What a creepy (but fun!) read!
I haven’t read many books that are as gothic and eerie as this, but it was absolutely enjoyable.

Holly is such a compelling character. She is investigating the apparent suicide of her brother, but starts to feel that the more she uncovers the closer she gets to a suspect that she may be falling for.

Did he do it or did someone else kill him? Can she separate her feelings to uncover the truth?

🩸🥀Book Review:
Title: Such Pretty Flowers
Author: K.L.Cerra
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

For anyone who really knows me, they know I'm intrigued by flowers. I can't keep one alive to save my life, but I still love them! I was not born with a green thumb no matter how hard I've tried to be one! Flowers that kill, now that's interesting! The imagery in this book was phenomenal! 👌 I wanted to give it a higher rating, but what it thrived in imagery was that it lacked in the actual story.

One night, Holly receives a cryptic text message from her brother, Dane, who says, "Get it out of me." Chilling. He is later found dead and mutilated. His death is ruled a suicide and Holly is struggling to believe this, especially because of the last message she received from him. She begins to suspect something is off with his girlfriend, Maura. She decides to become closer to her to see what it is that has her questioning her character. Holly begins to catch her in numerous lies but feels herself strangely drawn to her. Things begin to get pretty dark, and then Holly gets a behind the scenes look at Maura's thriving floral business. What is up with those roses? Very creepy vibe!

Published: February 7th, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley, and @randomhouse for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Holly puts herself in close proximity to her dead brothers girlfriend to figure out what happened to him. But it honestly seems like she has no idea what she’s going to do when she gets there. So for large sections it’s almost like there’s no real plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I devoured this book! It's rare that I stay up late reading but I had to finish this book. It was a rollercoaster for sure. The only con for me is that I didn't like or relate to any of the characters but maybe that's the point. I definitely recommend this book though!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick. Our library purchased and our patrons have been checking out and and enjoying the book. I see it is a popular book club choice as well we hope to have more oppurtinies to support authors like them

I thought the book was very well-written
I could not put it down. The author described the characters and it was easy to visualize them.
The setting in Savannah was spot on!

Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to love this one based on the synopsis, it was a huge miss for me. I barely made it to the 20% mark before DNFing. The concept was great, but the execution--not so much.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It was a creepy read and perfect for the fall season. But it was not as exhilarating as I was expecting. Still worth the read and I adore the cover!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. this was fantastic, just what i have come to expect from this author and look forward to carrying in my book store.

I was up all the night, finishing this book just at dawn. Hoping that I will be able to sleep by nightfall. Scary good!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat and trying to guess who did it the entire time. I loved the sapphic elements to it and combined that with thriller mystery was a great combo.

This is one of those “came for the cover, stayed for the story” books for me. I mean who’s not a sucker for a pretty book cover right?

Now, was I expecting a creepy gothic mystery book inside? Absolutely not. This book is right up my ally with the poisonous carnivorous plants, the mystery around the last known person to have interacted with your brother before his alleged suicide, and finding the crazy within all of us.

Absolutely loved it, could not put it down once I started it. Highly recommend.

This book was so creepy and different than other books I have read. I was utterly disturbed by Maura's behavior and by the last half of the book I could not put it down!

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book to read and review!

At the end of this book, I didn't feel like I had more information about the story or characters than when I began. It was pretty clear to me what happened to the brother from early on, so I expected some other nefarious creep factor to come into play, but that just never happened.

I did like the first half of the book, but a lot of the more interesting story breadcrumbs were never revisited. And the conclusion felt so at odds with the expectations set throughout the first 2/3 of the book. Overall, it isn't a bad book, but I didn't particularly enjoy its execution.

This book had a lot going for it…in the first 15%. Then it slowed down and really flew off the rails. I’ve never read a more predictable book with so few twists (and I do not mean that in a condescending, pretentious way. There was no intrigue, no surprise, and the whole plot was so obvious from the very beginning of the book). Could’ve been really good, ruined by predictability, awful, awful characters, and a lackluster atmosphere.

This one was not too bad. Was a little out there but enjoyed it. Will continue to give K L Cerra a try.

This novel has an eerie, dark, gothic type atmosphere going but nothing about it was to scary or chilling. Honestly the book was really meh the entire time.

In the beginning it held my attention but started getting repetitive and lost me a bit. The pacing was up and down and a lot of questions I had didn’t really get answered until the end. Which kind of left me disappointed because I didn’t get the clarity I was looking for.

The MC Holly made the worse choices and really irked my nerves a lot. For instance she moved in with Maura who was her brother’s girlfriend/fiancé which was cool. However, she ended up having this weird attraction to Maura and they kiss/sleep together. I didn’t like how the plot changed up here because the whole reason she moved in was to investigate her brothers death. Yet we get a lot of chapters with her pining over Maura thinking nothing of Dane.

Holly knew Maura was a psychopath but when given the opportunity to run and save her own life she stays to play a game and have drinks. If I had assumptions somebody killed my brother and might try to kill me I’m not about to be buddy buddy with them. So, of course Maura puts something in the drink. I was yelling at the pages like come on sis you not really about to stay are you? Holly literally fell for everything so it’s hard to believe she escaped.

Overall, the book was okay a little predictable but engaging enough to read. Definitely something that can be read during spooky szn. If you’re into dark psychological thrillers this might be for you but proceed with caution and lower expectations. Special thanks to the author, @randomhouse #bantam , & @netgalley for my advanced copy!!!

Rating: 3.5⭐️

Holly is a woman n Savannah. She is at a crossroads as er roommates are planning on getting their own place with would leave her homeless. Her job at the library is boring. She’s not close to her parents. Her best and only friend is her brother. Unfortunately, her brother gets a fiancé — Maura. Maura is everything Holly isn’t: posh, seductive, and mysterious, she’s a florist with a ritzy inner circle and a townhouse. when her brother commits suicide, Holly feels guilty for not answering his final, cryptic text message and decides to investigate by faking friendship with her almost in-law as a way to get into her house and snoop through his things. But as Maura and Holly get closer, Holly starts losing control over her life and her reality. How much influence does Maura have over Holly? When Holly discovers secrets that could end up as dangerous for her as they were for her brother will she survive?

The author has written a creepy, compelling, terrifying, and original psychological suspense that grabbed me from the first page and held tight until the last page. Reading this suspenseful novel kept me not wanting to stop reading. It’s a mystery I won’t forget.

A wonderful novel that I absolutely devoted and loved every second of it. A really solid and memorable story.

I read this book in one night. It was a fast paced thriller that kept me turning pages because I had to know what happened next. Thank you NetGalley for tHE ARC! Highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️