Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Rating: 4.75 stars

I had the luck to receive an ARC of Johanna’s debut novel last year, so I cannot put into words how grateful I was to receive this one as well.

Let me start by saying: please don’t ever stop writing, if you don’t have any fans I’m dead. And even my ghost will come back for your new release.

Anyways, this tale was so much alike yet so different from My Darling Dreadful Thing and I was so here for it. I once again am absolutely amazed by the historical accuracy and the way you get sucked into the claustrophobic atmosphere of this story.

I loved the twin dynamic and multimedia storytelling, so well done! And just like in MDDT the topic of mental health and how it was treated was so shocking yet interesting and told so so beautifully heartbreaking.

Here the reality of being a woman during this time was even more harshly portrayed and I appreciate how well it was handled.

This is the perfect gothic tale for all fans of A Certain Hunger, Women Eating or Tender is the Flesh.

Serious trigger warning for body horror, especially if you’re easily disturbed by everything to do with eyes👀

The only thing I didn’t love was the ending, it came a bit abruptly in my opinion.

A fast paced, gothic with a lot of gore novel that didn't make an impression on me.

At the beginning the prose felt exquisite, and for a moment I felt I was reading Dracula once again because of the letters and newspaper notes at the beginning. But a few times that prose changed and the old classic novel feeling went down because of the language changed to a modern one and felt odd.

It has a lot of gore and a few here and there assault scenes, so please beware if you are not fond of it.

I had a taste because of how it was evolving that the author didn't know how to continue the story and the ending felt rushed. And I also, felt confused of that ending because I really don't know if the whole thing was a vampire story or a schizophrenic one.


Im looking forward on reading the author's first novel though, it has great reviews and overall I enjoyed her writing.

I LOVE this play on vampires! It’s a fun and interesting perspective that is both on the nose and also out of nowhere. Blood on Her Tongue is perfectly reminiscent of the gothic horror genre. Delightfully gorey, entertaining, and fascinating, I devoured it. The author’s world-building and historical accuracy in regard to gender roles and language were impressive and gave credibility to the story. The slow build of anger in Lucy encourages readers to root for her all the way to the end. And I LOVE a good-for-her trope!! I will continue to think about these characters long after finishing the story and I can’t wait to snag a physical copy when it’s published. Lucy and Sarah's sisterly bond shows us just how far you could / would go for those you love and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood.

My only dislike of this book is the Dracula quotes throughout. They didn’t seem to aid the story in any meaningful way and were more jarring than beneficial, especially because Dracula was published after this story took place.

Blood on Her Tongue is a brutal and viscerally-written book delving into feminine rage, moral ambiguity, and the lengths we will go to for the ones we love. I was expecting a story loosely based on Dracula, but was pleasantly surprised to discover an utterly unique deviation from the traditional vampire retelling.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its writing: raw and graphic yet beautiful, perfectly blurring the lines between the characters’ reality and insanity. The sisterly bond at its core is equally intricate, morally fraught, and compelling, admixed with very poignant social commentary. While I didn’t agree with all the characters’ choices (particularly Lucy’s) the decisions are realistic and the characters’ flaws and moral complexity in these complicated situations are central to the story.

Overall Blood on Her Tongue is a dark, unsettling, and thought-provoking read, with an undeniably fresh take on the vampire genre and an unflinching look at the strength of sisterly bonds.

I love My Darling Dreadful Thing, but this latest novel just didn’t do it for me. I found myself growing bored and overall just wasn’t for me

Vampires, nature horror, 1887, this story was awesome! The sapphic undertones between the characters was great and the story was fast paced

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review!

3.5/5

From the blurb, I was immediately interested in "Blood on Her Tongue". With a mix of vampires and nature horror revolving around a bog body and twin sisters, it was definitely something that I wanted to read. Overall, I found it to be a good book!

I found Lucy and Sarah's relationship to be really interesting, especially through the letters between them that we see at the start. Their dynamic added to the story, and the fact that Lucy's love for her sister was the motivation behind all of her actions made her an interesting character. I thought all of the characters added to the story in their own ways, but with Lucy and Sarah and their relationship being the central point, they were definitely the most interesting.

Without spoiling the book, I thought this way of writing vampirism was super interesting too! It's not something I've ever seen before, which made it very unique! While the buildup to the reveal itself was a little underwhelming to me, I think the overall idea of it was a super interesting way and sets this apart from other vampire stories.

Overall, I thought "Blood on Her Tongue" was an interesting read! I wish the bog had been a little more prominent, but that's just me and my love of nature horror.

“Grief made people do strange things, yes, but it also made strange things happen to people”

This book was … troubling. Complicated. Dark. Twisted. But also thrilling and exciting at the same time. It felt exactly like it should have made me feel like if that makes any sense. It does in my head. But maybe I’m falling for the same madness that has overcome Sarah. Or was it madness? I feel like getting through the story following Lucy’s pov was great and falling in the same traps she did, fighting with the same strength she did to protect her sister … it felt resilient and powerful and relatable, at least for me. Big betrayals have been made in this book. Crazy things happen to the characters. But it was a kinda fantasy horror so … I’ve got nothing to complain about !!!

To start i loved the concept of the book and i love bog bodies but then for a story about twins sister, i was struggling to see the connection and chemistry between them. Even if they talked about it, it didn't felt proved throughout the book. Show, don't tell. The book fell short after a few chapters and the characters were all flat to me, a little too cliche of the genre that i was never surprised because "of course it would happen" and i'm not sure of the idea that was never really talked about if a creature using your sister's body is better than grieving

creepy eerie and gory, i was questioning my sanity all the way through. this was so good, had me wincing and looking away from the page in disgust. love it.

I don't think I've truly read gothic horror before this. The writing was excellent. I love how morality is portrayed in this book. This is my first book by Johanna van Veen and it was such a good introduction to the genre.

4.5 ⭐️

This is my second book by the author. “My Darling Dreadful Thing” was one of my favorite reads of 2024 and has made it to my favorite book list. I still think about it often. I freaked out when I saw this book was being released.


My opinions:

Johanna KNOWS how to do gothic horror! I was sucked into this book. The atmosphere was set so well, just like her previous book.
I did not want to put the book down and I was very very invested.

With “Dracula” quotes in the book, I also noticed the characters being named similarly, Lucy and Arthur. I am not sure if that was intentional or not.

The book took a little more of a sci-fi turn than I expected, but I liked that at the same time (verses a standard vampire tale). I wasn’t really sure what exactly was plaguing Sarah (I had my theories) until we heard it directly from “Sarah’s” mouth. I guess I wanted a little more on the origins of this parasite.

It was gross. I was eating when I came upon the period scene. 🤢 I felt like I could smell Sarah and the rot throughout the book. It was eerie. I could easily imagine how Sarah looked and it gave Dracula vibes.

I really really enjoyed this book. I cannot wait for Johanna’s next!

Thank you to the publishers, author, and NetGalley for access to the ARC of this book! I greatly appreciate the opportunity!

This was my first gothic horror and it didn't disappoint. It was so eerie and disturbing that I couldn't stop reading until the end. The historical fiction mixed in gives a sort of realism to the horrors in this damp and dark tale. I certainly wouldn't recommend for those with a weak stomach!

I absolutely loved Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen! This Gothic horror novel transported me to 1887 Netherlands with its eerie and rainy atmosphere, unsettling mystery, and a story that will stay with me for a long time.

The book follows Lucy Goedhart as she rushes to care for her twin sister, Sarah, who is suffering from a mysterious illness. But this isn’t just a simple case of sickness—there’s something deeply wrong, something that can not be explained by the doctors.
I loved how layered this book was, one one side there is supernatural creepy and mysterious things that Lucy just can not wrap her head around and then there are the men in their lives... with their misogynistic brains. yucky.

What I loved the most:
🖤 Gothic atmosphere that had me feeling suffocated (yes I like when books make me feel things).
🖤 The writing!! Johanna van Veen has this haunting prose that just slaps.
🖤 A deeply emotional and complex sisterly bond.
🖤 Horror elements that are both supernatural and visceral—some scenes truly made my skin crawl (in the best way!).
🖤 Exploration of power, oppression, and what women had (and still sometimes are) to endure.

Johanna van Veen is quickly becoming a must-read, auto-buy author for me. If you love Gothic horror that’s chilling and beautifully written, Blood on Her Tongue is a book for you!

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

If you watched Nosferatu (2024) and left the theater wondering “Where can I get more of this?” Blood on Her Tongue is for you.

This book reads like a classic gothic novel, but where classic tend to imply the taboo or horrific, Blood on Her Tongue goes there. Much like the aforementioned film, there is decaying bodies, questionable sexual relationships, and a vampirism that is more akin to being possessed by a demon than gaining superpowers.

There were several scenes that I would say played jump rope with the limits of my squeamishness so consider that a trigger warning as well, and maybe don’t read this while eating.

All in all Blood on Her Tongue a well written page turner that I enjoyed to the end. And if all of the things I mentioned above did not bother then I most definitely would recommend this book!

Thank you for letting me have a chance to read this ARC.

I had different expectations when starting this book and it went a whole different way than i thought it would. It brings me to believe how much would one do for their family and vice versa. The only part i enjoyed was the bog and honestly that had big potenial to becoming so much more. Body horror in this book was so in detail it was good and honestly made me chill a bit but after a while i noticed it happened more often in the book that it felt like too much, however that could just be me.

The plot and way the story was going was very good however it just wasn't my cup of tea. I hope those who did read can appreciate it more.

Thank you again!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for granting me an advanced readers copy of this delicious ( no pun intended :) ) book.

After finishing this book, I was a bit confused as to how to rate it. I don't think I've read a Gothic novel before, but I'm alright with gore and blood and gruesome scenes, and I like suspense and horror. So this was right up my alley.

The first half was perfection: the set-up (The Netherlands, 1887), the characters (twin sisters, a doctor, a rich gentleman married to one of the sisters, but lusting after the other and a distant relative of said gentleman) and the ambiance (Autumn, a country estate) were so well executed you could feel the tension and the fear. The way it was partially told through letters was so good, it was reminiscent of Dracula.

The second half I found a bit messier. After the story builds up, tension is sky high and you don't know what could happen next, I felt that actually everything happened.
It kind of lost the Gothic vibe and it started concentrating more on sisterly bond and what we would be capable of doing for our loved ones. There was no more suspense and we were only left with bloody scenes that didn't make a lot of sense.

We got a bit more insight into the twins' past (losses of family members and mental health issues), but I really thought their relationship was a bit strange, overall. I couldn't really feel the love between them. Sarah loved to be in the spotlight, while Lucy stood in her shadow, appearing supportive of her sister, but deep down she always wanted to surpass her, I think. She always wanted to be the perfect and well-mannered young lady (you could see this in her monologues whenever she wanted or had to do something).

Certain things that I wanted more of are:
- Deeper dive into the mental health issues that ran in the family; tie it together with the present events. It would've been very interesting, for example, if at the end we would've found out this is all in Lucy's head and she was the center of everything, not Sarah.
- If there was an attempt and female empowerment, I didn't see much of it. We are told throughout the story that men are superior to women in so many aspects, while women are fragile things that at the first signs of stepping out of line from what society deems proper, they are immediately thrown into an asylum. I know this is historically accurate, but the only female rage I got from this is that two men are murdered at the end of the story by a woman and get away with it.

Overall, it was an interesting read. Very immersive and easy to follow. I only wished what was done in the first half, was done in the second half as well. Make sure to check for trigger warnings; it contains depictions of murder, death and cannibalism, among other things.
3.5 ⭐

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

All I can say is woah… I was not expecting that.

This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read. I’m relatively new to the horror genre, so maybe it’s me, but this book was not holding anything back! If you love gore, vampires, gothic vibes and maybe a touch of over the top, Blood on Her Tongue is your girl.

I devoured (lol) this book in a day. I couldn’t put it down. The pacing, the atmosphere, the writing, it was all perfect. The horror was horror-ing and my god was it gory. It made me nauseous most of the book, but I can’t complain because that’s exactly what I signed up for! Beautifully done.

I really enjoyed her previous novel “My Darling Dreadful Thing” and this one was even better! Bingable, gory, gothic, gripping. I enjoyed every second of it! The vampires concept was very refreshing and well written, the complexity of the characters was very enjoyable to read. The gothic atmosphere was EVERYTHING!!