In 'Such Pretty Flowers', author K. L. Cerra delivers a spine-tingling psychological thriller that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. Holly's quest for the truth about her brother's death leads her down a twisted path of obsession and deception as she delves into the dark world of his enigmatic girlfriend, Maura. As the lines between reality and paranoia blur, Holly draws deeper into Maura's seductive web, haunted by the eerie black roses that seem to symbolize something far more sinister. With its atmospheric setting and chilling plot twists, 'Black-Eyed Roses' is a gripping tale of secrets, lies, and the dangerous allure of forbidden desires. Cerra crafts a haunting narrative that will keep readers guessing until the final, shocking revelation.

I tried to like this. The premise was good but somewhere it lost me. I did not finish at about half. I liked the spooky idea behind it but I think it just didnt stick with me enough to finish.

After many attempts to get into this, it's time for me to admit defeat. I enjoyed the writing style, however, something just didn't click for me. I'm not quite sure what it was but unfortunately I couldn't find myself caring enough to continue.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

This type of book is not my normal grab but I really enjoyed this one. It does read slow but if you stick with it you’ll be rewarded with a very eloquent gothic tale

I love a character with a few quirks, and Holly sure does have a few! She just lost her brother to suicide and she can't help but keep questioning herself on why she didn't answer his texts. Then she meets his new girlfriend Maura and starts to wonder what really happened? Maura is a bit off. This was such an interesting book and I could not put it down until I finished the very last sentence! Can't wait to read more by this author!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, wow. This cover was what really drew me in and then I saw the synopsis. Still, I had zero regrets when it came to requesting this book and then none when I eventually dove into it. At the moment, my mind is still reeling with what actually went down. From the very beginning, I had so many questions and honestly those didn't stop forming until the very end.

Which, of course, is when I was getting the answers. I was slowly starting to demand more information after the first few chapters. Honestly, probably after the prologue. Then there's the characters that were just off. Suspicious, not making sense, and driving me nuts. The murder mystery and the flowers kept me hooked.

In the end, I'm so glad that I was completely sucked in and read this within 24 hours. I have regrets about any of it. Especially since we can all officially rest from the chaos. I can't wait for my next mystery thriller.

It was such a different read And way creepier than I expected. I had to sit and think about it for a minute because it stayed with me. Make sure to grab this one.

overall it was a good time and i enjoyed it.. i liked the dark and mysterious aspect of it and it definitely had my thinking and rethinking. it was a little weird but i definitely found myself rooting for the "bad guy" in it XD

This book just personally did not work for me and was not my cup of tea. It was also too bizarre for my personal liking. The characters were not likeable and the story was not creepy or scary at all. The book is well written and the synopsis really made this book sound so good, it just wasn’t for me personally.

CW: suicide, body horror, confinement

Going in, I do highly recommend that you go in rather blind. Don’t read other reviews. Don’t dive in too deep with this–if it sounds interesting, just start diving in. With that in mind, if you would like to do that, don’t read any farther.

Such Pretty Flowers had a way of sucking me in. It pulled me in with these dark vibes and didn’t want to let me go. It is written in such an addictive way that I didn’t want to put it down. Captivating to where I wanted to jump in and just yell at the MC and knock some sense into her–much like I want to do in horror movies. So, the author did an excellent job to recreate that stress. Kudos to her there.

Holly is a flawed main character, and that is fully on display throughout this story. She is fighting her own battles while trying to figure out what happened to her brother. In this determination, she sets herself aside to focus on him. Her grief manifesting in such a way leads her to getting in a situation that is sticky and when her whole life had fallen apart, she didn’t know how to get out of it. All of it made her grief and own mental struggles much more apparent.

Maura… well, even in my more in depth review, I think it’s better to find out about her yourself.

The ending did serve as a disappointment. Throughout the whole novel, it is built up. More clues were being revealed to the point where I was scared to get the full details of what happened. In comparison to that, the ending felt rushed or like the author was uncertain of how to end it so just went for it.

Anyone who is a fan of gothic horror should give this a try because while it doesn’t have a big oh wow moment, it still manages to be a book that is hard to put down.

Such Pretty Flowers by K.L. Cerra is not what I expected. Holly is trying to parse together the events that led to her brother's morbid suicide/death. As Holly gets closer to her brother's ex, things start to get very weird. I'm talking Mexican Gothic level weird. The author did an excellent job building suspense and the body horror additions were pretty awesome. This is a bit slower than I'd like but the reveal made it worth the journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Thank you Ballantine and NetGalley for the eARC of Such Pretty Flowers! All opinions in this review are my own.

Such Pretty Flowers was such a sinister read! At first, I was waiting for Holly to discover something terrible around every corner. Unfortunately, there was a lot of waiting in this book and the pace was pretty slow. I felt like I spent most of the time waiting for something to happen and it didn’t happen until the final third of the book. At least the ending was dramatic enough to make up for some of it.

Holly is investigating her bother’s suicide. There’s more than one problem but one of the big problems is she’s falling for the one person she absolutely shouldn’t trust. I wasn’t sure who to trust at all throughout which is the sign of a good suspenseful book.

Thank you #bantam and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Creepy & strange but unique. Compelling characters in a mystery of twists, turns, & lies. Do you believe he did it or did someone or something else’ do it?

I am so torn with this one. It was definitely creeptastic, but than also very strange. I don't know if I'm still able to figure out my thought even after finishing the book. If you're looking for a unique read, this is definitely one.

1,75 stars

I'm sorry this might be the lowest rating I've ever done for a book but absolutely not a book for me. It started off just fine and I was really intrigued to see what happened to her brother and why. Then for some reason we have to throw in a relationship between her and her brother's fiance/wife FOR WHAT REASON?!?!?! You go through the whole first quarter of the book talking about your sibling bond with him and that he always protected you and this and that, then jump into thoughts of his fiance and follow through on those, no just no. It just couldn't recover the storyline for me after that.

What a creepy (but fun!) read!
I haven’t read many books that are as gothic and eerie as this, but it was absolutely enjoyable.

Holly is such a compelling character. She is investigating the apparent suicide of her brother, but starts to feel that the more she uncovers the closer she gets to a suspect that she may be falling for.

Did he do it or did someone else kill him? Can she separate her feelings to uncover the truth?

🩸🥀Book Review:
Title: Such Pretty Flowers
Author: K.L.Cerra
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

For anyone who really knows me, they know I'm intrigued by flowers. I can't keep one alive to save my life, but I still love them! I was not born with a green thumb no matter how hard I've tried to be one! Flowers that kill, now that's interesting! The imagery in this book was phenomenal! 👌 I wanted to give it a higher rating, but what it thrived in imagery was that it lacked in the actual story.

One night, Holly receives a cryptic text message from her brother, Dane, who says, "Get it out of me." Chilling. He is later found dead and mutilated. His death is ruled a suicide and Holly is struggling to believe this, especially because of the last message she received from him. She begins to suspect something is off with his girlfriend, Maura. She decides to become closer to her to see what it is that has her questioning her character. Holly begins to catch her in numerous lies but feels herself strangely drawn to her. Things begin to get pretty dark, and then Holly gets a behind the scenes look at Maura's thriving floral business. What is up with those roses? Very creepy vibe!

Published: February 7th, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley, and @randomhouse for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.