Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah is a YA supernatural thriller.
The town of Bishop is known for a few things, the giant sunflowers that stretch far and wide, the strong winds, and their long history of missing women. When three more women go missing no one is surprised but their daughters Whitney, Bo, Jude and Delilah aren’t content with not knowing. At the memorial for the three women (not at all suspicious when there is such a long history of missing and dead women but only these three get a memorial) the wind kicks up evidence of what may have happened to them. Each of the girls have very different personalities and pick up different parts of the clues needed to unravel what is happening in Bishop but they need to move quick before one of them disappears next.
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I liked this story but struggled with jumping back and forth between all four girls (I’ll be honest I didn’t care for Jude but adored angry feisty Bo). It felt like too much for the page count getting all four girls when I wasn’t as interested in Jude or Delilah but wanted more of Bo and Whitney (especially with Whitney’s backstory of losing Eleanor and struggling with the loss of both her mom and her girlfriend). The story did seem pretty slow moving and I struggled with the pace but I really liked the relationship the girls had with each other. It wasn’t particularly peaceful or altogether friendly but their reliance and one another was a particular kind of sisterhood that I really enjoyed seeing in the story.

"Where Darkness Blooms" by Andrea Hannah is a haunting and atmospheric novel that delves into the shadows of secrets and the complexities of family ties. The story unfolds with a sense of mystery and unease, drawing readers into a world where nothing is as it seems.

Hannah's writing style is evocative and immersive, creating a chilling atmosphere that adds to the tension of the narrative. The characters are multi-layered, each harboring their own secrets and vulnerabilities that contribute to the overall sense of intrigue.

The novel skillfully navigates the blurred lines between reality and illusion, offering readers a journey through the psyche of the protagonist. As the story unfolds, the distinction between truth and perception becomes increasingly uncertain, heightening the suspense.

"Where Darkness Blooms" successfully captures the complexity of relationships within a family, particularly those tainted by hidden truths. The emotional depth and psychological exploration make the story resonate on a deep and thought-provoking level.

While the novel excels in its atmospheric writing and psychological depth, there were moments when the pacing felt uneven, particularly in the middle sections. However, the unsettling ambiance and the unraveling of secrets maintain the reader's curiosity.

In summary, "Where Darkness Blooms" is a compelling and eerie novel that invites readers into a world of mystery and psychological suspense. If you enjoy stories that blur the line between reality and imagination while unraveling family secrets, this book offers a chilling and absorbing reading experience.

Yes. Yes. Yes. This book was absolutely incredible imo and I am surprised it has not garnered more of a fanbase. It’s a perfect fall read, especially if you are into folk horror

I adored the feminine rage of this book and felt it did an awesome job of answering the question of what if the patriarchy was a small town. the book made me desperate for answers and i devoured it.

I was intrigued by the description and so glad that I had a chance to read this -- I truly have no words to describe this. It's unique and haunting and such a captivating tale.

This far exceeded my expectations! Not only does Where Darkness Blooms have a beautiful cover that draws you in, but so does the story of four friends from Bishop Kansas where nobody seems to leave but there's a concerning number of missing and murdered women. Not only does this book have themes of friendship, grief, trauma recovery, mystery, and small-town living but it also contains one of the best examples of the environment actually being a character of its own that I have seen in a very long time.

I would recommend the audio version of this book. It is very clear, well-done, and feels like it fits the story well.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the small town setting and the storytelling, I really enjoyed the author's writing style as well.

This book was intriguing from the very first page. it was atmospheric and haunting and thrilling. Everything about this book, from the writing style to the world and its powerful girls freeing themselves to just everything has made me so happy that this this book exists. I would def recommend to the right people.

Bishop has a weird history of women going missing. The climate can be unforgiving in this little town surrounded by sunflowers, and there really isn’t much to offer so no one is too concerned over the disappearances. Now, three more women are gone, their daughters left to band together and figure out how to move on. But when secrets come out at the memorial for the missing women, the daughters are all forced to confront the things they’ve done while also discovering that there may be more to the missing women than meets the eye.

This is a hard one to review. I ended up giving it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4, because after an incredibly slow start (so slow I had to put it down for awhile) but I really did end up enjoying the culmination at the end of the story.

The idea was great, I’m just not sure about the execution. It may have been better suited with less main characters. I was getting them confused and also not caring enough to keep them straight. There are rare occasions where I feel as though a book would be better as a TV show or movie, and this is definitely one of them. I think it could’ve been a beautiful dust bowl, dark tinted vibes, atmospheric and slow burn creepy. And these are all things that I think the author was going for, but things that just weren’t screaming through on the pages. 

All in all I'll say that I've been kind of a hater towards YA thrillers and horror, but I've been coming around. I think the genre has been improving and I'm super excited to have more content coming out.

This book instantly sucked me in by the atmosphere and writing style, and I stayed for the girls freeing themselves from the curse of the men around them, it was wonderful and powerful!

There were elements of this that I enjoyed, but overall it didn't work for me. I stopped feeling engaged around halfway through, and found the end frustrating.

I loved the premise of this book. Stories about spooky towns always have my heart. Add in some mysterious disappearances and usually I am sold, but execution wise, this story fell short for me. I feel as though the characters lacked depth, which made it very hard to feel engrossed in the story. I think this may be do, in part, to the frequent changes in POV and the short chapters. It was difficult for me to connect to the characters and feel attached to the story. Not my favourite read this year, but definitely not bad. The atmosphere was there, which I loved, but the characters and their development just missed the mark for me.

A creepy story perfect for fans of mysteries that gets bit supernatural in ways and love sibling relationships. I love how these sorts of books really focus on characters and setting, making them always very atmospheric reads. This was a perfectly unsettling summer read!

Whoaaaa. This one started out as a story I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy — but through the multi-person POV this story trapped me in Bishop with the girls and made me fight for their freedom! I was sucked in pretty early on and didn’t stop reading until it was over! Highly recommend!

dnf at 10%, just not my kind of book. horror is not really my jam, but sometimes it can be done right. i'm intrigued by the setting so i might come back to it later, but for now i am shelving it.

I loved this book, although the characters were pretty one dimensional but this makes sense since it’s more of a plot driven book. I liked the reveal and didn’t see it coming I thought the atmosphere and overall tone of the book was really great. I would de finish read from this author again

I didn't end up finishing this ARC. I don't think that's the fault of the book but more so what I enjoy, and don't enjoy, in my horror. This was more of a contemporary book with horror elements v what I like—a horror book with contemporary elements. This will be good for those who like these sort of books!

Where Darkness Blooms is a fine enough read if you don’t think too hard about it, and I don’t even mean that in a bad way. I enjoyed the plot, I liked the characters and setting, and as long as I suspend a lot of disbelief & don’t start asking questions that reveal plot holes…I had fun reading this one.

Bishop is a small town where women mysteriously die or go missing with an alarming frequency. Our plot centers on four teen daughters, two years after their mothers all disappeared. The girls are certain something strange is happening, but the town seems to just accept that these things happen. This town is also surrounded by fields of sunflowers, and experiences really awful windstorms very often. Weird stuff is afoot.

I liked the four main girls; I found them distinct enough, and while four POVs was maybe too many for this short of a book, I enjoyed each of them. The writing itself is pretty good, with lots of great description and focus on creating atmosphere. Where things break down is more in the realm of motivation, setting development, and pacing. The motivation for the “bad guys” was pretty under developed & while I can see what the author was going for, the execution wasn’t quite there. For the setting, it was hard to understand the town or Bishop - sometimes it seemed very tiny, sometimes it seemed pretty big, and we never really got to see what life in the town was like. Since the setting was such an important part of the plot, this was a bummer. Lastly, pacing was off; the first 30% of the book dragged on & then the final half of the book bopped around too quickly from big reveal to big reveal.

But overall, it was a fun enough book & one I could see teens enjoying. I’ll likely add a copy to my classroom library. I mean, the cover alone is worth that.

Not my favorite (characters felt a little flat) but still enjoyable! Not sure that I'm the target audience, writing felt a little young?

The cover of this book is what got me! It was creepy yet beautiful which is exactly how I would describe the book as well! This book is a supernatural thriller, with missing women and loads of secrets and lies to unpack. I do wish that the book had a bit more character-building since the story was told from multiple viewpoints but I wouldn’t turn the book down for that reason alone. I will be recommending this book.