Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was a beautifully grotesque Gothic tale. Truly an incredible callback to the Gothic classics with a spooky setting, unexplainable events, and forbidden loves. Many descriptions in this book were very hard to stomach as Johanna van Veen holds nothing back when writing the gory and disturbing.

Beneath it all was a strange tale of familial connection that questions where line between the monster and the human truly lies.

Now, if you're going into this book expecting some sapphic romance as I was, note that this is not a main focus of the story. Yes, it's present, but it is not as central as some of the advertising would have you believe.

this was my first book by author Johanna van Veen and wow! this was so unique and fresh take of gothic horror. very eerie and weird (in a good way!) and super gripping. i need the physical copy with the blood dripping edges now! definitely recommend to any horror readers to give this a shot, you won’t be disappointed!

This book is first and foremost a gothic novel in the spirit of Mary Shelley. The graphic depictions of well, blood on her tongue were unsettling but extremely well used throughout the book. The slow burn tension was masterfully done!

A story about a young woman who will do anything to help her sister, even if it goes beyond her moral values. To the extent that she pays for it with her sanity and gets her hands bloody.
An interesting insight into the 19th century - with a tremendous amount of gore! Definitely a top pick for fans of body horror!

This one was soooooo atmospheric and just creepy. I own this authors other book and will be reading asap! This is the perfect spooky book for soooky season! Thank you Netgalley!

Ooh now this was good. Wonderfully gothic, gory, and dark. It’s about twin sisters, a bog body, obsession, madness, an overbearing cruel husband, and more. An excellent read!

I cannot overstate how much I loved the author's writing style in this, or how much I loved this in general. Very weird and twisted, almost dreamlike, and so, SO dark -- highly recommend!

This was so good!!! I normally am not a fan of gory books, but this was brilliant. I love the gothic setting and the feeling of insanity everywhere in the book. I also love the very different take on vampirism. I don’t think I’ve read a vampire story quite like this one before.

The only reason this wasn’t a 5 star is it lost a bit of the feminine rage impact for me because of Not Sarah being a parasite and maybe not deserving the amount of love from Lucy that she was getting. Otherwise, it was so good and I love the author answers at the end on the physical book that explains where she thinks the characters ended up.

Please write a sequel!

I don't know if it's my reading slump or I just lost interest part-way through, but I struggled with this book, which sucks because horror is my favourite genre.

'Blood On Her Tongue' tells the tale of sisters Lucy and Sarah. After receiving some disturbing letters from Sarah, Lucy goes to visit her as she suddenly becomes unwell to the point where she is descending into madness. On her arrival, Lucy realises that there's something definitely wrong with her sister, but she must find out what it is before her husband has her committed to an asylum.

The first third of the book hooked me immediately - Sarah's letters about the Bog Woman and her interest in her juxatposed with current day and her erratic behaviour made me so curious as to what was going on with Sarah.

Lucy on the other hand, I struggled with a lot. Her personality solely was her co-dependence on her sister and then her lust for her sister's husband. Her chapters were much harder to get through (and as the FMC, there are a lot more of them), and perhaps this is where I began to lose interest.

Throughout the middle this was especially hard for me, and with only 2-3 hours remaining of the book, I really had to push myself to continue because the motivation to finish was lacking (the book is not super long but my "read' dates show how long it took me).

I just found the whole ending bizarre? The notion that a version of your sister where she is <spoiler> dead but a 'parasite' inhabits her so that you still have all her memories and don't have to live without her </spoiler> is the best case scenario is just wild to me.

I also don't really like how the author describes a <spoiler> vampire as being a 'parasite' </spoiler> it made it seem like less of a threat and therefore less scary.

From reading the reviews, reviewers are in high praises of the author's debut novel, so maybe I'll give that a go instead, but yeah, I just didn't enjoy this one as much as I'd hoped.

The gothic horror vibes were there initially but something was lost along the way to the end.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and to Poison Pen Press for the eARC to review!

I don't think I can adequately put into words how much I loved this book from the very first page. I could NOT stop reading, other than when work or sleep took over and forced me to. I thought I loved Johanna's writing in My Darling Dreadful thing, but my god this one absolutely took my breath away. I can't wait to see whatever comes next from her, she's easily become one of my Instant-Buy authors without question.

I was so excited to read this after the masterpiece that 'My Darling Dreadful Thing' was and 'Blood on Her Tongue' did not disappoint. While I'm not sure I liked any of the characters, the plot and atmosphere more than kept my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a wacky crazy story. I loved it so much! Honestly I don’t even know if I could try to summarize this book, since it’s just a lot. If you love dark, twisted, weird, exciting books then you should really read this book. It’s riveting and gorgeous and bloody and everything in between, and I’ll be picking up every other book this author publishes in the future. Loved it!

Johanna van Veen is officially my new go-to when it comes to gothic horror. This book was delicious! Blood on Her Tongue is bound to be on my mind for a long time. Why did I like it so much? Well...

Let's get into it-

Characters- Twins have a special place in horror. We often find a pair of off-putting twins between the pages of a horror novel or on the big screen. While it might not be a revolutionary concept, I do love a good twin story, even if its been done before. I also love a story about sisterly love, so Van Veen is hitting a two-for-one here. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every character in this story, but none more then our main character Lucy and her twin sister Sarah. I found Lucy to be endearingly odd, and Sarah to be a fascinating character both before and after being "possessed". From their interactions to their complex feelings towards one another, everything about these two worked for me. The other characters filled out a memorable cast , with each personality adding their own spice into the story. 4.5/5

Setting- I absolutely adored the Netherlands as a backdrop for this story. The bog, the house, it all felt so wet and cold and horrible in a way that suits the gothic genre perfectly. 5/5

Premise- This not-quite-possession story was so unique and fascinating. I really enjoyed the scientific path the story took, and felt that it added an extra special layer of horror. Lucy's resigned understanding of her sister's condition and her instinct to save her despite her distasteful changes felt entirely believable to me, and I had no issue supporting her decision. 4.5/5

Horror- I felt that the horror elements of this story were handled masterfully. Because I was able to understand Lucy's decision to help her sister, watching as she planned to "feed" her was all the more sickening, because it felt like a necessary conclusion. This story comes together like a train-wreck in slow motion- you know where it's going, you know it will be gruesome, and yet you can't tear your eyes away for a moment. 5/5

Johanna van Veen has cemented her place on my roster of authors to watch. As far as the modern gothic goes, she is the queen in my eyes, and I eagerly await whatever it is she writes next. Blood on Her Tongue was a delight to read, through and through.

Blood on Her Tongue is the second novel from My Darling Dreadful Thing author Johanna van Veen. Atmospheric and beautifully written, this is a novel that drips with Gothic themes and aesthetics, from the historical time period to the gloomy bogs from which the mysterious corpse at the centre of Sarah’s sickness emerges. But those hoping for the eerie, things-that-go-bump-in-the-night variety of Gothic horror, be warned: Blood on Her Tongue is gory and visceral, filled to the brim with spilled blood, sharp teeth, and a vicious hunger.

Lucy’s love for her twin sister - or at least what remains of her - is the driving force behind the novel, a searing and violent examination of the lengths we’ll go to for the people we love, and the ways that, if they so choose, they can manipulate that love.

Prior to Sarah’s illness, Lucy had been sent away to work as a companion to the elderly Mrs. van Dijk. It’s clear that Lucy and Sarah’s relationship is deeply dysfunctional, with Lucy almost disappearing into her sister’s bolder personality, constantly putting her needs above her own, and this role is a clear lifeline thrown to her by those around her, one that is offered again and again throughout the novel. But Lucy’s attachment to her sister is all-consuming, and the reader’s early sympathies with Lucy’s attempts to protect Sarah from the men in her life (and not unjustifiably so) becomes increasingly hard to maintain, as Lucy rationalises more and more of Sarah’s unhinged behaviour, contemplating darker and darker acts in order to keep her twin safe. Or maybe that’s just what it’s like with sisters - can someone confirm?

As such, Blood on Her Tongue walks a delightfully uncomfortable line between a Van Helsing-esque urge to stop whatever vampiric-like force has its grip on Sarah, and the rather more fun alternative of muttering “good for her” when Lucy and Sarah finally - perhaps inevitably - get on the same blood-soaked page.

Blood on Her Tongue is a serious contender for my book of the year. It certainly won’t be for everyone, and you’d be hard pressed to find as unlikeable a core duo as Lucy and Sarah but there’s just something appropriately parasitic about it, gripping me and refusing to let go. And I’m more than okay with that.

This books was super atmospheric and will be a great fall read. It was so hard to put down and very easy to visualize. I love seeing women allowed to be evill and not be shamed for it. I also loved seeing justice be served and the evil men in this book destroyed.

I think I found my next auto-buy author! The way she creates the atmosphere, the way she describe the madness, fears, the darkest parts of humanity is mesmerising. I can’t wait to read her next book.

Very gothic and eerie

I loved Sarah and Lucy's relationship as twins that constant back and forth near the end of "shes a monster but shes my sister" type.
The bog body was such a cool concept and unusual aswel which just made the book more interesting. The mixed media aswell was so fun, it was since to have a wee break between chapters to read a long letter that gives you more insight into Sarah before she got ill.

I will say though that I enjoyed the middle probably the most, I just feel like the beginning was quite slow and then at times the end was too fast and too much was happening but either way I did enjoy it.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC

I think maybe this author just isn't for me, unfortunately. I can objectively understand the hype, but for some reason I haven't enjoyed their books as much as everyone else seems to.

This was sp atmospheric but also the wildest most unhinged book I read in a while. The FMC is messy! I think this book really lends itself to the gothic horror sphere of literature. It definitely gave me the feeling of isolation, dreary weather and melancholy that I loved in Dracula and Frankenstein.

Blood on Her Tongue is vampire horror as it was always meant to be: marked by excess in all aspects. It is seductive past the point of enjoyment to the point of frantic pain; curiosity-inducing to the point of relentless obsession; decadent, but like a fruit on the knife’s edge between ripe and rotting. As you may have guessed, I really loved this book.

From a craft perspective, Van Veen’s prose is clean and haunting, and blends well with the gothic themes of stagnation and decay. It isn’t anachronistic, and rather lends itself to the suspension of disbelief and allows the focus of the narrative to be on the protagonist Lucy’s character arc or the story’s plot progression. There are lovely turns of phrase, but never is the prose purple, and I think the most effective passages are when the focus is on the visceral (I’d say “the body horror scenes”, but that would be ignoring that the sex scenes have much the same effect of forcing the reader to look at something uncomfortable).

I was also a big fan of the thematic resonances of this story. It’s one deeply centered on the nuances of womanhood, and what the right sorts of it are (given the socio cultural context of the setting). We get glimpses of the criminalization of queer identity (Aunt Adelheid’s institutionalization), socioeconomic realities (whether one is a disabled widow with no family who must pay for companionship to get by, or an impoverished relation who’s too highborn to work but must still rely on a male relative’s charity to maintain one’s lifestyle, or a serving woman, or a wife who’s husband is a philanderer and chauvinist, there’s no outcome where a woman’s financial position is truly secure and independent), the axis of sexuality/desire (Lucy’s desire for Michael is shameful and mirrors her sister’s ill and perverse thoughts about the bog woman), and so much more, all as a secondary focus to the horror. Or, rather, a glimpse of a horror story all the more haunting for its roots in reality.

The horror of the story was brilliantly done. The unsettling closeness of the sisters, the weirdness of the supporting cast, all of the characterization lends to the things feeling slightly… off. Couple that with a rainy, boggy landscape, a gloomy old mansion, and the Heroic era of medicine making it so attempts to fix medical catastrophes just make them worse, and you have one spooky setting. The suspenseful pace made the 300+ pages of the book fly by even as the body- and psychological horror scenes kept me rooted in place.

Most of all, I loved Lucy as a protagonist. I loved the places where she was steadfast to the point of madness, especially because they contrasted the many places where she was passive, and her inaction caused problems to escalate. I love her blind devotion to her sister, and the way she’s ready to love ugly things but shies away from the gentle, easy ones if they’re not what she truly wants. Her consistent nature made it so her choices were easy to see coming even as they escalated in intensity, which was a point of anchoring and comfort for me as I made my way through the disquieting world/plot (yes, even when Lucy’s actions were themselves disquieting!).

I recommend Blood on Her Tongue for fans of A Dowry in Blood, Paris Paloma’s song “Labour”, and any woman who’s felt her skin to be a cage in our patriarchal society.