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love_and_lilacs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 STARS
My Darling Dreadful Thing hooked me almost immediately. I inhaled this book. I simply could not leave it unfinished. I had to know what happened.
I have mixed feelings on the ending, though, which is often the case for me in this genre of work. I found the premise entirely enthralling, and the author's take on how someone becomes a spirit and lingers in this world was especially intriguing to me. I absolutely love, love, loved that idea. I would love to see it explored further.
In general I found there were some minor continuity issues here and there, though nothing jumps out at me as totally distracting from the overall story.
It should be said, this is not an easy book to read if you are sensitive to any number of topics. This is a gothic horror book through and through, dealing with the tough topics of sexual assault, homophobia, child abuse, racism, murder, and more, and probably some stuff I just plain forgot. So be aware of that if you intend to pick it up and give it a go.
All-in-all, even with the less-than-satisfying ending, I'd still generally give a recommendation to gothic horror fans who can handle some rough subject matter.
ARC provided by NetGalley
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
This is a gothic horror book and it is entirely about horrible and horrific things happening. Your definition of graphic may be different than mine. Please be advised that I may not have remembered every content warning, but I tried to remember the big ones.kristinareadz's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Bullying, Blood, Violence, Murder, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Terminal illness, Self harm, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Thank you to Sourcebooks for the ARC (pub date: May 14, 2024) — I am providing an honest review on my own accord.
This was a fantastic piece of historical horror! Roosje practices seances with her Mama to get by, and when the widow Agnes Knoop attends one, she becomes enamored by Roos. Little does anyone know, Roos and her mama have simply conjured up a little ~*~ruse~*~ (ha ha GET IT?!) & their seances are not real. Roos instead lets her spirit friend Ruth inhabit her body, and they put on a performance of others’ loved ones visiting them for their patrons. Agnes becomes interested in 21-year-old Roos and pays Mama for Roos to come live with her. I won’t give away too much else, as I don’t want to spoil it, but the story moves down surprising and dark paths after this!
There are interview transcripts in between every few chapters between Roosje and a doctor, who clearly believe Roos is schizophrenic and does not entertain the presence of the spirit Ruth. They are short, but eventually unravel what has happened and why Roos is even being interviewed (and seemingly investigated/being accused) by a doctor. I thought this was so clever and it built up so much curiosity and intensity for me as the reader!
In the beginning, Van Veen mentions that though there are incredibly darker contents in this book, at the core, it is a love story and that absolutely rings true. I was fascinated by the dynamic between Roos and Ruth, as well as the dynamic between Ruth and Agnes. Regardless of what you believe (whether Ruth is real/spirits are real or if Roos has made her up as a coping mechanism for her traumatic childhood), you can feel the fierce protection, care, and possessiveness of Ruth when it comes to Roos. Additionally, the beliefs that Roos and Agnes share deeply connect them, as well as their painful pasts, and it’s so lovely to see them finally find solace and hope in the other.
Honorable mention to the ending doctor/litigator & how he presents his patients’ experiences. I sometimes stan cishet men doing the bare minimum, what can I say? 😭
The sexual content is not particularly explicit or smutty btw. Not a bad or good thing, I just like to note the steaminess of any sexual content in books to help level others’ expectations 🫶🏽
see content warnings below & take care while reading (the author does include a few in the beginning of the book)
Overall, I highly recommend this gothic horror & I will read anything JVV writes in the future!
Thank you to Sourcebooks for the ARC (pub date: May 14, 2024) — I am providing an honest review on my own accord.
This was a fantastic piece of historical horror! Roosje practices seances with her Mama to get by, and when the widow Agnes Knoop attends one, she becomes enamored by Roos. Little does anyone know, Roos and her mama have simply conjured up a little ~*~ruse~*~ (ha ha GET IT?!) & their seances are not real. Roos instead lets her spirit friend Ruth inhabit her body, and they put on a performance of others’ loved ones visiting them for their patrons. Agnes becomes interested in 21-year-old Roos and pays Mama for Roos to come live with her. I won’t give away too much else, as I don’t want to spoil it, but the story moves down surprising and dark paths after this!
There are interview transcripts in between every few chapters between Roosje and a doctor, who clearly believe Roos is schizophrenic and does not entertain the presence of the spirit Ruth. They are short, but eventually unravel what has happened and why Roos is even being interviewed (and seemingly investigated/being accused) by a doctor. I thought this was so clever and it built up so much curiosity and intensity for me as the reader!
In the beginning, Van Veen mentions that though there are incredibly darker contents in this book, at the core, it is a love story and that absolutely rings true. I was fascinated by the dynamic between Roos and Ruth, as well as the dynamic between Ruth and Agnes. Regardless of what you believe (whether Ruth is real/spirits are real or if Roos has made her up as a coping mechanism for her traumatic childhood), you can feel the fierce protection, care, and possessiveness of Ruth when it comes to Roos. Additionally, the beliefs that Roos and Agnes share deeply connect them, as well as their painful pasts, and it’s so lovely to see them finally find solace and hope in the other.
Honorable mention to the ending doctor/litigator & how he presents his patients’ experiences. I sometimes stan cishet men doing the bare minimum, what can I say? 😭
The sexual content is not particularly explicit or smutty btw. Not a bad or good thing, I just like to note the steaminess of any sexual content in books to help level others’ expectations 🫶🏽
see content warnings below & take care while reading (the author does include a few in the beginning of the book)
Overall, I highly recommend this gothic horror & I will read anything JVV writes in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Homophobia, Sexism, Child death, Medical content, Gore, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Child abuse, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Death, and Abandonment
sissix_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was captivated by Roos, Ruth and Agnes from start to finish.
My Darling Dreadful thing is a tale woven from the perspective of Roos, our troubled first person narrator, and notes from the doctor tasked with ascertaining her mental state - because she’s been accused of a gruesome murder.
The clever combination of the two means you’re constantly on edge: chasing more details to put together the story, left wondering what the truth is, and feeling like you’re always a step away from finding it out but not quite close enough.
Roos’ voice is compelling and at times deeply unnerving. Her animalistic descriptions of her spirit companion Ruth are both horrifying and (grossly) delightful. There was never a moment in reading this book that I wanted to put it down - although there were points where I had to so I could digest what I’d just read.
If you like queer (specifically sapphic) gothic horror you absolutely need to read this book.
My Darling Dreadful thing is a tale woven from the perspective of Roos, our troubled first person narrator, and notes from the doctor tasked with ascertaining her mental state - because she’s been accused of a gruesome murder.
The clever combination of the two means you’re constantly on edge: chasing more details to put together the story, left wondering what the truth is, and feeling like you’re always a step away from finding it out but not quite close enough.
Roos’ voice is compelling and at times deeply unnerving. Her animalistic descriptions of her spirit companion Ruth are both horrifying and (grossly) delightful. There was never a moment in reading this book that I wanted to put it down - although there were points where I had to so I could digest what I’d just read.
If you like queer (specifically sapphic) gothic horror you absolutely need to read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit and Gore
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Incest, Sexual assault, and Self harm
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