Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. The setting/atmosphere of this book was everything you’d want a Southern gothic novel to have, but the plot and character development were lacking. It strayed from southern gothic to a weird botanical version of Misery and that was a big miss for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for the advance copy of this southern gothic tale rife with carnivorous plants and even deadlier humans. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is K.L. Cerra's debut novel-- and it absolutely stuns. Not only is it written in an easily digested prose (I literally read it in a night), but it is completely original and edge-of-your-seat thriller. Even with the title, I was not expecting the amount of botany knowledge-- which after some digging makes complete sense: the author herself is a fan of our leafier species. I was enraptured by the detail of each petal, and that coupled with the immersion in historical Savannah, Georgia brought the book to blooming life.

Inside these pages, we meet Holly. She has just lost her brother Dane to suicide, but something just doesn't feel right. Holly gets an inkling that she should take a closer look at Dane's girlfriend of five months, Maura, who had become the focus of his life until his strange illness had taken complete hold of him. It caused him to exhibit mental issues as well as neurological symptoms, and no one could explain its origin. With these mysteries in mind, Holly moves in with Maura and is immediately in way over her head. Maura is intoxicating and despite Holly's best efforts-- she falls for her and lets her guard down just enough for Maura to get under her skin.

This novel takes a look at grief and how desperate it can make you-- and how misguided other's attempts to 'help' can be. I really related to Holly and how out of place she felt. Her brother was one of the only things tethering her to the world, and when he left it so unexpectedly and horribly, it left her unmoored and searching for answers. Even as she tries to find them, she is also looking for someone else to ground her. This flaw brings Holly from the frying pan and into the fire-- and yet she never loses sight of her goal. This tenacity is the only thing that can save her in the end, and is a message to never stop searching for the truth.

Im not sure where to start with this. I liked the beginning and loved the end, but the middle lost me a bit. Right from the beginning we can all feel right along with Holly that something is off with Maura. Holly doesn't trust her and thinks that Maura had something to do with her brother Danes's death, so when the opportunity to watch Maura extra close comes up Holly takes it.
This is where Holly kind of lost me, I fully support what she did, and her plans, but things start going wrong almost from the start. Everything she does just seem to lead her into a closer relationship, and she becomes more and more obsessed with her. (which to be fair is in the synopsis I just didn't love how it played out on the page)
Now, there's a certain part where everything turns around and I get completely sucked into what's going on and didn't want to put it down. Everything gets creepier and more sinister as we start getting real answers to what's going on, and it was something I didn't see coming at all!

This was an entertaining read but the characters felt a little too flat for me, too one-dimensional.

I haven't read much for gothic books but let me tell you if they are like this book, then please sign me up!! This was weird and creepy thriller in the best way. Once you start reading this book you won't want to put it down. I also have to compliment the person that did the book cover. This has to be one of my favorite covers I have seen. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read more books by K.L. Cerra.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Bantam for allowing me to read this ARC in advance.

This one was pretty wild.

Holly left in the aftermath of her brother Dane’s gruesome suicide begins a friendship with his girlfriend. Soon she’s moved into her gothic townhouse in Savannah and attempts to piece together the events leading up to his death.

I did finish this book in one sitting but I was left questioning a lot of things. The story felt a little too complex and I was rushing towards the end to get answers.

Overall it was interesting.

"So Maura wants to play this weird ass game with me and I figured I'd let you know in case anything happened"

Shortly after that text from her brother Dane, Holly receives another one that reads: "get it out of me" . And that's the last time she ever hears from him.

Dane was really struggling with his mental health so no one cared about those last texts he sent before he killed himself. Except Holly. She puts herself in situations to get closer to Dane's girlfriend, Maura, to find out if she had anything to do with it. Maura is suspicious, but also incredibly compelling to Holly.

This was definitely an original story. I really appreciated the originality, but it fell flat for me in a few ways. For one, Holly was such a one note character to follow. She puts herself in these situations like she has a plan, but it feels like she doesn't know what she's doing or why half the time. There's no rhyme or reason to her decision making. For a large middle section the plot felt aimless to nonexistent, and then finally got back on track towards the ending.

"Southern gothic" were the two words that drew me to read this book, but it doesn't serve those vibes at all. It's constantly mentioned that this is set in Savannah (especially in the beginning, like it's not necessary to remind everyone what city were in every other page). It really lacked in atmosphere for me.

Anyways this leans more towards the Wilder Girls style of horror than gothic ghosty horror. I'm still intrigued to see what this author comes out with next and I hope it's just as unique as this one.

ᔕᑌᑕᕼ ᑭᖇetty ᖴᒪoᗯeᖇᔕ
ᴷ ᴸ ᶜᴱᴿᴿᴬ

ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 / 5


Review:
I received this ARC to review through NetGalley. I devoured it in a day. It kept me engaged and needing to know what happened next. I thought Cerra did a great job and depicting the emotional and mental imbalance that comes from losing a loved one and how our feelings and actions don’t always seem or feel rational and tend to be a bit impulsive. The story was a bit dark and twisted but in a beautiful and elegant way, it wasn’t gore filled or violent.
A very interesting take on what it means to help someone and care for someone who is sick or hurting. Make sure to check trigger warnings as is does discuss mental illnesses.

The premise of this story was quite complex. When Holly receives a strange text from her brother, she does not get to respond. When she learns of her brother’s suicide, she is determined to find out what happened. What she discovers can only be described as horrifying. I will not spoil the book for others reading this. Suffice it to say that this is one messed up book. You will think twice before trusting people ever again.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for sending me a digital ARC!

I knew immediately when I came across this book that I was going to be such a fan of the vibes. One of the author blurbs in the summary calls this a Southern Gothic, but I don't think I would categorize it as one... it feels less gothic and more like what I refer to in my head as "dark botany/earthcore." The atmosphere and aesthetics and just general weirdness of this book (which just gets weirder and weirder as we learn what's going on) were definitely my favorite part. It was so intriguing to see how things unfolded, and while there were definitely points in the middle where I was like "why tf is this happening right now," the ending was ultimately pretty satisfying.

The main issue that I think diminished my enjoyment of the story was the characters. It feels like it's supposed to be very character-driven, like we're seeing deep into these peoples' pain and darkness, but the writing didn't feel strong enough to make that really come through. And because the characters felt flat, their relationships- particularly the central relationship between the main character, Holly, and her dead brother's girlfriend, Maura- didn't impact me the way they were meant to. Which was disappointing, because I usually LOVE reading about toxic and obsessive sapphics (more books about those types of relationships please I'm begging), but here it was just okay.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced read of this book. This was an interesting read. "Get it out of me", was the last message Holly got from her brother, Dane. He was found in his fiancee's townhouse cleaved open. Holly can't believe how it happened, so she sets out to find the truth.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
This book was good but very anticlimactic. For that reason I DNF at 45%

What is it about Maura and what is she hiding in her greenhouse? Holly's brother Dane - gruesome death- was involved with Maura, who is beguiling to be sure. Even Holly who is normally sensible, finds herself falling for Maura after she moves in with her. But Maura's more than creepy and the Southern gothic thing looms large in this novel set in Savannah, that most atmospheric of cities. I liked this for the different vibe in the Maura-Holly relationship and the storytelling is nicely done. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Enthralling story that sucks you in to a dark and sinister reality. I read this book in hours, I could not put it down. While Holly annoyed me at times, I was just as curious as her to figure out details of her brothers death. I think fans of Grady Hendrix would appreciate this Southern gothic read!

Dark, creative, and gruesome, Such Pretty Flowers was unexpected and hooked me from the beginning, but I struggled with the characters. Holly just lacked personality and it kind of ruined the book for me.

"So Maura wants to play this weird ass game with me and I figured I'd let you know in case anything happened"

Such Pretty Flowers had me hooked from the very first sentence. It was dark, intriguing, and included so many little details about all kinds of plants.

This novel was so creative and gruesome and included a plot I have never quite experienced. I felt as though I understood the indecisive nature of the FMC as she navigated dangerous experiences to learn about what has happened to her brother while also whispering "no, don't do it" to my kindle several times.

Now for the slightly less positive part of my review. This book was solid for the first 80% and then fell pretty instantly flat with cartoonish villains and decisions not being properly explained. I personally don't mind a character without too much growth throughout a story, but there were just a few moments where Holly and Maura both stopped being interesting to me.

I think this book could have been something very different if the author had leaned more into the horror elements set up throughout the novel. It wasn't cozy horror, but also didn't lean far enough in the other direction to stand out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me an early copy of this novel for an honest review

I received a digital advance reader’s copy of Such Pretty Flowers by K. L. Cerra via NetGalley. Such Pretty Flowers is scheduled for release on February 7, 2023.

Such Pretty Flowers begins with Holly receiving a text from her brother. She doesn’t respond immediately to his somewhat cryptic message, which she regrets when he is found dead that very night. Holly has a lot of questions about the presumed suicide, and begins to move into her brother’s world in search of answers. She finds herself sucked into the sphere of Maura, Dane’s recent fiance, and begins to fear for her own safety in Maura’s floral world.

Holly as a character is a bit adrift in this story. She has a job (not one that she is particularly invested in), a friend (who is absent for much of the story due to her own life), and parents (who are absent due to their grief over the loss of their son). For me, this made it a bit hard to see Holly as a detailed person, as her interactions with the world around her were almost exclusively related to her brother’s death and Maura. The relative absence of the people around her also made it difficult to see them as well-developed characters.

This novel is a gothic story, giving us a creepy house and potentially deadly plants. The house comes loaded with Maura’s band of semi-worshippers, a group of people who seem mildly sinister and loaded with secrets. Overall, there is the sense of mystery and danger, though the elements were relatively predictable, rather than surprising me with fresh takes or nuances on those elements.

I had the same feeling with the plot of the story. I was able to see what was coming next, with no surprises in the turns of the story. I also felt that some of the choices made by the characters in the last half of the novel were not based on the characters themselves, but were made to move the story in the direction the author wanted.

Overall, Such Pretty Flowers delivered on the gothic vibes it promised, but didn’t bring anything new or surprising to the story.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

KL Cerra's debut, Such Pretty Flowers, is features gothic suspense with an insidious horror that quickly takes root. Readers follow Holly whose brother Dane has recently died by a suspected suicide. Holly is determined there is more to Dane's death and her investigation leads her to believe that Dane's girlfriend, Maura, knows more than what she's saying. When Holly moves in with Maura, Holly soon realizes that more than Dane's life could be lost.

While I didn't necessarily feel attached to the characters, I was immediately interested in the investigation of the mystery surrounding Dane's death. I felt the pacing was very successful given that it was a gradual build of dread as Holly gained information.

I very much enjoyed Cerra's take on gothic horror. I particularly liked the influence of floriography given Maura's work as a florist. Most of all, I was grateful to Cerra for giving us a true resolution to the story. Often I have found that horror as a genre tends toward open endings. Cerra provided closure in a satisfying way with few key questions left unanswered.

I have already recommended this book to friends, and look forward to following Cerra's career growth and future works.

Really enjoyed this book. First time reading K L Cerra, and definitely wasn't disappointed. Enjoyed the characters, had great pacing, and a great plot/story. Will need to read more from K L Cerra. #SuchPrettyFlowers #NetGalley