Could not get into this book. Was intrigued by the title and the concept, but ultimately didn't find the writing or the characters different or interesting enough to hold my attention.

Wow! This was such a beautifully written horror novel! I was easily immersed in the setting of this one and found myself having to not read it at night because it was quite creepy. The “twists” weren’t blatantly obvious but you still found yourself not totally surprised by the outcome. But like it wasn’t a bad thing. Overall a really creepy horror read!

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I did end up listening to the final publication version of the audiobook. As always all opinions expressed are my own.

This was excellent. It is a tough one though, full of trigger warnings. I wouldn't particularly say it was scary, but it is terrifying and gives you that uncomfortable feeling in your stomach you are looking for in a horror book. This isn't exactly what I consider traditional horror as it doesn't have the jump scares and gruesome bits that you might expect thought there are some, it is more in the social horror realm with a paranormal twist. It does have the atmosphere and tension you need and as the story progresses you are more than horrified by what the characters go through.

This is told from the perspectives of Daisy and Brittney. Brittney is a film student, and her latest project is attempting to find out what happened to Daisy 10 years ago at the mansion that Brittney's own mother had a life altering experience at. We mainly get Daisy's story, with brief interjects of Brittney's research and glimpses into how both girls are connected and why telling Daisy's story is so important to her.

Daisy has the ability to see the dead. Her mother is aware of her ability and has been "helping: her since she was a child to control it. When Grace, Daisy's mother, inherits a mansion aka "The House" from her late uncle, they jump on a chance to have financial stability by turning the property into a rental. Grace is adamant that Daisy never enter the mansion and only go into the greenhouse and guest house where they live. Grace has always kept secrets from Daisy, but now that they have "The House" she is determined to find out what is going on inside and find out what her mom is keeping from her. Daisy uncovers truths she never expected to find and learns more about the house than she ever anticipated. She also learns more about her ability and why her mother has kept so many secrets.

I don't want to spoil anything but there are so many different social commentary topics discussed, many of which lead to a content warning. I've listed them at the end of the review. The characters start out a bit unlikable, but mainly that is a protection tactic as they are all suffering. As the story unfolds we find that Grace, Daisy, Brittney, and several of the other characters have had traumatic experiences and they are all doing the best they can. They are all dealing with their personal trauma in different ways, some better than others. I really liked the way that Sambury used supernatural elements to talk about the real life horrors the characters experienced. I thought it was a great way to get people thinking about how this stuff happens in real life. The author did a great job weaving this horrible topics into a creepy paranormal backdrop that made for a very compelling read. The characters go on a journey, and I think it was well done. I also thought the world building was well done. I felt like I was in the forest or the bush as they refer to it in the book with Daisy.

This was a tad bit on the long side and there were some respective parts. I think this was an important story to tell, and I loved the setting the author chose. I feel the story could have had the same impact without taking quite so long to get to the reveals. I also could have done with out the maggot scenes, but this is a horror book so they were appropriately placed and fit well with the storyline. They were kind of gross though.

Overall, I loved this! I couldn't put it down once I started listening to it.

This is not an easy book to get through. There are many content warnings and social commentary topics discussed. It is a wonderful book, however I would not recommend it for everyone, it was heartbreaking and upsetting. These are the content warnings that the author lists prior to chapter 1, so I'll put them here: childhood sexual assault (off page, some details discussed), childhood physical abuse (corporal punishment, off page, described), childhood physical abuse (confinement punishment), childhood neglect, gaslighting, grooming, suicide (off page, mention), killing of a goat (off page, described), discussions of fatphobia, body horror/gore, violence, death

This book was deliciously slow. A very raw look into abuse and how it builds power over us, and family if we do not face it and talk about it.

The story follows two teenage girls, in different timelines. One is investigating a forgotten Black girl case for her TV show Haunted. Brittney has to face her own abuse while investigating this story.

Now the other timeline is of Daisy, 10 year earlier. She moves in with her mother into a very haunted house. Daisy herself can see ghosts. And she can tell the house has been twisted into being something more dangerous than just being haunted. Daisy has to figure out what has happened in this mansion to make it such an evil place. And the truth is harder to swallow, than she expects.

This is very much slow burn Horror book. The whole thing took me forever to finish. It wasn't a bad thing necessarily, as every time I went into this book I loved the atmosphere and the story line. It ended up being a very slow, enjoyable horror tale. I loved how messy and raw both Brittney and Daisy were. It was realistic with everything that was going on, and how much trauma both girls carried.

One thing I didn't like. was how nothing is clear for the majority of the book. There's a lot of haunting things happening, but you have no idea why or how. You get lost into Daisy's mind, into the weird timeline skips, etc and it's a bit of whiplash. Though the house itself is almost like a character. All I wanted was to go explore the house and hear the whisperings.

It is a great tale. A bit long and dragged out, but definitely haunted. Thank you to the publisher for my copy of the book.

DELICIOUS MONSTERS by Liselle Sambury was truly a wild ride. A YA thriller following dual timelines a decade apart and two Black girls just trying to survive, DELICIOUS MONSTERS is both atmospheric and gripping. It has excellent pacing that kept me reading and wanting to know more. For most of th enovel, I was both intirgued and slightly confused but in the best way possible. This is a novel that forces you to take your time becoming fully immersed in the story. Daisy and Brittney's traumas are a part of who they are; it informs their decisions but does not control them, which is an intricate balance Sambury was able to strike throughout the novel. Daisy is not an easily likeable protagonist, and we truly need more unlikeable Black girl protagonists! I do wish we got more of Brittney and was able to see more of her growth as a character. Overall, a very satisfying read that was hard to put down; I'll definitely be reading more from Liselle Sambury.

Amazing psychological thriller! The weaving of the two stories was so well connected. It was atmospheric, haunting and incredibly written.

I keep saying I’m not a fan of horror, but I keep gravitating towards horror books. Lol.

This was an intense ride and creepy enough for me not to read after the sun had set (I don’t care! Judge me!). Without a doubt, it’s one of the most well written, engaging stories I’ve ever read. At over 500 pages, the story does have a slower pace, but it adds to the overall creep factor of the book. I’d definitely recommend this one to my book buddies, but there is a lot of trauma and drama along this journey; be prepared.

This had such a good premise and the dual timeline was really interesting and lent a great deal of intrigue to a fascinating and eerie tale. I devoured this story.

Overall

I still haven’t recovered (and honestly, probably never will) from my big horror crave that started at the end of last year. So the moment I saw this not only compared to The Haunting of Hill House but that it’s done through a web series (yes, I’m addicted to Buzzfeed Unsolved/Ghost Files), I knew I absolutely had to read this book. And I’m so glad I did! I just couldn’t put the thing down.

Delicious Monsters is a spine-tingling horror mystery told under the premise of a web series, where dark secrets will be revealed, old ghosts will come to haunt, and forgotten girls will be brought to light.

This book is a freaking ride, but not in the way a lot of books I read are. The characters cling to their secrets until the very end, and I was dying to know what would happen next! There are a lot of parallels between the two protagonists, but their story is far from the same, even though it crosses (albeit briefly) and centers around the house. And the house! Talk about creepy. If you enjoy horror that involves paranormal elements and spooky, mysterious houses, Delicious Monsters is absolutely a must-read!

My Thoughts

- Delicious Monsters is told with a dual timeline, with two female protagonists: one seeking the truth, and one who’s gotten good at hiding it. But the thing they both have in common is a mansion that changed both their lives . . . and it doesn’t want to give up its secrets. Going in, I hadn’t realized this was a dual timeline, and I wasn’t sure how that would work, but boy was I wrong. It works. So well. The stories aren’t actually all that far apart. Daisy’s story of moving into the manor with her mother happens just ten years before Brittney’s documentary series about what happened in that mansion. Because it has claimed lives, and those girls deserve their stories told. Even though their stories are vastly different, there are plenty of parallels between Daisy and Brittney’s stories, which I particularly enjoyed. Both are raised by single, neglectful, abusive mothers (to varying degrees) and are trying to earn their freedom. For Daisy, the new manor is her ticket to freedom, because the stability will let her leave her mother and venture off without feeling guilty (not to mention with money to make it possible). For Brittney, the so-called “Miracle Mansion” supposedly healed her mother and gave her a “come to Jesus” moment . . . except it didn’t, and Brittney is still caught up under her mother’s thumb. But if she exposes the real truth behind the “Miracle Mansion,” she may just be able to earn her own freedom. Not gonna lie, there are parts of this story that are going to be straight-up hard to read. I did my best to include content warnings, but while Delicious Monsters was a fantastic read, it isn’t an easy one. It will make your blood boil as more and more secrets come to light.

- One of our two protagonists can see ghosts . . . which is every bit as terrifying as it sounds. If you haven’t figured it out, ghosts tend not to be all that friendly. I mean, would you be all roses and sunshine, if you suddenly found yourself dead and wasn’t thrilled to be that way? Sambury’s spin on ghosts is an interesting one. By and large, they’re not coming back with messages from the great beyond or unfinished business, necessarily. Seeing ghosts is an important part of who Daisy is, though, even if she would rather it wasn’t. Since it’s such a pivotal plot element, I won’t say more than that!

- The side characters in this book are *chef’s kiss*. While the focus is obviously on the female protagonists, their male counterparts certainly hold their own. Brittney has Jayden, her fellow intern and partner-in-crime. They started the Haunted documentary web series together, which has launched them into quasi-success in their field. This season is meant to seal the deal and ensure their futures. With a manipulative mother, though, and not much of a childhood, Brittney has trouble trusting anyone, even her best friend. Despite that, Jayden works well with her, and they play off each other in really fun ways. For Daisy, she’s got King, so isn’t quite what he first appears. The banter between these two is wonderful, and King really steals the show in the scenes he’s in. It’s hard not to fall for his charm and genuine concern.

- The relationships the characters have with their parents in this book is complicated. It isn’t all as hopeless as it initial seems, though, and there is a lot of character growth, on all sides. This is the thing I absolutely loved about this book. Sure, the focus is on Brittney and Daisy, both of whom are victims in their own right, especially when it comes to their abusive, neglectful parents. However, everybody in this book is a victim of something. There’s a big theme of generational trauma here, and the way it’s passed down, oftentimes unintentionally. Every character is haunted by their own personal ghosts, and each of them has something they need to overcome. Whether or not they choose to do so, however, is an entirely different matter altogether.

- The big theme throughout this book is forgotten girls, and boy does Sambury really drive it home and strike right in the feels with it. It’s pretty clear from the beginning that this is going to be the case. After all, the entire premise for this next season of the Haunted web series is intended to be ‘Forgotten Black Girls,’ and even though that’s shot down, Brittney finds a way to spin it to still be able to fit her purpose. Because girls tend to be forgettable in general, and Black girls even more so. Especially when they’re victims. Despite that being the focus of Brittney’s web series, it isn’t just Black girls that have been forgotten in this book. It’s others, too. And these girls are victims in a myriad of ways. Sambury does such a wonderful job of showing all the different ways girls (and women) can be forgotten, from simple gaslighting and toxic culture to much bigger, unforgiveable crimes.

WOW. Thank you a million times over to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-ARC. Delicious Monsters was a creepy, beautiful ride. I loved the characters, the pacing kept me engaged, I loved every minute. Formal review will be available on GoodReads, socials & Amazon.

I really hate to be the person to write a negative review, but this was a hard book to get through. The premise was so interesting, but the execution was rough. The book was such a slow start and the characters were negative and not relatable. When I finally got to the end of the book, it all came together but it could have ended about 3 different times. I was expecting a scarier, horror story and this wasn’t it. There were conflicting views presented about if the house was evil or if someone was controlling the house, and I never felt like I had a good understanding of what was going on with that. Ghosts were just mentioned, but didn’t have a purpose to the story. I was really expecting to like this one due to all the hype and feedback from early readers, but it really missed the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGally and SimonTeen for an eARC copy

Thank you so much for the copy! Well, this was an electrifying story to read! I have definitely found a new author I will be following from now on. This gives us ghosts, haunted houses, terrible mothers, and a strong female lead all in one - a combo that can't be ignored.

We get two intertwining storylines with two different time periods. In one, Daisy, a young high school girl in Toronto, can see dead people...and she isn't too happy about it. She and her mother, Grace, decide to move to a small town after they are gifted a house from a dead relative. In Toronto Grace jumps from job to job and Daisy can't move on from her ex so this may be the perfect opportunity for them. Daisy is hoping for a new start where she can tend to her plants and finish school in peace. She believes this is her chance to start making a life for herself without having to worry about Grace as much. But this house isn't just a house, it's a mansion with a huge greenhouse on a vast piece of lakefront property, and Daisy comes to find out that Grace has decided to make it an Airbnb. But there is a whole lot more to this house than meets the eye.

In the other storyline 10 years later, Brittney is a young woman in college who makes videos of haunted places for a production company. She is looking for the opportunity to create a show based on "forgotten black girls" - girls who died and were forgotten about. As long as she follows the direction the company gives her, she is able to start with one close to her heart...the girl who died in the mansion by the lake.

So much happens for both Daisy and Brittney, and we get details from both storylines that help lead us to the finale. Both girls deal with controlling mothers (a major theme in the book) and with the struggles of failure. I did feel like Brittney's character wasn't very likeable, and both her and her partner Jayden's interactions were sometimes too negative. I never got any sincerity in Jayden and I believe Brittney needed that to accomplish what she was out for. I was enthralled with Daisy and couldn't get enough. The imagery in her storyline is stunning...give me more birds, thorny vines, and Daisy's ghostly encounters please! We also get King, a neighbor of Daisy's who befriends her when she needs it the most, and Ivy, a young girl who lives nearby who helps Daisy with the house. I could have read a lot more King and Daisy too! I really liked this book and can't wait to read more from Sambury in the future. Thank you to the publisher for the copy!

Delicious Monsters was a simmering page-turner, a gut punch in the most unexpected ways, and skin-crawlingly creepy.

***Content warnings:** childhood sexual assault (off-page, some details discussed), childhood physical abuse (corporal punishment, off-page, described), childhood physical abuse (confinement punishment), childhood neglect, gaslighting, grooming, suicide (off page, mention), the killing of a goat (off-page, described), discussions of fatphobia, body horror/gore, violence, death.*

The pace feels slow in the beginning, but it's more of a soft, gradual build-up to just unstoppable reveals and twists and confusion in the coming chapters. The first few chapters just give a solid foundation of the characters, so that when you read further and find out these crazy things that went down in their pasts and what happens in the present time, you still have some kind of grasp on the characters and feel tethered to the story.

One of the things that caught me off-guard was the emphasis on mother-daughter relationships and flawed mother figures. It is very nuanced and done with a sensitive touch. It depicts how toxic these relationships can be, despite them being supposed to be full of unconditional love and protection. Both our MCs, Daisy and Brittany, have very complicated relationships with their mothers, more so because they were raised by them without a father. And yet it also highlights those fleeting, seemingly inconsequential moments that pass between when they feel loved and close to each other.

It is an expertly crafted story in the terms of POV, as we follow two different characters in two timelines with a ten-year gap, and they were placed so that what one character went through in a chapter, it lined up with what the other experienced in the next; so you could the parallels and the deviation of their lives. Both our MCs are Black women, though Daisy is a teenager about to turn 18 and the other, Brittany, is a working adult. Brittany’s job is also quite interesting- she creates docu-series about paranormal events with her friend, and is working on a new web series investigating what went down in “Miracle Mansion”.

This “Miracle Mansion” feels like a sentient being in itself, with how vividly it is described. The setting comes alive through this. It is on a tiny island attached to a small town. You can only reach it by boat, and it is surrounded by thick woods. That at first is enough to provide this image of a creepy, abandoned mansion covered in overgrowth of vines and shrubs.

It’s impossible for me to pick if I liked reading Daisy or Brittany’s perspective more, and even though you as the reader can guess how Daisy’s story might end, never underestimate Sambury’s ability to throw curveballs when you least expect it. I loved how everything came together in the end, and how the character’s (and the villain’s arc) was resolved.

4 Stars

Delicious Monsters is an absolutely terrifying and thrilling read that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time while reading. While Delicious Monsters plays on the classic horror tropes, Sambury manages thoughtfully to touch on serious issues that actually happen in the real world.

Delicious Monsters is a dual POV story with alternating timelines with ten years in between them.

Daisy, who can see ghosts, moves from Toronto to the small town of Timmins in northern Canada into a mansion with her mom. Her mother inherited after the death of her brother-in-law Peter died and often spent her childhood summers there. Brittney, who works on a YouTube channel series called Haunted with her best friend Jaden, is starting a new edition to the series that centers on haunted houses. Brittney has a connection with the mansion as her mother visited the mansion and came back as supposedly now a changed woman.

Brittney’s POV acts as a framing device for Daisy’s story while also showing how both of their stories are intertwined. At the beginning of the story, we flip back between their POVs quite frequently allowing secrets slowly to be revealed through Daisy’s life and Brittney’s interviews creating a suspenseful atmospheric feel. As the story slowly went on, Brittney’s POVs became less and less with more emphasis on Daisy’s POVs. This for me slowed the pace down tremendously, taking me a lot longer to get through the story. While I did enjoy reading Daisy’s POVs, I would have liked to see more of Brittney and get more time with her as she didn’t get nearly enough time compared to Daisy.

Most of the time young adult stories are crafted with the intention of making their characters likable and relatable for the audience to feel personally connected to them, but Sambury flips this on its head. All the characters are messy, flawed, and full of anger. This story allowed them to be full of rage and resistant to the trauma they both experienced from their mothers. While this isn’t the best way to deal with trauma, this kind of coping mechanism exists in the real world showing that people aren’t perfect.

Delicious Monsters does a brilliant job of using supernatural horror elements to highlight and acknowledge real-life horrors. At its heart, this is a story about trauma and overcoming that pain the way that’s best for you. With this being said, there are many difficult and sensitive topics to read, so I would advise looking at the content warnings before reading.

Book never downloaded and I am unable to access it. Is there a way to send it to my kindle? I am unable to review at this time due to never getting the download on my kindle.

Delicious Monsters is an amazing journey of generational trauma through otherness that haunted house/gothic/horror is capable of. The story weaves around two characters a decade apart and how the same house effects the way they live and the choices they make. A massive must read!

Okay so this is on some Tananarive Due type scary shit and I really liked it. The books follows two sets of mothers and daughters, 1. Daisy (17) and her Mom, Grace. Daisy can see ghosts and she and Grace have just inherited a house from Grace’s brother- in-law Peter who has just died. But there’s something special about this house and Grace has one simple rule for Daisy, don’t go into the house without her. So with the ability to see ghosts and a house that has this eerie presents that no one in town wants to talk about or go near that a big red flag. Flash forward 10 years and we have Brittney and her mom. Brittney works as an intern for a buzzfeed type company and she and her partner, Jayden, investigate hauntings and they have set their sights on Peters house and the deaths that have happened there and it’s history. Brittney and her mom don’t have the best relationship and Britney believes that this same house changed her mother in some way and she just can’t put her finger on it.

I will say the jumping from present to pass and back wasn’t a problem at all for me and it was just an eerie book to read. There were moments when I had to stop the audiobook, read at 1.2x speed, just to stop myself from freaking out. Please check your trigger warnings for this book, sexual assault, rape, child endangerment… those are just some right off the top of my head that didn’t have to do with the house but more so with the characters and what modded them as people. This was a slow read of a book with a whopping 500 plus page count, but I think with the contents of the book is makes sense to be slower in pace. I thought the characters were good, no one completely and 100% good and no one completely and 100% bad. I think my favourite character was King. You just wouldn’t catch me investigating no damn hauntings/ghost stories.

Having just finished her first duology Blood Like Magic, I know that I would pick up anything that Liselle Sambury would write. And this did not disappoint.

I think you’ll like this if you like The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson or the Good House by Tananarive Due

The odds are stacked against B'onca. Her neighborhood is in influx, substance abuse, and poverty are everywhere. All she wants to do is provide for her daughter and she's willing to do that by any means necessary. This is not "Teen Moms" on MTV.

This is a 4⭐️ read that should be required reading for middle school and high health education classes.

This book was okay, but I don't feel like I quite go what was advertised. It was creepy enough, but I didn't really like the characters so I wasn't able to really form any kind of connection. This made it feel like I was just kind of slogging along through the story.

This is going to be DNF for me at about 50 pages in. Will not be leaving a full review but thank you for the opportunity to give this one a try. Story is just not for me.