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furaleii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Really enjoyable read. The author says she considers it a love story, but I found the romance in it to defintitely be in the background. Not a bad thing, but if you're reading it expecting it to be a sapphic romance first, mystery horror second, you may be slightly disappointed. That being said, the writing, imagery and scenery, and treatment of the characters was beautiful. I thought the idea that spirits only stay as spirits if they're in a bog or moat, or at least otherwise unable to decompose. The use of bogs was a wonderful addition to a gothic story that I thought was very interesting to learn about.
There were a couple of creepy moments throughout the book, but it wasn't a scary read. The main spirits in the story, Ruth and Peter, are adorable and so love-able; at times, I disliked every single character in the book except for Ruth and Peter, and I adored them. Especially Peter-- he could literally do no wrong. This book made me want my own spirit companion, purely from how sweet Peter was. Willemijn, the older lady who was (I think?) supposed to be made creepy and unsettling, was mostly just hilarious. Her racist comments were rude and annoying, but everything else she said was reminiscent of a grouchy old lady that knows she's all bark and no bite, and I thought her comments were hilarious. She was kind of the comic relief character for me, though she did have her moments that made her less amusing and more disturbing.
Both Agnes and Roos went through so much shit, had so much trauma, that I'm glad they were able to find happiness in each other. The story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I refuse to have a bad ending so I'm automatically assuming it ended in the positive route.
There were a couple of creepy moments throughout the book, but it wasn't a scary read. The main spirits in the story, Ruth and Peter, are adorable and so love-able; at times, I disliked every single character in the book except for Ruth and Peter, and I adored them. Especially Peter-- he could literally do no wrong. This book made me want my own spirit companion, purely from how sweet Peter was. Willemijn, the older lady who was (I think?) supposed to be made creepy and unsettling, was mostly just hilarious. Her racist comments were rude and annoying, but everything else she said was reminiscent of a grouchy old lady that knows she's all bark and no bite, and I thought her comments were hilarious. She was kind of the comic relief character for me, though she did have her moments that made her less amusing and more disturbing.
Both Agnes and Roos went through so much shit, had so much trauma, that I'm glad they were able to find happiness in each other. The story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I refuse to have a bad ending so I'm automatically assuming it ended in the positive route.
nataliereadz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
orangemeow11's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
booktrishandmagic's review against another edition
This is undoubtedly one of the most anticlimactic and boring books I’ve ever had the displeasure of picking up.
blacksphinx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a really lovely sapphic Gothic that goes some places. I just loved the light epistolary touch - every couple of chapters you'll get a transcribed interview between our protagonist Roos and the doctor hired by the court to determine if she's sane enough to stand accused in a murder trial. I felt the interviews gave a good scaffolding to the book. Normally I hate narration that's like "little did they know that one of them would soon be dead", but knowing the tale we are being told has already occurred and getting flickers of how it ends just built up the dread for me. Some parts of this novel thrilled and chilled me; but at other points, I was stuck by how derivative certain plot elements were. (One character's backstory seemed lifted straight out of a very famous Gothic novel; the author even name-checks that one in the back.)
Overall this is a great novel about the lingering effects of trauma and what that does to those who survive. If you're a goth who is always tweeting about "toxic yuri", open a new tab and buy it now.
Overall this is a great novel about the lingering effects of trauma and what that does to those who survive. If you're a goth who is always tweeting about "toxic yuri", open a new tab and buy it now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Self harm, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Animal death, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Trafficking
It's a massive spoiler butsimonlorden's review
4.5
I received an ARC through NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A sapphic horror that manages to be soft and romantic as well as horrifying. The description of rotting dead bodies is definitely horroristic, but it's not really scary, and in fact often done with love.
Roos is an abused child with a spirit companion that only she can see, at least until she meets the widowed Agnes, who has her own spirit companion. The two of them cling to each other and slowly begin a relationship, but Agnes's relationship with her husband still haunts them. You sort of know from the beginning that it's going to end horribly, but you still can't really blame Roos, because she did what she thought was best for Agnes and her love.
Overall, a horrifying but still emotional and hopeful story that focuses a lot on death and abuse and trauma, as well as racism.
A sapphic horror that manages to be soft and romantic as well as horrifying. The description of rotting dead bodies is definitely horroristic, but it's not really scary, and in fact often done with love.
Roos is an abused child with a spirit companion that only she can see, at least until she meets the widowed Agnes, who has her own spirit companion. The two of them cling to each other and slowly begin a relationship, but Agnes's relationship with her husband still haunts them. You sort of know from the beginning that it's going to end horribly, but you still can't really blame Roos, because she did what she thought was best for Agnes and her love.
Overall, a horrifying but still emotional and hopeful story that focuses a lot on death and abuse and trauma, as well as racism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Incest
horroritygirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kindlebabe's review against another edition
5.0
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ //5
My Darling Dreadful Thing
by: Johanna van Veen
THOUGHTS:
I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to read an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
Do you love a book that is:
-dark
-gothic
-horror
-psychological
This will be for you and it has even more within!
Literally take all my dreaded stars—really take them all and all my love. This book was so good. I ate it up and didn’t take a second to break from it until it was done. I adored the writing style, the world and character development, plot/setting—ALL of it. I am always excited and in the mood to read a dark horror type read and this fed me just that. This books cover is just the icing on this. The way that Johanna feeds you this horrific terror on a platter was beautiful. I do not want to go too much into this book because I believe this is a perfect book to curl up with blindly on a cold day with a hot drink and warm blanket and get lost within it’s pages. I cannot wait to share this book with everybody that I know!
My Darling Dreadful Thing
by: Johanna van Veen
THOUGHTS:
I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to read an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
Do you love a book that is:
-dark
-gothic
-horror
-psychological
This will be for you and it has even more within!
Literally take all my dreaded stars—really take them all and all my love. This book was so good. I ate it up and didn’t take a second to break from it until it was done. I adored the writing style, the world and character development, plot/setting—ALL of it. I am always excited and in the mood to read a dark horror type read and this fed me just that. This books cover is just the icing on this. The way that Johanna feeds you this horrific terror on a platter was beautiful. I do not want to go too much into this book because I believe this is a perfect book to curl up with blindly on a cold day with a hot drink and warm blanket and get lost within it’s pages. I cannot wait to share this book with everybody that I know!