If you’re a lover of goofy humor and campy monster films - with a splash of romance - Dating & Dismemberment is a fun ride. 

Darla Drake is the Duchess of Death and the monster of Camp Clear Creek - that is, until one day she can’t bring herself to finish a hunt. She’s got infinite years ahead of her and can’t figure out what to do, even though her body-less mother and her pregnant best friend try to help her work through things.

A year later, she still hasn’t gotten back into the game, and arrogant Jarko Murkvale shows up to claim her territory. Darla is ready to hunt him down, but hesitantly agrees to a monster haunting competition. She thinks she’s got him nailed down, but the more time they spend together, the more she realizes that he might just be bringing her back to life.

It was cheeky - there was NO skimping on the alliteration - AND it made me smile from ear to ear quite a few times. If you need a break from the world, I’d definitely recommend picking this up.

There were a lot of mistakes in my copy (character names being swapped, details that would change from scene to scene, typos), which were sometimes a stumble while reading. I mostly shrugged them off, though. I also do think the romance could have had a little more depth. 

There’s a great blend of haunts, gore, and rivals-to-lovers drama. I loved seeing the author’s humor shine through the pages, especially with one-off sentences and creative descriptions of side characters. The writing is playful and leans into campiness, never taking itself too seriously. 

I would love to read more books in this world! 

CW: murder, death (child), violence, blood, gore, bullying, sexual harassment & almost sexual violence, grief, animal death, fire, body horror, pedophilia, cannibalism, stalking, torture, abandonment

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)