Review: All the Hearts You Eat by Hailey Piper

Title: All the Hearts You Eat

Author: Hailey Piper

Length: 448 Pages

Category: Horror

Rating: 5 Stars

At a Glance: One of the greatest surprises in this book is who becomes the heroes. This unexpected but beautifully executed turn adds more than a few touching moments within the terror. Vivid narrative, intriguing characters, dark souls and local mythology define this story in a way only Hailey Piper could breathe life into it.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: What really happened to Cabrina Brite?

Ivory’s life changes irrevocably when she discovers the body of Cabrina Brite on the sands of Cape Morning, along with a mysterious poem. How did she die, and why does it seem she was trying to swim to Ghost Cat Island, the center of so many local mysteries?

Desperate to uncover the answers surrounding Cabrina’s death, and haunted by her discovery, Ivory begins to see the pale ghost of Cabrina, only to shake it off as a mere hallucination. But Ivory is not alone. Cabrina’s closest friends have also seen a similar apparition, and as they toy with occult possibilities, they begin to unravel the truth behind Cabrina’s death.

Because Cape Morning isn’t a ghost town, but a town filled with ghosts, and Ivory is about to discover just what happens when you let one in.

Review: Hailey Piper once again does what Hailey Piper always does so powerfully: tells a horror story that stirs the imagination with dark imagery while also offering an abundance of heart and passion to her characters. All the Hearts You Eat is chilling while, at the same time, painful. It’s a story composed of friendship and alliance and love, but is also tempered by longing and loneliness for Ivory—a woman who has spent her life trying to be pleasant and unobtrusive, perhaps not for the purpose of fitting in, but more so to not stand out.

Small town claustrophobia adds dimension to the story, in the sense that Ivory’s solitude comes largely from her desire to remain inconspicuous, to be unproblematic. Ivory wants to find love, but settles for being wanted; though, even the physical connections come with conditions. That is, when Ivory isn’t an inconvenience. The author’s answer to this is in the discovery and exploration of another world, a dimension that gives Ivory what she’s seeking. Including a thirst for vengeance.

One of the greatest surprises in this book is who becomes the heroes. This unexpected but beautifully executed turn adds more than a few touching moments within the terror. As a precaution to those readers who appreciate it, teen depression and suicide figure prominently into the plot. All Cabrina Brite wanted was to be herself. Her death is not simply a warning; it’s a clarion call for unconditional love and support.

Vivid narrative, intriguing characters, dark souls and local mythology define this story in a way only Hailey Piper could breathe life into it.