REVIEW: Sin Eater

Sin Eater
Author: Megan Campisi

This story is part alternate history and part dark fairy tale. Sin Eaters. Women forced to listen to the confessions of dying people, then take on their sins by eating foods that symbolize the sins confessed. May is an orphan....alone and hungry. When she steals a loaf of bread, she is branded and shackled in a heavy collar. Forced to be a sin eater, she is a social pariah, living under the threat of hell if she fails in her duty. When her mentor is charged with treason and killed after refusing to eat a deer heart, May wants to know the truth of what happened. She finds herself dragged down into dark conspiracies and dangerous secrets.

This tale is dark, and so creative! I didn't like seeing it compared to other stories like The Handmaid's Tale. It's nothing like those other stories....it's a creative idea all its own. It does deal with the bleak aspects of class and sexism like The Handmaid's Tale and other stories have done before. But Campisi creates something new and different in this dark tale. At times, it was hard for me to continue reading as I felt such sympathy for the main character. Her life and situation are so bleak.....but the 16th century was a pretty bleak time for most people.

Interesting and mesmerizing read! I'm definitely looking foward to reading more by this author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Atria Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**