On sale March 25th is the latest novel from Johanna van Veen; Blood on her Tongue. It follows twin sisters Sarah and Lucy. Sarah is incredibly sick and Lucy comes to see her and hopefully help her get better. But she finds Sarah delusional, sinking into madness, and almost unrecognizable. A few weeks before, a mysterious body had been discovered dead in the bog near Sarah’s home. Could the two be connected? And will Lucy be able to save her sister?

Blood on her Tongue is the sapphic gothic horror you’ve been craving, and it comes with a hefty dose of body horror and a bloody good time.

“I can’t do without you. You can have my blood, if you need it. You can have my flesh and bones, too. You can have it all, as long as it keeps you here.”

Here’s what I loved:

I keep mentioning the body horror because it’s absolutely fantastic in this story. There’s some really disgusting scenes that I had a tone of fun reading. And there’s just something so deliciously horrific about really graphic body horror in a gothic horror tale.

Lucy as our lead was a really fascinating heroine. I really liked that she was an incredibly flawed character but was very aware of her own flaws. There’s some complex relationships going on here that Lucy is the centre of and watching her navigate it all is interesting. At some points she can be frustrating, at others you are rooting so deeply for her that your heart is breaking. And then sometimes she reacts in a way you’d never assume, making some parts of this book fly by as you’re desperate to know what happens next.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the untraditional vampire take. It’s a freshly unique look at vampires in gothic horror and it’s really well done. But no spoilers!

“Oh, but the mind can be such a dark place to be caught up in.”

Overall, this is another great read from Johanna Van Veen and I think this book is going to make a big splash when it lands on shelves March 25th. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Also, you can check out my review of Johanna Van Veen’s previous novel here