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A review by novellearts
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Not exactly what I expected! I liked that this was a vampire book but with a special twist that added a certain uniqueness to such a common concept.
This book started off slow for me and I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it. If you feel that way, give it a chance because it really does pick up. The writing was beautiful, atmospheric, and unsettling. I loved reading about the bog and as weird as this is, the autopsied body. There was so much mystery surrounding the state of the body that was found.
The characters were complicated. I really couldn't decide if I liked them or not. I'm also never really a fan of infidelity under any circumstances unless there's a case of domestic abuse where the victim can't physically leave their abuser. But this wasn't that. The characters as a whole were generally unlikable. Specifically the male characters. I was confused on how to view Sarah throughout this story too.
Which feeds into my next point about the personal touch that this book took on vampirism. This wasn't a classic case of vampirism and I won't spoil it for you if you don't want to know. For those of you that are interested:this book takes on what they call a "tick." It has vampiric traits but it's more accurate to call it a parasite. The "tick" latches onto its host and essentially takes over the host's body. It consumes the memories of the host, basically becoming the essence of its victim. This is what had me so conflicted about Sarah. While it had consumed all of Sarah's memories and took on her traits, it still wasn't "Sarah." But what makes a person who they are? Their thoughts and memories? Lucy found herself struggling with this concept and I thought it was extremely interesting.
I also have to mention the gorgeous cover on this! The edition that I own has splayed edges with blood drips down the side. I'm obsessed!
Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6703582181
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/3915815f-f072-4b88-86bd-3e9c3da9d8b3/share
This book started off slow for me and I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it. If you feel that way, give it a chance because it really does pick up. The writing was beautiful, atmospheric, and unsettling. I loved reading about the bog and as weird as this is, the autopsied body. There was so much mystery surrounding the state of the body that was found.
The characters were complicated. I really couldn't decide if I liked them or not. I'm also never really a fan of infidelity under any circumstances unless there's a case of domestic abuse where the victim can't physically leave their abuser. But this wasn't that. The characters as a whole were generally unlikable. Specifically the male characters. I was confused on how to view Sarah throughout this story too.
Which feeds into my next point about the personal touch that this book took on vampirism. This wasn't a classic case of vampirism and I won't spoil it for you if you don't want to know. For those of you that are interested:
I also have to mention the gorgeous cover on this! The edition that I own has splayed edges with blood drips down the side. I'm obsessed!
Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6703582181
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/3915815f-f072-4b88-86bd-3e9c3da9d8b3/share
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail