Monstera

by Delilah S. Dawson

A reclusive young woman moves into what seems like the perfect apartment and is obsessively drawn to her reclusive neighbour, who keeps a lush garden and is hiding a deadly secret… Eat the Ones You Love meets Wilder Girls in this sensual, sapphic, botanical horror novella from the New York Times-bestselling author of Bloom and House of Idyll.

When Lucy McClintock moves into a dreamy Victorian in downtown Savannah after years of suffering under the rule of her overbearing grandfather, she feels like she's won the lottery—well, outside of the creepy landlord. She soon notices a glorious green haven in the backyard and meets her downstairs neighbor, Saskia, a weightlifter who lives in a magical apartment overflowing with plant life and beautiful artwork. Naïve and lonely Lucy is drawn to strong and secretive Saskia, and as the two women grow closer, they discover they share more than just an apartment building…

A seductive, heady, sinister breathless romance and bone-chilling suspense collide in this sweet and deadly tale.

Genres: Horror, Queer, Lesbian, Adult, Novella, LGBT, Gothic

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 13, 2026

About the author

Delilah S. Dawson is the New York Times-bestselling author of Star Wars: Phasma, Black Spire: Galaxy's Edge, and The Perfect Weapon. With Kevin Hearne, she writes the Tales of Pell. As Lila Bowen, she writes the Shadow series, beginning with Wake of Vultures. Her other books include the Blud series, the Hit series, and Servants of the Storm.

She's written comics in the worlds of Marvel Action: Spider-Man, Lore's Wellington, Star Wars Adventures, Star Wars Forces of Destiny, The X-Files Case Files, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, and her creator-owned comics include Star Pig, Ladycastle, and Sparrowhawk.

Find out more at www.whimsydark.com.

Reviews

[ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

thank you so much to netgalley for this arc!!

i am SO torn on this one. when i saw this book was called monstera (my favourite plant), was written by delilah s. dawson (one of my favourite authors), and was sapphic (another one of my favourite things), it felt like this book was made for me.

the characters were wonderful. this read SO quickly and i was so so invested. i loved the relationship in this. i loved most of the reveals.

BUT, not a whole lot happens? i think i can only loosely call this a horror - approximately 80% of this book reads more like a slightly odd romance (which kinda worked for me?? and i think that was supposed to lean more as a horroromance anyways). the ending was also a tad disappointing, as i don’t feel like the most interesting part of this story was really explained.

so i am in two minds - i loved this for what it was, but i was simultaneously a tad disappointed at the lack of horror elements in this one. i wish it had had a little more balance between that and the romance. i would still recommend you give it a go to see what you think!

[Sidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

boy oh boy am i conflicted. *heavy sigh*

when i read the synopsis, i immediately thought this was written specifically for me...botanical horror? check. sapphic, but it was also giving obsessive? check. creepy landlord? check. secretive, mysterious, suspense? check check aaaaand check. blood on the cover? absolute check. then i started to read Monstera & i was sooo positive that this was going to be my Bloom.

the first half of this was chefs kiss. the writing is good. it was fast paced. there was this underlying mysterious vibe, like i was side eyeing my girl Saskia from the top of my glasses for a hot minute. the eerie vibes were definitely there for me in the beginning. i was loving it. i enjoyed Lucy & Saskia's relationship a loooot more than the relationship in Bloom.

however, the deeper i got into the story i just kept waiting for something to happen. there's really not a whole lot that goes on—it's very little plot & all vibes. is the horror in the room with us? not really. to me, this is not horror. it's a suspenseful romance...if that's even a thing. am i wrong to say that if a book spends 90% of the time focusing on the romance & the horror doesn't show up until the last 30 pgs, then it's not horror? maybe, but i really don't think so.

there's just not nearly enough blood, horror or "botanical horror" in this at all. the big reveal fell flat for me. the ending felt really rushed, & i finished it wishing we'd gotten a lot more of what the synopsis promised.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review

[Ricarda]

I'm hoping that this will be the next Delilah S. Dawson banger that I've been craving ever since reading Bloom. But chances are good considering that this will be a "sensual, sapphic, botanical horror novella".

[Johanna Van]

I blurbed this one!

“Compelling, sexy. and overall just heaps of fun, Monstera is the perfect book for those who've always felt that cottagecore would be more enjoyable if it included gore and female rage. After reading this novella, I will certainly never look at seedlings the same way again."

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ Quick hit: I loved the romance, don’t think this counts as horror, it ends right as things get interesting & doesn’t resolve some big questions. All in all, loved the reading experience & would recommend, just know it’s not a perfect book!

This reads as an unconventional sapphic romance with a side of social horror. I knew this would have some romance but was pleasantly surprised by the spice! The budding romance was sweet, caring and filled with sexy tension 🥵 The character’s insecurities around dating felt grounded & real!

This definitely isn’t horror in the conventional sense & the description sets up some false expectations. The only horrifying aspect of the book was the landlords sexist & homophobic behavior. However that wasn’t particularly scary, it’s just how women are often treated. I suppose I find it disturbing how commonplace misogyny feels to me. That feels like too many meta layers to sift through though…

Spice: Some fade to black, some open door
TW: Violence, sexual harassment, attempted SA, stalking

[Kelsey Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gorgeous Victorian home covered in luscious plant life and an elusive neighbor that you can't help but be drawn to...

After a traumatic childhood keeping her secluded and withdrawn, Lucy is free and ready for independence. She finds it in a gorgeous Victorian home in Savannah. The landlord is horrid but she has the entire top floor to herself and has been catching glances of the neighbor, Saskia, who owns the bottom floor along with a wild expansive garden. She is quite alluring to Lucy and with her naivety is in desperate need of someone to be close to. The closer the two become the more they learn they happen to have in common...

This was a delightful botanical horror and I think it would bode well in many 'beginner' lists. The book is secretive and holds a lot of mystery in regards to the garden and its actions. Saskia reminded me a lot of Ash from 'Bloom'. I received a lot of the same feelings throughout this story as I did when reading 'Bloom' and I know that was the hope for many. I do want to say, however, 'Monstera' does not meet 'Bloom' in the same way. Monstera feels more suspense heavy and does not contain many horror elements as you would expect to see (blood, gore, brutality, violence). It is truly a book of its own and I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it is. The horror in this story hides behind the actions of men, and other abusers. It is about women taking their power back against the people telling them they can not be who they wish to.

[Giulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you negalley for providing this arc !

I did read this book quickly and couldn’t stop once I started. I loved the romance between our two characters, it was very cute and I am here for Lucy’s gay awakening.

But I must say I was expecting a horror book and it wasn’t that. This book was a romance with a very slight horror subplot, if we can call it that.
I thought the plants and especially the monstera would have a bigger place in the plot but instead we were just left with NO answer for the weird things happening in this book. We can guess, but no definitive answers and it’s personally a problem because I want my questions answered in a book.

Still, this book is a 4 stars for me because even though it wasn’t the horror book I was expecting it to be, I really enjoyed reading about about Lucy and Saskia

[Skyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

A sapphic botanical horror called Monstera should have been an easy win for me. The premise is fantastic, and once I started reading, I was immediately invested. The characters are compelling, the relationship is wonderfully developed, and the story moves at such a brisk pace that I finished it in almost no time at all.

The biggest strength of this novella is the character work. I completely bought into the connection between Lucy and Saskia, and I was eager to uncover the secrets lurking beneath the surface. The reveals that we do get are interesting, and the atmosphere is appropriately strange and unsettling.

My issue is that the story feels incomplete.

The entire time I was reading, I kept waiting for the book to open up into something bigger. Instead, it ended right around the point where I felt like the story was truly beginning. By the final page, I wasn't thinking "what a great ending." I was thinking, "where is the second half?"

This is also much more romance than horror. That's not necessarily a criticism because I enjoyed the relationship quite a bit, but readers expecting a horror-heavy story may find themselves surprised by how little horror is actually on the page. The horror elements are there, but they never felt fully explored.

That's what makes this such a frustrating read for me. I genuinely enjoyed reading it. I never felt bored. I cared about the characters. I liked the romance. But I also couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading the setup for a larger story that never arrived.

For me, this is a five-star concept and a three-and-a-half-star execution. I liked what was there. I just desperately wanted more of it.

[Myreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Net galley and Titan books for this advanced reader copy.This is my 3rd Delilah Dawson book and honestly, I love whatever is wrong with you Ms. Dawson 🤣

Similar to her novel Bloom, Monstera follows the story of two women, Saskia and Lucy. Lucy was raised by her extremely strict grandfather after her mother’s disappearance. After Lucy’s grandfather dies she is finally free to live her life on her own terms. She meets Saskia, her downstairs neighbor at her new apartment, which is run by a very sketchy landlord. Saskia is strong, a body builder with secrets of her own and a strange affliction which results in her body sprouting literal plant matter. I really enjoyed getting to know both of these ladies and while some parts of the plot were obvious as to where it was going, I still thoroughly enjoyed the ride. My only critic was that I wanted more of this story. It ended leaving me wanting more closure and answers. I’m hopeful I will get to revisit these complicated characters again in the future.

[Kayleigh Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn’t sure it was possible to love a book from this author more than I love Bloom…. But here we are!

Quirky, strange, exceedingly tense, and ever so satisfying!

Thank you so much Titan for my gifted copy! All thoughts are my own!

[Raaven💖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This actually wasn’t as crazy as I thought it would be. I think I expected a lot and the ending didn’t answer everything I needed. But still a good read.

[Shannai · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/4 ⭐️

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for the review copy of Monstera in exchange for an honest review. All Opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Firstly, I can't get over how gorgeous the cover is, it's what initially drew me to requesting and was immediately sold when I read that this was a sapphic botanical horror!!

Honestly, I wished that this was longer, I would have loved to have spent more time with Lucy and Saskia, and get to know them better. It was eerie more than horror though, I'd say more thriller actually, because it kept me intrigued and the suspense was also good; I just wished that it was longer. The plot twists and Lucy and Saskia's backstories were good, I really enjoyed those, too. There was the concept of plants that were going inside of Saskia, too, which I was hoping to explore more of too, I would have loved to have seen that been more of as well.

Nonetheless, this was an easy, fun novella, for my first read by Delilah S. Dawson.

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC of this incredibly anticipated release!

Monstera is a beautifully strange blend of botanical horror, sapphic romance, and gothic atmosphere that completely pulled me in. Delilah S. Dawson has a real talent for creating eerie, unsettling settings, and the lush, plant-filled apartment felt almost like a character in its own right. And I LOVE HER FOR IT, I could not stop turning the pages.

I really enjoyed Lucy and Saskia's relationship. Their connection felt tender and believable. The mix of romance and horror worked incredibly well, creating a story that was both haunting and surprisingly heartfelt.

What held this back from being a full five stars was the ending. I absolutely loved the journey, but it felt like the story ended just as I wanted to spend more time with these characters and the horrors that were beginning. Everything wrapped up a little too quickly, and I was left wishing for a bit more development and a longer conclusion.

[Kenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Netgalley for letting me read this early

Gothic sapphic horror is everything I could dream of and Delilah does a wonderful job. Her stories are short, sweet, to the point, and EXTREMELY effective. I admit this wasn't my favorite of hers that I have read but it was still a truly solid read. Big fan. Will continue to read anything she writes.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

20% light botanical horror, 80% sexy sapphic yearning. Not mad about it.

[Annelise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lucy's never been on her own before. After the death of her strict grandfather, she finds herself renting an apartment from a leering landlord, Roger. She introduces herself to her neighbor, Saskia, and becomes entranced by the mysterious woman. Saskia, in turn, is afraid that if she gets too close to Lucy, she might hurt her.

While 'Monstera' has elements of horror with the parasitic plants that grow out of Saskia, it's more of a sapphic romance. I'll confess, I barely like romance when it's in my horror novels, so reading a horror book that feels more like a romance book isn't exactly my thing. I like that it's gay, but there's so much good sapphic horror coming out this year that 'Monstera' doesn't really stick out unless you don't really like horror at all.

While the book isn't long, the simplicity of the characters was a bit groan-inducing. Lucy and Saskia aren't bad, if a bit stereotypical (sheltered timid girl and strong aloof girl), but the antagonists were practically cartoon characters. Lucy's grandfather and Roger have a similar mindset--both are conservative Christians who have probably been radicalized by Fox News. People like this are real, and my complaint isn't characters like this being villains or unsympathetic, but that they feel really flat. Roger in particular feels like a checklist of terrible traits--he's homophobic (and his homophobia is rooted in Evangelical Christianity), he's racist, he's a pervert, he's an anti-masker, he smells bad and is dyeing his hair poorly, he's a creep, he walks into his tenants' rooms without asking and drinks their wine... the list goes on, and it's eye roll worthy because being a landlord already makes me dislike him! I don't mind characters being unlikable, but this book is already pretty short and spends so much of its length making sure that you don't like Roger, which was already done once he started calling his tenant 'baby'.

I get it. We live in a world where hateful rich men get away with things without ever having to face consequences, so there's surely some catharsis in writing a character like this getting his comeuppance. But as someone who hates people like Roger, I thought he was way too flat to be effective.

Lucy's mother has disappeared long before our book begins, leaving her daughter alone with her own strict, similarly religious father. Lucy also needs to point out that her mother had her when she was a teenager and that she was a drug addict, and this is always done to show that she's a bad person. Look... I was an edgy teenager who rolled her eyes at at teen moms and drug users, and while Lucy is a troubled and sheltered adult it's shocking how her mother is never seen as sympathetic. I don't need an entire book on why she was awful, but it's an odd decision to give these traits to a character and to use them as shorthand for her being bad.

I have to point out this line, because it's just baffling to me:

"As she follows, Lucy studies Saskia's butt and wonders if this is a rude thing to do. Sort of hard to avoid, with it right there in front of her, jiggling like two Pringles."

Her butt is like Pringles?! Jiggling like potato-based chips!? Okay, Saskia's supposed to be buff, so her butt probably doesn't jiggle too much. Did Dawson mean like two Pringles cans? I can... maybe see that, though it's still probably the most unflattering description I've seen of an enjoyable butt. This was an ARC, so it could be changed before it's published, so maybe I'm making a big deal about nothing, but this is one of the strangest sentences I've read.

[Rachael Jakubowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

In Monstera, Delilah S. Dawson delivers a heady, beautifully sinister slice of botanical horror that firmly establishes her as a master of the dark sapphic novella. Acting as a spiritual sibling to her previous work, Bloom, this Savannah-set gothic tale explores the dark underbelly of isolation, desire, and the terrifying cost of self-actualization. Through the eyes of Lucy McClintock, a young woman fleeing the suffocating tyranny of her grandfather, Dawson crafts a narrative where the lushness of nature mirrors the messy, sometimes monstrous evolution of womanhood. 

The story’s emotional and thematic core takes root when Lucy moves into a dreamy but unsettling Victorian apartment and encounters her downstairs neighbor, Saskia. A striking, powerful weightlifter whose life is a literal ecosystem of thriving flora and art, Saskia represents everything Lucy has been denied: autonomy, physical strength, and uninhibited presence. As Lucy is drawn into Saskia’s green haven, Dawson uses the setting to weave a rich commentary on how women find form and shape after prolonged containment. 

Central to this exploration is the titular plant. The monstera is famous for its fenestrations—the deep splits and holes in its leaves that allow light to pass through to the lower foliage, enabling the plant to survive in the dim understory of the rainforest. Dawson utilizes this biological trait as a profound metaphor for Lucy’s awakening. For a woman to grow after trauma, she must often crack, split, and open herself up to let the light in. Lucy’s infatuation with Saskia begins as a gentle blossoming, but under the canopy of botanical horror, this growth takes on an invasive, untamed quality.

Furthermore, the relationship between plants and womanhood in Monstera subverts traditional notions of feminine nurturing. Often, women and gardens are tied to themes of gentleness, passivity, and soft cultivation.

Dawson utterly upends this aesthetic, plunging the reader into a world of "cottagecore with gore." Here, the plant kingdom is heavy, visceral, and unapologetically predatory. The growth of the women—and the greenery surrounding them—is fueled by female rage, secret appetites, and a refusal to be pruned by the patriarchal or societal forces trying to keep them small. 

Saskia's apartment becomes a womb of transformation where the boundaries between the human and the botanical begin to blur. The slow-burn romance between the two women is thick with atmospheric tension, moving from the sweet, tentative steps of first love into something fiercely obsessive. Dawson’s prose is incredibly sensory; you can practically smell the damp earth, feel the humidity of Savannah, and sense the unseen roots coiling tightly around the characters' ankles. 

Ultimately, Monstera is a brilliant study in how liberation is rarely a clean or gentle process. It argues that true growth for a woman who has been caged is not merely about surviving, but about becoming wild, reaching aggressively for the sun, and embracing the monstrous nature required to protect one’s own soil. It is a stunning, beautifully grotesque novella that leaves a lingering, unforgettable mark.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

I flew through this book, reading the whole thing in one sitting. I already knew I liked this author and this was another success.

It’s a horror love story. It’s a smart blending of a sapphic growing relationship peppered with a sense that something really weird is going on. I really want to talk about the ending because I have theories! But I will try to avoid spoilers.

We have two women who are renting different levels of a house from a pretty gnarly landlord. He’s a creep. Why do they put up with it? Because they have specific needs. Lucy we meet first and she’s escaping her old life, a life that has had her locked in a house for ten years by her grandfather. Unable to watch TV, pulled from school. She wants to start forging a little life of her own, though she finds people overwhelming at times. She glimpses her downstairs neighbour, a weight lifter who values her privacy, her home shared with dozens of plants.

We see their burgeoning relationship, but we also see one of them holding back, a botanical secret hindering her ability to connect. Sleepwalking and nightmares leaving them feeling out of control. And of course, we have the creepy landlord to contend with.

I wanted this to go in a certain direction. When it didn’t I was a little disappointed but the more I pondered the ending after I finished reading, the more I could understand why the author chose to go the way they did.

Riveting, characters you can root for (pun intended), a story of connection and growth. I really liked this.

[Ashley Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Delilah S. Dawson and Titan Books for providing this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Monstera follows Lucy, a 24-year-old woman determined to escape her controlling grandfather and finally build a life of her own. After moving into her first apartment, she quickly realizes something is wrong—from her unsettling landlord to the strange occurrences surrounding her mysterious neighbor, Saskia. As the two women grow closer, secrets begin to unravel, revealing a dark connection between them and the apartment they now call home.

I really enjoyed this novella. While it’s marketed as horror, I found it leaned more toward thriller territory, though that didn’t lessen my enjoyment at all. The suspenseful atmosphere, creepy landlord, and steadily escalating mysteries kept me completely invested, and I had a great time uncovering the truth alongside Lucy. I loved how both Lucy and Saskia were searching for freedom in their own ways while struggling to break free from the people who sought to control them. They were both incredibly likeable characters, and their chemistry was one of my favorite parts of the story. The shocking reveals, especially those surrounding Saskia’s garden and Lucy’s past, were dark, unexpected, and deeply satisfying. Equal parts unsettling, compelling, and heartfelt, Monstera was a quick, engaging read that kept me hooked from beginning to end.

[Philoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of Monstera by Delilah S Dawson.

After reading Bloom earlier this year, I was a little hesitant going into Monstera. While I enjoyed the atmosphere in Bloom, my biggest issue was how long it took for the story to reveal its sinister side. For much of the book, not a lot seemed to happen, and I never really connected with the main character.

Thankfully, Monstera worked much better for me.

This felt darker, more unsettling, and noticeably more horror-leaning than Bloom. The stakes felt higher, the tension built more effectively, and most importantly, I genuinely cared about the characters and what happened to them. That emotional investment made the story far more engaging from start to finish.

Delilah S. Dawson’s writing remains one of the book’s greatest strengths. Her prose is accessible and immersive, and the descriptions of the garden, the plants, and the apartment were incredibly vivid. The setting felt tangible enough that I could easily picture myself there, which only added to the sense of unease.

My only complaint is that I wanted more. This is a relatively short novella, and I would have loved additional time with both the characters and the story. I wasn’t ready to leave this world when it ended.

Overall, this was an unsettling, atmospheric, and thoroughly enjoyable read that improved on many of the aspects I struggled with in Bloom.

⭐ 3.95/5

[nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75

Arc received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


i badly wanted to love this, but this novella was not what was promised. there are aspects of it i liked — i enjoyed the romance between lucy and saskia, and the writing itself is beautiful and magnetic, but this is being marketed as a sensual, sapphic, botanical, horror novella. it was sensual and sapphic, and that part i enjoyed, but is it so bad for me to want the entire cake and eat it???? the botanical and horror aspect could not be found at all. at first i didn't mind, because i was enjoying lucy and saskia's relationship and how they were getting to know each other better. but then...nothing happens. there's little seads of horror and suspense dropped that keeps hooking you on, but nothing really comes of it, and i'm not really sure how that part tied with the ending and the grand reveal of it all. the botanical part was underutilized, and there wasn't anything horror about this novella — it was suspenseful and thrilling, but i kinda feel robbed with the botanical horror aspect, and it makes me really sad because that was the reason why i requested the arc in the first place. i'm also conflicted with the ending...maybe because i was so bored already that i couldn't really care about it. i will say, this novella has a great story in it that perhaps would have had greater potential as a full-length book.

[Casey thirty_wordy_and_reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monstera is a botanical sapphic horror novella that is released October 13, 2026

Just finished this novella about Lucy-a timid innocent young woman who has recently left an abusive living situation and moves into an old Victorian duplex in Savannah, GA. She signs a lease despite her pervy landlord and is curious about her neighbor-a statuesque bodybuilder with heaps of lush green plants all around her apartment and garden. Lucy and her neighbor Saskia seem to have a connection and as the slow burn begins it is revealed they each hide secrets.

This is a super quick read (perfect novella length), but it flies by so fast that a few plot points feel underdeveloped--and has the reader filling in some blanks. I always enjoy some female revenge/rage so that was definitely a highlight for me. I would have been up for more. The botanical horror elements gave me ick goosebumps in the best way. I have no read too many botanical horror and am curious on how fans of this niche will feel.

Thank you to Netgally and Titan reads for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two women trapped in each other's orbit with secrets waiting to be unearthed or buried deeper, whichever they prefer.

Monsteras are incredibly resilient plants and although this is not a botanical horror, for what it can survive it is the perfect title for this book.

A story about female rage and survival and maybe a little a bit about two psychotic women nodding at each other's craziness as Saskia’s protective madness fed Lucy's desperate hunger for safety and in turn, Lucy’s acceptance fed Saskia.

And I love that, I love women who are a bit crazy, for each other and in general, because beneath that we can find the refusal to be broken that women have to have to be able to survive. Dawson captured that feral energy and made for a very good sapphic soft horror story worth the read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[GJO AND PUPS · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a slow burn, intense read with a creeping sense of dread that builds beautifully throughout. I absolutely loved it.

Despite its short length, we come to know Lucy and Saskia so well... yet never quite enough. There are secrets, sinister undercurrents, and suspicions, but somehow I still felt as though they were my two best friends.

The author has a real talent for handling dark subject matter with a light enough touch that it never overshadows the characters or their attempts to build new lives for themselves.

I went in expecting botanical horror, and if I'm honest, that's not entirely what this book delivers. The botanical elements are certainly there, but they never fully develop into the horror I anticipated.

Personally, I read those botanical elements as a metaphor for the darkness both characters carry—the way trauma can take root, spread, and evolve over time.

[Rat Queen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this arc.

Whenever you pick up a Delilah S. Dawson you just know you’re going to have SUCH a good time - and while Monstera is no exception it is on the tamer end of what Dawson does best! Let me elaborate…

Lucy moves into an apartment of her own after years of being shut in by her grandfather only to meet her weightlifting, plant loving neighbour Saskia. Plants aren’t the only thing growing in that apartment building once Lucy & Saskia meet but both of them might share more than just mutual feelings.

Monstera is a fun, quick read on the lighter side of horror. A solid story that could be considered a fantastic recommendation for people newer to horror or don’t like their horror too intense. As a lover of body horror and plant horror, I think I wanted way more horror connected to plant life but I can’t complain because the sapphic elements are always on point!

[Jacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read Bloom and loved it (like me), you will be similarly entranced by its fraternal twin sister, Monstera!!

Dawson is a master at creating immersive settings that are dreamy, eerie, and exactly right for her themes. Her characters are endearing and complex and she is able to pack so much into a small number of pages. I really enjoyed Lucy’s evolution as she began to understand herself and what it means to find and accept pleasure. The Jennifer’s Body Scene…yea girl we’ve all been there. The story doesn’t feel like it is pushing the scare factor, rather it sits in the awkwardness of what it means to be human and not understand the world around you. You must discover what is normal, what is monstrous, what you will accept.

Lastly, I must address this COVER!?!? Stunning. Perfect. The designer should pat themselves on the back.

[MJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-arc.

I have mixed feelings about this novella. I love the concept: Lucy moves to a small town after escaping her abusive grandfather and becomes intrigued by her unusual downstairs neighbor. The sapphic yearning and romance are there. The horror aspects... are not really there. I can see some suspense, as the reader doesn't get the full picture until the end; however, outside of brief body horror and one descriptive scene, that is all there is.

This was a book that left me wanting more. It did not necessarily feel unfinished, but it was lacking substance. I wanted to know more about Saskia and her affliction with her plants, which is never truly explained. I could have used more build-up between the two women.

Despite these things, Monstera is still a well-written novel, and if you enjoyed Bloom, I do recommend giving this a try.

[Larareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating 3.25 ⭐️

I had so much fun with this one! When I saw it was horror I was a little scared because I've never read this genre before and didn't know what to expect, but it was so so good! It's more romance, with a little horror which didn't bother me at all, I think I wouldn't have liked it this much without a big romance plot.
The writing is wonderful and do so easy to read and the characters are just the best. There are a couple of reveals which I loved and really didn't expect, but the ending was really sudden and a lot of things were not explained. This as a full novel would have been a masterpice!

[Becca Bee]

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC.

Beautiful and horrifying. I was gripped, and every new reveal took me by surprise.

The blooming relationship between Lucy and Saskia was tender and sweet, even as it was dark and twisted. Lucy's joy at her fresh start was touching, and Saskia's mystery was fascinating. The girls felt both heartbreakingly real and dreamlike, and I found myself caring for both girls almost immediately. The house felt claustrophobic and fresh, and the contrast worked extremely well for the story that unfolds.

The prose was rich and lush, and the plot paced extremely well. The only issue was that I wanted more! I'll be thinking about the ending for a long, long time, dreaming of tiny seedlings and fresh starts.

The ultimate Good-For-Her horror.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy moves in to an old Victorian home after leaving the home of her controlling grandfather. She meets her neighbor reclusive neighbor Saskia and the two build a friendship from there realizing they are more alike than they’d ever dream.
I loved the relationship between Lucy and Saskia and wish there was more. The protectiveness was a sweet part of their relationship. Though I’m not really well versed in horror, I don’t think I would categorize this book as such. I also feel like the main mystery (for me) in the book was never wrapped up. I would’ve loved a more in depth explanation of what was happening there.
I will definitely be giving this author another read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.