Leta’s Book Review: Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

Horror, Paranormal, YA

Rating: 5/5

Firstly, happy publication day to Delicious Monsters! If this book sounds remotely interesting to you, go find yourself a copy at your local bookstore or library.

Wow.

THIS BOOK.

The emotional impact of Delicious Monsters is astonishing. Only one other book has effected me to this level and I described it in my review as my “perfect” book (A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw, if you’re wondering).

Delicious Monsters tells the story of three Black women in two times. In the present, we follow Brittany and her partner while they work on a new episode of their web series Haunted. This episode is called “Forgotten Black Girls” and focuses on Daisy and her story. Ten years in the past, we meet our other POV character, Daisy. She and her mother Grace move from Toronto into the house they’ve been waiting to be given. This house is the main focus of both POVs: in one, it’s known as a spooky old house that is called dangerous by the people around it, and in the present, it’s known as the “Miracle Mansion”. The third important character is a bit of a surprise, so you’ll have to read in order to find out about her.

Unlikable characters are an acquired taste, but I certainly have the palate for them. It was hard to read about the mother-daughter relationships in this novel, but they were a necessary part of the character development of both Daisy and Brittany. And it was most definitely worth waiting until the end to see what the conclusion was and who was truly lying and about what.

The horror element was subtle for a while but ramped up in the middle of the novel. It didn’t shy away from actual ghosts, which was awesome. Daisy was a much more reliable narrator because we knew that she was telling the truth about seeing ghosts. And once the horror started, it didn’t stop. The tension climbed up and up until the climax, which delivered a satisfying conclusion.

I’m honoured that I was chosen to get an ARC of Delicious Monsters. Getting to read this book and rant to you about it today is amazing. I love my Canadian authors and Liselle Sambury has proven to be one of my absolute favourites. I will be reading everything from her in the future. Please go give her some love – check out Delicious Monsters or her previous duology Blood Like Magic and Blood Like Fate.

Note: I may update this post in the next few days following February 28th since I’m writing this late and I feel like there is more I want to talk about. Thank you so much for reading! I’ve been getting mad views here on Lit&Leta and it fills me with so much joy and love.