This is a thought-provoking, introspective meta-fantasy that I enjoyed despite its dark themes and confronting sexual violence (that trigger warning list is long!). The Divine Flesh is a completely bizarre lovecraftian horror that explores the nature of consent, free will and what it's like to be a vessel for God in ways that will stick with you for a long time, and have you questioning religion as we know it. It's a really heavy read, so be wary — but if you're interested in theology and philosophy, it'll be (mostly) worth it.

Jennifer, a drug addict, shares a body with a murderous goddess as well as Daryl, their boyfriend. Jennifer struggles to keep control of her body, her will to live, and her life as it is ransacked nearly daily by the Devine Flesh who uses her body to sleep with Daryl and murder innocent people just for the hell of it. Theres also a sub plot of another goddess who no longer has her god status but is laying eggs and trying to hide them but also selling them as drugs. Yes it’s as confusing as it sounds.

I struggled from the start to the end to read this book. It wasn’t that there was too much gore or too disturbing. The plot line was hard to follow. Characters were rapidly introduced without giving any explanation to how they connect until much later. None of the characters are likeable or redeemable, Daryl, is possibly the only character that has made me mad to the point of wanting to just flat out stop reading the book. I cannot comprehend the logic behind him saying “I can’t handle you!” to his drug addict girlfriend but then when the Devine Flesh takes over and kills people on a whim, he’s like “oh god your hot.” And let me remind you Jennifer and the Devine Flesh share a body. The perspective changes are flippant and for much of the book you don’t know how any of it connects. It’s a whirlwind of chaos that isn’t worth the headache, which is such a shame. The author is relatively good at painting the scene but lines like “a shotgun blast to the face hurts more than a bullet” took away from what good was there. I think the story had potential, but I think the arrangement of the plot could have used a lot of work, a few more chapters to make the whole thing make sense. And perhaps making at least one character semi likeable.

⭐⭐.5
💀💀💀

I wanted to like this so much more! Divine Flesh is definitely up my alley - cosmic horror mixed with a healthy dosing of gore and viscera, but it ultimately fell a little flat for me. I still very much like the idea and liked the characters, but the plot gets thrown around to make way for various other plots and it overall becomes a chaotic mess. I did like the subplots though and felt they all needed their own attention - realistically this should have been a novella, or maybe several novellas in the same universe. I also really like the way the writing style really leans into being chaotic and sort of aloof, so it really sinks you into the cosmic horror that is the Divine Flesh. Again, great idea but the pacing really threw me off mixed with the multiple plot points.

Thank you to Dark Matter INK and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my opinions.

Thanks to Netgallery for this ARC.

Wow this was a very trippy ride of a read. The premise of this was just well out there. Jennifer and the Divine Flesh are trapped in the same body, they hate each other but love the same man named Daryl. We watched them bicker like bad roommates, Jennifer has always wanted to be rid of the Divine Flesh but when through a set of circumstances it happens she realises that being apart is worse as they is no one to keep the Eldrich flesh monster from assimilating the world, so it up to her an interdimensional drug mule and Daryl to stop it. I had read another book from the author which connects to this book. This one I liked a bit more but might reread the other again to see if my opinions have changed. Overall this was a great WTF read of a book .

Body horror at its finest, immaculate writing style, and unhinged original premise. All this was fascinating, and the cosmic, eldritch horror is what persuaded me to read The Divine Flesh in the first place. With that said, I believe the execution of the plot was not particularly strong. While I do like the fever-dream quality of the book, I was confused for a significant portion of it. In my opinion, this would've worked beautifully as a novella.

I liked the idea of a romance amidst all this interdimensional drug-smuggling conflict, but I couldn't get on board with the relationship itself. At times it felt forced, and the whole context of it was not very appealing to me. It was very uncomfortable to read though, which is a plus, because in a book like this, I don't expect the romance to be all cute and without problems.

One of the quotes that can describe the vibe of this book is:
”...what the fuck were you supposed to do when you said the prayers and the demon started praying them with you?”. Because what else do you expect from a flesh-eating goddess?

Overall, The Divine Flesh was visceral, gory, and weirdly funny. I'm tempted to read something else by this author, just for the writing style and the ideas. The concept itself is highly unique and deranged, and the characters felt real in dealing with their trauma. This would be more like a 3.5 stars book for me (which I don't think is bad!), but I rounded it down mainly because of the pacing of the plot.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I absolutely love the premise of this novel, but in the end in fell flat.

The thought of some messed up eldritch horror possessing a woman's body is always a fun one. This started out that way, and it was good. I really loved the body horror. However, as the book progressed, I found myself becoming bored. In meandered in places, rambled a lot, and was too long for the concept. This would have worked much better as a novella I fear.

The Divine Flesh reads like a fever dream. This is both good and bad, because it leaves you guessing what will happen next. But at the same time, I was not able to completely follow along with the story. I still enjoyed it, I loved the creepy Lovecraftian vibe that it had going on. I also absolutely adored the body horror and the gore. We all know I am always a sucker for some good old gorey scenes.

The characters were interesting, they were morally grey at best and I was living for it. I love it when characters do good and bad things because of good and bad reasons. The only vice I have with this book that it feels a little too long. Some parts felt a little drawn out and were a little too long. I liked the variety of characters, though at one point I had a difficult time telling who is who. Luckily this wasn't a problem for very long.

In the end, The Divine Flesh was an enjoyable cosmic horror. This will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it!

I attempted about 5 chapters of this one and I will be DNF.. will not rate on my page. This one had way too many racial and homophobic slurs for me.

I really wanted to like this one. It was fast paced at the being and seemed to slow down for me. I love the author style of writing this one just wasn’t for me.

' [...] but oh dear God what the fuck were you supposed to do when you said the prayers and the demon started praying them with you?'

I'll be completely honest, I have no idea what I just read. It was good? But I didn't understand what was happening most of the time? And I think that gives you the exact atmosphere of this book, actually. We follow Jennifer Plummer, a self-destructive drug addict infested with a god-like thing called Divine Flesh. Things didn't start very well, and they just kept getting worse and worse as the story progressed. There's a lot of horror in here, especially body horror, and it will make you squirm in disgust quite often. It's an interesting exploration of what the human mind can conjure, and what it can endure reading. It's fascinating how I was more disgusted by the acts of certain humans in this story than I was disgusted by Divine Flesh's fleshy, disgusting abominations. And I'm talking about creatures right out of your worst nightmares, with hundreds of eyes and hundreds of teeth ready to devour you. The author's mind created something remarkable here, very much inspired by the Christian concept of God, Judgment Day, the Light, and the creation of humanity.

I'd recommend this if you're interested in something unlike anything else you've (probably) ever read, and if you love to lose your sanity while reading. It's an absolute must to read the triggers first, though, because there are many. I'm not sure if I was exactly the right audience for this, but I did mostly like it, I think.

I really wanted to like this however it was a bit too much of a fever dream for me, the characters weren't really likeable and I think the story was just too dragged out. The body horror was interesting but I just wonder if this wasn't the right time for me to read this book,

This was definitely an interesting read! A new premise for sure. I mean a second-chance love story mixed with a gory eldritch horror? Sign me up. Overall i quite enjoyed this. I did feel like i was in a fever dream half the time but if you enjoy those kinds of bonkers, unhinged stories then this is the book for you. Perhaps a little bit long, but overall a pretty solid read.

A messed up love story that only the granddaddy of them all-mr Clive Barker would have conceived, him and now Drew Huff. This book made me feel a lot of things and I think that's by design. I don't think I'll ever read anything quite as bonkers as this again. Read if you like your cosmic horror Clive flavoured.

Loved the originality and unhinged-ness of this. I didn’t realize it was more splatterpunk horror, but that didn’t detract me from it at all. It felt gory and messy but I liked it nonetheless! Definitely interested to see more from this author

The Divine Flesh was a bit of a struggle at times, and I almost didn’t finish it. What initially drew me in was the cover—it looked exciting and intriguing. While the story wasn’t always easy to get through, there were some parts that kept me interested. Overall, it was an okay read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this early copy.

I really wanted to like The Divine Flesh—the concept sounded super interesting and right up my alley. But honestly, it just didn’t work for me.

The writing felt kind of heavy and overly poetic, which made it hard to stay focused or really get into the story. I kept finding myself rereading sections just trying to figure out what was going on. I get that it was going for a dreamy, unsettling vibe, but instead of feeling intrigued, I mostly felt confused.

The characters also didn’t do much for me. They didn’t feel fleshed out (no pun intended), so it was hard to care about what was happening to them. There were a few cool, creepy moments, and I can tell the author has a strong vision—but it didn’t all come together in a way that made sense or left much of an impact on me.

Overall, I’d say The Divine Flesh had potential, but it missed the mark. If you’re into super experimental, abstract horror, you might get more out of it than I did. For me, it just wasn’t a hit.

I went into this with some pretty high hopes. From the premise, it sounded like something that would be right up my alley and I believed it would be something that I would really enjoy.

Sadly, this fell very flat to me. It felt almost like the author had bitten off more than they could chew. I felt like so much was happening but at the same time nothing was happening? I don’t know if that even makes any sense but it does in my head.

The cover is stunning and I do love good body horror in a horror novel. Perhaps this is a book that I just need to sit with.

Overall, I would be interested in checking out other works by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Drew Huff for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

dnf. mainly just due to the fact that it was very fast in the beginning and then became very slow towards the mid end and i became uninterested in the book. however, the writing style is phenomenal honestly. huff really packs a punch with her prose. and the main characters are complicated and complex.

Wow. I don't usually read cosmic horror but this was hard to read. I DNF at @40%. I wanted to keep reading but it read kind of messy. There’s so much going on, and I couldn't keep track of who’s who or what’s really important. If you're into weird interdimensional sci-fi body horror, this is for you!

Right, this one was a lot. I went in fully expecting to love it — the premise had me hooked and the cover is stunning — but honestly? I spent most of the book feeling completely lost 😅

There were moments of beauty — raw, poetic, and deeply unsettling — but half the time I had no clue what was actually happening. Like wandering through a nightmare with gorgeous prose but no map.

There are moments of brilliance, and the writing is undeniably beautiful in places — dark, lyrical, and strange. But half the time I wasn’t sure what was real or what I was supposed to be taking from it all.

It’s ambitious, atmospheric, and definitely not afraid to be weird.

If you like things totally unhinged, this might be for you. But go in knowing it’s a trip. 😵‍💫

Thank you, Net Galley and Dark Matter INK, for the ARC