You may recognize Sylvia Morrow from the sentient object romance book, Stuffed. You know, the one about the pillow that turns into a man made of pillow? It’s great fun and there’s even a sequel. You should read it if you like stuff like that. I loved it. You may also recognize Sylvia Morrow from her social media, where she is just about the sweetest person ever. When she started talking about her darker horror romance book, Dead Emma, I was intrigued. If you follow the indie horror scene, you know that horror romance is having a moment. It’s a blip of a moment, but I love to see it.

Emma is a ghost trapped on an island with her Aunt Jess. Due to some unpleasant scientific experiments conducted on her all her life and eventual death, Emma remains in a state of undeath so long as she is able to feed on human flesh. Her step-brother Max has been supplying her with food ever since her boyfriend Jake died. Max is alive, but headless. He was shot in the head, but was somehow revived by the council and fitted with a mask that functions as a head without a face. Unbeknownst to Emma, Max has been in love with her since their parents married when they were teenagers. When her safety is jeopardized and the need to find a way to remove her anchor to the island becomes necessary, Max decides it’s time to pour his heart out to her before it’s too late. She is understandably confused, but confesses to having feelings for him that she hadn’t acknowledged sooner because she was happily in love with Jake. Max is ecstatic…until Jake comes back from the dead. You see, Jake was also part of the experimentation gang. He is able to regenerate missing body parts, including, apparently, his entire body that had been dissolved by acid. Fuckin’ amazing. Does that make him immortal? Maybe. It also makes him a perfect companion for Emma, who relies on consuming human flesh to survive. See where this is going? Yeah you do. It’s great.

Jake’s arrival complicates things between Emma and Max, who have shed their step sibling relationship in favor of a romantic one. Emma quickly realizes that she’s still in love with Jake. But she’s also in love with Max. Can she have both? Will they have each other? Can they work this out AND figure out an escape plan? You’ll have to read it to find out. And you definitely should. I really like this darker Sylvia Morrow. I love her sentient object books, but Dead Emma is on a whole other level. If you’re a monster fucker horror hound like myself, you’re gonna love it.