Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson is amazing! I'm new to her books, but I instantly became a fan after reading The Violence. Highly recommend both!

What a truly horrifying read. For most of this read the relationship builds between Ro and Ash. There are warning signs from the beginning but Ro is so infatuated that she misses them all. Most of the action takes place within the last 20 or so pages. I have read my fair share of horror and splatter punk books that have made me feel sick to stomach and nothing much shocks me, but the ending of this story is truly revolting.

when I saw this sapphic horror novel described as "a cottagecore dream turned nightmare" I HAD to get my hands on it. and it delivered!! i absolutely devoured this. it's dark and intoxicating and you can tell the romance is doomed from the start, but holy fuck you won't be ready for how.

Loved this gorgeously written, sensual novel - the written description of Ash's goods alone were enough to hook me in. A beautifully written love affair with the darkest of under-layers...the only reason this wasn't a 5 star was because I felt the last chapter didn't fit with the rest of the book and was suddenly brutal for the purpose of shocking the reader, whereas the rest of the book was almost teasing, and definitely understated. Would definitely recommend though, really enjoyed this!

Bloom is a short horror novel that takes a cottagecore style romance between two women and plays out a slow burn tale of obsession and consumption. Rosemary—Ro—has moved to a new town to work at the local college, but feels lost until she goes to the local farmer's market and meets Ash, who sells beautiful cupcakes, candles, and plants. Ro is transfixed, and keeps returning to the market, building up a relationship with the mysterious Ash, who makes everything from scratch and is very guarded about her life. As Ash offers Ro delicious food and passion, it starts to seem like everything isn't so rosy.

This is a very slow burn horror book, which does have a decent amount of clues about where it is going to go, but which spends most of the book focused on Ro and Ash's relationship and the way that Ro falls headfirst in love with Ash, before a quick ending that provides the payoff for all the clues. The blurb is the main way you'll know from the start of the book that it is anything other than a cosy romance between a woman realising she is into women and a mysterious accomplished stranger, and generally it is the sort of book for people who like very aesthetic horror, rather than scares throughout the book. There's a lot of hints of Christina Rossetti's poem Goblin Market in it, which gives quite a good sense of what the vibe is. There's a lot of luscious detail in the description, particularly around food and sensations, which is very effective once you know what the twist is.

Ro as a character (and whose perspective the third person narration follows) becomes secondary to her obsession with Ash, though there are hints of character development as she reflects on realising she is attracted to women. Her actual background, with a kind of magical whirlwind academic job and a book published with an advance, feels more unreal at times than the actual horror story, especially as it seems like she has to do very little work at her job, and it would've been interesting to see more of her life unravel as a result of her obsession. I like the use of Ash as a seemingly put together and perfect cottagecore character who turns out to be much darker (maybe particularly as someone for whom the aesthetic doesn't appeal), but the narrative's use of both characters could perhaps have been a bit more subversive and interesting, rather than playing out a predictable tale of Ro's naivety and Ash's controlling nature.

Bloom is a fun, slow burn horror novel that feels very much of the moment, playing with popular aesthetics and feeling similar to other current horror. Personally, I would've liked the narrative to be more subverted or complex, or to have another layer to it, but I think people will like the romance turned horror scenario and the descriptive prose.