bit off for me, and I was left a bit lacking in the ending, but overall an interesting tale.
3.5

"Eat the Ones You Love" is basically if "Little Shop of Horrors" was about queer women in a rundown mall in Ireland and was told from the perspective of the plant. It doesn't get truly gruesome until near the end in my opinion, and for much of the book the horror comes from the narration style and building tension. The characters are messy in very real ways and the location of the story felt so real I could imagine it very clearly. My biggest critique is just that the ending felt a little flat for the story that the rest of the book was telling, and I kind of wish the author had gone even further on the horror front.

The narrators of the audiobook were absolutely fantastic. I truly can't imagine the story told by anyone else. The introduction of the plant's perspective felt so eerie just from the change in narrator. I found the overlapping effect near the end a little cheesy but I'm willing to look past it considering the rest of the audiobook was so enjoyable.

I gave this a 4.5 on StoryGraph but I'm rounding down to a 4 here.

Queer, gothic Little Shop of Horrors set in Ireland. After breaking up with her fiancé and looses her job, Shell must move home and start over. While running errands, she discovers the most beautiful flower shop run by Neve, who just happens to be hiring. As Shell throws herself into reinvention and her new passion for flowers, her feelings for Neve grow, but Neve is already committed to Baby - a flesh-eating plant - that feeds on her. Mostly in third person omniscient from the POV of Baby with interludes from Neve's ex who knows something's a miss and is trying to intervene from across the country.

I definitely recommend the audiobook! The narrators are amazing & I felt more enthralled by the story when I switched from the book to the audiobook.

The narrators for the audiobook for Eat the Ones You Love contributed to the charm and creepiness of the characters as well as contributing to the overall atmosphere of the novel. Featuring strong character development, Eat the One's You Love had me entertained from start to finish. Although I didn't love the ending.

I received an ALC of this story.

With the ALC I strongly believe it helped me in differentiating the characters! Shell sees the help wanted signs and asks what kind of help is needed. With the narration I fully appreciated the tone that was placed on that question because in my opinion it set up accordingly to the interest that the shop owner, Neve, showed after having heard this question.

Once Neve's plant, Baby, is introduced into the strong along with the narrator of that character, I was reminded of Little Shop of Horrors. However, I will say that "Eat the Ones You Love" seems to go a bit further than the small section of Little Shop of Horrors that I do remember. Which is very good because this story kept me engaged and curious. I am glad that I was approved to listen to this story.

Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin, is the most disturbing, unsettling, and horrific book I have ever read, and I don’t phase easily. In this story, Shell susceptible to psychological manipulation due to recent events in her life, finds herself compelled to work in a flower shop in a haunted and decaying mall.

Baby, the carnivorous plant that lures people to this shop, through a form of psychological linking initiated through touch, compels Neve to take care of them, as it requires consuming human victims to survive. While this story did display some Little Shop of Horrors vibes, unlike its predecessor, the writing does not make you love to hate the carnivorous plant and this is not a bad thing.

While it is absolutely wonderfully written, the narration by Barry McStay and Lauren O’Leary take this story to the next level, making you love the characters and root for them against Baby, and simultaneously haunting you with the horror of this psychological and graphically gory thriller.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Audiobook Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Apr 22 2025

Tags:
#MacmillanAudio
#EattheOnesYouLove
#SarahMariaGriffin
#BarryMcStay
#LaurenOLeary
#YarisBookNook
#Horror
#Fantasy
#netgalley

I knew I would love this book when I read the synopsis last fall. But boy, did it deliver—haunting, gruesome, and unforgettable!

Bat Eater is more than a horror novel—it explores grief, trauma, racism, and justice. Set during COVID-19, the story captures the real-life xenophobia East Asians faced. While the social horror feels disturbingly real, Baker weaves in other horror elements—hungry ghosts and a serial killer—to write a chilling, layered story of vengeance and justice.

I loved the use of Chinese folklore! Rituals like burning joss paper and feeding hungry ghosts are not just atmospheric; they add a cultural richness that we rarely see in mainstream horror.

In addition to Cora (our FMC), Auntie Zeng and Yifei stood out as memorable characters. I couldn't get enough of Auntie Z: part folkloric guide and part badass ghostbuster. Yifei also provided much needed levity that balanced Cora's heaviness. However, Yifei's heartbreaking confession at the end—ugh! That really hit me hard!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Natalie Naudus (a favorite of mine) while reading along with the physical copy. Naudus breathes life into Cora’s panic, grief, and doubt. Her performance is truly top-notch. The physical book was great for revisiting Auntie Z’s chapters, which provided more depth about the folklore.

If you haven’t picked this up yet, now’s the time—especially since May is AAPI Heritage Month. Bat Eater is dark, meaningful, and deeply original.

I liked this one! Over all, bones to the story was good! Just wanted a bit more of something, a little UMF to the story, felt like it was missing something. Still enjoyable! 3.75 stars, rounded to 4 for rating here

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC!

I enjoyed this audiobook and both narrators. I found the plot to be interesting, but I was disappointed with the ending. I wanted more from the plot and the characters.

I would read more from this author in the future!

This novel was good but not great.

After a breakup with her long-term boyfriend and losing her job, our protagonist, Shell, decides it's time for a change. She finds a help needed sign at a florist shop in a rundown mall and thinks it's just what she needs. The owner of the shop, Neve, is immediately intriguing. However, a sentient plant that Neve calls "Baby" is watching, and he's determined to get his way.

Little Shop of Horrors is one of my favorite movies. I have a tattoo on my arm of Audrey 2. Needless to say, as soon as I read the description of this book I was locked in. However, this was a slooooow burn. Unfortunately for me, too slow to feel like it was worth it. I love a good character study and I love that most of the book was from the plant's perspective, but when 90% of the book is build up and 10% is payoff and the payoff isn't extremely satisfying, it's not a book for me. Overall, there were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, but it didn't hit the way I wanted it to.

The biggest plus side of this book was the narration. If I had not been listening to the audiobook, I would not have been nearly as engaged. The narration was 10/10!

The Little Shop of Horror vibes, but in a dying shopping centre setting. Although, I wish the horror part was amped a bit more, being it’s a plant possessing you (I understand that it’s not the genre).
The vibes overall were great, very eerie / creepy, but comedic, but what really hooked me was the narration. Macmillan Audio did wonderful in selecting the narrator. Overall, this was a very fun read. I enjoyed the whole premise, esp being a plant mami, I would be 100% down to merge W/ Baby 🤣 Totally obsessed w/ carnivorous plant, which everyone should have w/ the upcoming warmer seasons = more bugs lol!!

A stunning and horrifying offering. I loved the narration, LOVED the pov choice, loved the prose. I have very little to gripe about with this one. Objectively it’s a damn near perfect and perfectly contained tale of consumption, decay, and transformation. Loved it.