Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This book contains detailed descriptions of disordered eating, depression, and dissociation.

Elise and her boyfriend, Tom, take off to Minnesota for the sugar beet harvest, with Elise hoping that the money she earns from the harvest will hold off the never-ending bills and rent payments that come with living in Brooklyn. As she and Tom arrive to the harvest, strange occurrences haunt her journey and Elise begins to question the things she is seeing, hearing, and even herself. From strange and threatening text messages to the slow disappearance of her fellow harvesters, her trip to earn a paycheck quickly transforms into something much more sinister.

When Tom begins to form a close friendship with another sugar beet harvester, Elise becomes consumed with their relationship, sending her backwards into a spiral of depression, relapsing in her eating disorder, and questioning everything around her. With each passing day, Elise's paranoia takes a new turn, and her dissociation dives deeper as the sugar beet harvest calls to her in a way she never expected. The consumption industry's dark side takes root in Elise, and the sugar beets call to her, luring her further into their world of growth and destruction just as Elise is falling apart.

Sarsfield creates such a unique premise with this novel - both horror and caution, Beta Vulgaris takes a jarring turn as Elise and Tom's seemingly mundane journey is suddenly filled with vanishing coworkers and the allure of the beet pile. Even prior to arriving to the harvest location, the author pulls the readers into unknown territory along with her main characters, leaving us just as lost as they are. Unprepared for the drastic turns their story will take, Tom and Elise's relationship begins to fall to shambles the longer they become one with the beets. As they dig deeper to harvest, they are thrust deeper into madness.

To read about a main character that truly seems to have no appreciation for herself and just has genuine distaste for how her life is going is something I have not come across. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh is the closest I can think of, but even that lead did not harbor dislike towards herself, but rather the idea of doing tasks and living every single day. Elise is so focused on just getting to payday that she neglects herself and instead places sole focus on why Tom is drawn to another harvester, Cee. She is consumed by anxiety and obsession with this development, and in turn is thrown back into her own past self-destruction. Every internal thought that consumed Elise's mind was boggling, and while I could not relate to her struggles, witnessing her thought processes felt like I was living them.

The entire concept of the sugar beets luring the harvesters into the beet pile was incredibly surreal and I felt as though I was slowly descending into madness as the beets called to the characters like sirens to sailors. Sarsfield's ability to turn these inanimate objects into things of power and persuasion illustrates her capabilities to entrance not only her characters, but the readers as well. I was left questioning the story as a whole, mostly because I felt as though I was sent through the looking glass and experienced an entirely different dimension.

For fans of Bunny by Mona Awad, Sarsfield's debut novel takes you on a journey of transformation, uncertainty, and the horrors of consumption. Literary fiction and horror intertwine in this consuming tale of self-destruction and fall into madness - I highly recommend picking this up if you are looking for something completely out of your element and willing to be thrown into Elise's compelling journey.

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The Divine Flesh by Drew Huff ARC Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This is an ARC review - The Divine Flesh will be available on March 4, 2025. Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and Dark Matter INK for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. There is an insane amount of body horror in this book, and after the excellence that was The Substance (2024), I was excited to see what the genre had in store for us this year. This book was so much more intense than I expected - the author does not hold back, and brings the readers in for a ride they did not see coming. The fascinating concept of the Divine Flesh and Jennifer existing together a single body truly adds a level of self-awareness and power dynamics to their characterizations.

The internal struggle we see not only with the Divine Flesh and Jennifer, but a multitude of side characters, was a great touch by Duff. We are able to contextualize the significance their actions have on the outside world, and how their power struggle influences a domino effect on a number of people. The intensity of change in which every character had to experience, whether it being trapped, hunted, or seeking a common goal, was absolutely more than I expected. This book went places I never expected, and the author truly pushed the boundaries of body horror and everything in between.

Jennifer and the Divine Flesh being one individual while simultaneously being two entirely different beings really drove the story to its true conflict point, and without their internal battle with each other, so many consequences could have been avoided. The Divine Flesh's reasoning to be separated from Jennifer differed from Jennifer's own reasoning to be separated, and with that came the downfall of so many individuals. Daryl's involvement with both the Divine Flesh and Jennifer could be considered the major factor that lead to the explosion of events in this book, and his presence throughout the story has significant impact on Jennifer and the Divine Flesh's actions.

Horror enthusiasts will be thrilled by Huff's work, and the squeamish should proceed with caution. The tone of the book is heavy and extreme - every single action had an immediate consequence that could lead to even more potent reaction from another character. Every single page had presented with something new and absolutely unimaginable - there were so many instances where I could not believe what I was reading. Every page felt as through I was exposed to something so completely out of the park, and Huff's ability to create so many nuanced characters while still upholding the integrity of the book's main theme kept me drawn in.

Emotionally, these characters are put through the ringer, and physically, they are completely transformed by the end of this book. Much like how humans evolve and grow, these characters are challenged beyond their wildest expectations and realities in order to get to their final form. Literary fiction and body horror merge together to form a symbiotic connection, much like Jennifer and the Divine Flesh's beginning relationship.

You can add The Divine Flesh on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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Leather & Lark (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #2) by Brynne Weaver Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Please check trigger warnings before reading - reader discretion is advised. You can read my review of Butcher & Blackbird on my blog, here.

Well... this was... something. I had absolutely loved Butcher & Blackbird, and was excited to dive into this book ahead of the final installment's release. I genuinely do not understand how we went from the first book to this one - it felt as though Lark and Lachlan had no chemistry between each other until the very end of the book. Compared to Sloane and Rowan, this was a major downgrade and really made the book tough to get through.

Lachlan is constantly growling at Lark, and while kind of cute at first, it became very tired, very fast. That goes for the Batman references and Lark's never-ending cackling at every other thing that comes out of Lachlan's mouth. I am assuming this was supposed to play into banter between the two, but it was giving more "I want my character to be crazy but not too crazy" which just ended up falling flat in the end.

Looking back at the content from the first book and comparing it to what we see in Leather & Lark, I was pretty disappointed. The pizza smoothie was truly the only thing that made me uncomfortable, whereas the first book had so much going on all of the time. We get one third of the way into this book and essentially nothing of importance has happened besides Lark and Lachlan meeting. Sloane and Rowan show up so much in the beginning, you would have thought that this book was supposed to be centered around them instead of Lark and Lachlan.

It does not bring me any pleasure in saying that this book was honestly boring, and maybe I went in with high expectations, but I never would have anticipated such a turn from the plot. The killing is minimal and the relationship between Lark and Lachlan does not really become anything until after 70% into the book. The spice scenes are so tame compared to other dark romance book out there, and to be frank, this was basically just heavy petting until the bonus chapter at the very end.

The "action" chapters that were supposed to have me worried for the characters fell short, and it felt obvious on what was going to happen as the story went on. If I could have shouted into the pages of this book at the characters, so much would have been avoided if they communicated with each other and some of the side characters. For being murders, they were incredibly unaware of events unfolding around them.

I wish I had more to say - there were some moments between Lachlan and Lark that made me think the story was about to turn a corner, but then the plot would get sidetracked and any development felt abandoned. Everything kept coming back to Sloane and Rowan, and it felt pretty clear that the author should have just written another book about them or kept Butcher & Blackbird as a standalone instead of expanding on their story. I think I will wrap up this series once Scythe & Sparrow is released, but I would not continue if the series was not already coming to a close.

By total coincidence, this is the second book in a row I have read involving a male lead with the last name Kane and a marriage of convenience trope. Big shout out to Terms and Conditions, you were able to keep my good memories of these tropes alive.

You can add Leather & Lark on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1) by Brynne Weaver Review

This review contains mild spoilers for Butcher & Blackbird. Please check trigger warnings before reading - reader discretion is advised.

TikTok... I am sorry for repeatedly bashing you in previous reviews, I should have believed you on this one. I had a blast and a half reading this book - for being a dark romance, it was incredibly humorous, and I was constantly dropping my jaw at how insane yet perfect Sloane and Rowan were throughout the entire book. While I am still traumatized from The Fine Print by Lauren Asher, it was an utter shock to be faced with another male lead named Rowan Kane - from page one, I replaced him with Cooper from Trap (2024).

The trigger warning list in the beginning in this book was how I knew it would be one of my favorite reads of the year - if it's the length of a laundry list, it is right up my alley. Honestly, the mention of Country Roads should have been a trigger in of itself - that song haunts me wherever I go, and I cannot seem to escape it, even in fiction. Sloane and Rowan are hilarious in their own unique ways, and it was great watching them push each other's buttons as the story went on. Even at their first meeting, when Rowan is hollering "I'm such a huge fan," to Sloane and fan-girling over her hard, I knew readers would be in for a treat.

I loved the friendship dynamic between Sloane and Lark - you could tell that Sloane needed that outside support to keep her from slipping, and while Rowan was a great outlet for that part of her, Lark provided a different level of structure for her. Watching serial killers be the voice of reason for one another was certainly an experience, but the author was able to really allow them to be vulnerable without creating any clichés. Lark smacks sense into Sloane while still being protective of her, and I can only imagine how she will be in her own installment of this trilogy.

The side characters added dimension to Rowan and Sloane's characterization without overshadowing their plot, and had me excited for when they showed up on the page -- too often in dark romances, the side characters are there to cause issues or try to talk the main characters out of things. It was refreshing to see that it was the opposite in this case, and I definitely look forward to seeing how all of their stories play out in the future. Lark was such a great asset for Sloane, and Rowan's brothers and acquaintances added to their story in a natural way.

I am so obsessed with Rowan and Sloane as a couple - their dynamic is so difference compared to anything else that I have read, and this particular trope is something that I have not come across before. Sloane keeping the fact that one of the men they were after was a cannibal from Rowan and did not bring it up until after Rowan literally ate the food he cooked truly describes their relationship. Her reading out the ingredients to the cookies and cream ice cream was literally the cherry on top, and reminded me so much of Hannibal and Will from NBC's Hannibal. The way Rowan kept a table permanently reserved for Sloane at his restaurant was too cute, and their banter continued to be great through the entire book.

Sloane was really out here humbling Rowan at every chance she got, and I was cheering her on the entire time. I loved that being serial killers was low-key their side hustle, and Rowan maintains being a whole chef -- even going as far as to send Rowan orzo and other food items to make sure that she was eating. As a lover of orzo, I would have married him right there on the spot. Rowan and Sloane are so unserious with one another, it is actually comical -- the entire "lo-bot-o-my," "you love me?" scene had me cackling so hard, and the way that Sloane was about to be on her last straw with Rowan made it even better.

This is probably the most fun I have ever had while reading a dark romance in a long time, and The Ritual by Shantel Tessier is the closest in similarity regarding comedy. I will definitely be continuing on with this trilogy, and cannot wait to see what Lark has in store for us as a leading lady.

You can add Butcher & Blackbird on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!