ARC Provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This book certainly took a while for me to get to but I genuinely think it was worth the wait. The author created such a chilling and eerie atmosphere within the first few pages that I couldn't help but be sucked into the world before me. I really enjoyed a lot of this book, and while certain parts felt a little slow or dragged out, it didn't detract much from my over all enjoyment. I would love to read more from this author and more stories like this..

I really enjoyed reading this one. While I understand other critiques of the pacing, the slow-burn/yearning actually was a plus for me. It really built upon the suspense and made the stakes higher in my mind. The eerie atmosphere was very well written, but I can't quite put my finger on why this didn't fully live up to it's premise.

WHOAAAA MY GOODNESS.

My Darling Dreadful Thing was such a dark, wild and vivid ride. Roos had a dark and dreadful beginning - abuse, starvation and even Sexual Assault with her "mama" turning blind eye to any and everything that earned her some money. Roos meets Agnes, a widow, thanks to her mama's greed of bringing in the "wealthy" clients to exploit her Roos and the grief of others.

Now, the more we got into this story, and the true depths of despair Roos has been through, broke my heart. Understanding her relationship with Ruth and then what came next with Agnes and whatever her true intent was. Finding out the truth about Agnes and her path, Peter Quill and just everything that was revealed during this doctor patient conversation that led to the Trial of Roos Beckman.


This book makes you question: Are spirit companions real? Or has Roos been unwell all this time?

I loved this one! thought it was a very inventive concept, loved the imagery and horror elements, definitely made me incredibly uneasy at times. the writing was gorgeous but it was a bit too much of a slow burn for me unfortunately. I think if I had read it at a time where that was the vibe I was looking for, I would've liked it more, so it's nothing against the book itself! 3.5 for me, rounded up to 4!

A gothic tale that explores every facet of love, the gritty underbelly of it and the wholesome part we allow the world to see. Hauntingly raw, the kind of read that leaves you breathless and wanting more, even when your heart is breaking for the characters. Creepy isn't nearly a strong enough word to describe the old school gothic eeriness that encompasses this story. I don't think anyone aside from van Veen could describe deceased, decaying characters in such an elegant manner.

Van Veen's writing is atmospheric and evocative, creating a palpable sense of unease. The characters are complex and compelling, each harboring their own hidden agendas. The plot twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end, and I found myself completely engrossed in the unfolding mystery.

This was a such a fantastic read! I loved it from the very beginning. The author did a fantastic job of pulling the reader in and immersing them into the story.

This book pulled me into the complexities of both the paranormal and the mind. I spent the whole book jumping back and forth trying to decide what was real and what was an illusion. It was sad, dark, and bittersweet all rolled into one. It touched something in me, while also filling me with unease. A very interesting read.

These was a fantastic horror story. It’s rare that a bleak story can be so captivating for me since I mostly enjoy HEA. There were so many twists and horrendous plot lines that kept me riveted until the end.

Great book! It had all the fears of growing up. Make a choice. Turn the page or close the book. Enter the darkness if you wish!

I really liked this book, not as much as I thought I would but it was still enjoyable and dark and I'd recommend it to readers wanting darker books

Give me a creepy gothic tale involving women and I will make it my whole entire life. Such a tragic, queerly beautiful book.

This book was utterly haunting. At times I was so wound up in the tension that formed between Roos and Agnes that I was surprised by all the turns the novel took. I loved the atmosphere of the crumbling estate, it very much so reminded me of Crimson Peak!

3.5 stars

I always want to love Gothic novels more than I usually end up loving them. The ideas of the spirit companions like Ruth and Peter explored in this novel were super fascinating. I was also a big fan of the sapphic romance (both with Agnes and with her ghost companion). My favorite element was the interviews before Roos's trial over the events that culminate at the end of the novel. I enjoyed a lot of elements of this story, but it didn't always grip me and some writing choices didn't make much sense to me. I also think Roos is a fool. (view spoiler) I'm glad I did read this one (with a book club) because it's not a book I was running to pick up even though I was interested in the plot.

This book is the dark, sapphic, gothic romance we didn’t know we needed (or maybe some of us did)... Roos and her spirit companion have been inseparable for years, but when Anges, a recent widow, attends a seance she’s hosting with her mother (their main source of income), things become a bit complicated. Agnes is like no one Roos has ever met before, and she becomes enamoured with her. But Agnes has a spirit companion of her own, and carries many more secrets than young Roos can imagine.
It was odd, unique, mysterious, intricately written …. It was a whole bunch of things. I was head over heels for this book - it was weird and pulled at my heart strings. It was so pure at times, and at others, it was a bit horrifying. The balance was beautiful. I can’t wait to read Johanna’s upcoming novel - I already know I’ll be a fan!
Thank you NetGalley, Johanna van Veen and Poison Penned Press for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A hauntingly poetic and atmospheric masterpiece. From the very first page, this novel transported me into its eerie, spellbinding world—one of restless spirits, decaying mansions, and love tangled in mystery. The writing is absolutely stunning, both lyrical and immersive, dripping with atmosphere in a way that made every moment feel cinematic. The descriptions are so rich that I could almost smell the damp, crumbling estate and feel the chill of death lingering in the dark.

At its heart, this is a story of love and attachment, but also of the assumptions we make—sometimes to please those who care for us, sometimes because we don’t know how else to survive.

Roos is a deeply compelling protagonist, caught between worlds: the living and the dead, the past and the present, belief and sanity. Her relationship with Ruth, the spirit who has been her constant companion, is both haunting and heartbreakingly tender. And then there’s Agnes, drawing Roos into a new world.

The novel also offers a fascinating, nuanced look at mental health, particularly schizophrenia. If given the option to take medicine to silence the spirits, would Roos erase the only love and reality she’s ever known? The inclusion of psychiatrist notes interspersed throughout Roos’s story adds an unsettling, layered perspective to the well-paced narrative.

And the twists—wow. The pacing is perfect, building tension with precision, and the haunted house vibes are truly chilling.

If you love gothic horror, deeply psychological narratives, and stories that blur the line between the supernatural and the mind, this book is an absolute must-read. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

this was such a great, gothic read! an atmospheric, spooky, unsettling slow burn.

cw: rape, incest, child abuse, infant death, racism

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH, i think about it a lot, the cover is great, the writing is amazing, the plot and characters are so creepy.

MY DARLING DREADFUL THING is a haunting ghost story packed with chills, classic Gothic tropes, and an ominous atmosphere.
I love a gothic tale, and I initially picked this one up because of the sapphic romance. As it turned out, while the romance was an important part, I’d say that the platonic, almost familial relationship between Roos and her sprit companion, Ruth, was where the really compelling and complex dynamic lay. There’s also a really interesting look at the relationship between Roos and her mother, and a look at how childhood abuse and trauma affect a person.
The story plays out in flashbacks, as Roos is interviewed by a doctor while awaiting trial for murder. Van Veen does a masterful job of keeping up the tension and macabre attitude throughout the story, and keeps the reader teetering just on the edge of the question as to how much of the tale is true and how much is a product of mental instability: from any or all of the three women involved.

2.5* rounded up.

Unfortunately, after all that dark and moody atmosphere and prose, there was very little pay off. Not to mention that the blatant attempt at trying to misdirect was just that - far too blatant. This book was inspired and carried by so many other classic stories that it failed to obtain its own identity outside of them.

The characters needed more time to shine, and the sapphic relationship definitely required more time to develop. Everything was bogged down by the back and forth between the doctor's interview and the story itself. The interview did little to intrigue me, merely made me roll my eyes and wish to move on to the next part.

I would only recommend this to people who prefer atmosphere to substance.