Member Reviews

I am extremely grateful for the chance to get early access to this book, however I stopped reading at chapter 6 (14%). I just felt like I couldn’t connect with the book, I’m sure others will love it and get into it better than me but for some reason I just couldn’t get into it.

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I will always love and be drawn to books with complicated messy heroines, and the Midwest Gothic setting was a wonderful bonus. I didn't love it quite as much as I wanted to, mainly because I knew what was going on well before the characters did and it was difficult to sustain the narrative tension. Still, I think that was more of an individual issue and many readers who love a good speculative thriller will enjoy this!

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I requested an arc of Where Darkness Blooms due to the GORGEOUS cover art which immediately reminded me of the beautiful and haunting cover art of Katrina Leno's HORRID. Pretty girls + flowers/plants covering their faces + horror is MY THING. I had never heard of Andrea Hannah before, but the cover, title, and description had me interested enough to give this book a chance. And I am so glad I did!!

This story is set in the small town of Bishop in central Kansas which is unfortunately cursed by misfortune after misfortune- for women, that is. They just keep disappearing. We follow 4 characters: Whitney, Delilah, Jude, and Bo who live with their mothers. Well, that is until their mothers disappear. Not great.

During a memorial that is held in order to honor their mothers (at the insistence.of Bo), things go sideways which unearths secrets, causing our 4 main characters to begin questioning everything they once thought they knew about themselves, each other and the town they live in.

I knew this was going to be a horror book, so I was not surprised by bad things happening, but what I loved was how unsettling it felt from the jump. It was a slow-creeping horror that had me feeling tense/anxious before anything scary actually even happened. I LOVE that.

This book is FULL of twists and turns. I was constantly wondering and trying to figure out what was going on with the town, the CREEPY flowers (I now have a new fear of Sunflowers, thanks to Andrea), the missing woman, the wind, etc. This book was impossible to put down. I NEEDED answers and needed to know who or what was behind it all. I do not want to spoil anything for anyone so I won't elaborate beyond that, but the ending was ultimately satisfying and was not what I suspected.

This book was exceptional. From the haunting book cover, to the intriguing title to the way it was written from 4 different POVs. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants a creepy, haunting, dark and spooky story that is more than just horror. It's about friendship and loss, pain, and the author weaves all of these elements flawlessly.

4.75/5 stars.. Looking forward to more work from Miss Hannah. This lady knows how to write a gripping tale that won't let you go.

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First of all, THAT COVER. Gorgeous. I kind of wish the rest of the book would have similarly blown me away.

I dug the concept for this book. I though the four girls were interesting and the writing was solid. Overall, as a psychological thriller, I thought this was a great story. I like the idea of a "town that time forgot" bordered by all these fields of flowers.

However, I just wasn't as jazzed by the supernatural elements.

Again conceptually, the idea of offering women to the land is interesting, but the execution seemed a little all over the place. Sunflowers and wind aren't terribly scary, but they're meant to be menacing here. And the idea of "blooms" is introduced pretty late in the book and didn't really track with what I'd read earlier. Some "ghosts" are dead people, some are alive. The evil men can brainwash people, but sometimes they can't/don't

I think with the domestic plot line and the histories, needs and desires of these four girls being given (somewhat) equal play within this story, there simply wasn't much room left to do all this supernatural stuff justice. And, ultimately that's the part that's being sold in the cover of this book.

Overall, I didn't dislike this story. (Maybe like a 3.5 for me). I just thought it didn't quite rise to the occasion in the way I would have like it to. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warning for reference to rape. (Which come to think of it didn't exactly serve the story. Isn't cutting women's throats and feeding them to the land enough to make someone a bad guy? Did one of them randomly need to be a rapist too?)

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Thanks Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this eARC, these opinions are my own. This was an interesting one for me. In Bishop Kansas women have gone missing for years, as is the case with Bo, Whitney, Jude, and Delilah’s mothers. After years the town hosts a memorial to them at which disaster strikes. Now they will have find out what is really going on in this town. I thought the depth of the history of the town and characters was well done! The first chapter hooked me from the start! The descriptions were well done. I enjoyed this and if you enjoy a good mystery you will too!

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This was definitely a spooky read, perfect for gloomy days and stormy nights! Just make sure to beware the flowers. They have a mind of their own.

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What a remarkable book. This was absolutely haunting and gorgeous. These four flawed and strong heroines captured my heart, every single one of them. Jude, heartbroken by the boy who suddenly dropped her for her friend Delilah. Whitney, Jude's twin who lost the love of her young life to a seemingly random tragedy. Bo, deeply traumatized by a boy and trying to navigate her rage to find herself again. Delilah, trying to discover why her mother suddenly disappeared two years ago. These four beautiful girls lost their mothers on one night two years ago and they'll do everything they can to figure out what happened. This was just so wonderful, every piece of it. The beauty of female friendship, the harm men do to women, and how we can harness everything within ourselves to not only survive, but to thrive.

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Where Darkness Blooms, by Andrea Hannah was a book that I could not put down. Literally could not. From the moment I saw the cover debut, I knew it was a book I wanted to read. The cover is gorgeous.

One thing I like most about books are characters. Especially well developed characters that I could relate to. Throughout the book, I heavily related to both Bo and Delilah. Those two are a perfect mesh of who I am to my core. Jude made me so mad throughout the book. I think it’s because I was friends with a Jude in high school and it brought back all of the memories.

I did suspect a few things along the way and ended up being correct, which I love. However, it wasn’t so predictable that it annoyed me. There were several moments that I had to fight the urge to message Andrea Hannah on Instagram because I was shocked at a scene.

Last, but certainly not least, if you like a book that can paint a picture in your head, as if you are watching a movie, then you will love the exquisite use of imagery with this writing!

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Long standing curses, power, nature magic, and the ultimate strength of friendship and belief in each other. Strong characters facing strong evil and intertwining threads that weave a tapestry of evil, loss, and ultimate redemption and finding home. A must read!

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Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I did thoroughly enjoy Andrea Hannah’s writing style. The book had a great pace to keep the readers going. The story was intriguing from the beginning. Jude, Delilah, Whitney and Bo all live together. Their mother’s have gone missing like many others in the town of Bishop, Kansas windstorms and endless sunflowers are a normal occurrence. I enjoyed the book had multiple POVs and how each character stated picking up on the small things about the town. Overall it was a great read and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

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This book had a great concept, and I thought the prologue and narrative were very interesting, but it honestly ruined the twists of the story for me. I did still enjoy it, just not like I thought I would!

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Such a different type of story but one I could not put down. A town plagued by lies, deceit, and mysteries. Where do all the women go? Follow a group of girls that are left to fend for themselves after their mothers mysteriously disappear from a town that won't let anyone leave.

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Ultimately, this fell flat for me, but I really loved the concept and wanted so badly to enjoy it more. It's so frustrating when you can see the potential but it's just not hitting any of the marks for you.

The first thing I have to say and what really is still baffling for me is that the entire plot and twist of the book is given away in the prologue I am honestly at a loss for words why the author would do this, and the only thing I can think of is that she thought the book would focus more on the characters and so it would be okay that there was no element of surprise. But the characters were all extremely flat, to the point I got all of the girls mixed up because their voices all sounded the same and they didn't have unique enough personalities to distinguish them.

And even if the prologue hadn't given away the narrative and story, I had to keep putting this book down out of sheer frustration due to how predictable every single little thing in this book is. I can only have so much patience for main characters that are willfully obtuse, or characters that refuse to see and understand things for the sake of propelling the 'mystery' forward. Knowing which characters were bad and what was happening so long before the main characters got on board made for an unenjoyable reading time. There was also a random love triangle thrown in right away that I felt was unnecessary and took up too much time in the plot.

It really felt like the author wanted this to be more character-driven than it ended up being. Besides the characters being one and the same and flat, there was a lot of exposition that was either never explained or explained too late and so I was very confused the first 25% of the book (which is how long it takes until the actual plot starts btw). The writing felt like it was trying too hard to be introspective and deep, and its floweriness was underwhelming. And I like more detailed writing. But it just lacked any emotion behind the words and so it didn't work for me. I need to also emphasize how repetitive much of the writing was. I had to read the author describe something as 'feral' wayyy too many times. Using that word unironically and repeatedly in general was mind-boggling. Also, the villain 'chuckles' way too many times as well. It just felt overdone to me.

Overall, between the plot that's literally spelled out for you before you begin the book, the incredibly boring and similar characters, overly cartoonish villains, and a too-easily wrapped up ending, this book did not accomplish for me what I think it set out to do. But as I said at the beginning of my review, I wanted to like it. I love this new push for the spooky/gothic Midwest that so many books are doing. I just feel like this one could have been so much more.

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What is going on in the small town of Bishop!?

When their mothers each go missing, four young women are thrown together in a ramshackle house and form an unlikely glued together sort of family. They each feel differently about the circumstances that led them together: some want answers; others want to move on with their lives.

Told in alternating POV, Where Darkness Blooms is a slow-to-build story of grief, love, and perseverance all steeped in an unusual mystery.

With great atmosphere and some gorgeous prose, this book will appeal to readers to YA coming of age stories, magical realism, and those who like an offbeat mystery.

The story does have some pacing issues and some may find the climax with some things to be desired, but overall the story is a unique and strange tale.

3.5 stars rounded up for that gorgeous cover!

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An intriquing read though I had difficulty continuing on. It seemed that the book was drawn out at times. Not a bad read, but not one of my favorites. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

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First off the cover of this book is beautiful and so was the story. I loved the creepy vibes and fantastic mystery. The pacing I thought was perfect but the world building was a wee bit lack luster. Overall so good and felt like horrid vibes.

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Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Where Darkness Blooms in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Trigger Warning: mention and referral to sexual assault/rape.

The Gist
I started reading Where Darkness Blooms at the beginning of my vacation and then wasn’t able to read anymore until I was on the plane back home. So, there was a good week and a half during which the book stayed unopened.

I don’t like taking big breaks while reading a book. It takes me out of the story and makes it difficult for me to form a consistent opinion, since I almost feel stressed when I don’t read and then relieved when I do.

But, is that feeling of relief just because I’m finally reading at all? Or because I’m reading this specific book?

I’m not sure. I do know that my opinion of this story changed at around the halfway point.

Let me explain.

The Details
Firstly, the reader is sort of thrown into the story when all the actions starts. There is no real set up or explanation of what’s going on or how things became this way.

It’s this typical attitude of storytelling where the reader just has to figure things out along the way. Okay, sure.

There is one problem, though. If the story drags like molasses, nothing much can be figured out.

There are four major characters, all of them pretty much sound the same. There isn’t really any clear distinction in their personalities that would set them apart. So, regardless of what chapter one reads and from what character’s perspective this chapter is supposed to be, it’s all the same.

Almost every scene is told from all four characters’ perspectives as well, so there isn’t a whole lot of progression in the story. At the same time, it skips over parts that should deserve more attention.

The plot is very intriguing. I mean, there is a town, with creepy sunflowers, women keep going missing or dying and no-one will admit to what’s really going on. There are shifty secondary characters that I just love to hate and want to see get their comeuppance. It just all takes way too long and I lost interest.

I’m really not sure about the writing. Some parts are written quite well and others feel like the author tried too hard.

For example, there is no need for all these metaphors and similes to describe something. It really threw me out of the story every time the author had to include phrases like “the realisation settled like glitter in a snow globe”.

I dare you not to think of a snow globe right now.

Other parts were only vaguely described, like this weird town they all live in. It felt very obscure and made it difficult for me to imagine certain scenes.

The Verdict
Overall, this could have been so eerie and creepy, but it got lost along the way. I’m a little disappointed and feel let down.

Where Darkness Blooms has such a great premise and I am so ready for moody, Fall stories.

I guess I have to keep looking. It’s a no from me.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I couldn’t get into this book. I tried on several occasions and stopped at about 50 pages. I didn’t don’t the writing compelling and the characters were so vague i their development and description that I didn’t care about what what happened next.

The premise is exciting and the cover is well done. I am sorry the writing didn’t captivate me.

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The cover to Where Darkness Blooms and the start of the summary " The town of Bishop is known for exactly two things: recurring windstorms and an endless field of sunflowers that stretches farther than the eye can see. And women—missing women." madde me realize i HAD to read this book. I'm a sucker for people on covers with plants and mysterys dealing with small towns.
The four main characters, Delilah, Jude, Whitney and Bo all have mothers who have gone missing and for some reason no one in the town is suprised. This sets the story up perfectly because why isn't the town suprised? Why was the case shut so easily, it really gets you thinking in the beginning. The characters had good development and honestly, i was excited to see how they would change throughout the story. The horror elements to this story were executed perfectly and i loved every bit of it. For once I wasn't expecting the plot twist towards the end of the story and I'm glad that I didn't because it really added to the story for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing an e-arc for an honest review!

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Two years after their mothers disappeared, Delilah, Whitney, Jude, and Bo are still struggling to find their way back to each other. The grief has fractured them-- and they should be used to it, being from Bishop, town where women dying is a common occurrence. But their mothers were different: their bodies were never found. And as the girls start looking deeper into why, they uncover some disturbing truths about their town, and one of the families within it.
The four girls are so perfectly balanced, between Bo's anger, Delilah's mothering, Jude's fear, and Whitney's brashness, that at times it felt like they were part of one being-- and in a way, being girls in Bishop, they kind of were.
This book struck a beautiful chord between horror and hope, between grief and promise. It's gripping, unsettling, and definitely a book I know I'll read over and over again.

Where Darkness Blooms is one of the most achingly beautiful books I've ever read. It's one of those books that sits with you long after you're done-- much like the town of Bishop-- and I'm grateful I get to carry it with me.

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