All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters | Book Review

All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I fully admit that I was drawn to this book by its very eerie cover. I did not research much about it, but I was intrigued by the mention of a gothic story set at a college. I guess I was hoping for something supernatural along the lines of Harry Potter or The Magicians, with a mystery element, but that was unfortunately not what I got.

The story follows a freshman girl named Tara, who is struggling to find her place at school. After some curious events, she is invited into the prominent, extremely selective and secretive academic society on campus called Magni Viri. This opportunity is everything Tara could ever dream of, but she soon discovers a darker side to the organization, as her fellow students seem to be all consumed in their independent studies to a potentially deadly degree.

The premise of the story is captivating, but overall I found the writing to be lacking. There is a definitive atmospheric feel to the book, a general foreboding that puts you on edge throughout. I kept trying to figure out exactly what kind of book I was reading as I was reading it. Is it a mystery? A crime novel? A ghost story? I guess you can say that the constant questioning plays into the gothic style, but it was a distraction for me. I also did not really like the characters, particularly the main character Tara, which made it difficult for me to have a vested interest in her story. The book does have diverse representation, including LGBTQ+ characters and romance.

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙏𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬. 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢-𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 (𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚). 𝙈𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠'𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

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