Scan barcode
A review by mel_c_bell
My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
So, on the first page, we meet our main character, a young woman with quite a unique friend – a bestie who can actually possess her body. They, along with Mama, use this talent to hold fake seances for grieving clients. But things take an unexpected turn during one of their sessions, and suddenly, they find themselves in a decrepit mansion with more than just secrets to uncover.
I absolutely loved the hybrid first person and epistolary narration in this book. We get to uncover the chilling details of a horrific incident involving our main character through a clever blend of first person accounts and tantalizing doctor's reports filled with dialogue. The constant doubt cast by the doctor's sections adds an extra layer of intrigue to an already unreliable narrator. I was left questioning everything, never sure what to believe. It's a brilliantly sharp, witty, and edgy storytelling technique that kept me hooked from start to finish.
The author's reverence for the Gothic genre is palpable, evident in the exquisitely crafted descriptions of eerie and dilapidated settings, the lingering influence of the past on every character, and the use of paranormal elements.
It's dark, it's gothic, it's sapphic, and I absolutely adored every single moment devouring this!.
I absolutely loved the hybrid first person and epistolary narration in this book. We get to uncover the chilling details of a horrific incident involving our main character through a clever blend of first person accounts and tantalizing doctor's reports filled with dialogue. The constant doubt cast by the doctor's sections adds an extra layer of intrigue to an already unreliable narrator. I was left questioning everything, never sure what to believe. It's a brilliantly sharp, witty, and edgy storytelling technique that kept me hooked from start to finish.
The author's reverence for the Gothic genre is palpable, evident in the exquisitely crafted descriptions of eerie and dilapidated settings, the lingering influence of the past on every character, and the use of paranormal elements.
It's dark, it's gothic, it's sapphic, and I absolutely adored every single moment devouring this!.