Blood on Her Tongue was everything I wanted and more. This story had:

-mysterious bog bodies
-madness
-twins
-mystery

Johanna van Veen has yet to disappoint me- they spin such a gripping and horrific tale. The prose is somehow both flowery and horrifying.

I was fully immersed in this delicious gothic horror- slow burn, things are not as they seem and a torturous trickle of information in each chapter. The setting is so vivid, I close my eyes and I can see this Victorian manor, set near a bog, in a cool and grey place.

If I haven't sold you yet, our story follows Lucy who drops everything to visit her ailing twin sister Sarah. Prone to madness, Sarah has taken a turn for the worse after the discovery of an ancient body, preserved in the bog. Sarah becomes obsessed with it.

Mental health is a main theme here as well as grief - it's always so amazing when a story, such as gothic horror can have me thinking about bigger picture things.

A beautifully written and deeply unsettling horror novel about Lucy and Sarah, twin sisters whose closeness is tested by Sarah’s sudden strangeness and dark urges.

Van Veen gets right into her story with letters from Sarah and her husband begging Lucy to come quickly to their dark and sodden estate in the watery bogs of the Netherlands. Van Veen reveals her characters so cleverly, builds the tension so precisely, describes the bog woman and its subsequent autopsy so chillingly, my god, I was SWEPT UP.

I was in this story for every second. Every gotdam second. I loved this gothic yet oh so modern twist on the vampire trope.

This book ticked all the boxes for me. Gothic, gory, Victorian era treatment of female “mental illness”, visceral descriptions. She’s bloody, she’s emotional. She’s sapphic. She’s brutal when it comes to eyeballs. She's absolutely gory-geous! She's a gothic Santa Clarita Diet set in the Netherlands.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the author’s previous novel My Darling Dreadful Thing and highly recommend them both. Can't wait for van Veen's next novel.

Is 2025 shaping up to be the year of modern-gothic horror??

Here's another one for a rainy day!

This book is an atmospheric look at sisterly bonds and female rage positioned against a historic backdrop (1880s). Lots of body horror, graphic descriptions (teeth and eye stuff-- shudder), parasitic relationships, swampy, gothy deliciousness. And I found myself giggling a couple of times. 😬🫢

I read this in a day and a half-- it moves well and really kept my attention, considering most of the action takes place in one room.
While not a "scary" book, the dark vibe is strong and many descriptions aren't for the squeamish.

Not too many cons here-- the middle is slightly dense, and there is some frustratingly anachronous prose, but overall a fun read!

Comp: HELPMEET

If someone told me that there could be a book that was classic gothic horror, with a dose of body horror, plus make it horny and sapphic...well I would have felt that was a tall order. However, van Veen has done it and done it so well.

The book opens with a bog body, an excellent vehicle for the creepies. Much like Sarah, my feeling is "tell me everything." Add in some classic vampire lore (hello Mercy Brown and the American Vampire Panic) all set against a rambling and desolate estate and the perfect creeping horror novel emerges. In the beginning, you do feel like you know where the tale is going (it all feels comfortably familiar ), but then there are some twists and turns that even seasoned fans of the genre may find surprising. All this combines to create a horror lore that is as fresh as it is scary.

To all my spooky friends, this one is a must read.

Instant 5 stars for me!

After reading and loving My Darling Dreadful Thing, I had really high hopes for this one and it did not disappoint.

This book was so much more gruesome than her previous one and it takes a lot for me to squirm, but eyeballs? I think I am now scared of them (iykyk)

I loved the setting of this novel, with the dark, gloomy and gothic atmosphere of the mansion and the gross description of the bogs! Johanna really knows how to set an amazing and unsettling atmosphere.

This book is now my number 1 favourite of this year so far, and I will always read everything this author writes and I already cannot wait for more.

With no offense meant to the author's debut novel at all: I enjoyed BLOOD ON HER TONGUE so much more than My Dreadful Darling Thing. This Gothic vampire(ish) novel with a hint of dracula and a delightfully cannibalistic twist, was so good. I don't dare say more for fear of spoiling a novel where the reading journey is half the fun. Honestly, just delightful. Weirdly funny in ways I didn't expect, and which sometimes were just so wrong (complimentary), queer (which is always a plus), and definitely one that I'll be recommending to my horror friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for this wonderful ARC!

What can I say? Good for her! This book is disturbing and hauntingly beautiful. Twin sisters with a tight knit relationship cannot be torn apart, even by death. I cannot say much without spoiling it but this book was perfectly paced with vivid characters and lots of action. The ending was powerful and feminist for a book set in a time where women could not use the library without a male chaperone. This is one of my favorites this year so far.

I was initially very intrigued by the cover, and then the shocking title, so decided to give this one a go.

Firstly, I did really enjoy the writing style. This author is new to me, but I found the world and character building throughout this book really well done and engaging. A large portion of this entire story takes place in just one room within the house, and this was really excellently done. The characters were also incredibly interesting, and while many of them were intentionally horrible people, I still felt that I wanted to know how their individual stories would end.

The only thing I wish I knew more about is the mystery creature. This new take on a sort of vampire horror creature was very well done, but we did only get very minimal information about the creature and its origins and I did wish we got more. However, I can also understand that the lack of background does add to the mystery of its origins and how the main character deals with this.

This novel is quite graphic in parts, which is not my normal cup of tea, but I did feel this was well done and very much in keeping with the tone of the story.

Overall, I found this to be a very interesting and engaging story, and such a novel take on a well known creature. If dark gothic stories are what you're looking for, then this is certainly a good place to start.

4.5 stars
"please don't let her be mad. not again."

Raw, gothic, eerie, and sinister, this was definitely one for the girls!

I received an advanced copy of Blood on Her Tongue and I am so glad I did!
My love for gothic writing is truly felt in this horror as it demonstrates the heart of classic gothic writing.

Reading the authors note was significant in setting the atmosphere for this work. She does well in placing the reader into the story itself. This sets the tone for the rest of the work as I often felt I was racing up the old stairwell with a mad sister to aid.

The personality that breaks through in Sarah's letters to her sister developed the character in such a unique way; I felt as though I could hear her voice and understand her yearning for information along with the unraveling of her mind.

What truly hooked me with Johanna's elegant writing was the body horror demonstrated throughout. I often felt ill at the raw descriptions, however, also mesmerized at the way in which she so beautifully writes gore to evoke feeling from the reader.

Nearing the end of this novel, I found myself delving further into delusion along with the sisters. The writing as well as Sarah and Lucy's characters, intertwined me further into madness, the sentiment of womanhood, and all its unrestrained beauty.

This book is nothing like I was expecting, and I couldn’t put it down... well except when I was eating - word of warning do not read this whilst you are eating! There is some brilliantly written body horror and gore that you couldn’t imagine in this story and it had me cringing, feeling sick and shocked but also entranced. Im not somebody who scares easily, I love horror and gore and anything along those lines so when I read this book I was shocked to discover that it was possible for me to have such visceral reactions to words on a screen! (E-Book)

This book is so unpredictable in the best way, set in The Netherlands in the 1800s Lucy receives worrying letters from her twin sister about finding a body in the bog, her unnatural fascination and later unraveling causes alarm and so she travels to see her on her sick bed, hoping to help her heal. Lucy suspects that what’s wrong with her sister is something much more sinister than the temporary insanity that the doctor has prescribed and things start to get more and more dark and twisted from there on out.

I don’t want to give too much away but this is a really great interpretation of the ‘vampire’ trope, I haven’t read anything like it and that made it all the more terrifying. You can tell that this book is brilliantly researched because the setting, clothing, social etiquette and world building really created a believable and enticing atmosphere. I learnt a lot from this too which I love like the victorian craze for ferns (Pteridomania) who knew? Little things like this just drew me into the story. I am a big fan of classic horror and this felt like a modern gothic horror but slightly more feminist and progressive.

Not only is Lucy dealing with her sister Sarahs illness, lingering secrets and resentments, but both her and her sister have to hide their intelligence and fierce personalities. Their anger and any other emotion men found unbecoming in women during those times could ruin them as men had such control over them and the household. The social commentary on how women and mental illness was treated in the past is important and played a vital role in the characters decisions and behaviour in the story, Lucy has to tread a careful line or else they could both end up in the asylum.

I absolutely adored the wonderfully gothic atmosphere this book created, I guarantee you can’t guess how this book will end and I seriously recommend it to anyone who loves horror, gothic settings, vampiric creatures and strong women. This story is like an eerie mist that you get lost in, unfurling slowly uncovering more and more sinister and horrific things and you can’t help but keep walking in.

Twin sisters in late 1800’s Netherlands encounter a parasitic, blood drinking, flesh eating entity that forces them to confront the secrets they have hidden from each other and tests the bonds of family loyalty.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this book which I am giving 3.5 stars. I thought this book was fast paced and a lot of fun. I thought it was gory, but not too gory for readers who are relatively new to the horror genre.
I know that comparisons will be made to vampires and Dracula, but this really felt more like a little shop of horrors to me. The biggest issue I had with this book was the fact that one of our characters was married to a man who was so unlikable that it was hard to believe she would be married to him or that Either of the sisters would actually care about him.
My video review for this book is already posted on TikTok and YouTube and the link is included below and I am definitely recommending this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Blood on Her Tongue. I was looking for a scary book and boy did this scratch the itch. Great writing, shocking moments and some just creepy shit man. My skin was crawling at one point. There was a night where I had to put it down and pick it back up in the morning. I would be interested in more from this Author! Overall I enjoyed my time with this book, 3.75

5/5 Stars

Thank you to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an early copy for review purposes.

This was my most anticipated read of 2025 and it DELIVERED. Blood on Her Tongue is a gothic horror in which Lucy travels to her twin sister Sarah's estate when Sarah falls ill. Lucy's love for her sister is tested as she discovers her secrets and the potential cure to her sister's wasting illness.

Johanna Van Veen set the bar high with My Darling Dreadful Thing and she followed it up beautifully. Every single character had such a fascinating story, weaving their webs of lies and deceptions. The horror elements were unnerving but fascinating at the same time, gruesome but not overly grotesque. Johanna Van Veen's writing is poignant and beautiful, without being overly flowery. I was gripped from the very start and could not put the book down until I found out everything the characters were hiding. This is a perfect book for people who love Dracula, but wanted Lucy and Mina to hook up. 5/5, perfect, no notes. I will be recommending this to every person I know all year.

A chilling gothic tale that sucks you in to it's very core. You become a participant of the story, at times not knowing what is real or true. A new author to add to the collection. Thanks for the read!

"though if god disagrees and you are damned and restlessly must roam, please, Saartje, please come and haunt me"

What a blessing to have been able to read an ARC of this fantastic book! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the eARC.

The first half of this book, I savoured slowly. The second half, I devoured. I simply could not stop reading, it was as if I was possessed (well, perhaps I was).

This story takes us to the Netherlands in 1887, in the life of Lucy and her twin sister Sarah, who is terribly sick and on the brink of death. However, why is she sick? Is it a mental illness, is it physical, or is she possessed? Though the doctor is certain it's a form of madness, and it would seem like it given the weird letters Lucy received from Sarah, Lucy can't be convinced of it. She slowly begins to believe that her sister is actually possessed, but by whom? Or what? And why did it all start with the discovery of a brutalized bog body?

I have to say, the plot was interesting. It was compelling and intriguing. Furhtermore, I enjoyed the concept of the creature; it was, I felt, a different take on a popular subject. However, what I loved the most was the portrayal of Lucy and Sarah's relationship. It was very realistic, full of raw emotions, deep love, but also jealousy and hatred and confusion. It felt believable and for that reason it cut deep. Moreover, the writing was absolutely perfect for this story: it was atmospheric and elegant, though it did not shy away from horrific and gory depictions.

Overall, a fantastic gothic horror book. I would have probably enjoyed it more if we had also Sarah's point of view, but still, I would urge any horror fan to read this book asap. I don't think anyone will regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this Arc.
An absolutely haunting and atmospheric tale that will have readers hooked. Every page will have you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next with these sisters. Perfect for gothic and horror readers!

Johanna van Veen once again weaves an entrancing tale of love, obsession, and madness, marked by her unique blend of horror and deep compassion. Definitely one of my favorite contemporary authors—and after just two books, at that.

Okay its official, Johanna van Veen is an auto read for me. We follow our protagonist, Lucy, as she goes to visit her twin sister Sarah who is very ill. When Lucy shows up, she's shocked to see her sister in such a dire state but also thinks something more sinister is a foot. Is her sister crazy or is she just oh so very hungry? With secrets of her own, Lucy must confront both the present and the past in order to save her sister.

This is a perfect fall read but can be enjoyed during any time of year. The atmosphere was beautifully done and really sets the tone for the story - think of a dark day with a victorian home and a bog. I loved the sibling dynamic between Lucy and Sarah. Its beautiful but also very complex. There is one scene that made my mouth drop and it was terrifying, gross, and also a little funny. I don't know if this will be everyones cup of tea but if you're a fan of gothic horror I don't think you will be disappointed.

I do recommend looking up trigger warnings as certain subjects are sensitive and are written as they were viewed back in the late 1800s.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this arc

Lucy's twin sister Sarah is unwell.

This is a severe understatement.

Blood on Her Tongue is exactly what is advertised: gothic, eerie, and built on sisterhood. It also has some pluses that weren't advertised: namely, a bog.

This is very much a horror story, with some very bloody imagery and a lot of building, atmospheric dread in its writing. I love stories with a familial bond as the driving force, and this certainly features that, all wrapped up in codependency and lots and lots of blood.

Johanna van Veen has very quickly established herself as one of my favourite horror authors, and I cannot wait to see what kind of gothic, supernatural, supportive of women's wrongs, and bog-adjacent horror she comes up with next.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, and to NetGalley for the ARC.