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[katara]

Title: This Delicious Death

Author: Kayla Cottingham

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ+, Queer, Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Warning: Cannibalism, Pandemic, Death, Minors consuming alcohol, Gore, Body Horror, Gun Violence, Captivity/Confinement, Death of Family Member, Child Neglect, Nightmares, Drug use, Intrusive Thoughts, Grief & Loss, etc.

Date Started: January 4th, 2023

Date Finished: January 5th, 2023

Status: Finished

Rating: 4.8/5

Sypnosis: Four best friends, one music festival, and a cooler filled with human organs: this summer is about to get gory. ​​​

Jennifer’s Body fans will clamor for this new sapphic horror standalone from New York Times bestselling author Kayla Cottingham.

Three years ago, the melting of arctic permafrost released a pathogen of unknown origin into the atmosphere, causing a small percentage of people to undergo a transformation that became known as the Hollowing. Those impacted slowly became intolerant to normal food and were only able to gain sustenance by consuming the flesh of other human beings. Those who went without flesh quickly became feral, turning on their friends and family. However, scientists were able to create a synthetic version of human meat that would satisfy the hunger of those impacted by the Hollowing. As a result, humanity slowly began to return to normal, albeit with lasting fear and distrust for the people they'd pejoratively dubbed ghouls.

Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine are all ghouls living in Southern California. As a last hurrah before their graduation they decided to attend a musical festival in the desert. They have a cooler filled with hard seltzers and SynFlesh and are ready to party.

But on the first night of the festival Val goes feral, and ends up killing and eating a boy. As other festival guests start disappearing around them the girls soon discover someone is drugging ghouls and making them feral. And if they can't figure out how to stop it, and soon, no one at the festival is safe.

Review: Okay, I think I may have found my January favorite read (even though the book is not due to be released until April 2023). I devoured this book quickly this evening and enjoyed every minute of it.

Thanks to melting permafrost, a dangerous pathogen of unknown origin is unleashed causing changes within the human population. Not everyone is being affected but those that are showing signs of Zombie-like behavior. The only difference is that they act and look like any normal human. It is just their appetite has changed and thanks to the government, they have the ability to eat synthetic-like human organs instead of killing other humans for their flesh.

Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine are affected by this change and are trying to live normal lives and even deciding to go to Desert Bloom, a music festival in the desert. But something is happening. Their friend, Val, goes feral; even worse, there are even worse-looking Zombie-like figures walking around. The girls have to not only find out what is going on but save their friend from becoming one of those awful-looking Zombie creatures.

This was a really fun and weird read. I loved the characters, especially the girls and I was rooting for Zoey and Celeste to admit their feelings for each other finally. The relationship (both friendship and romance) was truly genuine. I liked how Zoe and Celeste's romance wasn't so insta but given a chance to bloom even in the face of all that danger.

And the girls' interlocking friendship was wonderful. Even though they shared similar pasts, they had something to not only bond over but it allowed them to lean on each other. Even when Val went feral, they didn't stop to think about the dangers it could bring upon themselves, rather they went in guns blazing to save her. This is a ghoulfriends' goal.

This was definitely my first taste of Zombie books in so long and this will be one of my favorites for the new year. I really hope to see more of these characters later on. I would like to see a story (even though we received glimpses of it) about this unknown pathogen. It sounds really interesting and the effects must be completely devastating to the entire population.

This arc was provided by the author and her publishing company. The opinions of this book are my own.

[ 367 ]

[katara]

Title: A Taste of Torment

Serie: Shadow Hills Academy: Relentless #1

Author: Stacey Trombley

Genre: Romance, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Demons, Paranormal, Supernatural, Magical Realism

Date Started: January 5, 2023

Date Finished: January 5, 2023

Status: Finished

Rating: 3.5/5

Sypnosis: A magical prince wants to date me, but there's one big problem.

This prince has claws.

Everyone at Shadow Hills Academy desires the dark and powerful Jarron Blackthorn. But I'm the only one who has seen the terrifying beast beneath his magical façade.

When my sister is murdered, and the case mysteriously dropped, I know where to begin my own investigation-Shadow Hills Academy, an elite school for supernaturals. Technically, I have zero magic, but just enough skills with potions to be accepted. Now I have the means to get close to the most likely culprits-powerful people like the demon prince Jarron.

I was friends with Jarron years ago, before I saw his true form, but I'm still shocked when he reacts to news of my sister's death with a fierce determination for vengeance. He has an insane plan to help me get access to Elite Hall, where the most powerful students reside-by pretending to date me.

Dating a demon was NOT how I expected this year to start, but his plan will work. Hang on the arm of Jarron Blackthorn, the heir of the Under World, and everyone in school will be so desperate for my friendship they'll spill their darkest secrets.

I just have to make sure Jarron never learns he is my number one suspect.

Keep your enemies close, right?

Review: I had seen so many positive things about this book on Book Tok and I loved the premises, but the female lead frustrated me beyond measure.



Our FMC, Candice, has wanted nothing to do with the supernatural world but this changes when her sister is murdered by someone. Candice makes the decision to go to the school her sister was applying for and hopefully find who was behind her murder. The only problem is that she meets her former friend, Jarrod (our MLC), and the two begin a fake dating scheme to give Candace a chance to gain access to the Elite and find the culprit who may have been the downfall of her sister.

But what happens when fake dating and feelings become entangled in this relationship?

Due to a few things, I am on the fence about this book. While I enjoyed the Harry Potter-themed storyline, I was not that thrilled by the feel of Twilight being part of it. Twilight has never been a favorite book of mine and I felt that Candace felt a bit like Bella. I was not thrilled at how she sort of treated Jarrod as if he were her main suspect. She didn't bother really communicating with him and preferred really to treat him as her main suspect. I get it. To her, he is a monster and she cannot see past this. Basically, she uses him for the power he has at this school.

But what I don't understand is why this little quote by a certain character was not the first thought of a suspect:

"I hope, in time, you'll learn that there are many ways to become powerful. If you come to trust me, I can help you achieve your true potential."

I mean, how could you not have figured that out? I suppose Candice was too laser-focused on proving that Jarrod was the murderer that it really did not sink into her head until the very last minute. Seriously, it was nearly the exact same thing written in her sister's diary.

And her "I'm weak" really aggravated me. She could have done a lot of things to make herself stronger. She has a lot of potential and yet all she does is whine about it.



I also felt deeply sorry for Jarrod because I believe he loved Candice since the very beginning. She had accepted things from their world when she was younger, but when he came into his own powers and turned into a demon prince that she turned and ran. If I had been Jarrod when I saw her again, I would have turned my back on her.

If this is a series, I am willing to see what the next book brings. I just hope Candice grows up just a little bit better in the next one.