Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Blood on Her Tongue

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

89 reviews

ratatastic's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious 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

Content Warnings

caseyreadslol's review against another edition

3.5

dark fast-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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: Yes

Blood on Her Tongue is vampire horror as it was always meant to be: marked by excess in all aspects. It is seductive past the point of enjoyment to the point of frantic pain; curiosity-inducing to the point of relentless obsession; decadent, but like a fruit on the knife’s edge between ripe and rotting. As you may have guessed, I really loved this book.

From a craft perspective, Van Veen’s prose is clean and haunting, and blends well with the gothic themes of stagnation and decay. It isn’t anachronistic, and rather lends itself to the suspension of disbelief and allows the focus of the narrative to be on the protagonist Lucy’s character arc or the story’s plot progression. There are lovely turns of phrase, but never is the prose purple, and I think the most effective passages are when the focus is on the visceral (I’d say “the body horror scenes”, but that would be ignoring that the sex scenes have much the same effect of forcing the reader to look at something uncomfortable).

I was also a big fan of the thematic resonances of this story. It’s one deeply centered on the nuances of womanhood, and what the right sorts of it are (given the socio cultural context of the setting). We get glimpses of the criminalization of queer identity (Aunt Adelheid’s institutionalization), socioeconomic realities (whether one is a disabled widow with no family who must pay for companionship to get by, or an impoverished relation who’s too highborn to work but must still rely on a male relative’s charity to maintain one’s lifestyle, or a serving woman, or a wife who’s husband is a philanderer and chauvinist, there’s no outcome where a woman’s financial position is truly secure and independent), the axis of sexuality/desire (Lucy’s desire for Michael is shameful and mirrors her sister’s ill and perverse thoughts about the bog woman), and so much more, all as a secondary focus to the horror. Or, rather, a glimpse of a horror story all the more haunting for its roots in reality.

The horror of the story was brilliantly done. The unsettling closeness of the sisters, the weirdness of the supporting cast, all of the characterization lends to the things feeling slightly… off. Couple that with a rainy, boggy landscape, a gloomy old mansion, and the Heroic era of medicine making it so attempts to fix medical catastrophes just make them worse, and you have one spooky setting. The suspenseful pace made the 300+ pages of the book fly by even as the body- and psychological horror scenes kept me rooted in place.

Most of all, I loved Lucy as a protagonist. I loved the places where she was steadfast to the point of madness, especially because they contrasted the many places where she was passive, and her inaction caused problems to escalate. I love her blind devotion to her sister, and the way she’s ready to love ugly things but shies away from the gentle, easy ones if they’re not what she truly wants. Her consistent nature made it so her choices were easy to see coming even as they escalated in intensity, which was a point of anchoring and comfort for me as I made my way through the disquieting world/plot (yes, even when Lucy’s actions were themselves disquieting!).

I recommend Blood on Her Tongue for fans of A Dowry in Blood, Paris Paloma’s song “Labour”, and any woman who’s felt her skin to be a cage in our patriarchal society.

Content Warnings

emyers613's review against another edition

4.5

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.

Content Warnings

holaitstati's review against another edition

4.0

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.

Content Warnings

mauxdencre's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

loubear_the_hermit's review against another edition

5.0

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!

Content Warnings

filipa_maia's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is, in fact, a very unconventional story. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, I was thrown for a loop.

I hate every single one of these people: they are horrible to each other and they do terrible things. But I really liked the plot - full of details and little things that made me want to keep reading and for a (somehow) "happy" ending. I particularly enjoyed the dynamics between the twin sisters: despite everything they really love each other.

I really want to read other books by this author.

Content Warnings

justoomint's review against another edition

5.0

Content Warnings

ashleys_endless_tbrlist's review against another edition

3.0

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.

Content Warnings

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