I actually forgot I had requested & received this via netgalley until recently working on cleaning up my netgalley backlist. I bought the physical copy a few months ago, even. :)

This is SO not my usual book in so many ways. Zombies - not my thing. Not even a little bit. Honestly, it caught my interest because of the cover and...I don't even remember. I think it was the cover and that it seemed relatively unique.

I ended up really liking it. The characters were not cloying at all (even with the crush drama), and I really enjoyed the super-wide representation of characters across gender and se*ual preference spectrums. The love story/crush-story/love-triangle aspect was well done without being entirely overwhelming to the story. I didn't guess the culprit(s) until right when it happened, so that gave it big points.

A point taken away for the flashbacks. I get why they were there, but it just kept pulling me out of the story. If it hadn't been every single chapter it might have been a little better.

Still, overall...totally unexpected and totally fun. I read it in two shifts at work during slow times, so also a great quick read.

A legitimately delicious and ghoulish sapphic romcom with plenty of disaster and scifi details that make this just right for reading and inhaling.

I enjoyed this clever take on the zombie genre. During the Hollowing, a percentage of the population became ill and could only survive if they ate human flesh. After scientists developed a synthetic flesh alternative (SynFlesh), these people (known as ghouls) could live a relatively normal life. This book is about a group of four girls who are best friends who also happen to be ghouls. They are headed to a music festival and bring along with them a cooler full of SynFlesh. Unexpectedly, one of them goes feral and kills and eats a boy. The question is, what would make this girl go feral in the first place?
This is a unique book; I loved the characters and story. Through flashbacks, we hear each girl’s story and discover what haunts them from the Hollowing. The LGBTQ elements felt natural, and I loved the different relationships between the girls. The mystery was fun, and the ending worked well. I would love to read more about this world.

A gory horror that I enjoyed.

If you love post-apocalyptic and horror genres then this is the book for you.

So I’m going to give this one 4 stars but if you’re not a horror fan then I’d skip this one. It was a little gory for my taste but if you took that out the books pretty good.

Kayla Cottingham does it again! I absolutely devoured THIS DELICIOUS DEATH, with its creative plotline and the fierce girls at its heart. I truly had so much fun reading!! Also, having a transfemme as the love interest was so nice to see; more of that energy l, please.

I unfortunately could not get through this book. I thought it would be more interesting based on the title and the briefing but as I began to read it I couldn’t get into it. Others may think this book would be fantastic, I however just couldn’t focus on the plot nor the story line.

I just finished Kayla Cottingham's "This Delicious Death," and let me tell you... it was like stepping into a nightmarish symphony in the desert—a haunting post-apocalyptic thriller with a twist. Three years post the melting of the arctic permafrost, we find ourselves in a world reshaped by the Hollowing, a transformation that turned some into flesh-eating ghouls.

Our main crew—Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine—aren't your typical protagonists. No, they're ghouls navigating a world that fears and distrusts them. Cottingham weaves their stories intricately, exploring their relationships, struggles, and the unique dynamics of their unconventional lives. And when they decide to hit up a musical festival, little do they know it's the start of something dark and sinister.

The festival backdrop adds a vibrant yet contrasting setting to the unfolding horror. Cottingham's world-building is both fascinating and downright terrifying. The writing style is fast-paced and vivid, keeping me on the edge, turning pages faster than I thought possible.

What struck me was the resemblance to the TV series and graphic novel "I-Zombie," bringing a fresh perspective to the post-apocalyptic genre. Cottingham crafts a compelling narrative that's both thrilling and thought-provoking, making it impossible to put the book down.

"This Delicious Death" is a must-read if you're into post-apocalyptic and horror genres. Cottingham's characters, world-building, and plot make this sapphic horror tale a unique and captivating addition to my bookshelf.

I'm still trying to process this book. I wasn't a huge fan of it, but I did finish it.. It was a little much at times and there were a lot of times I wanted to give up.

This book was actually more fun that I initially anticipated. It was about ghouls/zombies, which isn't normally my vibe, but Kayla Cottingham's added levity kept me turning the pages.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I don't read much YA anymore but this sounded too interesting to pass up as a Gan of iZombie. I liked it although I appreciated the warning about the gore at the start because it is a little much if you're not a slasher flick fan. All in all I enjoyed the story and loved the character development.

When I first picked this book up, I didn't know what it was going to be about. I knew that I was looking for horror/thriller books to put in my high school library. When I realized it was about zombies - I almost put it back down and didn't start reading it - but then 75 pages and about an hour later, I was hooked. The Hollowing starting turning people into ghouls/zombies, but with the creation of synthetic human flesh, those turned into ghouls are allowed to interact with society. Zoey and her three friends are ghouls and set off on an after graduation trip to a music festival in the desert. I typically don't care for gore and zombies, but this book wasn't too bad. There is a good representation of diversity in the friend group and I liked the flashbacks telling what happened during the Hollowing.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Ghouls, monsters, gore. A perfect gory novel for to satisfy the most sadistic of young adult horror fans in need of a satisfyingly scary read.

Amazing wonderful jaw dropping! There are so many words I'd love to use to describe how amazing of a read this was! The mystery kept me on the edge of my seat till the very last page! The addition of the other girls experiences with becoming ghouls was so freaking cool!!! It's the perfect mix of road trip and mystery! Definitely recommend to anyone looking for an adorable read with some murder mystery in it!

The idea behind this book took old and made it new again with twists on the zombie apocalypse that I haven’t read or heard of before and I found that really fun to read! The characters felt unique and real with a diverse range of representation. This is a great YA book for you if you want something fun with a bit of mystery and a bit of romance!

This story was so good. It was a ghoul pandemic and I was here for it. It was gory, funny had great character development and even though I usually don’t read as many YA stories now. This is one I will actually be buying.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. What a fun YA horror/thriller.

I usually don't go for books about Zombies or monsters, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. So glad I was able to get a copy of this book from Netgalley.

This was a fun and gory read. I wasn't sure what to expect with it being a YA novel, but it's fast-paced and the characters are fun. The premise of the story is there was an event called The Hollowing where people became zombie/monster-like and were unable to control themselves and could only survive by eating human flesh. Teens were locked up by their parents as they were terrified of them. Eventually, Synflesh was invented which is synthetic human flesh and the Hollow were allowed to re-enter society. I couldn't put this down and would love to read more by this author.