Unfortunately, I did not connect with this book. I found it impossible to keep track of what was happening throughout the book. This may be because of the way that the e-book was set out, sentences being disjointed to the point where I had to back track and re-read things. I did however really appreciate the way that Drew Huff had a story to tell that was so different from anything I’ve read before. I will continue to look out for their work in the future.

The Divine Flesh tells the story of Jennifer and “Divine Flesh” who is a cosmic goddess that shares a body with her.

“This is not my body. I’m not burning”

The world is filled with cosmic creatures, gods, mirror people, and so on. Our poor girl has to share a body with the Divine Flesh, and apparently lost her lover to her as well. Daryl is a jerk, tbh, I didn’t like him from the start. The author keeps the characters grey throughout the story anyway. It’s good, but it also kept me out of the story.
The writing style is literally “alive and breathing”. It’s fast, descriptive but also leaves enough room for the reader to fill in the gaps which adds a new color to the reading experience.

Still, i felt like the action could be written better. I didn’t feel like the balance between action and emotion was present in the book. Something kept the characters emotions vague.

I give this book 3 stars, because i loved the creative aspects of it, but the reading process wasn’t as smooth as i’d like it to be.

This novel has a very interesting premise, but the execution is lacking. So many main and side characters get introduced without explanation, and the details of their lives just leaves one confused. This novel almost reads like a sequel with the characters discussing events that have taken place prior, but don't ever get explained to the audience.

I really had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book. All I knew after reading the synopsis was I was going to get a weird book, and I love weird books. The book is unhinged and chaotic, to say the least but it was fast paced (although too fast at times for my liking), full of body horror, and I felt like I was the one on meth reading it, which means I loved it!

The unhinged mayhem of this cosmic body horror is absolutely mad in the best possible way.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀. 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗵-𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸-𝗜-𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱-𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵."

And that deliriously capricious cosmic god/entity/living nightmare, Divine Flesh, shares a body with the unwilling young drug mule and addict, Jennifer Plummer, who deals in weird alien eggs and just wants the body interloper/hijacker 𝗼𝘂𝘁. And just when she thinks she's found a solution to her problem, it all gets rampantly worse. Jennifer-Baby just might cause the end of the world...

There is a lot happening in this novel and yes, admittedly parts of the plot are a little hazy. Like a gonzo Hunter Thompson writing eldritch horror with a dash of Tarantino. But somehow this chaos ultimately didn't bother me. Even those distracting side stories and characters were interesting in their own equally bizarro way. The writing is snappy, sharp, beautiful and at times positively dreamy in the most disturbing way. The grotesqueries on offer here are sublimely alluring.

Everything about this was like a drug-induced deranged Cronenberg nightmare. It's an absolute wild ride, and although I found the ending a bit drawn out I still really enjoyed this book and look forward to more of this author's work.

Ever wonder what you get when you put cenobites and Marvel's Venom in a blender then sprinkle in some meth?
The Divine Flesh!

Jennifer and The Divine Flesh share the same body. Neither of them wants this living situation, but both of them want to be with Jennifer's ex-husband, Daryl. The problem is, Jennifer is a self destructive addict drug mule for aliens. And The Divine Flesh is a deity whose idea of love is tearing apart the bodies of people and reassembling them as her sycophants. So let's find out how they deal with being separated for the first time after taking a magical drug? Separation anxiety or...mass killing spree?

This is a fast paced, high energy story with lots of narratives and dialogues and the inner thoughts of people due to telepathy. So I had to take a break from it because I found myself losing the thread a few times. But I'm also ADHD. So there's that. But it does take some focus to get on board with this wild ride. The characters are fun, there is gore and guts and drugs and mayhem. I thought of Venom and Hellraiser but also Critters (the movies from my childhood). Once I got back into it, I enjoyed myself. Wild ride, this one.

You know what? I dont really know what to say here. I kind of felt like I was on drugs while reading this. What a sickening ride this was. And what a feat to accomplish that with me.
This is absolutely not my genre, I do try to broaden my horizons though, and Im glad I took a chance here.

The Divine Flesh by Drew Huff is a cosmic and body horror with strong themes of love.

You have to be in a certain mindset to read this book. It collects trigger warning categories like Halloween candy. It is very effective at making the reader uncomfortable while reading—which is a compliment to a horror story.

Plot:
Jennifer has shared a body with the Divine Flesh for as long as she remembers until an inciting incident separates them. The Divine Flesh then tries to show everybody her love through assimilation (basically making people weird flesh morphed creatures). Jennifer and Daryl then go on a mission to try and stop her. Although this is made more complicated by Jennifer still being in love with Daryl while Daryl loves the Divine Flesh instead (not cute romance, very disturbing).

Characters:
Jennifer - Self-destructive drug addict. Has a motto about no drug going untried. She shares her body with the Divine Flesh. Currently works in smuggling mirror person eggs. Can be rather clever in her solutions to situations.
Daryl - Used to make drugs with Jennifer. Weirdly into monsters.
Divine Flesh - A flesh manipulating god. Just wants to love everybody. Sees beauty in warped flesh.

The world of the story concentrates everything bad about our world and humanity. Most of the characters are not straight up evil though (except one, hell would be too good for him). Other than the Divine Flesh the only other main fantasy element is the mirror people who are basically like humanoid parasitic wasps. The main characters start off as relatively unlikable, but as I learned about their traumas I did start to root for them. The descriptions are really well written. I felt very tangible disgust while reading them. I would say the book has a medium pacing, being slightly slow at the beginning. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading disgust inducing horror. I didn’t love this book, mainly because I was expecting it to be cosmic horror, which I wanted to try reading, but it was mainly body horror.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dark Matter INK for providing this e-ARC

The Divine Flesh by Drew Huff

Jennifer and Darryl are a lovely couple. Upon adjusting my goggles, I see my mistake there. Beginning again, Jennifer and Darryl are most definitely not a lovely couple. Jennifer, a person prone to sabotage, recklessness, drug abuse, and an affinity for alcohol, is a problem. Darryl, with good intentions, equally has motivations for being with Jennifer. It’s what is inside her. Now, that may seem the most apparent thing to readers, but in this instance, it refers to something that coexists in Jennifer's body. The Divine Flesh, or DF for short. DF is a god, or as much of a god as one can be. DF loves Darryl, or as much as a godlike entity can feel for any human. DF is a being who wants to assimilate humankind so she can love them in return. Through various scenes of carnage and mayhem, DF and Jennifer are split into two beings. Multiple mysteries ensue, some of which require DF and Jennifer to both solve. A question arises: Are they even on the same side? As the mysteries build, this is only the beginning of a deranged story. One involving a being born of the light and one of darkness within the same womb. Concluding in unexpected twists that bend the mind.

I deeply exhale as I attempt to gather my thoughts. Confusion rings loudly. Why am I confused, you may ask? First of all, the cover art, in all its splendor, is a perfect representation of this book. Hearts with mouths, teeth upon rows of shark teeth, aptly describe this endeavor. It must be said that I applaud author Drew Huff and his creativity here. It is ambitious, and for that, he should be commended. With that said, it meandered in spots far too long. The DNF button looked me in the face; it said, C'mon, Orb, just do it; end your misery. I refused; I committed to sticking it through until the very end. That said, this was rocky. During the middle portion of my read, I was lost. The substance of the story leaped off the track, and it never regained its steam. However, while entering the last leg of my journey, I began to gain a small bit of understanding. Restoring my faith that I will endure during times of reading laboriousness.

The white light blinded me in a sense of serenity and calm, being on the hero’s team, vanquishing those draped eerily in darkness and evil. Luke Skywalker, clad in his billowing white garb, versus Darth Vader, cloaked in his onyx shroud of deception. However, in this story, there seemed to be a polar opposite take on this normal train of thought. To avoid giving readers any spoilers, there was an unexpected element of cleverness. I would not say I had an affinity toward any of the characters within the book, and in all fairness, this may have lent a bit to my frustration. There was a fair amount of “side quests” going on to probe and gain some understanding. I could not escape the fact that perhaps it could have been more streamlined to greater effect. We have shape-shifting mirror people, created by a woman/godlike being, for her to reproduce more of her kind on Earth. A town lynching by bigoted individuals, a fatal car crash, and drug deals gone wrong. There seemed to be many moving parts, and I, as a reader, wanted to focus solely on the main relationship and characters within that small circle.

In conclusion, has this been my best review? Certainly not. I might DNF my own review if I could. I struggle with this, as is apparent with the aloofness brought upon by my inability to articulate this review. I wanted to love this. The cover art demanded it! For me, this never reached that level. I am giving this 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Many thanks to Drew Huff for the ARC through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.

This book is an absolute rollercoaster of insanity and cosmic horror, blending grotesque imagery with a twisted, almost beautiful exploration of love. Jennifer, a flawed, self-destructive junkie, shares her body with the eldritch god Divine Flesh, who wants to assimilate everything in her path—including Jennifer’s husband, Daryl. Through a chaotic series of events, including Daryl’s murder, the struggle for control between Jennifer and Divine Flesh creates a brutal, mind-bending narrative that’s both unsettling and strangely heartfelt, leaving readers hooked from start to finish. If you're looking for something truly bizarre and unforgettable, this book is a wild ride you won't want to miss!

huge fan of body horror, and this was great. Never read Drew Huff before but I will be checking out more. Only criticism is it was a bit long for my tastes

This book was disgusting, bloody, gory and absolutely FANTASTIC. I loved everything about this book. From the Divine Flesh, to Jennifer doing her absolute best. Please write more books for me to read.

A Gore-Drenched Gnostic Nightmare - Yet Somewhat Lacking...

This is typically the type of book I'd go nuts for. Eldritch. Body Horror. Dark as hell. But "The Divine Flesh" by Drew Huff misses the mark for me.

- Things it Does Well:

GRISLY: If I had to conceptualize this work into one word, I think "visceral" might be it. There's an insane level of grisly detail on display here. Cronenberg would be pleased.

GNOSTIC: The author is well-versed in occult and gnostic terminology. I especially like the details concerning the number of teeth the Divine Flesh has (108), which is synonymous with Eastern tantric numerology. Additionally, there is a heavy Gnostic bent with the themes on display here. Demiurgic and wannabe-Demiurgic characters run amok. I certainly wish to see more themes such as this present in eldritch literature moving forward.

- Where it Falls Flat:

- PACING: The book could have used some serious shearing. "The Divine Flesh" would have been fantastic as a novella or something far shorter. I would characterize this as a page-turner despite its surreal and completely beyond-the-pale subject matter. This confounded me because, again, this is the type of book I usually fiend for.

DIALOGUE CONFUSION: The Divine Flesh, as a character, shares a body with a human being. This can cause issues with perspective regarding dialogue and understanding what is happening at any given time.

Now, I understand that the writing style for this work is intended to be trippy, surreal, and Burroughs-esque in its approach, I fear it may have missed the mark in terms of something that is easily digested (no alien meat-goddess joke intended... maybe).

CONCLUSION

While I didn't necessarily enjoy this book, I'm still extremely intrigued by what else Drew has up their sleeve in terms of content down the road. There's a uniqueness in voice, style, presentation, and hellion-esque attitude that is enticing.

Simply put, Drew Huff has a distinct voice, which is evident within the first few pages of this monolith of meat and depravity. If you've got a hunger for the truly out-there in terms of surreal writing topped with a candy-coated gore-infused frosting, give this one a read.

I requested this book because I like to enjoy a horror story once in a while. I don't mind gore and all that but I couldn't get into this one. It was confusing as hell and I had no idea what was going on half the time. I also felt the writing was convoluted and pretentious a lot of the time. I know this was intentional, it just didn't vibe with my style unfortunately.

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc. This book was crazy. The divine flesh is trapped in Jennifer's body and they each despise each other. Jennifer takes an experimental drug and her ex husband help her to free herself from the divine flesh's control.

The Divine Flesh by Drew Huff is an intriguing fantasy novel that blends adventure with deep philosophical themes. The story follows Elira, a young woman who discovers that her body is connected to a divine power, leading her on a journey that challenges her beliefs and identity.

The novel does a great job of building a unique world where gods and mortals interact in complex ways. The main theme revolves around the idea of the human body as a vessel for divine power, and how this affects Elira’s understanding of herself and the world around her. As Elira grapples with her newfound abilities, she faces both external threats and internal struggles about faith and morality.

While the pacing can be slow at times, with multiple storylines unfolding gradually, the story ultimately comes together in a satisfying way. The ending leaves some open questions, setting up possibilities for future books.

Overall, The Divine Flesh is a thought-provoking read that combines rich world-building with a compelling character journey. It’s a good pick for readers who enjoy fantasy with deeper themes about faith, identity, and power.

I hate to dnf a book, but I couldn't find myself enjoying it. The synopsis sounds intriguing and I really wanted to like it as a big horrror fan, but when I started the book I found it repetitive and kinda underwhelming. I'd like to give it another chance, but maybe it's just not for me!
Thank you to NetGalley and Dark Matter INK for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m, not quite sure how to summarise this book other than “how gloriously batshit was that.” Body horror, flesh-goddesses, themes of love, power, autonomy and the self are all wrapped up in this small town murder mystery come inter dimensional drug trafficking ring slash coming of age, though it’s more like coming into one’s own body. Initially this was a 3.75 for me, but the more I sit on Huff’s talent and audacity, the more I love it.

Set in a small town in America - Rosetown, Idaho - Jennifer is part of an inter dimensional drug smuggling ring, and battles a daily fight for control of her own body and mind with the eldritch flesh goddess inhabiting her - The Divine Flesh. Now, when Daryl, Jennifer’s ex husband and whom The Divine Flesh happens to be currently in a relationship with, is murdered by small town bigots, Jennifer and TDF have to work together (if they can) to find the murderers. Along they way they become separated, Daryl resurrected, and they must all contend with the all-consuming hungers and desires of The Divine Flesh herself.

We follow - stumbling along in their wake - several key characters. Jennifer, The Divine Flesh, Susan, Daryl and Clay. Jennifer, our eldritch entity hosting drug mule, and The Divine Flesh, said eldritch entity, come as a pair; both inhabiting the same body, the same mind. Theirs is a relationship born of constant battle for control, of experiencing and denying hungers, of loss of autonomy, grief and trauma. Daryl, Jennifer’s ex and TDF’s current love, gets caught up in this pulsating mess of a story, flung around, taken apart and put back together and damn I feel for the guy. Susan and Clay are our Mirror People, an alien species and part and parcel of the inter dimensional drug racket Jennifer finds herself smuggling goods (Mirror People eggs).

I will say, I spent about 40% of this book oscillating between mild and moderate confusion; though I do think that this is just part and parcel of the premise.

This is, in its heart of (many mouthed, multiple) hearts, TDF is a love story; it’s a story about consent, autonomy, self acceptance, and the queasy nature of love as a force. TDF explores, in a hazy, whirlwind, trippy, confusing punch-in-the-brain sort of narrative, questions of what can be considered “love”; can something intensely volatile, possessive, controlling and domineering and still be love. It considers the power of repressed desires, examined through the lens of a flesh-hungry goddess who just wants to “love” (consume) flesh, with little understanding or concern for humanity.

I enjoyed being hurled along with TDF herself; as though she, naturally, was a character with an utterly foreign mindset being an eldritch flesh goddess and all, Huff’s writing was visceral and tangible. TDF’s desires, motivations and reasonings were expressed in a way that could, and did, resonate - the absurdity of the strength of her power conveys the absolute overwhelm of emotions when someone presses them down. Her innate call for love can resonate with someone starved of it. Her grief speaks to those still processing their own pasts.

What I loved however was Jennifer - at times a passenger in her own body, her own mind, she was the driving force for me during this bloody, gory, hallucinogenic feeling ride. Damaged by her past, and her, you know, constant state of sharing her soul with a flesh goddess clamouring to feed and deal death, Jennifer is a lost soul trying to find herself, to reclaim what’s been taken from her. Due to the breakneck speed of the plot, we don’t really have too many contemplative moments with Jennifer or Daryl, but Jennifer’s journey is one I found satisfying - if not intensely overwhelming.

Essentially, read THE DIVINE FLESH if you want a body horror that’s breakneck, filled with telepathy, an aching hunger that crawls from the pages and feasts on your organs. A relentless pace with no concern for whether you understand which reads like ‘buckle up buddy, we’re going feasting and a’murdering and you better just strap in.’ It’s brutal and wild, confusing and relentless, and I’ll definitely be reading it again to find everything I missed on the first go.

This was the cosmic horror of my dreams. My only complaint is that it got a little bit long. Other than that, the interdimensional drug mule who is also dealing with being the third wheel to the flesh goddess that possesses her being in a relationship with her ex-husband, Daryl, is an extremely fun protagonist to follow. This was also a surprisngly touching book, in between some of the most fun body horror I experienced in probably ever.

What in the fever dream cosmic fuck is this? 🤣 This book is so weird and gross, and full of the love of a monster. The Divine Flesh is easily the most interesting God (monster) I’ve read and her babies (creatures, assimilated humans, what the fuck ever) were freaky and disgusting. You’d think the most evil, horrible character in the book would be one of the Eldritch Gods; the ones trying to assimilate the population or fill their bodies with larvae, but you’d be wrong. It’s a man, and he’s the fucking worst. I think this was longer than necessary, but it was a weird, wild, ride and I liked it for the most part.