#getthrilledbuddyreads

[hollymbryan]

Blog Tour + #Review: DELICIOUS MONSTERS by Liselle Sambury!

Welcome to Book-Keeping and my stop on the Turn the Page Tours blog tour for Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury! This YA horror was one of my most-anticipated reads for 2023, and boy did it deliver! I’m so excited to tell you all about the book and my review, so let’s go!

About the Book

title: Delicious Monsters author: Liselle Sambury publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books release date: 28 February 2023

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.

Add to Goodreads Purchase the Book

About the Author

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.

Connect with Liselle: Website | Goodreads | Instagram

My 5-Star Review

Delicious Monsters was one of my most-anticipated reads of 2023, and boy did it deliver! I was so ready for a creepy, horror-filled tale, and that’s exactly what I got -- whether it’s body horror or birds (oh how I hate birds, and this book did not help!), it’s all in here. We’ve got the tale of a mansion we keep hearing is “dangerous,” told from the POV of two teen Black girls a decade apart: Daisy, in the past, and Brittney, in the present. Daisy and her mom inherit the cursed mansion and move up to live on the grounds and turn the house into an Airbnb. Brittney, who grew up with an awful, abusive mother who has since become famous for “turning her life around” after a stay at the mansion, is a YouTube documentarian. She and her partner are working on their show, “Haunted,” with a season she wants to be about forgotten Black girls. Slowly, slowly, the story unravels before us, alternating timelines and POVs, and I swear you will be unable to look away from the horror that you know is around the corner.

This story is creeptastic and spooky and just fabulously horrific, and I mean that in the best way. We need more YA horror like this! Also, I have to mention *that cover*, which I’m declaring now as my favorite cover of the year. I can’t imagine *anything* coming along that will beat the creepy beauty of this one!

Rating: 5 stars!

Side note: Delicious Monsters will be our April pick for #getthrilledbuddyreads on Insta, so be sure and follow me if you’d like to join!

Check out the Bookstagram tour too! You can find my post here!

[hollymbryan]

🔥 BUDDY READ ANNOUNCEMENT! 🔥 I cannot believe it's almost March already! But as it is, that means it's time to announce the next month's read for #getthrilledbuddyreads -- THE FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER by @angelineboulley! @torrie_reads and I are really excited for this one - and as she said in her post, hopefully there are still some of you who are behind, like us, and haven't read it yet so want to join us 😂 Or if you have read it, feel free to come discuss it with us! This one is a YA mystery/thriller with an Ojibwe main character who goes undercover to confront some pretty dark issues in her community, in order to save it. I can't wait to finally meet Daunis! I've tried so hard to avoid spoilers and am really looking forward to discovering with y'all the magic of this book that I've heard so much about. If you would like to join us, just comment below and we'll add you to the chat when we set it up. We can't wait to get thrilled with y'all! 🔥🔥🔥 #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #booknerd #getthrilled #thrillers #thrillerbooks #thrillingreads #amreading #angelineboulley #angelineboulleybooks #thefirekeepersdaughter #bookworm #readersofinstagram #readersofig #reading #reader #readers #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #bookrecommendations #buddyreads #buddyread #septemberbuddyread #bookclub #readwithus https://www.instagram.com/p/CaLDhL5PDpo/?utm_medium=tumblr

[hollymbryan]

🩸 BUDDY READ ANNOUNCEMENT! 🩸 It's hard to believe, but January is actually almost over...so it's time to announce next month's #getthrilledbuddyreads pick! @torriereadsalot and I are so excited to be doing THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD by @writeinbk 🎉 Torrie has read it and loved it, and I can't wait to dive in! If you'd like to join us, just comment below (or DM me) and we'll add you to the chat when we set it up. We can't wait to #getthrilled with y'all! SYNOPSIS: New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror and tackles America’s history and legacy of racism in this suspenseful YA novel following a biracial teenager as her Georgia high school hosts its first integrated prom. When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation . . . Maddy did it. An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington. After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life. But some of her classmates aren't done with her just yet. And what they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret . . . one that will cost them all their lives. 🩸🩸🩸 #buddyreads #buddyreading #buddyread #theweightofblood #tiffanydjackson #tiffanydjacksonnovels #tiffanydjacksonauthor #tiffanydjacksonbooks #thrillerbooks #februarybuddyread #yaliteraturejunkie #yaliterature #yalovin #yalit #yalove #blackauthors #blackwomenoncover #blackwomenoncovers #blackwomenwriters #blackwomenwrite #amreading #bookstagrambuddyreads https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn4yFWcL7A0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hollymbryan]

👯‍♀️📖 BUDDY READ ANNOUNCEMENT! 📖👯‍♀️ I can't believe it, but 2022 is almost over, and it's time to announce our #getthrilledbuddyreads book for Jan 2023! Next month we'll be reading THE GIRLS ARE ALL SO NICE HERE by @laurieelizabethflynn! I love Laurie's books, and Torrie (@torrie_reads) and I are excited to read and discuss this one with everyone. If you would like to join us, just comment below and we'll add you to the chat when we set it up. We can't wait to get thrilled with y'all! SYNOPSIS: A lot has changed in the years since Ambrosia Wellington graduated from college, and she's worked hard to create a new life for herself. But then an invitation to her ten-year reunion arrives in the mail, along with an anonymous note that reads "We need to talk about what we did that night." It seems that the secrets of Ambrosia's past--and the people she thought she'd left there--aren't as buried as she'd believed. Amb can't stop fixating on what she did or who she did it with: larger-than-life Sloane "Sully" Sullivan, Amb's former best friend, who could make anyone do anything. At the reunion, Amb and Sully receive increasingly menacing messages, and it becomes clear that they're being pursued by someone who wants more than just the truth of what happened that first semester. This person wants revenge for what they did and the damage they caused--the extent of which Amb is only now fully understanding. And it was all because of the game they played to get a boy who belonged to someone else, and the girl who paid the price. Alternating between the reunion and Amb's freshman year, THE GIRLS ARE ALL SO NICE HERE is a shocking novel about the brutal lengths girls can go to get what they think they're owed, and what happens when the games we play in college become matters of life and death. 👯‍♀️📖 👯‍♀️📖 👯‍♀️📖 #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #booknerd #getthrilled #thrillers #thrillerbooks #thrillingreads #amreading #laurieelizabethflynn #thegirlsareallsonicehere #bookworm #readersofinstagram #readersofig #reading #readers #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #bookrecommendations #buddyreads #buddyread #januarybuddyread #bookclub #readwithus https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmot-bMLsmc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hollymbryan]

😈 BUDDY READ ANNOUNCEMENT! 😈 It's that time again -- time for next month's #getthrilledbuddyreads choice! For November, we are reading the middle grade horror HIDE AND SEEKER by @hideandseekernovel 😍 We are so excited to read this one with y'all! @torriereadsalot has read it and she says it's one of the best horror books she's ever read. EVER 😱 I know I can't wait to check it out. If you'd like to join us, just comment below or DM one of us! SYNOPSIS: One of our most iconic childhood games receives a creepy twist as it becomes the gateway to a nightmare world. "I went up the hill, the hill was muddy, stomped my toe and made it bloody, should I wash it?" Justin knows that something is wrong with his best friend. Zee went missing for a year. And when he came back, he was . . . different. Nobody knows what happened to him. At Zee's welcome home party, Justin and the neighborhood crew play Hide and Seek. But it goes wrong. Very wrong. One by one, everyone who plays the game disappears, pulled into a world of nightmares come to life. Justin and his friends realize this horrible place is where Zee had been trapped. All they can do now is hide from the Seeker. 😈 😈 😈 #hideandseeker #hideandseekernovel #mglit #middlegradebooks #middlegrade #middlegradefiction #middlegradereads #middlegradehorror #middlegradehorrorbooks #diversereads #readdiverse #readdiversely #getthrilled #buddyreading #buddyread #buddyreads #novemberreads #novemberbuddyread #bookstagrammer #bookstagrambuddyreads #southernhorror https://www.instagram.com/p/CkV7MehLIr0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hollymbryan]

👩🏼‍🦽 #nonfictionfactionbuddyreads 👩🏼‍🦽 In case you missed it, @torriereadsalot and I started a second buddy read group (to go along with #getthrilledbuddyreads) called The Nonfiction Faction. Our very first month was July, and we chose SITTING PRETTY by Rebekah Taussig, aka @sitting_pretty here on Insta! It was the perfect read to celebrate #disabilitypridemonth. I wasn't able to finish the book before our discussion (welcome to life with chronic pain/illness), but I flagged so many passages in the parts I did get through that I have decided I need my own copy so I can mark it up! We had such a wonderful discussion in our group, and everyone absolutely loved this book. Remember, you shouldn't only pick up #disabilityreads during July! So grab this incredible memoir next time you're at the library or bookstore, and follow Rebekah here on insta. And a huge thanks to the awesome folks who participated in our discussion, I learned from you and really enjoyed discussing this book, and life with disabilities of all kinds, with all of you 💛 (Side note: The next 4 months leading up to the election we are doing a series on Current Affairs, and you can find details on my feed a few posts back. For August we are reading OUR TIME IS NOW by Stacey Abrams, so if you'd like to join us, comment below or DM me!) 👩🏼‍🦽.👩🏼‍🦽 👩🏼‍🦽 #sittingpretty #sittingprettybook #rebekahtaussig #wheelchairgirl #disability #disabilityawareness #disabilityrepresentation #nonfictionreads #nonfictionbuddyread #memoir #memoirs #disabilitymemoir #disabilitymemoirs #buddyreads #buddyread #BookKeepingBlog #bookstagrammers #bookstagram #bookstagramcommunity #bookstagrammer #booknerd #booknerds #librarybooks #librarybook #booktography #nonfictionfaction https://www.instagram.com/p/CgzvxW8gDVO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hollymbryan]

♀️ BUDDY READ MINI REVIEW ♀️ Have you read PLAIN BAD HEROINES by @emdanforth yet? This was our pick for #getthrilledbuddyreads in June, and I don't even know how to describe it, but I loved it! It's a story within a story, and there's another story tucked into the first one. I marked this book up like crazy (you can swipe to see all my flags), and we had a lot to discuss in our group chat! In our discussion, I think we all agreed we liked the historical chapters best, but the modern day protagonists were also great. There's a lot about the "unlikeable female character" in here -- one is described as "prickly," and it fits her perfectly -- which is one of my favorite themes in fiction. It's a fiercely feminist tale, queer AF, and told in an engaging style where the narrator is sort of winking at you in footnotes. (Side note: I am a sucker for footnotes in a book, and think more authors should do this! 😁) Also, I was amazed at the end to discover the "subversive" book that's referenced throughout the novel is actually real, and now I am dedicated to finding and reading it 😍 If you like long, sprawling tales with many characters that you can get lost in, I'd recommend this one! RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ♀️ ♀️ ♀️ #plainbadheroines #plainbadheroinessociety #plainbadheroinesbook #emilymdanforth #emilymdanforthplainbadheroines #emdanforth #buddyreads #buddyread #getthrilled #BookKeepingBlog #booksbooksbooks #bookstagrammers #bookstagram #booktography #booknerd #booknerds #bibliophile #bookstagrammer #bookstagramcommunity #feminist #storywithinastory #marymaclane https://www.instagram.com/p/CgueU-_LMC5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hollymbryan]

Can we talk about my love and adoration for @ashleywinsteadbooks a minute?? I swear everything she writes is absolute perfection. First we read IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE last fall for #getthrilledbuddyreads, which was perfection. Then when I saw she had a romance coming out I will readily admit I was a little skeptical, because how hard must it be to go from a twisty, dark thriller to a rom-com?? But I never should've doubted her (I'm sorry Ashley!) -- because FOOL ME ONCE?! It's 💫perfection💫! The chemistry, the sexual tension, the steaminess, the banter -- all those normal rom-com bits are great. But then you add in the political setting (I'm a politics junkie) and the fact that our heroine, just like in IMDIHAK, is what folks often disparagingly call an "unlikeable female character" but which I affectionately call "f*cking reality because women, like all humans, are flawed" -- these things just lift it to the level of an *incredible* book for me. In case it's not clear, I HIGHLY recommend this book, as well as IMDIHAK -- AND I'm so excited that Ashley's third release, THE LAST HOUSEWIFE (out in August!), will be our September buddy read 👏🏼 And thus ends my love letter to Ashley Winstead 😂 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ #ashleywinsteadauthor #ashleywinsteadbooks #ashleywinstead #inmydreamsiholdaknife #foolmeonce #romcombooks #romcom #romances #romancebooks #steamyromance #steamybooks #steamybookrecs #romanticcomedy #politics #amreading #amreadingromance #getthrilled #thelasthousewife #buddyreads #buddyread #bookstagram #ncbookstagrammer #ncbooklovers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreviewers #BookKeepingBlog https://www.instagram.com/p/CeokrRyr8_q/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=