The book was everything the freakish perverted part of my brain wanted. The Divine Flesh is so WEIRD, and I have to imagine it will make its rounds on those "weird girl book recommendation" lists, and if it doesn't then it should. There's something visceral and brutal (and by something, I mean the Divine Flesh herself) about this story in a way that scratches a very particular itch for me. I cannot wait to read more of Huff's work, especially if they're as deliciously horrific as this one.

The body horror is great, and I love the concept SO much, but the story is hard to follow. Both the plot and the characters lack depth and it starts to feel like the intense and gross scenes are just there for shock value. The humor also didn't land for me personally. I think this could have benefited from more editing. I honestly think it would have packed a much bigger punch as a novella.

While the premise of Te Divine Flesh is undeniably intriguing, the execution left much to be desired. The novel promises a blend of dark humor, cosmic horror, and romance, but it struggles to strike a cohesive balance among these elements. The tension between Jennifer and the Divine Flesh—a blend of hatred, dependency, and twisted love—is never fully explored. Instead, the story relies heavily on over-the-top scenarios that dilute the impact of the characters' personal struggles.

Thank you NetGalley and Dark Matter Ink for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Well, well, well. I have so many thoughts and only so many characters to type. I'll start by giving a massive kudos to Drew Huff - she knows how to make you sit and contemplate the matters of redemption and free will. I was fascinated by the depths of depravity she would write within characters and how some of them looked at their actions with a critical lens, or chose to be willfully and happily ignorant. The relationships she crafted were rife with hurt and yet you could still feel their deep love oozing from the very page. Speaking of oozing - good GOD does The Divine Flesh not flinch from being intensely graphically detailed. I loved it.

A couple not so positive points though: the consistent shifting of POV was super confusing at many points. It felt incredibly erratic, bordering on whiplash to have so many subplots and side character POVs, no matter how interesting they were (and they were). It also got super repetitive at some points and there was a lack of conciseness - it was for this reason, and the inclusion of female mutilation/rape (from a despicable character's POV) I almost gave it two stars, no matter how impressed I was with the plot/writing. It's a personal thing - I can handle everything else in this novel no matter how graphic it got, I just never ever can handle reading about women being brutalized. Hopefully trigger warnings will be added before publishing!

2/5

I really wanted to like this. I am usually a big fan of weird horror, but this was too much for me. This seemed to just be a bunch of body horror and gore with no true premise. If you were to ask me what the plot of this novel was, I would not be able to answer you. If you are a fan of gory horror, this may be for you. But it was definitely not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Dark Matter INK for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dark Matter INK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Although I DNFd this book at 25%, I plan to return to it in the future. The writing style is unique—almost experimental in a good way—with interesting characters and a killer premise. Unfortunately, the book’s numerous alternating POVs and confusing terminology made it difficult for me to stay engaged, so I’ll have to try again another time.

This is very well written, the body horror is so good, the insanity and intensity is really fun to read, and the manic nature of thoughts both from The Divine Flesh and Jennifer are wild. This is just not my cup of tea, but I know so many people who will love it!

I DNF'd this book at 25% because I genuinely struggled to wrap my head around everything that was going on. The writing was very unique and exciting to read though' It was all just very overstimulating but that's probably just me. I think if I was able to grasp it better than I did, I would enjoy it a lot more. The story is really interesting though, I love the concept, and I think I'll give it another go in the future!

Where to start when this book has SO much to throw at you?
This was an excellent read and I am so glad to have stumbled upon Drew Huff, I am sure to keep an eye out for any of his future works!
There are plenty of trigger warnings for this book but do not let this put you off; the author really does achieve to create a horror novel unlike any I have read before!
Without giving any of the plot away, I would say to just jump into the book without reading too many reviews as I think letting the book reveal itself will give you the best reading experience!

I almost feel like two is being too generous.

I love splatterpunk. I love cosmic horror. I love weird shit.

I did NOT love this. Disjointed and difficult to follow (in a bad way) and I found myself not caring enough to keep going.

While I DNF this book that is due to my own personal struggle with the writing style.

The concept is fantastic I however struggle greatly with the conversations between the divine and the FMC when they’re interacting with another character. It’s just too many POVs in a paragraph. It simply just overwhelmed my adhd brain.

But this would be a great read for someone who can handle that kind of narration between characters.

This book took a little while to get into but it was a great read - the story is so well written and captivating! Great story, writing and can’t wait to see more from this author!

💕Yud-hay-vav-hey!💕

What an intense ride this was baby!

✨️The Divine Flesh ✨️ has assimilated me, and I am one of her sweet sweet babies now, baby!

Let's start off with the trigger, baby! This is cosmic horror and splatterpunk! So there will be a lot of triggers here, it's an awesome read, just beware! (check the bottom for them!)

We start off with Jennifer-baby, a junkie, drug mule, loser and MC, ✨️The Divine Flesh✨️ a cosmic goddess stuck inside Jennifer-baby, and Darryl, Jennifer-baby's ex-husband and boyfriend of the ✨️The Divine Flesh✨️ all in a love triangle, where there's mirror people from other dimensions, murderous racists, insane evocative imagery of cosmic horrors beyond comprehension and a crazy addictive storyline that leaves you thinking into an existential crises and a possible end of it all.

This was so damn good, divine it's an understatement! I can't wait to add a physical copy to my collection, and may I say look at that cover, ugh so damn beautifully baby!

I would like to thank Drew Huff and NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this majestic e-book ARC, seriously, this was crack.

Triggers:
(DV, SA, Child abuse, extreme violence, bigotry, violence, gore and possibly leaving out some)

I probably say this a lot but it's literally only because you humans are just so gosh darn brilliant! I loved this book from beginning to end. The Divine Flesh had the most amazing sense of humor. Part One you begin to love the Divine Flesh, Jennifer and Daryl. I got to part two and was like WOAH (I don't want to give any spoilers so I am only giving reactions.) The entry of Susan was absolutely beautiful, the concept of the gods just absolutely kept me flipping through pages like no other. I cannot wait to read more of your stuff. This was an absolute masterpiece. It had the perfect amount of gore, the sexy scenes were right on point. Congrats and thank you. I loved it.

A very silly book that kind of reminded me of the John Dies at the End series. Tad bit of spooks with a bunch of humor that is not exactly hilarious but it's very very silly.

4.25/5 stars.

I'll be honest - this book felt like I was taking some drugs right along with Jennifer. But it was a good trip, all in all. I don't think the summary can truly capture just what this story is about, since it is the sort of body horror that makes your skin crawl (with a thousand mouths growing on your tongue?) and hair stand up on the back of your neck.

Jennifer has always been host to the Divine Flesh, an ancient god who has the ability to manipulate dead/dying flesh and create something new with it. Jennifer is a junkie who has never said no to a drug or drink that's crossed her path, living in what seems to be a blackout state, teetering on the edge of consciousness and sanity. Both vie for control of her body, constantly speaking through subconscious.

That is, until Jennifer takes the aforementioned drug in the summary and splits them in two.

What isn't mentioned in the summary are some of the side stories including <spoiler> beings from different universes, brought by their dying God; small town racists who want to cleanse their world from junkies and drug dealers like Jennifer; and the mystery of a 10-year-old lynching of a man. While reading, I wasn't sure how Drew Huff was going to tie all the ends together, but they do a pretty decent job at it.</spoiler>

The reason for the 4.25 stars is really two-fold. The first, I feel like the pacing was a little off. The beginning was slow, even beyond setting the scene, and then we are thrust into this chaotic dreamscape of the Divine Flesh's creation. The second, also to do with pacing, is that after the midpoint, it feels a little choppy with the timeline. The story flows, but the interspersed non-linear sections throw me out of my reading flow. But that works for what the story is and being in Jennifer's mind, so it's not exactly a minus!

If you like body horror, cosmic gods being Loving (in their own way), and a story that isn't about redemption as much as realization, this one is for you.

Extreme cosmic body horror alert 🚨 God is a woman…and she’s a freak! (Read the content warnings, it gets uncomfortable at times.)

Oof this book almost sent me into an existential crisis. It’s pretty fucked up and gets grosser/better as it goes on. Crazy, weird, and world-bendy with violence, gore, and a horrific love cult thing happening. Lots of drugs, lots of self loathing, and lots of abuse.

There are quite a few characters, but the structure of the story is one you have to jump right into. The world building and plot are twisted and shaped along the way. The characters are a hard sell, (quite unlikable) but they make the book worth reading.
Also, I’m in love the cover.

The most shocking part for me was the epilogue? Because what? A HEA after all of that? I never had a clue what was going to happen 😱

The cover and synopsis instantly pulled me in. I was so, so excited to get started and have it potentially be a new all time favorite. Unfortunately, that wasn't what ended up happening. I restarted this book a total of three times, hoping that I was just picking it up at the wrong time. After the final try, making it approximately 11%, I have decided to DNF. While I'm very interested in The Divine Flesh as a character, I couldn't get in to this writing style. It was so long winded, but also confusing. I would rather read a spoiler review than actually read the book for myself. I am so heartbroken. I really wanted to love this.

Take Clive Barker’s lurid world building, mix in Chuck Palahniuk’s audacious nerve, and top it off with Rachel Harrison’s storytelling, and you have something approaching The Divine Flesh. With her sophomore novel, Drew Huff presents a book that roars, equal parts rage and redemption, terror and transformation. This is what modern horror should be doing.

The Divine Flesh (Dark Matter Ink, March 2025)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7037352855

Are YOU a freak, pervert, or weirdo endlessly attracted to (and possibly aroused by) depictions of flesh transformed and desecrated? You should read The Divine Flesh. Even if the answer to that question is no, you should read The Divine Flesh.

In this story of tendrils, deities, and parasites, God is flesh. All is flesh, almost. The body is home for violence, for sex, for drugs, for worship, adoration, and for abomination. The novel, broadly, follows Jennifer, her husband Darryl, and their relationship in the face of a fight against addiction, parasites, Gods, fascism, and human vessels carrying larvae.

Drew Huff, a name that is appearing more and more frequently in short-story genre collections, pulls from a conceit of scorned lovers, addicts, and a cosmic love triangle an epic, exhaustive, and over-reaching treatise on female bodily autonomy, Queer rights, and the apathy of a God that allows babies to be born addicted to heroin, to name but a few. In fact, the gamut of moral, theological, and philosophical musings is so wide there’s the temptation to fault the novel for it’s inability to focus, but this would be futile in the face of what is essentially one long, too long possibly, gooey climax with all the sloppy chaos that that entails. What I’m saying is The Divine Flesh is baggy and scatty and full of narratives asides, but they feel encoded into the very DNA of the book. What else could a book about a transformative God in love with humanity and yet painfully unaware of the violence of Her kindness be if not too ambitious?

Obvious allusions to Clive Barker and David Cronenberg do little to minimise the text’s originality and offer a post-modern-ish edge to proceedings. However, it is Twin Peaks, specifically The Return, that feels the most thematically aligned with the part domestic and part inter-dimensional darkness lying at the centre of this novel. In both texts, ‘creator’ figures from a realm beyond ours construct and shape the tragedies of our lives, escaping through places and acts that hang on the very edge of reality: gas stations, drug deals, and sites of domestic abuse. This shared energy extends to Barker too, and present in all of these texts is the idea that the most infinite and unimaginable cruelty exists not in creatures beyond our understanding but in the homes of the nuclear families of America.

This darkness, this violence, this reprehensible ugliness thrives in the contemporary right-wing, both in this novel and in general, destabilised by their own anxieties and driven by capitalist enemies into spaces of pure hatred. Huff’s point is clear but not didactic: conservatism is American threat, and it is festering in plain sight.

A must read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Drew Huff, and Dark Matter Ink for the ARC.