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A review by pagesofkenzie
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen
“For you, l’d lie and cheat and kill and damn myself straight to hell. I’d do all that and more, again and again and again, as long as it took to ensure you were safe, because you are my twin, my half, my more.”
First off, thank you @poisonedpenpress for the gifted advance reader copy of Blood on her Tongue.
And happy Friday the 13th everyone! I cannot think of a better day to post a review of this beautifully written gothic, horror, novel. Which is ultimately a unique twist on Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Even though it was not advertised as such.
So, let’s get into it:
1. I have read a couple of reimagining of the above mentioned short story, and while I have loved both of them, they essentially had the same premise. Blood on Her Tongue, however, adds an interesting twist to the story in more ways than one, that I thoroughly appreciated.
2. The atmospheric writing and prose were beautifully detailed making it incredibly difficult to choose a quote for this review. (I marked over 20 I wanted to use.)
3. I enjoyed how the author explored the themes of misogyny within the novel as well. This was throughly flushed out both thoughtfully and intentionally.
4. Oh and that ending was so satisfying! Dark and gruesome, but satisfying.
I loved this book and immediately bought the author’s first novel, “My Darling Dreadful Thing” after reading this one. I expect Van Veen to be an auto-buy author moving forward.
If you are a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia or T. Kingfisher this is a must read. But just a heads up, there is a considerable amount of body horror and other potential triggers. Fortunately, the author has a detailed explanation at the beginning of what you will find within the pages.
Want to know more? You can swipe for the synopsis!
“For you, l’d lie and cheat and kill and damn myself straight to hell. I’d do all that and more, again and again and again, as long as it took to ensure you were safe, because you are my twin, my half, my more.”
First off, thank you @poisonedpenpress for the gifted advance reader copy of Blood on her Tongue.
And happy Friday the 13th everyone! I cannot think of a better day to post a review of this beautifully written gothic, horror, novel. Which is ultimately a unique twist on Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Even though it was not advertised as such.
So, let’s get into it:
1. I have read a couple of reimagining of the above mentioned short story, and while I have loved both of them, they essentially had the same premise. Blood on Her Tongue, however, adds an interesting twist to the story in more ways than one, that I thoroughly appreciated.
2. The atmospheric writing and prose were beautifully detailed making it incredibly difficult to choose a quote for this review. (I marked over 20 I wanted to use.)
3. I enjoyed how the author explored the themes of misogyny within the novel as well. This was throughly flushed out both thoughtfully and intentionally.
4. Oh and that ending was so satisfying! Dark and gruesome, but satisfying.
I loved this book and immediately bought the author’s first novel, “My Darling Dreadful Thing” after reading this one. I expect Van Veen to be an auto-buy author moving forward.
If you are a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia or T. Kingfisher this is a must read. But just a heads up, there is a considerable amount of body horror and other potential triggers. Fortunately, the author has a detailed explanation at the beginning of what you will find within the pages.
Want to know more? You can swipe for the synopsis!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Grief