Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen is a haunting and visceral horror novel that explores obsession, transformation, and the complexities of sisterhood. At its core, the relationship between the protagonist and her sister is tense, intimate, and unsettling, blurring the line between devotion and destruction. Van Veen’s prose is rich and poetic, heightening the novel’s dreamlike horror. Its psychological depth and eerie atmosphere make it a compelling read for those who enjoy horror with a strong emotional core.

3.5 overall!

After reading My Darling Dreadful last year I was so excited to get my hands on Veen’s newest book! From the start I was intrigued with this book and found myself not wanting to put it down. The writing was gothic and atmospheric, which I loved, and would honestly make this the perfect fall read. I was pleasantly surprised by the gore that this book had and wasn’t expecting it but it made it that more creepy. I did find it to be slow at times but the cliff hangers at the end of the chapters made me wanting to know more. I did find myself wanting more from the story and wish there was more to do with the bog woman than what there was.

Overall, I liked this second book from Veen and find that it’ll be a good book for spooky season!

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc. I read My darling dreadful thing by this same author and this when I knew I would read anything by this author. This book was one of my most anticipated reads and I'm thrilled I was able to arc read this. It was creepy and good and everything I expected it to be. This author is an auto-buy author for me now. Thank you so much for writing this book, I loved it!

Blood on Her Tongue follows Lucy in 1887 Netherlands who goes to attend her unwell twin sister, Sarah. Sarah seems to have a mysterious illness, perhaps even bordering on mental illness, as she refuses to eat and her speech is nonsensical. This spell seems to have been the result of the discovery of a bog body on her husband's estate, and her subsequent obsession with finding out who the body belongs to. Fearing that her sister may be committed to an asylum, a fate worse than death in her opinion, Lucy aims to do everything she can to help Sarah.

This story was nothing I could have anticipated; it was full of twists and turns and I couldn't have possibly predicted what happened next. The atmosphere was gothic and creepy, with morally grey characters all around. There were so many disgusting elements of this story, too, which again I didn't quite expect; the descriptions of some the events were so revolting I struggled to read through, however having a physical reaction to a book is something rare for me, so it made this story all the more brilliant - it only added more to the atmosphere.

I won't be forgetting this story - it was deliciously gothic and horrific, and I really enjoyed it! I will definitely be reading this author's other works.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc!

Read this one if you love The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe, Dracula, T. Kingfishers works and books like Leech by Hiron Ennes.

Summary:
Sarah, Lucys twin sister, discovers a bog body on the grounds of her estate. Fascinated by the morbid and in love with with science, she becomes obsessed with the "bog woman", watching her autopsy and mentioning her frantically in writing to her sister. Two weeks later, Lucy receives a letter letting her know that her sister is plagues by a sickness - similar to a burst "insanity" that has befallen her once before.
After the commitment of their aunt to a mental asylum, Sarah and Lucy are deathly afraid of the same future awaiting Sarah.
Lucy rushes to Sarahs sickbed, but it becomes more and more clear that some kinds of sickness cannot be healed - if you could even call Sarahs state of mind a sickness...

This one was fabulous. Lovely writing fitting for a novel set in the 19th century, a moody atmosphere found in the wetlands of the Netherlands, enticing, yet not always likeable characters and a healthy heap of eeriness made this book a lovely blend of everything slightly unsettling. I would not say this book is gruesome psycho horror, but it is definitely not for the faint of mind (or stomach.)
Between the chapters, we often find letters or articles giving us more insight in the characters and their surroundings. Whilst the twins were generally very loving towards each other, they both had huge flaws which made the book even more believable and interesting. Intersected with thoughts of the pull between whats wrong and what feels right, mostly our main characters have a lot of depth. Be warned that men, especially in the nineteenth century, were awful, so if you feel uncomfortable reading about a man thinking of an independent woman as unnatural, maybe skip this one (but remember that this also entails reading about badass independen.
I loved this slightly different interpretation of vampirism and enjoyed discovering every piece of information we could get our hands on.

This book was moody, eerie, fascinating and creepy - and I loved all of it!

Blood on Her Tongue is a gothic horror novel dealing with the story of Lucy whose twin finds the body of a woman in a bog and then begins to act strangely.

Following classic gothic horror tropes, you will find a big mansion, pathetic fallacies, a foggy atmosphere, mad women, and bad husbands. But I was ultimately disappointed with what I was given. Every trope I should like is there but it fell short on the delivery. The story is a good one, you are given the keys to make out the twists before they happen if you want to figure them out. The themes are compelling, the characters are all distinct from one another and have different motivations and backstory. And yet I feel like the execution was liking. It could totally be a me thing don't get me wrong. Lucy, the main character, was just unlikable to me, she was not smart and was strung along by everyone else in the novel. I wish Sarah's and Katje's characters would have been more fleshed out because their relationship was interesting. The ending felt a bit too neat but it's also very "good for her" so maybe you will like it.
All in all it was a fine novel but I don't think I will remember it in the long run.
There were some gruesome descriptions about eye damage so be warned.

If you want to read a novel about (twin) sisters, what you would do for a loved one, someone coming back wrong, fighting the patriarchy, etc. This might just be the novel for you.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book.

Find my reviews on Goodreads, The StoryGraph, and Fable

I recently read "Blood on Her Tongue" by Johanna van Veen, and it's a gripping psychological thriller that dives deep into the human psyche. This was the first time I read any of Van Veen's books, and I absolutely loved it. Although I found it a bit slow to get into at first, once I was hooked, the eerie and gothic atmosphere, complete with vampires and dead bog people, kept me riveted until the very end. Be prepared for some morbid and gross details—I didn't see those coming!

At the heart of the story are two incredibly close twin sisters who loved each other immensely and shared an unbreakable bond. Their devotion to each other is palpable throughout the narrative. After one of the twins tragically dies under mysterious circumstances, the twin left alive must navigate this morbid and eerie tale to uncover the truth about what happened to her sister. This journey of understanding and revelation adds an emotional depth to the thriller, making it not just a compelling mystery, but also a touching story of sisterly love and devotion.

Van Veen's masterful storytelling and intricate character development created an immersive reading experience. I will definitely be reading more of her work going forward. It's a compelling read for anyone who enjoys a well-crafted mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an early release copy of Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen.

After reading and loving My Darling Dreadful Thing I was very excited to see that Johanna Van Veen had another book coming out! Blood on Her Tongue is an interesting and quick read for me, I love the writing style and setting. I’m kind of picky when it comes to historical settings but if it’s by Johanna Van Veen I know I’ll enjoy it! The gothic atmosphere, the drama, and the gore are all outstanding. Blood on Her Tongue is a lot more gory compared to My Darling Dreadful Thing and I’m happy to see it. The author paints a vivid picture when it comes to the horror, gore, and just mental health as a whole.

I find the writing to be reflective and thought provoking, the whole time I’m reading this I’m trying to make sense of what is going on, I’m like “Are these characters genuinely going through this or are they traumatized”. I throughly enjoyed Blood on her tongue and if you haven’t read My Darling Dreadful Thing I highly suggest you do! Johanna Van Veen writes gothic horror beautifully, they are definitely becoming one of my favorite authors!

Overall I would give Blood on Her Tongue a four star rating, while I throughly enjoyed it there are still a few things I’m a bit nit picky about. I thought the lead of this (Lucy) was going to include a sapphic relationship but it’s more of a side sapphic relationship instead. I liked the main character/side characters but I wasn’t exactly fond of them.

What — pray tell — the fuck

I requested this ARC to expand my horizons as I do not generally read or watch horror because the majority of the time the content does not actually come across as “scary”. This, however, left me in a near permanent state of disturbed. It was not a quick, sharp scare, but a gradual and consistent building of horror. I would occasionally become aware of the fact that my facial expression was actually twisting into disgust and horror while reading.

I don’t know if I will ever become a frequent flier for this genre, but if I were to ever recommend a horror book, this would be it.

Blood on Her Tongue was a chilling horror that is set in the late 1800’s. The tale is spun around adult twin sisters and their relationship, trials and tribulations, and a family history of insane women. The gore and blood are enough to slightly turn an iron gut.

Johanna van Veen served up quite the dish with this one. I enjoyed exploring the twisted sickness that plagued Sarah and the reaction of Lucy when she pieces it all together. I was only disappointed at the end because I wanted to know more of the “After”.

this is again another book i requested strictly because there are greyhounds on the cover. in fact, i went into this book totally blind and i am happy that i did. gripping and gothic, this book will be haunting me for a long time to come!!

Gripping, gothic, creepy, eerie, and hard to put down! Blood on Her Tongue exceeded my expectations with its interesting take on sisters, relationships, mental health, bog people and vampires. I enjoyed this authors previous book, My Darling Dreadful Thing]! I'm mean she literally killed it with this bloody amazing book!

As someone who’s always down for a good gothic vampire story, I find it increasingly difficult to be wowed in a market that’s so saturated with similar books. Unfortunately, Blood on Her Tongue struggles to stand out, despite a very promising start.

The concept of bog bodies was fascinating, and I really appreciated how the author incorporated it with vampire lore. The blending of body horror and the overall unsettling atmosphere created a haunting vibe that had me intrigued. In many ways, it seemed like it could have been my next favourite read.

However, where the book really falls short is in its characters. I had a hard time connecting with Lucy and Sarah, and their relationship felt underdeveloped. Without much backstory or clear motivation, Lucy’s goal to protect her twin felt unconvincing, and that weakened the character development overall.

Blood on Her Tongue was my first read by Johanna van Veen, and while it didn’t quite hit the mark for me, I’m still curious to check out their debut novel, My Darling Dreadful Thing. It has potential, and I’m hopeful that it might deliver the depth I was looking for in this one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Johanna van Veen has done it again with another brilliantly written Gothic Horror. If you were a fan of her last book “ My Darling Dreadful Thing” you will adore this.

Set in the Netherlands in 1887 this dark horror tale follows the story of Sarah, who after witnessing the newly discovered corpse found in the dreary bogs on her husband’s dark estate, falls dreadfully ill.

Her twin sister Lucy is sent for and by the time she gets there to nurse her sister she has lapsed into madness, losing her grip on reality and is deathly ill.

This book delves between the fine line of madness and reality which has been told with such an elegance and dread. I love the vivid images of the writing and could put myself right into the mindset of the main characters.

I adore slow burning Victorian Gothic horror, with grotesque undertones add that to a vampiric old tale and I’m happy!

If you love body horror, dark, disturbing , vampire lore, supernatural, gore, this delivers in this area. I love curling up with a story of dread like this and I found the story darkly seductive, so it’s a 5 stars read for me.
I can’t wait to see what Johanna comes up with next!

Thankyou to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for the early copy for review purposes.

thank you for the arc! a very gripping gothic horror that had me invested from the very beginning. the mystery of Sarah’s illness, Lucy’s turmoil, and the unravelling of the dark secrets of the bog house were fantastic! :)

I enjoyed this gothic novel set in 1887 in the Netherlands finally an European set novel that's not England. I think I loved the Netherlands setting more than I did the story and characters, but I still loved the sisters bond. And I look forward to more books by the author.

“If you are ever attacked, remember that eye gouging is extremely effective at incapacitating an attacker. For someone as small and slight as you, it’s probably the best way to defend yourself. Thrust hard and thrust deep. You must crush the eyeball or at least cause severe hemorrhaging if you are to take out your assailant.”

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen
🩸 🩸 🩸 🩸 🩸

READ THIS IF
You are a fan of gothic horror that blur the lines between madness and reality. Exploring the complexities of sibling love and simply being a woman.

FINAL THOUGHTS 💭
Johanna has done it again. I couldn’t not put this book down, it’s going to live rent free in my head for a long while. Thank you @netgalley @poisonedpenpress for this electronic advanced copy of someone who is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. Johanna has a way with her gothic tales to bring you in and leave you shocked and questioning everything. I read this in public at times and I can only imagine what people thought of the look on my face at some points. The complexities of relationships within in this book is a driving force but also a main problem as our main character is a woman in 1800 Netherlands which in itself is a whole other can of worms. I will be devouring everything she writes from here on out.

This was really good, actually. Gothic horror that made me go what?- what!?- WHAT?- WHAAAT!? every few pages. Set in 1887 Netherlands , it features our morally grey(?) protagonist Lucy, and takes us on a sinister story of bog bodies and blood sucking parasites. The writing is great, the story flows at a steady pace (also giving us equally spaced wtfs😩).Lucy's twin sister, the married Sarah, who writes to her regularly, the Sarah who has already had episodes of insanity , tells her about the bog body that was found on their estate in one of those letters. After that her letters get creepier and creepier until she is called upon by her brother in law ,almost only 2 weeks after the first letter of the bog body, to visit her deteriorating sister. Shit only gets creepier, bloodier, yuckier, and wierder after she goes there. Absolute recommend to people to like dark gothic stuff!
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC.

Blood on Her Tongue was a solid gothic horror story. The book is thick with atmosphere in a delightfully creepy way. We see how far one will go for the love of her sister. I liked seeing a familial relationship as the front and center relationship in the story, where the romantic plots took a bit of a backseat. All the characters were flawed in very relatable ways and their flaws and secrets were revealed in an impactful way. I liked the different take on the vampire, but I wish there was a bit more vampirism in the story. Overall it was a solid read full of atmosphere, gore, and emotion, everything you would want in gothic horror.

This book was such a phenomenal, wild ride. I gave up trying to predict what would happen next and just hung on for dear life through all the twists and turns. Yet I was never lost or confused, just surprised and astounded. All that is to say that the plot is amazing. The book is also super creepy, fully earning its horror label. I definitely did not sleep well after reading it, but I still loved the body horror, creepy manor setting, and disturbing characters. I personally did not find the characters likeable, but I did find them compelling. And I loved Lucy’s devotion to Sarah and how their relationship guides her choices and the plot. I almost wish it had been a dual pov with Sarah as well. I also wish there had been more lore building for lack of a better term. I wanted to know exactly how the possession and stuff worked and get more maybe history or just a deeper understanding. It was such an interesting element and one of my favorite things about the book, and I wanted to know more! But overall this book was so well done and I highly recommend it.