The Poison Eaters and Other Stories

Pick your poison: Vampires, devils, werewolves, faeries, or . . . ? Find them all here in Holly Black’s amazing first collection.

In her debut collection, New York Times best-selling author Holly Black returns to the world of Tithe in two darkly exquisite new tales. Then Black takes readers on a tour of a faerie market and introduces a girl poisonous to the touch and another who challenges the devil to a competitive eating match. Some of these stories have been published in anthologies such as 21 Proms, The Faery Reel, and The Restless Dead, and many have been reprinted in many “Best of ” anthologies.

The Poison Eaters is Holly Black’s much-anticipated first collection, and her ability to stare into the void—and to find humanity and humor there—will speak to young adult and adult readers alike.

My Thoughts:

Ooh, I loved this book and I hated it. I got it off of my TBR knowing that I wanted it so I forgot to double check the synopsis and was not expecting a series of short stories in place of a novel. Some of the stories were based on other things she had written, like “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” and “Tithe,” and getting a little more insight on her older stories was fun, but the ones I really, really enjoyed were independent.

Which brings me to the ‘hate’ part. WHHYYY did I pick up a series of short stories by Holly Black? They were all too- well, SHORT! Almost every story in the collection left me wanting more, which is good in a novel, but in a short story that will never see a sequel, it’s dreadful. I can’t write a really in-depth view of a collection like this, so I’m just going to say I completely enjoyed The Poison Eaters, but I am never, ever picking up a series of short stories again. Particularly by Holly Black.