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A review by holdenwunders_
Blood on Her Tongue: A Novel by Johanna van Veen
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Blood on her Tongue is the second novel from up and coming gothic horror enthusiast Johanna van Veen and to say that I’m enamored with her would be an understatement. With the rise of gothic horror in popular media we will be seeing more authours delving into the pits of horror, but not everyone truly understands the assignment. I’m glad to report that Veen does indeed.
There is so much that goes into writing a lyrically stunning gothic horror book, from intention to pacing and not everyone succeeds at that. There were a couple issues that I did have with the pacing in the front half of the book but my few problems were quickly rectified in the latter half. The push and pull was well done but there were many times in the first half that I wanted to get closer to the horror and drama. If you stick with it, the give is worth it but the drag earlier on did have me questioning a couple of times.
A longing and yearning tale between two twins was the heart of this horror ridden story and I will root for them beyond the grave. The gothic aspects were incredibly well done and as an immense gothic lover, I’m incredibly hard to please. While the balance eventually works itself out, all the other pieces were there. From a unique plot, to the imagery and lyrical writing, and tropes that I expect to partake in when reading a book like this. Blood on Her Tongue is a sickly feminist tale that will have you quavering until the last bloody page.
There is so much that goes into writing a lyrically stunning gothic horror book, from intention to pacing and not everyone succeeds at that. There were a couple issues that I did have with the pacing in the front half of the book but my few problems were quickly rectified in the latter half. The push and pull was well done but there were many times in the first half that I wanted to get closer to the horror and drama. If you stick with it, the give is worth it but the drag earlier on did have me questioning a couple of times.
A longing and yearning tale between two twins was the heart of this horror ridden story and I will root for them beyond the grave. The gothic aspects were incredibly well done and as an immense gothic lover, I’m incredibly hard to please. While the balance eventually works itself out, all the other pieces were there. From a unique plot, to the imagery and lyrical writing, and tropes that I expect to partake in when reading a book like this. Blood on Her Tongue is a sickly feminist tale that will have you quavering until the last bloody page.