NetGalley Review: Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J Munden
Hey all, Sam here.
Am I back with another cozy fantasy book review? Well of course I am! Yesterday was this book’s birthday, so welcome to the world. I literally read this the day after reading The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong, so one could definitely say that I am in a cozy book mood…and you know what? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I’m also in the moody for atmospheric and spooky-adjacent books, so hopefully I’ll be able to satisfy all of those book cravings with my reads this month. I’m doing a pretty great job of it so far, with plenty more books (and book reviews) to come.
Actually, I was trying to plot out my review schedule for at least the next few weeks, and, if I can get everything typed up in time, I should have a post up roughly every other day now until at least mid-November, which is pretty awesome. At least six of those posts are about other cozy fantasy books that I’ve read somewhat recently (or re-read somewhat recently).
Oh, and I actually think everything I have planned to review for about the next month is also one of my approved on NetGalley books, so all these reviews might actually help boost my review ratio a tiny smidge. I know it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to get myself up to the preferred 80% though. I think I need to write up like 200 reviews without getting any more approvals…and considering I just can’t get myself to stop requesting books, I don’t see the catch up happening any time soon. At this point I think I’ll be happy if I can increase my percentage by 20-30%. We’ll see what happens.
All right, that’s enough chatter. Let’s go ahead and dive into today’s book review. Oh, and remember, you can pick up a copy of this book for yourself now, because this book is out now! I’m grabbing my copy when I go to Barnes & Noble later.
My Thoughts
An undead orc knight leaves battle behind for a new kind of afterlife—one with good food, good friends, and maybe even fatherhood.
Rottgor is worn out. Literally. Barely held together by dark magic, he has protected the Necropolis for centuries. When he’s forced into retirement, he’s faced with a new to forge a future guided not by obligation, but by passion.
Following his heart (and stomach), he decides to open a restaurant where the city’s undead and living residents can share food and community. He’s helped in his quest by an unlikely assortment of neighbors, including elves, skeletons, vampires—and a young orphan girl named Astra, whose ancestry, if discovered, could put her and the entire Necropolis in danger. To protect Astra and the life he’s building, Rottgor must face his past and form new alliances built on friendship, loyalty, and love. As comforting as warm pumpkin bread, this gentle fantasy traces how even a dark history can rise into a bright future.
Rating: 5 stars
The first thing I’m going to say is do not read this book on an empty stomach. There’s a lot of description of food and of cooking, and I know it made me hungry, so I’m going to give y’all a polite warning about keeping snacks around while you read.
When it comes to stories about undead I can get a little picky at times. Like books with zombies…not my favorite. I’m not a big fan of zombies; they creep me out, especially when they have a little bit of a mind/personality/agenda, and especially zombie romance because I find that gross. Vampires and ghosts are totally fine for me and I actually do like stories with those creature types in them. Necromancers are fine (probably because their zombie minions are basically just mindless servants so they don’t creep me out as much).
This book has a few kinds of undead, and yet it has so much heart and warmth to it that you pretty much forget that so many of the characters are undead…you know until they mention things like having died centuries ago or whatever. I liked the set-up and worldbuilding of Necropolis. It was an interesting place, and you could tell there was some tension between some of the living people and the undead folk. Honestly so much of that felt like a reflection of racial tensions and issues happening in the real world now, so if that’s something you’re sensitive to then I guess this is a warning to check your mental and emotional state as you read this book. And I hope you do read this book. Everything works out in the end here (and I’m hoping it will in the real world too).
Rottgor is a solid main character, and all the friends he has from his undead life at the beginning of the story, as well as the new friends he meets as he embarks on this unexpected afterlife retirement adventure are all just so intriguing and quirky. It was so easy to read this book because this whole community was so wholesome and fascinating.
While this book does have cozy fantasy elements, there are times of heightening tension and heightened action, so it’s not all coziness and comfort. Rottgor has to fight for the life of his retirement and the people he holds close, and that leads to an exciting and action-filled climax.
I read this book so quickly, and I’m kind of sad that it’s over. I want more from these characters and this world. Which, I guess it’s fun and interesting that author Deston J. Munden self-published some works, including Tavern, which is apparently also set in this world (although it might be in the past of this world; I don’t know). I do know that I have Tavern by Deston J. Munden on my Kindle, so I will likely be reading it sometime soon.
I can’t wait to have a finished copy of this book on my shelf, and I definitely know this will be one of those cozy fantasy reads I will continue to recommend. It was a lovely time, and I can’t wait to see what’s next from the author (as well as what’s next from the Bindery imprint, Cozy Quill Press).
All right, well that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
