The gothic feel of this novel was palatable; dark, mysterious and thrilling. It is a clear story from beginning to end, and I felt engaged the whole time. Nauseated at times, sure, but still engaged enough to continue. I wanted to know how the story would end.

It is a vampiric story, but I felt like it brought something new – at least to me – within this genre which gave me a great reading experience.

This is my first novel from this author and I’m beyond eager to dip into her back catalogue. This grotesque gothic follows twin sisters Lucy and Sarah as Lucy travels to Sarah’s bedside after falling ill with a mysterious illness. Her symptoms arose after the discovery of a corpse preserved in the bog on Sarah’s estate. Her fascination with the bog body leads both Sarah and Lucy down a twisted path that reveals just how far sisters are willing to go for each other in spite of anyone’s best interests….or sanity. Van Veen wove such an unsettlingly atmospheric tale of obsession and toxicity (with a dose of supernatural dealings) that made my skin crawl on several occasions. I found the pacing fairly consistent, with my only major critique being that the voice/ dialogue may not have lined up 100% with the era but it wasn’t anything that took you out of the story too heavily. Overall, I’d recommend this to lovers of swampy estates, damp mansions, and bloodshed. Definitely check your trigger warnings for this one.

The writing style in this lost me quickly. It felt juvenile and did not match the tone I want from a gothic story. I may return to it later but for now there was not enough to keep me invested.

A riveting story about two sisters and their length they will go to protect one another from danger. This story had me hooked from beginning to end.

I should have expected cannibalism idk what I thought when I first saw the title but not complaining. I love dark and mysterious books and I absolutely loved it as well.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

3.5 stars - This was a wild ride from start to finish. I went into this sort of expecting a spooky gothic romance, but I got a lot more gore than that. The novel instead looks at extremely codependent twins where one of them experiences an affliction that causes them to seek human flesh and blood. I really like the direction the book went in, especially how van Veen did not shy away from the grossness of her story. She did an excellent job with the atmosphere of the novel as well; I definitely felt as though I was within the setting. The descriptions are really disgusting. I found myself gasping at certain scenes for how vivid they were. My main issue with the novel surrounds its protagonist Lucy. As mentioned, she has a very codependent relationship with her sister to the point that it was annoying lmao. Like, I have two sisters I get it, but at the same time this was nuts. In addition, she had the most boring POV because she was such a boring person in comparison to her sister (so really, am I any better than the men in this book pitting two sisters against one another? I guess not but damn). It made the ending more tantalizing for sure, but the journey in her POV was a little rough sometimes.

I didn't have a thing about eye gore until this book, so take that as your warning. I loved it. It was so interesting and haunting and made me have such visceral reactions to everything that was happening.

I’ll say this was well written and well done. I don’t think I was the target audience and that’s completely on me for misunderstanding that. If you want a gothic, dark story - this is for you. This may be a right-book-wrong-time situation for me, and I’m not opposed to revisiting - but for now, this wasn’t my favorite!

How far would you go for your sibling?

This was a phenomenal read!!! The gothic horror vibes were absolutely immaculate! And I truly think this wasn’t just a book but a full on experience. The relationship and the depth between Lucy and Sarah was astonishing and you truly find out that there are no limits some twins would go to make sure the other is safe.


*I received a free ARC from NetGalley*

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

I am reviewing this a little late (this was published March 25th) because turns out being a PhD in your first year is tough work.

Anyways, I loved reading this! I docked a star because pacing was a bit weird to me, but other than that, I enjoyed reading this book. Johanna van Veen, you are so creepy and weird, AND I LOVE IT. This was graphic, gory, creepy, unsettling, and just such a perfect little creep read as spring warms up here.

I would and do recommend this to anyone and everyone, so long as you are cool with gore, blood, and body horror.

9.5/10
Hello again dear reader or listener, let me tell you about the latest book to keep me up so late I heard the morning birds begin to sing before I realized I should probably go to sleep (it was 5 am). Unfortunately, I can’t really do it justice, but I’ll try my best.

With thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for granting my NetGalley request, here are my honest thoughts.

You might not know this about me, dear reader, but I am a big fan of all things Gothic, and I don’t mean the romanticized or sanitized idea of Gothic or Victorian which can be entertaining to an extent. I mean the gritty, bewildering, harrowing, enthralling, and hauntingly dark, true Gothic. So it was with immense pleasure that I found Johanna van Veen’s new book, Blood on Her Tongue, met those expectations to the fullest. In fact, I might argue that van Veen has raised the bar on what Gothic Horror ought to be. Just make sure to heed her warnings at the beginning.
This book feels like watching a Robert Eggers movie, more specifically Nosferatu (and not merely for the vampiric elements), but even better. Just as promised in her author’s note, van Veen weaves such a rich and thick atmosphere that you can cut it with a knife (or a fountain pen, iykyk), and it is, for lack of a better word but still very apt, delicious. Her prose is lyrical and Romantic, optimally paced to build up suspense and dread until it finally delivers macabre blows that leave your ears ringing. In the best way. Even knowing what you are in for does not prepare you for the visceral emotions this book will draw forth, and they will be many.

Truly all of the research that went into writing this story shines through, showing unapologetically and without any restraint the realities of women in the late 19th century who dared show anything even resembling emotion and wit past what was deemed acceptable in polite society.
Whether the disquieting happenings are supernatural or the product of a very sick mind, the true horrors lie not only in body horror or violence but in the stigmatization of the mentally ill, and in the harrowing lack of agency or power granted to women by those who deem themselves as above. I use the word granted here on purpose as well, because just as the protagonist slowly and painfully realizes it herself, the reader is fully aware that she is not among allies in a society that sees women as ornamental and with only utilitarian purposes (e.g. child bearing and housekeeping) at best.
What I found exceptionally rendered here is that, if you’re a female reader, you catch on to all of the above straight away, because well, no need to state the obvious, but, if you’re not, the author has done such a subtle and expert working in of all the details to well and truly display this that it is impossible for you to not be fully immersed in the terror, resentment, pain, helplessness, and anger, and understand it all fully.

Not for the faint of heart, Blood on Her Tongue claws its way into you and doesn’t let go till the extremely satisfying ending, because I support women’s rights but boy do I support women’s wrongs in such contexts. You might feel like you should be looking away at times while being utterly unable to do so in what is potentially one the most thorough, raw, powerful yet sensitive but no holds barred, portrayal of hysteria, both as it was understood and weaponized (because van Veen absolutely goes there and Good For Her) at the time, and how we understand it now.
This is a story about power dynamics, about true heartbreak, about all the good and the bad in sibling relationships, especially those teetering on the codependent, and about all the ugly and hidden feelings we carry and might act on. It is rife with themes one could discuss for hours, be it its place within Queer literature, the narrative use of sex and sensuality, the patronizing nature of those that mean well but actually do more harm, about the way each character reveals their true self under pressure, and about what does one do once such a revelation is made?
It is a story about extremes in a world that abhors them, and it is a story about a woman who tries to navigate it all trying to remain sane and eventually having to decide what that even means or if it’s worth holding on to.

If you enjoy Gothic horror, sharp social commentary, intelligent explorations of character and psychology and dynamics, or even if you just want an evening full of transporting storytelling, you will love Blood on Her Tongue. I can’t recommend it enough.
Just be wary gazing into the dark too long, it has teeth.

Until next time,
Elen A.E.

‘’That night, it stormed. The wind stripped trees of their bark and branches. It howled, threw things, like a child having a tantrum. Raindrops cold and hard as bullets smashed against walls and windows and wormed their way into every nook and cranny. Soon, rain trickled down the walls and ruined the wallpaper or dripped from the roof.’’

A body unearthed from a bog sets in motion a chain of events that are simply too unfathomable to comprehend. A young woman struggles to help her sister who has found herself in the centre of an impossible fight. How can you battle demons and men at the same time without losing a piece of yourself in the process? This is the reality Lucy is facing in a novel that is the epitome of the word ‘unforgettable’.

I really, really do NOT have the words to describe my reactions as a chapter finished and another started. We are talking about moments that surpass the definitions ‘Dark’ and ‘Gothic’ and ‘Haunting’ and so on and so forth. What we have here is a novel that belongs to the Gothic genre but with a story that centres around female identity, oppression, loyalty and independence. The hunger for blood can be read as hunger for a life that is not dictated by marital and societal rules but by the familial bonds and the interests that cultivate our personality. The characters are deeply flawed - even Lucy, our amazing main character - but the way the narrative has been constructed makes you deeply interested in their fate. They will anger, shock, and frustrate you, but it will be impossible for the reader not to devour the chapters with a pounding heart.

Point one: If you are squeamish about blood, tread carefully. I am the most stone-hearted creature on the planet when it comes to gore and grim but even I had to avert my eyes from the page in certain parts.

Point two: ‘Female rage’ - and I have no idea why this absurd term was coined and why it should be considered a new literary genre - is for idiots. Labels are for idiots. Good stories are good stories that need to be told. Woke terms are for political agendas.

Yeah, not interested.

‘’By now, the sun had thoroughly set, but she had the light of the stars and moon to guide her. It was a thin pale light, painting everything around her in hues of gray and blue. Thin tendrils of mist crept from the earth and nipped at her ankles. It was said that they heralded the arrival of the witte wieven, white women who came out at night from the burial mounds that were everywhere on the Dutch heath, hungry for gold, hungry for souls. They were the restless ghosts of witches, or fairies wishing to lure people off the straight and narrow, or perhaps something else altogether.
They could be the ghosts of those unfortunates who have drowned in the bog.’’

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/

The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy receives a series of increasingly alarming letters from her twin sister, Sarah, who seems obsessed with the mummified corpse found in the bog on her manor’s grounds. At Sarah’s husband’s request, Lucy arrives at the manor, only to find Sarah horribly changed, emaciated and raving about a “Marianne” who is “in her head.” Then an unthinkable, horrendous event happens… Terrified for her sister’s life and sanity, Lucy will try everything to protect her from harm, particularly from being sent to a lunatic asylum, which is a fate both sisters deem worse than death.

I’ve always thought I wasn’t fond of historical fiction, but as it turns out, historical horror might just be an exception! I really liked this book. It has so many elements that I love in my reads: letters, found journals, a dig, puzzled scientists, a cursed find – as there is no doubt there is something very wrong with the bog body. The novel also has an eerie and claustrophobic mood, in which the house plays a big part, as it is an old, leaky mansion sprawling across a partially drained bog.

However, the book’s strength are the characters and the multi-faceted horrors they are subjected to. I loved how the bond between the sisters was presented, as well as the slow unveiling of Sarah’s husband’s personality. The horror in the novel has many sources: there’s both psychological and supernatural terror, as well as body horror and gore. There is also a commentary on the condition of a female in the late-19th-century society, which in itself is terrifying.

The reason this was not 5 stars for me was the tone – it felt very uneven, with some sudden, awkward shifts, especially in parts with Lucy’s employer and with the family doctor. I would still recommend this book for those who love a Gothic horror of the “good for her” variety, with an added sapphic rep.

4.5 stars for me! I went into this book somewhat blind — thank you NetGalley for the E-Arc. I tend to request sapphic and thriller books and this combined the two right in my wheelhouse. I was never bored reading this, I was absolutely sucked in from page 1 completely to the end. I love that the author leaned into the crazy during the plot. It didn’t feel like the readers had to know if the main characters are potentially experiencing this supernatural thing or if it was in their heads for me to 100% root for them. These characters have flaws, but they were so relatable and tangible. Trigger warning the book is completely gory but in a way that felt somewhat necessary. I love the exploration of the very human question “how far would I go for my sister?”

❝𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦! 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘐'𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧,❞ 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝.

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𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚜/𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚜:

sisterly love
touch her & 🔪
cannibalism/blood drinking
female hysteria
queer love
1800s setting
feminine rage
betrayal & secrets

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The story follows Lucy, who received multiple letters from her twin sister, Sarah whose health has been declining and is asked to visit her. As time goes on she soon discovers something isn't quite right with her sister.

This book was giving me Venom & Jennifer's Body vibes 👌🏽

It was such an interesting read!

**𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚠**

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I for sure thought perhaps the bog body Sarah encountered was a vampire, but that was not the case. It was more like a parasite-like creature infected Sarah through the body and caused her to commit atrocious acts.

The way the main men treated the female characters was really accurate to the time period, and it made me rage ngl. It was so satisfying when Lucy k!lled them both to protect her sister.

This was my first time reading a book by Johanna van Veen and I really liked her writing style!

Blood on her Tongue is the most atmospheric book I’ve read in a long time. It’s set at a manor surrounded by bogs, and things are as creepy and gothic as you might imagine. Part of the story revolves around a frightening discovery made in one of the bogs, and the landscape plays a large role in the story.

The two main characters are twin sisters, which made for great commentary on sister relationships and female friendship. As one of the sisters descends into a mystery illness and her grip on reality. We watch as her twin grapples with these changes and tries to save her.

In 1887 Netherlands, Lucy's twin sister Sarah refuses to eat, mumbles, and is obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband's estate. It's being called temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain, and Lucy fears that she'll be sent to a lunatic asylum. With secrets of her own, Lucy tries to unravel what happened to Sarah even as she changes. Is Sarah possessed or truly mad?

Gothic horror invokes a suffocating sense of place, secrets, longing, and often a bloody monster of some kind. Here we have the specter of mental illness and the lack of understanding of it in that time period. Men had power and prestige, and could do whatever they wanted to wives "in their best interest." As a result, asylums were feared places for women, where abuses could run unchecked.

It's in this world that we have Lucy summoned to help her ill sister, who fixated on the bog body found on the family property. Sarah had once been the more outspoken of the two but became a shell of herself. We find out more about the body, the relationship between the twins, the husband, the cousin by marriage, and the childhood friend who is their doctor. It's such a tight-knit cast of characters that secrets are hard to keep, yet they still manage it. The ultimate secret about Sarah is a bit of a surprise and not quite what we think it is. We get the full story about halfway through, and then it's a question of survival, identity, and loyalty. The ending is surprising yet not, and it kept me enthralled until the last page.

Blood on Her Tongue was every bit of gothic codependency I hoped for after reading My Darling, Dreadful Thing. Without any spoilers, "a girl's gotta eat" is my favorite sub-genre of horror, and this was such an excellent morsel of it! Recommend for anyone who wants something dark with more of a slow-build rage with a healthy dose of angst and hysteria.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance copy for review!

One thing about me is if there's bog bodies involved, I am going to be reading it! My Darling Dreadful Thing was one of my favourite reads last year so naturally I was excited to read what Johanna van Veen was releasing next. Blood on Her Tongue is gross, atmospheric, and oh so very atmospheric. The word "gothic" is thrown around too casually these days but not in this case. van Veen understands gothic sensibilities to their core and it drips from the page. This book is seeping, weather-ravaged, and full of creeping dread. I can't wait to read it again during spooky season! Johanna van Veen is an auto-read author for me!

The writing in this novel is gorgeous. I appreciated the true gothic vibes and was genuinely creeped out.