A review by minimicropup
Chew on This! by Chad Stroup, John McNee, Ronald Kelly, Chad Lutzke, S.C. Mendes, Robert Essig, Nikki Noir, Kristopher Triana, K. Trap Jones, Blood Bound Books

dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Entertaining, macabre, delicious creative. 

16 short stories involving food and consumption horrors. Here's a taste...
  • What could possibly cause a cat to become vegan?
  • A toy prize results in a surprise for two kids.
  • An affordable sandwich delivery service. 
  • The side effects of Westernizing the 'exotic' cuisine of other cultures
  • A wait-staff support group (of sorts)
  • Discovering the secret ingredient in a grandparent's irresistible treats
  • An unconventional love spell works too well
  • Fairy tale cures of the not-too-distant future
  • A food influencer seeks out a secretive food convention
  • A parent struggles to prepare a turkey dinner for their partner
  • A down-on-their-luck carnie reinvents the corn dog
  • A friend spills their guts about how they lost the weight and kept it off for good
  • A veteran with a strange condition finds themselves fighting for their favourite food
  • Dockyard workers start an eating contest
  • A neighbour with a trash problem
  • An alcoholic drink that really makes you feel something

🐺🐕Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags: 
🤩 I LOVED this. It was creepy, witty, gross, horrific, compelling, and mysterious. Each story contains these elements in different ratios. Most of the stories are direct, and even when predictable the writing was good for all of them so I wanted to know how it played out. Like knowing the ingredients to a recipe ahead of time, but wondering how it'll turn out...

👌 The stories are relatively short, and each has a unique tone, mini-sized character development, and plot while still on theme (kind of like Sesame Street for food horror). I don't think it was gratuitous. There were plots, not just endless descriptions of grossness. 

🍿 The stories aren't overly ethereal, philosophical, or pursuing commentary. They also don't require heaps of suspended disbelief. There is symbolism if you're looking for it, but also easy to read without having to overthink. I'd say grab some popcorn and sit back to relax but...maybe nix the popcorn. 

😏 A common theme for many (not all) of the stories was retribution of sorts. Either by the good, the bad, the bullied, the ugly, or even the food itself. 

Mood Reading Match Up: 
  • Food horror
  • Sneaky vengeance, retribution, and revenge stories
  • Body horror and cannibalism
  • Hints of magical realism horror

Content Heads-Up: Body horror. Body gore. Body fluids. Food horror. Body shaming (characters doing it to themselves or others). Alcohol and drug use (intentional).  

Format: Kindle Unlimited

🫢🐶 This was one of my Favourite Books of 2023