A story about a woman killing and eating her lovers, sign me up! I devoured this book from start to finish, a wild and bizarre story. A must read for fans of books featuring woman doing unhinged things!

This was a depraved and decadent examination of the human condition, that ultimately fascinated and disgusted me in equal measure. Dorothy is not an easy person to read from the perspective of and as a result, it took me a while to get into the narrative. Sad to say that once the murders started happening, I was hooked (and I don't want to know what that says about my psyche). The writing is lyrical and luscious but also profane and brutal and there is definitely a sense that Dorothy says things for shock value but also utterly inhabits her own skin with no apologies. Overall, this is definitely not a book for everyone, but I think anyone who enjoys books like American Psycho or the more recent Maeve Fly should try this one on for size.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book is such a little gem for the unhinged girlies. Reminiscent of Tender is the Flesh but with a healthy injection of dark humour. I thoroughly enjoyed this and cannot wait to see what Summers does next.

The prose are stunning and simultaneously made my mouth water in hunger as my stomach lurched and twisted in revulsion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

A very compelling and though unusual read, I found myself fascinated and intrigued by the main character and her actions. The mark of a good novel is when the author makes you root for the morally wrong to the murderous actions of the protagonist and while I'm not condoning cutting out someone's liver on an Italian roadside, I did find myself engrossed in the story. The book was fast paced and so very different from anything I've read lately, and I had so much fun reading it!

This book is everything I hoped that it would be, a combination of female rage and empowerment. Female Hannibal Lecture that takes no shit and looks good doing it, this book explores what it would be like if we gave into desire and pleasure in more than one way. I found this book compelling from the start to the end and couldn't put it down once I started it and would recommend it to anyone that enjoyed reading Iron widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is looking for a book that supports women's wrongs.

Who knew that I’d enjoy a book about a food critic who branches out to the more refined tastes of cannibalism. And yet here we are.

I mean, if you’re going to murder someone, why not go the whole hog and make something nice out of their buttocks or their tongue? Yes, it’s gory, but Dorothy Daniels is such a narcissistic psychopath that it’s all done so terribly nicely.

I listened to this on audiobook as I read it, and maybe I’ve been able to take something else from this. The Narrator, Dorothy (aka Hillary Huber), sounded superior, well-educated and completely logical. Obviously she’s not - she’s writing her memoir sat in a prison cell!

What would have been the icing on the cake, would have been someone finding her memoirs at the end.

Clearly this will be a marmite book, and as someone who is usually ambivalent about marmite, I actually rather liked Dorothy Daniels and her distinctive tastes!

A satire of early foodieism, a critique of how gender is defined, and a showcase of virtuoso storytelling, Chelsea G. Summers' A Certain Hunger introduces us to the food world's most charming psychopath and an exciting new voice in fiction.
Wow! this is a really wild ride, 50+ food critic and cannibal, such an interesting concept for a story, obviously heavily sprinkled with feminist quotes, the narrator is an arsehole and I could quite get over that I am afraid.
Not that this should effect my review at at all but the UK cover SUCKS! and I just had to say it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC to review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the storytelling, narrative voice, and the characters were so realised.

The story of Dorothy Daniels, a food critic who also happens to be a psychopath with a taste for human flesh.

I loved Dorothy and her no-shits-given attitude. She knows what she wants and feels like she deserves it no matter what the cost to others. She’s witty and entertaining, spiky and passionate.

I loved the premise of this and thought it was executed well. It lacked a little bit of narrative drive for me but I was thoroughly entertained throughout.

I hope this gets the love it deserves and I cannot wait to see what Summers writes next!

AD - this copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I couldn't get in to this book unfortunately. I've seen other's say it was just slow getting started, however as someone with a short attention span and in a world with an ever shortening attention span as well, I don't think you can really risk a slow start any more. The book needed to be gripping from the start. I was really excited for the idea of this book and was just a bit of a deflated balloon when I wasn't interested in carrying on.

I will say what I did read was very well written though and maybe if I could focus for longer this would end up being a great read.

A female serial killer is not your normal protagonist; add cannibalistic tendencies and you definitely are in for something different! I admit this book did surprise me. The subject matter, the graphic sex scenes and the liberal use of the c word would make this a hard read for anyone with a sensitive disposition.
I enjoyed the book and found the descriptions of the fine dining menus as interesting as the gore. I’m sure Chelsea had a wonderful time researching this book.

I truly loved this! It made me hungry, it made me horny, it made me nostalgic for home- a real rollercoaster of emotions but I enjoyed every bit of the ride! It also includes the best and most accurate description and explanation of the word CAZZO I've ever come across! 10/10 would read again

After a slow start, this book certainly picks up the pace and immerses the reader in what can only be described as an indulgence of sex and gore. The main character being a combination of food critic and cannibalistic serial killer gives plenty of opportunity for dark humour but also means it comes across as self-indulgent at times. Maybe a bit too rich for those of us with delicate stomachs.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advance copy to read and review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It’s hard to find the words to review this! It’s dark and gory and totally “in your face” in that there is no holding back. But it.’s also totally compelling, really well written and completely black humoured. I loved it but I do enjoy a psychopath…..from a distance!!!

I think anyone would be intrigued by that cover, right? I had very little idea of what to expect of A Certain Hunger but I knew that it featured a female serial killer, a particular buzz phrase for me. So, I wasn’t completely prepared for what was to come!

Dorothy is a food critic who loves food as much as she loves sex. Both of these passions often take her travelling between Manhattan and Italy, living a really quite wonderful life. Now from her prison cell, she is finally telling her story of how she ended up there.

Like the vast majority of women, Dorothy has had her fair share of belittlement at the hands of men. I was on edge every time she was alone with a man who had tried to assert himself as the dominant party in any way. Dorothy’s voice is perhaps the inner voice of many women -sharp, unforgiving and undeniably violent. I could fully believe in her as a character, which unsettled and excited me in equal measure.

There are some lengthy, verbose descriptions of food and ingredients. When Dorothy is actually talking about food stuffs, this is a real treat for the senses but my stomach churned when she used the same descriptors for human flesh. Because yes, there is cannibalism in this book. Quite a lot of it. So, be prepared for that should you decide to pick it up!

It goes without saying that there is a lot of blood and violent imagery in the book. The way that Dorothy delights in it is horrific and to be honest, it was so graphic in places that I started to wonder how Summers did her research. Is this what it’s really like when a person is killed so violently and if so, how does she know?

There is a bit of discussion on the difference in treatment between male and female psychopaths. It’s true that women who kill draw a much greater fascination than men who do the same and it’s purely down to how society has been conditioned to perceive women. Women are expected to be nurturing, kind-hearted, selfless creatures while violence and aggression typically belong to the world of men. The idea that there are women out there who are emotionless, unremorseful and unpredictable is terrifying for some people, so women like Dorothy become true curiosities.

In some parts, it felt like Dorothy was giving other women (female readers) advice on how to get the upper hand with men. I got chills when it felt like she was talking to me because it was almost as if she sensed something in common with herself. It’s a clever writing device and it definitely made the reading experience a lot creepier.

A Certain Hunger is a well-written, engaging story that will make you feel sick. I’m pretty sure I can’t ever re-read it, which is why I can’t really give it a maximum rating. It’s a short book but it took me a while to read because I kept having to work up the courage to sit with Dorothy again for a little while. If you like books that thoroughly unsettle, then A Certain Hunger is a good shout!

Cannibaltastic. A dark, droll and unremorseful morsel.

This won't be for everyone. A tad graphic at times on the sexual front. And the murder one, to be honest. But if you're like me and rather enjoy your humour dark, your books witty, your protagonists unrepentant - this is a joy.

It’s not a psychological journey into the mind of a killer, no. Dorothy has always known she is psychopathic, “It’s amazing I didn’t turn out worse than I did…I do have a delicious record of nonconformity. I was convicted of violent crimes predicated upon a piquant melange of impulsivity and preparedness. I genuinely lack remorse.” She describes herself perfectly, one could not add to that.

Well alright, she also says about herself, “As a woman psychopath, the white tiger of human psychological deviance, I am a wonder, and I relish your awe.” Ha. Telling her story from prison, we are invited to look back on her past with her. As she says, she is not repentant, she merely wants to share how she reached this position.

And so we share her life story, of her dalliances with men, always with intent and knowledge of their flaws, and eventually - knowledge of their as well. Dorothy is more than just a reviewer of restaurants and food, she unashamedly takes her pound of flesh - from her lovers. And cooks it.

She amused me, references to old films and plays, the author several times making me grab the dictionary, I found this a witty delight. And as the lead herself says of us readers: “here’s the thing about reading my memoir: it will make you feel good about yourself even as you identify with me. You slip into the supple skin of a cannibal for nearly three hundred pages, and enjoy it; then you can slough it off, go about your happy, moral business, and feel like you are a better person.” Well I didn’t feel morally superior to Dorothy, I experienced the same blackly comic entertainment as when I watch Kind Hearts and Coronets. I just enjoyed inhabiting the mind of someone like her and considering my own thoughts on eating my own kind.

This doesn’t need to be taken seriously, but it can be seriously enjoyable. Not for the squeamish.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.

This book is not for everyone.

But if you're looking for a novel with a female psychopath protagonist written in a sort of literary memoir form with nothing held back, this is the book for you. I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed it, as there were moments of utter horror which made me want to turn away, but at the same time, were compelling. However, it is a book I can imagine thinking about and talking about to others and one that will stay with me for some time. I did recommend it to a friend who is reading a lot of psychopath fiction right now for a University project, and he said he wasn't usually someone easily shocked, but that wasn't the case with A Certain Hunger.

Well, I was not prepared for that! This book will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea. If you're of a more sensitive disposition probably not for you. But if you like gore, liberal use of the c word and serial killers, then please dive in. A flinchingly (and yet somehow pleasingly) graphic description of one women's journey into murder and... well, I'm not going to spoil the story for you, but let's just say I may be turning veggie now! It is a testament to this writer's skill, that somehow Dorothy is likeable, don't ask me why, but I couldn't help admire her.

An absolutely one of a kind story that I will not easily forget.

One of the best books I've read this year, it's like Hannibal meets Julia Child and frankly, who doesn't need that in their life. I'm really here for this new sub-genre of horror x literary crime about woman who are really disgusting, sociopathic, but also freaking smart, and funny - and fed up of the boxes that women are reduced to.

Highly recommend.

I went into this expecting one thing and came away disappointed. I thought this was going to be a rip-roaring read involving a cannibal, some humour, a lot of cooking and definite horror. Well, I got the cannibal and horror part but, for me, this was really overwritten and pretentious. C'est la vie, this just wasn't for me.