Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

89 reviews

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

The characters are hardly that lovable, but you can’t help but root for them in the very end. I admit  the last part of the book made me like them a little more, but just barely so. Either way I adore the ending and the entire journey was dark, eerie, and disturbing. It was a fantastic ride, and a great take on vampirism. 

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

Van Veen's sophomore novel is another historical gothic horror which is far more absurd, odd, and macabre than her debut. If you're expecting a more conventional novel like her debut, My Darling Dreadful Thing, you'll be disappointed. At first, I was disappointed but over the course of the book I grew to simultaneously love-and-hate the characters. It does incorporate factors of her previous novel, such as a fantastically-done atmosphere, unreliable narrators, and crumbling manors. 

Then again, the elements of this book were almost guaranteed to be a sure-fire success for me. Lesbian vampires, body horror involving the eyes, and the relationships between sisters? Count me in!!!

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

Wow, this story was absolutely terrifying in the best way! I couldn’t put it down. I’m such a fan of Gothic horror, and this one truly blew me away! The dark, haunting atmosphere, the characters, the chilling sense of dread, Everything was perfect! The bond between the sisters was especially touching. It’s easily my favorite book of the year so far, and I’ll definitely be recommending it to everyone!

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

I'm going to be spending the rest of my life trying not to think too hard about eyeballs.

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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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: Yes

*Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.*

This book was a RIDE. I had to sit with it for a couple days before reviewing to collect my thoughts. I definitely enjoyed my time reading this book. It was twisty and more than once, I found myself physically tensing up and having to catch my breath while reading which is always a good sign. It’s unique in its tone and I’m far-stretched to think of a read alike in my personal experience. This book is fast-paced, the characters are complex and engaging (and next to impossible to like almost the entire time - by design, of course). The descent into madness that occurs throughout this plot is a marvel to watch. There’s themes of codependency, adultery, narcissism, and some just plain gross body horror. It also gave me some freaky dreams if I read a lil too close to bedtime - another good sign of a good creepy story. 

Definitely not a book I’d go recommending to just anyone, but I will absolutely be keeping it in my back pocket. 

Is it perfect? Most certainly not. The writing can get a *little* repetitive if you’re paying too close attention - Johanna likes certain phrases and that shows. But the reality of reading, at least for me, is that sometimes shit like that just doesn’t matter.

SO. In conclusion, proceed with caution but my god have a funky freaky good time. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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
adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

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!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings