Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

65 reviews

dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was weird and creepy and twisty and I loooooved it. Every time I thought the book was going down a path paved with tropes, it swerved. That was so delightful for me to experience! I flew to the ending because I was dying to know what would happen to Lucy and Sarah. I’ll definitely be checking out more by this author.

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

i ate this book up, the spicy bits added a lot for me.
i like how they tied queerness to mental illness, not once but twice. as recognized back in that time. i wasn’t expecting it at all.
very good read with wonderful pace. 

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated


historical Gothic horror is definitely a genre i didn't think I'd touch to be honest, but I was drawn in by the pretty dog on the cover (pasja). I was gripped in by the question of, what was really happening or was it all in the main character (Lucy's) head? the combination of mental health mistreatment of the later years and the prospects of a parasite taking over (vampirism) it definitely gives nosferatu vibes. I will advise that some scenes are not for the weak stomached, I had to put this book down a lot to keep myself from being sick; with that being said, I've never liked gore and I still kept reading. this book is nuts, but was very enjoyable for those who love a good vampire historical tale!

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dark emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

I loved this book. A Gothic horror that truely had my stomach churning, left me having to put it down to process how horrified I felt, while drawing me back in to keep reading. I love Johanna Van Veens way of placing another story within a Gothic horror. The blood on her tongue is a story of the unshakeable bond of two sisters, placed within a terrifying predicament. I walked away from this book feeling horrified, vindicated, angry, sad, and excited all at once. Incredible writing, story, and characters. 

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I wanted to absolutely love this book. Unfortunately it just didn’t click with me. It was often very slow moving and I found myself questioning where the story could go. I could not stand Lucy or Sarah. Lucy is obsessed with her sister to an extremely disturbing level and I found myself just questioning everything. This was set in 1887 Netherlands but was written in today’s modern language and it felt a bit disjointed. 

This is just my opinion and I still recommend giving this a read if it sounds like your cup of tea. 



Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Not exactly what I expected! I liked that this was a vampire book but with a special twist that added a certain uniqueness to such a common concept.

This book started off slow for me and I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it. If you feel that way, give it a chance because it really does pick up. The writing was beautiful, atmospheric, and unsettling. I loved reading about the bog and as weird as this is, the autopsied body. There was so much mystery surrounding the state of the body that was found.

The characters were complicated. I really couldn't decide if I liked them or not. I'm also never really a fan of infidelity under any circumstances unless there's a case of domestic abuse where the victim can't physically leave their abuser. But this wasn't that. The characters as a whole were generally unlikable. Specifically the male characters. I was confused on how to view Sarah throughout this story too.

Which feeds into my next point about the personal touch that this book took on vampirism. This wasn't a classic case of vampirism and I won't spoil it for you if you don't want to know. For those of you that are interested:
this book takes on what they call a "tick." It has vampiric traits but it's more accurate to call it a parasite. The "tick" latches onto its host and essentially takes over the host's body. It consumes the memories of the host, basically becoming the essence of its victim.
This is what had me so conflicted about
Sarah. While it had consumed all of Sarah's memories and took on her traits, it still wasn't "Sarah." But what makes a person who they are? Their thoughts and memories? Lucy found herself struggling with this concept and I thought it was extremely interesting.


I also have to mention the gorgeous cover on this! The edition that I own has splayed edges with blood drips down the side. I'm obsessed!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6703582181
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/3915815f-f072-4b88-86bd-3e9c3da9d8b3/share

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