It's like the Scooby Doo mystery gang went to a music festival to solve who was turning all the ghouls into feral out of control creatures. Zoey, Celeste, Val and Jasmine became close friends when the Hollowing happened two years ago. They want to have one last hurrah before they go their separate ways for college but someone is out to expose all the individuals that live as ghouls and survive on synthetic flesh. The hollow girls are perfect for this because they're one for all and all for one. Protecting each other and never leaving anyone behind no matter what danger comes their way.

Two years prior , a percentage of the human population underwent a transformation known as the hollowing where their only means of survival were to eat flesh. Zoey and her friends Valeria , Jasmine, and Celeste were four hollow girls who were trying to get a sense of normalcy back by going to a Coachella like event, a last hurrah before the girls go to college or start their adult lives. Unfortunately the night of the first concert Val went rogue and ends up killing and eating one of the boys in a band. There was a series of people going missing and the girls soon discover that someone is targeting people like them who were affected by the hollowing. If they can’t find out who’s targeting them, no one attending the festival will make it out alive.

First off I’d like to say that this book was super cute imo. Yes gory but the characters were absolutely adorable , I loved how they came through for each other and helped each other. The story itself was really quick but it didnt feel rushed like some shorter books tend to feel and I love that about this. I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you NetGalley and to Sourcebooks Fire for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book prior to its release date.

4.5 ⭐️

What a fun story! This book got me out of a reading slump! I went from not clicking with anything I picked up to not being able to put this one down. It’s a perfect mix of sci-fi, horror, lighthearted fun, and teenage drama!

Four gal pals Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine are heading out to the Desert Bloom music festival shortly after their high school graduation. Just a few short years ago, a pandemic called the Hollowing sent the world into chaos, but now things are returning to normal and big events like Desert Bloom are happening again. Folks who had been turned into flesh-eating ghouls from the virus, Hollow people, are now living life like everyone else thanks to the lab-grown meat SynFlesh, which keeps ghouls satisfied and everyone else safe from harm. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

Did I mention that Zoey and her three friends are ghouls? But that’s okay because they have a cooler full of SynFlesh packed in the back of Zoey’s Mini Cooper. This is their first unsupervised road trip, and their first time venturing out of their approved area as ghouls. But don’t worry! They have permission from Patricia, the agent who keeps track of them on the HollowLife app, where they log their SynFlesh intake and location for safety purposes. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

Also, did I mentioned that Zoey and Celeste have best friends since forever, but now Zoey has a raging crush on Celeste? And now they’re on this road trip together and are having to sleep in the same bed. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

I love the way Kayla Cottingham has written this story. The chapters tell the story of current events through the eyes of Zoey, but each one starts with a some kind of vignette that gives us insight into other timelines and perspectives. Most of them are retelling of events from the Hollowing. We get to see how Zoey and her friends each became ghouls and the havoc it wreaked on their lives. Other times, the vignettes are snippets of communication from the past or present, such as incident reports from Desert Bloom or excerpts from anti-ghoul literature. All of this does a wonderful job of balancing the first-person POV and the wider context of the story.

Sure, the whole story is a little over the top. As others have noted, the chaos-to-normalcy timeline is absolutely unbelievable. But honestly, I had no problem suspending disbelief because it’s such a fun story with characters I can’t help rooting for. I would do anything for Zoey and Celeste, okay?

I immediately added Cottingham’s other book, My Dearest Darkest, to my TBR, and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next! I’m so excited to recommend this book to readers who visit my library!

Full review posted on Goodreads on 4/16/23: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5227833396

This may have been the best horror, zombie, ff, coming of age story that I have read.

So there was an issue with the earth and some bad things were unfrozen. This lead to the Hollowing, which basically meant that some people became zombies. Not all of them were brainless, but ones who did like to eat human flesh.

Eventually, lab created human organs were made and these zombies were allowed to go out and about, while being watched of course. But this summer 4 ghoul friends were being allowed to go to a desert concert and that is when things become interesting.

During all this, you have Zoey, who has feelings for her best friend and whose head we are in.

This book was gory, gross, exciting, and really funny.

It's so rare to not only have a ff pairing, but the trans rep was really done well in here.

After a virus causes people to turn into flesh eating ghouls, four friends affected by it are attending their first music festival and things get worse from there when one of the attendees turns feral and one of the friends is found eating a boy. For a YA book, it’s exactly what I expected.

This is as much of a YA love story as it is a horror novel, a very fun read. Creepy and cute. I'd love to see this adapted on screen.

the description is very true. If you liked Jennifer's Body, you'll love this just as much, if not more. ❤️❤️

I. Am. Impressed.

This Delicious Death is set in the aftermath of a pandemic that left a portion of the world (the Hollow people) with a peculiar appetite… for human flesh. However, unlike most plague stories that turn post-apocalyptic, this one examines what happens when science wins. Humanity is saved through the development of a synthetic flesh and, although people are still navigating the trauma of the pandemic, life begins to move forward again.

This is the point where the story of our four teenage protagonists-brought together by their shared taste for flesh-begins. For their last pre-college adventure, they head out to a music festival in the California desert. There, the girls quickly begin to realize that someone, or something, is out to get them.

I absolutely devoured this book! Despite going in with a fear that I might end up DNFing it due to my queasiness around cannibalism, I found the horror to be extremely well-balanced with the lightness of a YA read. Yet, there were still multiple times that I noticed my breathing catch because I felt so genuinely afraid for the characters.

My one critique is that, at times, it seemed the author attached an identity to a character for the sole sake of calling it “representation”, without really developing that character or explaining how that identity impacts their life experience.

Overall, I thought this book was a fresh and unique take on the cannibalistic horror that’s been popping up in film, tv, and literature. Perhaps shockingly, this is one of my top two reads of the year so far.

This was the queer, flesh eating, best friends love story that I never knew I needed. This book is about a pandemic, but this pandemic left some individuals craving human flesh. The ghouls were initially quarantined but when synthetic flesh was invented ghouls were given basically a pass for killing people and reintegrated into society. Four best friends are heading to a music festival as their first big outing since they all turned. But the music festival holds more than they could have imaged was coming. And while they try to figure out how to protect each other and their freedom Zoey also struggles with a crush on her best friend. I loved this fairly campy but super fun story. Overall I gave it 4.5 stars rounded up for great queer representation.

This was really fun, I loved the ghoulfriends. Great representation, fun setting, discussions on social issues but not too heavy handed. Looking forward to reading more for this author.

This was honestly so much fun if a bit gory! I really enjoy the way that Kayla Cottingham writes - her characters feel fun, honest, and very real. Her debut "My Dearest Darkest" had some dark academia/gods & goddesses vibes while "This Delicious Death" is a Covid-19 pandemic novel with the shroud of ghouls/desire for flesh/and a murder mystery all in one. It was a truly WILD ride. The book was gory from the onset so I felt like I was prepared for it throughout the book (unlike a Grady Hendrix book where the is almost zero violence until the 40% mark where he throws in the most god awful violence and gore giving the reader whiplash.)

Cottingham's characters are truly unapologetic with the changes they have had to make to their lives thanks to the Hollowing, a widespread disease that some recovered from and others turned into ghouls, but life goes on and you still have to deal with high school, and love, and the tricker parts of society. I would almost call this a fun YA horror book with elements of urban fantasy, with some really stellar queer representation.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Yes just yes to this book!! This is my first book by Kayla Cottingham and will definitely not be my last! I read the first two lines of the synopsis and KNEW I had to read this book “When four best friends with a hunger for human flesh attend a music festival in the desert they discover a murderous plot to expose and vilify the girls and everyone like them. This summer is going to get gory.”

Like just yes! First off, I felt like this storyline was so unique and I hadn’t read anything like it before. Once I got started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down and I read it in one sitting! It was just so good and I wanted more (in a good way)! The author did such a great job at the world building to show the readers how the Hollowing changed the world in its entirety and I think that she did it in such an amazing fashion that it did not leave the readers confused at all.

The writing style was just fantastic. It draws the readers in and I felt like it just keep you engaged and wanting to turn the pages. I also loved how the author included bi and trans representation into the storyline! Overall, this book was so goo and I don’t think that I can recommend it enough because it was just that good! The twists are amazing and the attention to details throughout (especially the gory details) were impeccable!
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This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

A very fun ride with ghouls at a desert music festival. Just what can go wrong when your cooler is full of synthetic human flesh, right?
Sure the general theme is dark, just like the Adams Family is dark, but also kind of quirky and cute and full of adorable characters, that might or might not be capable of ripping your throat out if they have the wrong drink. This is a new adult book that keeps it light and fast past and that you will breath through fast and come out of with a smile.
The mystery treatment took me by surprise as the leaps to solutions are really fast. There is no red herring here, or pondering on the right way to go, trying to figure out what happened and all that. All is pretty clear cut, but that was also part of what made this book refreshing.
Will appeal to fans of the Wednesday series I'm sure.

This Delicious Death is a story that follows a group of friends on their adventures at a music festival. Only they aren't normal people, they're ghouls.
The Hollowing was an event that changed everything, people started feeling sick and then they got a taste for human flesh and organs. After the events of the hollowing the government set up a way for ghouls and humans to live side by side. The ghouls must check in for every meal. and their meals consist for synthetic organs. Regular food makes them sick and if they go too long without the syn flesh they'll get a hunger for the real thing.
Their first trip off on their own Celeste, Zoey. Jasmine, and Valeria set off to have a fun time but things don't always go as planned. Valeria kills a human on night one and they have to find out why she was set off so easily.
Not only is the main plot very intriguing and really pulls you in, but the love interests and backstory on the characters is amazingly fit into the story.
I really loved this book and am so happy to see bi and trans representation in literature. This is the type of book you can pick up and just not put down until after you finish it's that good and easy to get through.

I’m not big into YA but if it’s YA horror, I’ll consider it. In regards to This Delicious Death, the synopsis and cover sold me. I found this one to be fun; it was cute, weird, queer, gory and sweet all at the same time. I like reading books about pandemic and plagues, and The Hollowing was pretty interesting. A pandemic has broke out that turns some into “ghouls” and the only cure to remain yourself is to eat another human. But, it’s two years post-pandemic and the government is issuing synthetic flesh that has been discovered to be a replacement for the real deal. The ghouls are tracked and monitored, and are required to log their Synflesh consumption into the app that their caseworker is monitoring. So, it’s weird but intriguing.

When four teen friends who all happen to be ghouls hit the road with their coolers full of Synflesh in tow for a musical festival, things appear to be going great. Chaos starts to breakout when people go missing, weird ghoul like creatures are seen in the area and one of the girls ends up eating a little more than she’s supposed to and it’s up to her friends to stop her before it’s too late.

If you like YA horror, I think you’ll enjoy this one. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC. This Delicious Death is anticipated to be published 4/25.

I received the Arc from Netgalley and Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I always like reading about a disease breakout and zombie like books. This is a YA book and it showed. I loved how the main characters were super close to one another and it made it easy to like the growth of friendship and lovers form. However I am not a fan of the back and forth of when the pandemic started and where they were at now. I wish it would of started out with all four of their stories of when the outbreak started and then jump a head to the present after. I did see the twist coming at the end, but it was still a great read. I did love the description to detail and gore throughout the book. Over all I did like the book and would recommend.

I got an ARC of this book.

The gore was so wonderful. The graphic details of the blood dripping, the muscles tearing, the sinew being left between the teeth made me hungry. If you are weaker in stomach, then it is pretty clear where the gore will be and it is easy to skip for most of it. Most of the gore happens in flashbacks that flesh out the world and the characters. The book, without flashbacks, is a pretty typical YA style. Everything from the pacing to the plot is typical YA. The flashbacks really are what made this book for me.

The romance was eh. It felt like there was a lot of feelings on one side, but the other only reacted because of jealousy. I am not a fan of jealousy being seen as a good thing or a sign that someone is in love. This was the big point of the book that made me go “so this is the horror version of When We Were Magic“. This was not the only moment, but it solidified the comparison for me. I adored that the main love interest is a trans woman. I need more love for trans women just everywhere.

The basic plot was interesting. I am not big on mysteries or big plots, but this read like so many dystopians. The way the ending went down was a bit odd. Both the motivations for one of the characters (why are you still on the lap of someone who hates who you are unless you completely hate yourself and thing you don’t deserve more? Why was this not explored more?) and just how big it got (slight spoiler: how did one barely not a teen boy convince the CDC and the national guard to stand down?)

The cover is amazing. I didn’t really know more than eating human flesh and that cover to get into the book. It is a weird combination of horror and general YA fiction. So I adored it. It covered really intense topics like families rejecting you for something you can’t control, but without throwing queer people or disabled people under the bus of one of the few plots they are allowed to have by mainstream anything. It was wonderfully queer, though I am left with some questions with one of the queer plotlines that started in a flashback, but then didn’t seem to be fully realized anywhere else.

Overall, I loved this book. Some of the flashbacks and motivations needed more explanation for them to be fully realized is my main complaint.

I have seen this book all over saying it was a YA horror book and thought I need to read This delicious death. I was lucky to be given an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. Going into this I had no expectations and it blew my mind. There are many post infection books but this one was different in so many ways. The girls did have a strong bond and love for one another that made me connect with them. Each story of the characters left me wanting a bit more of their story. Towards the end I kinda figured out the bad guy but that did not take away from the story or my opinion of the book. I would highly recommend this book it kept me on edge and wanting more.

Unfortunately, I didn't love this book. I really wanted to love this book for a variety of reasons. I think the story had lots of potential and was an interesting concept. This idea of a post pandemic world where people became ghouls and ate people and now have to reintegrate into society while at a Cochella-like festival was a really promising premise. I also very much enjoyed the diversity within this novel, especially a trans love interest. These stories are important and I really loved that they are featured as character elements within this book. Honestly, it probably is the perfect YA novel for those that like horror books and sapphic characters.

While I love those elements, and I usually enjoy YA novels, this book wasn't for me and that's ok. I found that this novel was very predicable and inconsistent plot wise. I found myself questioning the characters' choices and getting frustrated by them as the decisions they made did not make sense to me, were overly simplified, and rather convenient. I also disliked the way the story was structured. While it is a clever way to focus the narrative in that the audience only got bits and pieces of how the Hallowing (the pandemic) started and how it affected each of the characters, the backstory, characters, and world building suffered as a result.

Although I wasn't a huge fan of this book, I think there are so many others that will like this novel. This is the perfect YA novel for those that like horror books and sapphic characters. If you enjoy these elements, then read this book!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

“It’s a girl eat girl world.”
🥩🥩🥩🥩/5

My Review: This is a YA book. I’m really liking a lot of the YA books lately. Wow, this was an unexpected read. But in a good way! I love discovering new-to-me authors. I hadn’t heard of Kayla’s work until now and Kayla you have a gift for storytelling! Like I said, this is unlike anything I’ve read before. I can’t wait to read Kayla’s other book. This one is full of suspense and thrills. Also lots of 🤯😱 moments. This would definitely make a great read to read during Halloween.

This Delicious Death
By Kayla Cottingham

Pub Date: 4/25!

Synopsis:
From the New York Times bestselling author of My Dearest Darkest comes another incredible sapphic horror. When four best friends with a hunger for human flesh attend a music festival in the desert they discover a murderous plot to expose and vilify the girls and everyone like them. This summer is going to get gory.
Three years ago, the melting of arctic permafrost released a pathogen of unknown origin into the atmosphere, causing a small percentage of people to undergo a transformation that became known as the Hollowing. Those impacted slowly became intolerant to normal food and were only able to gain sustenance by consuming the flesh of other human beings. Those who went without flesh quickly became feral, turning on their friends and family. However, scientists were able to create a synthetic version of human meat that would satisfy the hunger of those impacted by the Hollowing. As a result, humanity slowly began to return to normal, albeit with lasting fear and distrust for the people they'd pejoratively dubbed ghouls.
Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine are all ghouls living in Southern California. As a last hurrah before their graduation they decided to attend a musical festival in the desert. They have a cooler filled with hard seltzers and SynFlesh and are ready to party.

I absolutely loved this book!! So much gore! The story was thrilling for me and I loved the characters. I felt very invested in Zoey and Celeste’s possible romance. This was a fun, fast and easy read.