Botanical horror has quickly become one of my favorite tropes. There’s just something so unsettling about nature turning against us and I loved the metaphorical use of it in this story specifically.

With themes of deeply suppressed trauma, the exploration of womanhood, mental health, loss of self, and grief.

Nell was relatable, well fleshed out, and I found her easy to empathize with. The prose was beautiful, the story was strange, riveting, emotional, and unsettling. I just loved it.

I absolutely loved everything about this book. Lauren Du Plessis is an amazing writer I will be picking up more by her when it is available in the states.

where do i even start?? this book is PERFECTION. my niche is botanical horror and this was everything i hoped it would be and more!! the botanical prose was absolutely beautiful. plessis has such a way with story-telling. i was fully immersed, i finished this in one sitting. full of love, shame, grief, and familial trauma. i cried so much, this novel pulled on my heartstrings (or roots, rather). this is going down as an absolute favorite of mine. so compelling and i fell in love with many of these characters. being inside of nell’s brain was such a pleasure and i’m so grateful to have gotten to read this book. i will be patiently waiting for whatever lauren writes next!!

thank you thank you netgalley for this arc. i’m eternally grateful.

Tender completely caught me off guard in the best way. This was dark, unsettling, emotional, and beautifully disturbing. Lauren du Plessis creates this incredibly intimate atmosphere where the horror feels personal, uncomfortable, and impossible to shake.

I loved how much tension was packed into the story. There’s something so unsettling about the way everything slowly unfolds, and I found myself completely absorbed, wondering just how much darker things were going to get. This is the kind of horror that gets under your skin without needing to constantly scream for your attention.

Tender is creepy, haunting, and deeply uncomfortable in all the right ways. I’m always looking for horror that leaves me thinking about it after I’ve finished reading, and this one definitely did that. Absolutely loved how strange and unsettling this was!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.