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dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
Thanks NetGalley for the arc!
Read this one if you love The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe, Dracula, T. Kingfishers works and books like Leech by Hiron Ennes.
Summary:
Sarah, Lucys twin sister, discovers a bog body on the grounds of her estate. Fascinated by the morbid and in love with with science, she becomes obsessed with the "bog woman", watching her autopsy and mentioning her frantically in writing to her sister. Two weeks later, Lucy receives a letter letting her know that her sister is plagues by a sickness - similar to a burst "insanity" that has befallen her once before.
After the commitment of their aunt to a mental asylum, Sarah and Lucy are deathly afraid of the same future awaiting Sarah.
Lucy rushes to Sarahs sickbed, but it becomes more and more clear that some kinds of sickness cannot be healed - if you could even call Sarahs state of mind a sickness...
This one was fabulous. Lovely writing fitting for a novel set in the 19th century, a moody atmosphere found in the wetlands of the Netherlands, enticing, yet not always likeable characters and a healthy heap of eeriness made this book a lovely blend of everything slightly unsettling. I would not say this book is gruesome psycho horror, but it is definitely not for the faint of mind (or stomach.)
Between the chapters, we often find letters or articles giving us more insight in the characters and their surroundings. Whilst the twins were generally very loving towards each other, they both had huge flaws which made the book even more believable and interesting. Intersected with thoughts of the pull between whats wrong and what feels right, mostly our main characters have a lot of depth. Be warned that men, especially in the nineteenth century, were awful, so if you feel uncomfortable reading about a man thinking of an independent woman as unnatural, maybe skip this one (but remember that this also entails reading about badass independen.
I loved this slightly different interpretation of vampirism and enjoyed discovering every piece of information we could get our hands on.
This book was moody, eerie, fascinating and creepy - and I loved all of it!
Read this one if you love The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe, Dracula, T. Kingfishers works and books like Leech by Hiron Ennes.
Summary:
Sarah, Lucys twin sister, discovers a bog body on the grounds of her estate. Fascinated by the morbid and in love with with science, she becomes obsessed with the "bog woman", watching her autopsy and mentioning her frantically in writing to her sister. Two weeks later, Lucy receives a letter letting her know that her sister is plagues by a sickness - similar to a burst "insanity" that has befallen her once before.
After the commitment of their aunt to a mental asylum, Sarah and Lucy are deathly afraid of the same future awaiting Sarah.
Lucy rushes to Sarahs sickbed, but it becomes more and more clear that some kinds of sickness cannot be healed - if you could even call Sarahs state of mind a sickness...
This one was fabulous. Lovely writing fitting for a novel set in the 19th century, a moody atmosphere found in the wetlands of the Netherlands, enticing, yet not always likeable characters and a healthy heap of eeriness made this book a lovely blend of everything slightly unsettling. I would not say this book is gruesome psycho horror, but it is definitely not for the faint of mind (or stomach.)
Between the chapters, we often find letters or articles giving us more insight in the characters and their surroundings. Whilst the twins were generally very loving towards each other, they both had huge flaws which made the book even more believable and interesting. Intersected with thoughts of the pull between whats wrong and what feels right, mostly our main characters have a lot of depth. Be warned that men, especially in the nineteenth century, were awful, so if you feel uncomfortable reading about a man thinking of an independent woman as unnatural, maybe skip this one (but remember that this also entails reading about badass independen.
I loved this slightly different interpretation of vampirism and enjoyed discovering every piece of information we could get our hands on.
This book was moody, eerie, fascinating and creepy - and I loved all of it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen
“For you, l’d lie and cheat and kill and damn myself straight to hell. I’d do all that and more, again and again and again, as long as it took to ensure you were safe, because you are my twin, my half, my more.”
First off, thank you @poisonedpenpress for the gifted advance reader copy of Blood on her Tongue.
And happy Friday the 13th everyone! I cannot think of a better day to post a review of this beautifully written gothic, horror, novel. Which is ultimately a unique twist on Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Even though it was not advertised as such.
So, let’s get into it:
1. I have read a couple of reimagining of the above mentioned short story, and while I have loved both of them, they essentially had the same premise. Blood on Her Tongue, however, adds an interesting twist to the story in more ways than one, that I thoroughly appreciated.
2. The atmospheric writing and prose were beautifully detailed making it incredibly difficult to choose a quote for this review. (I marked over 20 I wanted to use.)
3. I enjoyed how the author explored the themes of misogyny within the novel as well. This was throughly flushed out both thoughtfully and intentionally.
4. Oh and that ending was so satisfying! Dark and gruesome, but satisfying.
I loved this book and immediately bought the author’s first novel, “My Darling Dreadful Thing” after reading this one. I expect Van Veen to be an auto-buy author moving forward.
If you are a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia or T. Kingfisher this is a must read. But just a heads up, there is a considerable amount of body horror and other potential triggers. Fortunately, the author has a detailed explanation at the beginning of what you will find within the pages.
Want to know more? You can swipe for the synopsis!
“For you, l’d lie and cheat and kill and damn myself straight to hell. I’d do all that and more, again and again and again, as long as it took to ensure you were safe, because you are my twin, my half, my more.”
First off, thank you @poisonedpenpress for the gifted advance reader copy of Blood on her Tongue.
And happy Friday the 13th everyone! I cannot think of a better day to post a review of this beautifully written gothic, horror, novel. Which is ultimately a unique twist on Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Even though it was not advertised as such.
So, let’s get into it:
1. I have read a couple of reimagining of the above mentioned short story, and while I have loved both of them, they essentially had the same premise. Blood on Her Tongue, however, adds an interesting twist to the story in more ways than one, that I thoroughly appreciated.
2. The atmospheric writing and prose were beautifully detailed making it incredibly difficult to choose a quote for this review. (I marked over 20 I wanted to use.)
3. I enjoyed how the author explored the themes of misogyny within the novel as well. This was throughly flushed out both thoughtfully and intentionally.
4. Oh and that ending was so satisfying! Dark and gruesome, but satisfying.
I loved this book and immediately bought the author’s first novel, “My Darling Dreadful Thing” after reading this one. I expect Van Veen to be an auto-buy author moving forward.
If you are a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia or T. Kingfisher this is a must read. But just a heads up, there is a considerable amount of body horror and other potential triggers. Fortunately, the author has a detailed explanation at the beginning of what you will find within the pages.
Want to know more? You can swipe for the synopsis!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Cannibalism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment