“Do you know how the scorpion chooses his mate?” “Promenade à deux. By asking her to dance.”

What would I give to wipe my memories from the past few days and read this book for the first time again? I don't know how to quantify that exactly, other than saying “a hell of a lot.” Anathema has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2024, and it vastly exceeded any expectations I had going into it. If anyone is on the fence about an author who has not written fantasy before and is now writing within the genre, let me be the first to say that Keri Lake has officially carved her name among the greats of fantasy fiction writing. Her world-building outdoes any other fantasy novel I've ever read. Granted, lots of people have read many more fantasy novels than me, but I know good world-building when I read it. Keri Lake is famous for her skills in this area, even in dark contemporary books. She blew my expectations out of the water, just like I knew she would.

The Eating Woods the villagers called it, because sometimes the carcasses of those casted off were recovered along the edge, their bodies having been stripped of skin and flesh. Some so badly ravaged, only the metal cuff of their shackles confirmed them as banished.

The characters were brilliant, likable, and wonderfully complex. Zevander is my favorite type of anti-hero: brooding, closed-off, tormented, and teasing. He’s the type of asshole you can’t help but fall in love with-the kind that “hates-everyone-but-you.” And hates the way he feels for Maevyth for a good portion of the book, as well. I knew I was falling madly in love with him when Maevyth told him her name, and he said, "I didn't ask."

“Good and benevolent.” He sneered. “I have little care for others in general, but less so for mortals.”
I ran my tongue across the back of my teeth. “Why is that?”
“You’re pests,” he said, his voice thick with repulsion. “Weak little rodents that infest and spread disease.”

He tried so damned hard to ignore Maevyth. Really, he did. And he failed so damned miserably. The result of his reluctance is aching tension between him and Maevyth that is felt on nearly every page, and a romance that feels real.

She held such a purity and innocence about her, a vibrancy that taunted the darkest corners of his soul. And seven hells, he wanted to tear his own eyeballs out for noticing.

I happened to enjoy the game of push and pull between us. The tension that left me constantly guessing.

She was the fire in his veins. A torment, for which he vilified the gods.

Maevyth was kind, honest, bright, and possessed a very logical mind. I love seeing logical heroines in fiction because I feel like they are not represented as often as heroines who first act on heartfelt emotion. Because I think very logically most of the time, I related to Maevyth's inner thought process and felt like she made intelligent decisions even when faced with few options. She might be my favorite Keri Lake heroine to date!

“You see the dead, Girl. But have you ever stared death in the face yourself?”

Something about him brought out a side of me I mostly kept subdued, for fear of the consequences. I’d always had a sharp tongue, but men, in particular, had always found a way of silencing it, either by a slap to the face, or flogging.

While you may see some slight similarities with other fantasy novels (some fantasy elements seem to carry over between almost all fantasy books that I’ve read), Keri has made a refreshingly unique magic system and dark fantasy world. I could stay lost in it for ages.

“What is it?” she echoed. “You want to know what wicked diablerie lies beyond The Eating Woods?” The wood creaked as she slowly rocked in her chair, holding the bowl of the pipe in her palm. “A gateway to another world. I was no more than your age when I ventured into that dark forest.”

Anathema was dark and delicious with well-placed horror elements, all the while riddled with palpable tension between Maevyth and Zevander. Their romance is a delectably delicious slow burn and will continue into the second book in the Eating Woods duology.

I’d be shocked if Keri isn’t approached for a publishing deal for this story. I simply cannot say I loved this book- the term is too simple and feels so dull. This book is the dark gothic romantasy of my dreams. Anathema is THE dark fantasy of the year! If it’s not on your TBR, by gods, please add it. I promise you won’t regret it.

For those who feel lost in a dark and pathless wood. Believe in the magic beyond the trees.