Anathema (The Eating Woods, #1) by Keri Lake🎧 Narrated by James Cassidy & Melissa Barr

Synopsis (via Goodreads): From the author of Nocticadia comes a spellbinding gothic dark fantasy about a shunned woman who is forced beyond the mortal realm's forbidden boundary, into a terrifying world of cursed souls and grotesque creatures.
Only the banished know what lies beyond the woods ...

There are whispers about what lurks in Witch Knell—the forest where sinners go to die. The villagers call it The Eating Woods because what’s taken is never given back. Only those who’ve lost their senses would dare to go near it.

Or the banished.

Maevyth Bronwick knows better than to breach the misty labyrinth of trees, but a tragic turn of events compels her beyond the archway of bones, to a boundary no mortal has crossed before. One that cloaks a dark and fantastical world that’s as dangerous as it is alluring.

It’s there that he dwells, the cursed lord of Eidolon. The one tasked to keep her hidden from the magehood that seeks to crucify her in the name of an arcane prophesy. Zevander Rydainn, known to his prey as The Scorpion, is the coldest, most calculated assassin in all of Aethyria and he’d sooner toss his feisty ward to a pack of vicious fyredrakes than keep her safe.

If only he could.

Maevyth’s blood is the key to breaking his despised curse and vanquishing the slumbering evil in Witch Knell. Unfortunately for Lord Rydainn, fate has other plans for the irresistible little enchantress. And his growing obsession with her threatens to destroy everything.

Including himself.

Anathema is a full-length, gothic dark fantasy, the first book in The Eating Woods duology. Perfect for readers who enjoy a plot-heavy and atmospheric story with a unique magic system, a slow-burn romance and a touch of horror.

I really wanted to like Anathema, but I struggled to finish it. The story went on and on with very little plot progression. We spend a lot of time in Maevyth's world (no magic), then she finds herself at Eidolon for a while (a place with magic), then there's a ceremony followed by a small conflict, and then it ends on a cliffhanger. Even the majority of the spicy stuff happens in the last ten minutes of the book (and by then I no longer cared). 

We were introduced to so many different characters - characters that had the potential to be really interesting - but none of them were fleshed out very well. I barely remember their names, and they pop up here and there throughout the book to add a few snippets of dialogue before disappearing again. I still don't know much about any of them, and that includes the two main characters. We get a few details, but for how long this book drug on, I would have expected more development for them and for the story. Unfortunately, there isn't much telling or showing. We basically go through boring and uneventful days alongside the main characters while they worry about this or that problem.

I also didn't like how quickly Maevyth was able to learn magic. She was told it took people years to master the glyphs, but she was able to look at one on a tree and suddenly knew exactly how to use it? I know there were other things going on and she's "special," but it wasn't very believable. She didn't really have to work for anything, and she was always being saved by someone or something else. She didn't earn any of it, and she just whined about her predicament. 

If you're going to create a rich fantasy world with cool concepts, flesh them out. Tell me about the characters and make me care about whether or not they live or die. Brand their names and their stories on my heart so that I'm thinking about them even when I'm not reading the book. Describe the world so it's a vivid image in my mind, and a place I can picture myself in without trying. I think the author had a good idea that was just really poorly executed. (★★★☆☆)