Thank you 47North & NetGalley for an advance reader's copy of this book.

Kingfisher has always delivered for me and Snake-Eater is no exception.

Snake-eater is a cosy fantasy with light horror elements. We focus on Selena who arrives in the isolated desert town of Quartz Creek intending to visit her aunt, only to find she has passed away. With her dog Copper (best dog) by her side and a few dollars, Selena decides to stay in her aunt's house for a few days until she figures out her next move.

What unravels is a rich story about finding your way home, obsessed ancient gods, the importance of being kind to scorpions and discovering who you are as a person on your own, without someone else trying to fill in the gaps.

I related to Selena on so many levels - the rehearsed scripts for interacting with others, always feeling like a burden, getting overwhelmed when meeting new people - but above all I related to how her ex made her feel. A lot of these feelings she had - that she was inadequate, annoying, weird, awkward - were amplified (or created) by her ex and if you've ever found yourself in a similar relationship, you'll see yourself in Selena and there will be a bit of a cathartic release for you.

The fantasy/horror elements are minimal but it really works for the setting of Quartz Creek. To the residents, the gods that Selena encounters aren't anything unusual, they're a part of the community just as much as the mayor is. There's no reason to make their existence this huge ordeal beyond what is presented (unless you're Selena of course), because it's not a sudden revelation - it's just life.

Read Snake-Eater if you like found families, grandmas that overload you with eggs, good dogs, comfort meals with friends or if you believe there's a deity for everything.

I typically stay away from desert fiction (I know that’s more of a vibe than a genre, but my point still stands). However, based off of T. Kingfisher’s reputation and the blurb that immediately piqued my interest, I decided to give this book a try.

Although I was expecting something a little more serious in tone, it ended up being a surprisingly cozy read. Everything from the setting of Quartz Creek, a supportive cast of townspeople, and the message of re-learning how to use your voice, all came together to form a heartwarming story.

This being more of a comfort book, you can already guess that this doesn’t necessarily have “high stakes.” While there is a primary antagonist, his purpose is more to act as a catalyst for Selena’s growth than as an actual life-threatening adversary.

All that said, while I enjoyed the book, I felt the characters were somewhat lacking. For a book focused on the growth of a specific character, I was surprised at how flat our protagonist seemed. While Selena does have her quirks, the repetitive language surrounding them, such as the word “scripts” appearing way too often, made them feel like the author was doing more telling than showing.

Additionally, the setting and premise were so interesting, I wish she spent more time focused on the folklore associated with the town of Quartz Creek. Such a unique town deserved a bit more of a backstory!

Nevertheless, I enjoyed my first T. Kingfisher book and will absolutely be sure to read other works by her. Thank you to NetGalley and 47North for this ARC!

Sometimes gods come a courting, and the courted is maybe a little clueless (but also the courter is a bird god). You can feel Kingfisher's love for the desert in how she describes the weird little community that Selena finds her way into, and the lore that unexpectedly ends up enveloping her. If you're going to be unsuspectingly courted by a roadrunner god, I can't think of anyone better than Grandma Billy and Father Aguirre to have around and have you help navigate the spirit world. (If you are a pet owner there is a spell in the spirit world that may make you sob out loud, but it's ok, nothing happens to the dog!!) This is absolutely absurd, in the best kind of way, and still goes as creepy as Kingfisher is known to do (dead rattlesnakes!!). Unsure if this is a oneshot or if there'll be more, but either way, its a delectable treat.

I absolutely love t kingfishers horror books, so I was really excited when I saw this one on netgalley. Overall I think that it was a good book, but it was a little slow for me. I wasn’t really itching to pick the book back up when I would put it down, but that may be a me problem. I think the ending really pulled it together for me and brought the rating up. Really wasn’t that scary. I really liked the characters and the small historical town aspect. Overall a solid read!

First, I want to acknowledge the diverse representation in this book. From a fiery elder queer, to a Latin priest with a questionable background, to a neurodivergent FMC struggling with her mental health after coming out of a relationship with a vapid narcissist while grieving recent family deaths. Selena’s inner monologue is heartbreaking and uncomfortably relatable as she navigates relocating to a small town in the desert with nothing but her dog and $27 to her name.
Light on the horror, heavy on the self discovery, with a dash of vengeful spirits and found family;
I would give this book more stars if I could.

Fed up with her manipulative boyfriend, Selena escapes with her dog to her late aunt’s home in the desert town of Quartz Creek. There, she’s met with some unexpected sad news but finds comfort in the welcoming community—including Grandma Billy and the local priest. Her life takes an even stranger turn when she begins encountering mischievous spirits that disrupt her attempt at a fresh start.

I enjoyed this one quite a lot. Around the 60% mark, the pace of the story slowed a little, and the lack of direction made it a bit confusing, plot-wise. But overall, I still enjoyed the story.

This is a story of found family, new beginnings, and accepting yourself!
Can I just say that I adored Grandma Billy? She was adorable.


Thank you to NetGalley and 47North for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
Pub date 11/11/2025

Thanks to NetGalley & 47North for having this as a read now option! And of course thank you to T. Kingfisher for always writing such amazing stories!

Selena and her dog Copper have run away. Well... Okay maybe they didn't actually run away, she's gone to visit her aunt (that she lost contact with three years ago but who's counting). Selena has scripts that she practices and follows to make interactions easier. She's practicing one of those when the train stops in what appears to be the middle of the desert, the town is a short hike away but doesn't look like much either, she's used to the big city after all.

Selena doesn't know it yet, but coming to this quiet desert town will be anything but quiet. She's about to learn there's more in the world than she knows. Spirits are real, fetches are real, and sometimes you need to go on a journey with your new best friends and try to defeat something you'd have never believed existed before. (Btw those best friends are an old lady named Grandma Billy and an interesting Catholic priest named Father Aguirre and they are wonderful).

Will everything wrap up nicely for Selena and Copper? Or will the past she's running from come back to haunt her in the end?

T. Kingfisher has once again spun a wonderful tale, that I'm pleased to say is a standalone, and if you're new to their books I think this one would be a great place to start! You get a feel for their writing style, humor and it's easy to get sucked into the story and not want to stop reading.

Snake-Eater was a quick and light-hearted read. It was a nice solid, middle of the road book, but nothing ground-breaking. The setting in the desert town of Quartz Creek and meeting all the locals was the highlight of the book.

I feel that the book just fell short of its goal and description. It was advertised as a horror novel with the vengeance of gods at play, and it ended up being more of a cozy fantasy with a minor villain. For true horror-fantasy in a desert town, I was imaging a novel more like American Elsewhere, which I loved. Perhaps a little different marketing would have helped temper my expectations, because I love all T. Kingfisher's other works.

Thanks you 47North and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy to read!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy!

T. Kingfisher basically never misses for me, and this was no exception. The setting is the American southwest desert, when the veil is thin and mysterious abound. It’s here we find our protagonist traveling to, seemingly abandoning her partner and showing up in Quartz Creek with her dog. Here begins a really lovely horror story of spirits, adventurous aunts, nosy neighbors, and a Catholic priest in his element.

I love this setting so much. This gives me the same vibes as “Far From Any Road” by the Handsome Family (give that a listen to get you in the mood). As someone who’s only been to the desert a few times, the “thinness” is definitely palpable and it absolutely feels like nature is holding on to its secrets. Beyond just vibes, however, this is also a story of a woman finding herself (trite but no spoilers), a community coming together, and a dog saving the day. I highly recommend this for fans of supernatural horror and watching someone build a new life from scratch.

Loved it, loved it. Strange goings on in small town. a host of wonderful characters and a strong female lead. Really enjoyed this book, recommended. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This author manages to make enjoyable even a book where the main villain is a hysterical roadrunner god. Read in an afternoon, because the side characters besides Selena are also really well written especially the priest and the grandmother. It made me want to see the Sonora desert.

Questa autrice riesce a rendere piacevole anche un libro dove il protagonista é un dio roadrunner isterico. Letto in un pomeriggio, perché anche i personaggi comprimari oltre a Selena sono veramente ben scritti specialmente il prete e la nonna. Mi é venuta voglia di vedere il deserto di Sonora.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Oh, T. Kingfisher you have completely enthralled me. This was my second book by this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading this. Snake-eater follows Selena and her dog Copper as they escape to the desolate desert town of Quartz Creek where her Aunt lived, only to learn of the gods (or spirits) that loom over the area.

The book is incredibly atmospheric, completely immersing you in its setting through all of the senses. It was so visually immersive, I had a hard time putting it down because the writing sucks you into the world and paints it so well. There is a bit of a horror aspect to this book, but it’s very small. I would say it’s more suspenseful and eerie at times rather than ‘horror.’

I really loved Selena, I found her relatable, tragic, and heartwarming all in one. Her journey felt so satisfying and well-deserved, the last lines of this book had me in tears. Selena goes through an internal arc, finding her sense of self, and also just a home in the world, and it is the absolute sweetest thing to read even through the more eerie parts of this book. The pacing is slow at the beginning, but thinking about it, I like how Kingfisher established so much of Selena in Quartz Creek before we get to more of the actual action. It places her character, and who she is as a person, so much better.

The secondary characters here, Grandma Billy and Father Aguirre are also highlights. Their characters felt so palpable and distinct, and with Selena and Copper, are such an odd group of people, yet they work so well. There is a found family aspect to this, and it is executed so well. You feel the care these people have for one another, and their conversations were always interesting to read through.

There are religious themes handled in this book, and of note, the conversations between Father Aguirre and Selena were interesting to read. I would say it could have gone even more into it, given what we learn about Selena’s mother (though there is a specific line that stands out, comparing how Father Aguirre sees God vs. how her mother did), but I am satisfied with what it did. The entire god/spirit aspect of the book (the snake-eater of it all) was so intriguing. Once you get into the thick of it, the book reads so quickly, I also would have wanted to spend more time with it, but this did not hinder my reading experience at all. It gets weird but in a good way, and it might be a Kingfisher thing, the way she sucks you so deeply into the story, more than you had been before.

In all, Kingfisher comments on the importance of kindness, and of having real relationships with people (and dogs!), and honestly, I would read so much of Selena, Grandma Billy, and Father Aguirre if this was longer.

Thank you NetGalley and 47North for the ARC!!! Book publishes Nov. 11, 2025!

Yay, a new T, Kingfisher novel!

Selena has had enough of her awful, manipulative boyfriend. So she grabs her dog, turns off her phone, and heads toward her aunt’s house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. Once there, Selena receives some sad, unexpected news. Luckily, she is embraced by the community, including her new neighbor Grandma Billy, and the local priest. However, when Selena’s aunt’s stranger friends start showing up, things get very weird.

Snake-Eater is an absolute joy of a book. I was rooting for Selena from day one, and it was a true pleasure to accompany her on such an odd, but ultimately rewarding, journey. This is one of Kingfisher’s many talents; writing truly magnetic characters that feel completely genuine.

But that’s not to say this book is completely weird-warming. The supernatural elements of this story are genuinely frightening. The nods to folklore explored a whole new world of things of which to be terrified.

Is cozy horror really a thing? If so, I guess this might fit that definition. Either way, as a lover of weird horror and the work of T. Kingfisher, this was a perfect book for me.

I was a little scared going into this because I decided to read solely because the book was a T. Kingfisher book, and didn't know what to expect. And it did not look like the Swordheart and family book, so I was worried about being too much terror for me. Instead, it was the book I needed at this point in my life, with a relatable main character in a situation that many woman live in at some point in their life (but hers was a bit more extreme). In the end, I not only loved the book but I think this should be necessary reading for young women all over. Sometimes it's easy not to see the truth right in front of you.

Devastated to report that while I did love Selena, Copper, Father Aguirre, and especially Grandma Billy, the book was too slow for my tastes - especially for a novella. But honorable mention for Father Aguirre and not letting the institution of Catholicism build a barrier between a priest and the people who need help, support, and guidance.

Kingfisher’s horror novels are, put simply, a woman + strange house + supernatural phenomenon + humor. This one fits all that, but so much of the real estate is taken up by Selena’s social anxiety and circling the drain of being emotionally manipulated by people who were supposed to care about her that everything else was just… on hold for most of the book. I kept letting myself get distracted, when this should have been an easy and quick read.

It was fine, overall, but I wouldn’t consider it a new favorite

The Plot.
In Snake-Eater, we are introduced to Selena, an anxious and introspective protagonist, who arrives in Quartz Creek accompanied by her loyal black Labrador, Copper (which she has named for his coppery-colored eyes). Their destination is Jackrabbit Hole House, the home of her Aunt Amelia, with whom Selena has not had contact for over a year. Driven by her mother's recent passing and a strong aversion to returning to her emotionally and psychologically abusive partner, Walter, Selena seeks refuge and a fresh start.
Upon their arrival, Selena is devastated to discover that Aunt Amelia passed away a year prior. With no acquaintances in the town, limited financial resources, and the responsibility of caring for Copper, Selena reluctantly accepts an offer to stay in her aunt's still-empty house. She resolves that her stay will be temporary, just long enough to earn sufficient funds for a train ticket to an unspecified destination.
However, the desert landscape of Quartz Creek quickly reveals its peculiarities. Aunt Amelia, it turns out, cultivated relationships with non-human entities, who seem disgruntled by Selena's presence in the house. Fortunately, the local human residents prove to be remarkably supportive, extending advice and assistance despite Selena's initial reluctance to accept their help.
Highlights.
This doesn’t deviate between Kingfisher novels; her characters are always the highlight above anything else for me. Here we have a community of desert dwellers, each with their own quirks and oddities. My favourite is Grandma Billy. Everyone needs a Grandma Billy in their life, straight shooting (—literally in this instance!), she’s not one to mess with, but if she takes a liking to you, you’ll be the luckiest person in the desert. Fantastically, in Snake-Eater, we also have animals as side characters, and this reaches beyond the canine companion. In this story, we have angry roosters, a vengeful roadrunner and a plucky peacock called Merv.
“Copper, recognizing a place where she frequently received table scraps, flopped down under the table and made chewing noises.”
Another highlight of the narrative is Kingfisher's nuanced portrayal of Selena, a woman clearly shaped by emotional and psychological abuse. Her character consistently demonstrates a deep-seated worry of being a burden, a profound reluctance to accept help or assistance, and a habit of rehearsing responses to encounters to mitigate the risk of upsetting others or making a mistake. Her character arc, as she gradually gains confidence and independence throughout her time in Quartz Creek, is a compelling and beautifully created aspect of the novel.
“Apologies were the best tool she’d ever found for making something over.”
The Final Take
Overall, Snake-eater was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I loved this particular take on folk horror, a genre I find myself returning to time and again. I especially appreciate when these stories diverge from the typical woods or forest settings, which, in my opinion, are far too common. Here, T. Kingfisher brilliantly transports us to the desert, serving up a chilling encounter with ancient desert Gods. It's a truly brilliant and refreshing approach to the genre.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

30 year old anxiety ridden Selena flees her emotionally abusive fiancé to the town of Quartz Creek. Upon arriving she learns her aunt passed away within the last year, leaving her without a home or family. She is invited by Jenny, the town's mayor (who is also the town fire marshal, chief of police, and postmistress, among other things!) to make herself at home at her aunt's old home, Jackrabbit Hole House.

She befriends her neighbor, Grandma Billy, who, along with Father Aguirre, welcome her to town and offer advice on how to deal with her non-human housemates. Selena quickly adjusts to the critters that live nearby but has a harder time accepting her spiritual neighbors. As in, literal spirits and gods.

The biggest trouble marker is a lonely local god called Snake-Eater. Selena and Snake-Eater get off on the wrong foot and he's determined to make life difficult for her.

This novel has a lot of the classic T. Kingfisher elements, like older aged characters and a 30s year old FMC forced to start the next chapter of her life. Selena is a little difficult at times because she is so anxiety ridden. Her inner dialog is very repetitive but I did come to care for her. Grandma Billy and Father Aguirre are both wonderful in their own ways. The characters are where this book shines.

What I was a little disappointed in was Snake-Eater. His motivations and how he came to be involved in Selena and her aunt's lives felt undeveloped to me. I get that gods don't need a reason to do what they do, but his actions at times felt like a plot device. It's not until the end of the book that the characters start to discuss his actions and motivation. Also, as a huge fan of T. Kingfisher's horror books I was a little disappointed. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book if you're pulled in by the horror tag. It doesn't have the same vibe as her other horror books.

However, I did enjoy this book. T. Kingfisher is one of my most read authors and there's no doubt she's very talented. But this definitely is my least favorite of her books that I have read. My review is rounded up to 4 stars from 3.75.

I enjoyed this book overall. This was my first T.Kingfisher novel and I found the writing strong. The characters were interesting and full of personality. I especially appreciated the representation of neurodivergence through the main character, Selena—it was portrayed thoughtfully and was relatable.

That said, the pacing felt incredibly slow at times, and the plot lacked a clear sense of direction, which made it harder to stay fully engaged. The unique characters, found family dynamic and representation made it a worthwhile read.

Thank you publisher 47North for the advanced copy.

T. Kingfisher NEVER misses!!!! Her books are always 100/100 and this one was no exception!

A woman and her dog seek sanctuary in a small desert city where they encounter a priest, a tough and sassy 70 year old woman and an evil bird.

Spirits, gods, chickens, peacocks, found family, beautiful desolate landscapes and a heartfelt journey of self discovery.

I absolutely loved this book!!

Witty, creepy, atmospheric and full of heart!!!!! 💖💖💖💖

Thank you T. Kingfisher for writing this beautiful story!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!!

Quick question, T. Kingfisher, do you sleep?

Not only is it impressive to have 3 books scheduled for release in the same year, but to actually write incredible, unique, engaging books... damn. You are truly setting the standard. I'm not shocked that I enjoyed this; I've come to understand that if Kingfisher writes it, I'll like it.

What really stood out within this novel is the setting. Kingfisher, as usual, creates worlds with such devastatingly evocative description that I feel as if I could've been there before. If I had one complaint for Snake-Eater, it was that the relationships lacked more depth and development. I would've liked a little more development so I was more emotionally impacted and engaged throughout the journey.