Daisy Odin sees ghosts. The ghosts are attracted to her. She thinks it’s because are attracted to people who are sadness and misery. Why is Daisy sad? She wants to leave evything behind her as she deals with a mother who is often gone for several months letting Daisy be responsible for her sick father. She works and tries to save money as she wants to escape when the opportunity arises. Her mother calls only when she needs money from her daughter to keep the business going in Tobago. An opportunity arises for Daisy and her mother to move to an inherited home in Ontario. Black film student Brittney is investigating what happened to Daisy and her mother in deadly house that was a web series called “Haunted.” Brittney’s mother was a guest there which was a turning point that she wrote a memoir that put the “Miracle Mansion” on the map. In parallel narratives Brittney and Daisy seek truths while dealing the realities of their mothers. The investigation Brittney does discovers layers upon layers of trauma. This is what makes the house imbued with supernatural and psychological power.

The author has written a novel that makes it s ghosts and monster all too painfully real. The characters confront the ugliness and choosing to forgive it gives hope. This is not a book for anyone who has been abused as it may trigger you. Regardless, I am hopeful that others who read this will understand those that they know who have been abused will be there for those. It’s not an easy subject abuse but needs to be talked about and more. It’s a good book to read.

She's stretched her legs. She's tied her sneakers and she is off, in the running for my favorite book of 2023!!! Although there's a long road ahead, I know Delicious Monsters has serious staying power. This was a darkly delicious story, which now lives rent free in my brain.

This story follows two young women, Daisy and Brittany, 10-years apart. Daisy comes first and I would say she is decidedly the star of this show. Brittany is a host and co-creator of a popular web series, Haunted, who is interested in featuring a property owned by Daisy's family on her show. Brittany would win the award for 'best supporting actress'.

When the story begins, Daisy and her Mom, Grace, are living together in a small apartment in Toronto. Daisy has recently been dumped by her boyfriend and she's admittedly struggling with moving past that. It seems almost too good to be true then, when just when they need it most, Daisy's Uncle passes away and leaves the family mansion to Daisy's Mom, Grace. After a brief discussion, the two decide to pack up everything and move. Bye-bye city, hello, wide open spaces.

Set in a remote location, that's extremely challenging to get to, the property is steeped in mystery. Grace refuses to enter the mansion, so the two actually take up residence in a bunkie, a smaller home on the property. The goal though is to run the big house as a B&B, and Grace sets out to accomplish that right away. Daisy helps out, explores the property and even makes a couple new, intriguing friends.

As they settle in though, Daisy begins having disturbing experiences that make her question the history of the property and her mother's story regarding it all. Brittany's sections are interspersed amongst the Daisy sections. It's a mystery precisely why she is so interested in the property, like what exactly happened there, but you know it's not good. As things escalate with Daisy's timeline, it feels like it is leading towards a violent end. From there you watch as the two timelines merge and all is ultimately revealed.

Delicious Monsters is a wild freaking ride. I was buckled in for it all and absolutely adored it start-to-finish. Immediately, I was struck by how fantastic Sambury's writing is. I knew this going in, but it's been a while, so I guess I had forgotten a bit. Let me tell you about it. Sambury's writing is fluid as heck. It's beautiful without being so flowery that it loses all semblance of a coherent narrative. It's emotional, it's dark and it doesn't shy away from examining difficult topics.

The character development is excellent. Daisy, in particular, is so compelling. You're in her head a lot and it's not necessarily a comfortable place to be, but you grow to love her and have such empathy for her journey.

Additionally, there is great mystery to this story, as well as some truly haunting imagery. As you race towards the conclusion, things, I believe intentionally, start to get a little addled. You won't be sure what's up, what's down, what's real and what's not. It was intense and a real page turner. This was such a fun reading experience for me. It's one of those books where I wish I could go back and read it again for the first time. It's that good. It's stunning, crushing, hope-inducing and toe-curling. It's everything.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Horror, YA Horror, Haunted House stories, or Dark Fiction in general. There are quite a few sensitive topics explored though, so I urge you to seek out the author's review, as she includes a full list of content warnings.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Margaret K. McElderry Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I have been anticipating this book since July of 2021, when I first heard of the initial concept. It did not disappoint in the slightest. This is a phenomenal story!

Liselle Sambury is an expert at blending genres to create complex characters, compelling worlds, and shades of gray so nuanced and fully fleshed out that fiction feels real.

Delicious Monster was a raw, emotional and haunting masterpiece that explores the dynamics of survival, family (particularly mother/daughter relationships), and what it really means to live and be alive.

If you are a fan of the Blood Like Magic duology but you’re looking for something a little darker, this is for you. With notes of gothic horror, an original and bone-chilling spin on haunted houses and ghost stories, Sambury knows how to terrify and empower you all at the same time. I couldn’t put this book down once I really got into it.

Things I loved:

- Unreliable narrators and morally gray characters that took down the neat and comfortable perception of good vs evil and right vs. wrong, replacing it with empathy and self-reflection as they deal with their own personal biases, demons, and seek truth and resolve.

- A uniquely crafted supernatural world. Her take on ghosts, haunted houses and examination of power (supernatural and otherwise) is sophisticated and nuanced.

- The dual POVs (Daisy and Brittney) were distinct and offered different but equally compelling insight. Normally I like one POV more than another, but Sambury wrote both characters in a way where I didn’t want to rush or skip through any of it.

- King was king. I loved his character and the exploration of his abilities and relationship with the characters.

- The outcome wasn’t immediately predictable or simple. The twists, turns and resolutions were fresh and satisfying.

Things to note:
- It started out a bit slow, but once it hit the 30% mark I was hooked.
- This book is a raw, emotional read that may be extremely triggering for some readers. It is well written, respectful and provides nuanced and diverse representation in its exploration of sensitive subject matter.

This story may include triggering content which includes but isn’t limited to:
Mention of and description of SA, child abuse, verbal and physical abuse, blood, gore, death, killing of animals, mention child neglect and abandonment, body horror, mild sexual content and explicit language

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing & Margaret K. McElderry Books for a complimentary copy of this e-book. I am leaving a voluntary review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own.

For whatever reason I am in a horror mood. I finished reading this and immediately started on She is a Haunting. Both of which are amazing. But this one made me stop and question wtf I just read. And I LOVE horror like that. Anything that makes me question reality is right up my alley. And this does just that.

Ok so boom…. The way this book is written is crazy. It goes back and forth between the past and present. I’m not usually a back and forth type person, but I had to see what this one was all about. And tho it does get confusing a little, it wasn’t bad. I hope it doesn’t deter anyone from reading it like it almost did me. I WILL advise tho if you’re listening to it, don’t listen on a high speed if you’re not also following along. Because again, it does have some timeline messiness.

The way the characters were is what made me round this down. I did NOT like the way she kept talking about her mom but we only talk to her mom once and we don’t get much info about her mom. I wanted to know what happened to her mom and what was said and who she was. And why she went there and said it changed her? Did she go through something scary? Was she just lying? I know it says in the synopsis that she thought it was a sham, but I wanted to hear from the mom. Why did she lie like that? What was the point? I don’t know. I wanted to know more about Brittney and her’s background. It was weird just to hate the mom for no reason.

The other characters were amazing. I LOVED Daisy. She was just misunderstood. But she was a good person under all of that. I didn’t think she deserved what happened to her, but she was also a rebellious teen who didn’t care about what was being said for her own good. And although the mom was dead wrong, she should have listened lol The interviewer is the one who got on my nerves tho. Like she was mean to the wrong people? Like her bestie? WHY? Her bestie was the one who kept her in check tho and I appreciated that.

The creepy stuff was ON POINT. I watched Hill House without blinking, but this kinda had me questioning some things. I got a perm while I was reading it and had a scab and was freaking out about it lol It was….. An experience. But I knew that just meant I was hella into the book and I wanted more. Also the ending? I was heartbroken and sad, but also freaked tf out. I actually finished it while I was waiting for some food in a restaurant, so I was making some “OMG” faces while I was on my phone. It was kinda crazy. I was shook when the sunglasses were mentioned again.

The narration was the best thing about this book tho. Angel Pean is a beast. And I’ve only listened to one thing that Sandra Okuboyejo did, Jackal from Erin E. Adams. And I loved that one too. They both did a wonderful job playing these characters. Definitely the joys of making sure that not only are their own voices reviewers, own voices authors, and own voices narrators. I loved everything about this audio.

This book is so good. The horror is real, the characters are good, and the plot will keep you glued to your seat. I hope you all pick this up when it comes out. Trust me, if you like to be scared, you won’t want to miss this opportunity. (I went back and placed holds on both her previous books from my library because of this book. I anticipate if you haven’t read those, you will be doing so too.

Thoughts

The atmosphere is creepy. The body horror isn't for the squeamish. But the slow moving plot here meant that, for me, it felt like a terrible slog despite that.

Pros
Body Unreliable: The body horror is here--maggots included--but it's more than that. Daisy can't trust herself, not even her senses, because nothing around her is as it seems. People aren't quite as real as they look. Time passes in confusing chunks. Bodies change--including your own. Nothing is in Daisy's control. And nothing can be trusted. There's perhaps nothing more terrifying that this sort of slow dissolution, this loss of self.

Redemption: Sure, Daisy's an unlikeable character (see my "con" below), but her redemption arc in this story, both as a person and as a character, is absolutely wonderful. I found myself rooting for her and for her family. There's so much grief and anger tied up in her character that makes it all the sweeter to see her want to really live. This, of course, comes with a trigger warning: Daisy goes to some dark places. But she comes out in the end better for it, and that transformation is excellent.

Brittney's Forgotten Black Girls: This story has a very familiar setup. This story, for the thriller and horror genres, is very familiar in and of itself. And yet it feels distinctly different than the thousands of stories that have come before it. Because those stories really do almost exclusively focus on white girls. Abused, abducted, killed white girls make the covers, the headlines, the podcasts, and the fiction. And that's why I loved Brittney and her mission here. Because those aren't the only girls to whom this can happen, and the predominant narrative omits girls of color. In this context, watching Daisy's story unfold and having Brittney commentate from the future, really sheds a startling and uncomfortable light on it all. Because shouldn't there be more girls like Daisy, with their stories shared with the world?


Cons
Aged Down: Horror elements aside, this book feels deeply contemplative in such a way that it feels like it would be better suited to an adult audience instead of the teen space. I know why it wasn't. The characters--or Daisy, at least--are young, and the modern trend in publishing is to call all books with teenage characters "young adult." And, of course, this is a genre piece featuring BIPOC characters at the forefront, something that is still rarely published in the adult sphere. But I don't think it was best suited to this market. It felt off.

Unlikeable Daisy: Characters don't have to be likeable always. They don't have to be likeable ever. But I really disliked Daisy. Her story was compelling, so I wanted to follow along in step with her, but she's got a bit of a superiority thing right from the start--with her older boyfriend, her attitude toward her best (and only) friends, and just the way she handles life in general. I get it. That's part of her character. But I don't think we'd mesh in real life, and I didn't like her on the page, either. Which was unfortunate, since it affected my reading experience.

Slow: I've said it already, but I'll say it again here: this book is slow. It is slow, slow, slow. It was certainly a slog to get through. The plot is long and meandering. The timeline is confusing, and the overall reading experience is rough. Add that to the fact that I just didn't care for Daisy, and I found myself not particularly motivated to read on. But I did, for the sake of review.


Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
6/10

Those who like Shirley Jackson's classic The Haunting of Hill House will love this new haunted home. Those who enjoyed the creepy folk horror of Ed. Tori Bovalino's This Gathering Dark will enjoy this off-the-beaten-path horror.

Content warning: this book and review mention child sexual assault and financial abuse, please proceed safely

What do you get with you have a haunted house, a mom with a past she will not talk about and a very complicated relationship with her daughter, and within a decade or so, another girl with a very complicated, abusive relationship with her mother and an internship making a web series about haunted houses and the Black girls no one remembers?

You get a fantastic book that is at times emotionally difficult to read with characters that feel real and human, a tight plot and a damn good book. And that’s why it took me a while to get this book review ready.

This book was a hard read for me personally. Although I am beyond grateful that there is a trigger warning for the CSA that also happens off the page. It’s alluded to, then said, but you never have to read the scenes themselves.

And guess what, it feels like it hits that much harder without being exploitative of such a heinous event.

We’ve got two different timelines in this book. One follows Brittney, a girl who works as an intern, making a web series about haunted houses with her only friend. She has a rough and rocky relationship with her mother due to her abuse. Her mother is also financially abusive. If Brittney is not always ready at her beck and call, if she doesn’t allow her to be part of her life and if Brittney doesn’t keep up the lie of who her mother is, then she’ll stop helping with her apartment which she’s co-signed on.

Brittney’s mother wrote a book about a miracle mansion, the same haunted house that Daisy lived near with her mother.

Daisy sees the dead. And it’s a very bad time. She feels also responsible for her mother who jumps from one job to the next. One apartment to the next. They barely have enough to get by. Daisy’s relationship with her father is almost nonexistent. He calls once a week every Saturday for a phone call that feels so painfully robotic it hurt.

Then Daisy’s mom gets the news that the mansion where she spent her summers until she was sixteen, and pregnant with Daisy, has been passed down to her. Her brother-in-law left it to her and he’s passed suddenly.

After a bit of back and forth, and Daisy’s dad making some very odd, cryptic requests, they go.

This book had tension and suspense like nothing else I’ve read. I couldn’t put it down even though I was tired. There were parts that had my shoulders tense, others that had my stomach churning. And some, especially toward the end, that had me in tears.

The CSA is an important component to one of the character’s behavior. I won’t say who. But it did some real damage.

I want to say that none of the mom’s in this book are bad moms but that’s not true. In my opinoin at least. But at the end, one of them is a very good one, in the only way she knows how but she changes. And that was one part that had me in tears.

This book is visceral. You feel the fear, the confusion, the heartache and anger.

Incoming spoilers for Blood Like Fate

I’ll be honest, Blood Like Fate, while well written made me feel gross. Because the love interest and his siblings essentially became eugenicists.

“You have power, you could hurt us. So we’ll breed it out of you.”

And his defense being “it wasn’t supposed to get this bad, it wasn’t supposed to hurt anyone.” Yes, he helped put a stop to the pain and suffering he caused but to forgive someone and be romantically linked with someone who decided that your family shouldn’t have a biological trait? No. That was gross to me, especially as a disabled reader.

Thankfully this book has nothing in it, that I caught, that could be construed as gross when it comes to the very sensitive material within.

It’s a good book. All the characters feel so tangible, they’ve all got great voices. It’s tightly paced and plotted and the horror elements are the kind that make you shiver.

I’m giving this book a 5 out of 5 (five out of five) stars.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and the publisher. If you are in a good place to read a book where CSA is mentioned, please read it. It’s great.

Told through two narratives ten years apart, Delicious Monsters is a slow burn, eerie horror tale that blends the best of the creepy house subgenre with a moving exploration of trauma, abuse, and, as the documentarians in the later narrative put it, "forgotten Black girls."

There's Daisy, who can see ghosts and who moves with her mother to an inherited mansion in small town Canada...where things take a turn for the weird (even weirder, anyway, since she's already been dealing with seeing dead people all her life).

Ten years later, there's Brittney, also struggling with a controlling and complicated mother, who's filming a documentary streaming series on the mansion and everything that went down there when Daisy and her mother moved in.

While Brittney's storyline is primarily in service to telling Daisy's story (literally, she's making this series about her, but also functionally in the novel), I loved the way her relationship with her mother presented both a reflection of and a balance to Daisy's, especially in each of their respective endings and the choices they make. The two-timeline structure, with Brittney and her partner Jayden fully aware of what we haven't read yet in terms of how Daisy's story goes (at the most basic level, who's still alive at the end of all this?), can be so tricky to handle. But Sambury executes it with skill and finesse, so that the information is revealed with just the right pacing, but without ever feeling like those in Brittney's chapters are artificially withholding information or phrasing their dialogue in ways contrived to keep things from the reader. It's a difficult thing to do, and Sambury does it beautifully.

While Brittney's scenes are compellingly written too, Daisy's story is really at the forefront here, and it's a hell of a story. There are twists and turns all over the place, and a few specific revelations that truly shook me. Both the supernatural and the all-too-real elements go to some particularly dark places, and it's a chilling book on both levels. We all have ghosts to deal with. Daisy's are just sometimes more literal than most.

An unsettling, haunting story told with captivating skill.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the advance review copy.

4.25/5

This is definitely by new favorite YA horror book! It has all the creepy, suspenseful vibes I look for in the horror genre, but it also has a cast of complex characters that really takes this book to the next level.

This story mostly focuses on Daisy (not “Dazy”), who moves to a supposedly haunted house when her mother suddenly inherits it. Poor Daisy has been through a lot and her life just gets worse when she decides to enter the house against her mother’s warnings. Slowly she begins to piece together the terrible things that happened in the house and she has to figure out how she fits into the equation (and what the house wants from her).

One of the themes of this book is telling the stories of forgotten Black girls. Brittney, the second POV in this book, wants to do exactly that by decoding the true story behind the house and its victims and featuring it on her YouTube series. Brittney is originally focused on telling just one forgotten story, but throughout the book it’s revealed that each of the main characters, all of which are Black women and girls, have hidden pasts they previously felt they were unable to speak out about. To solve the mystery of the forgotten girl, each of them must finally face their fears of being open and vulnerable about their past experiences and decisions that made them feel ashamed. Really a wonderful cast of strong, complex women who support each other!

Overall, I definitely recommend this genre-defying horror novel! It touched on a lot of difficult themes (TWs listed at beginning of the book) while also maintaining a fast pace all the way to the satisfying ending.

Delicious Monsters poignantly highlights how the real monsters in our lives are closer to us and more brutal than any supernatural ones we dream up. The story is about various forms of real-life trauma, the cycle of trauma and how differently we process and get through it, told in a setting of a haunted and paranormal house.

Did you know the name of the plant “Monstera Deliciosa” (Daisy’s favorite plant) or swiss cheese plant, literally translates to Delicious Monsters? But that’s not the only meaning behind the title of the book.

The main character Daisy’s biggest problem according to her is that she sees dead people. But she doesn’t see how she has much more real monsters in her life. She has a tendency to trust the wrong people, not trust those who deserve it, and be generally unaware of the trauma around her.

All the characters are nuanced, flawed, and impacted by the abuse they've lived through in different ways. It's difficult to love any of them as the reader but it's even harder to hate them.

The author did a great job of setting the scene with creepy tense vibes. This is a very atmospheric and haunting read. Once things start to happen, it is impossible to put the book down. The mystery and horror of the haunted mansion pulls you in, just like it does the characters in the book.

Daisy’s story is interleaved with Brittney’s who’s looking into the case a decade later, this helps increase the tension of the story since it tells us from the get-go that things aren’t going to end well. The parallels and differences between the two characters' situations also help highlight the nuances of their relationships with others.

I really struggled to get through a good chunk of this book. Barely anything seems to happen for the first 40-50%. It didn’t help that the MC is insufferable that whole time as well, with the biggest chip on her shoulder. To be fair, she has every right to be that way, and it’s absolutely valuable to let characters, especially POC, be angry.

It was difficult to rate this because of how much I struggled at the beginning vs how much I loved it as things started happening. I’m rating it an inexact 4⭐ ranging between 3 and 5.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

4.75
Cover 4; characters 5; Plot 5; Pace 5; Intrigue 5; Logic 4; worldbuilding 5; Writing 5; Enjoyment 5; cry*

<i>There will be a reading vlog going up of this later today - I'll post the link when it's live. </i>

Y'all. I cannot with Liselle right now. This book was dark and twisty and creepy and all of the things I want in my YA horror. And yet, somehow by the end of the book, I was crying. How does she write like this? What kind of superpowers does she have? I am, as always in awe.

I guess this is the part where I tell you that A) I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and B) I am friends with the author.

Honestly though, y'all know how much of a Kate Alice Marshall stan girl I am and this was right up there with creep factor oh KAM's YA and the heart of her MG.

There were moments in this book where I thought I knew how things were playing out or I would guess a plot twist. But the way it twisted never went how I expected. It was always taken to a whole other level that my brain couldn't math.

Outside of the absolute creep factor, this book deals with mother/daughter relationships and how they're never all what they seem. Just because we feel one way about our mother's, it doesn't mean that's who they are or how they see us. It's hard to remember that sometimes. I appreciate Liselle for tackling that and making me reflect on my relationship with my own mother throughout reading.

I honestly will not stop screaming about this book for a while. I'm sure there are a lot better reviews out there that talk about how smart this book is, but y'all know I'm just not that kind of reviewer, I'm a fangirl at heart and I just squeal about things with to rhyme or reason.

What can I say about this book? It’s perfect.

It follows two back girls—Daisy who can see dead people and Brittany who has a Haunted web series—and their connection to a mysterious mansion 10 years apart.

Now there are many trigger warnings that should be known before starting this book including: childhood sexual assault, childhood physical abuse, childhood physical abuse, childhood neglect, grooming, and suicide. The author provides the full list on one of the first pages of the book & for that I am thankful because although a lot of the above mentioned content happens off page it is still described & had I not been prepared for it it probably would have caused me to stop the book. This is not a light book. It is very dark but the subject matter is so well executed.

This book is going to be my choice for best of the year & I will never stop recommending it to everyone.

Ok so this right up my alley. A haunted house with a black person centered in the middle of it. Count me in. Chilling and atmospheric. It also had a lot of trauma in it. But when you combine creepy, secrets, and chills it was honestly a 5 star read for me.

content warnings (provided on-page by author): 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 follows two black girls: one in the present and one ten years in the past.

daisy sees dead people. she’s normally able to keep this ability under control, but when she and her mom move into a secluded mansion they inherited, she can’t seem to shake off the ghosts inside.

brittney is an intern who wants to shed light on forgotten black girls through her web series and get out from under her abusive mother’s rule. she sees the opportunity arise for this through the “miracle mansion” that made her mom famous.

it’s not very often i can tell a book will be five stars only two chapters in, but this was one of them! this is my first book by liselle sambury, but i’ve heard amazing things about her blood like magic duology and, combined with the premise of this book being so interesting, i was very excited to start this. i will definitely be picking up the blood like magic duology at some point because i’m sure it’ll amaze me like this did.

as i mentioned earlier, i knew this would be a five-star read only two chapters in. i attribute a large part of this to the writing style, which was so captivating. i really had trouble putting this book down! another part of that, of course, would be the plot itself. i really wanted to know what happened to daisy and whether brittney would find the truth. additionally, the character ivy, who you will meet in daisy’s pov, was so interesting and i was so excited to get to know more about her story.

i highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a spooky read, as long as you’re okay with the content.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the copy of Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury. This is a YA book about a teen who sees dead people and moves to a secluded mansion with her single mother. The second timeline in the present is about a web caster trying to solve a crime that occurred in the mansion ten years in the past.
It took me about 70 pages to really get captivated by the story because at first I didn’t really care about either timeline. Once I started to get interested, the book was really good. I’m not sure how effective the dual POVs were, because Daisy’s went on and on, so Brittany’s were kind of lost. I think if more of the book had been from Brittany’s POV the book would have been more interesting so instead of Daisy telling us what was going on we could have learned from Brittany's research. I really liked the inventiveness of the story and events and the truly creepy/scary things that happened. This was a good book, but not really great for me. If you love haunted houses and the supernatural you will probably love it!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for a honest review.
This story was told in two different timlines and dual pov.
First timeline was from Daisy from ten years in the past. Daisy who moved to a huge property her mother's inherits from her from her former brother in law. After arriving strange things start happening.
Second time is from Brittany, in present time, who runs a content series with her friend Jayden called Haunted. Who are interviewing people to find out what really happened at the house.

This book started out really slow the first part of the book, but really picked up towards the end. I enjoyed some the twists, a few I didn't see coming.

This book completely and utterly surprised me. I was expecting just run of the mill YA creepy horror, but I got something far more interesting. This is a book about monsters, but not just the ones who go bump in the night. This is a book about cycles of abuse and trauma and how they’re finally broken. Both Daisy and Brittney, in their dual POVs and alternate timelines, are victims and survivors of people who should have protected them. While Daisy’s POV is featured much more heavily than Brittney’s, I did think that having Brittney’s peppered in really made Daisy’s all the more compelling and Brittney’s own story was just as interesting. My only complaint was that, in certain spots, it did feel a little slow and vague. But it 100% picks up. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is brutal and gory and has so many potential triggers, but it is an important story. It took me a minute to fully understand what was going on, but with each chapter, you get more and more pieces of the puzzle and the final picture was so well done, even though it was absolutely heartbreaking. If you do read this, PLEASE make sure you’re in the right headspace for it. It’s not an easy breezy read, but it is worth it if you decide to go for it.
TW: sexual assault, child abuse, neglect, gaslighting, grooming, animal death, suicide, death, mentions of fat phobia, violence

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story told over two time lines which end up weaving together. When A mother inherits an old Mansion that has a terrible past Daisy and her mom move in and want to turn it into a B&B but soon Daisy realizes she can see ghost and she soon learns of her moms secrets.
This is about mother and daughter relationships and secrets and trauma. This story does have triggers which are layout out in the book. Thank you @netgalley for letting me read this

content warnings: childhood Sa, childhood physical abuse, childhood neglect, gaslighting, grooming, suicide. killing of a goat. discussions of fatphobia. body horror/gore, violence and death


there are many deep rooted mysteries to be had. This story was dark, gritty, emotional, and a little spooky.

There was so much packed into these pages and I was not expecting that. It tackles topics such as race, toxic relationships, and social justice. heavily focused on themes of friendship and family and especially generational trauma.
although some may find a reason to complain i loved that the author allowed daisy and brittney to be angry,or withdrawn to get through things. i feel like alot of books the black character just accepts everything and pretends to be happy. i would definitely recommend if the trigger warnings are something you would read

I feel like I have been reading a lot of "messed up houses" books lately. I also feel like I have read a lot of "true crime media hosts" books lately. This fits into both categories, yet still somehow manages to stand out and shine in the crowd.

I'll start by saying that this book is gorgeous. That is the best way for me to describe it. Not just the writing, though that is lovely too. But just the way the author so convincingly developed the complexity of each and every character and their relationships with each other was absolutely stunning. They are so multifaceted, so relatable and realistic, that it made the story all the more compelling. While we mainly follow characters Daisy and Brittney, ten years apart, we learn so much about the other characters in their lives too. Each of the main characters is wonderful in her own right, and I adored both of their stories- I genuinely could not decide whose perspective I enjoyed more.

Add to it that there are many deep rooted mysteries to be had, and it makes for a very entertaining story. I will say, the beginning is a bit slow. So if you wonder if it is going anywhere, I promise it is, please don't give up! There is so much to explore in this story, from the complicated family relationships, to two young women coming of age, to the absolutely abhorrent and significant underrepresentation in the media for crimes against Black women and girls.

This book had me on the edge of my seat, and after the first couple chapters, I simply could not put it down. Both because I was so interested in the mystery and because of how much I loved the characters and wanted to read more of their stories. I don't want to tell you too much more, because it is a mystery, after all, and you should discover all the amazing twists and excitement for yourself. So off you go.

Bottom Line: I fell so in love with Daisy and Brittney, as well as being completely enraptured by this unputdownable mystery.

Delicious Monsters is an amazing blend of ghost story, social injustice brought to light, and an investigative youtube show! Some would describe it as a mix of Haunting of Hill House and Sadie, and that’s fairly accurate.

We follow two different POVs, Daisy Odlin who is a young black girl who just wants her mother’s love but never feels worthy enough, and Brittany who is trying to break ground with a documentary to bring to light social injustice of Forgotten Black Girls. Brittany and her partner are known for their show Haunted, and the mansion where Grace and Daisy Odlin experienced terrifying and life changing events is bound to help the show elevate to the next level.

This story was dark, gritty, emotional, and a little spooky. There were moments that I wanted to shake both Daisy and her mother and tell them to wake up and fix their shit, but their actions serve a purpose. We definitely see a common theme of difficult mother-daughter relationships, childhood sexual trauma, and social injustice throughout the entire book. It’s well written, and sure to invoke lots of emotion and thoughts. I hope you pick this one up!