e-Audio, 12:34:04
Narrated by: Kimberly Woods
Release Date: February 27, 2024
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: February 8-10, 2024
Companion to Delicious Monsters
Source: Libro FM (I received a copy of this ALC from the publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Death of a parent/grief, Animal Death (on page- cow and lizard; off page- referenced but not described – cat; off page, referenced and somewhat described- unspecified animals), mentions of self-harm/suicide, drinking and drug use, infidelity, discussions of toxic intimate relationships, detailed body horror/gore, violence, death (includes child death)
For Readers Interested In: Horror, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, YAAfter her private school is rocked by a gruesome murder, a teen tries to find the real killer and clear her brother’s name in this psychological thriller perfect for fans of The Taking of Jake Livingston and Ace of Spades.
Sunny Behre has four siblings, but only one is a murderer.
With the death of Sunny’s mother, matriarch of the wealthy Behre family, Sunny’s once picture-perfect life is thrown into turmoil. Her mother had groomed her to be the family’s next leader, so Sunny is confused when the only instructions her mother leaves is a mysterious note: “Take care of Dom.”
The problem is, her youngest brother, Dom, has always been a near-stranger to Sunny…and seemingly a dangerous one, if found guilty of his second-degree murder charge. Still, Sunny is determined to fulfill her mother’s dying wish. But when a classmate is gruesomely murdered, and Sunny finds her brother with blood on his hands, her mother’s simple request becomes a lot more complicated. Dom swears he’s innocent, and although Sunny isn’t sure she believes him, she takes it upon herself to look into the murder—made all the more urgent by the discovery of another body. And another.
As Sunny and Dom work together to track down the culprit, Sunny realizes her other siblings have their own dark secrets. Soon she may have to choose: preserve the family she’s always loved or protect the brother she barely knows—and risk losing everything her mother worked so hard to build.
*MY THOUGHTS*
As soon as I heard this was going to be a thing, I just HAD to get my hands on it. It wasn’t even a question of whether or not I was going to read this. Why? I LOVED Delicious Monsters and I was adamant that everyone read it. And so it pains me to say I didn’t love this one as much I thought I would.
Ok the reason I didn’t care for this is the length. WHYYYY did it take so long to get to the point? It was hella repetitive. And it just got annoying waiting on it. And let me just say, there is nothing during this time that is explained, it’s just a long drawn out story. And then even when it starts to make sense, it still doesn’t lol I don’t know how to explain this in a way that makes sense. Like it has some weird happenings, but when they happen, no one knows why. Or there’s people who do and they just don’t want to say anything. It’s so weird the way she wrote it. Idk why she chose to write it like this, but I was not a fan of the writing style.
I also was really weirded out by the genre choice? Like yes there are some scary bits, but they’re so few and far between. And they’re only at the end. I would have called it a mystery. But when it was pitched to me, it was called a horror novel. And it wasn’t that I didn’t like it, it just wasn’t what I expected.
BUT the mystery itself was ok. It wasn’t really terrible. Besides the repeating, it was cool. The entire mystery is who is killing people and what this one sign means. And it is weird, and you never learn anything even though they are getting some answers. I don’t know how to explain it lol But just know, don’t get frustrated like I was. You’ll get answers, but they don’t come easy or early lol
The characters were the saving grace for me tho. I KNEW how it was going to end up. I remember yelling at Sunny to let her know not to trust anyone. (Not that she listened lol) But I also didn’t understand that. Like how in the world did all of this happen, she was kept in the dark, and then when the stuff is in her face she still was like “I don’t believe it?” Girl, whet? This is happening in your face and you’re like “NOPE, CAN’T SEE IT” It truly made no sense. As for the rest of their family, I can confirm, they were all liars. I’m telling you like I told her, DON’T TRUST ANYONE.
This wasn’t what I expected or wanted, from this but it was ok. I expected this to be like a book that was about a family of feral beasts that might have gone rogue. What I got was a story that had a hella weird generational trauma that I never even dreamed of. And trust me, you won’t have dreamed of it either. I can say I will never be drinking a certain thing again. Or at least not any time soon. But y’all read it and let me know what you think!
Overall, I give this
