I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me

There will be blood.

Ace of Spades meets House of Hollow in this villain origin story.

Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.

The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she's dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.

But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is--monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn't catch her first.

From debut author Jamison Shea comes I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, a slow-burn horror that lifts a veil on the institutions that profit on exclusion and the toll of giving everything to a world that will never love you back.

Author: Jamison Shea
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Published: 08/29/2023
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.28h x 6.37w x 1.16d
ISBN: 9781250909565
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2023
Booklist 08/01/2023 pg. 65
Publishers Weekly 08/28/2023

About the Author
Jamison Shea was once a flautist, violist, anthropologist, linguist, choreographer, dancer, professional fire alarm puller, digital producer, and account executive--but they've always been a writer. Born in Buffalo, NY and now surrounded by darkness and gloom in Finland, when Jamison isn't writing horror, they're drinking milk tea and searching for long-forgotten gods in eerie places.