Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!

This book was very weird, but in a good way. It reminded me a lot of ‘Liarmouth’ by John Waters; if you liked that one chances are high that you’ll like this one! It kept my interest throughout and I was very entertained. The one downside was that some parts seemed rushed. I would’ve liked a bit more detail or story at these parts. The ending also seemed abrupt, but overall I’m happy that I gave it a short! It was a short, fun read.

“To a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

I’m not exactly sure wtf happened here. For a while it was a pleasant experience and then I really didn’t know what the hell was going on and then I sort of did and then it came back around a bit. Several laugh out loud moments and some amusing goings on but still felt a wee scattered in parts.

Dr. Phil and Freud puffing on penis cigars, sexy sweet and sour chicken farts, brain raping alien spider-roaches, watertight dolphin butthole, massive deuce drops, raw oyster polish sausage death and running backward through a field full of dicks.

This one had a bit of everything and I dug that about it. I’d give a better synopsis, but I would either screw it up or get too spoilery. Or both. So…

“Pineapple!”

Thank you to Netgalley and Blood Bound Books for providing me a digital review copy.

Weird fiction can be a hard pill to swallow. The strangeness has to be balanced out with some very human emotions or else the oddity of the story can overtake the reader.

Earworm does not have this problem. It's a kinda gross, kinda odd, but very endearing book about a man who's down on his luck and the alien brain worm who bonds with him. Truly a tale as old as time. This is a quick read, but the humor is expertly balanced with the cosmic horror elements and Ripley's voice was a constant joy throughout.

I can get a little weary of "is this real vs is it all in their head" stories," but Milstead expertly balanced that question as we bowl through a fun, madcap adventure I truly enjoyed.

I… have mixed feeling about this book.

On one hand, the plot was entertaining at times and the characters were all flawed in a “love to hate them” sort of way. Sort of like watching a collision: you know what's going to happen and you know you can't stop it, but you're shocked and disappointed when it does happen all the same. 

On the other, it read like a novel written two decades ago that did not age well. Like, I could not get over the over-use of the word “rape” in a colloquial context. What is this, an elementary schoolyard in 2003? 

Overall, I didn't hate it and I didn't love it, and I don't think I'd recommend it to others.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. I loved the concept and felt that there was a lot of potential here, but the execution felt very lackluster. I didn't enjoy spending time with the narrator. It's certainly possible to create an unlikable protagonist people still want to read about, but this wasn't an example of it. It felt like the author was trying to satire the type of person the protagonist was, but the whole thing just felt needlessly sexist and uncomfortable. I also felt that there was room for improvement in the writing; there were fairly significant errors throughout the text with things like tense changing in the middle of sentences.

This actually exceeded expectations! I was curious based on the cover and brief description, but I found it to be surprisingly heartwarming and funny. Though, be warned, it's also pretty gross at times.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC!

I love unique stories, and this one had me very intrigued from the beginning. A man is dying from a degenerative brain disease and becomes infested with an ancient parasite. Cool!

I enjoyed the humor and crass of the narrator, but this book is not for everyone due to some potentially offensive content. The protagonist isn't really a likeable character, but he evolves a bit along the way. Overall, this was a very entertaining novel, and I would recommend it to fans of Chuck Palahniuk and Grady Hendrix or similar authors.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the ARC!

* I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

I do not think that it is a spoiler to say that "Earworm" in the novel refers to tiny aliens nesting in your brain and taking over. But that was the only interesting thing about this book. The rest is sexism, misogyny, tasteless jokes, violence and a perpetuation of various stereotypes. The terminally ill protagonist with the estranged wife was not a funny focalizer, jokes about r*ping dolphins (???) make no sense whatsoever, and the way every single woman was described was horribly sexist. Not a single female character is complex or well written, of course the mother in law is evil, and of course psychologists are evil too.

I did not enjoy reading this book at all. The book tried to be film noir-ish but it was predictable, embarrassing and full of sexism. 1 star

I went into this book blind, and was very surprised at what it’s about! Definitely recommend going in blind so I’ll just say this is a crazy/horrific/heartwarming ride from start to finish! Would definitely read more from this author!

Thank you for the ARC!

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. I have a very distinct picture of what type of person our narrator is in my head and it’s not someone I care to spend time with.

I DNFed for now but may try again in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance reader copy of this book!

This was an interesting read. A different take on the horror genre than most recent offerings, Earworm deals with eldritch horrors but gives them a comedic tilt. The political ins and outs of said eldritch horrors sound really interesting, but aren't explored quite as thoroughly as they could be.

The book is absolutely a fun ride, and has highlights - Bogart in particular is a great character and I found him highly entertaining. With that said, I do feel like this book was missing something in terms of fleshing out the story and the connection between the two main characters.

There was a lot to be found here in terms of jokes and humour that is a little bit crass too - and it is definitely a fun ride. It definitely falls more as comedy than horror, but is definitely well worth a look, particularly for fans of Grady Hendrix and the like.

Next time you think you hear a voice in your head, maybe it's a parasite.
This was dark, but fun and weird. Very entertaining.
It literally gets stuck in your head.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s not without its problems but that’s pretty normal. The body horror was written well and the plot seemed nicely thought out. The ending was satisfying.

Haunting and thought provoking. Makes one wonder whether humans truly have any free will at all. Didn’t go in expecting anything and was very suprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

Thank you, NetGalley for sending me a copy of the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Earworm has a very distinct and original main character and narrator. Unfortunately, I didn't like him - Not in a sense that I dislike a character but enjoy reading and learning more from them, I just didn't like him and didn't enjoy being inside his head.
Honestly, to me this read more like a sci-fi than a horror.

Initially while reading this books I was uncertain if I was going to like it. But as the story progressed I became more and more enraptured with it.

I loved all the pop culture references and how of the time the references made the novel feel.
The culmination of Ripley dying but not really made me love the book even more

My only negatives were some parts were definitely written more for the male perspective and it was what made me question if I would enjoy the book or not as well some sections were a little choppy in structure and I found myself rereading parts to get the timeline straight in my head.

Overall a really good concept and a very fun read

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Blood Bound Books for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting concept with the idea that all of human history and beliefs are actually one single entity that is attempting to take over the world. A very cosmic horror tale where you can't trust anyone, and need to watch your back from everyone.

The concept for this novel was fascinating, and I think overall the plot was well-done. Unfortunately, I did not like our main male character, nor did I like how every chapter randomly ended with a stanza from a song with no warning.

I understand this novel is called “earworm” but I don’t think this gimmick was necessary, as we already have multiple chapters where our main character is already spending the entire chapter with a song in his head. Also, many times it was hard to tell where the chapter ended and the song began, and it greatly disrupted the flow of my reading. There was also an irritating part where our main character gets the song “You Got a Friend in Me” stuck in his head, and instead of just a line or two we get a whole random paragraph of the entire song. Unnecessary.

Ripley was not a character I particularly liked, which isn’t necessary for me to like a book. However, many times it felt like the author was begging me to like him based on how “good” of a person he “really” was. There were multiple instances where Ripley would mentally go “I’m a feminist” or “I’m not sexist” or xyz before describing a woman in the most blatant sexist offensive terms ever. And to be honest, this wouldn’t have bothered me if it wasn’t POINTED OUT to me as a way of self-acknowledgement from him that he just HAS to describe this woman in this way, really, it’s nothing to do with sexism. Personally, I’d have rather he just be sexist than to read “I’m a feminist, so this isn’t being sexist, but *describes a woman in unnecessarily rude terms* but it’s okay, I’m married to a woman and thought another woman was attractive. It’s just a personal gripe of mine, but I feel I’d rather he be a flawed character with some sexist characteristics rather than a sexist character who keeps insisting he’s not “because he’s a feminist.”

In the same tune, I also didn’t like Bogart for many similar reasons. There’s an entire conversation between the two about him having sex with Ripley’s wife in VERY unflattering terms, and I was just like “really? Is this what I’m reading right now?” Also, he very much ruined a soft moment between him and Ripley where Bogart is trying to help Ripley’s self-esteem by going full “but no-homo” on him. Overall, I felt the two characters were kind of surface level with many jokes and exchanges that fell flat.

Complaints aside, the overall plot was short and sweet enough to give us a glimpse into this world with these parasites, and how humanity can try to defeat them. This was very much a cosmic horror novel, and it accomplishes its goal fairly well. If you were looking for a short cosmic horror novel and are fine with some cringy internal dialogue then I think this novel would work for you.

Well, this was fun. Ripley, our protagonist, is at the end of his life and just wants to go out in a high note with his estranged wife. Enter Bogart, his new companion/parasite. The relationship between those two comes with some fun banter and a good amount of snark. And even though this novel didn’t initially grab my attention from the get-go, it picked up quickly and brings you right into the fight for humanity. I liked Ripley. He’s likable, and the reader finds themselves rooting for him to believe in himself; his has pretty low self-esteem at the start of the book. He has a nice character arc and ultimately fulfilling journey. Bogart is the sidekick we all hope for, and is a devoted “friend” to Ripley. The monsters are hideous, the secondary characters are a beneficial addition, and the book, as a whole, is written well and cohesively. An enjoyable book overall.

The last few years I’ve realised that I really like reading horror and I’m out to explore that genres in as many ways as I can. The premise for this book sounded interesting and funny.

I feel like it had a very promising start, but I grew bored quite quickly and I don’t really see where the horror elements were. It read more like a type of a low sci-fi book to me.

But it always good to broaden one’s horizons!

This is a weird book to review. The tone is blunt and snarky. It walks a very thin line between being acceptable vs offensive (especially early in the book). The main character is a bit of jerk, not lovable, but also not irredeemable. And the target audience for this book is definitely male. ...And yet, despite all this, I was unable to put the book down. And the longer I read it, the more it grew on me.

There was a surprising amount to love about this book. It has a compelling story, with tension, action and intrigue. The secondary character is one of the most unique that I've come across. I couldn't help but love him, despite his very unusual (and not entirely healthy) relationship with the main character. And, something which I found equally delightful, is that this book has some very intriguing and obscure points of knowledge that tie in nicely with the plot of the book. You get a bit of esoteric education to go along with the pure entertainment value of the book.

All in all, this one was a winner.