Dating & Dismemberment

Mating and Monsters #1

by A.L. Brody

Emily Henry meets Grady Hendrix in the funniest and most and original romantic comedy of the year: a monstrously feel good cozy fantasy full of love, laughter, lore, and limbs.

Darla Drake, Duchess of Death, is a legendary monster who has haunted the woods around Camp Clear Creek for years. Until an existential crisis forces her to take a sabbatical from wreaking havoc on pimply teens while she figures out what she really wants from the rest of her (possibly infinite) life. But what does a monster do when her malevolent days are over? For Darla, it’s spending time with the decapitated―yet still overbearing―head of her mother, reading romance novels she steals from campers, and struggling with one monstrous case of melancholy. Until Jarko Murkvale arrives in Clear Creek and turns Darla’s life upside down.

Jarko is a conceited, arrogant, infuriating, and unfortunately for Darla, kind of hot. And with the Duchess of Death on the shelf, Jarko has staked his claim on Camp Clear Creek. But Darla refuses to go down without a fight, and so in order to reclaim her territory she challenges Jarko to a series of hunts to see who the most fearsome monster really is.

But the more mayhem they cause, the more Darla begins to realize there’s more to this brash monster than she believed…and that Jarko may just be the antidote to her ennui. But there’s a reason Jarko came to Clear Creek, and in order to fill her nine-chambered heart, Darla will have to unravel the mystery of who this closed-off monster really is. And if they can manage to not literally tear each other limb from limb, Darla and Jarko just might find that couples who slay together, stay together.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Horror, Romantasy, Monster Romance, Paranormal, Monsters

352 pages, Paperback

Published October 8, 2024

About the author

A.L. Brody is the pen name of an internationally bestselling author who grew up loving classic monster movies and despite a love of watching teenagers get dispatched on screen in ever more creative and horrifying ways, he is deep down a romantic at heart. He is the author of DATING & DISMEMBERMENT and THE REAPER'S SON. He lives with his family in a cave in a swampy hellscape (aka New Jersey).Visit him on TikTok at @JerseyBookGuy or X/Twitter and Instagram at @JasonPinter.

Reviews

[Emms-hiatus(ish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A monster romcom with no spice. Idk how I feel about that 🤣

This book is just fun. As a child raised on horror movies, it made me feel very nostalgic.

While I never laughed out loud, I did grin like a maniac.

The com was a joy, the rom needed fleshed out a bit more. It also needed another pass through editing.

I hope the author gives us more stories in this world!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full Disclaimer: I follow the author on social media. I think he's hilarious. Therefore, I NEEDED to read this book.

Pure fun. Belly laughing level hilarity. Gorgeous writing. One of the greatest love stories ever told has been two monsters( Darla Drake, Duchess of Death, and Jarko Murkvale). I hope that this gets nominated for Best Romance of 2023 in the Goodreads Awards. The human characters can't always win!

Original. Romantic. Comedy.


Goodreads review published 18/08/23

[Vivian Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monster romance with a twist of cozy fantasy—what's not to love? I fun, breezy read with lots of humor. Can't wait to see what A.L. Brody does next!

[Krista ⟡ Ever Bookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

❥ Thank you for the free book, Entangled Publishing.
 
Despite not really being into monster romance or gory details, this romcom was a fun ride! The author grew up on classic monster movies, and I think that love shined through via a fun plot and well-developed characters. Darla and Jarko are entertaining monsters, and I surprisingly enjoyed their story. Light in spice and heavy in ghoulish humor, this is a great read for spooky season.

[Estíbaliz Montero Iniesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

YOUTUBE / INSTAGRAM 
Entretenido y bastante original, aunque el final un poco apresurado. La historia corta final se me ha hecho un pelín pesada. Al parecer, habrá continuación, pero este primero se puede leer como autoconclusivo.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun read! I loved the character building that went into this. Every monster was unique. I think every character had a fun aspect to them. Their abilities and what they used to hunt were great.

I loved the dynamic between Darla and Jarko. The banter was great. I felt that they each helped each other overcome their pasts and inner turmoil. I liked that they developed a friendship before hand.

If you're looking for a cozy monster rom com then give this one a shot!

Thank you to @entangled_publishing and @albrodybooks for the gifted physical copy.

[María · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tremendo mierdote como una catedral de grande. Gracias a él he caído inconsciente 3 veces. Es como tomar sedante para caballos, pero más aburrido.

Me es difícil hacer una reseña de un libro tan inane. ¿Qué os cuento de esta cosa? Si es que no tiene contenido por ningún lado, NO HAY TRAMA. Solo tenemos a una monstrua en crisis, a su madre sin cuerpo y al pesado de los tentáculos. Ese es el libro. Fin.

Intenta hacer un alegato feminista, antifascista, LGTBI etc etc pero está tan mal llevado y está todo tan mal escrito que cuando entiendes lo que quiere contar, ya estás dormida o disociada.

¿Quién ha corregido esto?, ¿quién le ha dado el visto bueno?, ¿quién ha leído esos chistes y ha dicho "jajajajaja son TAN GRACIOSOS"? Y, sobre todo, ¿por qué? ¿Es esto algún tipo de venganza personal que nos estamos comiendo de rebote? Tengo muchas preguntas.

Nunca había leído unos diálogos tan malos (y os aseguro que he leído libros de romance que deberían estar catalogados como terror). Todo el rato sentía una vergüenza tan grande, unas ganas de dejar de leer ESA COSA... Terrible. Trágico.

Y ¿qué decir del final? ¿Cómo cierras una trama que NO EXISTE? Pues con los dos únicos conflictos que tienes. Hala, aparcao. Se habrá quedado a gustísimo mi colega Brody, después de acribillarnos a chistes malos, a tramas vacías y a diálogos que destilan cringe habrá dicho "pues habrá que hacer un final a la altura". Di que sí, hombre.

En fin, os voy a ahorrar dinero, sufrimiento y toneladas de vergüenza ajena: huid.

[ReneeReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so quirky, lighthearted, humorous, and fun. It's a cozy, monster themed enemies to lovers rom-com that is full of gross but funny murdery moments. It's campy and crazy and incredulous but a must read!

[BB · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 KindleUnlimited

It was ok. I have to assume AL Brody was recently blessed with knowledge of citrine. Why? Because Jarko's frigging citrine eyes come up at least 4 or 5 times the same way my nephew got excited when he started flushing the toilet himself

Anyway. Other thoughts. It's fine? Not super engaging. Pretty much one layer/level. No spice. Tepid chemistry(which makes no spice the right choice). No real development. Things just happen or don't. Darla and Jarko both come across simple/younger than their alleged 30 somethings. Their dynamic would fit teenagers better

At one point my mind wandered at the description of a corpse, like the real world clean up. I don't think it's a great sign when my mind easily wanders when ass deep in the story. Or that at the end there's a bonus chapter from Jarko's pov and I didn't care

Violent, shallow, easy to read/low stakes.

[Jessie Gaupel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have dnf-ed, I SHOULD HAVE DNF-ED!!! This book is incredibly frustrating. The repetition of pet phrases, descriptors, information etc. alone makes me wonder how it got published, not to mention the lackluster characters, the non-existent plot, and the unbearable dialogue. It’s a mess and I am begging publisher’s to bring back editing sheesh

[Bailey Curry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off strong for me or at least strong like. Then after a couple of chapters I wanted it to be over. I love aspects of this book like Darla's relationship with her Mother. I think this book just had either no editor or one who did not care about this book. Like how they constantly repeated the same sentiments over and over again. The dialog also felt weird where it would repeat.

[Lucía Cafeína · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5?
Para nada ha sido lo que esperaba: está entretenido, pero resulta más middle grade que juvenil, sin apenas profundidad en los personajes ni en la trama; es original, y tiene su toque gracioso, pero no ha sido tan divertido como prometía.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was super into the vibes in this one but unfortunately it was fade to black 😔

[Lily Haven · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll start with the non-spoiler section of my review:

This book started out as 'meh' for me and it continued that way, until about the 2/3rds point where it dropped even farther. For a "romcom" there was very little comedy. I think I chuckled 3 times throughout reading the entire novel, and there wasn't a single hearty laugh to be found.

If you are looking for anything original, it's not here. Not in the story arc, and not in the "romance".

If you want to read something because you are bored and have time and nothing better to do, maybe pick it up if it looks interesting, but otherwise I would say don't waste your time.

Now for the spoiler section of my review:

Spoilers below *********************************************

The "romance" of this book is literally the most boilerplate plot line for any romance. Girl is lonely, meets emotionally unavailable boy who lacks all sense of emotional intelligence whom she hates, said boy essentially negs girl and she, for some inexplicable reason, finds that attractive so she gets hooked on him and hate starts to turn into love, only for him to shove her away... Girl chases boy (she can change him!) until she gets sick of chasing boy and she tells him to take a hike, and then she flirts with a different boy, first boy gets jealous and boy comes to save the day, he redeems himself....both realize they love each other, happy ending.

The "romantic" scene in the middle of the book is ridiculous. There was nothing romantic about it. He tells her how he came there to be alone and she ruined that....and that is attractive? Had a man spoken to me the way Jarko speaks to Darla in this scene I would have told him to eff off and would have never spoken to him again, but for some weird reason this turned into the two of them flirting?

The author clearly realizes about 2/3rds into the book that he doesn't have enough real romance to make his audience happy, so he starts pandering to women with a conversation that literally does nothing for the story. These are monsters out in the world who murder humans but start talking about how long it takes for humans to recover from birth and that women should get a year or two of time off after having a child so they can recover and take care of their kids. Pander much? Oh the audience who is surely mostly female will think that I get it and I hear them if I put this in my book! You sir are no Terry Pratchett, there is a far cry of social commentary through humor to bring injustice to light verses pandering to your audience because your narrative can't carry itself enough to be genuinely funny. Furthermore a couple mentions in the book about how human women should have more respect do nothing to counter act the fact that the primary female character of the story is just another woman who pines over an emotionally unavailable man who changes because of her love rather than a truly independent woman who lets a real man of quality into her life after he earns that place.

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maiming, swamp-water-guzzling, and monstrous smooching, What an absolute joy! This story had me giggling and cringing in the best possible way.

Dating & Dismemberment is funny, light hearted, and a little horrifying. This is the perfect book to pick up if you’re in the mood for something cute and cozy with enough action to keep things interesting.

This story follows Darla Drake, the Duchess of Death, who grows weary of hunting her camp grounds and decides to take a sabbatical. During her time off, her territory is claimed by a monstrous (handsome) annoying (charming) stranger. The two have to duke it out- only one monster can claim the camp grounds!

My favorite part was the bodily descriptions of the characters- these monsters are anatomically absurd.

I loved it!! Such an enjoyable read, it kept me smiling the whole time.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was light-hearted and funny. It had a refreshing perspective on how monsters may view the world. I liked the character of Darla, she was bad ass, ruthless, and still had a strict moral code that she developed and adhered to. It was amusing throughout, but didn't have any parts that made me stop and have a laugh-out-loud moment (nor the joy of laughing so hard I cried). I liked all the strange descriptions and names/titles of the monster community. One of my favorite things was the grand gesture of love, I was so happy her mom gets her body back! Enjoyable and an amusing read, would translate really well into an animated film, I think (I'd totally watch it).

[Jen (noelle w. ihli's version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

yes if you want a lighthearted monster romcom
yes if you want to shut your brain off for a lil
yes if you want NO SMUT whatsoever even tho it's alluded to a couple times and could make it in there and be REAL GOOD
yes if you can get past terrible horrible editing- think spelling errors, incorrect word choices, repetitive phrasing, repetitive conversations, repetitive references, etc
yes if you love stubborn MCs
yes if you would prefer to relate to the FMCs BFF
yes if you want fun

no if you want a good compelling read*

*just bc something isn't GOOD doesn't mean i didn't like it

[Fiebre Lectora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reseña completa: https://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com/20...

Darla, Duquesa de la muerte, es una monstruo legendaria que ha aterrorizado al campamento de Aguaclara durante años hasta que sufre una crisis existencial y decide tomarse un año sabático para plantearse qué quiere hacer el resto de su larguísima vida... hasta que Jarko, un nuevo monstruo, llega a sus dominios pretendiendo hacerlo propios y pone la vida de Darla patas arriba. Así, ambos se enfrentarán por el territorio, y cuando más caos desaten, más verá Darla que Jarko puede significar más para ella de lo que imaginaba.

Luces y sombras: por un lado, reconozco que la idea de una comedia romántica protagonizada por monstruos me parece la mar de original y divertida, pero en este caso, a pesar de ser entretenida y ligera, no ha logrado satisfacer mis expectativas, probablemente porque siento que iba dirigida a un público mucho más juvenil, o middle grade, por la forma en que está narrado.

[Kay H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another audiobook I finished in one day, and smiled the whole time. Like Butcher and Blackbird but with light spice, much more campy and a heavy hand of monster humor. I want to be a monster in this world, it sounds like a delight.

[Devin Willson · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly it's my fault for reading a straight monster romance - i spent the whole book feeling like it could be gayer 😔
i think my friend khai has led me to believe all monsters are gay and then these ones didn't have even a gay bone in their body and it felt Wrong.

i'll go back to my "someone you can build a nest in" pls and thank you

[Kaitlyn 🌙 🦇 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very humorous, campy, and cute read. It makes me wish monsters were real because I’m all for the street justice they serve to bad humans.

[Cassandra]

oh i’ll eat this up dude

[Ari bookedmybook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A.L. Brody - Dating & Dismemberment (reading copy from Entangled)

Darla Drake, Duchess of Death, is having an existential life crisis. After spending years spreading terror among teens at Camp Clear Creek, Darla no longer finds joy in killing. She takes a sabbathical year where she does nothing except steal from campers and spend time with her mother’s decapitated head (she’s completely fine, just hanging on the wall reading romance novels on a stolen kindle!). One day Jarko shows up at Camp Clear Creek to wreck havoc, but Darla won’t have any of it. This is her territory and Jarko is mad if he thinks she’s going to back down. So begins a battle of who is the better monster. But to beat your enemy, you have to know your enemy and Darla might like Jarko more than she expected.

This was a fun twist on a monster romance. From the blurb I thought it founded funny and entertaining, but it was also surprisingly deep. In addition to the romance it tackled topics such as grief, generational divide, morality and the weight of parental expectations. Darla doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life. She’s tired of killing and she’s tired of her mother’s nagging. Her best friend is having a baby and everyone just seems to move on with their life while she’s at a standstill. Things have been like this ever since her father left and her mother was decapitated.

Jarko has his own struggles with commitment but shakes up Darla’s life. He challenges her and forces her out of her comfort zone. Seeing their relationship evolve is great. She’s so negative and grumpy while he’s truly fond of her and her reputation. It’s a reverse grumpy x sunshine and kind of rivals to lovers. Their banter and creative insults brings a humoristic relief to the story and adds another layer of entertainment.

Their love story was really sweet, who would’ve thought a monster could be such a gentleman? 🤭 There’s a lot to be said about the novel, but I think you just should read it and experience the story yourself. I’m excited about the sequel as well!

Reading this like as a readalong with Entangled Insiders were a fun, interactive experience and I felt I experienced the book in a new way. Thank you so much for gifting me an ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Veronica Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely a very fun and unique read. I really enjoyed the main characters & the hunts they went on. It made me feel like I was reading a script for an upcoming movie.

I’m a huge horror movie buff, so reading about the perspective of these monsters and why they hunt & kill certain people was really enjoyable.

Towards the end, however, I was losing interest. The conversations between Darla and Jarko were getting a little frustrating and there were a lot of moments that felt like fillers. But I enjoyed it regardless!

[Eve Rants & Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was campy, gory, and just plain fun. No spice—which was totally fine—but there were some hilarious phallic references that made me snort. The lore, world-building, and characters were really good, and the metaphors and messaging added a surprising amount of depth (wrapped in all the blood and guts, of course).

I had such a blast that I even read the secondary story and bonus chapter. Who am I? I never do that! If you’re into campy horror with cheeky humor and great storytelling, this one’s an absolute treat.

[Nikkisfictionaddiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dating and Dismemberment
By: A. L Brody
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️.5 (Pg-13)

Blurb:
Emily Henry meets Grady Hendrix in the funniest and most and original romantic comedy of the year: a monstrously feel good cozy fantasy full of love, laughter, lore, and limbs.

Darla Drake, Duchess of Death, is a legendary monster who has haunted the woods around Camp Clear Creek for years. But when an existential crisis forces her to take a sabbatical from wreaking havoc on teenagers, Darla must figure out what she really wants from the rest of her (possibly infinite) life. So what does a monster do when her malevolent days are over? For Darla, it’s spending time with the decapitated—yet still overbearing—head of her mother, Dolores, reading romance novels she steals from campers, and struggling with one monstrous case of melancholy. Until Jarko Murkvale arrives in Clear Creek and turns Darla’s life upside down.

Jarko is a conceited, arrogant, infuriating, and unfortunately for Darla, kind of hot. And with the Duchess of Death on the shelf, Jarko has staked his claim on Camp Clear Creek. But Darla refuses to go down without a fight, and so in order to reclaim her territory she challenges Jarko to a series of hunts to see who the most fearsome monster really is.

But the more mayhem they cause, the more Darla begins to realize there’s more to this brash monster than she believed…and that Jarko may just be the antidote to her ennui. But there’s a reason Jarko came to Clear Creek, and in order to fill her nine-chambered heart, Darla will have to unravel the mystery of who this closed-off monster really is. And if they can manage to not literally tear each other limb from limb, Darla and Jarko just might find that couples who slay together, stay together.
*****
Omgoodness I loved this cozy monster slice of life story so much! Let me start off saying that Darka Drake, Duchess of Darkness reminds me so much of my all time favorite FMC ever, Poppy Balfour (From Blood and Ash). Darla is the perfect combination of sassy, stabby,and badass!

Jarko Murkvale should probably win the book boyfriend of the year award! I don’t want to spoil any part of the story for you, so you definitely need to read Dating and Dismemberment to find out why! I adore him!

Darla’s mom Dolores really just made this story for me! She was so sassy and mouthy and just loved Darla to pieces. It just touched my heart so much!

[sol_lara.books · Rating 5 out of 5]

La primera vez que escuche el título imagine una lectura graciosa con tintes oscuros, pero meramente superficial. Sin embargo, el autor me sorprendió gratamente con una historia profundamente conmovedora y reflexiva, que va mucho más allá de lo que su premisa monstruosa podría sugerir 🥹

Lo que realmente para mi eleva esta historia es la manera en que el autor aborda las relaciones humanas. A pesar de que los protagonistas son seres monstruosos, sus luchas y dinámicas me resonaron con una autenticidad asombrosa.

Vemos reflejadas nuestras propias complejidades en su búsqueda de conexión, en la necesidad de encontrar a aquellos que nos entienden y nos aceptan tal como somos, creando un found family que trasciende los lazos de sangre.

Además, la narrativa se adentra en temas como la búsqueda de nuestra misión en el mundo y como ese propósito nos impulsa y nos da sentido, incluso cuando nuestros “trabajos” implican desmembrar. Ame la forma en la que se describe la administración del trabajo de los monstruos, con su ingeniosa evolución y ¡hasta tienen una app!, para mí esto le dio un toque de originalidad y humor.

El personaje de Jako explora el duelo y la culpa. La historia aborda el peso de las decisiones pasadas y las emociones complejas que surgen de la pérdida y el arrepentimiento. Es en estos momentos de vulnerabilidad de los personajes, me olvidaba incluso que se trataba de “monstruos” porque lograba una conexión total con sus emociones.

La historia de amor entre Darla y Jarko me dejó suspirando. Su relación es un deleite, llena de chispas, ingenio y una química innegable. Es un romance que te hace creer en la posibilidad de encontrar el amor en los lugares más inesperados, incluso en medio del caos y el “desmembramiento”.

𝙲’𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎 𝚗𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚙𝚘���𝚛 𝚕𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚘𝚜

Esta es mucho más que una comedia romántica con monstruos, sin duda fue un libro que sorprendió y que recomiendo totalmente.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This is a very silly book - and yes, I'm aware that it was trying to be silly. I'm not a monster (or maybe I am?). This just felt weird to me - I like cozy fantasy as a genre, and I like romcoms, and this was supposed to be a mash of the two. And it was - kinda.

It was short and rushed. There was a ton of exposition but very little substantive plot that happened - it felt like it was trying to cram in as many pop culture references as it could instead. I like the characters, and I thought Darla & Jacko's competition was a fun idea. The book just seemed to lose steam after about 60%. I really like the idea of this but think it needed maybe another draft - there's so many more opportunities here that were missed or glossed over.

Best part - the trigger warning of "bad things happening to people named Kyle." My partner is very suspicious.

[CiCi | bookameme · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most unique story lines I’ve read in a while. It was hilarious and creative.

I loved the way Brody reimagined the world for monsters. They were the stuff of nightmares but so keenly relatable and lovable that I couldn’t help but root for them. The plot was stuffed social commentary and witty one liners on equal measure. The strong romcom vibe made the whole story sweet, but the violent natures of the monsters kept me cognitively aware of their otherness the entire time.

It was the perfect mashup of the dark romcom genre of Butcher & Blackbird and monster love with a side of slapstick comedy and horror.

[Morgan Le Fay ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’ve watched cartoons with really specific worlds that are designed around their whole niche, this will remind you of that logic (think All Real Monsters, Helluva Boss, Monsters Inc, etc).

The world building is definitely amusing, though don’t think too hard on the logic. Just enjoy the silliness. I do think the majority didn’t feel like a mature book, but they’d also reference murder, sex, and drugs just enough that it did put it in this odd place. I think maybe actually upping the factors on the writing would make it work a little better for the age range intended.