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Grief Eater
Visceral, gritty, and unforgiving, GRIEF EATER is a zombie story like you’ve never read before.
When Kristina rises from her violent death, she’s not the same fragile woman her family once abandoned. She’s rageful, powerful, and hungry—for the blood of the ones who were supposed to love her. With a newfound craving to see vengeance and grief served, she launches into a once-in-an-undead-lifetime journey across blood-slicked highways to the scorched Australian bush and her hometown. As her body fails and her mind fractures, she’s left with one final question: Is she here to forgive, or to feed?
A transgressive, gory examination of queer identity and found family, GRIEF EATER sinks its teeth into trauma and what it means to be devoured by grief.
Advance Praise for Grief Eater
“Grief Eater is a scathing rebuke. And yet it has so much heart. Every line of Osborne’s gorgeous prose is a knife that cuts like a balm. Lyrical, constantly surprising, essential—Grief Eater takes a familiar genre and transforms it into something entirely new.” —Cadwell Turnbull, award-winning author of the Convergence Saga
“This story will not spare you. It will reach into your chest and eat your heart. Osborne writes with brutal clarity about abuse and betrayal, about the queer joy and chosen family that will help you survive it. About how love and a quest for vengeance can be strong enough to move the dead. I’ve never read anything like it.” —K Tidbeck, author of Amatka and Jagannath.
“Grief Eater is an embodied, sensory experience: screaming, snarling grief; monstrous hunger; the desire for answers that can only be found in blood. Horror at its finest, as glorious, gory relief and release.” —Angela Meyer, author of Moon Sugar
“Soaked in blood and loss, Grief Eater is a bittersweet tale that is redolent with the transformative closure that comes after confronting painful trauma. A visceral and unflinching read!” —Suzan Palumbo, author of Skin Thief: Stories and Countess
When Kristina rises from her violent death, she’s not the same fragile woman her family once abandoned. She’s rageful, powerful, and hungry—for the blood of the ones who were supposed to love her. With a newfound craving to see vengeance and grief served, she launches into a once-in-an-undead-lifetime journey across blood-slicked highways to the scorched Australian bush and her hometown. As her body fails and her mind fractures, she’s left with one final question: Is she here to forgive, or to feed?
A transgressive, gory examination of queer identity and found family, GRIEF EATER sinks its teeth into trauma and what it means to be devoured by grief.
Advance Praise for Grief Eater
“Grief Eater is a scathing rebuke. And yet it has so much heart. Every line of Osborne’s gorgeous prose is a knife that cuts like a balm. Lyrical, constantly surprising, essential—Grief Eater takes a familiar genre and transforms it into something entirely new.” —Cadwell Turnbull, award-winning author of the Convergence Saga
“This story will not spare you. It will reach into your chest and eat your heart. Osborne writes with brutal clarity about abuse and betrayal, about the queer joy and chosen family that will help you survive it. About how love and a quest for vengeance can be strong enough to move the dead. I’ve never read anything like it.” —K Tidbeck, author of Amatka and Jagannath.
“Grief Eater is an embodied, sensory experience: screaming, snarling grief; monstrous hunger; the desire for answers that can only be found in blood. Horror at its finest, as glorious, gory relief and release.” —Angela Meyer, author of Moon Sugar
“Soaked in blood and loss, Grief Eater is a bittersweet tale that is redolent with the transformative closure that comes after confronting painful trauma. A visceral and unflinching read!” —Suzan Palumbo, author of Skin Thief: Stories and Countess
94 pages, ebook
Published June 1, 2026
About the author
Emma Osborne
11 books60 followersEmma Osborne (they/them) is a queer fiction writer and poet from Naarm Melbourne, Australia. Emma’s writing has appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Shock Totem, Apex Magazine, Queers Destroy Science Fiction, Pseudopod, the Review of Australian Fiction, the Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror, GlitterShip, HOMETOWN HAUNTS edited by Poppy Nwosu and WASTELANDS 3 edited by John Joseph Adams.
Emma is a graduate of the 2016 Clarion West Writers Workshop and are an Aurealis and Australian Shadows Award finalist.
Their debut novella “Grief Eater” is forthcoming at Interstellar Flight Press. They currently live in Sunbury with their girlfriend and three wonderful cats. You can find Emma on BlueSky at @redscribe.
Emma is a graduate of the 2016 Clarion West Writers Workshop and are an Aurealis and Australian Shadows Award finalist.
Their debut novella “Grief Eater” is forthcoming at Interstellar Flight Press. They currently live in Sunbury with their girlfriend and three wonderful cats. You can find Emma on BlueSky at @redscribe.
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐️ 5 ⭐️ An apocalypse and the bite is lethal. The bite turns you into the undead. Kristina is one of the undead. Kristina is an abomination. A product of so many wrongdoings by their family. They have grief and monstrosity written all over them. They kill, they eat and they want REVENGE. They are vengeful and no longer fragile...no longer hiding from the painful trauma.
My goodness, Grief Eater is fantastic. In under 100 pages, this little novella blooms with rage and the need to take back the control. It tells a story of a queer woman, Kristina (they/them), who is out for blood after rising from the dead. Kristina has a strong desire to make her family pay for all the years of physical and psychological abuse they bestowed upon them and trust me, the family deserves it!
Every time Kristina feeds, they are able to see some memories and feelings. The first kill opens them up to this gift and Kristina NEEDS to know if she was ever loved or remembered by her family. Through flashbacks, Osbourne captures the complex portrayal of abuse, grief and trauma. The cruelty that Kristina experienced drives the revenge/vengeance arc forward and is guaranteed to rile up your emotions. The narrative is quite visceral and unapologetic, exactly how I like my horror novels to be. So much is packed into this novel and its amazing how the author was able to achieve this flawlessly and with so much care. I was in awe of the beautiful prose and how the story flowed. There is quite a lot of grief packed in these pages but this story is so much more than that of an identity/Queer fiction. Its a story about not being seen. How family and others judge you without really seeing the real you, the most deep-felt, beautiful parts of you.
Grief Eater excels in literary elements and its sharp edges allow the story to feel more sensory and brutal..yet underneath all the savage visuals, Osborne maintains its tenderness.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Interstellar Flight Press and the author, Emma Osborne for an early ARC.
publication date: June 1st, 2026
My goodness, Grief Eater is fantastic. In under 100 pages, this little novella blooms with rage and the need to take back the control. It tells a story of a queer woman, Kristina (they/them), who is out for blood after rising from the dead. Kristina has a strong desire to make her family pay for all the years of physical and psychological abuse they bestowed upon them and trust me, the family deserves it!
Every time Kristina feeds, they are able to see some memories and feelings. The first kill opens them up to this gift and Kristina NEEDS to know if she was ever loved or remembered by her family. Through flashbacks, Osbourne captures the complex portrayal of abuse, grief and trauma. The cruelty that Kristina experienced drives the revenge/vengeance arc forward and is guaranteed to rile up your emotions. The narrative is quite visceral and unapologetic, exactly how I like my horror novels to be. So much is packed into this novel and its amazing how the author was able to achieve this flawlessly and with so much care. I was in awe of the beautiful prose and how the story flowed. There is quite a lot of grief packed in these pages but this story is so much more than that of an identity/Queer fiction. Its a story about not being seen. How family and others judge you without really seeing the real you, the most deep-felt, beautiful parts of you.
Grief Eater excels in literary elements and its sharp edges allow the story to feel more sensory and brutal..yet underneath all the savage visuals, Osborne maintains its tenderness.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Interstellar Flight Press and the author, Emma Osborne for an early ARC.
publication date: June 1st, 2026
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
GRIEF. 🖤 BLOOD. 🩸 HUNGER. 🥩 In this queer zombie novella, told from the perspective of a girl who is already undead, horror and grief are so tightly intertwined that the monster story and the emotional story never really separate. It throws you straight into the horror and then wrecks you with its grief, trauma, and tenderness. This novella resonated with me in a big way and moved me more than I expected.
I had some mixed feelings about this one at first, but I ended up truly enjoying it, and parts of it hit me in a way that felt very personal.
As I mentioned, my first impression, honestly, was not the strongest. Just a few chapters in, I felt like the writing was more workmanlike than I enjoy—it did not immediately pull me in on a sentence level. As the novella goes on though, the writing starts to move in and out of different modes; sometimes it is very straightforward, sometimes more lyrical, and sometimes deeply emotional. I would not say that it always feels seamless, but I did end up appreciating that range, especially when the story leans into its heavier emotional moments.
What hooked me was the concept and the way the story opens. I really liked that from the first sentence, our main character is already a zombie. There is no slow lead-up. You are just dropped directly into her perspective, seeing the world through her eyes right away, and I thought that was such an effective choice. I also found the formatting and the way the story is told really interesting. As someone who loves creature lore and horror lore, I appreciated what this novella brings to the table. It shifts what we usually think of as zombies and makes the creature feel fresh again without losing that primal horror.
That was one of the biggest strengths for me: the zombie aspects feel distinct, and not just for the sake of being different—the changes actually support the emotional core of the story. What made it especially compelling is that the main character does not read like a flat monster; she is still aware, still functioning, and there is this constant tension between what she is now and whatever parts of her are still human. That internal conflict was fun to explore.
There are moments where you realize she is willing to kill people she knows, and that was one of the more unsettling things for me. She tells herself she only wants to take a bite, but she knows what that means... and those moments show how hunger and thirst can override restraint, even when some part of her still recognizes what she is doing. That tension between humanity and consumption runs through the whole book, and I think it is part of what makes the character so tragic.
At the same time, there is real tenderness in the story, specifically in the romance in her flashbacks. I thought those moments were genuinely soft, and I really liked the perspective they were written from. They add an important contrast because so much of the present-day narrative is violent, primal, and driven by rage, grief, and the urge to consume. The softness in those flashbacks gives the story another emotional layer, and for me it made the loss underneath everything feel even sharper.
The themes are heavy. There is a lot of internal conflict, a lot of struggle with identity, and a lot of trauma sitting underneath the horror. Even posthumously, our protagonist is still trying to understand what happened to her throughout her life, and that felt like such a strong representation of grief to me: sometimes grief does feel like floating, sometimes it feels like survival mode. After a traumatic childhood especially, there can be this numb, disconnected state that feels almost zombie-like. In that sense, I do think the story can be read as an allegory, and I think it handles that in a way that is intense but also emotionally honest.
The family dynamics and rejection themes hit hard too. The story touches on the pain of a deeply difficult mother-daughter relationship, and more broadly on having an abusive parent, a narcissistic parent, and siblings who either participate or look away. It also deals with not being accepted by society, but especially not being accepted by your family, and the overwhelming grief that comes with that. I think anyone who has experienced family rejection—and especially anyone who has done therapy and had to learn that grief comes in waves—will recognize something in this. You carry that grief for a long time; you may forever grieve the parent you deserved and did not have. That part of the novella felt very real to me, and for a number of reasons, very relatable and heartbreaking.
And because it matters here, I do want to mention the trigger warnings: homophobia, child abuse, and gore. This story is tragic, brutal, and emotional all at once. Even in its most reflective moments, it is still horror, and the rage and grief in it are tied to violence and consumption in a way that can be a lot.
For me, Grief Eater was intense, heartbreaking, and surprisingly resonant. I think it will connect with a lot of people, especially readers who are drawn to stories about grief, trauma, rejection, survival, and what it means to keep moving through it all. Even if you are afraid of what our main character is, this story still makes you care about her, and in a lot of ways, root for her.
This is a story about immense grief and desire for revenge that consumes just as much as the thirst for flesh. It is beautifully done, especially in its brevity. Definitely not one to sleep on. 🖤
Thank you to Interstellar Flight Press (via Netgalley) for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I had some mixed feelings about this one at first, but I ended up truly enjoying it, and parts of it hit me in a way that felt very personal.
As I mentioned, my first impression, honestly, was not the strongest. Just a few chapters in, I felt like the writing was more workmanlike than I enjoy—it did not immediately pull me in on a sentence level. As the novella goes on though, the writing starts to move in and out of different modes; sometimes it is very straightforward, sometimes more lyrical, and sometimes deeply emotional. I would not say that it always feels seamless, but I did end up appreciating that range, especially when the story leans into its heavier emotional moments.
What hooked me was the concept and the way the story opens. I really liked that from the first sentence, our main character is already a zombie. There is no slow lead-up. You are just dropped directly into her perspective, seeing the world through her eyes right away, and I thought that was such an effective choice. I also found the formatting and the way the story is told really interesting. As someone who loves creature lore and horror lore, I appreciated what this novella brings to the table. It shifts what we usually think of as zombies and makes the creature feel fresh again without losing that primal horror.
That was one of the biggest strengths for me: the zombie aspects feel distinct, and not just for the sake of being different—the changes actually support the emotional core of the story. What made it especially compelling is that the main character does not read like a flat monster; she is still aware, still functioning, and there is this constant tension between what she is now and whatever parts of her are still human. That internal conflict was fun to explore.
There are moments where you realize she is willing to kill people she knows, and that was one of the more unsettling things for me. She tells herself she only wants to take a bite, but she knows what that means... and those moments show how hunger and thirst can override restraint, even when some part of her still recognizes what she is doing. That tension between humanity and consumption runs through the whole book, and I think it is part of what makes the character so tragic.
At the same time, there is real tenderness in the story, specifically in the romance in her flashbacks. I thought those moments were genuinely soft, and I really liked the perspective they were written from. They add an important contrast because so much of the present-day narrative is violent, primal, and driven by rage, grief, and the urge to consume. The softness in those flashbacks gives the story another emotional layer, and for me it made the loss underneath everything feel even sharper.
The themes are heavy. There is a lot of internal conflict, a lot of struggle with identity, and a lot of trauma sitting underneath the horror. Even posthumously, our protagonist is still trying to understand what happened to her throughout her life, and that felt like such a strong representation of grief to me: sometimes grief does feel like floating, sometimes it feels like survival mode. After a traumatic childhood especially, there can be this numb, disconnected state that feels almost zombie-like. In that sense, I do think the story can be read as an allegory, and I think it handles that in a way that is intense but also emotionally honest.
The family dynamics and rejection themes hit hard too. The story touches on the pain of a deeply difficult mother-daughter relationship, and more broadly on having an abusive parent, a narcissistic parent, and siblings who either participate or look away. It also deals with not being accepted by society, but especially not being accepted by your family, and the overwhelming grief that comes with that. I think anyone who has experienced family rejection—and especially anyone who has done therapy and had to learn that grief comes in waves—will recognize something in this. You carry that grief for a long time; you may forever grieve the parent you deserved and did not have. That part of the novella felt very real to me, and for a number of reasons, very relatable and heartbreaking.
And because it matters here, I do want to mention the trigger warnings: homophobia, child abuse, and gore. This story is tragic, brutal, and emotional all at once. Even in its most reflective moments, it is still horror, and the rage and grief in it are tied to violence and consumption in a way that can be a lot.
For me, Grief Eater was intense, heartbreaking, and surprisingly resonant. I think it will connect with a lot of people, especially readers who are drawn to stories about grief, trauma, rejection, survival, and what it means to keep moving through it all. Even if you are afraid of what our main character is, this story still makes you care about her, and in a lot of ways, root for her.
This is a story about immense grief and desire for revenge that consumes just as much as the thirst for flesh. It is beautifully done, especially in its brevity. Definitely not one to sleep on. 🖤
Thank you to Interstellar Flight Press (via Netgalley) for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
June 14, 2026
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley Read Now. All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Quotes are subject to change.
5 stars 🌟
In a nutshell: Grief Eater is about our MC Katarina who after becoming a zombie goes off to kill her homophobic family.
And it was fantastic! The writing was excellent and flowed well, the flashbacks we got into Katarina's past were well-written, and the characterisation was interesting. I don't have many complaints, its great as a novella but I think it would have also made for a good novel. A solid debut, looking forward to what the author puts out in the future.
Overall, please pick this up!!
Publication Date: 1st June, 2026
#Book 76 of 2026
#Book 12 for Pride Month June 2026- Rep: Lesbian MC
Review written on 9th June, 2026.
DISCLAIMER-All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.
How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite
“I die alone in the back of an abandoned car.”
5 stars 🌟
In a nutshell: Grief Eater is about our MC Katarina who after becoming a zombie goes off to kill her homophobic family.
And it was fantastic! The writing was excellent and flowed well, the flashbacks we got into Katarina's past were well-written, and the characterisation was interesting. I don't have many complaints, its great as a novella but I think it would have also made for a good novel. A solid debut, looking forward to what the author puts out in the future.
Overall, please pick this up!!
Publication Date: 1st June, 2026
"I know now why we look so mindless, so instainable to the living. There is beauty in letting your body glut itself with rich fat and small bones."
#Book 76 of 2026
#Book 12 for Pride Month June 2026- Rep: Lesbian MC
Review written on 9th June, 2026.
DISCLAIMER-All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.
How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite
March 30, 2026
A meditation on female rage once we give ourselves permission to feel it. I love our MFC anger and singleminded need for revenge/closure. Her brief life was about trying to put herself back together and in death she embraces falling apart. I love that the author wasn’t afraid for the MFC feelings to be confusing & messy!
June 14, 2026
I'll admit it, I was hesitant to pick this one up because zombie apocalypse stories aren't usually my thing. But this novella hooked me almost immediately. The author wastes no time getting us inside the main character's head, and through her memories we learn about the horrific trauma she endured with her family. That instant connection made it impossible for me to stop reading.
What I loved most was the emotional complexity. I constantly found myself wrestling with empathy as I watched her make choices fueled by thirst, rage, and vengeance. And once again, the family dynamics hit me hard. The complicated relationship between the main character and her mother (the mommy issues), the longing, the hurt, felt painfully real. This novella doesn't shy away from difficult topics. It explores abuse, rejection, loneliness, and the devastating cost of grief with honesty and heart.
This book is another reminder of why I love fiction so much. Even when a story is unrealistic on the surface, it can reveal profound truths about being human. I finished this book feeling more empathetic, and to me, that's one of the greatest gifts a story can give.
I would recommend this to horror junkies looking for an emotional, character-driven read, but also to readers who are new to the genre. Because it's a novella, it's the perfect way to dip your toes into horror without feeling overwhelmed. If you enjoy stories that balance horror with heartbreak and explore the messy realities of family and grief, this one is worth your time.
Thank you Netgalley and Interstellar Flight Press for a gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review.
What I loved most was the emotional complexity. I constantly found myself wrestling with empathy as I watched her make choices fueled by thirst, rage, and vengeance. And once again, the family dynamics hit me hard. The complicated relationship between the main character and her mother (the mommy issues), the longing, the hurt, felt painfully real. This novella doesn't shy away from difficult topics. It explores abuse, rejection, loneliness, and the devastating cost of grief with honesty and heart.
This book is another reminder of why I love fiction so much. Even when a story is unrealistic on the surface, it can reveal profound truths about being human. I finished this book feeling more empathetic, and to me, that's one of the greatest gifts a story can give.
I would recommend this to horror junkies looking for an emotional, character-driven read, but also to readers who are new to the genre. Because it's a novella, it's the perfect way to dip your toes into horror without feeling overwhelmed. If you enjoy stories that balance horror with heartbreak and explore the messy realities of family and grief, this one is worth your time.
Thank you Netgalley and Interstellar Flight Press for a gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Women's and queer rage. Justice. Balancing life. After years of swallowing the abuse and utter rejection of her self, Kristina holds off becoming a full blooded zombie. On foot, Kristina returns to her home town, giving us glimpses into her life - a horror before becoming a zombie.
This book offers it all - in less than 100 pages.
This book offers it all - in less than 100 pages.
April 8, 2026
oh to be a zombie on a quest to eat your homophobic family during an apocalypse 🍽️
this novella offers a fresh take on the zombie genre with a clear goal and well-executed storytelling. the raw feelings of hunger, rage, and love experienced by the main female character are sure to resonate emotionally.
Emma Osborne is a promising voice in queer horror, and I look forward to seeing this book's reception when it releases in June.
thank you Interstellar Flight Press | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the digital arc.
this novella offers a fresh take on the zombie genre with a clear goal and well-executed storytelling. the raw feelings of hunger, rage, and love experienced by the main female character are sure to resonate emotionally.
Emma Osborne is a promising voice in queer horror, and I look forward to seeing this book's reception when it releases in June.
thank you Interstellar Flight Press | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the digital arc.
June 19, 2026
─── ୨ৎ 5 stars
⤿ .ᐟ mostly spoiler-free review
holy shit… i need emma osborne to tell me how they managed to write something so brief and yet so impactful. while this novella is only 94 pages, it packs a punch harder than some 300+ page books that i’ve read. not only have australians been killing the horror game in cinema (ala talk to me, saccharine, the moogai), but this just shows that they’re bound to dominate the sphere of literature.
this story features a protagonist, kristina, who is dying at the beginning of the book. it’s the end of the world and there has been a zombie outbreak. unlike other dystopian based novels, the pov does not follow a survivor but rather one of the dead.
each time kristina feeds on someone, she experiences flashes of their memories. memories are the only thing that keep kristina remotely human throughout the book.
memories of childhood trauma filled with abuse and homophobia from her parents and brother. memories of her aunt who was the only person in her family who offered her a shred of love and acceptance. memories of her best friend josh who she was supposed to escape the city with.
with these memories come messy emotions that fuel kristina to hunt down her family and enact revenge, thus freeing herself of the pain that she has been forced to carry through her life.
a life that was stolen from her and reclaimed in death.
this book has the perfect balance of lush prose, squeamish imagery, and heartbreaking revelations. 10/10 no notes.
⤿ .ᐟ mostly spoiler-free review
"i fade into the night, nothingness with teeth."
holy shit… i need emma osborne to tell me how they managed to write something so brief and yet so impactful. while this novella is only 94 pages, it packs a punch harder than some 300+ page books that i’ve read. not only have australians been killing the horror game in cinema (ala talk to me, saccharine, the moogai), but this just shows that they’re bound to dominate the sphere of literature.
this story features a protagonist, kristina, who is dying at the beginning of the book. it’s the end of the world and there has been a zombie outbreak. unlike other dystopian based novels, the pov does not follow a survivor but rather one of the dead.
each time kristina feeds on someone, she experiences flashes of their memories. memories are the only thing that keep kristina remotely human throughout the book.
memories of childhood trauma filled with abuse and homophobia from her parents and brother. memories of her aunt who was the only person in her family who offered her a shred of love and acceptance. memories of her best friend josh who she was supposed to escape the city with.
with these memories come messy emotions that fuel kristina to hunt down her family and enact revenge, thus freeing herself of the pain that she has been forced to carry through her life.
a life that was stolen from her and reclaimed in death.
this book has the perfect balance of lush prose, squeamish imagery, and heartbreaking revelations. 10/10 no notes.
June 19, 2026
An entirely character driven story of longing, loss, grief, queerness, and rage. Kristina is recently undead, still clinging to her human consciousness, she embarks on a journey of revenge, each step bringing her closer to her goal and further away from herself.
There is so much emotion packed into less than 100 pages. I found myself rooting for Kristina in both her present timeline and in the flashbacks that are used to show her life before. It takes skill to create such a tight narrative that is both propulsive and full of depth.
I will be on the lookout for future books by this author, fantastic debut.
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC, all opinions are my own.
There is so much emotion packed into less than 100 pages. I found myself rooting for Kristina in both her present timeline and in the flashbacks that are used to show her life before. It takes skill to create such a tight narrative that is both propulsive and full of depth.
I will be on the lookout for future books by this author, fantastic debut.
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC, all opinions are my own.
April 3, 2026
With thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
Kristina has been turned into a zombie, but she is not mindless. She deeply feels the trauma and grief caused by the terrible abuse and neglect she endured after coming out, at the hands of her family. She consciously blocks the zombie “red haze” and is aware enough to decide to use her new undead strength to seek revenge on the people who caused her so much pain in life.
The story opens with Kristina’s death, dropping the reader straight into her world. It moves fast, she accepts her new way of (un)living quickly and soon realises she is powerful. She sets off to return to her family home and reflects on her life along the way—sharing painful memories of the awful treatment she faced, which is heartbreaking to read, as well as some more fond memories of time with her found-family which adds a softness to the story amidst the sadness and gore.
Grief Eater was an emotional and disturbing read that made me feel extremely sad and disgusted. It holds a lot of weight for just 94 pages.
“There is nothing in this world that I ever need to be fearful of again. No. The world should be fearful of me.”
Kristina has been turned into a zombie, but she is not mindless. She deeply feels the trauma and grief caused by the terrible abuse and neglect she endured after coming out, at the hands of her family. She consciously blocks the zombie “red haze” and is aware enough to decide to use her new undead strength to seek revenge on the people who caused her so much pain in life.
The story opens with Kristina’s death, dropping the reader straight into her world. It moves fast, she accepts her new way of (un)living quickly and soon realises she is powerful. She sets off to return to her family home and reflects on her life along the way—sharing painful memories of the awful treatment she faced, which is heartbreaking to read, as well as some more fond memories of time with her found-family which adds a softness to the story amidst the sadness and gore.
Grief Eater was an emotional and disturbing read that made me feel extremely sad and disgusted. It holds a lot of weight for just 94 pages.
“There is nothing in this world that I ever need to be fearful of again. No. The world should be fearful of me.”
March 10, 2026
Five stars ★
SO FUCKING GOOD! My first ever zombie book and wow, what a good introduction to the genre.
This book is only about 90 pages but the impact it has is insane and I cannot recommend it enough.
This book is gory and queer and just all my favourite things put together. The way the author writes is heart breaking and devastating and so, SO great.
🖤 Sapphic FMC
🩸 Revenge plot
🖤 Throwback scenes
🩸 Trans rep!!
🖤 Female rage
“I am a devil made of vengeance, and I am hunting”
SO FUCKING GOOD! My first ever zombie book and wow, what a good introduction to the genre.
This book is only about 90 pages but the impact it has is insane and I cannot recommend it enough.
This book is gory and queer and just all my favourite things put together. The way the author writes is heart breaking and devastating and so, SO great.
🖤 Sapphic FMC
🩸 Revenge plot
🖤 Throwback scenes
🩸 Trans rep!!
🖤 Female rage
“I am a devil made of vengeance, and I am hunting”
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Don't sleep on this one folks.
The world as we know it has changed agter a deadly virus brings zombies to life. Kristina, a queer Australian, finds herself as one after a violent death. As a human she was fragile, abused for years from her homophobic family who had abandoned her. But as a zombie, blood makes her stronger than she's ever been before and she is pissed. Full of rage and grief, she treks back to her hometown.
This is a short novella, I have no doubt a lot of you will be able to finish this in a sitting, but it backs quite the visceral punch. The writing, I thought was very eloquent. One of those books that turns disturbing things beautiful as well as putting words to feelings you didnt know how to describe.
This book takes place in the mind of a zombie but she isn't mindless. This is kind of like the show 'Izombie' in the sense that Kristina also sees people's memories while she eats them which is a thing that I will always love. But unlike IZombie, Kristina isn't finding a quasi 'ethical' way to feed.
Its pretty bleak throughout and her family is disgusting. If you have any triggers regarding homophobia especially when its coming from family then tread lightly.
The world as we know it has changed agter a deadly virus brings zombies to life. Kristina, a queer Australian, finds herself as one after a violent death. As a human she was fragile, abused for years from her homophobic family who had abandoned her. But as a zombie, blood makes her stronger than she's ever been before and she is pissed. Full of rage and grief, she treks back to her hometown.
This is a short novella, I have no doubt a lot of you will be able to finish this in a sitting, but it backs quite the visceral punch. The writing, I thought was very eloquent. One of those books that turns disturbing things beautiful as well as putting words to feelings you didnt know how to describe.
This book takes place in the mind of a zombie but she isn't mindless. This is kind of like the show 'Izombie' in the sense that Kristina also sees people's memories while she eats them which is a thing that I will always love. But unlike IZombie, Kristina isn't finding a quasi 'ethical' way to feed.
Its pretty bleak throughout and her family is disgusting. If you have any triggers regarding homophobia especially when its coming from family then tread lightly.
February 4, 2026
Thank you NetGalley, Interstellar Flight Press, and Independent Book Publishers Association for the eARC!
A great horror novella about a queer zombie woman seeking revenge on her parents and brother who made her life a living hell. I really like getting into mental health and dealing with the trauma that has haunted you for years. I also liked the ending, but understood that revenge doesn't always get rid of the trauma they caused. It definitely feels like a worthy punishment, but does it really solve the problem and get rid of the trauma they caused, even if they deserve it?
A great horror novella about a queer zombie woman seeking revenge on her parents and brother who made her life a living hell. I really like getting into mental health and dealing with the trauma that has haunted you for years. I also liked the ending, but understood that revenge doesn't always get rid of the trauma they caused. It definitely feels like a worthy punishment, but does it really solve the problem and get rid of the trauma they caused, even if they deserve it?
March 30, 2026
Early copy from netgalley
5/5
This is a dark and emotional read about grief. It’s told from the perspective of a girl who loses her life and comes back focused on revenge. It’s touching and character driven to the point that I was angry about every bad thing that happened to the FMC.
What I Loved:
* The face-paced revenge story
* Complex LGBTQ+ representation that felt authentic
* The 5 stages of grief that are portrayed in what our FMC is doing and experiencing
This is a gut punch of a book that hits you in all the right places. It feels you with anger, despair and sadness. This is a face paced character driven book that’s just under 90 pages. I’d recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fast and emotional LGBTQ horror book. This is a 6 star read for me.
5/5
This is a dark and emotional read about grief. It’s told from the perspective of a girl who loses her life and comes back focused on revenge. It’s touching and character driven to the point that I was angry about every bad thing that happened to the FMC.
What I Loved:
* The face-paced revenge story
* Complex LGBTQ+ representation that felt authentic
* The 5 stages of grief that are portrayed in what our FMC is doing and experiencing
This is a gut punch of a book that hits you in all the right places. It feels you with anger, despair and sadness. This is a face paced character driven book that’s just under 90 pages. I’d recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fast and emotional LGBTQ horror book. This is a 6 star read for me.
March 23, 2026
”There is nothing in this world that I ever need to be fearful of again. No. The world should be fearful of me.”
oh to be a zombie and get to eat all of your abusive homophobic family members 🧟♀️❤️
but in all honestly this novella packed such heart into less than 100 pages. Grief Eater is a visceral, gory, heart breaking and bleak story of a girl the moment she dies and rises again as a zombie. while our main character analyzes her life she thinks back on her abusive, homophobic family and decides she’s going to kill them. flashbacks of her life mixed with the current state of her death is a sad and painful journey but so meaningful all the same and im left with a range of emotions as i finish the last page.
”Now that I am dead, the rage is fire in my chest and my defences are ashes.”
what i take away most from this novella is that is meant to be lived how YOU want and how YOU deserve and nobody should be able to take that away from you.
i think this one will sit with me for a while ❤️🩹
thank you to netgalley and the author for an arc in exchange for an honest review~
oh to be a zombie and get to eat all of your abusive homophobic family members 🧟♀️❤️
but in all honestly this novella packed such heart into less than 100 pages. Grief Eater is a visceral, gory, heart breaking and bleak story of a girl the moment she dies and rises again as a zombie. while our main character analyzes her life she thinks back on her abusive, homophobic family and decides she’s going to kill them. flashbacks of her life mixed with the current state of her death is a sad and painful journey but so meaningful all the same and im left with a range of emotions as i finish the last page.
”Now that I am dead, the rage is fire in my chest and my defences are ashes.”
what i take away most from this novella is that is meant to be lived how YOU want and how YOU deserve and nobody should be able to take that away from you.
i think this one will sit with me for a while ❤️🩹
thank you to netgalley and the author for an arc in exchange for an honest review~
June 9, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for providing me with an eARC.
This was an interesting way to show how messed up childhoods and parenting ruins a person. I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I liked the way Kristina's thoughts about revenge and her identity were interconnected. I would have liked to know more about how they actually turn after dying but the book was too short to give more lore. The childhood abuse was really painful to read about. The writing style was pretty good and really twists the pain into your heart. This book was horror done right, with the perfect proportions of body and psychological horror. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a great, quick horror read.
This was an interesting way to show how messed up childhoods and parenting ruins a person. I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I liked the way Kristina's thoughts about revenge and her identity were interconnected. I would have liked to know more about how they actually turn after dying but the book was too short to give more lore. The childhood abuse was really painful to read about. The writing style was pretty good and really twists the pain into your heart. This book was horror done right, with the perfect proportions of body and psychological horror. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a great, quick horror read.
January 29, 2026
4.5 stars! First of all, thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. This is a novella set in Australia during a zombie apocalypse. We follow our main character Kristina after she gets attacked and killed, when she is in her “zombie” form. Usually in a novella, you don’t get a lot of character depth. But I truly resonated with Kristina and came to care for her a lot. There are some gory/graphic parts, but this is also very emotional and examines her traumatic childhood. I loved learning about her and Josh’s friendship. And for what happens after that, I say GOOD FOR HER! This cover is also stunning. I highly recommend this one and would love to read more from this author!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Emma Osborne, Interstellar Flight Press & NetGalley for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: 4.25/5 ⭐
CW:
My chosen soundtrack: A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut - Lizard In The Spring
Representation
╰┈➤ Queer MC, Kristina, refers to herself as queer and lesbian.
╰┈➤ Transman side character, Josh
╰┈➤ Gay background character, Christopher (who is also a drag queen)
Themes
Dystopia, zombies, complex/abusive/toxic family dynamics, found family, gender based expectations, death, grief, queerness/otherness, humanity/dehumanization, being closeted vs being out, immortality, hurt/hate/love, trauma, longing for connection/recognition, facing your abusers, rage, revenge, misogyny, gender based violence, homophobia, (conflicting) memories, rage, needing/searching for answers.
What I liked
✧ I love an opener line that immediately sucked me in: "I die alone in the back of an abandoned car."
✧ I loved how chapter 2 opened with a sentence to mirror its predecessor: "The first time I died, I was three."
✧ The prose is descriptive and poetic but in a way that is accessible to most readers.
✧ Queer rep always makes me happy!!!
✧ I love the unique twist Osborne put on the zombie genre. It takes something really iconic and turns it into something that subverts expectations.
✧ We get to read from the POV of someone who turned into a zombie. I don't think I've ever read something like that before. The language that is used supports this non-human perspective, specifically by dehumanizing the humans our MC comes across. Even referring to them as 'my food', which really helped with immersion.
✧ I love what the author did with the character of 'Alice', . I find it beautiful and heartbreaking that
✧ Who doesn't love a good revenge story! But that isn't all this story has to offer. To me, this novella is about searching for answers, reasons, affections, or recognition from people or situations that might simply have none to offer. We don't always get the answers we need. Sometimes, we don't get an answer at all.
✧ Discourse on the conflicting feelings one can have about their abusers. Specifically, when there are also good memories.
✧ Discourse on the extremely different ways the abused vs the abuser remember/don't remember the abuse. What haunts someone for the rest of their lives could, unfortunately, just be a regular forgetful Tuesday to a perpetrator.
✧ Very reflective, introspective, and character-driven.
✧ (Body) horror as a device to explore trauma without being used as shock value.
✧ Hunger/cannibalism as a metaphor for love and connection will always hit.
✧ I appreciate any type of media that doesn't portray a 'perfect victim', which is why I loved the focus on rage in this novella.
✧
✧ The last chapter was
What I didn't like/felt lackluster about
✦ This isn't really a complaint, more of a 'I hunger for more' type commentary. The zombie/world-building was so interesting that I craved more. Specifically, when it comes to sentience/consciousness and the ability to experience memories through consumption. I also wish that horde behaviour was explored more, since some of it could be read, to me at least, as finding kinship with found family, but I might be grasping at straws here because it wasn't that clear. If this author were to publish something else set in the same universe, I would definitely pick it up.
✦ I feel like it was quite clear how the story would end after a certain point. I would've liked it if we, as readers, were to be made unsure of whether our MC is able to go through with their revenge or not.
✦ This might just be me with every novella ever, so not a big complaint, but I would've loved to somehow be able to connect with our characters more on an emotional level. At the same time, novellas are fun because of the pacing and the speed at which one can experience and conclude a story, and with such velocity, it is sometimes hard to establish an intense emotional connection to the story/characters.
Conclusion/Notes
Grief Eater is a delicious little morsel of horror that explores the complex reality of being abused, discarded, and at times even erased (literally or figuratively) from your blood family. It explores rage, revenge, and the devastating reality of 'not knowing'.
Follow me on Spotify for specific reading playlists like this one: 📚 Horror/Thriller Reads & 📚 Absolute Turmoil
Rating: 4.25/5 ⭐
CW:
My chosen soundtrack: A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut - Lizard In The Spring
Now that I am dead, the rage is fire in my chest and my defences are ashes.
Representation
╰┈➤ Queer MC, Kristina, refers to herself as queer and lesbian.
╰┈➤ Transman side character, Josh
╰┈➤ Gay background character, Christopher (who is also a drag queen)
Themes
Dystopia, zombies, complex/abusive/toxic family dynamics, found family, gender based expectations, death, grief, queerness/otherness, humanity/dehumanization, being closeted vs being out, immortality, hurt/hate/love, trauma, longing for connection/recognition, facing your abusers, rage, revenge, misogyny, gender based violence, homophobia, (conflicting) memories, rage, needing/searching for answers.
What I liked
✧ I love an opener line that immediately sucked me in: "I die alone in the back of an abandoned car."
✧ I loved how chapter 2 opened with a sentence to mirror its predecessor: "The first time I died, I was three."
✧ The prose is descriptive and poetic but in a way that is accessible to most readers.
✧ Queer rep always makes me happy!!!
✧ I love the unique twist Osborne put on the zombie genre. It takes something really iconic and turns it into something that subverts expectations.
✧ We get to read from the POV of someone who turned into a zombie. I don't think I've ever read something like that before. The language that is used supports this non-human perspective, specifically by dehumanizing the humans our MC comes across. Even referring to them as 'my food', which really helped with immersion.
✧ I love what the author did with the character of 'Alice', . I find it beautiful and heartbreaking that
✧ Who doesn't love a good revenge story! But that isn't all this story has to offer. To me, this novella is about searching for answers, reasons, affections, or recognition from people or situations that might simply have none to offer. We don't always get the answers we need. Sometimes, we don't get an answer at all.
I wonder what I'll see when I finally sink my teeth into them? Will the memories show me hate and fury and neglect? Or have they reframed everything for themselves? Will they justify and downplay it all? Do they see themselves as good people, doing good things? Am I the villain to them?
I need to kill them. For revenge, yes, but also to see.
✧ Discourse on the conflicting feelings one can have about their abusers. Specifically, when there are also good memories.
✧ Discourse on the extremely different ways the abused vs the abuser remember/don't remember the abuse. What haunts someone for the rest of their lives could, unfortunately, just be a regular forgetful Tuesday to a perpetrator.
✧ Very reflective, introspective, and character-driven.
✧ (Body) horror as a device to explore trauma without being used as shock value.
✧ Hunger/cannibalism as a metaphor for love and connection will always hit.
✧ I appreciate any type of media that doesn't portray a 'perfect victim', which is why I loved the focus on rage in this novella.
✧
✧ The last chapter was
What I didn't like/felt lackluster about
✦ This isn't really a complaint, more of a 'I hunger for more' type commentary. The zombie/world-building was so interesting that I craved more. Specifically, when it comes to sentience/consciousness and the ability to experience memories through consumption. I also wish that horde behaviour was explored more, since some of it could be read, to me at least, as finding kinship with found family, but I might be grasping at straws here because it wasn't that clear. If this author were to publish something else set in the same universe, I would definitely pick it up.
✦ I feel like it was quite clear how the story would end after a certain point. I would've liked it if we, as readers, were to be made unsure of whether our MC is able to go through with their revenge or not.
✦ This might just be me with every novella ever, so not a big complaint, but I would've loved to somehow be able to connect with our characters more on an emotional level. At the same time, novellas are fun because of the pacing and the speed at which one can experience and conclude a story, and with such velocity, it is sometimes hard to establish an intense emotional connection to the story/characters.
Conclusion/Notes
Grief Eater is a delicious little morsel of horror that explores the complex reality of being abused, discarded, and at times even erased (literally or figuratively) from your blood family. It explores rage, revenge, and the devastating reality of 'not knowing'.
Follow me on Spotify for specific reading playlists like this one: 📚 Horror/Thriller Reads & 📚 Absolute Turmoil
February 27, 2026
Novellas are tough to get just right. This one does. The author is able to tell a great big story in less than 100 pages with a satisfying and bittersweet ending. No small feat. Kristina is a queer woman who suffered abuse from her homophobic family. Now that she’s been turned into a zombie, she is seeking revenge. Her journey from the city back to her childhood home is dangerous and the reader can’t help but root for this zombie. The writing is somehow beautiful and poetic even with the blood and guts. Highly recommend.
May 27, 2026
Grief Eater completely gutted me. This story aches with the kind of heartbreak that comes from being rejected by the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally, and it gets carried through every page like an open, festering wound. The gore and horror are beautifully contrasted with the aching desperation of wanting to be loved, while fearing the devastation that kind of vulnerability could bring.
The ravenous desire for revenge followed by her slow descent into madness felt intimate and suffocating. Being trapped inside a mind slowly losing itself to grief, rage, loneliness, and visceral instinct made every moment feel sharp enough to bleed. And the undead lore was incredible—the way she experiences the unfiltered memories and emotions each life while feeding added such an eerie layer of humanity to the horror.
There’s something deeply tragic about watching someone become monstrous because love failed them first. Raw, aching, and quietly tormenting from beginning to end.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!
Favorite Quotes:
“I thought I’d been alive before that kiss, but it woke me up in a way that made the world feel bigger. It changed the way I though about what I could have in my future.”
“They should have loved me, but they broke me instead.”
“There is nothing in this world that I ever need to be fearful of again. No. The world should be fearful of me.”
“I give everything that is left of me to the mindless black. Gone is the pain, the grief. Gone is everything I’ve carried in both life and death. I dissolve into nothing…”
The ravenous desire for revenge followed by her slow descent into madness felt intimate and suffocating. Being trapped inside a mind slowly losing itself to grief, rage, loneliness, and visceral instinct made every moment feel sharp enough to bleed. And the undead lore was incredible—the way she experiences the unfiltered memories and emotions each life while feeding added such an eerie layer of humanity to the horror.
There’s something deeply tragic about watching someone become monstrous because love failed them first. Raw, aching, and quietly tormenting from beginning to end.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!
Favorite Quotes:
“I thought I’d been alive before that kiss, but it woke me up in a way that made the world feel bigger. It changed the way I though about what I could have in my future.”
“They should have loved me, but they broke me instead.”
“There is nothing in this world that I ever need to be fearful of again. No. The world should be fearful of me.”
“I give everything that is left of me to the mindless black. Gone is the pain, the grief. Gone is everything I’ve carried in both life and death. I dissolve into nothing…”
May 14, 2026
A wonderfully written, gory short novella, exploring grief, identity & acceptance.
From the get go you could pick up both the brutality of the setting but also the immediate feelings of Kristina, a queer young adult turned zombie in a post apocalyptic world. The author immediately set the tone, with a unique POV which I personally have not seen in any zombie media prior - it was refreshing to read.
With Kristina both accepting her new found status in a dog eat dog (or in this case, zombie eat human) world, and recalling on her harsh upbringing, the narrative really gave the reader the feeling of loneliness, of loss, and tenderness - even with the catharsis, the overwhelming emptiness and longing for love still shone through.
By the time the 94 pages of gore and fervour were over, my heart truly broke for Kristina, and for the others that have felt this loss, simply by just being and accepting themselves for who they really are.
Thank you Emma and to Netgalley for this ARC, I’m excited for this to be unleashed on the world in June.
From the get go you could pick up both the brutality of the setting but also the immediate feelings of Kristina, a queer young adult turned zombie in a post apocalyptic world. The author immediately set the tone, with a unique POV which I personally have not seen in any zombie media prior - it was refreshing to read.
With Kristina both accepting her new found status in a dog eat dog (or in this case, zombie eat human) world, and recalling on her harsh upbringing, the narrative really gave the reader the feeling of loneliness, of loss, and tenderness - even with the catharsis, the overwhelming emptiness and longing for love still shone through.
By the time the 94 pages of gore and fervour were over, my heart truly broke for Kristina, and for the others that have felt this loss, simply by just being and accepting themselves for who they really are.
Thank you Emma and to Netgalley for this ARC, I’m excited for this to be unleashed on the world in June.
March 1, 2026
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of Grief Eater by Emma Osborne!
While I’m not usually a fan of zombie stories, this one was pretty fantastic. And to have so much character reflection in a novella and still fit in a spicy scene! Chef’s kiss! Emma Osborne waisted no words and made sure each one in this little gem were impactful and full of heart and pride. Absolutely fantastic.
While I’m not usually a fan of zombie stories, this one was pretty fantastic. And to have so much character reflection in a novella and still fit in a spicy scene! Chef’s kiss! Emma Osborne waisted no words and made sure each one in this little gem were impactful and full of heart and pride. Absolutely fantastic.
June 5, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
This was a really good novella. I love it. There's so many themes and metaphors and things to analyse in here; for such a short story, there's a lot of depth.
I personally especially liked the ways in which grief and revenge were dealt with in this story, Kristina's hopes and how the desire for revenge was the only thing keeping her from fully losing herself (though you could argue she had already lost herself, but I do not view it like that). Monstrosity as coping... Definitely gave me many thoughts to be thunk. Juxtaposing Josh and Kristina and how the one whose family accepted his queerness was able to escape monstrosity, while the one who was never accepted turned into a monster? The instinctive desire to take Josh down with her, to not be alone, despite knowing that is not what she wants to do, simply because she doesn't feel like she has any other options and at least Josh loved her? There's so much in here and I really really loved this story.
Definitely recommend.
This was a really good novella. I love it. There's so many themes and metaphors and things to analyse in here; for such a short story, there's a lot of depth.
I personally especially liked the ways in which grief and revenge were dealt with in this story, Kristina's hopes and how the desire for revenge was the only thing keeping her from fully losing herself (though you could argue she had already lost herself, but I do not view it like that). Monstrosity as coping... Definitely gave me many thoughts to be thunk. Juxtaposing Josh and Kristina and how the one whose family accepted his queerness was able to escape monstrosity, while the one who was never accepted turned into a monster? The instinctive desire to take Josh down with her, to not be alone, despite knowing that is not what she wants to do, simply because she doesn't feel like she has any other options and at least Josh loved her? There's so much in here and I really really loved this story.
Definitely recommend.
June 3, 2026
Such a good novella I wish it were longer!
The novella basically follows a queer woman in a zombie apocalypse, where once she was transformed into a zombie she decided to get revenge on everyone who ever hurt her.
3.9 ⭐️
The novella basically follows a queer woman in a zombie apocalypse, where once she was transformed into a zombie she decided to get revenge on everyone who ever hurt her.
3.9 ⭐️
April 20, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
This one… wow. Grief Eater is not for the faint of heart — the gore is real, vivid, and honestly kind of relentless at times. But weirdly? It works. It never felt gratuitous or thrown in just to shock. It felt intentional, like it was mirroring the raw, ugly, physical reality of grief itself.
Women’s and queer rage. Justice. The impossible act of balancing life while carrying something so heavy. We follow Kristina as she walks this line — after years of swallowing abuse and rejecting herself, she’s holding off becoming a full-blown zombie. As she returns to her hometown on foot, we get these sharp, haunting glimpses into her life — a horror story before the horror fully takes over.
And somehow, this book offers all of that in less than 100 pages.
There were moments I had to pause and just sit with what I read, but I was never pulled out of the story. If anything, it pulled me in deeper. It’s unsettling, visceral, and deeply human — messy in a way that feels honest rather than overwhelming for the sake of it.
I knocked off half a star only because it pushed right up against my personal limits at times, but even that feels like part of what the book is trying to do.
If you can handle dark, gory, emotionally intense storytelling with real depth underneath, this one is absolutely worth it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!
This one… wow. Grief Eater is not for the faint of heart — the gore is real, vivid, and honestly kind of relentless at times. But weirdly? It works. It never felt gratuitous or thrown in just to shock. It felt intentional, like it was mirroring the raw, ugly, physical reality of grief itself.
Women’s and queer rage. Justice. The impossible act of balancing life while carrying something so heavy. We follow Kristina as she walks this line — after years of swallowing abuse and rejecting herself, she’s holding off becoming a full-blown zombie. As she returns to her hometown on foot, we get these sharp, haunting glimpses into her life — a horror story before the horror fully takes over.
And somehow, this book offers all of that in less than 100 pages.
There were moments I had to pause and just sit with what I read, but I was never pulled out of the story. If anything, it pulled me in deeper. It’s unsettling, visceral, and deeply human — messy in a way that feels honest rather than overwhelming for the sake of it.
I knocked off half a star only because it pushed right up against my personal limits at times, but even that feels like part of what the book is trying to do.
If you can handle dark, gory, emotionally intense storytelling with real depth underneath, this one is absolutely worth it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
WOW! cannot express how blown away i am at this small but mighty book.
we jump into a whirlwind, apocalyptic world where Kristin is immediately changed into a zombie. but this isn't just your classic zombie novel - this is an exploration of family betrayal, abandonment, abuse, but also love in the form of friendship, connection, and most importantly queer identity.
i absolutely loved the way we are fed pieces of Kristin's past. it helps us understand how she has been treated by her "loved ones" and why she has lived her life the way she has. she holds a ton of rage at her family (they deserve it TRUST) for how they have treated her, but she also just wants to be loved.
her friend Josh was the light in this book, along with her Kristin's short-time partner right before the outbreak. these characters blessed her with some lovin, and i wanted sooo much more page time for them!! i wanted more about Clara plssss!
favorite aspects of this book were the violent/gory imagery (seriously nasty!! (complimentary)) and the climactic ending that had me racing through these pages. i absolutely haddd to see how this ended and oh...my...god that ending ugh. i felt alllll the rage with Kristin.
overall - this was an incredible horror novella with a loveable, yet rageful main character, and a most pure message at heart.
thanks to Interstellar Flight Press & Netgalley for this e-arc !
we jump into a whirlwind, apocalyptic world where Kristin is immediately changed into a zombie. but this isn't just your classic zombie novel - this is an exploration of family betrayal, abandonment, abuse, but also love in the form of friendship, connection, and most importantly queer identity.
i absolutely loved the way we are fed pieces of Kristin's past. it helps us understand how she has been treated by her "loved ones" and why she has lived her life the way she has. she holds a ton of rage at her family (they deserve it TRUST) for how they have treated her, but she also just wants to be loved.
her friend Josh was the light in this book, along with her Kristin's short-time partner right before the outbreak. these characters blessed her with some lovin, and i wanted sooo much more page time for them!! i wanted more about Clara plssss!
favorite aspects of this book were the violent/gory imagery (seriously nasty!! (complimentary)) and the climactic ending that had me racing through these pages. i absolutely haddd to see how this ended and oh...my...god that ending ugh. i felt alllll the rage with Kristin.
overall - this was an incredible horror novella with a loveable, yet rageful main character, and a most pure message at heart.
thanks to Interstellar Flight Press & Netgalley for this e-arc !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2026
3.75 stars.
Grief Eaters was surprisingly poignant. I went in expecting a classic, gory zombie story, but what I got was beautifully written, reflective, and moving.
It is still incredibly gory at times, but the deeper themes completely overshadowed the blood & guts for me, if anything the violence and visceral imagery only added to the impact. It’s everything I love about horror and wish others appreciated, I will always stand firm that horror is the best form of storytelling and Emma Osborne has definitely staked her claim in this genre.
The end scene with the mum was heartwrenching to read, and definitely tipped the book towards 4 stars.
What stopped this being a higher rating for me was that I wanted to see FMC’s mental decline reflected in the writing and I was disappointed we didn’t get that. We were told rather than shown that her body and cognitive function was failing. I enjoyed at the beginning that she had kept her “rational” thought, I liked the explanation for this being the drive for revenge, but as the novella went on I found this let the story down.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
Grief Eaters was surprisingly poignant. I went in expecting a classic, gory zombie story, but what I got was beautifully written, reflective, and moving.
It is still incredibly gory at times, but the deeper themes completely overshadowed the blood & guts for me, if anything the violence and visceral imagery only added to the impact. It’s everything I love about horror and wish others appreciated, I will always stand firm that horror is the best form of storytelling and Emma Osborne has definitely staked her claim in this genre.
The end scene with the mum was heartwrenching to read, and definitely tipped the book towards 4 stars.
What stopped this being a higher rating for me was that I wanted to see FMC’s mental decline reflected in the writing and I was disappointed we didn’t get that. We were told rather than shown that her body and cognitive function was failing. I enjoyed at the beginning that she had kept her “rational” thought, I liked the explanation for this being the drive for revenge, but as the novella went on I found this let the story down.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
March 4, 2026
Fantastic story about pain, love, rage, and zombies. In a saturated genre, Osborne found an original take that makes for a great debut title. "Grief Eater" is the story of Kristina as she is bitten by a zombie and lies dying before resurrecting as one of the undead. However, this is not your typical zombie story. Instead, Emma Osborne created a wonderful story of a young woman reflecting on the pain and horror she suffered at the hands of her family, and turns that into a supernatural rage. Now, as a flesh-eating with newfound rage and power, she will trek across the country to seek revenge.
A powerful story in less than 100 pages, "Grief Eater" is now one of my all-time favorite zombie stories, and Emma Osborne is an author I am excited to see grow and continue to create. This is one ghoulish tale you will not want to miss.
A powerful story in less than 100 pages, "Grief Eater" is now one of my all-time favorite zombie stories, and Emma Osborne is an author I am excited to see grow and continue to create. This is one ghoulish tale you will not want to miss.
June 2, 2026
Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from netgalley.
A young woman with a desperately ignored past finds herself amidst a rapid and violent outbreak of zombies. Just like her trauma, she doesn’t stay buried either after being bitten and begins the long trek across Australia to her family’s hometown to finally confront them about her horrible childhood.
Kristina is a fascinating character, a woman, who having been deeply harmed by familial abuse and homophobia, only just began to claw out some space of love and healing, when the apocalypse upended those plans. The undead are hungry, driven by a thirst for blood and the memories it carries and unable to move on similar to ghosts. I loved how the trauma of a violent death and the state of zombie-fied existence brought all of Kristina’s past rushing to the forefront. Because while zombies may look like shambling, mindless corpses, they are in fact still capable of thought (although decay slowly erodes some capacities like the ability to read or count), capable of remembering and recognizing people, capable of feeling. However, unlike humans they do not have the ability to distract themselves, to bury their past back down and ignore it and it was really interesting (and heartbreaking) to follow Kristina as she dragged herself through her emotional turmoil towards revenge.
Despite being a short read, the author manages to put a lot of emotion, some quite incredible gore and really interesting character building in here. I wish we had gotten to know a bit more about Clara, her ex, and Josh, her trans best friend, but all in all I really enjoyed this horror novella. If you like your zombie stories with a lot of emotions, your queer characters traumatized and violent and don’t mind scalp licking (yum :P – also do be prepared to be emotionally devasted by that scene. Damn. I did not think that could make me so sad), you should grab this and devour it.
TW: domestic abuse, gore, homophobia, injury, parental death, stalking, violence
A young woman with a desperately ignored past finds herself amidst a rapid and violent outbreak of zombies. Just like her trauma, she doesn’t stay buried either after being bitten and begins the long trek across Australia to her family’s hometown to finally confront them about her horrible childhood.
Kristina is a fascinating character, a woman, who having been deeply harmed by familial abuse and homophobia, only just began to claw out some space of love and healing, when the apocalypse upended those plans. The undead are hungry, driven by a thirst for blood and the memories it carries and unable to move on similar to ghosts. I loved how the trauma of a violent death and the state of zombie-fied existence brought all of Kristina’s past rushing to the forefront. Because while zombies may look like shambling, mindless corpses, they are in fact still capable of thought (although decay slowly erodes some capacities like the ability to read or count), capable of remembering and recognizing people, capable of feeling. However, unlike humans they do not have the ability to distract themselves, to bury their past back down and ignore it and it was really interesting (and heartbreaking) to follow Kristina as she dragged herself through her emotional turmoil towards revenge.
Despite being a short read, the author manages to put a lot of emotion, some quite incredible gore and really interesting character building in here. I wish we had gotten to know a bit more about Clara, her ex, and Josh, her trans best friend, but all in all I really enjoyed this horror novella. If you like your zombie stories with a lot of emotions, your queer characters traumatized and violent and don’t mind scalp licking (yum :P – also do be prepared to be emotionally devasted by that scene. Damn. I did not think that could make me so sad), you should grab this and devour it.
TW: domestic abuse, gore, homophobia, injury, parental death, stalking, violence
June 5, 2026
Rating: 5 / 5
Format: eARC via NetGalley
On the surface, Grief Eater by Emma Osborne is a horror novella set in Australia about Kristina, a queer woman who has recently been turned into a zombie. The story moves between her life before and after becoming a zombie, showing how she changes from a fragile woman abandoned by her family because of her queerness into an undead, hungry, vengeful killer. But I did not expect the amount of brutal, unrelenting emotion in this story. Osborne did an excellent job bringing Kristina and her pain to life in such a small amount of text. Her pain and backstory felt real, uncomfortable, sad, and deeply affecting. Definitely check the trigger warnings, and don’t go into this thinking it will be a light read just because it is a short zombie story.
As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I connected with Kristina, especially in moments like when she mentions her grandparents: “They died before I came out, so they still loved me when they passed.”
There were excellent horror elements in this story as well, and I really enjoyed how they were written, such as: “I carry the blood of fourteen different people on my skin.” Kristina’s transformation into a zombie, and the way she unleashes her rage, was also done very well: “I cannot die. I am weeks dead. I will never love again, not with this dead heart, but I can hate, and I can hunt. I cannot be hurt or shamed or destroyed anymore. There is nothing in this world that I ever need to be fearful of again.”
Overall, this was excellent in my opinion. It is definitely not for everyone, but it was so much deeper and more emotional than I was expecting.
Thank you, Interstellar Flight Press, for providing me with this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Format: eARC via NetGalley
On the surface, Grief Eater by Emma Osborne is a horror novella set in Australia about Kristina, a queer woman who has recently been turned into a zombie. The story moves between her life before and after becoming a zombie, showing how she changes from a fragile woman abandoned by her family because of her queerness into an undead, hungry, vengeful killer. But I did not expect the amount of brutal, unrelenting emotion in this story. Osborne did an excellent job bringing Kristina and her pain to life in such a small amount of text. Her pain and backstory felt real, uncomfortable, sad, and deeply affecting. Definitely check the trigger warnings, and don’t go into this thinking it will be a light read just because it is a short zombie story.
As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I connected with Kristina, especially in moments like when she mentions her grandparents: “They died before I came out, so they still loved me when they passed.”
There were excellent horror elements in this story as well, and I really enjoyed how they were written, such as: “I carry the blood of fourteen different people on my skin.” Kristina’s transformation into a zombie, and the way she unleashes her rage, was also done very well: “I cannot die. I am weeks dead. I will never love again, not with this dead heart, but I can hate, and I can hunt. I cannot be hurt or shamed or destroyed anymore. There is nothing in this world that I ever need to be fearful of again.”
Overall, this was excellent in my opinion. It is definitely not for everyone, but it was so much deeper and more emotional than I was expecting.
Thank you, Interstellar Flight Press, for providing me with this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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