I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison SheaBook Review by Mariah V. | Chapter and Charms
- chapterandcharms
- Jul 18
- 3 min read
Genre: YA Horror | Dark Fantasy | Contemporary Gothic
Themes: Ballet | Black Girl Magic | Vengeance | Power | Institutional Racism
“What would you give to be seen?”
Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with something to prove. In the fiercely competitive world of Parisian ballet, she’s constantly overlooked not because she lacks talent, but because she’s a Black girl in an elite space built to exclude her. Desperate to be recognized and revered, Laure makes a chilling deal beneath the streets of Paris, in the blood-soaked catacombs, where an ancient power awaits.
The power promises everything Laure has ever wanted: status, applause, admiration. But power demands sacrifice and blood is just the beginning. As Laure ascends the ranks of the ballet world, she leaves behind not just broken bodies, but pieces of herself. But monsters roam in more places than the catacombs, and the true cost of desire may be more than Laure can afford.
Jamison Shea’s I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me is a visceral horror debut that fuses Gothic dread with social commentary, exposing the price of performance in a world that refuses to love you back.
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My Review
Let me start by saying, I am not usually a horror fan, but this book completely gripped me. Jamison Shea is a name I won’t forget, and after finishing this novel, I already know they’re becoming one of my favorite authors.
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me is what happens when Ace of Spades meets Black Swan, a slow-burn descent into obsession, vengeance, and the violent hunger for validation. It’s beautifully written, devastatingly real, and terrifying in a way that lingers long after the final page.
Laure is a young Black ballerina in a predominantly white, elite ballet institution that expects perfection, not just in form, but in image. She trains relentlessly, steals to survive, and pushes through emotional neglect and systemic racism, all for a dream that might never be hers. Her love for ballet is so deep, she admits she would die without it, and in many ways, she does.
Shea doesn’t just write horror, they live it through the character. Laure’s loneliness, rage, and desperate yearning for belonging felt painfully real. You can feel the exhaustion of having to prove yourself over and over in spaces that were never meant to include you. The micro-aggressions, the blatant racism, the betrayal by even those closest to her, it’s all there.
What struck me most was how the novel mirrors the real-life demands of ballet culture, the pursuit of perfection, the physical and mental sacrifice, the erasure of identity for the sake of the stage. As someone who still dances, I felt this story in my bones. It had me on my toes (literally), heart racing, wanting to scream in frustration and cheer for Laure’s defiance.
Yes, this book is dark. Yes, it’s disturbing. But it’s also empowering. It asks: What are you willing to give to be seen? And what happens when the thing that gives you power also devours you?
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Why You Should Read It
If you love psychological horror with purpose
If you’re interested in stories about Black girls surviving and fighting back
If you enjoy social commentary wrapped in blood and glitter
If you want a Gothic twist on ballet culture and institutional racism
🌟 Final Thoughts
This novel is unsettling in the best way. It shines a harsh spotlight on what it means to give everything to a world that devalues you, and still rise, claws out, heart pounding. I’m already counting down the days until the sequel, I Am the Dark That Answers When You Call.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)
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