This is the second book I’ve read by this author and once again i’ve been left speechless by how enthralled this authors writing has me. I couldn’t put it down and even went out of my way to immediately buy my own physical copy!

Blood on Her Tongue had all the elements of a gripping psychological thriller—an eerie atmosphere, a mysterious death, and a protagonist with a haunted past. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver.

The pacing dragged, especially in the middle chapters, and I found it hard to stay invested. While the writing is atmospheric at times, the plot feels muddled and overly reliant on familiar tropes. Characters lacked depth, making it difficult to connect with their motivations or care about their fates.

There were glimmers of potential, and a few twists kept me curious enough to finish, but overall, it fell flat. Not the worst I've read, but certainly not as compelling as I hoped.

I really enjoyed this gothic horror novel. Thank you so, so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title!

Blurb:
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.

Then, the worst happens. Sarah's behavior takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angry… and hungry.

Lucy soon comes to suspect that something is trying to possess her beloved sister. Or is it madness? As Sarah changes before her very eyes, Lucy must reckon with the dark, monstrous truth, or risk losing her forever.

Title: Blood On Her Tongue
Author: Johanna van Veen
Genre: Horror
Format: eARC
Series: NA
Star Rating: 3.5 stars

A special thank you goes to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy of this book. Please know that this does not influence my rating or thoughts on the book itself.

tw: sickness, death of a loved one, body horror/gore, the stigmatization of the mentally ill, misogyny, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, cheating, and toxic codependent relationships.
*These trigger warnings are located in the book as well. This author also took the time to get sensitivity readers for the mental illness aspect of the book. We stan a queen who cares about mental health rep!

When I started this book, I thought it was going to be like a typical possession horror story, but it ended up being way different then I thought it was going to be. While I did enjoy it, it wasn’t my absolute favorite, and I had a slight problem with the pacing of the book, which I’ll talk about later.

One of the best things about this book, though, was the body horror. This had some of the best body horror I’ve ever read about. It’s right up there with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It had disgusting eye injuries, very grotesque descriptions of injuries and the body, and more. I was so grossed out, but I was also living for it. Just be mindful if you are squeamish. This book does not hold anything back.

I can’t quite put my finger on why I wasn’t more in love with this book. I think I didn’t love it because it wasn’t quite the typical possession book. Which, normally, I would enjoy, but I think it was the pacing. There was a very dramatic event that happened in the middle, and then it was very slow up until the very end. It just seemed off to me.

I think my other problem was that I was mad I didn’t quite guess the twist, although I’m not sure if there truly was a twist. There was mention of a particular unusual mental illness, and once it was mentioned, I’m like, oh that totally makes sense! But then the book made you think something completely different, and I’m still unsure what the ending was truly about.

Overall, this was a good book, I just think it suffered from pacing issues a little bit. I was a little annoyed with the way the twist was handled. But it redeemed itself with the excellent body horror, and I’m glad I ended up getting a copy. I think I’ll reread it again and see if my opinion changes.

Johanna Van Veen has moved onto my auto buy author list because this was spectacular. This slow burn was incredibly atmospheric and creepy as the story strolled through this grim, gothic setting. This is a horror that is going to linger in my brain for a LONG time. Thank you so much for my arc! I cannot wait to buy myself a trophy for my shelf!

4.5 stars - rounding up

This did not go in the direction I was expecting, but wow this was good!!

Set in the Netherlands in 1887, we follow Lucy as she cares for her twin sister Sarah, who becomes ill after discovering a dead body on her property. As her behaviour becomes more erratic, Lucy is forced to consider the possibility that something worse than madness is at play.

This is a stunningly created gothic and atmospheric story. The entire time I was so immersed in the world and Sarah's mental state. I loved the scientific and supernatural combo. And I think all of the complicated relationships were handled brilliantly.

Every time you thought you had all the answers, another twist was thrown at you. If you enjoy slower paced books I recommend this!

Set in 1887 Netherlands, Blood on Her Tongue follows Lucy as she returns to her family's estate to care for her twin sister, Sarah, who has become ill and dangerously fixated on a bizarre body unearthed in the bog near their home. As Sarah's behavior grows increasingly erratic, Lucy must confront the possibility that something far more sinister than madness is at play.

As is true with gothic fiction, the atmosphere reigns supreme. The author builds a haunting, claustrophobic setting that perfectly complements the story’s tension. The house feels cold and suffocating, the nearby bog is basically a character itself, and there’s this constant dread hanging over everything. Sarah's transformation is both disturbing and magnetic, drawing readers into a world where the line between the natural and the supernatural blurs. Her peculiar behavior and condition are filled with uncertainty and mystery.

Lucy is a great narrator, determined to make sense of her sister's decline. The bond between the twins is the heart of the story, but it’s twisted and uncomfortable in a way that totally works for gothic fiction. It's complicated, painful, and achingly human. You’re never quite sure what’s real or what’s supernatural, which helps the creeping unease. As with a lot of gothic fiction, it’s a slow burn. There’s more moodiness and creeping unease than plot devices, but the payoff is worth it if you hang in there.

If you like your horror quiet, slow, and full of creeping dread, Blood on Her Tongue might be right up your alley. This book is all about mood—foggy landscapes, crumbling family homes, and the kind of tension that feels both tender and terrifying.

“Because I couldn’t bear you leaving me behind. I thought it would hurt less if I were the one leaving you behind instead.”
🥀
Blood on Her Tongue is a gothic horror similar to Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. It hits all the main courses; the discovery of a mysterious body, an incurable disease, and the unraveling of each character's horrific secrets.
🥀
Unfortunately this book did not live up to my expectations. While I loved the gory, creepy ways it explored sibling relationships, lust, and the fear of the unknown, I found it very predictable and lacking in excitement. It felt like gore was used mainly for shock factors, and the bulk of the characters' decisions felt similar or out of field for the main story.
🥀
⅗ stars.
Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC copy! 🤎

I loved this book. It’s dark, gothic and unputdownable. The setting is perfect and characters back stories are so touching. I couldn’t put it down. The book is vivid and immersive. Some descriptions are gruesome. This is a feminist horror. Author creates such a powerful and poignant characters that you can’t help but gets completely invested in their lives. In the late 1800s in the Netherlands, Lucy go there to meet her twin sister Sarah. Her obsession with centuries old corpse and strange behaviour leads to a diagnosis of brain fever. But Lucy sense something odd and tries to get to the bottom of it yet the truth is sinister and rather unsettling. She must protect her sister. If you like dark and gothic feminist books with sinister secrets, truth, possession and gruesome details, this is right up your alley.

Thanks to the Publisher

I was pretty excited to read this book, because it sounded like everything I love. In the end, I was both disappointed and positively surprised.

First, for the things I loved: The concept is so interesting! This book draws heavily on the vampire tradition but doesn't only limit itself to the obvious (Dracula, Carmilla). There's some cool revenant folk lore and science influences as well, all grounded in a pretty convincing historical setting. There's sapphics (so many sapphics, guys!!) and having just finished Hungerstone, a Carmilla retelling, I was so happy to get not one but two sapphic vampire stories within the same month! What a wonderful surprise.

For things that I didn't enjoy: the writing wasn't as evocative as I would have liked. For a gothic, I have pretty high expectations when it comes to atmosphere and the creeping sense of dread as the mystery unfolds but this book unfortunately fell on the weaker end of the spectrum. Also, there was a heavy dose of bigotry voiced through many side characters, and while I do believe that it was meant to make a point (about the times, womanhood, etc), I personally found it made the reading experience a little less enjoyable, since it was just too heavy-handed for my taste.

All in all, I do recommend this though. The story offers a fresh approach to a very old topic, the ending felt very well deserved and I am looking forward to whatever the author writes next.

I don't usually read horror books. I have an overactive imagination and like to read before bed. This book was worth the risk of nightmares! An isolated estate, a crazy wife with an unexplained illness, her twin sister who would go to any lengths to protect her. From the first pages, we know that there is no hope of a happy ending all tied up with a bow. The train has already gone off the rails and all we can do is watch and see who makes it out alive. No one is making it out unscathed. With major Dracula/Jane Eyre vibes, this gothic horror was exactly what I was looking for! Creepy, relatively low level gore (there are a few scenes that I really shouldn't have read before bed, or while eating), and twists that kept me up late into the night. The major question throughout the book is how much of a person must remain for them to still be the same person. If you have access to all of a persons memories and feelings, can you become that person? Would you still love someone, if they were reduced to those things? Despite the historical setting, the ideas are very timely. [This book reminded me of one of the stories in Exhalation by Ted Chiang in the best way.]

A not so attractive type of vampire.

Blood on Her Tongue is a dark gothic horror novel that offers a very atmospheric setting which follows twin sisters grappling with a mysterious, parasitic affliction in 1887 Netherlands. The book was great at setting an eerie scene but I found it difficult to get into it. I found the sisters relationship to be uncomfortable as well as the other relationships in the book. That being said I really enjoyed the direction Johanna van Veen. The author combined the scientific with the supernatural and threw in a bit of sanity. I am definitely interested in reading more from the author.

Thank you to Johanna van Veen, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the audio-digital ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

In a society where women shouldn't think for themselves and men dictate their lives, Lucy tries everything to save her beloved twin sister Sarah from an unknown sickness that is starting to consume her.
I really liked the setting, atmosphere and how the story starts taking different turns the more you read.
Perfect balance between horror, body gore and humor.

Set in 1887, Lucy receives a series of letters from her twin sister that become more and more concerning. After finding a dead body in the bog, her sister has become ill and requests Lucy come see her. When Lucy arrives, she finds her sister on her death bed with some unique symptoms and cravings. Lucy will do anything to help her sister survive and stay out of her worst fear, the mental asylum.

This starts off with ALL the Dracula vibes. Learning the backstory through a series of written letters, a loved one on their death bed with intriguing and disturbing symptoms, and even a character named Lucy. I was loving the gothic pacing and setting for the first half of this book. At about this point, the story takes a bit of a turn, and I'm not sure the author knew exactly how to end it. 5 stars for the buildup....but overall this was a 4 star read for me.


Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC for an honest review.

Blood on Her Tongue was a delicious, delightful, unhinged, rage filled/rage inducing, gothic horror novel.
This book had it all - creepy vibes, questionable characters, a unique mystery, twins (no offense to twins but even just the premise of twins is a great set up for some good horror (I’m so sorry, twins)).

It starts with a classic, gothic storyline - one sister is mysteriously ill, it's the 1800s so she's not being taken as seriously as one would prefer. When her twin arrives, she's in worse shape than initially thought - she won't eat, she isn't sleeping, and a few oddities occur that point towards the fact that this may not be your typical fever induced insanity.

The layers unraveled at a beautiful pace, every time you thought you were reaching a conclusion, you're given that MORE you were searching for. The story spirals into a direction I wasn't necessarily expecting, but I wasn't disappointed at all.

I think we've all deemed Johanna the queen of gothic literature in modern times. I cannot wait to read what she comes up with next! Thank you to Johanna and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

With books like these (not plot-driven), I think it's best you know as little as possible, so I won’t summarise anything here. This is what you can expect:
Exquisite writing.
Spellbinding atmosphere.
Intriguing characters.
Discussions about what it means to be a person, the sacrifices we’re willing to make for those we love, and much more.

I usually don’t like describing books through memes, but these are such a perfect fit!
“I support women's rights, but more importantly, I support women's wrongs.”
“Would you still love me if I were a worm?”

This was such an odd read but I really enjoyed it. The setting was very gothic and played really well with the advancement of the story, especially concerning how women were meant to act.
I really enjoyed this book, but it was a bit confusing at parts, I felt like there could have been a bit more descriptive scenes, especially with the characters outside of the twins.

Overall, this was a pretty creepy book and I loved the ending.

When I requested this, I had high hopes. I love books about the dynamic between sisters, and gothic horror is my favorite subgenre of horror. That being said, something about this book missed the mark in my opinion. The gothic vibes were written very well, and I liked the originality of the bog vampire being. But it felt as though the author was trying a little too hard to make the writing quotable, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it becomes a problem when it's a detriment to the flow of the writing and the pacing. Other than that, I loved the exploration of society expectations, sexuality, and agency.

gloomy and gory and grotesque---a very fun, swampy horror-thriller. i like how willing this book was to get gross with it. every room felt feverish and dark and it was all great! i liked what the big rotting estate added to the story. i think it was a good choice to have certain characters erupt into manic clarity so late in the story, when at first decorum and politeness demands other things of them. i do think this could've been much longer, since the ending sort of dissolves into fast-paced resolutions, but i appreciated how naturally the horror grew and grew.

DNF at 51%

With everything that was going on in this book this should have been a page turner for me however I was just really bored, things progressed at a snails pace. This book had a lot of intresting concepts, it was just too much of a slow burn, and made me lose interest. I can see how many others have really enjoyed this read, it just wasn't for me personally.

-historical fiction, slow burn, twin sisters, possession.

Many Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sharing a digital copy, as always, opinions are my own.