Darcey's Reviews > The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

arc copy provided in exchange for an honest review. this in no way changes my rating or review.

buddy read with my dear ashley!

4.5 stars

wow wow, this book! i read "hell followed with us" by the same author last year and was completely in awe of andrew joseph white's writing, and "the spirit bares its teeth" did not disappoint.

"'Mors vincit omnia'...
Death conquers all. Everyone will die and there is not a soul who can escape it."

"the spirit bares its teeth" is not for the faint of heart. it is perhaps even more gory and brutal that the author's previous book, and filled with such trauma and cruelty that sometimes i just wanted to shy away from it all. but that's not to say that this book didn't have some lightness and comfort in it as well, because our main couple - daphne and silas - were the most precious little duo of beans, and i wanted to hug them tight the entire novel.

"She smiles. Her eyes shine like something vicious, and I have never been more attracted to anything in my sixteen years of being alive."

our story follows silas, a trans, autistic boy who has a great interest in surgery, and can tear the veil to talk with ghosts, a trait specific to all those with purple eyes. i adored silas - he was such a brilliantly realistic character, and the entire book i felt such love for him. his relationship with daphne was so beautiful and i loved the way it was written, i may be an adamant insta-love hater, but it wasn't really insta-love. it was like a connection between souls, as two people who understood each other finally found someone they could trust.

i also loved the magical realism aspect, with the ghosts adding an occasional perspective to the book, which was really interesting. the entire book i begged for the girls to be allowed their revenge, and i really appreciated the sense of fulfillment that white gave me regarding that aspect.

"if we still had the fingers to take out their eyes
we would feast on them like witches"

all in all, this was such a beautifully written and highly captivating novel. it was dark and heartbreaking in parts, but overall had such a powerful ending, and the characters were each so realistic (especially mary!! i LOVED mary). highly recommended! (but check those trigger warnings)

thank you so much to the author, publisher and netgalley for the free copy provided in exchange for an honest review!!