"There are birds and trees, revived flowers. Friends. From the red algae come monstrous forms, but there is also life in the animals returning where they were once extinct. This world and it's sharp, intense beauty.

There is me too, scars and all, freckled and peeling.

I was beautiful. I am beautiful."

GENRE: Gothic/Horror Fantasy with Folklore
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
FORMAT: eBook on Netgalley with Colored Pages Book Tour

Would I recommend to others?: I'd recommend They bloom at night for people looking to read gothic fantasy with multiple themes happening at once & with a quick pace as well.

Long Review:
They bloom at night is a Gothic Fantasy book in which we explore a red algae overtaking a small town called Mercy near the water. We explore the different themes regarding Vietnamese Folklore, Ocean Species and Algae overtaking the world. We look at identity and gender throughout the book. We grow with the characters and learn the distinction of being an adult and the reality of it.

I quite enjoyed They bloom at night, I think we get to explore the folklore of Song and how Nhung sheds her human reality to become a creature of the sea. We get to explore the generational trauma of moving, leaving behind our ancestors and a country that once loved us with its folklore, its good & its bad. We get to explore the lack of acceptance and having to stand out when we are all different.

We learn what it's like growing up with an older generation that lacks hope and lacks the focus on love that it leaks into our generation:
"It's a bad habit of mine, finding the worst in every situation, but no one has taught me to hope."

But, we also learn that we aren't responsible for a whole generation's mistake and that we do not need to keep apologiseing for them:
"I'm learning that she will never apologize for her father's mistakes, the same way I won't for Mom's. And why should we, actually?"

They bloom at Night also has a sarcastic humour to it, which I loved:
"We are late a lot," I say in what must be a betrayal to multiple cultures. I'll apologize to the entire continent of Asia later."

We also get to explore Grief and how holding on to folklores is the only way to go forward sometimes:. We cling to folklore in the hope that it can still prove our loved ones are around and that they haven't gone far. We cling to the fact that maybe one day, we will be able to see them in this world and that they haven't truly gone.

They bloom at Night was truly an adventure that I quite enjoyed. I think I would have liked to know more about Song as a folklore and I do feel that was not explored deeply in here. The book is more on the shorter side though and addressed numerous themes at once. I think the pace varied from fast pace in most parts, with a slower pace in a few places. This book would be ideal for people to get introduced into Vietnamese Folklore, like me. However, it will leave you wanting to explore it further (like me) and perhaps that was the intention.

Thank you to Netgalley, Colored Pages Tour and the publisher for the eArc copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

They Bloom at Night is an ambitious novel that blends Vietnamese folklore, gothic horror, and Noon's deeply personal explorations of identity and trauma. Noon’s journey is haunting in every sense of the word. As she returns to a past that has shaped her in ways she’s only beginning to understand, she grapples with shifting relationships, a changing body, and the ghosts - both literal and metaphorical - that refuse to stay buried. Despite being a YA book, the novel doesn’t shy away from heavy themes, touching on intergenerational trauma, grief, and gender identity in ways that were raw and surprising.

That said, the execution doesn’t always match the novel’s ambition, and unfortunately, that was the case here. The writing, at times, feels disjointed, making it difficult to fully immerse in the world. Some passages required multiple rereads to actually understand what the author was trying to say, which detracted from the atmosphere and slowed the pacing immensely. The world-building was also hazy and confusing - I could grasp the general strokes of Mercy’s eerie setting, but the larger context of the hurricane and sea-life remained frustratingly vague. Considering the dystopian-ish premise was the entire reason I picked this book up, this made the experience pretty disappointing and dulled the impact of what could have been a truly stunning book.

Despite these issues, They Bloom at Night is a worthwhile read for those who appreciate gothic horror infused with cultural depth and rich thematic storytelling. Even with the less than stellar execution, its heart remains strong, making it a novel that is both unsettling and deeply moving.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by any third parties.

A beautiful story, I wish I read with my eyes instead of doing an audiobook. I think the audiobook distracted me from almost lyrical writing style that showed the beauty within horror and exploring one's identity. It was a touch graphic (not a bad thing), a touch adventurous, and a lot of feelings packed into this book. It's about grief, loss, monstrous feelings one feels while identifying oneself, and how others perceive us when we're not understood.

Not a scary book, but one with lots of other scary elements to make on think in the end.

2.5 stars. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the concept of this book was so cool and chilling. A monster story infused with cosmic and body horror elements, it draws heavily on Vietnamese folklore. While it’s a young adult novel, it tackles heavy themes such as sexual assault, transformation and change, and survival in dystopian world.

While I enjoyed certain aspects of this book, I found it difficult to follow at times due to the plot’s ambiguity. I also didn’t feel a strong connection with any of the characters. Despite there only being a few characters, I struggled to visualize or feel engaged with any of them. As much as I wanted to love this book, the characters and writing just didn’t resonate with me.

If you’re looking for a YA survival story with an end-of-world setting, a group of teens hunting a monster, and themes of cosmic horror, you may enjoy this more than I did!

🪸🅱🅾🅾🅺 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆 + 🅵🅰🆅🅾🆁🅸🆃🅴 🆀🆄🅾🆃🅴🆂 🪸

|| 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙩 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 by Trang Thanh Tran ||
Pub Day: March 11, 2025

🌟Thank you partners @coloredpagesbt, @bloomsburypublishing, @nvtran_, and @libro.fm for the gifted copy and ALC.🌟

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙩 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 is a compelling, genre bending tale about the monsters that live within us and around us. Tran creates a ghastly, mythological, and sci-fi environment where the characters’ insecurities, fears, and concerns bubble up on the surface any chance they can. The main character Noon is undeniably facing a challenge as she deals with longing grief of her brother and father, gender conformity and acceptance, sexual trauma, and body changes while the world she knows is being plagued by climate change, a red algae bloom spreading to affect the water’s ecosystem, and a greedy, dangerous man that wields his power to oppress others.

What’s interesting about this novel is that it tackles so many big button issues affecting young adults that people often want to disregard, overlook, or minimize. The young characters constantly deal with parents that do not listen to them or understand how they are processing trauma, grief, relocation, and/or identity. Tran shows us what happens when we believe that monsters and chaos can only bloom at night, then we don’t focus on the ones that walk and talk during the day. Even if there are monster-like sea creatures affecting the Louisiana community, the novel vividly shows us how to be more accepting, empowering, and understanding.

I was so intrigued by the cover of this book that I had to see what it would entail. While I didn’t quite piece together every plot line in a neat fashion, I did make note of the messages about self-expression and acceptance, which is crucial to developing the next generation of informed citizens. I think many readers will enjoy this genre-blending narrative.

Please swipe left to see what quotes reeled me deep into the novel.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨(3.5)

🏷 #TheyBloomAtNight #TrangThanhTran #TheyBloomAtNightTour #ColoredPagesBookTours #Horror #YA #Queer #bookreview #Bookish #Bookstagrammer #BookLover #wellreadblackgirl

1. “For those who can’t see themselves in mirrors” (epigraph)
2. “Can I be everything and nothing at the same time? Extra fat, extra parts, narrow bones. A shadow you know is there but whose shape remains unseen until it emerges on concrete. I want a body that’s easy to manipulate” (51).
3. “Mirrors show a you that no one else sees, and you begin to wonder if either is really truly you. […]. Am I a girl enough—the right kind? Going through life invisible is easier, but the temptation is still there to stand before a mirror and call the worst monsters to you” (100).
4. “Adults having their shit figured out is an illusion of childhood. You wake up one day and the mirage is gone. […]. Even when you’re hurt, they will tell you your wounds aren’t real. Better yet, put a sweater on it and hide away” (154-155).
5. “Sometimes we need people to hunt the things inside of us that need to die but that we aren’t ready to kill” (163).
6. “It’s strange, how little love you can survive on until you experience the warmth of people who choose you despite everything” (175).
7. “We can work hard all we want, but if the bootstraps are barely holding on by the thread, it snaps anyway. I’m tired of following the lessons set out by others. I want to find a new way forward, even if it takes deconstructing down to the marrow” (239)

They Bloom at Night is a wonderful read for fans of body horror, queer coming-of-age stories, Vietnamese folklore, and ocean mutations. Our main character Nhung takes on the task of discovering what monsters lurk in the oceans and what’s causing the blooming red algae all around this small Louisiana town. Simultaneously, Nhung is trying to discover herself within the intersectionality of being of Vietnamese descent, her sexuality, and how she views her body.

The horrors persist, but Nhung persisted even more. The world around the characters is falling apart, full of eerie depictions of gore and wounds. This book ended up being so much more than what it seems as race, class, intergenerational trauma, and sexuality heavily impact the characters. This is a deep and heavy book with so many layers to dissect.

Even though I’m ending this read with 3.5 stars, I still loved the themes and was immediately gripped by the body horror and gore. The only qualms I’m having about this book is that the dialogue seems forced and wasn’t thought out all the way. The dialogue is rushed, a little cheesy, and would kind of throw me out of the other plot building that happened.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an early e-copy of They Bloom at Night in exchange for my honest opinion.

in THEY BLOOM AT NIGHT a red algae bloom has overtaken mercy, louisiana, bringing with it mutated wildlife and rising waters. noon is trapped in a town full of monsters, both literal and emotional, while navigating her strained relationship with her mom, who believes their deceased family has reincarnated as sea creatures. as a new storm looms, noon must face the traumatic past tied to a party at the cove and decide whether to confront the monster within her.

like in her debut, SHE IS A HAUNTING, tran creates an emotional and atmospheric setting with clear and accessible prose. this is a unique story with insightful commentary on identity, trauma, and family dynamics. that said, the book is short, and unfortunately, that brevity shows. i really wanted more depth, especially on the family lore and sông specifically. what we got felt half-baked and underdeveloped.

i also struggled to connect with the characters, as we learn very little about anyone except noon, which made it hard to root for them. that said, noon’s journey of forming bonds with both old and new friends creates a sense of found family which i’m a total sucker for, so she won points from me there.

i didn’t become fully invested in the story until i was more than halfway through, and even then there wasn't much going on to keep me hooked. the concept was strong, but the execution fell a bit flat for me this time.

although this wasn't my favorite, i will continue to pick up tran's works in the future.

thank you so much colored pages book tours for sending me this beautiful copy of trang thanh tran’s newest novel!

[arc review]
Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
They Bloom at Night releases March 4, 2025

3.5

“The monsters have always been human. I should’ve known that.”

In the aftermath of a hurricane, the town of Mercy is overtaken by the bloom of red algae.
With dwindling resources and a debt to pay, Nhung must find the alleged monster that is responsible for the disappearance of so many residents.

They Bloom at Night is a unique and thought-provoking exploration of SA, survival, and gender identity. The gradual increase of body horror and body transformations cleverly shape the aforementioned themes as the characters try to make sense of the folklore surrounding them.

I’d recommend this if you like genre-bending, coming-of-age stories, with a climate-ravaged setting.

“Mercy is an echo chamber, and even when your family comes from somewhere else, it will swallow you.”

In the push and pull factors of migration, there are only two factors that cause people to leave the places where they’re born: climate and employment. (Yes, resources fall under climate.) In They Bloom at Night, the coastal town of Mercy once held a big Vietnamese immigrant population, but in reality Vietnamese immigrants of the 20th century settled mostly in California and then all over the American coastline in varying population sizes so long as they had access to the water. Sugar Land, Texas, would’ve been the largest population closest to the setting in the book due to its proximity to the Padre Islands and the Gulf of Mexico.

Those immigrants left their birthplace behind, but not their ways. That theme, of being a child in a new world trying to find yourself when your culture has no term for you; really, it has no concept of you, isn’t a new one in this genre, but the way in which author Trang Thanh Tran approaches it from this angle of gender identity and sense of parental apathy really adds a sharp melancholy to the internal struggles and grief that Noon, our protagonist, is weighed down by throughout this whole book.

That there is the problem: Out of this whole book, I only liked Noon. The Louisiana setting felt too obvious and an easy target for the plotline. The male characters felt like caricatures of rednecks in the deep south and it kept throwing me off. Covey, the main supporting character in the book, felt like a supporting character I’ve seen in several other YA novels in the vein of this one and I felt like I could honestly predict her movements and decisions. Then there was Noon’s backstory, which is one I’ve read before in YA novels with leads of all sorts. What saves this backstory from being called out is how it affects the entire plot and not just Noon.

I just wished for more from this book. It was one of my most-anticipated reads of the first quarter of the year.

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews rated three stars or lower will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

They Bloom at Night is eerie, emotional, and really unique. Set in a half-drowned Louisiana town, it follows Noon as she navigates red algae, mutated creatures, and a mother convinced their dead family members are now sea monsters.

This slow-burn horror is packed with folklore, mystery, and an unsettling atmosphere that builds the story. While it is more horror related, the undertones tell a story about grief, self-identity, and what it really means to be human. I found this book to be creepy and thought-provoking.

They Bloom at Night is a very good horror novel. In it, Noon and Covey start to look into the mutated fish and disappearances that haunt their village. There is a lot of Vietnamese folklore. Trigger warnings for body horror and the effects of sexual assault. Family plays a role especially in the way some decisions are forced upon us while we look to make our own way. 4.5 stars.

This book scratched an itch in my brain that I didn't know was there. The elements of Vietnamese mythology, the protagonist's journey to accepting and loving herself, the acceptance and love by friends formed along the way--just so good!

Noon and her mother have been living in Mercy, Louisiana where following a hurricane a red algae bloom has taken over the landscape. Strange occurences and disappearances have started, and Noon's mother thinks that her dead husband and son may have been reincarnated as sea creatures.

Noon struggles with not feeling at home in her body, especially after a horrible night with an older boy at The Cove. She pushes her feelings and memories aside, and tries to care for her mother the best she can. When the leading local businessman demands that Noon locate the sea creature(s) causing residents to disappear, she finds herself unexpectedly bonding with his daughter Covey on the quest. Will they find what they are searching for before Noon succumbs to the call to transform herself?

I loved everything about this story: Noon letting go of shame that was not her fault, finding a place of love and forgiveness toward her mother, just the beautiful writing that kept giving me goosebumps.

Definitely check trigger warnings on this one if needed: body horror, memories of SA, deaths of loved ones.

Thank, you so much to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for this book!

a haunting queer ocean horror infused with Vietnamese folklore and finding your place in the world. a hurricane devastates a small town, causing rising sea waters, mutated wildlife and a red algae bloom. when people start to disappear, Nhung is tasked with finding the sea monster responsible. it's eerie and atmospheric and filled with terror from the environment and those who live there. it weaves together climate change, class, gender, queerness, and found family.

I loved the concept of this. Sea monsters and apocalyptic algae sounds amazing. The pacing is unfortunately what ruined this. It was too fast and very hard to keep up with what was going on what supernatural beings were at work. More explanation and more time would have done wonders for this book

This cover is EVERYTHING though. absolutely stunning.


thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book which will be published in March 2025

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025 and I ate it up. This is a post apocalyptic horror that takes place in Louisiana after hurricanes bring red algae bloom and devastate the region. The horror elements are almost psychedelic and I loved the tie into Vietnamese folklore. I adored every character and thought they each had so much depth. (I also loveeee the name Covey and put it on my baby list so thx for that).
I believe this is YA but really eloquently covers a range of heavy topics. Check content warnings before reading.

At the start of this book, I truly thought to myself "there's no way that Trang Thanh Tran can top 'She is a Haunting'" and boy oh boy was I wrong! If you like stories of monsters, body horror, and redemption then you needn't look any further than this absolutely haunting second novel from Tran. I don't get easily scared or squeamish but Tran's books are the only ones in which I categorically cannot be eating while reading them because their writing is just so descriptive that I can picture what's going on as if it were happening right in front of my food.

The allusions to how sexual assault changes someone were haunting and yet rang true of so many stories I have heard told from women who are told to cover up what happened, or told that what did happen to them was their fault. Without giving too much away of the plot, I can say I was very satisfied with the ending and how Nhung embraced the changes being made both physically and mentally.

"They Bloom at Night" was as beautiful as it was terrifying, and each time I read the words that Trang Thanh Tran has put to paper, I am astounded by just how intelligent and prolific their writing is. To think that one person contains multitudes such as this that allows them to write with such heart has me eagerly awaiting their next novel.

Do not skip reading this book.

They Bloom at Night is atmospheric from page one. It has this apocalyptic feeling to mysterious algae blooms taking over. Even more so, the world of They Bloom at Night has a monster looming in the dark. There's something lurking underneath. They Bloom at Night immediately sunk its teeth into my heart with its exploration of parenthood. At the end of it all not only is Noon's relationship with her mother at the core, but also the lingering ghost of her dad. All the ways we try to keep our future, our past, alive. Within They Bloom at Night their relationship and the world is challenged.

I was so thankful to receive an early copy of They Bloom at Night, which is delightfully creepy.

I have been into eco horror lately, and YA authors have been putting out some fantastic titles. This book has a strange and deadly red algae that began to bloom after a hurricane in Louisiana, but the algae is something else. It’s changed the sea life in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s even changed the main character, Noon, and now people are disappearing.

The body horror is top-notch as well! I swear I could smell what was being described.

This is a five-star read for me. I loved the Vietnamese culture and folklore woven into the story. Also, definitely recommend reading this at night. There’s nothing like reading a scary novel in the dark. It just hits different.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC!

After a hurricane falls in Mercy, Louisana, everything changes in the blink of an eye for Nhung (also known as Noon). A mysterious red algae bloom has over taken the aquatic water life, Mercy is becoming more dangerous to occupy as the days continue but Noon's mother is adamant in staying with hopes of finding their deceased loved one reincarnated thanks to the goddess Song. Noon is apprehensive on the prospects of life after death and things get worse when they are tasked to join a madmans daughter in searching for the "monsters" that lurk in the waters. A tale of survival, painful pasts, and identity weave together in this dystopian horror that begs to question who are we at our core when things are bleak?

This was an easy 5 star read for me in terms of the representation that showcased itself from Vietnamese main characters to queer characters, and justice served to the bigots that would tear them down, this was outside of my usual readings but Tran has a new auto buyer/reader out of me, just absolutely beautiful writing.

I was so obsessed with She is a Haunting and that made me so excited for this book. It completely lived up to my hopes and was such a satisfying book. I loved that there are of course some similarities in the style and the vibes of the horror while also being very different in ways that respect the setting and illustrate more of Trang Thang Tran's talent. She's clearly a master of mystery and creepy imagery and used that so well. This book was a little more of a slow build which was interesting I liked how that showed off more of the setting with having the characters going around Mercy and putting together different clues and theories. The ending was amazing, it was great seeing how everything came together and so surreal. The environmental and dystopian elements to the horror where perfectly executed and also added so much to the ending. All around a great book.

I am always up for a good rage-fueled thriller (the world sure has no shortage of things to get enraged about) and this newest from Trang Thanh Tran features a nonbinary Asian American teen dealing with an algae bloom inspired monster in their Southern hometown as well as intergenerational trauma handed down from their refugee immigrant mother. There's also anti-Asian racism and queer-phobia in this highly relatable and creative YA cli-fi dystopian/horror story. Great on audio and highly recommended for fans of books like Pink slime or authors like Jamison Shea and her I feed her to the beast series. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.