This story takes place in the netherlands, 1887 where Lucy’s twin sister Sarah isn't doing well. She isn’t eating and is becoming obsessed with a bog corpse. Lucy is trying to discover what ills her sister which makes it clear that Sarah is hiding something but what is it?

This was an amazing story. It’s well written and well executed with well rounded characters. It was quite satisfying to see the story develop. The body horror was really gross but in a good way. This also made for a nice conclusion to the story. Overall this was an great read which i would recommend to anyone with a love for horror and those with a strong stomach. ;)

Blood on Her Tongue is a gripping and darkly atmospheric novel that kept me hooked from start to finish. Van Veen crafts a compelling story with complex characters and an intense plot that explores themes of betrayal and redemption. The writing style is vivid and immersive, making it easy to get lost in this haunting world. While some parts felt a bit slow, the overall tension and emotional depth make up for it. Definitely a great read for anyone who appreciates atmospheric thrillers with a touch of mystery.

This book was an incredibly original read. It kept me guessing until the end. I loved this unique take on the supernatural.

A beautiful take on classic, gothic vampire literature. Very much a love letter to Dracula, Nosferatu and Carmilla, but still remains gripping and innovative. There were some clunky sentences here and there, but I really enjoyed my time with this book.

This one was not for me. Started off really interesting and then lost me towards the middle. I was lost with a few of the characters! And I couldn’t get back on track with it.

Thank you so much for this arc copy!

2 stars

Finally, after over a month, I've finally finished this book. Unfortunately though I didn't enjoy it, and I think that the time it took to read it shows that. Which is a shame because I absolutely devoured My Darling Dreadful Thing in a matter of days and rating it pretty highly. I don't have a lot to say about this one though. I didn't really connect to any of the characters and felt like the fmc's personality was unclear.

Like I genuinely didn't know what to expect from her nor could I like read her well?? Despite in the beginning this book literally telling us what her character is, I feel like that doesn't stay consistent throughout the book. Every other character though was fine, although very single faceted. There was a lot of gore and body horror but no actual horror and I didn't really feel tension, I didn't feel scared or properly freaked out, just shocked at times. I also didn't understand like the tick vampire thing that Sarah was supposed to be but I kinda just stopped trying to understand pretty early on to that whole reveal.

Generally though I found this story to be very slow and boring and if I hadn't had the audiobook (which btw is good) there's a high chance I would've dnfed this. I really feel like barely anything happens and the ending wasn't very satisfying, or very anything really, and just had be feeling very indifferent. Like I genuinely didn't care about the ending. There were a few things that I enjoyed tho. Like the moments that were genuinely like wtf to me (although this aspect was also lacking towards the end, like those scenes didn't shock me anymore) and I also liked this sort of feminine rage that Lucy portrayed towards the end.Like she was sick of people belittling her so she just kinda lost her shit (slay).

So yeah I'm definitely gonna be checking out Van Veen's next book coming out this August so she's still on my radar but overall, I thought this one was pretty boring and wouldn't really recommend it

Love the gothic atmosphere - this was a really great take on a sapphic vampire story. The way the sisters' relationship and shared psychosis played on each other really made this story gripping. Despite the Victorian atmosphere, the "messiness" of the conflicts between characters kept it fun. Rating 3.5 simply because the historical setting makes it hard for me to hold interest

Thank you to Tantor Audio for an ALC, and Poisoned Pen Press for an e-ARC of this novel. Here are my thoughts!

Sarah and Lucy are twins in the Netherlands in 1887. Sarah has fallen ill so Lucy travels to her home to try to help take care of her. But this isn’t the usual illness, she refuses to eat and doctor’s want to send her to an asylum. Lucy must figure out what’s wrong with her sister before she is sent away forever. But Sarah learns this isn’t just sickness, something is in her sister and it’s hungry for blood.

Do you ever read a new to you author and think, “how did I not know about this author earlier?” That was the case for me with Johanna van Veen. I love books, especially horror, that take place in the late 1800s. It’s such a crucial time in literary history for horror, the grotesque and feminism. Van Veen took all of that and wrapped it up with a nice little blood-red bow and called it Blood on her Tongue.

There is just the right amount of blood and gore, with some uncomfortable body horror moments that fit the plot and setting just perfectly. I liked the aspect of Sarah ‘s investigating what is possessing her sister’s body and how it is affecting those around her. I was intrigued to the very end to see how everything would play out and it truly did not disappoint.

The narrator’s voice was perfect for the story and helped to immerse me into the world and story. I can’t recommend this one enough, perfect for spooky season!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book!

Given how long it took me to get immersed in the story, I certainly didn't expect to end up liking it as much as I did.
I went into this book thinking it would be about the love story between the protagonist and the vampire, but this was infinitely better. As a sister myself, so many themes hit close to home.
All this being said, "Blood On Her Tongue" isn't quite a five star read. The slow begging and sudden end take it down a notch, but it's still an excellent read.

The cover is beautiful but unfortunately the book is just gross. I know Michael and Arthur are clearly meant to be the "villains" but it's impossible to root for Lucy and "Not-Sarah." Lucy is so codependent and obsessed with her evil parasite sister that it makes her stupid and the parasite is just a gross creepy parasite. The only character worth a damn in the whole thing is Pasja the dog and maybe Mrs. Van Dijk.

Blood on Her Tongue milked its introduction and it led to be being bored, thankfully, the plot picked up after Sarah was revealed to have gone mad and that led to her demise. Only for her to be clawing at her coffin and back as something.

The novel follows Lucy and her twin sister Sarah who becomes a changeling of sort and is desperate to rip into a warm body to satiate her thirst. There are moments of intrigue and body horror but not long enough to keep me invested as a reader.

I support women’s rights and most importantly I support their wrongs.

The men within this novel were atrocious and honestly glad to see them meet their demise at the end. I just felt the finality of the novel meet its conclusion very suddenly and not a lot was explained.

I wish that we got to understand more of the twins and their personalities, especially because of how codependent they seemed (psychologically) and I feel like Van Veen really lacked in that regard. The novel lacked in its intimacy and the characters emotional depths to one another and its readers.

Overall, the novel had an intriguing premise but didn’t live up to its potential.

[Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for being sent an ARC in exchange for a honest review]

Atmospheric. Dark. Unnerving. How far would you go for the ones you love? This story follows twin sisters as they navigate a sickness taking over their simple lives. Both gory and emotional, the reader learns to love even the monster.

I tandem read the physical book with the audio. The audiobook narrated by Emily Tucker perfectly voices these characters. She has a desperation that brought life to the story. There were pronunciations I never would have gotten on my own. She is also easily understood at faster speeds.

Thank you NetGalley, Tantor Audio, Poisoned Pen Press, and author Johanna Van Veen for the ALC, eARC, and published copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy of this book.

Who doesn't love a creepy gothic parasitic, vampiric, sapphic, madwoman tale of secrets and bloodshed? Lucy is worried for her twin sister, who is deeply ill with a "brain fever" after the discovery of a mysterious bog body on her husband's estate. Neither Lucy nor Sarah want to be seen as mad or hysterical; their aunt was send to asylum when they were children and she died there, so both twins will do anything to keep the other from the madhouse. They are fiercely protective of each other at all times, in fact, even though they've not always been truthful with one another. Blood on Her Tongue explores Lucy and Sarah's relationship amid a good amount of patriarchal nonsense and true body horror. I was hooked from the beginning and finished very quickly.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

4.5 stars

blood on her tongue is a fantastically disturbing and haunting gothic novel perfect for summerween or spooky season, or just a regular old rainy night. blood on her tongue was full of mental health awareness (or perhaps the lack of such), gorey and unsettling deaths, sapphic lovers, betrayals by sisters, as well as the bond between families.

also, perhaps most importantly, i love the dog.

as for the audio, the narrator did a fantastic job!

this book was so incredible, captivating, and such a peak entry into the genre of gothic literature. i really loved van Veen’s take on vampires in this, something all consuming and that takes over the body in such a way. if i could make everyone in the world read this book, i would. so eerie and addicting, and not at all what i thought i would be getting into when i first started it. one of my most anticipated reads and lived up to everything i love about gothic literature.

thank you netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review.

After finishing this Book it still lingers in my mind. Johanna van Veen's writing is raw and poetic, blending beauty with brutality in haunting imagery. It's not an easy read but I appreciated that. It didn't try to soften anything. Instead, it embraced the messiness of desire and identity in a way that felt very real to me.

Sadly, I had to DNF this. The weird writing took me out of any immersion that would have been possible. The characters were drab and I couldn't get into this at all.

Three stars because the horror in this was so grotesque, I had to keep taking breaks to go, "ewwwwwww" (positive). I haven't read Johanna van Veen's previous work, but I did enjoy this and am curious to pick up more of her work. Where this book thrives is in its gothic atmosphere and body horror, as well as the good for her components. Where it didn't land for me was how predictable it all was and the way the mythology in the book fell away in the second half.

Gothic + sapphic + vampire - it’s a bookish combo I crave. Blood on her Tongue by Johanna van Veen is categorically gothic, sorta sapphic, and very nearly vampiric. Did it placate my cravings? Almost.

Thank you @poisonedpenpress and @netgalley for the eARC.

She had me with the Author’s note at the beginning. I love how cleverly she set the stage, like a candle flickering in and out of the shadows. She also gives content warnings here. I generally don’t need them, because, most of the time, it’s not the content itself that bothers me, but how it's handled. And it just so happens her warnings include some of my favorite topics in books - mental illness, misogyny, and toxic relationships - to name a few. The author mentions her commitment to handling mental illness with care and sensitivity, which I deeply appreciate, and I feel she did accomplish that.

I thought the first half of the book was excellent. The atmosphere and the mystery were tense and interesting, I cared about the sisters and their struggles. But then, things took a turn. And I don’t know any other way to describe it other than unhinged, but not actually in a good way like I LOVE. This was more like an unintentional unhinged. The men acted exactly as you would expect sexist and misogynistic men of that time to act. The sisters just kinda stopped making sense. But, maybe that was intentional

The gothic elements were on point, and I loved the commentary on class, power struggles, female hysteria, and the defiance of societal norms. And I have to mention how much it reminded me of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I reread it last year, and I decided that someone needs to write a retelling from Rebecca’s point of view. This wasn’t it, but maybe someday…

3.5 stars

Deliciously gothic.


I loved the gothic elements and setting to this story and I found it to be wholly immersive and a quick read. I wouldn't say that this book is scary by any means, but it is gory (and I loved that part of this). I loved the world-building elements of it and thought this was a unique take on horror that's been done before.

The reason why it wasn't a higher rating is that I had a hard time rooting for the characters at times and the sister relationship is a complex one that made it difficult for me to find the ending as satisfying as I had hoped.