I had a little bit of a hard time following this one, but none the less I enjoyed it. It was really good at building atmosphere and I love how Ruth is both horrifying and comforting at the same time, much like this entire genre of fiction.

This book was so enjoyable! Roos Beckman has a friend named Ruth, only Ruth is a spirit that inhabits her in order to make money for her "adopted" mother in seances. Throughout the book a psychiatrist is interviewing Roos because of a murder that happened. The psychiatrist believes her to be schizophrenic as she hears and sees things (spirits). There is build up throughout the book because we as the reader know that something bad has happened. and while reading, we are trying to figure out what it is.
This is a perfect read for people who love paranormal entities and horror.

My darling dreadful thing review

Solid 4.5 stars

Oh, how I felt sorry for poor Roos having to live with a mother like that! In a way, I’m glad she had a spirit companion.
I liked Ruth, I guess she had a lot of spirit in her (no pun intended).

I have to say I was confused about what era this story was set in, In the first 2 chapters I was convinced it was the 1800’s and it turns out it was in the 1950s.

It was beautifully written! Creepy, gothic and haunting. The cover of this book is also amazing and creepy at the same time.

I can’t fault this story and the ending made me even cry! I can’t recommend this book enough.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this arc!

4.5 stars

Warnings: gore, SA, parental neglect and abuse, death, incest (not on page and not with main character), cannibalism/blood sucking


This is a fantastic creepy gothic book. I was caught up with Roos from the start, and was surprised to see where the story lead you. There are vivid descriptions of the setting and characters, pulling you in further. I think the doctor’s notes sort of gave away a bit earlier than I would have liked, but by the end I was still finding a little tension still left in the plot to uncover. If you like sapphic gothic horror I would certainly give this one a try.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy for me to be able to share my honest opinion.

A young lady, Roos, in historic Netherlands has a spirit companion, an emotional support ghost. They found each other while Roos was confined in the floorboards during her 'mother's' seance performances. But after an infamous yet mysterious Asian lady visits for a seance, Roos is whisked away to discover that this lady too has a paranormal visitor. Roos goes to live in Agnes' mansion, with Agnes' sister-in-law, and the memory of Agnes' recently dead husband. But not everything Roos learns about the Asian lady is true.

What an amazing story! I found myself very invested in the characters and enjoyed the dark gothic atmosphere. The main character was such a broken individual but still had a spark of defiance and self preservation that came together in one highly memorable package. I was not sure, at first, how much I was enjoying the structure of the story telling. The chapters of doctors notes threw me off at first, but as the story progressed they offered a great balance to the unreliable narrator. Overall an excellent read!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to an advanced readers copy of this title free of charge. I am leaving an honest review voluntarily.

My Darling Dreadful Thing is gothic in the most extreme sense.

Its dark, its claustrophobic, its full of ghosts and other beings and a lot of the plot is set in a big manor in the countryside, cut off from civilisation.

For me, this review is a challenge without spoilers, but I am left thinking What Did Really Happen?
Roos has a long dead spirit friend Ruth who can take over Roos body and do terrible things to defend her. But really? Is this really what happened or was as Roos’ spirit friend Ruth a product of her mental health dealing with her damaged upbringing?

As the novel is told from Ruth’s point of view then Roos is a real and living ghostly spirit. When Ruth takes over Roos body and does terrible things to defend her, Roos can feel the physical change in herself and for her Roos is really taking over her. And genuinely believes that it is Ruth who is behaving in this manner.

And we know this as through the novel’s dual timeline where we are in the manor and Agnes (the wealthy widow), and we are also in the psychiatrist’s room with Ruth afterwards. The novel begins at the end so we know that there is carnage; and through the Drs part we find out who died and that they met violent deaths.

But the novel is more that – it’s a terrifying decent into madness all set in a cold, damp, draughty manor cut off from civilisation.

I am not giving this a five star as it is quite a long read, and sometimes it got a bit dark for me that I had to leave it to come up for air; but it’s a strong four star read.

Have you ever wanted to know what it was like to speak with the dead? Do a seance? Be a medium? Roos Beckman is exploited by her mother, being dragged to different settings and homes to be a medium for paying folks to speak with the dead. Some cast members have the power to alter the course of Roos journey, while others enter her life and become an object of desire.

This tale is suspenseful, well-written, and intriguing. Thanks to NetGalley for an e-arc in return for an honest review.

My Darling Dreadful Thing is spectacularly spooky in all the right ways. From the first chapter I was wanting more! Johanna Van Veen described everything in such a way that I felt in the book with the characters.

Queer, gothic horror?? Yes, yes yes and yes please and thank you.
The book is written in first person POV and a doctor's report as the MC is being questioned in a crime. (Past and present elements)
As you should expect in a gothic book it is slower paced with a haunting setting (both in atmosphere and spooky boos).
The book quite gripped me from the onset. I found it to beautifully dark and eerie.

This one takes a little bit to unfold, but once it does, it is quite intriguing. I appreciated the descriptive, sensory writing. It takes an epistolary approach-- but sometimes does more telling than showing.

However, the story will leave you wondering, 'what really happened?'

Recommended for those who enjoy a gothic, slow-burn, a Sapphic tale full of unreliable characters that makes us question how trauma can affect us.

There are some heavy themes, so check the trigger warnings if concerned.

(and how 'bout that cover!)

Thank you so much to net galley and poison pen press for this ARC

My darling dreadful thing is my favourite read of 2024 so far! When I first saw the blurb for this book I knew it was right up my alley but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did.

First off a gothic manor setting is always a winner for me and van Veen executed it amazingly. This novel was incredibly atmospheric.

Nothing I can say will manage to encapsulate the love that is in this novel; the obsession, the all consuming love was everything I was promised and more.

This novel has the perfect balance of beauty, horror and love. It was extremely reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s writing which I love. I cannot recommend this book enough and I can’t wait to see what van Veen writes in the future

This book captured my whole being.
I was drawn into the story and loved everything about it. The back and forth between the modern world and the past was very interesting and I needed to know what happened to the young woman and her ghost.

I loved this gothic novel with its horror elements

I went into this book blind, and I am so glad I did. I truthfully was grabbed by the cover. I can honestly say this book took my soul and ran with it. I devoured this in less than 12 hours. I was so invested in the characters and how the story was to unfold. I became such a huge fan of Ruth and Roos. I love a gothic horror theme and this one was exactly that. I think anyone looking for a quick, thrilling read will have a wonderful time devouring this book. It was the perfect amount of dark, spooky, gothic and beautifully written all wrapped in one. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this one.

3.75, rounding up.

Our main character, Roos, has grown up in a rather traumatic home. She can see spirits, with her mother uses to her advantage by monetizing seances. One day one of the seance clients, Agnes, sees something special in Roos, and offers to take Roos away from her mother's home, which Roos gladly accepts.

The ensuing tale is one of trauma processing, mental health, and unconventional love all around.

There was much to enjoy about this. It was very eerie and definitely delivered on the promised ~gothic vibes~. I felt like the writing was very sensory and really brought the story to life for me (the clicking of Ruth's jaw, the smell of the bog, the descriptions of the spirits). As cliche of a trope as it is, I do always like a story that leaves you wondering how much is reality vs how much is fantasy, and I think this book did a very good job with that.

Overall a good read! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC :)

Thank you to Netgallery and Poisoned Pen Press for an early release copy of My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna Van Veen, this book will be available for purchase on May fourteenth of 2024.

My Darling Dreadful Thing has a rather slow start, it took me a while to get through it but I’m glad that I finished it! I’d say about 50 or so pages in is when the story really picks up. This was beautifully written, you can tell right away that the characters and plot were all well thought out.

The characters are intriguing! I loved the spirit companions and their little quirks, they were the best part of My Darling Dreadful Thing, the interactions we get from Agnes and Roos spirit companions were cute! Peter and Ruth’s protectiveness for our main characters is written in a way that I enjoyed, they didn’t come off as overly possessive and the four of them go along nicely!

The plot did take a while to pick up but once it does I did get more invested in it. I liked that we got to see the events in what happened and the little interview parts. It was interesting to hear what the doctor thought about Roos spirit companion as well as her relationship with Agnes.

Overall, I think this book was beautifully written. I think this will open up more discussions about childhood trauma and how it can affect one’s mental health. I’m interested to see other people’s take on My Darling Dreadful thing it certainly can be perceived differently from person to person.

I’d love to see more from Roos and Agnes or just from Johanna Van Veen in general!

5 Reasons to read My Darling Dreadful Thing

1. Suspense
2. Sapphic
3. Spirits
4. Unreliable narrator
5. Dual Timeline

*I received a copy of this book as an ARC for review from NetGalley
I lived laughed loved this book. There were lesbians and ghosts and spooks, i couldn't have asked for anything more.

What a fantastic read. This story had an equal amount of mystery and horror with a love story mixed in. The way the story was written extremely well and I enjoyed the perspective of both Roos and the doctor. It always interests me when we start with the end and work our way through the story from the main character's POV. Roos was a sympathetic character and I felt for her so much. Her story reminded me a lot of other stories I have heard of people that have developed MPD. This was theorized by the doctor and it definitely tracked which is due to how the author wrote this story. It was easy to see how the reality of Ruth was very real to Roos which is typical of people who may suffer from mental health concerns. Johanna did an amazing job of finding that balance. I also 100% cringed when we learned about the incest issue. No thank you! But this did play a big role in Agnes' story. I really loved this book and would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy gothic novels!

This was really something else in its entirety. You get to experience this glorious book not just through the characters but through Doctors notes as well that further the unreliable narration and make us doubt every single thing we’re reading. It’s a great twist to not know who to believe, from a readers perspective. I really like the main characters and the authors descriptions were so beautifully horrific and unsettling. It was every gothic vibe lovers dream. Not only that but it was incredibly spooky and I think it’s a great read to get lost in.