Both this and van Veen's previous book are variations of 3, close to 4 stars. I preferred the other one as it was truly a gothic house book. This one less so. The author excels at atmosphere, but I struggled with the writing style at the beginning. It's weirdly stilted and could have done with some strong editing. The story itself is fine, but I ultimately hated every character by the end. Everyone sucks! Still, I would recommend the overall experience if you're looking for something gothic and haunting.

Thankyou NetGalley & poisoned press for this arc copy, this book gives a good description of the Victorian times when insanity was a taboo subject amongst other things, this book is a horror book with ebs and flows of gore as you read Lucy truth to figure out how to save her sister. I liked the written letters from Sarah’s pov as her obsession became it was good to get into the mind of both of the main characters

What a fun, creepy story. The setting was perfection and I loved the writing style. The entire book had me turning page after page, but the last 30% is absolutely nuts 🤪 and impossible to put down.

My only critique is that it felt like something was missing at the end. I wish the story was a little longer. Otherwise, I was completely obsessive with this Victorian gothic vampire novel.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy.

arc review | blood on her tongue
4 ⭐️
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"I'm in your blood, and you are in mine…"
— Johanna van Veen, Blood on Her Tongue
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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, the worst happens. Sarah's behaviour takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angry… and hungry. 
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Thank you so much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for letting me read an eARC of Blood on Her Tongue!
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It was morbid. Grotesque. Twisted. And boy did I EAT IT UP. The writing was captivating. It lured me in from the very beginning, complimenting the gothic atmosphere and psychological horror. I LOVED the madness. As someone who studied bog bodies in school (and lowkey became obsessed), I loved the little snippets of history we encountered at the beginning. I expected the plot to go in one direction, and was pleasantly surprised when it went another route. The corruption arc was done really well, though I wish there had been bit more of a build up to the catalyst which I shall not spoil.
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The reason I did not give this book five stars comes down to more of a personal preference. I usually try to be objective but I could not help grow disconnected with the relationship between Lucy and Sarah. I’m uncomfortable with cheating, especially when it’s with a family member’s partner, and I KNOW that was the point, but I did find this distracting. Again, this is just a personal thing. I can deal with cannibalism but not affairs with a sibling’s spouse apparently.
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Overall, though, I can confidently say this is a really good book for all you fans of gothic horror. Please be mindful to check the trigger warnings, as this isn’t a light-hearted book and there are some confronting moments, but other than that, I definitely recommend!

This wonderfully horrible story made of complicated human emotions and the fact that we all are mad to a certain degree or maybe completely, but we weren't pushed hard enough to finally snap and show it, is a perfect mixture of Stoker's Dracula, Shirley Jackson's horror of the mind, and the movie called The Autopsy of Jane Doe.

I am never afraid of monster jumping around or movies like Friday the 13th with maniacs on the loose. I am afraid of dark human emotions that are hidden and madness that taints the soul. And I absolutely in love in every dark, twisted, gothic, horror book that makes me afraid and uncomfortable in that way.

Zwartwater is a perfect setting for this kind of book, because all the torments of the mind and soul should be mirrored in water, mud, fog, bog and the illness of the land. When bad things are about to happen, nature should feel it - that is the reason I would always listen to Pasja and end the madness once and for all. But the philosophical question what makes a person (emotions and memories, or something else) got me so confused and once again very afraid.

Feeling sympathy for something that should be considered evil, unpure and unnatural is obviously a woman thing. No wonder! How many times the main character remembers what behaviour and feelings are unnatural for a woman, what feelings are wrong, what amount of food and laughter could condemn her to be seen as mad? I don't think some characters deserved what happened to them, but it is what it is.


A little spoiler ahead!
I wanted so badly that Sarah was actually insane and all Lucy did was for nothing. It happened just to remind her to stop being her sister's shadow. But I guess this way we got a happy ending (?) 😁

This one drew me in quickly. A most compelling and gory and exquisite, brooding horror.

One twin sister has come down with a sudden and vicious disease. The other is trying to figure out why, and draws a connection to a bog woman corpse sister and husband discovered and dissected.

There's a lot to love about this one. It's quick, there's a mystery, the details are excruciating ... in a good way. I couldn't help but think "Trills, if evil" as I read through. Still, the lustful relationship between one sister and one husband felt sudden and forced ... and the male characters felt a little bit too stereotyped. There's also periodic infodumps, for no good reason. The plot and reasons are spelt out over the course of a conversation between two characters ... this happens several times, and each time I felt, "ugh." Shame that an editorial hand didn't cut or refactor these parts.

The ending is rarer than most. I won't spoil it.

This was gorgeous in the creepiest way. Incredibly immersive with vivid imagery. I really like how van Veen toys with madness in her writing. I’m never sure if something is supernatural or just plain madness. Gothic horror at its best.

This book was so close to being a five star read. It was great, I started reading and couldn't stop.

This book is a slow burn in the sense that it takes a little bit for the story to take a more engaging pacing, but since the start of it there are a lot of elements that contribute to the mystery of the story and gives us some insights about the characters. The atmosphere is so well done, I especially loved the scenes in which the author describes the bog body as well as when the chapters where intertwined by letters or news articles.

It's an eerie, dark and sometimes a little gorey book, and I was having a god time reading it since these days I've been having a mood of wanting to read gothic books.

The thing that stood out the most is the relationship between the sisters, Sarah and Lucy. The author does a great job portraying a lot of conflicting emotions between the two of them, but the most important thing is that they love each other and they would do anything for the other.

Also the drama was on point, it was quite enjoyable, the descriptions of the scenes with more impact in terms of plot relevance and the horror aspect of the book were also really good.

I think my favorite thing about this book is how it shows us a different side to vampires, at least I haven't read a book where it depicts them like in this one, and I liked the way this book does so since early in the story. I found this concept fascinating and loved what it meant for the plot and for the characters, especially for Lucy.

If I found one thing that I have to critique, and the reason it didn't get five stars, is that the ending felt abrupt, I wanted to read a little bit more, but all in all this book is amazing and I'd totally recommend it.

If you loved the atmosphere and setting of Nosferatu, read this!!!✨The vibes were immaculate. As someone who loves body horror, this was the perfect amount. Johanna’s writing just pulls you in and takes you into this gothic setting making it hard to put down. I need a physical copy asap!!

*Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC*

Blood on Her Tongue is gothic, creepy, and twisted in all my favorite ways. Johanna van Veen’s story is a unique exploration of sisterhood, relationships, mental health, bog people, and vampires! The body horror is also a wonderful addition to this classic read. This was a quick read because I was so excited to keep the story moving!

Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Johanna van Veen for this ARC

* I read this book in one sitting. I legitimately could not put it down. I was up till 3am. It is a gripping tale of terror, questioning oneself, truth and gore. While there are plenty of things in this book that could be improved, it stands to say the bones are fantastic and it was truly a thrilling read.

The writing took me a few chapters to get into, but once I did, the prose flowed and enchanted. It was also deliciously imagery-heavy, and for a book that is steeped in horror, it made for quite the reading experience. My imagination was rife with body horror while reading. I really loved the different methods of storytelling, through Lucy's perspective, as well as through letters and newspaper articles. I also enjoyed some of the more charming and funny quips throughout.
I also appreciate how Lucy grew throughout the book, her love for her sister made me think about my own family and that was quite poignant.


My main qualms and thoughts are as follows:
- some characters don't feel fully fleshed out, they have one personality trait and stick to it throughout. I feel like the side characters especially could have been given more thought. Regardless, they didn't feel fully flat.
- I would have loved a bit more tie-in with the aunt and her storyline - it was interesting to read about this character and yet she didn't have much to do with the story. It felt like a hint that she fell into a type of madness and was wrongly committed, perhaps it was to be nothing more than a coincidence and a reason for wanting to avoid being committed in the future, but I feel like more could have been done here.
- I loved reading the letters from Sarah. I would have loved more, especially as she grew more obsessive and eventually became host to the parasite. I would have loved to see more of that rather than hear about it from the parasite itself later.
- So the parasite felt not as Gothic and atmospheric as the rest of the book once we were introduced to it. It felt rather mundane actually. I was excited about the prospect of some sort of vampiric entity, and while initially likening it to a tick is interesting, I did feel like some of the supernatural flair disappeared once we learned about what the parasite was.
- I love a sapphic romance, but Katja and Sarah's love felt underdeveloped. Katja seemed fully devoted to Sarah, to the point of being throwing all caution to the wind. Whereas Sarah seemed to merely appreciate her, the love being told and not seen. I would have loved some more scenes to see why Sarah and Katja were drawn to each other and how their love manifests, and especially how the parasite changed that.

Ultimately a good book, with some potential to make it really great!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in
exchange for an honest review.

This was such an unsettling story, very eerie and creepy throughout with heavy body horror themes. However, the I was not a fan of the ending.

This novel toes the line between psychological horror and the paranormal. The story is dark and the tension builds slowly. Sometimes making one want to skip ahead, but not wanting to miss any details. Once the read believes they know how the plot will progress they are faced with new information that makes them revisit their first assumptions. This novel is deeply gothic calling to mind Edgar Allen Poe, Sheridan Le Fanu, and the transgressive eroticism of Anne Rice. This is a slow burn but one that only builds in dread and unease for fear of could happen next.

How far would you go to hold onto your sister?
In this creepy slow-burn gothic horror, Lucy is forced to ask herself this question. Lucy's sister Sarah uncovers a corpse in the bogs and, together with her husband and sister, try to uncover the identity of the deceased. When Sarah starts acting strange and sickly, Lucy is left to wonder if the bog corpse has anything to do with it.

This was a moody, eerie, and bloody horror with an interesting spin on the classic vampire trope. Without spoiling anything, it was a unique look at societal roles for men and women, the bonds between siblings/sisters, what constitutes a person, and how far would someone would be willing to go for their loved one.

I'd recommend this for fans of gothic horror. Also if you enjoyed Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia (for the atmosphere) or A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson (for the feminist slant), you might enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

This book was stunning and had me intrigued from the beginning. It’s perfect for fans of “A Dowry of Blood” for the vampireness of it. The relationship of the sisters is also something I really enjoyed. And sapphic vampires, you know I love it. I’ve already recommended it to my friends.

Avid supporter of women’s rights and more importantly their wrongs. Many times I thought I could anticipate the outcome of this story, but was always met with a new twist. Creepy, Gothic and a little sinister. Lucy and Sarah are twins that have many secrets between them. Lucy’s loyalty is put to the test after Sarah falls mysteriously ill. The answer may lie in the series of letters Lucy received about the centuries old body Sarah found in the bog on their land. Is the bog body really infecting Sarah? Or is it all in her mind.

As usual, men are the true horror.

A fun little book! The first half had me hooked - beautifully written, mysterious, enthralling… then midway it felt like the author lost steam? The writing style seemed more rushed, there was a lot of telling and not showing, and there wasn’t any big revelation or a way of tying things together (Aunt Adelheid’s madness felt like it would be way more relevant).

I enjoyed it but felt underwhelmed. Interesting in reading more from this author though! I think her style is very promising and I loved the gothic vibes.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for the ARC!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with an excerpt in exchange for my honest review.

Recently I've been reading more horror whether it's the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice I'm reading or one offs like this, I have been wanting one that is unapologetic in its horror and the gore that comes with it. This does have its moments of typical gore, especially with regards to eyes, but it feels it can't be unavoided due to the concept brought to this book.

I really appreciated the vampiric/zombie parasite kind of concept brought here and was incredibly interesting and liked how it tied into the bog woman that made appearances throughout the book. Also loved how the main character, Lucy in the last third of the book instead of being scared of the terror that has become her twin sister, she welcomes it and will do anything to prevent anything happening to Sarah. The men that attempt to stop it, even revealing how little sympathy, care, or feelings they had towards one character or the other truly have you rooting for Lucy + Sarah. It was completely codependent, which is absolutely delicious in horror.

If you aren't sensitive to eye gore and find yourself interested in this, it's a fun read! Also, the absolute joy I had when halfway through this book I found out one of the main characters is sapphic

as someone who favors gothic horror, i have mixed feelings about this book.

the good: the prose style was lovely. it was very grotesque and poetic, exactly what you'd expect from a premise like this.

the eh: the writing itself. lucy, the protagonist, felt flat to me. for most of the story, she's lustful and disloyal; she regularly sleeps with her sister's husband and is very preoccupied with him. yet as far as horror goes, she's harmless. there's little to no real character reflection (or development) for her, though, which makes the end baffling and unsatisfying. lucy eventually does something drastic, sudden, and violent. as a reader, i hoped to see the moral implications of her behavior explored... the build-up, the tension, the internal conflict prior. it isn't, though. we get none of that. the book gives her a biased motive, sure, but how, morally, did she get there? there is no descent, no development for the reader to track. as a result, she and the climax feel hollow, the changes unaccounted for.

Take my review with a grain of salt. Gothic horror isn't the type of horror I normally enjoy, but would like too. In the sense of the genre, the writing in this exemplified the gothic atmosphere very well. It was beautiful and very descriptive. There were a few moments where the language felt more modern than what the time period was supposed to be, which took me out of the story quite a bit. There were a lot of gruesome images and stomach turning descriptions that really amplified the body horror, which i enjoyed. But as far as the story itself, I became bored pretty quickly. For a relatively short book, it was pretty disappointing. I know gothic horror is much more slow and...damp and dark...but something about this just didn't engage me enough. I think this is a book for those who love this subgenre of horror, but it wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.