Dark Flowers

I have a deep love for boarding school books. Something about teens locked up together always makes for an interesting story - and this one does not disappoint. Genre-bending and extremely satisfying, I could not put this down. Eliza is a brilliant, troubled and real young teen trying to find her place in a world of secrets and magic. Great for fans of VC Andrews!

This book was dark and intense! And I absolutely loved it!! It was a wonderful, unexpected read! I loved how unique and disturbing it was!!

A wonderfully twisted story.
I don’t usually read these types of books but I am glad that I did this time, from start to finish I was entranced with the characters. I love a writer that can take the Fairy/mythical and show that dark side of it instead of the usual happy-go-lucky.
I love the way this is written and I was pleasantly shocked with the ending, I will differently be keeping my eye on this author.

If you thought fairies were cute little beings like Tinkerbell, think again! Everything is not as it seems at St Agatha’s orphanage. And Matron Criggs is the least of the worries for the girls there, but they don’t know it. A dark tale about friendship and the lengths someone will go to to repay a debt. A creepy good read!

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

This was such a creepy book. I'm not sure why it's never talked about, but I loved it. Apparently, this was published in 2016. Where was I? Where was the whole book community?
This has all of my favorite topics. A creepy foster home ran by nuns, fairies, an unreliable narrator, and a mental institution. The author just didn't hold back, either. The whole book I was second-guessing whether or not I should believe our main character, Eliza, or the side character, Millie, or neither of them. There was just so much back and forth, but it didn't feel drawn out. This was definitely on the shorter side, but I think that suited this book well. It wasn't long enough to where I got bored by all the second-guessing, but it wasn't too short, and so I felt completely satisfied by the end of it all.
It's hard to delve too deeply into what this is about, since I feel like it'd spoil the book. I went into it completely blind and I think everyone should do the same. Let's just say these fairies aren't what you'd usually expect. On my notes, after they first appeared, I wrote 'vampire fairies?' which I think sums up my thoughts nicely.
Overall, this book is pretty gory (all my trigger warnings are listed out below) and it's focused around two elementary-aged children, so if that sounds like something that would bother you, I wouldn't recommend it. Otherwise, I absolutely would. Especially for a nice spooky book to read around the Halloween season.

trigger warnings: child abandonment, cutting, blood, gore, violence, murder, child abuse

*I was sent this book as an ebook from #BHC Press through #netgalley for a honest review. This does not effect my review in any way.

I don’t think I would necessarily classify this book as YA, as some of the content is a little dark for that age group.

But it was still an amazing read, it had me on the edge of my seat for sure, so much so that I finished in a day.

I am however not sure I will think of fairies the same way ever again.

A perfect read for this time of year for sure.

Orphans, faeries, mental hospitals, and a headmaster that greatly resembles Trunchbull from Matilda - this was a creepy fun read!

I enjoyed this one more than I expected! It took me a while to get into it. The first time the faerie realm is described, I almost stopped reading. Unfortunately, the description of the real was a bit too wordy for my tastes. Rather than wowing me, it made me feel bored.

With that said, I'm so glad I kept reading because this story quickly redeemed itself.

I have a soft spot for books that take place at boarding schools/orphanages and this was no exception. The two main characters are incredibly likable, even after finding out that one is actually a villain of sorts.

I would really recommend going into this one blind like I did, so I'll stop my review here before accidentally letting any spoilers slip.

I really enjoyed this book! I knew from the moment I read the blurb that I would like it, but I loved it even more than expected! It's dark, intense and had me on the edge of my seat. I love fantasy books so am very surprised I hadn't come across this one sooner.

I was drawn in from the start and hooked throughout. I had no idea how it would end but I was not expecting that!! I love a book with a good twist and this one certainly delivered.

The book has a bit of everything. An orphanage, a mental hospital, nuns, fairies, violence; together it makes a great story!

I really enjoyed this title! It was such a quick and easy read. I hope to read more by this author. I thought the story itself had great pacing and the author had great use of descriptors. Thank you so much to netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to review this title.

I loved this book so much. I just missed the publication date for my review, but this book was the perfect read for my Halloween book of choice!

This is one of the best fairy books I’ve ever read! It immediately pulled me in from the very beginning and I was satisfied with the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book!

This is a dark, dark little book. When Eliza and Millie take a chance and try to flee from the abusive orphanage where they live, things go from bad to worse. The girls discover fairies in the Louisiana swamplands surrounding the orphanage, but these aren't your storybook creatures. Instead, they are blood thirsty sprites that demand sacrifice.

There were times when the book was a bit confusing, as the voice of the narrator was thrown off kilter. Is Eliza good or evil? What is happening to MIllie? Is Millie possessed by the fairies? I didn't mind the twists and turns so much. I felt that it kept me on my toes. The ending was brutal, and twisted.

I have always known that if something is good there's always a bad version. Fairies are made to be such beautiful creatures, it's difficult to think that someone would think them evil, right? Yeah right! Even the prettiest child can have the tendency to be bad. In Dark Flowers, Millie believes fairies exist, but only when she and Eliza run away from the orphanage do they find the fairy realm, and get into more trouble than staying at St. Agatha would have ever brought upon them.

This was one of those difficult to put down dark fantasy novels. It kept me guessing what was fact and what was truly Eliza's imagination. It is an amazing debut novel and I can't wait to read more from this author.

Review for 'Dark Flowers' by Caytlyn Brooke Was available to read and review on NetGalley
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Life at St. Agatha's School for Girls is anything but a fairytale. With ratty blankets and a torturous device called the box, it's not hard to understand Eliza's desperation to escape. When the timing is right, Eliza manages to run away with her best friend Millie, heading through the Louisiana swamps to the town on the other side. But the swamps may be even more dangerous than the orphanage. Silver and black fairies invite the girls to experience a world where they can have it all, but Eliza doesn't trust the sparkling beauty. When Millie suddenly becomes violent and attacks another girl, Eliza knows something awful is about to happen. She will do anything to protect Millie but once Eliza remembers her own terrible secret, it is impossible to forget. The fairies' songs call to Eliza and its getting harder and harder to pretend it's all in her head.

This book had been on my kindle for a while to read and I must admit I had actually forgotten what the description was. I started reading it and when I got to the fairies but I became slightly confused as its not the usual type of book I read. I then found the description and continued to read it. It did take me a while to actually get into the storyline but when I did I really enjoyed it. The storyline itself is unique so a massive congratulations to this first time author. The characters were solid and realistic. I found the book quite easy to read when I had got into it and enjoyed the suspense throughout the book. I was quite surprised by the ending and the twist so that was also a plus. I would say this book is more towards teen age and upwards as I think it would be a bit dark for say under 14 for example, however you never know nowadays. I also recommend this book for fans of suspense, thriller and horror. I rated it 4/5 on Goodreads and Amazon, the missing star would be due to it taking a while for me to get into it.