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Atmospheric Gothic Horror with Compelling Elements

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen is a chilling and atmospheric gothic horror novel that draws readers into a dark and twisted mystery. Set in 1887 Netherlands, the story follows Lucy Goedhart as she tries to unravel the mystery behind her twin sister Sarah's strange illness, blending supernatural horror with themes of sisterhood. The writing is immersive, and van Veen excels at creating a tense, eerie atmosphere that fans of gothic fiction will appreciate.

This was a wonderful read and I enjoyed so much: 4.5 Stars. I knew I had to read this one solely based on the cover and synopsis! I absolutely LOVE gothic horror and especially horror written by women authors. I didn’t know until after finishing this book, that the author also wrote “My Darling Dreadful Thing” and I’m so glad that she got redemption in my eyes with this book (I HATED her other book and actually DNF’d it). I absolutely adored that this had such a unique and original premise for a horror book. The creature in this story was entirely rad and so different from a typical “vampire” character. The horror elements, especially body horror was so well done and really felt so creepy. The concept of a living corpse is just so good and has so much potential for good horror, and the author really was able to hit it out of the park. The characters in this book really are such a standout, Sarah and Lucy had such a strong and loving bond. It was so great seeing them support each other as woman and sisters. The story pacing was really perfect; I was gripped right from the start of the story and felt super engaged throughout! The ending was super satisfying and I would have loved to read more but the length felt perfect! Definitely recommend this to all my horror loving peeps!!!

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. “Blood on Her Tongue” will be published March 25, 2025.

2.8 — i thought i was going to love this but it took me almost a month to finish. the writing felt very repetitive. the pacing for most of this book was VERY slow and things didnt start getting picked up until the end

I’ve been trying to summarize this book for the past few days and can’t seem to find the words. But what I can tell you is that this book is gothic, gory and un-put downable. This book devoured me whole.

This is my first Johanna van Veen book and I promise it won’t be my last. The writing was so lush and dark. It felt so easy and natural to immerse myself into this story. I especially loved the descriptions of the bog woman and the estate the majority of this book takes place in. There were so many times I had to put the book down because some of the descriptions sent shivers down my spine. I felt like a ghost in a room watching these events take place and loved every second.

My favorite thing about this whole book was the topic of women. I loved the social commentary on women in society. It added to the horror element of this book so well. The sister relationship between Lucy and Sarah was superb. I loved how much the lines between how far we’re willing to go for the people we love were blurred and I thought it touched on women’s mental health in a way that was accessible and entertaining at the same time. The queer undertones of this book had me hooked even more. There’s nothing like the experience of reading a queer vampire-esq novel.

Overall, I was entranced from beginning to end. I devoured this book and it devoured me. This would be the perfect read for spooky season and I would highly recommend it for everyone to read.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eArc. What a delightfully delicious horror novel. The setting is gothic, the atmosphere is creepy, the pacing is a bit inconsistent but it felt intentional so I didn't totally mind. One thing I'd say though, the dialogue is a bit modern for a book set in the 1800s. Still, van Veen does it again! You'll want to snag this one.

Johanna van Veen’s "Blood on Her Tongue" is a captivating gothic horror novel that masterfully blends psychological tension, family secrets, and supernatural intrigue.

Set in the Netherlands in 1887, the story follows Lucy as she rushes to her twin sister Sarah's side, only to uncover a chilling mystery surrounding Sarah’s descent into madness after discovering a centuries-old corpse on her husband’s estate. The deliberate unraveling of this eerie plot keeps readers enthralled, with each revelation deepening the enigma and amplifying the suspense.

The novel’s pacing is both immersive and measured, allowing the tension to build gradually while delivering moments of startling clarity. Van Veen’s richly atmospheric prose brings the haunting estate to life, enveloping readers in an environment of dread and uncertainty. The balance between slow-building intrigue and bursts of intense revelation ensures that the story remains engaging from beginning to end, with the mystery of Sarah’s affliction acting as the driving force behind the narrative’s momentum.

Characterization is a true standout, with Lucy emerging as a determined and empathetic protagonist. Her unwavering devotion to her sister is the emotional anchor of the story, while the nuanced depiction of the twins’ complex relationship adds depth to the narrative. Secondary characters like Michael, Sarah’s husband, and Arthur, the enigmatic family doctor, add further layers of intrigue and moral ambiguity.

Van Veen has crafted a spellbinding tale where themes of madness, obsession, and the supernatural converge to create a beautifully unsettling reading experience. "Blood on Her Tongue" is a must-read for fans of gothic fiction and those seeking an atmospheric, thought-provoking journey into the unknown.

This was a disturbing, compelling, well written gothic horror novel with extremely complex, morally gray characters and set back in the 1790 or 1800’s. The twin sister of the MC goes to see the body found in a bog on her husband’s estate. She tries to dislodge a stone trapped between the corpse’s teeth, thinking it disrespectful and cuts her hand on the corpse’s teeth. Soon afterward, she falls ill and her husband sends for her twin, who is serving as a lady’s companion, to come and care for her. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited about this one because I’m extremely fascinated by bog bodies and love a weird twin dynamic but it unfortunately fell flat for me. If I hadn’t received this as an ARC, I probably wouldn’t have finished it. The anachronistic language really stuck out and took me out of the story. I also think it didn’t go in any one direction hard enough for me. It wasn’t as gross, scary, gay, or gothic as I was hoping for. The first part of the book is genuinely good though. Van Veen really nails the atmosphere at the start of the novel and the epistolary parts were excellent but then it just sort of…deflated about halfway through. Unfortunately, you can really tell she struggled with writing this book, which she plainly admits in the afterword. I’d be interested to try to read her other novel to see if she just hit a snag with this one or if I just don’t like what she’s doing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC for review.

Intrigued at first by the beautiful cover and then by the synopsis, I was really excited to get to read this early. While I did have a few complaints here and there, this was a refreshing new take on vampires that I didn’t know I was looking for.

The story follows Lucy, a young woman working as a companion for a old lady, as she travels to nurse her twin Sarah on her deathbed. Lucy can’t imagine her life without her sister, and is willing to do anything to help her, even if the Sarah she finds waiting for her is so different, in both looks and behavior, as almost a different person completely...

I knew I was going to enjoy this book from page one - a quote for Bram Stokers “Dracula”, followed up with a letter from one main character to another? Sign me up, I love epistolary novels (this book is not comprised solely out of letters, but even a few of them being included made the reading experience more varied and fun. To me). The build up of the story, the niche topic of bog bodies, the sister dynamics, the way vampirism worked in this book made for a fast and compelling read. There were points in the book when I disliked all of the characters, and then certain points when I rooted for them to get even worse (might be a first for me!), and by the end I felt like almost everyone got what they deserved.

My main issue with the book lies with the ending. Hard to explain without spoiling anything, but I just felt like with all the previous build up it was too abrupt, and something that seemed to be the main goal/problem posed to/by certain characters ended up being resolved swiftly and then afterwards completed off the page. And here I was, really looking forward to some meatier descriptions (pun intended). Despite that, the ending in general was a happy one, sort of, if you support womens’ wrongs, like I do.

To sum it up, “Blood on Her Tongue” is a short horror novel centering hungry women getting fed (up) and taking matters into their own hands - what more do I need to say? Certainly worth picking up and checking out!

I received an advance review copy from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"Blood on Her Tongue" by Johanna van Veen had all the elements of a story I should have loved—gothic horror, historical setting, vampires, and eerie supernatural vibes—but it just didn’t grip me the way I hoped. It had an interesting take on relationships, mental health, bog people, and vampirism, but the execution fell flat. The storyline was plain and boring, the writing didn’t stand out, and most of the characters were unlikeable (Arthur being the exception).

One of the biggest issues for me was how modern some of the dialogue and descriptions felt. It took me out of the historical setting completely. I honestly think this could have worked better as a YA novel. Sadly, I lost interest and had to DNF halfway through.

✨✨Arc Review✨✨
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Some spice in chapters: 9&15 but keep in mind this is a horror book so it isn’t explicit

‼️‼️TW|CW‼️‼️
- Death of a loved one
- Sickness
- Mental illness
- Body horror/ gore
- Mentions loss of a child
- Misogyny
- Stigmatization of the mentally ill
- Sexual abuse
- Domestic abuse
- Cheating
- Toxic codependent relationships

✨✨Onto the review✨✨

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book!

“Blood on Her Tongue” is a historical gothic horror novel that is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for the squeamish. I always say I have no Trigger Warnings, but this book has made me realize maybe I have one and that may be content that includes eyeballs. There are several instances of things being done to eyeballs in this book and any time I think of it I get ✨nauseous✨.
This book has two FMC’s Lucy and Sarah. Lucy is Sarah’s unmarried twin sister who lives with an older widowed woman as her companion. Sarah is married and helps her husband Michael with his job, documenting things he discovers. One day a body is pulled from the bog on their property and Sarah’s mental health rapidly declines shortly after. Lucy comes to take care of her sister and her declining health and is lead to wonder if the person she’s taking care of is even Sarah anymore or if Sarah’s body has been taken over by a malicious parasite that came from the bog woman.
I haven’t read a horror book in a while (unfortunately) and was so thrilled to receive this ARC! This book did not disappoint! There were several times I had to lock my kindle and sit in silence and wonder what the heck my eyes just saw. This book is full of all the spooky, gory and unsettling elements that any horror reader loves. If you are looking for a book to deeply disturb you go pick up “Blood on Her Tongue” March 25th!

Blood On Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen when the book starts we meet Lucy who is on her way to her sister’s marital home to tend to her. It seems her twin sister Sarah has become ill and may not live very long. when she arrives she cannot believe her sisters appearance nor her strange demeanor including, begging Lucy to leave and warning her all “she“ wants to do is eat people. Lucy doesn’t know what she’s talking about nor who she’s referring to but stays because she loves her twin. things turned disastrous when her sister bites their lifelong friend Arthur who’s their doctor but this isn’t the first time Sarah has proven how much she loves the taste of blood just the worst so far. A few days later while Lucy is riding in her journal her sister Sarah wakes up and seems lucid, but not to set on the recent happenings in the house. So when Lucy explains to her about the lady found buried in the bog and her recent notations on tics, Sarah goes crazy and stabs herself to death in the eye. unfortunately this isn’t the end but the beginning. There are so much more to this book including Sarah and husband Michael’s marital problems her relationship with Michael’s cousin Cat and just so much more I am totally skipping over the lady they found in the bog and her whole story, not to mention the family members bleed more than a group of hemophiliacs. Now on to my opinion, I loved this author‘s first book but unfortunately this one which was set in 1889 was not only not scary I think they were a lot of missed opportunities with the storyline that had it went one way it could’ve been much more creepy not to mention I’m getting so tired of man hating books. It seems every story has to have a lesbian all the men have to be bad and no matter what era the book is set in they’re always has to be 21st-century commentary and I’m so over that. Having said that I do think the majority of this book was good but once she had that whole come to Jesus confession with her sister Lucy I believe that took all this sting out of the book I mean I did like the book for story and plot sake but I didn’t like the ending nor would I consider this a Victorian mystery or haunting story because it totally was not. I do think if you like vampire and or possession type stories you will enjoy this one and I did for the most part it just wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. #NetGalley,hh#PoisonPenPress, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview,#JoannaVanVeen, #BloodOnHerTongue,

✨REVIEW: 4.5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

🩸Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen 🩸

🥩synopsis: The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy’s twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband’s grand estate. The doctor has diagnosed her with temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain. To protect her twin from a terrible fate in a lunatic asylum, Lucy must unravel the mystery surrounding her sister’s condition, but it’s clear her twin is hiding something. Then again, Lucy is harboring secrets of her own, too.

🥩my opinion: Year 1887. Lucy receives a letter explaining that her sister, Sarah is terribly ill. So, she goes to take care of her since they are twins and she feels super worried about her. 🙂‍↔️💞

I loved the book, the relationship between Lucy and Sarah is pretty solid and sweet 🥲. The fact that I knew Sarah had SOMETHING (ok, I won’t say more but it’s important…🫣) and that Lucy still went along with her twin, is really special. <33

The atmosphere is 🖤SUPER🖤 gothic, just fantastic. I got a lot of Nosferatu vibes from it! And that’s why I put Ellen in the picture; they’re both (Sarah and Ellen) suffering from an illness from fever?? Oh yeah, it’s always fever...until it’s not and actually the cause is much more gross and creepy. 🤣

✨Highly recommended if you✨

🩸Like Nosferatu.
🩸Like possessions.
🩸Like bog bodies.

I would like to thank @netgalley, @johannavanveen1997 and @poisonedpenpress for the advanced e-copy. <33

A wonderfully gothic tale of sisterly love, bogs, vampiric parasites, and bad men. Sharply original with utterly grotesque descriptions, albeit tastefully and rarely done. But when it gets foul does it getFOUL. Squelch squelch squelch!

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t right for me. I didn’t care for the writing. The pacing changes too frequently, and the writing is repetitive. I would have liked to see some depth in the characters as I found them flat.

But I’m an outlier on my thoughts with this because so many people have enjoyed it.

Amazing story. The time period is so fascinating and van Veen does a great job exploring the mental health of women during the late 1800s. I thought this was a vampire story (Lucy, Arthur, blood, etc.) but this is no vampire. Blood on Her Tongue is beautifully written with complex characters and their complex relationships. There's a gruesome villain that you somehow don't hate. Once again van Veen incorporates the true wonder of bogs in this story and I'll never tire of it. Highly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

This book was so dark and lush. An exceptionally unique take on the curse of vampirism. Johanna has such a gifted way of describing rot that makes it so visceral you can almost smell the decay.

I love when a book feels like it was written for you.

I just recently went down a bog body rabbit hole so to open this book and find that it begins with the discovery of one was just 👌

An absolutely wonderful Gothic Horror- some of the body horror is the best written I’ve read in a long time. I’d classify this as one of my favorite sub genres/tropes(?) called “Supporting women’s rights and wrongs”

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eArc in exchange for a review.

4.5 stars

I was so excited to read this book because I am a Gothic Studies Major and I adore the vibes of this book and the atmosphere. I adored the sisterly bond that was shared throughout the book and provided intrigue from the very beginning. My interaction with Gothic books can be hit or miss if it hits the same feeling and this book was amazing.

This book has all the Gothic vibes, but there are gruesome moments so be warned before entering this book. The writing style was beautiful and created a feeling of being included within the storyline.

I do not want to share too much of the actual story because I feel like it needs to be experienced by the reader. I recommend this book for Gothic Fiction and horror readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the E-Arc

I really enjoyed this story. To start, I love how Johanna van Veen writes her historical horror. I don't know if I can think of another author that uses the correct language and colloquialisms of the time period she writes. It lends an air of authenticity to her stories that is often missing.

The dynamic between Lucy and Sarah was easy to understand and the character's motivations was clear because the relationship was so well defined. I don't have a twin but the book made me understand the link between twins quite well. Even with the revelation, I still understood why Lucy made her decisions and I enjoyed their dynamic quite a bit.

The sapphic story line was chef's kiss. In the end, this book sends the message that yes, it is all men, and having a sapphic love story layered in with men who portray themselves one way only to benefit themselves was perfection.

My only issue with this story was the pacing. We were given tidbits of the horror throughout the story, but it left me wanting more. Normally, I enjoy that tease between the author and reader, but it went on so long that I was feeling restless. In the end, the horror of it all was fantastic, but I needed a bit more sprinkled throughout and I wanted it to feel more haunting from start to finish. Overall it was a good story with good character development and writing, and I will be recommending.