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The Flower Eater
In a world of medieval magic, a young priestess is enthralled by a handsome blacksmith into breaking her sacred vows. A crisis of faith and passion launches her into an astral dimension where mysterious flowers beckon and an evil prince flexes his psychic powers toward world domination.
In this fantasy tale, a young woman's psychic skill blossoms as the Sisterhood she once rejected seeks her help to battle evil in a land poised between violence and peace.
"A magical tale of fantasy, desire and revenge . . . magnificent . . . a timeless theme that resonates . . . a likable, relatable heroine. A delightfully entertaining story . . . ." - Kirkus Reviews
In this fantasy tale, a young woman's psychic skill blossoms as the Sisterhood she once rejected seeks her help to battle evil in a land poised between violence and peace.
"A magical tale of fantasy, desire and revenge . . . magnificent . . . a timeless theme that resonates . . . a likable, relatable heroine. A delightfully entertaining story . . . ." - Kirkus Reviews
- GenresFantasyYoung Adult
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 21, 2013
1545 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 21, 2013
This book was, at the risk of sounding cheesy, a magical read. I could not stop reading once I started, and it took me about three hours to finish. It was like Romeo and Juliet meets Hamlet, but with a happy ending.
I enjoyed Trilla, the main character, and I liked the character development of her. She went from being a young and naive girl, to being a strong and mystical woman. It was quite intriguing what happens once she eats the flowers, and how it affects her.
The world that M. LaRose has created in The Flower Eater is amazing. She gives so much detail that it's easy to envision what she is trying to portray. It was really a world filled with beauty and magic. I loved reading about Trilla's time in the House of Zerr. It was like Hogwarts and a convent all at once!
The villain, Endric, was very well written as well. You sympathized with him and thoroughly disliked him all at once. I do hope that in future novels the author goes more into detail about why eating the flowers affected him like it did. Perhaps it only works correctly with women?
The only real issue I had with the novel was I felt the relationship with Venn was a little rushed. I felt they needed more detail and more moments together. Also, I was a little surprised that she ended up with Venn. I saw her being with Reller, as his serious personality seemed to fit with the "New" Trilla much more. Oh, that would be FANTASTIC drama for the next book. And I DO hope there will be a sequel, because I can't wait to read more of this world!
All in all, a most wonderful debut novel. One of the most original and captivating books I've had the pleasure of reading in quite some time!
I enjoyed Trilla, the main character, and I liked the character development of her. She went from being a young and naive girl, to being a strong and mystical woman. It was quite intriguing what happens once she eats the flowers, and how it affects her.
The world that M. LaRose has created in The Flower Eater is amazing. She gives so much detail that it's easy to envision what she is trying to portray. It was really a world filled with beauty and magic. I loved reading about Trilla's time in the House of Zerr. It was like Hogwarts and a convent all at once!
The villain, Endric, was very well written as well. You sympathized with him and thoroughly disliked him all at once. I do hope that in future novels the author goes more into detail about why eating the flowers affected him like it did. Perhaps it only works correctly with women?
The only real issue I had with the novel was I felt the relationship with Venn was a little rushed. I felt they needed more detail and more moments together. Also, I was a little surprised that she ended up with Venn. I saw her being with Reller, as his serious personality seemed to fit with the "New" Trilla much more. Oh, that would be FANTASTIC drama for the next book. And I DO hope there will be a sequel, because I can't wait to read more of this world!
All in all, a most wonderful debut novel. One of the most original and captivating books I've had the pleasure of reading in quite some time!
January 21, 2014
A mystical journey into the land of magic and awe. The story will stay with you. The lavish characters are all beautifully written. I found myself thinking of it well after I finished reading it. If you are a Mists of Avalon fan, this one's for you. We need a sequel from M. LaRose....Soon!
August 19, 2015
The Flower Eater is a mystical thrilling experience...impossible to put down.
November 17, 2025
Three things helped me to finish this book. 1. My own stubbornness. 2. The fact that it was on my "currently reading" shelf and I wanted to clear it. and 3. The fact that it was free from Hoopla.
This book was a drag to get through. It took almost half of the novel to get to the main point. The main character was insufferable for most of that half. (And then almost murders someone with zero consequence.) And the ending had absolutely no foreshadowing. The only redeeming qualities were the ideas behind it. There is some passable world building here that might have made for a truly interesting novel. But this wasn't it.
I don't know of anyone I would recommend this one to. Read at your own risk. Or because it is free.
This book was a drag to get through. It took almost half of the novel to get to the main point. The main character was insufferable for most of that half. (And then almost murders someone with zero consequence.) And the ending had absolutely no foreshadowing. The only redeeming qualities were the ideas behind it. There is some passable world building here that might have made for a truly interesting novel. But this wasn't it.
I don't know of anyone I would recommend this one to. Read at your own risk. Or because it is free.
March 9, 2019
Impressive medieval magic world!
M. LaRose created an enchanting story in a delightful magical world. I easily connected to Trilla, the heroine. Trilla is torn between her desire to join the Sisterhood to serve the Goddess and her desire for the town blacksmith. There are many unexpected twists and turns that kept me glued until the last page. I loved the ending. If you like the fantasy genre you will love this book.
M. LaRose created an enchanting story in a delightful magical world. I easily connected to Trilla, the heroine. Trilla is torn between her desire to join the Sisterhood to serve the Goddess and her desire for the town blacksmith. There are many unexpected twists and turns that kept me glued until the last page. I loved the ending. If you like the fantasy genre you will love this book.
May 17, 2017
I love this enchanting story, full of magic and humanity, faith and doubt, love and anger, and most especially friendship. This particular story has a definite endpoint, but a series about the Sisterhood and Guard of Zerr would be welcome.
December 28, 2017
Great read! The first half moved quickly and brought me into a dynamic new world .
The second half was like a whole new story with some of the same characters . The writing takes you into the various settings and had me loving the main characters .
The second half was like a whole new story with some of the same characters . The writing takes you into the various settings and had me loving the main characters .
December 28, 2014
In the style of Marion Zimmer Bradley's MISTS OF AVALON, M. Larose has created a world of strong women in which goddesses and magic and mystical occurrences take place and serve the world in the best ways. From the beginning lines of the book, Larose creates a character with an authentic voice. Trilla, a novice apprentice priestess in the House of Zerr, is capricious and indecisive. She wants both to enter the training to become a priestess and also wants the love of the boy blacksmith to whom she feels an undeniable attraction. With Harnn, she learns the lessons of the body and is drawn into a love so strong, she almost breaks her vows.
But the lure of becoming a priestess embodies her completely and she turns from Harnn, denying him and his offer of marriage to go into the sacred training.
Throughout her education, the lessons of knowing herbs, developing spells and chants, reading weather patterns, understanding the earth's creatures and mastering dances and songs, Trilla feels there is something else. Sure that it must be the love of Harnn that she is missing, she flees the village where she is training for the Order and tries to fine Harnn.
In a way, it is unfortunate that she discovers her young love because he is preparing to marry and has moved on with his life. Heartbroken, Trilla concocts a plan to kill his young wife but doesn't follow through. That turning point is an important one in the novel, one that Larose uses to its full measure, for it is the use of flowers that Trilla discovers is her greatest strength.
Eating a flower that is supposed to be poisonous, she and her fellow priestesses are shocked to discover that she finds power in ingesting the flowers and has revealed herself as the flower eater, the first of her kind in hundreds of years.
Eating the flowers offers her a gift that makes her unreadable by anyone who is unable to travel as she does, on another astral plane. She has an accelerated power and a consciousness that none of the other priestesses can match. Her newly found power sets her on a path that puts her on a direct collision with an evil king and introduces her to the man who will become her greatest love, but revealing how that happens would be opening up the climax of the story.
Larose's ability with voice and details about the education of priestesses brings the novel out of the ordinary and into the company of Bradley's Arturian magic. Though the story does not employ knights or round tables, it does offer a story of strong women and the mysteries of the earth that women have mastered for centuries.
Loves of romance and fantasy will find themselves fans of Larose's Flower Eater and anxious for her next novel.
But the lure of becoming a priestess embodies her completely and she turns from Harnn, denying him and his offer of marriage to go into the sacred training.
Throughout her education, the lessons of knowing herbs, developing spells and chants, reading weather patterns, understanding the earth's creatures and mastering dances and songs, Trilla feels there is something else. Sure that it must be the love of Harnn that she is missing, she flees the village where she is training for the Order and tries to fine Harnn.
In a way, it is unfortunate that she discovers her young love because he is preparing to marry and has moved on with his life. Heartbroken, Trilla concocts a plan to kill his young wife but doesn't follow through. That turning point is an important one in the novel, one that Larose uses to its full measure, for it is the use of flowers that Trilla discovers is her greatest strength.
Eating a flower that is supposed to be poisonous, she and her fellow priestesses are shocked to discover that she finds power in ingesting the flowers and has revealed herself as the flower eater, the first of her kind in hundreds of years.
Eating the flowers offers her a gift that makes her unreadable by anyone who is unable to travel as she does, on another astral plane. She has an accelerated power and a consciousness that none of the other priestesses can match. Her newly found power sets her on a path that puts her on a direct collision with an evil king and introduces her to the man who will become her greatest love, but revealing how that happens would be opening up the climax of the story.
Larose's ability with voice and details about the education of priestesses brings the novel out of the ordinary and into the company of Bradley's Arturian magic. Though the story does not employ knights or round tables, it does offer a story of strong women and the mysteries of the earth that women have mastered for centuries.
Loves of romance and fantasy will find themselves fans of Larose's Flower Eater and anxious for her next novel.
September 19, 2017
Flawed characters make for interesting stories. Their humanness shows through and they become instantly relatable. In M. Larose's fantasy tale, The Flower Eater, young Trilla aspires to become a revered Priestess of Zerr. It has been her dream since she was a child to join the Sisterhood and serve the Goddess.
Torn by her desire to achieve her dream and her very human desire for the town blacksmith, Trilla makes some questionable choices and one very bad decision. All of this costs her dearly, and she loses both of the things she loves. Despair drives her to the field of poisonous meadow pinx. She eats them, but instead of ending her life, the flowers transform her into a mystical being who can travel the astral planes. This rare talent makes her the only one who might be able to defeat Prince Endric, a young villain with terrifying psychic powers.
I enjoyed Larose's well-developed world of the Sisterhood and all its rituals and details. Trilla's angst was believable, and I was glad she survived and learned from her mistakes. Prince Endric is one of those monstrous villains that leave you wondering what they would have been like if earlier events in their life had played out differently. The confrontation between Trilla and Endric had a surprising twist which was fine, though I have to admit I'd hoped for a little more in the way of heroics from Trilla to make up for her past actions. But it's understandable. She's young and still learning how to work with her new psychic powers. Hopefully, she'll have many more adventures in the future to develop and hone those powers. I look forward to reading them.
Torn by her desire to achieve her dream and her very human desire for the town blacksmith, Trilla makes some questionable choices and one very bad decision. All of this costs her dearly, and she loses both of the things she loves. Despair drives her to the field of poisonous meadow pinx. She eats them, but instead of ending her life, the flowers transform her into a mystical being who can travel the astral planes. This rare talent makes her the only one who might be able to defeat Prince Endric, a young villain with terrifying psychic powers.
I enjoyed Larose's well-developed world of the Sisterhood and all its rituals and details. Trilla's angst was believable, and I was glad she survived and learned from her mistakes. Prince Endric is one of those monstrous villains that leave you wondering what they would have been like if earlier events in their life had played out differently. The confrontation between Trilla and Endric had a surprising twist which was fine, though I have to admit I'd hoped for a little more in the way of heroics from Trilla to make up for her past actions. But it's understandable. She's young and still learning how to work with her new psychic powers. Hopefully, she'll have many more adventures in the future to develop and hone those powers. I look forward to reading them.
January 14, 2014
I enjoyed reading Trilla's story and her growth from a young girl to becoming a strong magical woman. I loved how the sisterhood was based on dance and how every girl in the villages dream of becoming one of the chosen Priestess. The story itself is very detailed which makes it easy for you to picture where they are and what it looks like. I can easily picture the beautiful orange and purple robes of the priestess', the fire crystals, the fields of flowers, the astral world and so on. I first thought that the beginning of the book was slow and dragged out but that was just the "background" of what the girls have to go through and is actually a building block for Trilla's growth and it changes so quickly that I don't mind that in hindsight :)
I would recommend adding this your personal library!!
I would recommend adding this your personal library!!
July 31, 2015
There are things I liked about this book- its fresh exploration of jealousy, anger, women's freedom and sexual attraction issues, etc. The world-building was interesting but it was a bit thin on character development beyond the major character. Unfortunately, I felt as if there was an artificial quality to the story itself. It felt too predictable. As a first book, it's a good entry, though. I'd definitely give this author a try again.
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July 11, 2016Wrong book. Never read it.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews