Eldritch: The Eating Woods, Book 2

Raikeehime

Absolutely loved this book!

"I honestly didn’t even know how to start reviewing this one. I finished it, stared into space for a long while, and then had to emotionally recover before I could put words together. So yes, this review is overdue, and this will not be spoiler-free. ⚠️ Eldritch is book two in The Eating Woods series, picking up right where Anathema left off, and it goes deep into Zevander’s past. And when I say deep, I mean devastatingly dark. Think Edge of Darkness–level trauma. His history is brutal, heartbreaking, and relentlessly cruel. I swear, if Zevander doesn’t get a proper healing arc soon, Keri Lake is going to owe me therapy. The timeline in this book constantly shifts, pulling us back into Zevander’s past, his captivity, the abuse, the torture he endured under the Solassions. These sections were incredibly hard to read, but they felt necessary. Painful, yes, but essential to fully understand who Zevander is and how his magic came to be. What completely wrecked me was how the book slowly reveals that Zevander and Maevyth were connected long before what Anathema revealed. The breadcrumbing is masterfully done. Piece by piece, you realize that he chose her before they ever truly met, before she even was. The way everything clicks into place, tying back to moments from Anathema, had me internally screaming. And then the reveal that he was made to forget. He forgot, but his heart didn’t. His magic didn’t. 😭 “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴. 𝘔𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘴𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.” Zevander Rydainn. The Scorpion of Nyxteros. Lord of Eidolon. I love this man an unreasonable amount. I want to wrap him in blankets and protect him from the world. His backstory, his choices, the way he clings and fights for Maevyth. “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.” The relationship between Maevyth and Zevander was so deeply satisfying in this book. You can feel how much it’s grown since Anathema. They truly see each other, Zevander with all his darkness and scars, Maevyth with her compassion and strength. Their bond feels earned, raw, and intimate. The assassin and his Lunamiszka😌🖤 Their chemistry is just perfect. And that ending? A brutal cliffhanger that left me weak. Absolutely weak. ["

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January 30, 2026 Verified Purchase

ktuten

Will not look like the first book

"The story itself is wonderful. Picks RIGHT up where Anathema left off. My issue is that the book doesn’t match the first one as far as paper type, cover, or height. ["

March 12, 2026 Verified Purchase

Nicole K

Brilliant!

"Keri Lake has once again outdone herself & created a brilliantly written second installment in The Eating Woods trilogy. This is a gothic, dark horror with a romance that is angsty, impactful and all-consuming. The creatures/monsters in this would absolutely terrifying and well described…the religious trauma and oppressive themes persist & the plot kept me gasping and turning pages. Maevyth’s growth is believable and significant in this—she’s still her compassionate self but delves into her powers and purpose more and I love her as a heroine. Zevander…ugh the things this tortured man has gone through absolutely breaks my heart—Caligorya was such a unique and fascinating way to both further the plot and give him an escape within his mind from the torture and assault he is forced to endure. I also loved how it connected him to Maevyth early on in her life and gave her an angel to lean on when she was also struggling to survive. General Loyce is by far one of the most evil and derranged villains I’ve ever read about and I cannot wait for what’s inevitably coming for her. Once again we end on a cliffhanger and book 3 cannot come soon enough! ["

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April 4, 2026 Verified Purchase

Catherine Barillas

Love the story, don’t love when pages fall out!

"The book is great, I loved Anathema and this one so far! However, I’m only on page 253 and there are white a bit of pages coming out of the book. I’m not sure if the hard covers are the same, but I have the paper back and I’m not loving the fear of losing pages from a book I planned on keeping and possibly rereading. ["

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December 21, 2025 Verified Purchase

Amazon Customer

Worth it.

"I will fully admit that it took me a few chapters to commit to this than expected. I devoured Anathema, so this felt like a let down. At first. I am so grateful that I didn’t let it deter me from continuing! The Eating Woods is an incredibly immersive experience with the perfect amount of fear mixed in. The main characters go through unbearable trauma’s, and literally life altering situations that make each of their character arch’s incredibly powerful. This series can at times be a tough read (make sure to check the trigger warnings), but to me it is worth it. I felt love, fear, longing, sadness, anger, pride, happiness, and more. Magic system is unique (which is rare) and I will definitely be looking forward to whatever comes next from this author. 10/10. ["

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April 27, 2026 Verified Purchase