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

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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.

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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?

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

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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.

This book goes where no other story has gone before. Rather than fitting into a fantasy genre it has created its own mix of deep characters and supernatural mystery which was impossible to put down. I felt what the characters felt and was so drawn into their lives I was born elated and distraught when it was over. I can’t rave enough how the author was able to represent difficult topics such as sexual assault, abandonment, guilt, and grief it a way that seems natural while also providing rich three dimensional characters that didn’t feel like they were made to check a representation box.

Where Darkness Blooms centers the story of four girls trying to uncover the mystery of what happened to their mothers in a town that craves their end. Bo, Delilah, Jude, and Whitney have each processed and struggled with the loss of their mothers in different ways.

The story is one of generational trauma and the acknowledgment that "good" men are often complacent in the violence that other men perpetuate. The bones of the story are fascinating but the execution could have been improved. Overall, I enjoyed the book and think it is worth the read.

I enjoyed the prose of the book but felt it dragged in places. This was evident in action scenes, particularly where the action was interrupted by introspection and exposition. The use of four points of view in the book did mean none of the girls were as well developed as I would have liked.

A tense and exciting YA story about a small town that isn’t what it seems. After the women in the town die or disappear over the years, people begin questioning whether foul play is at hand. This is a multi-POV story that explores supernatural magic realism in a thrilling way with varied, compelling characters.

Super creepy and haunting. Well-thought-out characters and the imagery were very well written. I think I'm afraid of sunflowers now.

3.5 Stars.

Four teenaged friends live together in a house they once shared with their mothers, who all disappeared one night two years ago, never to be seen or heard from again. But that isn’t unusual in Bishop, the odd town where the girls live, which is known for the plentiful sunflowers that surround it and the numerous missing and dead women throughout its history. The girls are done believing the town’s official story that their moms just left willingly and that soon afterward, one of their friends (and one of the girls’ love interest) just dropped dead in front of her home. So they decide to uncover he real secrets of Bishop. But it may end up costing them their lives because some powerful people are invested in keeping its secrets buried.

The writing in this book is really gorgeous - the storytelling just flows throughout the book and and the descriptions put you right in the story. I felt like I was right there in the field of sunflowers with the petals all around me or feeling the wind from the storms as they raged through town. The author does a great job just grabbing you and pulling you into the story.

And its a really interesting story. It’s a mix of a thriller/coming-of-age/supernatural story which really works together well. It’s marketed as a “YA” book, but I think readers of all ages will enjoy it, I certainly did, and I didn't think it was to immature or anything.

The ending was a little too happily-ever-after for me, which is why I went with 3.5 stars. I can’t say too much, but I don’t feel like it fit well with the overall tone of the story and it felt a little rushed as well.

But overall, I greatly enjoyed this book and the writing was some of the best I’ve seen in awhile. It was a treat to read!

This book started out with such promise, and the prologue was fabulous horror. The point-of-view characters/chapters were...less promising, for me at least. They were perfectly fine, but the chilling atmosphere of the premise wasn't always as at the forefront of things as I'd wanted.

Where Darkness Blooms seemed like a truly intriguing read, perfect for the beginning of spooky season, and it gave off "Bone Gap" vibes, if that makes sense. Female-centric. Small town. Creepy flowers. It had everything a girl could want from a creepy-good read.

However, I struggled with the first half of this book. Four points of view for a standalone without established lore really strained the storytelling at first. While I enjoyed the plot and characters, the constant change of perspective stilted the flow of the story for the first 100+ pages for me. These plot points were absolutely necessary, but I wish they'd been established in a slightly more cohesive way.

That said, once the story really began to flow, I could not stop reading. The intrigue. The drama. The action. Even the multiple perspectives. It all became so expertly interwoven that I couldn't put it down. The exploration of the cycle of violence and exactly what it takes to break from that was heartbreakingly well done. Overall, this story really hit the mark for me, and despite the struggle of the first half of the book, I would definitely revisit it.