5 stars

My second read from this author, after My Darling Dreadful Thing, and another 5 stars! Johanna van Veen has a true talent for gothic horror with a Sapphic twist. And she does not shy away from the gore either. There were a few scenes that made my stomach flip for sure.

In this story of sisters, we follow Sarah's breakdown and Lucy's attempts to save her sister from her worst nightmare, being committed to an asylum. After a "bog body" is discovered on the property owned by Sarah and her husband, something insidious takes hold and Sarah becomes sicker and sicker. Lucy is summoned when Sarah's husband Michael and childhood friend now doctor Arthur feel that the end may be near for Sarah. Lucy arrives to find her sister on the brink and begins a campaign to save her sister. But is this really her sister? Or has something evil taken over?

I thought I knew where this story was going but I was wrong. This book had the perfect gothic feel and plenty of body horror and gore. At the core is the answer to the question "how far would you go to protect your twin?".

Atmospheric, gruesome, deliciously cloying horror. The character of the first person perspective is flawed and real. The gothic bog horror book of my dreams.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 A Masterpiece of Gothic Horror That Will Haunt You

Some books creep under your skin and settle there, and Blood on Her Tongue is one of them. This is not your run-of-the-mill horror novel. It’s a deliciously unsettling slow burn, weaving dread into every word until the tension is almost unbearable—and then, just when you think you know where it’s heading, it yanks the rug out from under you in the most exhilarating way.

Set in the hauntingly atmospheric Netherlands of 1887, the story follows Lucy, a twin fiercely devoted to her sister, Sarah, who has fallen prey to a mysterious illness—or perhaps something far darker. The plot brims with questions: Is Sarah truly unwell, or is she hiding something? Is it madness, possession, or something even more unthinkable? The brilliance of this novel lies in how it refuses to give you easy answers, forcing you to grapple with its layered, mind-bending twists.

The way the story unfolds is nothing short of genius. Letters, newspaper clippings, and chilling snippets from the past make you feel like you’re sifting through a forgotten archive, piecing together a terrible truth. It’s like being an invisible observer trapped in a house of secrets, and that sense of intimacy—of seeing the unvarnished lives of these characters—heightens the terror.

What really floored me, though, was how much emotional depth the book has. Lucy’s love for her sister is both heartbreaking and complicated, and her own secrets bring another layer of tension. You can feel her desperation, her fear, and her determination to protect Sarah at all costs, even as the story spirals into something utterly unrecognizable.

And the payoff? Oh. My. God. Even as a seasoned horror reader, I thought I knew where this was going. I didn’t. The twists are as shocking as they are satisfying, and the way the horror evolves is unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s fresh, it’s bold, and it’s absolutely unforgettable.

If you love horror that doesn’t just scare you but also makes you think—about family, loyalty, and what lurks in the shadows of the human mind—this book is for you. It’s an immersive, beautifully crafted story that will leave you questioning what’s real and what isn’t long after the final page. Blood on Her Tongue isn’t just a book; it’s an experience, and I can’t recommend it enough.

I was absolutely dying to read this and it was well worth the wait. Also, I am loving this trend of Victorian style covers. A story of monsters vs. reality, this will have you on edge and curious until the end.

I really enjoyed this slow-burn gothic horror. It was different than I expected, and pretty unique overall. The best compliment I can give as a lifelong reader is, it kept me guessing, and this novel certainly did. It had a great balance of emotion and horror, both social and supernatural. I will likely seek out more by this author!

how to describe this..... the darkness overflows in this one, this gothic horror immediately opens with a bang and never lets up. mysterious bodies from a bog, a sister that is slowly going insane, and twists galore. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Oh. My. YES! Queer. Gothic. Vampirism. Sapphic. Refusal to accept society's designated place for women? Abuse. Chaos. Mental health. On point.
Women pushing and raging against their place and lack of options in life? Here for it all day, every day.
The Author's note in the beginning had me hooked - and the novel did not disappoint.
Lucy travels to her sister's home - to be shocked by her quick decline. The sudden death of her daughter a year earlier brought on a severe illness, hidden by the family and close friends. A mother watched her daughter die - yes, Sarah grieved and broke down.
Yet this experience heightens her husband's unwillingness to deal with her. Lucy rushes to her aid.
Rich with moors, Brontë-esque gothic vibes and delicious vampirism.

I liked this a lot better than the writers first book. Although as a Dutch person I still think using some very Dutch names in an English story takes me out of the flow I have in my head as I translate it making me switch languages in my head a lot.

This story was atmospheric for the first half, building up the tension and leaning in the unknowing of the main character. It lost this feeling at half way. Making it almost camp in the way the “monster” was progressing.

There is no character growth, you may even call it character regression but I think that was the purpose? All in all it was a gothic, folk story with some funny camp like moments.

Thank you for this ARC! It was better than I thought it would be. I am not much into horror, however this one looked interesting, so I took a chance. I ended up reading through this rather quickly! I just could not stop turning the pages. It was everything one could want in a horror novel while being historically accurate. This book delves into dark elements of horror, themes of mental health, female rage and domestic violence among many others. This story will keep you engaged all the way through and have you turning the pages well into the night.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Johanna van Veen's Blood on Her Tongue tells the story of twin sisters with a family history of madness when one of them is overcome with a strange hunger. It's the 2025 horror you need to fulfill all your dark, twisted fiction needs.

This story is just as disturbing and uncomfortable as you expect a book like this to be. It's gritty. It's gory. Every gothic, grotesque feeling you want from a horror haunts the pages of this book. It will take over your attention and feast on your mind. This is the type of strangely addicting horror that I, and so many other people, have been looking for.

For such an unsettling book, the writing is beautiful. The way van Veen puts this idea into words is something that will resonate with me for a while. From the writing to the overall story, it feels like a mix of so many of the elements I love from classic books, to all the wonderful things about modern horror novels. The writing has that old, elegant feel, while still feeling modern and easy to comprehend.

This delivers all the dark horror elements it advertises, but also tackles misogyny, female rage, and mental health. It is an endlessly deep and complex story. This is the type of horror story that will stick with you for quite a while.

I do feel like there were a few moments in the story where the pacing felt off. Some parts were slower than they needed to be. But it's still an overall strong story that I would gladly recommend to fans of the gothic, gory side of horror.

Blood on Her Tongue is a deep and dark horror book that manages to keep a certain level of beauty while it fills you with dread. If you love body horror, historical gothic settings, and complex characters and relationships, this is a great choice for you.

Review on Goodreads (sophreadingbooks https://www.goodreads.com/sophreadingbooks) as of 11/22/2024
Review on Instagram (sophiesreading https://www.instagram.com/sophiesreading/) expected 3/15/2025

Johanna van Veen's sophomore effort serves as an excellent follow-up to her first novel, My Darling Dreadful Thing. While My Darling Dreadful Thing featured some notably original supernatural concepts and played with story structure in an interesting way, Blood on Her Tongue is definitely more of a riff on the traditional gothic novel. This is evident in the quotes from Dracula that preface each part, the use of letters in the storytelling, the main character being named Lucy, and the nature of the preternatural element. The story is told in a straightforward manner and while elements of it are highly predictable, the journey through these story beats is satisfying, both in the construction of the prose that guides us through them, and the emotional and thematic payoffs. While I fear some may find the book unremarkable because of these more traditional elements (I myself was worried and certain points during the story), I came out the other side more than satisfied by the time and emotion invested. I give this a solid recommendation to fans of gothic horror and feminist literature.

Blood on Her Tongue is a Dracula style story about twin sisters, one awful husband, the "fallen" sister of said husband, a corpse, another life form, and a dog. The book follows the formula of many vampire stories, body discovered, someone falls ill, miraculous recovery, taste for items not usually considered food, etc. The deeper psychology of the story peers into the lives of the twins, and asks the question, just how far would you go for a family member, even if that family member is radically different than you believed them to be.
Blood on Her Tongue is one of the better books I've read this year. There are some scenes that readers may find upsetting, but they clearly serve a purpose in forwarding the plot.

For me, this book was, above all else, very fun. It was just about everything I hoped it would be. Vampires are my little pet interest, so that plus a toxic relationship between twin sisters in 19th century Netherlands is combo that gets me frothing at the mouth in excitement.

My love for vampire books was really ignited by Dracula, so it was nice to see quotes from the book and the little references scattered throughout Blood on Her Tongue. Namely, the blood transfusion scene and the names of Lucy and Arthur (though the characters in this book don't bear much resemblance to their Dracula counterparts if I'm remembering correctly).

I've really only got two real critiques of this book that I can come up with: 1) the blood transfusion was brought up out of nowhere in my opinion, and gave me a bit of whiplash. I personally think that could've been added in with a bit more finesse, but it wasn't so bad it ruined the scene. Maybe my pre-knowledge of Dracula poisoned this particular scene for me. 2) Some of Michael's monologuing felt a bit overdone to me. I felt like a bit could have been cut from those parts while still communicating the point, but that's definitely personal preference on this point.

Now on to what I love: the vampire-as-parasite idea was delectable. I love a good twist on vampire biology and this book delivered. The fact that the parasite absorbs the host's memories and emotions is fascinating to me. It makes me wonder what a living host would be like (e.g., Marianne) since Sarah was dead by the time the parasite got control of her body. Also, the detail about the parasite surviving in the bog body by eating all of her organs was an interesting touch.

The relationship between Sarah and Lucy was frustrating to read, but also it really worked in this story about parasites. I enjoyed the way van Veen wrote Lucy being stuck under Sarah's thumb but not being able to accept just how fucked that dynamic is. I did initially hope the book would end with Lucy setting Sarah on fire and then walking off to have a good life, but alas. The ending we got still worked.

And on the topic of toxic sibling relationships, the dedication at the front of the book made me laugh.

What if she and Sarah were like those pieces of the worm? Sarah, vivid and alive, and Lucy, nothing but a weak imitation of the real thing?"

Dark. Atmospheric. Horrific. Gorey.
This book was a step into a genre that I haven't explored a lot of and now I am convinced that I need to spend more time in. Blood on Her Tongue is a well written, historically accurate, incredible chilling tale of twin sisters that are at the whims of misogynic 1880s.

The tale opens with the discovery of a body in the bogs of the small town Sarah, one of our twins, lives in with he husband Michael. It is a perverse and mysterious discovery full of unanswered questions and mystery. Sarah finds herself becoming unwell shortly after this discovery and spirals into a macabre world unknown.

Lucy, upon hearing of her sister's malaise comes home from her duties in a neighboring town to nurse her sister back to health and discovers that not all is what it seems and that there are some terrifying unnatural things afoot.

This book is incredible, exploring heavy themes of female rage, misogyny, domestic violence, mental health instability among other things. It is all explored so thoroughly that you start feeling as though maybe you as the reader are slipping into mental heath distress as well, wondering if the story is truly a supernatural one or maybe you are intended to feel as though you are actually going mad via the information provided.

If you like body horror, macabre storytelling, and a storyline that keeps you completely hooked this is 100% for you.

Blood on Her Tongue is the modern gothic book that I’ve been waiting for. Incredibly atmospheric, Johanna Van Veen managed to capture the romance of the genre while also keeping the horror. The beginning of the book and the mystery, which quickly spirals into a faster-paced story with plenty of action and some gore, makes this a perfect book to read in one sitting.

As a protagonist, Lucy initially appears meek, the shadow to her more brilliant twin sister, Sarah. However, her jealousy of Sarah is a more complex kind and it’s clear that she loves Sarah more than she resents her. The heart of the book is this relationship and how the horrors that happen test that bond, but I was very happy with the ending, and I even wish there had been an epilogue so I could have more of these characters.

Besides Sarah, there’s Michael, her husband, Arthur, a doctor helping them out, and Katje, who’s a sister of sorts to Michael. While none of them reach the same level of depth as Lucy and Sarah, they serve their purpose and there are striking lines and little moments that really humanize them or lend them a glimmer of complexity. I kind of wish the book had leaned even more into these tangled relationships and drama.

Overall, Blood on Her Tongue is a propulsive and eerily atmospheric read perfect for fall. I’ll be keeping a lookout for whatever Johanna van Veen writes next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This review will be published on my blog (clearsummers.wordpress.com) and Goodreads on March 11, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
This was much better than I anticipated. I didn’t expect the author to tackle so many topics in one book, all while wrapping them in a gruesome embrace. The characters were so vividly crafted that getting to know them felt like a true journey. It’s an ideal read for those long, dark nights when you crave something haunting and immersive.

I’ve read My Darling Dreadful Thing arc last march and absolutely loved it. I still think about it often actually. Roos and Agnes especially. If you still haven’t read this queer gothic horror tale, I highly recommend it. Naturally, when I spotted this new release on here I was really excited to dive into it.

It reminded me of My Darling Dreadful Thing for many reasons; the way the story is told, the letters (in the vein of the interview bits I loved so much in MDDT), the panel of characters, the morbid aesthetic and of course, the prose. Those are the forces of this novel. It’s so unsettling and yet, the pace is so good you don’t found the will to stop yourself from going further. And then again, The Netherlands setting add so much soul to the whole atmosphere.

I loved the duality of the twin’s relationship and side characters such as Katje and Pasja. I however found the plots all a bit predictable, at least I knew who, what, when. But while nothing was a shock I still enjoyed it and I'll definitely be there for Johanna van Veen's next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and PoisonedPenPress for the opportunity!

A wonderful gothic, decadent, gory story of vampire and female rage. Really had a great time reading it during the winter season.

A truly ingenuitive take on vampires with a dash of female rage. Gothic, dreary, grotesque and macabre — everything I look for in a solid vampire novel was so wonderfully present. There are scenes in this novel that still live rent free in my head ( 👁️ + 🖋️ ) if you know… you know. This novel begs the question: what is a person without their thoughts, experiences, and history? Could you love someone still if they became monstrous? Morality is turned into murky waters, and what’s right and what’s wrong begin to look so similar you cannot tell the difference. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is in love the with the dark and macabre 🖤 thanks to NetGalley for ARC access!

This was gross and creepy - but like, that's what I was hoping it would be so it's a good thing. I didn't care for the ending but overall I liked this. I wish there was more about the house/area to give it more of a gothic atmosphere.