Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

16 reviews

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

Arc provided by Netgalley

This novel establishes itself as a leading player in the current world of gothic writing, appealing to iconic and well-established tropes but removing us from their expected routes to lead readers into a horrific, gory and thrilling story that grips onto your attention and refuses to let go.

I loved this book. It gave me everything and more I could have wanted, and leaved enough room to surprise and shock me with every page. As an avid lover of the gothic, mostly classic Victorian gothic, it’s a pleasure to see a modern gothic novel take on the genre in a way that feels refreshing and familiar in one fall swoop.

Honestly, I hesitate so say too much because this book does more than enough to draw you in with as little prior information as possible. All I shall say is if you love gothic horror, pick this book up. 

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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

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

About as female gothic as you can get.
Also a much better take on lesbian vampires that also managed to include Doppelgänger and possession.
I liked the setting of dreary, rural netherlands. The plot is mostly there to scrutinize the sister relationship which was really interesting. The characters' behaviour didn't always make sense to me though (not in a "this is not what I would have done" way, which is also true but I didn't mind, more in a "this is not what people do when they are put in that situation" way) and some of the conflicts of monologues about issues felt a bit forced and not fitting the situation they happened in.

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

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC!

I was immediately pulled in by the story and enjoyed even more than her debut novel. This is a creepy, Disturbing, and gross more than scary horror novel! There were times that the imagery made me nauseous but despite that I “enjoyed” the horror aspects and unique story.

I also appreciated that the author includes content warnings in the beginning.

I loved the atmospheric, historical setting. The story takes place in Drenthe which is one province over from me which I found really cool!! There was also a mention of my home state, Michigan 😍

Enjoying the mixing of the story as told by Lucy as well as newspaper articles, letters, and diary entries. You really get to know the characters who are flawed and well written! I had a lot of mixed feelings for them throughout the book.

The novel as a whole was well paced throughout and had a great ending. My best read of March so far and makes Van Veen an auto read author for me now!

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I don't consider myself a horror reader, but I adored this book. I loved the different philosophical questions it brought up and I felt like it had a really satisfying ending. I also loved how gruesome it is; the depictions of violence were delicious. Lucy was such an interesting main character and the way that the main mystery unfurled was so intriguing.
I don't think I can really talk about this book properly without spoilers, so here we go!
I love how the message at the end with Arthur is like "Yes, even that man. A man is a man!" Because yeah. A man is a man. (I do know men that I love and trust, but you could just tell that Arthur was on some patriarchal bullshit.) I also thought the question of whether or not the being was "Sarah" was a really interesting direction to take this story. I liked how it resulted in (almost) all of the women in the story working together and it just felt like a unique take on this type of story.

Overall, I just really liked this book and I think that as long as you're not squeamish, you'll really like it, too.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Poisoned Pen Press for the free finished copy.

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