Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Cerra created such a lush and interesting world inside this book that was hard to look away from. It was riveting and I couldn't put it down! I loved the mystery and intrigue. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Thank you Ballantine/Random House for the copy of KL Cerra's Such Pretty Flowers. This is an intense moody gothic read, the cover alone suggests a reader is being invited into a dark and atmospheric space. This read won't be for everyone, it is dark and at times leans a little too much into mysteriousness and confusion... but it does this with strong writing and stage setting, effective at making the reader uncertain and even perhaps uncomfortable, and with plot twists and evocative themes that will haunt you (just like this cover haunts me!). Recommended for readers who are looking for something edgy, filled with twists and uncertainty, and murky relationships.

Provided by NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group.

What in the world did I just read?
Look, I don't mind an unlikable character. They can add an interesting lil something something to a story. However, it did not work in Such Pretty Flowers. The main character is so unbelievably naïve to the point where she is just straight stupid. My jaw has been on the floor from start to finish. I didn't even want to finish this, but I don't have the capability to call it quits on a book. This could have been such a phenomenal read.... I just could not get past this mind numbing character.

Thanks to Ballantine for the free book.
What did I just read? - And I mean that in the best way possible. This was one of the most unique books I have read recently. I was drawn into Holly's desire to figure out what happened to her brother. She became obsessed with Maura, his girlfriend. This obsession was compulsive. I had to keep reading once I got going in this story. I love a book that will draw me in right away and go in a completely surprising way. Full of mystery, paranoia, and the perfect amount of creepiness, I know this is an author I'll be watching from now on.

I went into this book so excited about it, and I unfortunately have to DNF it (but that is 100% a me problem). Something the main character and I have in common is Trypophobia, and though I would never have expected just reading descriptions of creepy hole-d objects to bother me, I found myself getting itchy and extremely uncomfortable when reading about it. Because of this I just don’t feel like it’s worth pushing through the rest of the book, so take that into consideration if you also suffer from it.

From what I did make it through though, the setting and atmosphere is wonderful! Truly a creepy gothic vibe. The main character does make dumb, frustrating decisions which always annoys me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect with this book but I ended up really enjoying it! It was a little creepy and kept me interest the whole way through.

Such Pretty Flowers is such a compelling read. I was completely immersed into Holly’s plight to find out what happened to her brother. Her attraction to Maura was well written and the tension jumped off the page. The suspension of belief that was necessary at times was easy to give. Very creepy!

If you want a book that’s full of mystery and unsettling images, look no further! This story unfolds into a mystery that takes you on a journey through death and an old castle-like house with it’s curious owner.

This book has gothic settings down and its creepy imagery just adds to the horror/thriller element. Though I wished for a little more in terms of the ending and for a more thorough look at the flowers that were so prevalent in the story, overall the book captured the gothic themes of power and isolation through Maura and Holly.

When Holly's brother commits suicide in a shockingly horrific way, Holly can't help but wonder if his mysterious new girlfriend, Maura, had something to do with his drastically depleted mental health. As she watches her parents struggle with Dane's death, Holly decides to try to learn more about Dane's death by getting close to Maura herself. Unfortunately, what she finds is so much worse than she thought.

I have been done with this book for a week and I'm still not 100% sure what I think about it. It was a pretty quick read and the characters were interesting. I certainly understand wanting to speak to the girlfriend, but the level of Holly's involvement is unbelievable. I have a brother, and while I would want to know what happened to him, I would never go to these lengths. It just seemed crazy.

Still, if you can suspend your disbelief and accept the things Holly does.....this would make an amazing Netflix miniseries. It's creepy and sinister in a way that's completely different from anything else I've read. It's got a very cool setting, creepy characters, haunted vibes and really sinister motives. Even as I felt the store get crazier and crazier, I couldn't help but picture it as a movie or miniseries.

Ultimately, this one wasn't quite my cup of tea but it was well written and interesting and I would definitely read more from this author.

This was quite a wild ride! Let me say that you’re going to have to suspend some disbelief to get into this story. So, if that’s not for you, this book won’t be, either. If you’re still with me, though, this book seems like it’s going in one direction, yet goes hard into another direction. This alone made me enjoy the book. One character had a really messed up moral code, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Such Pretty Flowers is a Gothic horror set in Georgia. It certainly has the haunted southern vibes down! Very creepy and atmospheric.

We are following our main character Holly after the death of her brother Dane. He had just graduated college and moved in with his mysterious girlfriend Maura, when he commits suicide. In the months prior, he had been having delusions and was very paranoid. He had told Holly that something was growing inside of him and that he was scared of Maura. She and her family can't believe he would commit such an act, as he was going to therapy, on meds, and had shown no indication of hurting himself.

Holly is determined to understand more about her brother in the months between his mental decline and his death. She feels the easiest way to do so would be getting close to his girlfriend Maura. This is where things get dangerous.

I went into this book not knowing much about it at all, and so should you! It was fun watching everything play out how it did and all the twist and turns and character developments. It was a fun and creepy read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Such Pretty Flowers is a southern gothic horror novel which follows main character Holly as she works to unravel the mystery behind her younger brother's death.

Dark, unsettling, and twisty, Such Pretty Flowers is a quick and engaging read that fans of gothic horror will probably love. My favorite aspect of the book was its gothic atmosphere, which it absolutely nailed. I did think the characters were a little lacking in terms of development, but that was easy to get over thanks to the engaging plot and creepy resolution to the mystery Holly is trying to solve.

Such Pretty Flowers, by K L Cerra

Short Take: A strong swing, but still a miss.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Hello my beloved nerdlings! I’m running a bit behind at the moment due to real-life Big Stuff, so I’m just going to dive right in, mmmmk?

In Such Pretty Flowers, Holly is at a crossroads in life. Her twin brother, Dane, committed suicide in an incredibly gruesome way, and her best friend-slash-roommate is planning to get married, meaning that Holly will have to find somewhere else to live.

She fixates on the idea that Dane’s fiance, Maura, had something to do with her brother’s suicide, despite the authorities’ ruling that he was suffering from psychosis at the time. Because the night Dane died, he sent Holly a cryptic message about a “game” that Maura wanted to play, and his final message to her read simply “Get it out of me”.

Holly ends up moving into Maura’s luxurious townhouse, despite her misgivings, and of course, Secrets Are Revealed, and darkly seductive Maura is More Than She Seems, leading to a Climactic Confrontation.

Duckies…. I wanted to love this book. I really did, and I really tried. But although the story itself is compelling and original, I was just so frustrated with Holly - her choices were designed to move the plot along, but would be incredibly stupid in the real world. I also felt like many of the twists and reveals were obviously telegraphed (if not explicitly spelled out by the book description).

Although Ms. Cerra has some great ideas, there are only so many sins that can be covered in lush language and a new kind of supernatural beastie.

The Nerd’s Rating: THREE HAPPY NEURONS (and a cup of tea, I’ll stick with good old Lipton, thanks.)

I was expecting way more Southern Gothic vibes, because after all, it is set in Savannah one of the most haunted places in America, but there was no reason for it to be set in Savannah, There were no ghosts, and it seemed like the only reason that was the setting was to have gothic architecture, so it really didn’t need to be in Savannah. I also really didn’t like Holly and found her decision making to be all over the place and had no consistency. The plot felt kind of nonexistent and really nothing much happened until the end where the books finally decided what it wanted to focus on. I was really pulled in at the beginning, especially with how Dane’s body was described but as soon as Holly moved in with Maura I quickly lost interest. I’m a big fan of body horror and weird messed up books, but this just felt flat for me.

3.5 stars. When Holly's brother Dane dies in a shockingly violent way, the police rule his death a suicide brought on by psychosis. And while Holly knows that Dane was ill in the months leading up to his death, she's convinced there is more than just his mental health issues at the root of his suicide. After all, there was that strange text Dane sent her shortly before his death, indicating that his fiancée Maura wanted to play a "weird-ass game." As Holly searches for the truth of what really happened to Dane, she finds herself drawn into Maura's world, one of carnivorous plants and strange elixirs and surreal, slightly sinister high society parties. Soon Holly is fighting a powerful attraction to Maura...and fighting to avoid Dane's fate for herself.

Such Pretty Flowers is an impressive debut novel that subverts expectations in favor of some sinister, macabre narrative choices. Setting her novel in Savannah, GA -- widely known as one of the America's most haunted cities -- would probably have allowed K.L. Cerra to tell a pretty solid ghost story, but she went in a much weirder, disquieting direction -- and it really worked for me. Such Pretty Flowers is steeped in the Southern Gothic tradition, but definitely leaning more towards the horror side of things. Cerra's writing is laced with vivid, creepy imagery, and there are several scenes in this book that are truly disturbing. Her ideas feel original, and she handles her more sensitive topics (mental health issues, sexuality) with thoughtfulness.

I did struggle with the pacing of the novel, which felt uneven -- almost languid to start, and then a super fast-paced conclusion that was awesomely out there, but which was over too quickly. I was left wanting so much more out of the ideas Cerra brought in to the book. The character of Holly, too, was frustrating -- she was very inconsistent and didn't have much of a backbone or, really, much of a personality. Overall, though, I was impressed with Cerra's creativity and am eager to see what she writes next. Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for the advanced reading opportunity.

What in the world did I just read?! Such Pretty Flowers is so dark, so gothic, and so creepy. I'm not one to get creeped out very easily, but there were points in this that were simply haunting. The story follows Holly, who recently lost her brother Dane after receiving an eerie text from him. She's convinced it wasn't suicide and something else must have been going on, so she begins to stalk his girlfriend, Maura, a black-eyed florist.

This would be a very easy book to spoil, but I'll just say it was definitely a pageturner, and the ending was unexpected. Definitely worth the read if you're looking for a haunting read.

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

At the 50,000 feet level, this was a great book! Holly gets a cryptic message from her brother right before he supposedly kills himself. In her quest to uncover what happened, she becomes entwined with his girlfriend, Maura. Obviously Maura had something to do with Dane's mental health decline and his ultimate death, but what? All this really works for me. What didn't work was how unnuanced Holly's character was. After she moves out of her best friend's apartment, we don't hear anything about the best friend until the end of the book, 3 months later. Also, Holly makes some incredibly simplistic errors, like accepting drinks from a person she knows or suspects uses poisons and herbal drugs on people and not making very basic connections between events. I recognize that I am reading a book and know there are going to be bad things happening and Holly is fictionally living the story, but if she were so suspicious, why be so trusting? That connect never made it for me. But otherwise, this was a scary and inventive story and a good read if you can ignore the big ol' red flags like Holly did!

Thanks to Random House for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

I don’t read much horror, but I loved Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic, and I got similar vibes from the description of this book, set in Savannah, Georgia. This is not a story for the squeamish, faint of heart, or easily offended, but if you’re looking for something original and deeply disturbing, check it out.

I loved the creepy atmosphere of this Southern Gothic thriller. The story grabbed my attention and would not let go. I enjoyed the author’s writing style, which is vividly sensual—sometimes beautiful and sometimes nauseatingly repulsive. Even though there were lots of hints about what was happening, it felt suspenseful and I couldn’t look away.

Although I appreciated the originality of the story and will likely find it memorable, I’m not sure I actually like it. I prefer books about characters I can relate to and cheer on, and I really didn’t like our main character, Holly, or any of the other characters. Holly is incredibly self-centered, jealous, and wracked by guilt that never seems to motivate her to improve her behavior. I really didn’t enjoy being in her head. I was also disappointed in the epilogue, which felt a little too tidy and at the same time left me feeling like I didn’t really understand. Or, perhaps it’s just that my understanding of the story feels so unbelievable.

Note that the book contains violence, death, and body horror, as well as swearing.

Thanks to Random House for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley, which I volunteered to review.

This was an up and down ride. Holly is such a fighter. I can’t put my thoughts together. I thought the author was really going in one direction saying it was this person and it was actually someone else!

Holly Chambers is grappling with the loss of her brother Dane. Dane committed suicide after experiencing severe neurological and psychological symptoms. But Holly isn’t sure that Dane’s death is a suicide given that his last text indicated that his girlfriend Maura wanted to play a strange game on the night he died. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, Holly sees a potential opening when her roommate Rachel begins talking with her fiance about buying a condo. Searching for accommodations on her meager salary, Holly reconnects with Maura and decides to move in. After all, it’s easier to investigate when she is living in Maura’s space. But Holly quickly learns that things aren’t as they seem. As a florist, Maura’s townhouse is filled with strange plants and the library contains odd books. But Holly also finds herself strangely attracted to Maura. Will she be able to solve the mystery of her brother’s death or will she be claimed as well?

Well, that was a wild ride. This novel has a lot working in its favor. Set in Savannah, Georgia, it successfully leans on the Southern gothic genre. There’s a great deal of atmosphere that pushes the novel forward. The plot builds until the final quarter of the book, where the audience will struggle to find a place to stop reading. At that point, everything is in motion and the intensity level is high.

It’s worthwhile talking about Holly. As a main character, she makes significant sacrifices to try and discover the truth about Dane. However, she doesn’t always make the best decisions when she finds herself in trouble. Several times I found myself wondering why she continued to stay in a toxic situation when the danger was very clear. Though I have to admire her persistence, she really needed to get the heck out!

Overall, this was a quick and intense read. However, this was a weird novel. It’s clear from the beginning that Maura’s plants aren’t right and she knows how to wield them for good or ill. The best comparison to Such Pretty Flowers is Mexican Gothic, and readers who enjoyed Mexican Gothic may enjoy the bizarre ride.