Reviews tagging 'Death'

My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

47 reviews

bookwormbarber's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Incest, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, and Murder

chainsawheartbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“I wanted to eat her up and drink her in. I was hungry for her touch and her words and her love.”

A tale of ghosts, a discussion about mental health, and a truly wonderful love story.

I absolutely adored this book, I didn’t ever want to put it down, and I’m fairly sure I fell asleep mid-chapter as I kept telling myself just one more page!

Set in the 1950s, Roos and Agnes are two beautifully rich characters that transcend their era. The writing was just gorgeous and I desperately need another novel from Van Veen, please. In fact, this has sky-rocketed into my top three.

As with all horrors, especially those set before the modern day, there are a lot of potential triggers which are important to note (these can be found below), and the author does include a content warning at the start which I thought was a nice touch. 

Some of the characters angered me in such a deep way that I wanted to jump in the book and fight them myself. But then others, such as Peter, were so genuine and good that it lifted my heart to read; especially the scene with him and the bee! 🐝 

If you’re looking for a heart wrenching love story that’s perfectly interlaced with a chillingly haunted edge, then I can highly recommend, especially for this spooky season.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

howlinglibraries's review

dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

 

"It's a dangerous thing, to try and give someone everything. One day, you might find you've given away things you should've kept."

This was one of the most beautifully haunting books I've read in quite a while and has easily, instantly found its way onto the 'best books of 2024' list in my mind. My Darling Dreadful Thing is precisely what I want from a gothic horror novel: dark, romantic, claustrophobic, and downright chilling. Scenes of horrific imagery and even worse traumas take place against an immersive and poetic backdrop filled with forbidden love, and I adored it. It broke my heart more than once. I can't wait to read more of Johanna's works. ♥

“. . . there’s something missing from my life, something dreadful, something darling.”

✨ Representation: sapphic romance, queer MC, Indonesian and bi/pan love interest 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, and Pedophilia

artemismoon057's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

bookswithabbey1's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

pey333's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

etpreads's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Miscarriage, Blood, and Vomit

grey_poppy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was my first horror novel. I really enjoyed how the author fit horror not just in the plot, but also in the words chosen as descriptors. It wasn't particularly scary, which I'm kinda glad for, but the descriptors were very vivid and I felt like I could visualize every creepy moment perfectly. Also appreciated the Sapphic romance in it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Incest

Minor: Abortion

quabbityash's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Murder

sersi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Vomit, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Incest, and Medical trauma