A review by carolynkr
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

dark tense fast-paced
  • 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 close to 5 stars, for the twists and turns, the depictions of mental health issues and neurodivergence, and bonds between sisters.  The writing is easy but with that Gothic flair, for those craving that vibe.  It's creepy and gross and just when you think you know what's going to happen and what the book is about, surprise!  I really do love the way the author depicted a woman's experience during this time period and how easily a woman was labeled as "mentally ill" for having opinions and for being outspoken, and how this made things very convenient for men to manipulate situations to their liking.  The characters were well developed and had clear roles, and the author handled LGBTQ topics well.  Warning - body horror is intense, lots of eye injuries, and it got to a point where I had to skim over paragraphs because of that.  Also although the dog is loved, one of the characters is quite mean to her and she does experience emotional stress throughout the book.
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