I love history and cookbooks, so this may be the perfect book for me! Food to die for has recipes from and inspired by haunted houses, hospitals, asylums, and ghost towns across the United States, with lots of cool photos from the sites as well as the dishes.

Belief in the supernatural isn't required in order to enjoy the stories and photos from sites considered haunted, or at least, super creepy. The dishes are plated and photographed with a spooky, gothic aesthetic, which adds to the macabre tales contained within. Most of the recipes are not complicated and easy to follow, so readers of all skill levels should find something to suit them.

I really liked the concept of this book! How unique and fun.

I received a free ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

I thought this was a fun theme for a cookbook. The photography was really nice. Each of the featured places has its own blurb about the history behind it and photography of the site. Some of the recipes related more to the place than others. A wide variety of recipes are included. The inclusion of a nutraloaf amused me. All of the recipes looked accessible, and I appreciated the stylized photos of the food alongside each. I'm not a big fan of cocktails being included as recipes, since that's not much of a recipe at all, but there aren't too many of those.

I’ve watched many Ghost Hunter episodes but could not place the author who has a connection to the show. I don’t think it’s a necessary connection to digest the book, just a table setting reference…

Overall, I’m fairly torn on this book. As an interesting read it is filled with a mix of history and paranormal stories grouped by hotels, homes, other establishments, landmarks, institutions and ghost towns. You’ll learn something and be fascinated.

However it was set up as “food” to die for and therefore its layered with recipes for each referenced location and on that it missed for me on a couple of levels. I actually didn’t like the food related pictures and as a lover of cookbooks I found a majority of the food pictures made the food look unappetizing - that can’t have been the intent right? Additionally the recipes are so random because the book is organized by location types.

I think if this was a book about food first and grouped that way i could have enjoyed it more. Organized the way it is, I think it would have been better just as a book history and paranormal stories.

I requested this book mainly because it was written by Amy Bruni, who I've been watching since her days on Ghost Hunters. I was interested to hear about the places she's investigated and this book scratched that itch. The recipes were interesting but the stories Bruni shared along with the history of the numerous haunted locations were fascinating.

I understand that not all books can be sent to Kindle, but there's got to be a better way to share heavily illustrated books. I'm unable to download the NetGalley app and it's extremely difficult to read these books on my phone.

This book is perfect for your all things spooky loving person in your life. The haunted history placed throughout the book was a lot of fun to read alongside the recipes.

The recipes for both drinks and food are approachable and require everyday ingredients. The directions are easy to follow. I would put this at an intermediate level as some recipies - such as Lizzie Bordens Meatloaf - does not have fully clear ingredients or measurements for all items needed for the recipe.

While this is billed as a cookbook, it's definately so much more. The spooky stories of historical sites and buildings really make this a fun read with treats to make sprinkled throughout.

This is easily my favorite book of 2024. I love Amy Bruni's storytelling style. From her work as a ghost hunter to her podcast, she tells spooky stories with a side of history. The pictures are beautiful, and the recipes were interesting. I highly recommend the book for fans of ghost stories.

I enjoyed reading about spooky and haunted places with recipes from those places, people, and eras. The book is heavy on the spookiness which fleshes out the cookbook nicely. Sadly, I don't think I will be making many of these as they are not to my taste. But, this adds a nice touch and some inventive for a book about spooky places.
There are some gorgeous photos as well as old-timey photos The problem is that in several general sections, pictures are not captioned and I have no idea where they are or the story behind them.

This is a great book. Delicious recipes for your new favourite seafood chowder or your next best Bloody Mary - Hemingway style (which is essentially, just add the whole bottle of vodka, you know you want to!)

Also full to the brim with interesting locations, historical facts and true crime stories. I loved the old buildings section the most.

A really great read for any true crime or creepy cooks you may know. 4.5/5

Want to scratch a travel itch while spooking yourself making dinner? This right here is what you need.

This book is just as much a history book as it is a cookbook but with a flare.

The photographer for this killlllled - pub intended. I love food and an easily influenced by good pictures but this has me wanting to try everything (even though I suck at cooking and don’t love all the ingredients used)

My personal favorites were Alcatraz and Williamsburg VA (not far from where I live so always is interesting to me)

Have you ever read a book and thought— this would be perfect for insertnamehere? I had that thought for multiple people throughout.

This cook book was incredibly unique and unlike anything I've ever seen before! The recipes were easy to follow and the art in here was so absolutely stunning.

I came for the ghost stories and the recipes were an added bonus. Plan to indulge in stories and fill up on recipes. The photos alone will make you drool! This is a great book to gift!

Creepy and delicious - the best words I can think of to describe this highly unusual and well-written book. Amy Bruni brings years of experience exploring the paranormal together with historic recipes that represent some of the most haunted locations in the country to produce one of the most entertaining cookbooks I’ve read.

Bruni is a born storyteller and communicates the ghost stories associated with the chosen locations in a way that induces shivers and delight at the unusual details, such as Marilyn Monroe appearing in mirrors at the Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles. The accompanying recipes are carefully chosen to complement the ghost story and include some really delicious offerings.

Fans of the paranormal will thoroughly enjoy this as will cooks and bakers who enjoy a little scare with their culinary experiences.

💀🍽️ Food To Die For 🍽️💀

This book is a deep dive into ghostly history with a splash of recipes - old and new. Written by Amy Bruni, known for her work on SyFy's Ghost Hunters and the TLC docu-series Kindred Spirits, Bruni weaves her personal experience visiting haunted locales with historical information on the locations.

I expected the cookbook parts of the book to be recipes inspired by the locations but most were modern recipes from the actively open haunted hotels and restaurants. We get more unique recipes in the section of the book on haunted houses - like Lizzie Borden's meatloaf, taken from a handwritten recipe card by Borden herself.

The majority of the recipes are simple enough to produce at home and the history of haunted places make for a fascinating read. If you know a lot about haunted history, you might already recognize quite a few of the locations described in the book but if you're looking to dip your toe into ghostly territory then this would be a fun read or a great gift for the budding supernaturalist.

I can definitely say I'd like a sequel especially living in a state known for it's many ghost towns and it's haunted history. There's so much out there to explore for future books!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Celebrate, and Amy Bruni for allowing me to read this book as an eARC.

“Food to Die For: Recipes & Stories from America’s Most Legendary Haunted Places” by Amy Bruni is a surprising book. It’s got history, ghost stories and food recipes. It’s not what I expected from the description or the book cover. (Great cover, by the way!) The author is a professional ghost hunter involved in several paranormal TV shows. Honestly, I love history and recipes, but I don’t believe in ghosts. The paranormal aspect of the book’s locations didn’t interest me at all, but the historical aspect was fascinating. There’s quite a variety of recipes; they are an interesting mix. A few examples are Lumpy Dicks (a pudding) from Donner Pass; Mining Camp Cornmeal Pancakes from Coloma, CA; Delicate Ladyfingers from The Mark Twain House & Museum; Ernest Hemingway’s Bloody Mary; and Lizzie Borden’s Meatloaf from the Lizzie Borden House. Like I said, an interesting mix of recipes. I enjoyed the book immensely. I do wish the photos scattered throughout the chapters had captions. Location types include hotels, historic landmarks and residences, ghost towns, prisons and mental institutions, and “watering holes.”

As someone who enjoys history, travel, paranormal, and food, this one checks all those boxes! Organized by type of building/place, it exposes hotels, homes, former institutions, ghost towns, and more throughout America, Some of the recipes have absolutely been added to my to be tried list. The history and stories attached to each location are fascinating and I learned quite a bit from this book.

I loved the historical facts in this and the recipes were all interesting.
I enjoyed the menus at the back. Perfect for someone planning a themed party.
The pictures were great, I would have liked each food-related one to be of the actual recipe, but it was still good.
This would make a great gift for foodies who like macabre history.
I received a copy from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Food to Die For by Amy Bruni is aesthetically stunning, highly interesting and utterly intriguing!

I am not into paranormal investigation techniques, or ghost hunting, but I am absolutely here for the history and stories behind them, the locations and now, the recipes! Very well written, Bruni explores the location, the history of the location, the ghosts and stories behind them and caps the section with a recipe related to the location

The book has prep guides for ghost hunting and vintage cooking and this was a really nice touch imho

When I say this book is gorgeous, I mean absolutey, deliciously gorgeous. A dark gothic aesthetic for the photography, bright vivid pictures of the locations and beautiful typesetting and borders for the recipes. This book is an absolute keeper for any kitchen (the recipes are pretty awesome too)

Thank you to netgalley, Harper Celebrate and the author Amy Bruni for this gorgeous ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

This was such an interesting book. I found it awesome, the recipes were great as well. Each recipes story was well written and wonderfully researched. I enjoyed it immensely. Recommend this to any slightly macabre friend.

Love, love, love! This recipe book is spectacularly spooky! I love the idea of this and it's fabulously well-executed, and just a beautiful piece to have in any kitchen or home! I especially like the intro of Lizzie Borden's meatloaf. True crime, horror, and paranormal fans will eat this right up!

Each section contains stories detailing famous scenes/buildings of notorious hauntings, along with stunning photos, and accompanying recipes that are from chef's who worked in these places, popular dishes at the location, or meals inspired by. Where has this been all my life? I adore the backstory along with the recipe, and I'm more inclined to want to try them, I'll be honest!

An absolute must have! I'll be grabbing up a physical copy to have of my own. Such a beautiful and fun read regardless of your cooking expertise!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Food to Die for has different locations and stories of paranormal or eerie places paired with different recipes. There are beautiful photos throughout.

The cookbooks sections are eerie hotels, horrifying homes, otherworldly watering holes, hair-raising historic landmarks, hellish institutions, ghoulish ghost towns, and meals to die for.

There is a wide array of different recipes from seafood chowder to lady fingers. It is very interesting the pairing of history with related recipes.