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Eat Your Heart Out
Some desires don’t want love—they want ownership.
Jules is a first-year medical student with an exceptional mind for anatomy, a devotion to precision, and a carefully controlled emotional life. That control shatters when she meets Maureen.
Maureen is magnetic—confident, beautiful, effortlessly desired. What begins as attraction quickly deepens into something sharper, darker, and far more consuming. Jules mistakes intensity for intimacy, chemistry for destiny, and fixation for love.
As their relationship lurches between passion and distance, Jules begins to unravel. The boundaries between study and obsession blur. Anatomy labs bleed into fantasy. Hunger—emotional, erotic, psychological—becomes impossible to ignore. Every slight feels catastrophic. Every touch feels like a promise. Every rejection fuels something dangerous.
Set within the sterile world of medical training, Eat Your Heart Out explores the seductive logic of obsession and the quiet horror of a mind convincing itself that devotion justifies anything. Desire becomes possession. Love becomes entitlement. Control slips, slowly and then all at once.
Dark, intimate, and deeply unsettling, this psychological horror novella traces the path from longing to fixation—and the terrifying places desire can lead when nothing is ever enough.
Jules is a first-year medical student with an exceptional mind for anatomy, a devotion to precision, and a carefully controlled emotional life. That control shatters when she meets Maureen.
Maureen is magnetic—confident, beautiful, effortlessly desired. What begins as attraction quickly deepens into something sharper, darker, and far more consuming. Jules mistakes intensity for intimacy, chemistry for destiny, and fixation for love.
As their relationship lurches between passion and distance, Jules begins to unravel. The boundaries between study and obsession blur. Anatomy labs bleed into fantasy. Hunger—emotional, erotic, psychological—becomes impossible to ignore. Every slight feels catastrophic. Every touch feels like a promise. Every rejection fuels something dangerous.
Set within the sterile world of medical training, Eat Your Heart Out explores the seductive logic of obsession and the quiet horror of a mind convincing itself that devotion justifies anything. Desire becomes possession. Love becomes entitlement. Control slips, slowly and then all at once.
Dark, intimate, and deeply unsettling, this psychological horror novella traces the path from longing to fixation—and the terrifying places desire can lead when nothing is ever enough.
123 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 14, 2026
5 people are currently reading
1209 people want to read
About the author
N.J. Gallegos
35 books110 followersN.J. Gallegos was born in Alamosa, Colorado (which coincidentally, is a hotbed for UFO activity). She attended college at UCCS in Colorado Springs and medical school in Missouri. After her Emergency Medicine residency, she settled in Illinois with her wife and two cats.
She loves Star Wars (especially Ahsoka), craft beers (IPAs and sours are her faves), drawing, EDM, and running.
She'll read almost anything but is drawn to horror, thrillers, sci-fi, and historical fiction.
She loves Star Wars (especially Ahsoka), craft beers (IPAs and sours are her faves), drawing, EDM, and running.
She'll read almost anything but is drawn to horror, thrillers, sci-fi, and historical fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 15, 2026
Holy crap! This is amazing. And gross as hell! Stunningly perfect.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Having read this in both an early draft form and the final version, I have to say that this is a mean, nasty horror story that upsets one's stomach. I mean that as a compliment.
N.J. is a great writer and this novella is a cannibalistic wild ride.
N.J. is a great writer and this novella is a cannibalistic wild ride.
March 17, 2026
Another stunning 5 star read by NJ Gallegos! This one keeps you checked in from the first page and ends with a nasty little surprise. A must read!
March 23, 2026
oh when the idea is golden but the writing is wooden
Review of advance copy received from Author
NJ Gallegos’s Eat Your Heart Out had me in the first two pages. I’m not an easy sell on romance, but her descriptions are so vivid they made me genuinely hungry. Halfway through that opening rush, I had a second thought: maybe I’m not “unromantic” so much as I’m running on intimacy starvation.
From the start, the book winks at iconic characters and cultural touchstones in a way that feels both sharp and delicious. There’s a nod to Patrick Bateman and yes, he’s weirdly irresistible here. If you don’t know who he is, consider that your homework. And when she drops “The L Word”? Stop everything. It’s that kind of book: the kind that knows exactly what it’s doing, and does it with a grin.
The humor is unabashed and genuinely laugh out loud. But what I loved most is how easy it feels to live inside her voice. The writing never gets heavy. It reads like your best friend telling you a story over too many appetizers and cocktails, comfortable and familiar, in a language you already speak. Even when it gets gross, it works because the book trusts you to get it.
I’ve worked in hospitals, and I dabble in medical horror too, so I’m always clocking details and taking notes. NJ’s storytelling hits that sweet spot where I’m entertained, but I’m also learning. There were moments where I caught myself thinking, she’s kind of a mentor, the way her scenes carry both craft and confidence.
And underneath the laughs and the bite, Eat Your Heart Out does something sneakier: it makes your heart crave the snow globe version of the life you want. The vivid memories you’d freeze frame and keep on a shelf. The kind you don’t shake too often, because you’re afraid the magic will settle and disappear.
Also, if you love 90s references, this book understands you. It brought me back to when the only things I had to fear were a skipping CD and white vans.
After you finish, you’ll probably think:
This book is awesome. I need to read everything she’s written.
She’s hilarious. I need to follow her online.
Her playlists are elite. I need those in my life too.
From the start, the book winks at iconic characters and cultural touchstones in a way that feels both sharp and delicious. There’s a nod to Patrick Bateman and yes, he’s weirdly irresistible here. If you don’t know who he is, consider that your homework. And when she drops “The L Word”? Stop everything. It’s that kind of book: the kind that knows exactly what it’s doing, and does it with a grin.
The humor is unabashed and genuinely laugh out loud. But what I loved most is how easy it feels to live inside her voice. The writing never gets heavy. It reads like your best friend telling you a story over too many appetizers and cocktails, comfortable and familiar, in a language you already speak. Even when it gets gross, it works because the book trusts you to get it.
I’ve worked in hospitals, and I dabble in medical horror too, so I’m always clocking details and taking notes. NJ’s storytelling hits that sweet spot where I’m entertained, but I’m also learning. There were moments where I caught myself thinking, she’s kind of a mentor, the way her scenes carry both craft and confidence.
And underneath the laughs and the bite, Eat Your Heart Out does something sneakier: it makes your heart crave the snow globe version of the life you want. The vivid memories you’d freeze frame and keep on a shelf. The kind you don’t shake too often, because you’re afraid the magic will settle and disappear.
Also, if you love 90s references, this book understands you. It brought me back to when the only things I had to fear were a skipping CD and white vans.
After you finish, you’ll probably think:
This book is awesome. I need to read everything she’s written.
She’s hilarious. I need to follow her online.
Her playlists are elite. I need those in my life too.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Once again, N.J. Gallegos has proven herself as one of the strongest writers in queer horror.
Eat Your Heart Out is a short, punchy novella that will grip you from the beginning and won't let go until the end. The narrator, Jules, was so well-written and I found myself simultaneously rooting for them while also dreadfully muttering “Oh God, no, don't do that, Oh God…” the entire time.
The prose, story and characters were all unbelievably strong and it ultimately delivers on everything you could want out of a horror story. Despite being early in the year, I can already tell this is going to be a contender for my favorite book of 2026.
🥼🥼🥼🥼🥼/5
Eat Your Heart Out is a short, punchy novella that will grip you from the beginning and won't let go until the end. The narrator, Jules, was so well-written and I found myself simultaneously rooting for them while also dreadfully muttering “Oh God, no, don't do that, Oh God…” the entire time.
The prose, story and characters were all unbelievably strong and it ultimately delivers on everything you could want out of a horror story. Despite being early in the year, I can already tell this is going to be a contender for my favorite book of 2026.
🥼🥼🥼🥼🥼/5
April 1, 2026
My sister bought and recommended this book stating that it was "demented, disgusting, and delightful" and I was instantly intrigued. It didn't disappoint. My only criticism was that a lot of the references were pretty dated and I glossed over most of the playlist within the text, but that wasn't entirely a bad thing. The book's strengths lie in the slow descent into jealous madness within a person who is already well versed in it. It was a page turner that I devoured in one afternoon, and the twist at the end was perfect for the entire story. A great reimagining of a toxic lesbian type prequel to its own version of American Psycho that could easily carry on into a full length novel.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Eat Your Heart Out may be short, but it’s as powerful as any doorstopper novel. N.J. Gallegos delivers an anti-hero you can’t help but root for, descriptions both precise and lyrical, all strung together with a narrative voice that alternates between witty and tender. This novella is a rare combination of fantastic writing, believable characters, emotional depth, and straight-up fun.
March 14, 2026
Deliciously nasty.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Toxic lesbians and and cannibalism? Yes please!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews