Three Thoughts on Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

What: Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

Who: Margaret K. McElderry Books

When: February 28th 2023

How: A copy of this novel was provided by Margaret K. McElderry Books for review.

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.

I had three main thoughts when reading Delicious Monsters and here they are:

• The writing was great

In terms of writing style, I was engaged from the moment I started Delicious Monsters until the very end. I would find myself reading 100+ pages per night because it was really hard to stop reading! The style was one that I really enjoyed and found engaging as a reader. There was something really visceral about it, like what I was reading was something that was really happening. Everything that Daisy felt was vivid, and I was right there along with her when all the creepy stuff started happening. With how much I liked this style, it makes me keen to read this author’s other books.

• It was too long

Even though I was engaged by the writing style, I still felt like Delicious Monsters was simply too long. The horror elements took too long to build up, and I did feel like I was waiting for something to happen. If it had been shorter and the horror had started a bit earlier, I think my rating would have been higher. But as it was, I did start to feel fatigued by the end, and sometimes I was wondering why things took so long to happen, like Daisy finally entering the house.

• Brittney could have been left out

The whole time I was reading Delicious Monsters I was left wondering why Brittney was even in it. She only had a handful of chapters, so as a character she felt very underdeveloped compared to Daisy, who had maybe four times as many chapters. At the end, I kind of realised why Brittney was in the book in terms of a Big Reveal moment, but I still think the same ending could have been achieved without adding a point of view character who was not fleshed out enough to really make me believe she needed those chapters.

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Overall though, I did enjoy Delicious Monsters, and it really delivered on the creepy elements! I’m loving that horror in YA is coming into its element, and I’m excited to read more from Liselle Sambury.

© 2023, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

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