Sapphic, Gothic, Cottage core, and horror…

I was unsure what to expect with this book. A mutual suggested it, I got the ARC and jumped in. This book is extremely fast paced but packs a big punch. The FMC is in her 40s and has had a very rough life. Some very intriguing things occur and this really kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the EARC.

I mean… I love a cottage core horror-but make it sapphic! Hell yes. We are following Jude who is 41 and has spent her entire life abused by her mother. She eventually escapes and finds an abandoned cottage and starts a new life.

There is a very fast pace book-so if you’re looking to really be able to sit with Judith as she is navigating this new life-I think you’ll be disappointed. She also reads more like she is 20 vs 41 and up-so that did throw me a bit.

But once Judith has a guest who shows up unannounced? Well the trauma and ptsd she has comes to the forefront.

This is my first from this author and won’t be my last!

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC!

Quick very high level summary.
Years of physical abuse from the hands of her mom, June snaps and drawn to a cabin in the woods of Georgia with a violent passed where she decides to stay and start a new life. The supernatural starts and a woman arrives along with all the violence she thought she left behind.

My take.
OMG this was amazing!

We have Cottagecore horror with a whole bunch of generational trauma, a supernatural twist, a pinch of sapphic romance and you will have, “On Sundays She Picked Flowers”. Definitely check your trigger warnings: Physical abuse, emotional abuse, gore, cannibalism, and murder. I think that about covers it. This short book packs a whole lot of punch in just 240 pages and I enjoyed every minute of this crazy emotional and a bit disturbing ride. It’s brutal, its honest, its redemption, its survival and its extremely well done.

I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this one, ti was deifintely unique.

Judith Rice has lived with her abusive mother for all 41 years of her life, and when she finally runs away, she finds a home in the forests of Southern Georgia with its own twisted history. Jude sacrifices to the altar of the house and spends thirteen tears there, becoming a healer in the local community. But when a strange woman shows up at her door, Jude feels the call of the old violence in her blood. This novel is about family trauma and how one can put themselevs back together.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. There are so many quotes I want to share, but can’t u til it is published. But there were so many passages that were pure poetry. The novel really made me think and examine my own thoughts, biases, etc.

I feel as though I could pick apart this book, analyze it and it still wouldn’t do the book justice. The first part of the book, I wasn’t sure what to think. I definitely had a bias towards the MC due to her actions, but throughout the novel, I realized that was unfair of me.

On Sundays She Picked Flowers is a tale of how secrets keep us sick. It illustrates how trauma is passed down generation to generation. But most importantly, it’s a story of resilience and metamorphosis.


Minor spoilers below






I’d love to further analyze the house, Candle, what it represents, how I think that what it represents changes and I’d like to know other people’s thoughts on how the house knew about Nemoira.

The cannibalism of it all is another theme I’d like to analyze more. Does it mean something that she never noticed? What does it say about Jude for craving the meat when she thinks about it years later?

What was the green light/green figure?

What did Jude eating dirt represent? Why did we not hear more about throughout the book?

5 stars

Brilliant debut horror that grabbed me by the throat from the first page and never let me go. This is a story of generational trauma and abuse with supernatural and sapphic elements. The character development is incredible, Jude may be my favorite character of this year.

As the story begins, Jude is 41 years old trapped in a home with her intensely cruel and abusive mother, Ernestine. Her aunts have been aware of the abuse for as long as Jude can remember and have never done anything to protect her. Jude reaches a breaking point and is forced into an act that she can't bring herself to regret. As she tries to make her way in a world she's been kept apart from, she finds an old, abandoned house deep in the forest where she takes on the haints and the house itself and turns it into her home.

The supernatural elements of the haunted house seemed almost cartoon-like initially, with the house and pieces of furniture "acting up" and Jude calming them into behaving. As the story progressed, the very mudane way Jude responded to the haints and the haunting made more sense in understanding Jude's past, her childhood, and the way she had been conditioned to respond to a violent environment.

The introduction of the shapeshifting Nemoira was beautiful and terrifying. The way Jude accepted that she was being watched by a beast that likely wanted to kill her was so sad but totally understandable. When Nemoira shows up at Jude's door as a beautiful stranger needing help, Jude begins her own transformation, finding the joy in giving to someone in need who actually appreciates her generosity.

I could not put this book down. I know I will read this again as there is so much subtext that I missed while I was focused on the pure enjoyment of following Jude to the end of the story. I look forward to anything else this author may write in the future.

On Sundays She Picked Flowers is elevated, intentional horror that traverses time and space to portray the middle and later adult life of main character, Jude. Jude is Black, she is aging, she is queer, she is southern, she is grieving, and she is both hurt and harmful. This is a story we, readers, don’t see enough of in any genre. This story not only captivates, it answers the call for multi-dimensional, marginalized narratives. There’s nothing about this beautiful book that I would change. Absolutely well done.

This was an interesting read. The writing is really good and thought out and the story has a lot of depth. I can tell the author put so much heart into it, and I can respect that. It just wasn’t totally for me, but I think a lot of other readers will love it more than I did.

This is a moody and atmospheric horror novel that deals with abuse and breaking free. I enjoyed the haunting and isolated woods setting and the characters.

On Sundays She Picked Flowers is a book that I’ve waited years to read. I read many of the author’s short stories on Tumblr back in the day, and they left me spellbound and wanting more. So, I immediately jumped at the chance to request an ARC of their debut novel.

On Sundays follows 41-year-old Judith Rice, who lives with her mother, Ernestine, in 1960s Georgia. Ernestine is physically and emotionally abusive, and Judith must take action to free herself from her mother’s toxic hold on her. She flees her childhood home and seeks refuge in a haunted house deep in the woods.

Years later, Judith’s isolated, peaceful life is interrupted by the arrival of Nemoira, a beautiful but unsettling woman with a terrifying secret of her own. Jude is taken with Nemoira, but something dangerous lurks beneath the surface. As her desire for Nemoira grows, Jude must confront the deep-seated trauma of her childhood and uncover the secrets her family has worked hard to bury.

On Sundays is a heady, atmospheric work of Southern gothic fiction. Scholfield understands one of the fundamental rules of horror- that things become less frightening once they’ve been explained. We know just enough about Nemoira to be captivated by her, but not so much that she isn’t still a mysterious, uncanny figure on the page.

Scholfield also doesn’t shy away from taboo- more specifically, there are mentions of cannibalism, and keeping with the tradition of gothic transgression, of incest. That being said, On Sundays isn’t an easy or comfortable read, and it won’t be for everyone. But after waiting for years to read it, it was everything I wanted and more.

This was a strong Southern Gothic horror novel, it was suspenseful and worked with what I was hoping for from the description. The characters had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed the idea of what happened in this storyline. Yah Yah Scholfield was able to weave a strong tale and was invested in what was going on. I hope to read more from Yah Yah Scholfield as this was everything that I wanted and more.

The visceral intensity of the diction reveals the nature of horror on the first page. A step up in eerie gore from similar horror novels that tackle the abusive mother trope like The Lamb. You really learn the protagonist inner workings of her why and how the gore is just another day in her environment. What does it mean to overthrow years of abuse? This novella seeks to answer this above and beyond simple revenge.

Thoroughly enjoyed the author’s writing style and consistency of the protagonist self-awareness. There is level of acceptance in overthrowing trauma to the most horrifying degree. You will be immersed in the bloody details and craving more. A narrative for those who understand the eerie hauntings trauma leaves us with! Thank you Saga Press and Netgalley for this advanced digital copy.

Read more recommendations and reviews https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com

I do not give out 5 stars easily but this book was easily 5 stars! This book was a masterpiece horror novel! Chef’s kiss to this strange and haunting read!

Yah Yah Schofield's writing transports the reader into a twirling tornado of terrifying sensations for which I'm immensely grateful. Horror novels just hit differently (in a positive way).

This is a strange and haunting read that covers a lot of uncomfortable topics. It was hard for me to get into at first, but I was intrigued by Jude's life in the woods and her romance. I have mixed feelings about her connection with Nemoira, but it was interesting to see how trauma was unpacked for her family and how that has affected every member. The descriptions of the house and land were done well, and the mix of genres was well balanced. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.