Synopsis:
Twenty years ago, the mysterious death of his aunt left Aaron Holbrook orphaned and alone. He abandoned his rural Arkansas hometown vowing never to return, until his seven-year-old son died in an accident, plunging Aaron into a nightmare of addiction and grief. Desperate to reclaim a piece of himself, he returns to the hills of his childhood, to Holbrook House, where he hopes to find peace among the memories of his youth. But solace doesn’t come easy. Someone—or something—has other plans. Like Aaron, Holbrook House is but a shell of what it once was, a target for vandals and ghost hunters who have nicknamed it “the devil’s den.”
Aaron doesn’t believe in the paranormal—at least, not until a strange boy begins following him wherever he goes. Plagued by violent dreams and disturbing visions, Aaron begins to wonder if he’s losing his mind. But a festering darkness lurks at the heart of Holbrook House… a darkness that grins from within the shadows, delighting in Aaron’s sorrow, biding its time.
Edition:
Audiobook (Kindle Unlimited)
My Thoughts:
I feel…let down by this story. Like, it started off REALLY strong – that bird-eating ghost boy is SCARY (I mean, he’s a bird eater…) – but he kind of plays second fiddle to a bunch of characters who I struggled to understand.
In the case of Aaron, I get it – he’s a broken man. His life has been full of tragedy, and that sucks for him. I understand why he is the way he is. But everyone else? I’ve got a lot of questions.
The “best friend” Eric (bunny-eared because they were childhood besties who haven’t seen or spoken to one another since Aaron disappeared 20 years before) – what is this dude’s deal? He’s an amateur ghost hunter who…knows nothing about the ghost said to haunt the house where his best friend lived/bf’s aunt died/mom died/sat abandoned for 20 years after Aaron was taken away post-aunt’s death? What are the chances that this dude would no absolutely nothing about Birdie?
And Cheri…I’m not even sure what to say about this lady. She was also childhood friends with Aaron, and they kissed once. And she’s STILL carrying on about him to the point where when he reappears all this time later, she’s willing to completely abandon her marriage (to someone she seems to love) just for the chance to bone this complete headcase (Aaron)? Is she bananas, or does she just really like unhealthy relationships?
What if insanity is just a heightened sense of perception?
And Birdie…he could have been so cool! But, instead he’s barely explained, and aside from what he did to Aaron’s mom and aunt, which are kind of just glossed-over, he’s really more of a nuisance for most of the story. Creepy, but more weird and annoying than dangerous, mostly. I wanted desperately to understand him. What was his motivation? Why does he eat birds? Is it just because it’s unsettling? (it is) Instead, I was left with a tiny bit of backstory, and that’s about it.
I like the idea of The Bird Eater so much, and it did start out really promising. Ultimately I just wish the story was Aaron and Birdie, because everyone else felt superfluous and distracting. And those two still could have benefited from additional fleshing out. And a lot more explanation of the lore – the ghost or demon or whatever the hell he was supposed to be would have gone miles toward making this book more enjoyable.
About the Author (from Goodreads):
Born in Ciechanow Poland, Ania has always been drawn to the darker, mysterious, and sometimes morbid sides of life. Her earliest childhood memory is of crawling through a hole in the chain link fence that separated her family home from the large wooded cemetery next door. She’d spend hours among the headstones, breaking up bouquets of silk flowers so that everyone had their equal share.
Author of nine novels, Ania’s books have been lauded by the likes of Publisher’s Weekly, The New York Daily News, and The New York Times. Some titles have been optioned for film.
Hailing from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ania currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina.
For more from Ania, visit her site, or connect via social media on Facebook and Twitter.
Rating:
Honestly, I felt like The Bird Eater was a really good idea, that just didn’t fully come together in its execution.
The Bird Eater Ania Ahlborn Brilliance Audio ISBN: 1480581054 Published: April 1, 2014 Audiobook, E-book, Paperback 290 Pages Author's website Author's Facebook Twitter: @aniaahlborn
