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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a slow, dark, story with gothic atmosphere, queer desire, dread and grief. This book will make you question the narrative and will keep you guessing. It hounded me in more ways than just one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Death of parent
This one was pretty average to me. I really liked the writing, it made me feel like I could see everything happening clearly. The story was unique and I enjoyed it. This was good but I never really got completely invested in the characters.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Genre: Adult Gothic Romantic Horror (Queer)
Spice: 1.5/5🌶️
*spice ratings are relative to similar books in the same genre)
The Catalog: F/F, horrifying spirits companions, possession, forced proximity, FMC pretending to be a psychic medium, deep trauma & mental health conditions, friends to lovers
TW/CW: horror & gore, corpses, death, racism, homophobia, cheating (not by MCs), incest, blood, rape, child abuse
Synopsis:
When Roos was a mere child, she woke the horrifying spirit of woman she named Ruth. As her spirit compaction, Ruth helped Roos fake seances for her horrid Mama. Roos had resigned herself to a life of hell until one fateful seance when Agatha, a recent widow, came for a reading and saw something of a kindred spirit in Roos.
Thoughts:
This book was so incredibly disturbing in the best ways, that there were times I had to take a break from reading because I felt physically ill. The descriptions of the spirits, alone, were so horrific. It made the story itself that much more intense and, frankly, insane.
I don’t want to write too much and give anything away, so I’ll say that this book deals heavily with the following themes: possession and obsession, love and toxicity, mental health conditions, psychological philosophy & theory, the internalized conflict of homosexuality in a society that doesn’t accept it, and more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A masterful piece of modern gothic fiction that will linger with you long after you've turned the final page. Simultaneously a chilling ghost story, a complex love story, and a profound exploration of trauma with hauntingly beautiful prose, its chilling atmosphere, and the poignant questions it raises about the nature of love, suffering, and sacrifice.
My Darling Dreadful Thing is a love letter to the gothic genre. It has all the hallmarks of a classic gothic novel: a crumbling isolated mansion, a young woman drawn into a world of secrets, and a pervasive sense of dread. But Johanna van Veen gives these familiar tropes a fresh and modern twist with a sapphic romance, as well as exploration of mental health and trauma which is both sensitive and unflinching. This is not a book that shies away from the darkness, but rather one that delves into it with a purpose, using the gothic framework to explore the shadows of the human heart.
Also, I am an absolute sucker for nonlinear narratives that already provide a foregone conclusion and the book is all about how we get to that point. (Especially when said narrative involves a murder mystery. My Darling Dreadful Thing made use of this structure to absolute perfection.
My Darling Dreadful Thing is a love letter to the gothic genre. It has all the hallmarks of a classic gothic novel: a crumbling isolated mansion, a young woman drawn into a world of secrets, and a pervasive sense of dread. But Johanna van Veen gives these familiar tropes a fresh and modern twist with a sapphic romance, as well as exploration of mental health and trauma which is both sensitive and unflinching. This is not a book that shies away from the darkness, but rather one that delves into it with a purpose, using the gothic framework to explore the shadows of the human heart.
Also, I am an absolute sucker for nonlinear narratives that already provide a foregone conclusion and the book is all about how we get to that point. (Especially when said narrative involves a murder mystery. My Darling Dreadful Thing made use of this structure to absolute perfection.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This is my first book by the author and it was enjoyable, I just did not see how the horror came in. The story telling vs the transcript was enjoyable.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced