A bit disappointed in this one. The premise was interesting and the themes of colonialism and racism makes this horror stand appart. However, the whole was very horror trope heavy and quite predictable. It felt a bit too long and meandering with no real purpose and with very little surprise.

The atmosphere and the gothic inspiration drawn upon in this novel were really what brought the novel together and elevated it through its beautiful prose. The characters were all eerie and intriguing and really carried this story. Unfortunately, not much is happening when it comes to the plot and everything was painfully predictable. The ending didn’t feel really satisfying and I was left feeling like this should have been a novella or that some points needed to be expanded on. It was somehow too much and too little at the same time.

Overall, if you’re looking for a ghosting atmospheric horror, I can recommend this one but I wouldn’t be looking for a thrilling new experience in this book.

I knew I would like this book based on the blurb alone, but oh, my god, this was exceptional! I honestly don't think I've enjoyed a gothic novel as much as I've enjoyed this one. There's so much to compliment about this. The words are gorgeous and evocative, and Roos is a great protagonist. In particular, I loved the interspersing of the transcripts between the doctor and Roos. It juxtaposes the supernatural quite well with the realism of the situation and how the outside world would see it. The horror, the abusive mother-daughter relationships, the queerness, the tragedy, the supernatural, all the toxicity and dysfunction, all of it is done with such clarity and such precision. If you're looking for a complicated, terrifying, chilling horror novel, this is the one for you!

I honestly think this was the case of right book, wrong time. I’m going to wait and reread this book when I’m in a better mindset before I leave a public review.

This was such a unique read for me. Different from anything I typically tend to gravitate toward. With elements of gothic horror, the supernatural, dysfunctional and toxic family relationships, I was quickly hooked. The story slowed down a bit for me in the middle as the budding relationship between Roos and Agnes developed, but the action picked up again in the last third or so of the book.

4.5 stars

My Darling Dreadful Thing centers around Roos, a young woman who can see spirits. Her mother is abusive and exploits her so-called "madness" by organizing sham séances. Roos’ lone solace is found in Ruth, her spirit companion that only she can see. As luck would have it, an opportunity to escape her mother’s clutches arises when Agnes Knoop, a young and wealthy widow, attends one of the séances. Suddenly, in true gothic fashion, Roos finds herself swept away to live at Agnes’ isolated and dilapidated estate.

The synopsis itself reminded me a little of Crimson Peak, one of my all-time favorite films. The story is fraught with lush descriptions, secrets and sapphic longing. Every page is just brimming with desire and hunger. I found the depictions of the spirits to be quite intriguing and unique. Roos describes their features in a way that should be frightening, grotesque even, and yet she finds them beautiful. I loved the tragic romance between Roos and Agnes. They are two marginalized women who have experienced immense trauma that ultimately find refuge in each other. The story expertly alternates between Roos’ time at the estate and transcripts of interviews between Roos and a doctor, where she explains what occurred. This narrative style made the story far more engaging.

My Darling Dreadful Thing was a very lovely but also tragic novel. I’m excited to read what this author writes next!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC. (This book was published on May 14, 2024.)

"My Darling Dreadful Thing" by Johanna van Veen is an evocative gothic novel that blends themes of love, trauma, and the supernatural in a post-war Dutch setting. The story centers on Roos Beckman, a young woman involved in fraudulent seances with her mother. Unlike her mother, Roos truly has a supernatural connection—she is haunted by the ghost of Ruth, a protective and enigmatic spirit.

The narrative takes a dark and twisted turn when Roos is sold to Agnes Knoop, a wealthy widow who lives in an eerie estate. This crumbling mansion, filled with secrets and specters, becomes the backdrop for a tale of deceit, power, and forbidden love. Roos' genuine ability to see spirits becomes both her gift and her curse as she navigates the dangerous dynamics within the estate.

One of the most compelling aspects of the novel is the complex relationship between Roos and Agnes. Initially, their relationship is fraught with tension and mistrust. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that Agnes is also haunted by her past and her own traumas. This shared sense of brokenness draws Roos and Agnes together in a tender, albeit tumultuous, sapphic romance.

The true horror of "My Darling Dreadful Thing" is revealed through the exploration of these characters' dark pasts. Roos' mother is not only manipulative but also abusive, exploiting her daughter's abilities for financial gain. Agnes, on the other hand, is grappling with the loss of her daughter and the betrayal by those she trusted. The ghost of Ruth plays a crucial role in unveiling these buried secrets, ultimately forcing Roos to confront her own demons.

The climax of the novel is both shocking and cathartic. Ruth's ghost reveals that she was a victim of Agnes's late husband, adding another layer of tragedy to the story. In a harrowing turn of events, Roos and Agnes must work together to exorcise the lingering malevolent spirits and come to terms with their intertwined fates. The book concludes with a bittersweet resolution, where Roos and Agnes find a fragile peace, haunted by their pasts but looking towards a hopeful future.

Johanna van Veen's writing is atmospheric and richly detailed, making the setting almost a character in itself. The crumbling estate, the chilling seances, and the lingering spirits all contribute to a sense of unease and fascination that keeps readers engrossed. Despite the dark themes, the story is ultimately one of resilience and the possibility of redemption.

"My Darling Dreadful Thing" is a haunting and unforgettable read, perfect for fans of gothic fiction and complex, emotionally charged narratives. The interplay of supernatural elements with deeply human struggles creates a story that lingers long after the final page.

**3.5 stars**

This was a good, queer Scandinavian Gothic (which surely must be a new category) read. It had some spooky moments. It all boils down to whether you believe in spirits or mental illness. I felt it was a little long in a few spots but overall I liked it. I liked the back and forth in time as well as the doctor/patient visits.

I got an ARC from NetGalley (thanks to the author and publisher) but I also got the audiobook from my library. The narrator did a great job.

I enjoyed this story, but I didn't get the "most anticipated Horror" appeal. I didn't find it scary, more suspenseful. I liked the idea of Ruth being inside Roos, and the way the Agnus storyline rolled out was really exciting.

This book is creepy and perfect for a night in front of a fire. This book will give you chills and keep you up at night!

There are two timelines in My Darling Dreadful Thing. In the back-story narrative, Roos Beckman is being used by her mother as a tool for her spurious seances, with only her friend Ruth for company. And unfortunately, Ruth has been dead for quite some time. So when the recently widowed Agnes offers to take Roos off her mother’s hands, as a live-in companion, Roos quickly moves on.

However, in the “present” timeline, we find Roos is suspected of murdering Agnes, and is being interviewed by a psychologist to get to the bottom of the crime.

This is a real slow burn, and given the length of the novel, not an awful lot happens. Roos and Agnes’s relationship is beautiful, and the inevitable jealousy of the ghost Ruth is always lingering in the background.

The novel focussed heavily on character development, especially Roos. Author Johanna van Veen immediately creates a believable cast and series of relationships. I absolutely love stories involving seances, so I found the earlier parts of the book very enjoyable.

A rich, literate novel about ghosts figurative, literal, and spectral.

This is a very dark gothic story. Roos has a spirit only she can see that has helped her through the darkest times. She has been “raised” by a woman who exploits her by using her spirit to con people by having seances. That is until one night she encounters another real spirit. Agnes also has a spirit and takes Roos away to her haunted house with her sick sister in law. That is only the beginning of the tale….because then someone is murdered.

This feels like historical Gideon the ninth…but not done as well. It seems as if the dark themes are stereotypical and thrown in. Roos development was convoluted and misguided. The connection between Roos and Agnes is just awkward. I get that is part of the plot but just rubbed me wrong through the whole book. Over all I felt like there was just too much going on to make a cohesive story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for forwarding this ARC to me.

My Darling Dreadful Thing was a gothic horror full with ghosts and everything we already loved and admired from shows like American Horror Story. The 50s are such an interesting time write a horror book in. Medicine is still not fully developed and the understanding of mental illnesses are extremely different from today. So this story was perfect for the 50s.

We follow Roos, she can see ghosts and has a ghost named Ruth bound to her by blood. Together they perform fake seances for her abusive mother until she meets Agnes.

Agnes is the widow of a wealthy gentleman and can also see ghosts and has a ghost named Peter bound to her. She decides to save Roos from her mother and together they move to Agnes' late husbands mansion.

There things start to go awry and end deadly.

The story is told from Roos' POV, half in normal chapters, half in recorded sessions with her psychiatrist. You don't know for sure if Roos is a reliable narrator and the story is slowly unfolding.

I loved this story a lot. Historical horrors are my favorite and this one was especially unique since its set in Europe and also explores mental health, the patriarchy in that time and also racism. The relationship between Roos and Agnes was tragically beautiful and bittersweet. The ending was shocking.

I was a huge fan of the storytelling in general and I think the author found the perfect words to tell this tale; enchanting and hauntingly dark.

Finishing this took me a lot of time but it was worth the journey since this isn't a book to fly through in my opinion. I enjoyed every single chapter and savored every detail.

I rated this 4.5 stars and am looing forward to read more by this author!

I love gothic horror and was incredibly excited for this one as it was a sapphic gothic horror. I loved how eerie and atmospheric this was. I love when a book feels me with a sense of dread and this one did that very well. The writing was beautiful, my only qualms with this one was the pacing. I do love horror that has a slow build up but this one just fell a little flat and was a bit anticlimactic for me.

The first few chapters completely reeled me in this intriguing and particular story about Roos a girl who holds seances with her mother for money. But when a widow Agnes Knoop comes in for a séance but decides to buy Roos company instead, is when we enter the gothic novel era. All the while, in the present time, we the readers know that something has happened because Roos is being held responsible for the murder and a psychiatrist is trying to figure out exactly what happened.

As much as the writing is lush and descriptive, the pacing kind of lags – but I find myself much more interested in the story when we’re in the present time. Perhaps because the writing is mostly dialogue in those cases and the pacing is swift during those scenes. The mystery is intriguing, and I love the sapphic romance in this – and the two main characters, Roos and Agnes, are very interesting and unique.

I recommend this book if you’re into Gothic literature, love ghost stories, and want a mystery worth reading.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this! Gothic, creepy and everything I was looking for at the time I read it. Huge thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my review copy!

Roos has a ghost for a best friend , Ruth. Throughout her short tortured life , Ruth is her one constant and her only solace. She is used for seances as a child and thinks she will never be free until she meets Agnes, who buys her freedom and whisks her away to a huge gothic mansion in the middle of nowhere. Is Roos mad? Is she sane? Are ghosts real? You will be second guessing everything you believe til the very end

In My Darling Dreadful Thing, debut author Johanna van Veen draws on the tropes of Gothic fiction, resulting in a novel that feels entirely original while also paying homage to classics of the genre. At once a horror story and a love story, it’s unlike anything I’ve read before.

Roos Beckman is a young woman with an extraordinary gift: She can talk to spirits. Well, a spirit, anyway: that of her best friend and spirit companion, Ruth. Both Roos and Ruth are exploited by Roos’s mother, who forces them to perform for strangers during backroom séances. But then one of those strangers, a young widow named Agnes Knoop, offers Ruth the opportunity to come live with her on her crumbling estate, Rozentuin. As Roos and Agnes grow closer, it becomes increasingly difficult to deny the attraction between them…or to avoid the tragedy that awaits them – because months later, Roos is accused of murder.

Set in The Netherlands in the years after World War II, My Darling Dreadful Thing is narrated by Roos in the first person as she tells her story to a psychologist tasked with determining if she is fit to stand trial. This structure works well, giving the book a propulsive quality as Roos’s story unfolds. We know, from snippets of transcripts from Roos’s sessions with the psychologist, that something very bad happens at Rozentuin – we just don’t know exactly what it is. The pacing is deliberate, and the book doesn’t give up its secrets too early, instead revealing them at perfect moments in the narrative.

As with all the best Gothic novels, van Veen’s writing is dark and descriptive, full of macabre imagery, laced with melancholy and dread as she weaves a story that is both gorgeous and gruesome – a story about love, life and death, dysfunctional relationships and abuse, prejudice, and female autonomy that is just as affecting as it is unsettling. Roos is a sympathetic protagonist: naïve, tentative, but with strength and determination at her core. Her relationship with Ruth is fascinating, complex and almost heartbreakingly tender.

Modern in its themes but classically Gothic in its execution, My Darling Dreadful Thing is an inventive and impressive debut that has me eager to read whatever Johanna van Veen writes next.

This dark, gothic ghost story, with lesbian love, personality disorders, murder, mayhem, seances, and madness - really hit me in the feels! And, I was not expecting it at all, until events just came tumbling together rapidly end over end until . . . yeah. The ending.

The story follows a young woman named Roos, starved and abused by her Mama, forced to perform in charlatan seances. Except, of course, Roos can see spirits - but only that of Ruth, her spirit companion and best friend whose ghost she met under the floorboards of the house. Roos's narrative is interspersed throughout the book with interviews by a psychologist, court mandated to determine if Roos is criminally liable for crimes that have not yet been revealed.

Ultimately, there is a love story underneath all of the layers of this dark dreadful story. And that, in the end, is what got me to a 5 star read. I absolutely loved the ending.

Absolutely brilliant!

Perfectly and unapologetically gothic. The imagery is unmatched and the plot perfectly paced.

This a great debut! Definitely a perfect read for Autumn & spooky season. Compelling characters & unsettling elements add up to be a sad yet beautiful story unlike anything I’ve read before.

This story does deal with some extremely complex topics such mental health, queerness, murders & paranormal hauntings. But the way it is all woven together is a work of art. I only docked one star because I felt the ending was a bit lackluster after all the build up but that could just be me.

I do recommend this for fans of historical fiction, horror, and those who want to read a book with mental health or queer representation.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!