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.
- Title: Delicious Monsters
- Author: Liselle Sambury
- Publisher: Simon and Schuster
- Publication Date: February 28th, 2023
- Genre: YA Contemporary, Horror
- Source: Digital ARC via Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review
- Targeted Age Range: YA
- Content Warnings: childhood sexual assault (off page, some details discussed), childhood physical abuse (corporal punishment, off page, described / confinement punishment), childhood neglect, gaslighting, grooming, suicide (off page, mention), killing of a goat (off page, described), discussions of fat phobia, body horror/gore, violence, death, underaged drinking
- Rating: ★★★
A huge thank you to TurnThePageTours and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Delicious Monsters is told in alternating timelines from the perspective of Daisy, a young girl who can see ghosts, and Brittney, a young woman trying to get out from underneath her abusive mother’s thumb.
Daisy’s point of view takes place ten years in the past, when she and her mother, Grace, move from Toronto to the small town of Timmins in northern Canada. Grace has just inherited a mansion from her brother-in-law, Peter, who recently passed; this is also the home where Grace spent many of her childhood summers. Although she has inherited the mansion, Grace has insisted that they live in the bunkie on the property and that they use the mansion as an Airbnb. She has just one rule: do not go inside the mansion unless absolutely necessary. Obviously, this rule only piques Daisy’s interest, especially when their psychic neighbors and her father also express the importance of her not stepping foot in the mansion.
Fast forward ten years, and Brittney, a young woman working on a YouTube channel with her best friend Jayden, is starting a new web series centered around haunted homes. Brittney also happens to have a connection to the mansion — her mother visited the mansion and came back as a (supposedly) changed woman, dubbing it the “Miracle Mansion”. Brittney’s mother swears by this transformation, even going as far as to create a career out of her experience through her tell-all book about the mansion and her life afterward. A life that, Brittney knows, is a complete fabrication. However, her mother’s lies are not the only reason why Brittney wants to reveal the truth about this “Miracle Mansion”, Brittney is determined to find out the secrets the mansion holds, especially the story about the forgotten Black girl who died there ten years before.
I was initially drawn to Delicious Monsters because of its comparison to The Haunting of Hill House. I absolutely love the sapient house trope — meaning that the house is alive and has a mind of its own — and I think that was done very well in Delicious Monsters. The house having its own wants and desires really added to the eerie atmosphere. I kind of wish that we got to spend more time in the mansion because I really wanted to know more about the house itself and how it became the way it was.
As a plant lover myself, I loved all the plant symbolism and imagery throughout the book! I loved that Daisy’s love of plants and nature was part of her way to describe the things going on around her. I also loved that plant and gardening metaphors were used when Daisy and her mother would speak about the house as it further solidified the fact that the house was also a living and breathing thing.
My main issue with the book was its pacing. Delicious Monsters is around 500 pages, and I think that’s about 150-200 pages too long. While I understand that we needed backstory for both Daisy and Brittney, I do think it could’ve moved faster. Especially during some of the chapters from Daisy’s POV —- daily life at the mansion seemed just a little repetitive at times and I think some of the information could’ve been condensed. Additionally, I had issues with how the story was divided. I understand why this was told in dual timelines, but I think it would’ve been a much stronger book if there was more balance between the timelines. We’d get five or more chapters from Daisy’s POV, then one chapter from Brittney’s POV, and it was right back to Daisy’s. We spent so much time in Daisy’s POV that when we would switch back to Brittney’s I would sometimes forget what happened in her last chapter —- there were times when Brittney’s POV felt a bit like an afterthought.
Honestly, I think I would’ve found it more interesting if it was all told from one point of view —- either Daisy or Brittney’s. I think if it was told only from Brittney’s point of view, it would’ve been really interesting to see the truth unfold through the research and interviews that she and Jordan were doing for their YouTube series. At the very least, I think the book should’ve had a more even split between the points of view.
Truthfully, I didn’t really like either of our main characters, but I wasn’t completely mad about it? While I didn’t feel particularly connected to either of them, I found both of them to be very compelling and interesting characters and because of that I wanted to know what would happen to them. Both had chips on their shoulders, but I found their anger completely justified — and I always appreciate stories where women of color, but especially Black girls and women, are allowed to feel all of their feelings. I think it was so important that both of our protagonists were able to feel and process their trauma however they felt necessary. As I myself am not Black I can’t speak to their experiences and I will be updating this post with OwnVoice reviews as I find them!
If you’re looking for a dark and atmospheric read you should definitely check this one out!
Links for Delicious Monsters: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Liselle 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. She’s represented by Kristy Hunter at The Knight Agency.
