“It wasn't so much Bishop itself that she had to be afraid of. It was at the edges where bad things happened.”

Bishop is a small town surrounded by sunflowers that is plagued with missing and dead women. The story revolves around four girls and their quest to discover what happened to their mothers, even as their own secrets come to light.

This was such a deliciously creepy story! I loved the spooky small-town atmosphere and the characters. It was so hard to put down and it's just beautifully haunting.

The town of Bishop is known for two things: its sunflowers and its missing women, so when three mothers go missing, nobody bats an eye and the case is closed. Instead, it’s up to their daughters to uncover the startling truth.

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah is an atmospheric Midwest gothic that transports readers to the rural, small town of Bishop.

I first fell in love with the book's incredible surrealist cover and the opening prologue where we get the town’s origins completely hooked me in.

However, as the story goes on, the premise itself really strained my suspension of disbelief. For instance, it baffles me that Bo waited two years to investigate her mother’s extremely suspicious disappearance when time is of the essence for a missing persons case.

And then there’s the big plot twist reveal.

We learn at the end that the mothers are actually alive but the sunflowers barred their return. I mean, phones exist. Why couldn't they have called? Why would loving mothers let their daughters live in a town where women and girls are used as human sacrifices and not do anything about it? This would have made more sense if the story took place in the pre 1900s or if the story had taken place over a shorter period of time and the power had temporarily gone out.

Overall, the writing is gorgeous at a sentence level, but the story itself contains way too many glaring questions for it to feel believable to me.

Thank you, NetGalley and Wednesday Books, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3⭐️

<b> Besides, missing women were as much a part of Bishop as the sunflowers and storms.</b>

Whitney, Jude, Delilah, and Bo’s mothers disappeared without a trace 2 years ago in their town that has a history of women mysteriously disappearing or dying. The town is plagued by severe winds and sunflowers that seem to watch you. It’s up to the four of them to uncover Bishop’s secrets and find out the truth about their mothers.

Overall, this book was just okay. I was bored for a lot of it and had a hard time getting into it. The premise is really interesting, and I like the idea of the sunflowers being the women who have died over the years, but it was hard to be creeped out by sunflowers.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. I enjoyed the story for the most part, but found some moments a little hard to get through. I feel like there should have been a warning that there were triggering scenes that could be upsetting for some people. Other then that I did enjoy it.

This felt like it was lacking something. I did enjoy the start of the story and the ending was ok. But I just felt like the story overall was just missing something to make it really good.

Quick and Dirty
-YA horror
-gothic fiction
-eerie AF
-Midwestern setting/vibes

Musings
Wow, y’all! This book was a wild ride! I didn’t quite know what to expect when I started the book, having only briefly read the synopsis months ago when I requested the book. I knew it was YA, so my hopes, honestly, weren’t that high. I don’t have the greatest record with YA fiction, but I was willing to get this one a shot. I mean, have you seen the cover? Who wouldn’t want to read a book with that gorgeous cover? Nevertheless, I went in with my eyes open and expectations low. Lucky for me, this book was terrific! I thoroughly enjoyed the premise and the presentation. The book is written from the POV of all four girls, with each girl getting dedicated chapters (which were short, btw). I loved how the story constantly switched between the four characters but still remained linked and linear. The pacing was perfect for me, tense when needed and more relaxed when setting the stage for future events to unfold. There came a time in the book, probably midway, when I legit did not want to put this down. I walked around my kitchen trying to make dinner with a Kindle in my hands (didn’t work very well) because I was so engrossed in the story. But, all good things must come to an end, and, sadly, the ending was a little bit of a letdown for me. I completely understand why the author did what she did, but I wanted a different outcome. The way things tidied up seemed a bit YA for my liking, rather tidy despite the rest of the book is a mess of trauma and grief (in a good way). Overall, I still think this was a terrific read that YA horror fans will love and anyone who has an interest in earth magic will appreciate it. Big marks to this author for such a creative story! I will be on the lookout for more of her work, for sure.

An interesting premise with a town kept alive by blood sacrifices. This one was hard for me to get into until the last 1/4 of the book. The switching between the four sister narrators is the only thing that kept me engaged. A solid story, just hard to really get into for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the eARC.

Wow. This book is a ride. It follows four girls in Kansas and somehow Andrea Hannah makes you feel the emotions of all four of these girls. I really think this one will be a hit and one that people are very intrigued by. It certainly left me feeling all the feels.

The women of Bishop go missing. They drop dead of “natural causes”. They disappear into the fields of sunflowers. And the world keeps turning.
After the disappearance of their mothers, four teen girls are left alone in the house they once shared with them: the twins- quiet Jude and beautiful Whitney-, Delilah, the capable one, and Bo, who wears her anger in her skinned knuckles. Bo is convinced whatever happened to their mothers was anything but natural and it doesn’t take long for the odd occurrences to begin to pile up. Someone- or something- doesn’t want the girls to find the answers they seek. The wind is dangerous in Bishop and the flowers are always watching.

A solid YA horror with feminist themes that undercuts some of its atmosphere with over-explanation, but stands strong with its character writing.

The cast of this story alongside the creepy visuals were my favorite parts. There’s something to love with all these girls- Jude struggles with being underestimated, Whitney is grieving her girlfriend and trying to be able to love again, Bo shows her trauma far more externally than the others, Delilah is trying to hold their family together while navigating her own romantic relationship. I connected with Delilah the least, but all four are distinct characters with something to root for.

I think this would make a better mini-series than a book. By nature of the medium, some things are over explained in a way that makes them less creepy. I liked this book, but I could see it being an atmospheric horror series that I love, leaning into the supernatural and unnerving elements of the story.

Overall though, I’d recommend. It’s a quick read. I liked the messiness of the girls’ relationships with each other. Some stuff with the resolution bothered me, but on the whole- solid teen horror that ties into deeper themes of the treatment of women’s bodies and friendship between girls.

2.5/5 stars - An okay book about a creepy town and men feeding on women. Overall it felt a bit long and a bit short on plot. I suspect this could’ve made a better short story.

I read this in one sitting, and because it held my attention that way I’m giving it 3.5-4 stars. It was a pretty brutal story, to me it felt symbolic of everything women have been through at the hands of men. In reality, the success of men has always been on the backs of women. In this story, a towns existence is dependent on their blood. I really felt for Bo and really sympathized with Jude, battling such pain and also feeling so weak against intimidating people, blinded by and dependent on any form of affection. I know the characters are going to be relatable for so many people.

3.5-4 stars

This was a strange yet intriguing story about women in the town of Bishop, Kansas who have gone missing under bizarre circumstances.

After three women vanish and are presumed dead, their daughters uncover a terrible secret during their mothers’ much overdue memorial. Suddenly they question everything they were ever told, and they’re convinced the townsfolk know who or what is really to blame for the disappearances. There’s something strange about the way the wind whispers, and it’s almost as if the sunflowers are trying to lead them to the truth. But unbeknownst to the girls, the land craves blood and they fear they may be next.

This was a really creative and eerie supernatural thriller, and I loved the way in which nature was manipulated by characters, both past and present, to further the story. It did take a little while for the story to fully grasp my attention, but it was definitely worth reading and I really enjoyed the twist at the end.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book to review.*

Horror fans will probably appreciate Where Darkness Blooms. Hannah’s masterful creation of atmosphere and the classic cursed land story will go down well. But others might not care for this tale very much. Between the muddy timelines and the “Lord of the Flies” way the teens seem to run the town, it might be a bit much for some readers. Overall, a solid horror story with a few real-world kinks and a disappointing ending.

Full review at thecosmiccircus.com

First of all, this cover. THIS COVER.
I am absolutely loving plant horror right now. I’m making it a genre now.

I could not put this down.
This is told in the four POV’s of cousins whose mothers have disappeared. Bo and Whitney were my favorite characters but I could resonate with something in all of the girls.

The dry Kansas backdrop of a creepy town that quite literally needs blood was very atmospheric and unsettling.

Thank you NetGalley for the earc!

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Wednesday Books for sending me an E-ARC in return for an honest review.

From the first page of the book to the last one I could feel chills down my spine as we are delved into a town that has a sinister history. Disappearing women, deaths that can't be explained, sunflowers that seem to have a mind of their own, and a wind that howls so loud it destroys everything in its path. I loved each of the four different girls and the chance we get to read their perspectives and also the life they live as they struggle to come to terms with the disappearance of their moms.

The mystery behind the town drew me further and further into the story, I wanted to learn more of the town and its dark secrets.

The only thing I wish that had been delved a bit more on is that I felt many things were not further explained as needed, and just in general I felt there was something missing from the story.

I read Andrea Hannah's "Where Darkness Blooms" on NetGalley. This book is about 4 girls in a small town that has untold horrors occurring. Delilah, Bo, Jude & Whitney live together in the town of Bishop. Their mothers disappeared a couple of years ago, but the townspeople hardly blink an eye because the town has always had women suddenly die or disappear. The girls decide they want answers and start digging. I was intrigued by this story and was very satisfied with the ending.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start off by saying that this is an incredibly easy read. I finished it in less than a day.

The book cover and description are what initially pulled me in to being interested in this story, but it did not live up to it. I began enjoying the beginning of the book starting with the prologue and opening chapters where the story, plot, and characters are introduced, but as it progressed I was wondering what would surprise me or if it would end differently than I was predicting it to. The story felt so rushed. One moment, the main characters are distraught and wondering what happened to their mothers two years ago, and the next they already have ideas about what is going on with the town.

I did enjoy the sunflowers being the helping force for trying to save people from the town curse.

Everything felt wrapped up too nicely? I didn't feel like this was a YA supernatural thriller but should possibly be categorized as a children's book, if the characters were younger and certain content warnings were not involved. The storyline of Bo being sexually assaulted by Caleb seemed so random and in no way helpful to the storyline? After she tells her friends the truth, it's never spoken of again, and it doesn't appear to be an issue at the end of the book. I felt like if this extremely traumatic event occurred for Bo, then it should've been discussed in her character ARC or the storyline of Caleb Harding/the Hardings being able to sway women into doing what they wanted. When the girls find their mothers, the immediate forgiveness was so odd to me... the mothers ran and abandoned their children for two years, and now we're having a nice meal together? I would've liked to see more emotion from the mothers in reuniting with their daughters. And the ending with Bennet lifting the curse on the town of Bishop didn't feel like this revelatory ending to me. Granted, I could be overly analytical with this entire review, but I did not feel like the overall story made the reader interested enough in the story or characters.

I would have loved to see this as a short story, without unnecessary exposition and spoon fed plot revelations.
A tight thriller about sisters trying to survive a town that hungers for their blood? Sounds amazing. So how did it end up so boring?

The town of Bishop has a problem, women go missing on a regular basis. When three go missing in one night no one is shocked. The women left daughters behind along with a dark secret. Each girl has to take on the lies that were told to them head on. They know something happened to their moms and the town seems to be hiding its own secrets. Each wants to figure out just what is happening and why they are a part of it. Follow along as each girl tries to confront the lies they were told and solve the mystery of just what happened to their moms. Are they safe or is something sinister waiting for them?

First off thank you Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this gifted arc! This story was so strange, but in a House of Hollow type of way. The imagery was beautifully written! I loved the mystery concept of the story. I just wish it was faster paced. The storyline was great but I felt as if 70% of the book was mainly just the backstories for each character. And then the action was during the last 20% of the book. The last 10% felt like a ton of unneeded fluff. ⁣⁣
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I absolutely loved getting the different perspectives of the four girls, but I wonder if things would have moved faster if the author didn’t focus so much on their backstories. I think if we just had the perspectives of Delilah and Whitney the story would have been perfect. Bo and Jude’s perspectives didn’t add much to the story. It actually felt very repetitive. The parts that were important I think could have been see from Delilah or Whitney’s POV. When things finally picked up I was so enthralled in the story. ⁣⁣
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Then we have the ending… it was… too stretched for me. There was too much summarizing. I kind of wish things ended at the porch (I don’t wanna say too much about the ending because spoilers, but once you read it you’ll know what I mean).