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Delicious Monsters
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2023)The Haunting of Hill House meets Sadie in this evocative and mind-bending psychological thriller following two teen girls navigating the treacherous past of a mysterious mansion ten years apart.
Daisy sees dead people—something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with the supernatural might be no match for her mother’s secrets, nor what lurks within these walls…
A decade later, Brittney is desperate to get out from under the thumb of her abusive mother, a bestselling author who claims her stay at “Miracle Mansion” allowed her to see the error of her ways. But Brittney knows that’s nothing but a sham. She decides the new season of her popular Haunted web series will uncover what happened to a young Black girl in the mansion ten years prior and finally expose her mother’s lies. But as she gets more wrapped up in the investigation, she’ll have to decide: if she can only bring one story to light, which one matters most—Daisy’s or her own?
As Brittney investigates the mansion in the present, Daisy’s story runs parallel in the past, both timelines propelling the girls to face the most dangerous monsters of all: those that hide in plain sight.
Daisy sees dead people—something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with the supernatural might be no match for her mother’s secrets, nor what lurks within these walls…
A decade later, Brittney is desperate to get out from under the thumb of her abusive mother, a bestselling author who claims her stay at “Miracle Mansion” allowed her to see the error of her ways. But Brittney knows that’s nothing but a sham. She decides the new season of her popular Haunted web series will uncover what happened to a young Black girl in the mansion ten years prior and finally expose her mother’s lies. But as she gets more wrapped up in the investigation, she’ll have to decide: if she can only bring one story to light, which one matters most—Daisy’s or her own?
As Brittney investigates the mansion in the present, Daisy’s story runs parallel in the past, both timelines propelling the girls to face the most dangerous monsters of all: those that hide in plain sight.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published February 28, 2023
About the author
Liselle Sambury
11 books1,650 followersLiselle Sambury is the Trinidadian-Canadian author of the Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist, Blood Like Magic. Her work spans multiple genres, from fantasy to sci-fi, horror, and more. In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to demystifying the sometimes complicated business of being an author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,267 reviews
May 19, 2024
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!
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!
August 1, 2022
As is now becoming my usual, I’m popping in this one time to share content warnings. So for those of you who may want them, they’re available to you. Also, just in case it comes up, Delicious Monsters is a stand alone novel.
Content warnings: childhood sexual assault (off page, some details discussed), childhood physical abuse (corporal punishment, off page, described), childhood physical abuse (confinement punishment), childhood neglect, gaslighting, grooming, suicide (off page, mention), killing of a goat (off page, described), discussions of fatphobia, body horror/gore, violence, death
Edit: someone on Twitter asked about LGBTQIA2S+ rep in the book, so I also wanted to share that here for those wanting to know what rep is in DM. There is a cis female lesbian side character (she also has a wife who is minor as a character), and there is a cis male gay character who I consider to be a more major character and is part of the second POV in the book. Both are also BIPOC characters. The woman is Sri Lankan and the man is Black/African-Canadian. Thank you! 🖤
Content warnings: childhood sexual assault (off page, some details discussed), childhood physical abuse (corporal punishment, off page, described), childhood physical abuse (confinement punishment), childhood neglect, gaslighting, grooming, suicide (off page, mention), killing of a goat (off page, described), discussions of fatphobia, body horror/gore, violence, death
Edit: someone on Twitter asked about LGBTQIA2S+ rep in the book, so I also wanted to share that here for those wanting to know what rep is in DM. There is a cis female lesbian side character (she also has a wife who is minor as a character), and there is a cis male gay character who I consider to be a more major character and is part of the second POV in the book. Both are also BIPOC characters. The woman is Sri Lankan and the man is Black/African-Canadian. Thank you! 🖤
January 23, 2023
Omg this book is SO GOOD! A haunted house with a dark past, a forgotten Black girl, toxic parents, dark secrets, cycles of trauma, and a girl who sees the dead blend together in Delicious Monsters.
Listen, I'm internet friends with the author and I'm sure I went in with added goodwill, so feel free to take my review with a grain of salt. But I'm genuinely floored at how smart, well-crafted, and creepy this upper-YA horror novel is. Liselle goes hard with the body horror, and weaves together a narrative with so many layers to unpack. This is easily the best thing I've read this month.
Daisy can see the dead and is getting out of a toxic relationship. She moves with her controlling mom to a mysterious estate in rural Canada with a dark past and a dangerous present. 10 years later, Brittany is trying to succeed apart from her abusive mother, creating a show about haunted houses. This season, she's investigating a forgotten Black girl connected to the very same house and is determined to uncover the truth of what happened there.
I think having Brittany's story as a framing device is very effective and what she's going through dovetails with some of the themes present in Daisy's narrative. Delicious Monsters does my favorite thing in the horror genre- using supernatural horror elements as a way of talking about real life horror. And this is not a light book by any means. It tackles abuse, neglect, racism, sexual assault, grooming, PTSD, gaslighting, and how cycles of abuse are perpetuated. It can be intense to read at times, but it's handled thoughtfully and isn't gratuitous in depicting certain kinds of violence. (though there is graphic body horror!) And what's so great is that while a character might not always see abuse for what it is, the reader can. And the character will eventually get there too.
One note I want to make about the narrative choices here: I suspect some reviewers will say that a certain"twist" is too obvious and use that as a reason to be negative. I would argue that thing actually isn't intended to be a twist at all and is supposed to be very clear to the reader from early on, even if it isn't to the characters. While there ARE twists in the book that I think are really well done, this particular thing (if you've read it, you should know what I mean) is instead creating tension, hanging ominously over the entire narrative. And if a character takes awhile to put it together, I think it's because they are still in denial about their OWN trauma and are unable to see things for what they are until they are willing to confront the truth. I think that was such a smart way to execute a story like this and focus on character growth without using trauma for cheap shock value. I have a lot of respect for how this book was crafted.
So clearly I'm a fan. The creepy vibes and atmosphere are on point, the character work is excellent, and the narrative structure works. Highly recommend, though this obviously comes with plenty of content warnings. I'll add to the things mentioned above violence to animals (off page), bugs, and carnivorous birds. I received a copy of this book for review as part of a unpaid book tour, all opinions are my own.
Here are the content warnings directly from the 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
Listen, I'm internet friends with the author and I'm sure I went in with added goodwill, so feel free to take my review with a grain of salt. But I'm genuinely floored at how smart, well-crafted, and creepy this upper-YA horror novel is. Liselle goes hard with the body horror, and weaves together a narrative with so many layers to unpack. This is easily the best thing I've read this month.
Daisy can see the dead and is getting out of a toxic relationship. She moves with her controlling mom to a mysterious estate in rural Canada with a dark past and a dangerous present. 10 years later, Brittany is trying to succeed apart from her abusive mother, creating a show about haunted houses. This season, she's investigating a forgotten Black girl connected to the very same house and is determined to uncover the truth of what happened there.
I think having Brittany's story as a framing device is very effective and what she's going through dovetails with some of the themes present in Daisy's narrative. Delicious Monsters does my favorite thing in the horror genre- using supernatural horror elements as a way of talking about real life horror. And this is not a light book by any means. It tackles abuse, neglect, racism, sexual assault, grooming, PTSD, gaslighting, and how cycles of abuse are perpetuated. It can be intense to read at times, but it's handled thoughtfully and isn't gratuitous in depicting certain kinds of violence. (though there is graphic body horror!) And what's so great is that while a character might not always see abuse for what it is, the reader can. And the character will eventually get there too.
One note I want to make about the narrative choices here: I suspect some reviewers will say that a certain"twist" is too obvious and use that as a reason to be negative. I would argue that thing actually isn't intended to be a twist at all and is supposed to be very clear to the reader from early on, even if it isn't to the characters. While there ARE twists in the book that I think are really well done, this particular thing (if you've read it, you should know what I mean) is instead creating tension, hanging ominously over the entire narrative. And if a character takes awhile to put it together, I think it's because they are still in denial about their OWN trauma and are unable to see things for what they are until they are willing to confront the truth. I think that was such a smart way to execute a story like this and focus on character growth without using trauma for cheap shock value. I have a lot of respect for how this book was crafted.
So clearly I'm a fan. The creepy vibes and atmosphere are on point, the character work is excellent, and the narrative structure works. Highly recommend, though this obviously comes with plenty of content warnings. I'll add to the things mentioned above violence to animals (off page), bugs, and carnivorous birds. I received a copy of this book for review as part of a unpaid book tour, all opinions are my own.
Here are the content warnings directly from the 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
June 17, 2023
Adored this.
Haunted house stories are so much more effective when the homes are part of the family; the place where lies were first told and secrets remain kept, where façades are dropped and everyone reveals who they truly are. Where good times and bad are baked into the walls.
A place where trauma repeats time after time, hidden behind its closed doors.
It creates such a ripe environment for horror, and oftentimes the supernatural threat is less scary than the familiar one.
Such is the home young Daisy and her mother Grace inherit; a mansion in rural Canada where the latter spent many childhood summers but is hesitant to return to. She reveals nothing of what happened there, keeping her defenses up so constantly that even Daist struggles to break through them. Moving to the mansion teaches Daisy not only of her mother, but of the family secrets that shaped her.
A second POV takes place a decade later from horror podcaster Brittney, working on an episode about Daisy and the mansion. While her investigation was an interesting addition to the narrative, hinting at certain events to come, I'm not the biggest fan of true crime - even in its fictional form.
Brittney also had her own tension with her mother, who once stayed at the mansion when Grace ran it as an Airbnb, then wrote a bestseller about her life-changing experience there. Details about her mother's book are left murky, though we know Brittney has a low opinion of it. Knowing more about it, especially those details that informed her strained relationship with her mother, would've benefitted her POV chapters greatly.
As this is a YA book, it doesn't go overboard in its horror descriptions, though there was one body horror scene that I genuinely felt sick over. More disturbing are the discussions of abuse that remain a throughline the entire book. These are not gratuitous, graphic, or exploitative, but the subject matter is extremely heavy. Author Liselle Sambury has a full content warning for Delicious Monsters available on her website - https://lisellesambury.ca/delicious-m... It's never a bad idea to check out content warnings, and it's awesome to see an author protect vulnerable members of their audience <3
Haunted house stories are so much more effective when the homes are part of the family; the place where lies were first told and secrets remain kept, where façades are dropped and everyone reveals who they truly are. Where good times and bad are baked into the walls.
A place where trauma repeats time after time, hidden behind its closed doors.
It creates such a ripe environment for horror, and oftentimes the supernatural threat is less scary than the familiar one.
Such is the home young Daisy and her mother Grace inherit; a mansion in rural Canada where the latter spent many childhood summers but is hesitant to return to. She reveals nothing of what happened there, keeping her defenses up so constantly that even Daist struggles to break through them. Moving to the mansion teaches Daisy not only of her mother, but of the family secrets that shaped her.
A second POV takes place a decade later from horror podcaster Brittney, working on an episode about Daisy and the mansion. While her investigation was an interesting addition to the narrative, hinting at certain events to come, I'm not the biggest fan of true crime - even in its fictional form.
Brittney also had her own tension with her mother, who once stayed at the mansion when Grace ran it as an Airbnb, then wrote a bestseller about her life-changing experience there. Details about her mother's book are left murky, though we know Brittney has a low opinion of it. Knowing more about it, especially those details that informed her strained relationship with her mother, would've benefitted her POV chapters greatly.
As this is a YA book, it doesn't go overboard in its horror descriptions, though there was one body horror scene that I genuinely felt sick over. More disturbing are the discussions of abuse that remain a throughline the entire book. These are not gratuitous, graphic, or exploitative, but the subject matter is extremely heavy. Author Liselle Sambury has a full content warning for Delicious Monsters available on her website - https://lisellesambury.ca/delicious-m... It's never a bad idea to check out content warnings, and it's awesome to see an author protect vulnerable members of their audience <3
March 4, 2023
This cover is bloody brilliant & I feel like it truly speaks volumes for what the book itself will be like! I can’t WAIT !
👀 I see you, Delicious Monsters! 👀
👀 I see you, Delicious Monsters! 👀
February 1, 2024
This book was sooo promosing on the outside, but not soo thrilling in the inside
Sigh! I really really wanted to enjoy this book. I mean look at the cover its sooo enticing. Unfortunately this book ended up being so so for me.
Delicious Monsters is a dual POV book following Daisy and Brittney (ten years apart) who are trying to uncover the mystery of a mansion and the secrets behind it.
This is categorized as a mind bending psychological thriller with some horror but to me it gave family domestic with a little sprinkle sprinkle of creepiness.
Characters
Daisy
The character of Daisy who is 17 in the book annoyed me to no end and the first 6 chapters solely concentrated on her being upset about her boyfriend Noah who broke up with her. I mean without fully going into it... the douchebag was not worth a page speaking of let alone 6 LOOOOOOONG chapters!
Other than her constantly going on about said Ex, I didn't feel like I got to know more about Daisy. Her character felt very one-dimensional.
Brittney
Then there's the character of Brittney. Brittney I'm so sorry sweetheart. But what was your purpose in this book. Like her chapters were rushed and discombobulated and by the end, she really didn't need a starring role in this novel.
Rest of the characters
Meh... Except King. He was lovely.
Plot
The plot was long! There was no reason for this book to be over 500 pages long, had it been 250+ pages shorter, I think my ratings could have been higher. There was too much waffle and a lot of telling not showing! This is a YA book and I don't know if that is why I couldn't fully connect with it as I'm really picky about my YA books. But something was just missing.
With that said I did like the commentary on certain sensitive topics like race, mother-daughter relationships, abuse, abuse of power, SA, and prejudice.
I also like how the author put in place content warnings as it is definitely needed with this book. I don't want to write this off as being a bad book by any means, I just feel like I wasn't the right reader for this one. This is highly rated on GR, so I'm def in the minority! How does the saying go?... 'Its not you... its me'.
Content warnings: childhood sexual assault (off page, some details discussed), childhood physical abuse (corporal punishment, off page, described), childhood physical abuse (confinement punishment), childhood neglect, gaslighting, grooming, suicide (off page, mention), killing of a goat (off page, described), discussions of fatphobia, body horror/gore, violence, death
Sigh! I really really wanted to enjoy this book. I mean look at the cover its sooo enticing. Unfortunately this book ended up being so so for me.
Delicious Monsters is a dual POV book following Daisy and Brittney (ten years apart) who are trying to uncover the mystery of a mansion and the secrets behind it.
This is categorized as a mind bending psychological thriller with some horror but to me it gave family domestic with a little sprinkle sprinkle of creepiness.
Characters
Daisy
The character of Daisy who is 17 in the book annoyed me to no end and the first 6 chapters solely concentrated on her being upset about her boyfriend Noah who broke up with her. I mean without fully going into it... the douchebag was not worth a page speaking of let alone 6 LOOOOOOONG chapters!
Other than her constantly going on about said Ex, I didn't feel like I got to know more about Daisy. Her character felt very one-dimensional.
Brittney
Then there's the character of Brittney. Brittney I'm so sorry sweetheart. But what was your purpose in this book. Like her chapters were rushed and discombobulated and by the end, she really didn't need a starring role in this novel.
Rest of the characters
Meh... Except King. He was lovely.
Plot
The plot was long! There was no reason for this book to be over 500 pages long, had it been 250+ pages shorter, I think my ratings could have been higher. There was too much waffle and a lot of telling not showing! This is a YA book and I don't know if that is why I couldn't fully connect with it as I'm really picky about my YA books. But something was just missing.
With that said I did like the commentary on certain sensitive topics like race, mother-daughter relationships, abuse, abuse of power, SA, and prejudice.
I also like how the author put in place content warnings as it is definitely needed with this book. I don't want to write this off as being a bad book by any means, I just feel like I wasn't the right reader for this one. This is highly rated on GR, so I'm def in the minority! How does the saying go?... 'Its not you... its me'.
Content warnings: childhood sexual assault (off page, some details discussed), childhood physical abuse (corporal punishment, off page, described), childhood physical abuse (confinement punishment), childhood neglect, gaslighting, grooming, suicide (off page, mention), killing of a goat (off page, described), discussions of fatphobia, body horror/gore, violence, death
Want to read
April 14, 2024my only criterium for horror is that it scare me so terrifically i'm unable to sleep. is that so much to ask
March 4, 2023
Toxic monsters
As I was reading Delicious Monsters, I made the following note to myself at 29%, "So far, every character in this novel is hateful." That did not change as I read on. In the whole book there are two characters who are pretty nice guys, one a fairly important character and one minor, but aside from those two, everyone is odious. It would be fair to point out that they are hateful mostly because they have been treated badly in their pasts, and their current sadness/cruelty/arrogance is an understandable result of that past treatment. They were treated badly by other hateful characters, who often are hateful because they were treated badly by other hateful characters, and so on.
The main point-of-view characters are Daisy and Brittney. Daisy is the one on whom the story centers. She sees ghosts and has a bad relationship with her mother Grace. Grace is a Bad Person, full stop. Delicious Monsters is a haunted house story. Grace inherits the haunted house from her brother-in-law, and she and Daisy go to live there, and Bad Things Happen. (Of course. If you've read any horror fiction at all, you knew that was coming.) Brittney is a YouTube-famous videographer ten years later who, with her partner Jayden, seeks to document the things that happened to Daisy in the haunted house. Brittney has a toxic relationship with her own mother, who herself has a history with the haunted house in question. Brittney despises everyone in her life (with the possible exception of Jayden) and trusts no one.
Most of the book is told from Daisy's point of view, but chapters told from Brittney's point of view are interpolated. These have the effect of foreshadowing for the reader things that became known only after what happened with Daisy went down.
Delicious Monsters was a hard book to get into. That's partly because there is no real story visible until about the 60% mark, when a very important character steps into the story in a major way and we begin to learn who and what she is. (We meet her fairly early, but her part in the story is minor, or appears to be, until about 60%. ) When I say "There is no real story visible..." in the first half, I don't mean that nothing happens. Things happen -- the problem is that nothing happens that makes you want to keep reading. That is largely because most of the characters are awful people.
I am puzzled by the title Delicious Monsters. Not by the second word -- there are plenty of monsters. But there was nothing in the novel, not the monsters or anything else, to which I would apply the word "delicious". "Cruel", "vengeful", "toxic", "sadistic" would fit.
I thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advance reader copy of Delicious Monsters. This review expresses my honest opinions.
Blog review.
As I was reading Delicious Monsters, I made the following note to myself at 29%, "So far, every character in this novel is hateful." That did not change as I read on. In the whole book there are two characters who are pretty nice guys, one a fairly important character and one minor, but aside from those two, everyone is odious. It would be fair to point out that they are hateful mostly because they have been treated badly in their pasts, and their current sadness/cruelty/arrogance is an understandable result of that past treatment. They were treated badly by other hateful characters, who often are hateful because they were treated badly by other hateful characters, and so on.
The main point-of-view characters are Daisy and Brittney. Daisy is the one on whom the story centers. She sees ghosts and has a bad relationship with her mother Grace. Grace is a Bad Person, full stop. Delicious Monsters is a haunted house story. Grace inherits the haunted house from her brother-in-law, and she and Daisy go to live there, and Bad Things Happen. (Of course. If you've read any horror fiction at all, you knew that was coming.) Brittney is a YouTube-famous videographer ten years later who, with her partner Jayden, seeks to document the things that happened to Daisy in the haunted house. Brittney has a toxic relationship with her own mother, who herself has a history with the haunted house in question. Brittney despises everyone in her life (with the possible exception of Jayden) and trusts no one.
Most of the book is told from Daisy's point of view, but chapters told from Brittney's point of view are interpolated. These have the effect of foreshadowing for the reader things that became known only after what happened with Daisy went down.
Delicious Monsters was a hard book to get into. That's partly because there is no real story visible until about the 60% mark, when a very important character steps into the story in a major way and we begin to learn who and what she is. (We meet her fairly early, but her part in the story is minor, or appears to be, until about 60%. ) When I say "There is no real story visible..." in the first half, I don't mean that nothing happens. Things happen -- the problem is that nothing happens that makes you want to keep reading. That is largely because most of the characters are awful people.
I am puzzled by the title Delicious Monsters. Not by the second word -- there are plenty of monsters. But there was nothing in the novel, not the monsters or anything else, to which I would apply the word "delicious". "Cruel", "vengeful", "toxic", "sadistic" would fit.
I thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advance reader copy of Delicious Monsters. This review expresses my honest opinions.
Blog review.
July 26, 2022
Official blurb to come but egads! This book had me spooked!
June 1, 2023
Wow, this was a tough one to review.
The story follows a dual POV between Daisy, coming to live at an eerie old inherited manor in 2012-ish, and Brittney, running a Buzzfeed-esque show about haunted houses and Forgotten Black Girls. Familial trauma and dysfunctional relationships form the pillars of the story, with some unreliable narration and gaslighting thrown in to keep you wondering.
I nearly wrote this book off and DNFed. I tried the audiobook back in March, and when it wasn't working for me, put the ebook on hold and got it in midway through May. My interest had waned over time, not helped by the fact the first full 60% of this book is a slog. Nor is it aided by the dual POV, which usually keeps pacing tense for me as a reader. The last leg does not wholly redeem the book, but I was surprised by how interested I was to keep going once I got there. There are some deeply evocative lines, and keen societal observations, especially along the intersection of race, gender, and crime.
I think the main idea to embrace here is that this is not an exciting haunted house thriller - temper your expectations. Delicious Monsters is instead an exploration of people who are haunted houses, specifically Black women, with ghosts and malevolent houses as a backdrop to the main characters unraveling knots of unresolved trauma and messy mother-daughter relationships. The paired parasitic and cerebral natures of the spiritualism + haunting in this were strongly adjacent to She is a Haunting, though I enjoyed this more by the end.
The final forty percent of the book is where the explanations and resolving action finally start happening. I was dismayed to have predicted at least five of the Big Plot Reveals. But again, it's less about the mystery and scary happenings than it is shining a lot upon the intersectional struggles of Black women, largely resulting from society's treatment - or rather, neglect - of them. I found myself gripped, and crying, by the end, something I did not expect. I think Sambury could work on the dense exposition for the first more than half of the book, but otherwise she crafted a touching ghost story centered around family, much like the netflix adaptation of Jackson's Hill House.
Overall, I'm giving this a 3.5, rounded down.
TWs are prolific and I may have missed some, but they include animal death, death of a child, violence by animals, botanical and insect\parasite horror, child abuse, sexual abuse, blood and gore, manipulation of someone's birth control to achieve conception, family estrangement, and victims of abuse not being believed.
The story follows a dual POV between Daisy, coming to live at an eerie old inherited manor in 2012-ish, and Brittney, running a Buzzfeed-esque show about haunted houses and Forgotten Black Girls. Familial trauma and dysfunctional relationships form the pillars of the story, with some unreliable narration and gaslighting thrown in to keep you wondering.
I nearly wrote this book off and DNFed. I tried the audiobook back in March, and when it wasn't working for me, put the ebook on hold and got it in midway through May. My interest had waned over time, not helped by the fact the first full 60% of this book is a slog. Nor is it aided by the dual POV, which usually keeps pacing tense for me as a reader. The last leg does not wholly redeem the book, but I was surprised by how interested I was to keep going once I got there. There are some deeply evocative lines, and keen societal observations, especially along the intersection of race, gender, and crime.
I think the main idea to embrace here is that this is not an exciting haunted house thriller - temper your expectations. Delicious Monsters is instead an exploration of people who are haunted houses, specifically Black women, with ghosts and malevolent houses as a backdrop to the main characters unraveling knots of unresolved trauma and messy mother-daughter relationships. The paired parasitic and cerebral natures of the spiritualism + haunting in this were strongly adjacent to She is a Haunting, though I enjoyed this more by the end.
The final forty percent of the book is where the explanations and resolving action finally start happening. I was dismayed to have predicted at least five of the Big Plot Reveals. But again, it's less about the mystery and scary happenings than it is shining a lot upon the intersectional struggles of Black women, largely resulting from society's treatment - or rather, neglect - of them. I found myself gripped, and crying, by the end, something I did not expect. I think Sambury could work on the dense exposition for the first more than half of the book, but otherwise she crafted a touching ghost story centered around family, much like the netflix adaptation of Jackson's Hill House.
Overall, I'm giving this a 3.5, rounded down.
TWs are prolific and I may have missed some, but they include animal death, death of a child, violence by animals, botanical and insect\parasite horror, child abuse, sexual abuse, blood and gore, manipulation of someone's birth control to achieve conception, family estrangement, and victims of abuse not being believed.
February 21, 2023
4.5* wow I really loved this.
March 17, 2023
I was so excited for this one but it’s slow and repetitive and nothing really happens😭
April 6, 2023
I really tried, but this one just couldn’t hold me. I DNF’d at 51%. I wanted to love it badly.
February 29, 2024
wasn't a fan of the Brittney POV til the very end, but Daisy's story kept my attention pretty much throughout the entire book. I know it's YA but they could've done more creepy shit with her ability, as well as those maggots in my opinion hehe
Shelved as 'didnt-finish'
May 3, 2023DNF@ 27% of the audiobook. This is so very tell not show kind of writing, especially in the Brittney POV where she and her co-host Jared break down and explain everything they're thinking and their theories about what they just learned.
The pacing of Daisy's POV is incredibly slow compared to Brittney's, and it's creating massive tonal whiplash for me. This is especially noticeable by the dual narrators, who are both decent but are pretty awful at acting out voices or working out conversations. Often I can't tell when they've switched to someone else talking.
I can see what this book is trying to do - because it's so obvious, neon glowing signs on every page obvious - but the journey there is just not for me.
The pacing of Daisy's POV is incredibly slow compared to Brittney's, and it's creating massive tonal whiplash for me. This is especially noticeable by the dual narrators, who are both decent but are pretty awful at acting out voices or working out conversations. Often I can't tell when they've switched to someone else talking.
I can see what this book is trying to do - because it's so obvious, neon glowing signs on every page obvious - but the journey there is just not for me.
January 26, 2023
This was truly a chilling and atmospheric read that kept me hooked from beginning to end. That being said, there are definitely some difficult situations to read, so please check the content warnings.
This story is follows the lives of two teenage Black girls across two different timelines: Daisy and Brittney.
Daisy can see the dead. Daisy moves in with her controlling mother following a break up (of a toxic relationship). They inherit and move to a secluded mansion that has a dark past. Ten years later, Brittney is determined to create a success of her haunted house series in order to get away from her abusive mother. On the list is the secluded mansion since that was the place that changed Brittney’s mother.
What I loved most about this book (well besides the truly haunted house as ghosts) is that he author allowed both Daisy and Brittney to be messy and full of rage as the are resistant to deal with the trauma that they’ve each endured from their mothers. There were so many times I wanted to yell at Daisy especially, but it’s about time we let Black girls just be…be angry, be withdrawn, be whatever they need to be to survive.
If this one isn’t on your radar then definitely add it because I promise my review doesn’t do this incredible book justice.
Thank you to Simon Teen for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
This story is follows the lives of two teenage Black girls across two different timelines: Daisy and Brittney.
Daisy can see the dead. Daisy moves in with her controlling mother following a break up (of a toxic relationship). They inherit and move to a secluded mansion that has a dark past. Ten years later, Brittney is determined to create a success of her haunted house series in order to get away from her abusive mother. On the list is the secluded mansion since that was the place that changed Brittney’s mother.
What I loved most about this book (well besides the truly haunted house as ghosts) is that he author allowed both Daisy and Brittney to be messy and full of rage as the are resistant to deal with the trauma that they’ve each endured from their mothers. There were so many times I wanted to yell at Daisy especially, but it’s about time we let Black girls just be…be angry, be withdrawn, be whatever they need to be to survive.
If this one isn’t on your radar then definitely add it because I promise my review doesn’t do this incredible book justice.
Thank you to Simon Teen for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
November 8, 2022
Do you love haunted houses and secrets and ghosts and revenge? I do and I liked this!!
Delicious Monsters is thrilling and just the right amount of creepy. It's nothing short of difficult to read but it's so important and I'm so glad Liselle shared it with us. At its heart, this is a haunted house story, or rather, inheriting a haunted house.
But I love that the characters kind of just sucked. They weren't doing anything productive to get over their traumas they were just allowed to be angry. I feel like it's so rare that we allow BIPOC characters to just be angry and allowed to cope with their traumas in poor ways, but that's realistic for a lot of people.
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Delicious Monsters is thrilling and just the right amount of creepy. It's nothing short of difficult to read but it's so important and I'm so glad Liselle shared it with us. At its heart, this is a haunted house story, or rather, inheriting a haunted house.
But I love that the characters kind of just sucked. They weren't doing anything productive to get over their traumas they were just allowed to be angry. I feel like it's so rare that we allow BIPOC characters to just be angry and allowed to cope with their traumas in poor ways, but that's realistic for a lot of people.
Bookish Brews | Ko-Fi | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
March 31, 2023
This book should have ended after the 1st chapter.
March 16, 2023
I don’t want to talk about it.
Want to read
May 2, 2023look, i don’t even read horror because i’m a coward, but this is written by liselle sambury, so… on the tbr it goes!
March 28, 2024
Un libro pazzesco ricco di suspence e mistero che mi ha affascinata e attratta fin dalla copertina, trascinandomi in una lettura adrenalina, coinvolgente ed entusiasmante. Praticamente l’ho terminato in poche ore.
Un libro che parla di relazioni genitoriali difficili, che poi è il tema centrale, di abusi e manipolazioni psicologiche, e della difficoltà che incontra chi li subisce a parlarne con qualcuno. Ecco, su questi fatti l’autrice ha costruito una trama horror e sovrannaturale che son certa vi incanterà.
Un racconto che viene svelato man mano che si prosegue con la lettura tramite due diverse linee temporali. Un racconto a due voci insomma, quella di Daisy che ha la straordinaria capacità di vedere persone morte, e quella di Brittney che dieci anni dopo si trova ad indagare sulla misteriosa villa nella quale in passato ha vissuto Daisy.
E che dire della favolosa edizione del libro con gli edges? Lo consiglio assolutamente ❤️
*Ringrazio la Casa Editrice per la copia cartacea e la collaborazione
Un libro che parla di relazioni genitoriali difficili, che poi è il tema centrale, di abusi e manipolazioni psicologiche, e della difficoltà che incontra chi li subisce a parlarne con qualcuno. Ecco, su questi fatti l’autrice ha costruito una trama horror e sovrannaturale che son certa vi incanterà.
Un racconto che viene svelato man mano che si prosegue con la lettura tramite due diverse linee temporali. Un racconto a due voci insomma, quella di Daisy che ha la straordinaria capacità di vedere persone morte, e quella di Brittney che dieci anni dopo si trova ad indagare sulla misteriosa villa nella quale in passato ha vissuto Daisy.
E che dire della favolosa edizione del libro con gli edges? Lo consiglio assolutamente ❤️
*Ringrazio la Casa Editrice per la copia cartacea e la collaborazione
March 12, 2023
I truly think Liselle Sambury is one of the most exciting new writers to have hit my shelves in the past few years. Having adored her Blood Like Magic duology, I was hugely looking forward to this book and it didn't disappoint. Deeply atmospheric, creepy, thrilling, heartbreaking and thought provoking Delicious Monsters is a ghost story, investigative thriller and family saga all rolled into one evocative and addictive novel. Exploring childhood trauma, toxic parents, racism and the unjust treatment Black girls experience at the hands of society, this is a book that highlights the way in which the 'natural' is more often than not just as terrifying and cruel as the 'supernatural'.
TW's copied from the authors goodreads review: 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
TW's copied from the authors goodreads review: 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
February 23, 2023
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The Blood Like Magic duology was one of my favourite reads of last year, so perhaps my expectations for this were a bit too high, but I definitely feel disappointed in Delicious Monsters despite it being a book that I did overall like and would recommend to horror fans.
Starting with what I liked most - similarly to Sambury's previous works, the themes explored in this novel are fantastic, and I think overall executed very well. Sambury has a way of writing complicated family dynamics and platonic relationships in particular that I really enjoy, and this was very much present here. One of my favourite dynamics in the book was Grace and Daisy's complicated mother-daughter relationship, followed very closely by King and Daisy's friendship.
Another thing I really love about Sambury's writing is that she really knows how to write an ending. Despite me having some issues throughout the book, the last couple of chapters came together in such a satisfying and cathartic way. I can definitely see this being a very emotional read for some, and I think if I'd been in the right mood, some tears could have been shed for me as well.
My main criticism of this book boils down to one thing - the execution. This book is told from dual timelines/POVs, and while I love this in theory, and felt like there was a lot of potential at the beginning, it ultimately just wasn't executed very well in my opinion. Firstly, we're told that the two timelines are approximately 10 years apart, but as I read the book, I honestly found it very difficult to place either POVs in the correct decade. It wasn't even that the author didn't include any cultural references that might place it in a time period, but more that the references did not actually place either timeline in the past or present. If we are to assume the "present" timeline is our present (the 2020s), then what's happening in the book feels a bit dated. But if we are to assume the "present" timeline is more like the 2010s, which is what it feels like, the "past" timeline has elements (ie. technologies/social media) that is not in line with what would've existed in the 2000s. At first I thought maybe this was intentional, and that the two timelines were actually the same timeline, but that wasn't the case.
Secondly, and more importantly, I feel as though the full potential of the dual POVs was not reached, and actually ended up negatively impacting the pacing of the story. I really loved the first few chapters when we flipped back and forth between Daisy and Brittney's POVs - I felt like the way the information was slowly revealed through both Daisy's life and the interviews that Brittney was conducting created a really nice suspenseful vibe, and I was also really intrigued by Brittney's character and wondering how her story might fit in with Daisy's. However, very quickly, I realized that the chapters were not going to be split evenly. They were skewed very heavily towards Daisy's POV (around 4 Daisy chapters per Brittney chapter), and I found myself constantly feeling like I needed another Brittney chapter to break things up a bit, and would be disappointed to turn the page to yet another Daisy chapter. The pacing of the book dragged on for me for the second half of the book because of this. I also felt like Brittney's relationships were severely underdeveloped compared to Daisy's, and as a result, some of the more emotional moments at the end did not feel earned - maybe this was intentional, but to me, it felt like something was missing.
Another thing that is a personal pet peeve of mine regarding the execution of the dual POVs - both POVs were written in first person, but the narrative voices were not distinct enough for my liking. I often found myself confused at whose chapter I was reading when I picked the book back up and was in the middle of a chapter. This is an issue I have with most first person multi-POV books, and unfortunately Delicious Monsters suffered from the same issue.
Overall though, I do still really recommend this book, especially for horror fans. I think that the horror elements were done extremely well - it's creepy, gory, and sometimes makes you feel sick, and all in the best way. Although I read an e-ARC of this, I really think this will be a great audiobook, and if I were ever to reread this, it would definitely be on audio. All in all, a decent book and I'll still be continuing to check out Sambury's future works.
The Blood Like Magic duology was one of my favourite reads of last year, so perhaps my expectations for this were a bit too high, but I definitely feel disappointed in Delicious Monsters despite it being a book that I did overall like and would recommend to horror fans.
Starting with what I liked most - similarly to Sambury's previous works, the themes explored in this novel are fantastic, and I think overall executed very well. Sambury has a way of writing complicated family dynamics and platonic relationships in particular that I really enjoy, and this was very much present here. One of my favourite dynamics in the book was Grace and Daisy's complicated mother-daughter relationship, followed very closely by King and Daisy's friendship.
Another thing I really love about Sambury's writing is that she really knows how to write an ending. Despite me having some issues throughout the book, the last couple of chapters came together in such a satisfying and cathartic way. I can definitely see this being a very emotional read for some, and I think if I'd been in the right mood, some tears could have been shed for me as well.
My main criticism of this book boils down to one thing - the execution. This book is told from dual timelines/POVs, and while I love this in theory, and felt like there was a lot of potential at the beginning, it ultimately just wasn't executed very well in my opinion. Firstly, we're told that the two timelines are approximately 10 years apart, but as I read the book, I honestly found it very difficult to place either POVs in the correct decade. It wasn't even that the author didn't include any cultural references that might place it in a time period, but more that the references did not actually place either timeline in the past or present. If we are to assume the "present" timeline is our present (the 2020s), then what's happening in the book feels a bit dated. But if we are to assume the "present" timeline is more like the 2010s, which is what it feels like, the "past" timeline has elements (ie. technologies/social media) that is not in line with what would've existed in the 2000s. At first I thought maybe this was intentional, and that the two timelines were actually the same timeline, but that wasn't the case.
Secondly, and more importantly, I feel as though the full potential of the dual POVs was not reached, and actually ended up negatively impacting the pacing of the story. I really loved the first few chapters when we flipped back and forth between Daisy and Brittney's POVs - I felt like the way the information was slowly revealed through both Daisy's life and the interviews that Brittney was conducting created a really nice suspenseful vibe, and I was also really intrigued by Brittney's character and wondering how her story might fit in with Daisy's. However, very quickly, I realized that the chapters were not going to be split evenly. They were skewed very heavily towards Daisy's POV (around 4 Daisy chapters per Brittney chapter), and I found myself constantly feeling like I needed another Brittney chapter to break things up a bit, and would be disappointed to turn the page to yet another Daisy chapter. The pacing of the book dragged on for me for the second half of the book because of this. I also felt like Brittney's relationships were severely underdeveloped compared to Daisy's, and as a result, some of the more emotional moments at the end did not feel earned - maybe this was intentional, but to me, it felt like something was missing.
Another thing that is a personal pet peeve of mine regarding the execution of the dual POVs - both POVs were written in first person, but the narrative voices were not distinct enough for my liking. I often found myself confused at whose chapter I was reading when I picked the book back up and was in the middle of a chapter. This is an issue I have with most first person multi-POV books, and unfortunately Delicious Monsters suffered from the same issue.
Overall though, I do still really recommend this book, especially for horror fans. I think that the horror elements were done extremely well - it's creepy, gory, and sometimes makes you feel sick, and all in the best way. Although I read an e-ARC of this, I really think this will be a great audiobook, and if I were ever to reread this, it would definitely be on audio. All in all, a decent book and I'll still be continuing to check out Sambury's future works.
January 19, 2023
I’m giving this book 5 Stars! If you like dual POVs this is the book for you! This has been one of my top reads this year. The books itself is so much deeper then you think. This book is so good. It’s the psychological thriller I’ve been needing. It’s also very descriptive and makes it easier to picture everything that is going on. I can see this book being turned into a movie. Possibly a Jordan Peele movie. The title itself is more than you think. The authors writing is amazing. It has heavy topics but is written in a way that keeps you intrigued.
The cover art was beautiful!!! I would buy this book just by looking at the cover art. 😍
Triggers:
Childhood sexual abuse
Childhood neglect
Emotional abuse
Predatory
Graphic horror scenes
Occult
Death
Thank you @NetGalley, hearourvoicetours,@lisellesambury for this ARC!
Book provided by author for an honest review
The cover art was beautiful!!! I would buy this book just by looking at the cover art. 😍
Triggers:
Childhood sexual abuse
Childhood neglect
Emotional abuse
Predatory
Graphic horror scenes
Occult
Death
Thank you @NetGalley, hearourvoicetours,@lisellesambury for this ARC!
Book provided by author for an honest review
February 10, 2023
3.5⭐️s
This was fine… it started off strong and then it ended up being 150 pages too long for me and it lost me. I also didn’t think Brittney’s POV needed to be there. It didn’t really add to the story. Daisy and her mom Grace were actually really annoying and not likable. The plot itself was great though and very original to me.
Thanks you to the publisher for the ARC!
This was fine… it started off strong and then it ended up being 150 pages too long for me and it lost me. I also didn’t think Brittney’s POV needed to be there. It didn’t really add to the story. Daisy and her mom Grace were actually really annoying and not likable. The plot itself was great though and very original to me.
Thanks you to the publisher for the ARC!
February 28, 2023
2023 reads: 69/350
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.
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.
July 9, 2023
This might be my favourite book of 2023 so far.
January 29, 2023
This story put me to tears because he had me thinking about things that I went through as a young adult and also how I raise and interact with my children. But I will say that there is also content warnings that I feel everyone should be aware of: childhood sexual assault, childhood physical abuse, childhood neglect, gaslighting, grooming, suicide, killing of a goat, discussions of fat phobia, body horror/gore, violence, and death. In this book you are going to have two different point of views. The first perspective is Daisy, who has a difficult relationship with her mother. Though an unexpected opportunity approaches Daisy feels that this would be great to pursue because this could possibly giver her and her mom a better life. Though instead of a better life that live in a bunkie next to mansion that is haunted. But as you read through the book everything is not what it seems. Then we have the second POV Brittney who is plus sized who also experienced neglect and abuse from her mother and her boyfriend. As Brittney is trying to escape the clutches of her mother she is also part of an amazing YouTube channel that her and her best friend started to call Haunted and it was so good a company wanted to have some rights to it and that they would have better equipment and anything else that they need in order for their videos to be great. So they are starting a new season and they are investigating and interviewing people who knew Daisy and Grace because everything that had happened to everyone that entered and stayed in the mansion because it is not a famous Airbnb. They both want to get to the bottom of all the speculations and rumors about Grace and Daisy. But like I said things are not all what they seem. This book not only put me to tears, but it was also spooky and scary at the same time to put where every time I heard noise in my house I was on high alert. This book overall has a powerful message that I think everyone should read because yes it can be a hard read at times but I feel that it brings awareness and saying that "YOU ARE NOT ALONE!". This book was written beautifully and Liselle has done a fabulous job.
August 26, 2023
The only reason why I didn’t dnf this shit, was because it was a buddy read
After reading the duology Blood Like Magic by the same author, we were expecting another great book, but wtf was this?
This book was filled with the most unlikeable characters ever. Everyone (except one person) only cared about themselves and acted like a teenager struggling with their immaturity. Sometimes it felt like the mc was only being bitchy for the sake of being bitchy.
Another thing I disliked is that we’re introduced to all these diff side characters and thats it. They have no depth. They just pop up a few times and thats it. Their only purpose is that they explain a few things from her mother’s past…
This book also has dual timelines and povs, the past with Daisy and the present with Brittany. And tbh I didnt get why we had Brittany’s chapters…? She did all those interviews with people from Daisy’s life, but why? I feel like all those extra details she found out could have been added in Daisy’s chapters. There was no need for those rushed chapters squeezed in between Daisy’s…
After reading the duology Blood Like Magic by the same author, we were expecting another great book, but wtf was this?
This book was filled with the most unlikeable characters ever. Everyone (except one person) only cared about themselves and acted like a teenager struggling with their immaturity. Sometimes it felt like the mc was only being bitchy for the sake of being bitchy.
Another thing I disliked is that we’re introduced to all these diff side characters and thats it. They have no depth. They just pop up a few times and thats it. Their only purpose is that they explain a few things from her mother’s past…
This book also has dual timelines and povs, the past with Daisy and the present with Brittany. And tbh I didnt get why we had Brittany’s chapters…? She did all those interviews with people from Daisy’s life, but why? I feel like all those extra details she found out could have been added in Daisy’s chapters. There was no need for those rushed chapters squeezed in between Daisy’s…
March 27, 2023
I keep saying I’m not a fan of horror, but I keep gravitating towards horror books. Lol.
This was an intense ride and creepy enough for me not to read after the sun had set (I don’t care! Judge me!). Without a doubt, it’s one of the most well written, engaging stories I’ve ever read. At over 500 pages, the story does have a slower pace, but it adds to the overall creep factor of the book. I’d definitely recommend this one to my book buddies, but there is a lot of trauma and drama along this journey; be prepared.
This was an intense ride and creepy enough for me not to read after the sun had set (I don’t care! Judge me!). Without a doubt, it’s one of the most well written, engaging stories I’ve ever read. At over 500 pages, the story does have a slower pace, but it adds to the overall creep factor of the book. I’d definitely recommend this one to my book buddies, but there is a lot of trauma and drama along this journey; be prepared.
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