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A review by annagwritesandreads
My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Note: Check any content warnings, just in case. It's a horror book, but even my skin was crawling a bit too much at certain scenes.
2.5/5 stars
General description: Roos has been forced to perform seances to keep her mother and her alive. These seances aren't completely real, but Roos is possessed by her spirit companion Ruth during the seances to convince patreons the spirits of their loved ones are there. One day, wealthy widow Agnes Knoops attends a seance and decides afterward to take in Roos (she pays her mom off). Agnes and Roos then live in a slowly deteriorating mansion together and Roos will do anything to make Agnes happy, even if that means potentially being replaced when Roos comes up with a scheme to bring back something she knows will make Agnes happy: her husband. But, not everything is as it appears in the paper. Will Agnes truly be happy with Roos?
The compelling parts:
- I'd say the first few chapters, the point of the book where the plot gets clear, and slightly before the end are the most interesting points of the story.
- I did like how spooky the book was, it's definitely perfect for a Halloween time read.
The loss of stars:
- Roos gets interviewed by a doctor in the book and I feel like it kind of spoils the whole thing. There is nothing surprising or that compelled me to want to read longer.
- Agnes just annoyed me, I feel like she didn't tell Roos important aspects about her life on purpose and it ruined the story for me to see how often this happens.
Overall, if you like horror books and prefer character driven stories, you could like this! But if you need a heavy plot book, this is not the book for you.
2.5/5 stars
General description: Roos has been forced to perform seances to keep her mother and her alive. These seances aren't completely real, but Roos is possessed by her spirit companion Ruth during the seances to convince patreons the spirits of their loved ones are there. One day, wealthy widow Agnes Knoops attends a seance and decides afterward to take in Roos (she pays her mom off). Agnes and Roos then live in a slowly deteriorating mansion together and Roos will do anything to make Agnes happy, even if that means potentially being replaced when Roos comes up with a scheme to bring back something she knows will make Agnes happy: her husband. But, not everything is as it appears in the paper. Will Agnes truly be happy with Roos?
The compelling parts:
- I'd say the first few chapters, the point of the book where the plot gets clear, and slightly before the end are the most interesting points of the story.
- I did like how spooky the book was, it's definitely perfect for a Halloween time read.
The loss of stars:
- Roos gets interviewed by a doctor in the book and I feel like it kind of spoils the whole thing. There is nothing surprising or that compelled me to want to read longer.
- Agnes just annoyed me, I feel like she didn't tell Roos important aspects about her life on purpose and it ruined the story for me to see how often this happens.
Overall, if you like horror books and prefer character driven stories, you could like this! But if you need a heavy plot book, this is not the book for you.