The Eating Woods · 2024
AnathemaSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by Keri Lake
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 11 trigger warnings flagged
Anathema is book 1 of The Eating Woods by Keri Lake, first published in 2024. Expect romantasy, gothic and dark fantasy. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are sexual assault, violence, torture. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2024. Book 1 of The Eating Woods.
Anathema tropes
On this shelf, Anathema is filed under Dark romantasy, Gothic romance and Dark fantasy romance. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
Anathema spice level
Is Anathema dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Anathema scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
Anathema trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 228 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: sexual content, body horror, animal death, misogyny, drug abuse, injury/injury detail, sexism, slavery, pedophilia, abortion. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (11) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Moderate (0)
Harm, control, or obsession that is common in this lane.
None flagged in this band.
Minor (0)
Present, and usually not the reason someone puts the book down.
None flagged in this band.
Full Anathema trigger warnings
The Eating Woods reading order
Anathema is book 1 of 2 in Keri Lake's The Eating Woods series. Start here.
- Book 1 Anathema (this book) · 2024
- Book 2 Eldritch · 2025
Order checked against the Goodreads The Eating Woods series page on 13 October 2026. The The Eating Woods series in order.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like Anathema
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- Phantasma
Phantasma
Kaylie Smith
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●○○
Shared: Dark romantasy, Dark fantasy romance
- Eldritch
Eldritch
Keri Lake
Spice ●●●○○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Dark romantasy, Dark fantasy romance
- A Ship of Bones & Teeth
A Ship of Bones & Teeth
Karina Halle
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Gothic romance, Dark fantasy romance
- Lady Venom Takes a Mistress
Lady Venom Takes a Mistress
Kat Blackthorne
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Gothic romance, Dark fantasy romance
- Nightshade
Nightshade
Keri Lake
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Gothic romance, Dark romantasy
- Fairydale
Fairydale
Veronica Lancet
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Gothic romance, Dark romantasy
- Lord of Bones
Lord of Bones
Aiden Pierce
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Dark fantasy romance, Gothic romance
- The Coven
The Coven
Harper L. Woods
Spice ●●●●●Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Gothic romance, Dark romantasy
Books like Anathema, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of Anathema?
Anathema spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the Anathema trigger warnings?
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Torture, Death, Abuse, Gore, Blood, Murder, Taboo, Religious trauma, Psychological abuse. Moderate: none flagged. Minor: none flagged. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 228 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is Anathema dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Anathema scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in Anathema?
On this shelf Anathema is filed under Dark romantasy, Gothic romance and Dark fantasy romance.
Who is Anathema for?
Pick this up if you want romantasy and gothic with explicit spice. Read the warnings first.
What are some books like Anathema?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: Phantasma by Kaylie Smith; Eldritch by Keri Lake; A Ship of Bones & Teeth by Karina Halle; Lady Venom Takes a Mistress by Kat Blackthorne; Nightshade by Keri Lake; Fairydale by Veronica Lancet. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/anathema.
Is Anathema a standalone?
No. Anathema is book 1 of 2 in the The Eating Woods series by Keri Lake.
What order should I read the The Eating Woods series in?
1. Anathema; 2. Eldritch.
How many books are in the The Eating Woods series?
The The Eating Woods series by Keri Lake has 2 main books.
What is the Anathema age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
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