Where Darkness Blooms is part magical realism, part coming-of-age story, part mystery, and all gorgeously written. The creepiness of the town of Bishop is just *chef's kiss*. The main characters are flawed and brush aside red flags and rationalize their situations for far too long, and honestly I LOVE that. How often do we rationalize weird stuff to ourselves in our own lives, especially if "that's the way it's always been" or if there are outside forces influencing us?

For me, the prologue did take just about all of the mystery out of what could have been the "big reveal", but that put more focus on the moment-to-moment crises the fearsome foursome were having, which was an interesting change of pace from a lot of thrillers/mysteries. I am not a writer, but I can't help but wonder how the experience would have been different if the prologue had been an epilogue instead?

Overall, I absolutely loved the spooky small town vibes of this book. I never thought sunflower fields could be scary, but I guess you learn something new every day!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing a digital copy of Where Darkness Blooms in exchange for an honest review! Where Darkness Blooms will be available February 21, 2023.

So I love going to the sunflower festivals annually...take a bunch of pictures....yeah not anymore. No thank you.

Why did they have to take sunflowers and make them so creepy? But, really this was full of twists and turns and I wanted to know all of the answers as soon as possible. This is one you want to finish in 1-2 sittings max because you need to know the truth.

I will say some of the POVs [there are 4] confused me because the tone or language in a couple were very similar. It might have actually been more effective or enjoyable with 2 POV in order to be more concise. However, loved the mystery and the spookiness!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishing team for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In the town of Bishop it is known for two things: the recurring windstorms and the endless fields of sunflowers that stretch far and wide...... and the one other thing.... all the missing women. When three women disappear on one stormy night, no one really questions it except for their daughters: Delilah, Bo, Jude and Whitney. Now they all live together, each of them trying to survive and figure out what happened to their mothers. Delilah has been looking after the girls but she’s also been hiding a secret: the touch of her boyfriend is painful to her, she can’t bear it, but she pretends that everything is fine. She thinks she is suppose to love her boyfriend Bennett but every time he touches her, her skin feels like its being painfully zapped. Bo can’t bear the touch of people... not after the night in the cellar... not after what he did to her... what he took from her... now she is rage personified, she can’t feel safe anywhere, and she is determined to find out what happened to her mother. Whitney has just lost both her mother and her girlfriend Eleanor. Eleanor was found mysterious murdered and Whitney needs to know what happened to her. Jude, Whitney’s twin sister, has had a secret fling with Bennett, Delilah’s boyfriend, and she is still in love with him. Each of these girls will be forced to confront the secrets they each hold while also discovering just how sinister and dark their town actually is... and who is responsible for the murders of all these women and the fact that they might be next. This story for me felt underwhelming and frustrating, it has all the things to be a fantastic read and definitely sounded like it was up my alley but it just didnt meet expectations and just fell flat for me. The relationship between the girls weren’t well fleshed out and some of their actions and thought processes were so juvenile that it had me pulling my hair out. Also the fact that one of them was sexually assaulted but no one really brings it up or discusses or does anything to really talk to the girl who was?? seriously??? The only character I actually liked was Bo, she was the most fleshed out and empathetic character out of all of them. The final battle/ confrontation was underwhelming after the set up of the story and I just felt like there was something missing. Overall, this one was a miss for me but definitely check it out if you are looking for a cursed small town story with multiple protagonists and be sure to read the trigger warnings before going into it.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Andrea Hannah's Where Darkness Blooms is a supernatural thriller about an eerie town where the sunflowers whisper secrets and the land hungers for blood.

What is not to love about this!
My favorite things were
-magical realism
-mystery in a small town
Could use a little work on character development and the multiple pov was hard to keep track of at times.
Definitely will check out more by the author

I just want to say thank you for allowing me to be an arc reader and all thoughts are my own. That being said; I’m disappointed that my favorite part of this book is the actual cover. I truly thought it was going to be a bit more in the darker side, something I find intriguing however; I was let down with that. It could of been so much more.

I wanted this to be dark, gloomy, and creepy, but something about Where It Blooms was a bit off for me. I don’t know if it’s the writing style—it’s just weird (I really don’t know how to describe it any other way than that 🤣), or if it’s the pacing and repetitiveness throughout the storyline.

Bummed it didn’t hook me in the way I had hoped it would!

Delilah, Whitney, Jo and Jude all have had mother’s disappear in the creepy town of Bishop.
Deaths of women have been going on for years.
There are many supernatural aspects to this town. This was a good thrilling read that creeped me out. I’ll never look at sunflower’s the same way again. Thanks NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC!

In Where Darkness Blooms, a town named Bishop isn’t your normal town. The windstorms that sweep over the town are increasing. The town is surrounded by oppressive fields of sunflowers. And women are going missing.

After the mothers of Delilah, Whitney, Jude, and Bo go missing, the girls move into one house together to look after each other. And now, they want to solve the mystery of what happened to their mothers.

I loved the eerie atmosphere of this book. The ever-listening sunflowers and the whispering wind really brought the Kansas setting to life.

The biggest con of this book is that the prologue reveals what’s really going on with the land. I never felt the suspense that a thriller should have because I already knew what the mystery was that the girls were trying to solve, and it wasn’t hard to guess some other plot points surrounding the mystery.

It was also really hard for me to differentiate between the POVs. The girls were all too similar, and I couldn’t keep track of who was who and whose mother was whose. I think four POVs were too many for the story, and only having two would’ve served the story better. That being said, Whitney, who was grieving her ex-girlfriend, Eleanor, was my favorite character. She stood out to me the most, and I wish she’d gotten more page time.

That being said, there were a lot of scenes I really enjoyed, especially when the girls came together to help each other out. And the creepy setting and sunflowers and the atmosphere worked well for me.

To be honest, I requested this book based only on the cover and the fact the town was called Bishop. I grew up in a town called Bishop so I was instantly intrigued. And this book was amazing!! The perfect amount of weird and creepy.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a 2.5 star book rounded up to 3.

While I thought this book had both a beautiful cover and a very interesting storyline, I felt like the execution fell just a bit short for me. I was immediately hooked by the prologue. I found it captivating and brilliantly written. It definitely made me want to keep reading, and made me think that this would be a great book. There were, in my opinion, too many point's of view. It did create some confusion over what perspective I was in because not only did it change just about every chapter, if not every chapter, but there were also time jumps. One character would experience, say, two hours in their chapter. The next chapter would rewind as it were, and we readers then had way more information than the new character.

I also felt like the pacing could have done with some work. Because of the time jumps, many parts felt rather repetitive and created a slow read. While the actual plot was incredibly interesting, it was hard to get invested because of the pacing/POV issues. I did enjoy the dark, gloomy magic that was present. I don't think it was explored nearly enough and once we readers finally found out what was happening, it felt glossed over with way more focus on a romantic subplot than actual worldbuilding. It didn't give me the creepy vibe that the cover and synopsis promised. Overall, not a terrible book, but it did seem under edited.

This is the perfect read for October but it doesn’t come out until February 2023. I’m glad I got to read it this month since I’m don’t read much thrillers or horror, but this just felt like the perfect time to read this. The story is more of a thriller but there were elements that spooked me. The town was definitely creepy and the author did a great job of creating a creepy, haunting, and spooky vibe.

The story follows four girls from a secluded town called Bishop. We get all four points of view which I didn’t find too overwhelming. Delilah, Bo, Whitney, and Jude were all equally interesting to me. Each of them read like their own person. They’re all still dealing with the disappearance of their mothers when they start to notice that there’s something wrong with their town. Bo spears them into investigating their mothers disappearances leading them to uncover the dark secrets of their town.

I loved the vibes, the characters, and the strong feminist message. These girls were all there for each other and I loved to see it. Women supporting women!

The mystery of the town sucked me in and I couldn’t put down my phone (since it’s an e-arc) down. The whispering flowers and weird wind were great elements to this spooky tale.

Out February 21 2023. Definitely recommend it if you’re into thrillers. I can definitely picture this as a movie.

TW: mentions of sexual assault, violence, blood

Thanks netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Where Darkness Blooms...in a small town that no one seems to leave and yet 4 girls' mothers one day vanished and never seen again. Bo, Delilah, twins Jude and Whitney deal with their own trauma and lives together through the increasing dust storms that sweep the town until one day bloody clues show up near the last place their mother's were last scene 3 years ago. Bo, discovering a bone chilling pattern in the dusty town soon starts to put the pieces together with the help of the other missing mother's daughters. There is someone, something that will do everything they can to stop these heroines...

I loved the prose, the plot sped up quite nicely and the characters were fleshed out pretty well for such a large casting. Creepy all seeing sunflowers even better. I definitely recommend for any horror and small town fans. There is beautifully written power of friendship and how much love can save yourself and others. Beautiful cover, beautiful story, thank you for letting me read it.

Oh man. I wanted to love this so much because I did love Bo. I think this had a lot of potential and it wasn't terrible but I expected something different. There were some parts, that I felt were important parts, that never really connected/got explained.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

🌻🌻🌻

I would like to thank @NetGalley and @stmartinspress for an electronic copy of this ARC for an honest review.

This YA novel was FANTASTIC! It started slow but quickly picked up. There was mystery, supernatural events, betrayal, found family, a cursed town and happy ending with a little bit of unanswered questions to keep the mystery up. If you want a YA book that's a bit creepy, mysterious and right in the feels, this is it!

I finished this book during my lunch break and let's just say that having a meeting scheduled right after wasn't a good idea. I was in tears. I shouldn't have wear mascara today. 😂

It was beautiful and touching. I don't want to spoil anything but I'll just say that I liked that no-one was perfect. Everyone had their own little flaws and other characters respected their limits by forgiving but never completely because they were hurt. That was very human and real.

🌻🌻🌻

The Blurb

Bishop, Kansas, is known for windstorm and endless sunflower fields. But also women dying unexpectedly or disappearing mysteriously. Bo, Jude, Whitney and Delilah saw their mothers disappear on the same night, two years ago. The town is finally setting up a memorial but the wind has other plans.

It's finally time someone digs into the town's secrets and find out what happening. Are the girls in danger? Will they find out what happened to the women and heal their own wounds?

🌻🌻🌻

Please check the TW as there are mentions of rape, gaslighting and violence against women.

🌻🌻🌻

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC!

First of all, I'm a huge fan of these creepy covers, where plants and flowers are just growing out of people. It definitely prepares you for the eerie and utterly creepy story you're about to get into.

This town, Bishop, is just freaking weird. So this group of girls all have missing mothers and the whole town is just...okay...with it? I mean the people are weird, they all give off sus vibes. It feels like the kind of creepy town you never get to leave.

You're left wondering as the story goes on, what exactly happened to the moms? Theories were going wild in my head. It makes you wonder who is hiding what secrets. Also...the wind talks to some people, so there's that.

Ultimately, I was happy with the ending. This story had the eerie atmosphere and mysterious plotline that I adore. I think the author did an amazing job painting every scene with just enough details.

This book is haunting, creepy, and gorgeously done. The plot, with the sunflowers that whisper secrets and a land that craves blood and makes its thirst known, is riveting. The writing is very pretty and it fits the story well, it gives it the perfect atmospheric vibes. All the girls’ voices were very distinct and developed, and though I found it hard not to hate Jude, I understood why the things that she was doing occurred even when her actions infuriated me. It was such an unsettling story, it pulled me deep i. and wouldn’t let me go, much like the town it takes place in.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I am a sucker for the flowery/eerie flowers covering girls faces on covers. But, while the cover drew me in, the writing put me in a hold. Similar to the hold Bishop has on its residents. The prose is stunning, the plot is spooky and it absolutely enraptured me. I definitely put up the do not disturb sign for this one. From beginning to end, this book was incredible.

I loved the idea of this book. Andrea Hannah created a space where the eerie feeling crawls into your bones as you read. It makes you feel like you're right there with Bo, Delilah, Jude and Whitney. The flowers had me entranced and Bishop worked its way into my heart. The mastery of this suspense is one you won't soon forget. I felt attached to each and every one of the girls. It was complex, yet simplistic, and still effective. It was a perfect spooky season read.

Where Darkness Blooms is the perfect suspense, even while some parts may have been predictable, I still found myself unable to put it down. This was incredible!

Haunting book and riveting atmosphere with this! I loved it and I thought it was a good and the supernatural elements were well done.

For me to rate this five stars you KNOW it's something special, because I literally cannot handle any creepy/scary/spooky books and this one has ALL THE CREEP FACTOR. A town surrounded by what seem to be sentient sunflowers with women who are going missing or dying at an alarmingly increasing rate- I was freaked out and intrigued to say the least!!!
This book was such a quick read- pretty much one sitting- and what helped with that was the four POVs of the main characters. Each girl (Delilah, Jude, Whitney, & Bo) are so strong in their own way, and so so real. The villains in the novel are incredibly portrayed- I hated them *viscerally* I can't even explain it.
This was the perfect read for this month, and I truly loved everything about it, even though I was so freaked out while reading lol.

Where Darkness Blooms is a fast paced, tense YA horror. It was very easy to read and get sucked into. Like the town of Bishop, the reader is drawn in and the book won’t let you go. It has children of the corn and midsommer vibes but with teenage girl drama sprinkled in.

The characters’ remembrances from over the past 2 years is what provides most of the secondary mysteries and secrets to uncover but it sometimes becomes hard to differentiate what is present and what is past.

The 4 POV characters of the teen girls are well developed characters, easily distinguishable from each other and wholly formed being. Some are frustrating, some heartbreaking but they feel very real. I found it hard not to hate Jude. I get that she is a victim as well but she just collects secrets and doesn’t tell or help until the absolute end. She does have a good arc but it did not fully resolve her in my eyes.

The story is not super mysterious for the reader because the pieces are easy to put together but it’s still super tense and compelling and despite being able to solve what is happening well in advance of the characters, you want to see if they will be able to get themselves out of the mess.

The story made some pretty intense choices for a YA novel but it definitely helped the story be more thrilling. However, without stating spoilers, there were 3 choices the author made that were revealed or happened near the end that I felt lessened the impact of the story. I wish the author had committed more. The key climatic event was also incredibly lacklustre after all the build up.

The only spoiler I must include is that I literally LOATHE the mothers. I could not justify their actions in the slightest and all the girls should have not have been able to forgive and forget that quickly.

In all, it was a great story that I had a blast reading. 4 stars.