It’s been a while since I read this book, and since I blogged so HELLOOOOO.

Can I get back into the swing of things? I ask this every time, and the answer is always similar, isn’t it? I’ll always try, but never promise anything 😂

ANYWAYS, onto this review…this book was WEIRD. In a good way, but also it was just sad and scary 😭 I read it with some friends for our book club, and we all agreed on the thoughts shared.

‼️TRIGGER WARNING: Cannibalism is definitely in this book. If you’re turned off by that, I suggest you stop reading here 😭

number of pages: 200

summary

Rosemary meets Ash at the farmers’ market. Ash — precise, pretty, and practically perfect — sells bars of soap in delicate pastel colors, sprinkled-sacked cupcakes stacked on scalloped stands, beeswax candles, jelly jars of honey, and glossy green plants.

Ro has never felt this way about another woman; with Ash, she wants to be her and have her in equal measure. But as her o session with Ash consumes her, she may find she’s not the one doing the devouring…

Told in lush delectable prose, this is a delicious dark tale of passion taking an unsavory turn.

initial thoughts.

listen, the beginning seems like a little meet-cute; the start of a relationship over cupcakes and plants. Ro’s obsession over Ash sort of felt a little excessive to me, but I mean, if you really like someone, then it’s true that you can’t stop thinking about them, and you want to be with them.

Then all the warning signs of something more sinister appear: Ro’s cat scratching at her front door; the mother of the missing girl going up to Ro, and asking if she’s seen her daughter…

I was honestly disappointed in Ro’s attitude about the missing woman. Of course, it makes sense to have a sort of realism about the situation, but she almost came off too nonchalant about it. She may not have had any information about her, but she could’ve at least kept the flyer instead of just crumpling it, and tossing it into her bag.

wave those flags high.

More horror signs appear when Ro finally makes it to Ash’s house…which is way out in the country (🚩). Then there’s the fact that Ash has absolutely no technology in her home…yet knew how to use the Maps app to show Ro how to get to her house? (🚩🚩) We also have the moment Ro snoops around Ash’s house after she uses the bathroom, and Ash gets super wound up about her peeking in the different rooms. Which, doesn’t seem like a red flag initially; people have a right to their privacy.

But the red flag comes when Ash says that respecting her privacy and boundaries is a deal breaker…yet, when Ro initially told Ash that no one calls her by her full name, Ash uses it anyway (🚩🚩🚩). Like…you expect me to stick to your boundaries, but when I tell you mine, you don’t care? TUH!

Ro also gets super sick after eating Ash’s food, and honestly, I thought Ash poisoned the wine as a punishment for her sneaking around her house. But…we’ll find out later why Ro got sick.

…help??

As I read, you slowly start seeing Ash’s initial ethereal aura descend into darkness. Or, as I’d like to call it, ICK BEHAVIOR.

Ro watching Ash kill – I’m sorry – BEAT TO DEATH a raccoon in her yard with a shovel?! When it wasn’t bothering anything?? 🚩

Ash’s comments to Ro, saying “everything I do makes sense”, or when she tells Ro she needs space and doesn’t want to be mothered…but Ro was only trying to make sure she was safe from a perverted man who was videoing them kissing in the forest? 🚩🚩

Ash getting mad when Ro surprises her with a visit to her home to give her a gift? 🚩🚩🚩

Ash treating Ro differently, and being embarrassed that Ro is throwing herself at her at the market? 🚩🚩🚩🚩

I understand people can have boundaries, and should communicate them, but she was treating Ro like a yo-yo: reeling her in with affection, just to throw her back out, and push her away as if she never really had feelings for her.

Speaking of yo-yo, Ro really had her out when she left the market after Ash reprimanded her for her, basically puppy love behavior, and Ash didn’t speak to her for days. Ro should’ve just deleted her number, never answered when Ro came crawling back with an apology, longing to reconcile

And it’s this reconciliation that brings Ro to her end.

…oh.

I didn’t say there would be spoilers, but y’all know if I’m reviewing a book, I’m giving you all the tea, right? Well, now you know.

Ro and Ash have a lovely night of making up, only for Ro to go off sneaking around Ash’s house again as if she didn’t learn her lesson the first time. And what does she find in the basement?

A torture room. With freezers. And the pervert guy from the woods? He’s strapped down on a table, missing some of his body parts, but still alive.

Long story short: Ash kills people, and uses every part of their body for her livelihood. The pots for the plants? Human bones in clay. The food she cooks? HUMAN ORGANS, MUSCLES, FLESH.

Remember when Ro got sick after eating Ash’s dinner that one time? YEAH.

Ash wakes up, and realizes Ro is gone. Ro does a great job of hiding initially, but when she tries to escape, she fails miserably, and Ash finds her. Ash says she’s going to kill her, and also reveals all of the people she tricked and killed, the missing girl at the beginning of the story being one of them.

Ro tries to play her cards right, tries to convince Ash that she understands why she does what she does. But Ro is also convinced that Ash really does love her, and wouldn’t kill her.

Ash’s response? “Prove it: kill this guy in the basement with me, and I’ll let you live.”

the end?

I didn’t realize Ro’s actual predicament until the final pages of the book. I don’t know, I feel like I shouldn’t spoil it so you can read it. It honestly was a good, morbid way to end such a gruesome tale.

I will give you this: Ro is still alive. But her quality of life with Ash is…CRAZY.

If you want the ending spoiled for you, you’ll have to comment on this blog post, and let me know!

weird scale from 1-10?

10. No doubt. Probably because of the cannibalism…😭 but also the story as a whole! And I mean weird in a good way because I was so captivated, I finished this book in A DAY…aka, the day of my book club meeting 😂 I’ve never read anything like it. Definitely gives me Criminal Minds vibes.

Speaking of tv shows, apparently this story was inspired by Dawson’s daughter, who was watching the tv show Hannibal with her, and she “asked why all the serial killers are hot dudes.” Sometimes a simple question can turn into a whole book!

I’d be curious to read more from this author for sure, but it’ll have to go on the back burner while I read more of these little weird books I’ve got on my list!

Mishy 🥩😳😭