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aamna_theinkslinger's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Delicious Monsters was a simmering page-turner, a gut punch in the most unexpected ways, and skin-crawlingly creepy.
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), the killing of a goat (off-page, described), discussions of fatphobia, body horror/gore, violence, death.
The pace feels slow in the beginning, but it's more of a soft, gradual build-up to just unstoppable reveals and twists and confusion in the coming chapters. The first few chapters just give a solid foundation of the characters, so that when you read further and find out these crazy things that went down in their pasts and what happens in the present time, you still have some kind of grasp on the characters and feel tethered to the story.
One of the things that caught me off-guard was the emphasis on mother-daughter relationships and flawed mother figures. It is very nuanced and done with a sensitive touch. It depicts how toxic these relationships can be, despite them being supposed to be full of unconditional love and protection. Both our MCs, Daisy and Brittany, have very complicated relationships with their mothers, more so because they were raised by them without a father. And yet it also highlights those fleeting, seemingly inconsequential moments that pass between when they feel loved and close to each other.
It is an expertly crafted story in the terms of POV, as we follow two different characters in two timelines with a ten-year gap, and they were placed so that what one character went through in a chapter, it lined up with what the other experienced in the next; so you could the parallels and the deviation of their lives. Both our MCs are Black women, though Daisy is a teenager about to turn 18 and the other, Brittany, is a working adult. Brittany’s job is also quite interesting- she creates docu-series about paranormal events with her friend, and is working on a new web series investigating what went down in “Miracle Mansion”.
This “Miracle Mansion” feels like a sentient being in itself, with how vividly it is described. The setting comes alive through this. It is on a tiny island attached to a small town. You can only reach it by boat, and it is surrounded by thick woods. That at first is enough to provide this image of a creepy, abandoned mansion covered in overgrowth of vines and shrubs.
The way the whole mystery unfolds, through little flashbacks and hints here and there was really amazing and fun. It is graphic and gruesome and grotesque and hair-raising.
The character of Daisy’s mother, Grace, is pivotal to the story. She is an unlikable character, meant to be seen as flawed and hard to root for. She constantly walks the fine line between redeemable and unredeemable actions, gaslighting her daughter and being quite self-centered at times.
Daisy is also plagued by this intense self-loathing and needs to get away from her mother because she (rightly) believes that that will allow her some space for herself. Her ability to see ghosts goes unexplained and is just accepted for a while, but how deeply it affects her and the toll the combination of neglect and terror takes on her is so realistic and just awful to read. She’s someone you quickly get attached to. Despite how she might appear lost and strange to other people, to the reader she is someone who loves deeply and cares so much about her mother’s approval and affection
It’s impossible for me to pick if I liked reading Daisy or Brittany’s perspective more, and even though you as the reader can guess how Daisy’s story might end, never underestimate Sambury’s ability to throw curveballs when you least expect it. I loved how everything came together in the end, and how the character’s (and the villain’s arc) was resolved.
In the end, Delicious Monsters is as gripping as a paranormal story as it is an incredible exploration of lost stories of black girls, flawed motherhood, and redemption.
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), the killing of a goat (off-page, described), discussions of fatphobia, body horror/gore, violence, death.
The pace feels slow in the beginning, but it's more of a soft, gradual build-up to just unstoppable reveals and twists and confusion in the coming chapters. The first few chapters just give a solid foundation of the characters, so that when you read further and find out these crazy things that went down in their pasts and what happens in the present time, you still have some kind of grasp on the characters and feel tethered to the story.
One of the things that caught me off-guard was the emphasis on mother-daughter relationships and flawed mother figures. It is very nuanced and done with a sensitive touch. It depicts how toxic these relationships can be, despite them being supposed to be full of unconditional love and protection. Both our MCs, Daisy and Brittany, have very complicated relationships with their mothers, more so because they were raised by them without a father. And yet it also highlights those fleeting, seemingly inconsequential moments that pass between when they feel loved and close to each other.
It is an expertly crafted story in the terms of POV, as we follow two different characters in two timelines with a ten-year gap, and they were placed so that what one character went through in a chapter, it lined up with what the other experienced in the next; so you could the parallels and the deviation of their lives. Both our MCs are Black women, though Daisy is a teenager about to turn 18 and the other, Brittany, is a working adult. Brittany’s job is also quite interesting- she creates docu-series about paranormal events with her friend, and is working on a new web series investigating what went down in “Miracle Mansion”.
This “Miracle Mansion” feels like a sentient being in itself, with how vividly it is described. The setting comes alive through this. It is on a tiny island attached to a small town. You can only reach it by boat, and it is surrounded by thick woods. That at first is enough to provide this image of a creepy, abandoned mansion covered in overgrowth of vines and shrubs.
The way the whole mystery unfolds, through little flashbacks and hints here and there was really amazing and fun. It is graphic and gruesome and grotesque and hair-raising.
The character of Daisy’s mother, Grace, is pivotal to the story. She is an unlikable character, meant to be seen as flawed and hard to root for. She constantly walks the fine line between redeemable and unredeemable actions, gaslighting her daughter and being quite self-centered at times.
Daisy is also plagued by this intense self-loathing and needs to get away from her mother because she (rightly) believes that that will allow her some space for herself. Her ability to see ghosts goes unexplained and is just accepted for a while, but how deeply it affects her and the toll the combination of neglect and terror takes on her is so realistic and just awful to read. She’s someone you quickly get attached to. Despite how she might appear lost and strange to other people, to the reader she is someone who loves deeply and cares so much about her mother’s approval and affection
It’s impossible for me to pick if I liked reading Daisy or Brittany’s perspective more, and even though you as the reader can guess how Daisy’s story might end, never underestimate Sambury’s ability to throw curveballs when you least expect it. I loved how everything came together in the end, and how the character’s (and the villain’s arc) was resolved.
In the end, Delicious Monsters is as gripping as a paranormal story as it is an incredible exploration of lost stories of black girls, flawed motherhood, and redemption.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Child abuse, War, Fatphobia, Confinement, and Body horror
Moderate: Suicide and Sexual assault
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