Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen is a gothic horror novel set in the Netherlands in
1887. It follows Lucy who tries desperately to unravel the mystery behind her twin sister Sarah's strange behavior after Sarah becomes obsessed with a corpse, (bog body) that is discovered on her husband's estate.
The story dives into themes of possession, madness, and dark secrets

Is Johanna Van Veen, the queen of gothic horror? Quite possibly, yes!
Johanna delivers another dark, eerie atmospheric read with just enough body horror thrown in to keep most horror lovers overjoyed.

I can’t decide whether I preferred this to My Darling Dreadful Thing, so it’s gets the same rating from me 9/10

I have always enjoyed Victorian and Gothic reads in general so I was excited to read a modern gothic but in the setting of the nineteenth century, I was not disappointed. Following the vein of the gothic this is a slow build and may not be for readers who want something more pacy. It is atmospheric, dark, and at time grotesque. I adored the sibling relationship being explored. It was haunting and eerie which captured the setting and atmosphere of the classic gothic style tale.

I really loved the setting and atmosphere the most but the characters were also well rounded and suited the genre. This is perfect for fans of gothic novels. It has a slow and creeping pace, well crafted horror and an atmosphere that will give you chills.

As always thank you to Source Books for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

This was an atmospheric gothic horror with elements such as female hysteria, mental illness, fear of asylums, body horror, bog bodies, possession and the bond between twins.

I found it to be very unique with sort of a new spin on vampirism (I won’t say more because of spoilers) and full of the heebie-jeebie moments with plenty of body horror scenes, uncomfortable plot points and an unreliable narrator.

Not for the faint hearted and definitely more horror than a lot of gothic novels but one I highly recommend. The storytelling and atmosphere is perfectly spooky and leans into the uncomfortable elements and really gives a visceral reaction.

I loved this gothic read, it was easy to devour and had so many great unsettling and creepy moments.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks UK and Johanna Van Veen for the ARC.

""I'm in your blood, and you are in mine…"

The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy's twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband's grand estate. The doctor has diagnosed her with temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain. To protect her twin from a terrible fate in a lunatic asylum, Lucy must unravel the mystery surrounding her sister's condition, but it's clear her twin is hiding something. Then again, Lucy is harboring secrets of her own, too.

Then, the worst happens. Sarah's behavior takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angry… and hungry. 

Lucy soon comes to suspect that something is trying to possess her beloved sister. Or is it madness? As Sarah changes before her very eyes, Lucy must reckon with the dark, monstrous truth, or risk losing her forever."

I had high hopes for Blood on Her Tongue but unfortunately it fell flat.

I so wanted to like this book, I've seen so many people raving about it. But I just couldn't get into it.

I assumed because it was a historical gothic horror based in Norway, it was going to be slow going but would eventually pick up. But it never did. There were so many times I should've just DNFed the book but with it being an arc I didn't want to just give up on it. I just couldn't bring myself to care about the characters. They were all awful people to be completely honest. I felt more emotionally attached to Pasja the dog than I did to any of them.

📚 Book Review 📚

Gothic, macabre and deliciously dark this is an excellent example of classic Victorian gothic mixed with a blend of horror and of the loving relationship between siblings.

Lucy Goedhart rushes to her sister’s side after she is told that her beloved Sarah has been stricken with a mysterious and aggressive sickness. The only clue to this illness lies in Sarah’s notebooks which Lucy desperately reads to look for a way to cure her sister. Lucy realises that prior to Sarah’s illness, the discovery of a body found in the bog on her husband’s estate, fascinated Sarah to the extent of obsession.

In a short period of time, Sarah’s illness progresses to an unnatural level; a level where although Sarah refuses to eat, she has a desire for human blood and flesh. Sarah rants incoherently about being possessed and demons within and very quickly, Lucy realises that her sister is in danger. Not just from this illness but from the threat of incarceration within an 1800’s asylum, a place that holds fear for both of them after the committal and death of their aunt within an asylum’s walls. Sarah’s husband wants little to do with his wife and instead fixes his sights on Lucy and she realises that the future of her sister and her, is in his hands.

Gothic, grotesque and nightmarishly supernatural, this is a fantastic read for horror fans. This contains a lot of bloody body horror and in one particular place, I couldn’t actually read properly for a couple of pages as it was so scary! Unsettlingly brilliant 🩸

I’d like to thank Poisen Pen Press, NetGalley and the author for the arc and the fantastic opportunity, in exchange for my honest feedback 😊

Book released on 25th March 2025

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Blood on Her Tongue is an atmospheric gothic thriller that explores the unsettling bond between twins Lucy and Sarah. When Sarah’s health and sanity begin to deteriorate, Lucy becomes consumed with uncovering the truth behind her sister’s disturbing transformation. I appreciated the direction the story took as Sarah’s behaviour spiralled — her interactions with those around her became more intriguing and unpredictable, adding to the tension.

The writing itself is very good and created a haunting, gothic atmosphere. The eerie settings and moody undertones were beautifully crafted, adding a rich texture to the narrative. It’s clear the author has honed this skill, as the ambiance feels almost like a character itself. That said, I struggled to fully connect with the characters and I was a little bit underwhelmed, I felt like some story lines or questions were left unanswered (oh, Aunt Adelheid??). I was invested in what was happening, however I also feel like this was due to my general curiosity than anything else. Additionally, knowing that Van Veen herself struggled with this book and rewrote it several times, I wonder if some of the emotional depth was lost in the process.

Overall, Blood on Her Tongue is a compelling read with a captivating premise and a strong sense of place, but the emotional distance from the characters kept it from being as impactful as it could have been.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I don't want to give too much away but Blood on Her Tongue is a captivating 5 star gothic horror full of gooooorgeously creepy description and a properly unsettling possession.

If you're after:
- bog body horror
- historical setting and all of the lovely commentary on gender roles that comes along with that
- a strained relationship between twin sisters where you can't really decide if you like either of them?
- a sprinkle of sapphic rep

then this needs to be on your TBR! It comes out tomorrow (25/03/25) in the UK 🖤

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

After being captivated by Johanna van Veen’s previous novel, My Darling Dreadful Thing, I eagerly anticipated her latest work, Blood on Her Tongue. Van Veen’s talent for weaving gothic horror with psychological depth continues to impress.

Blood on Her Tongue is set against the atmospheric backdrop of 1880s Netherlands, van Veen masterfully treads the line between sanity and the paranormal. The narrative delves into the complexities of sisterly love, possession, and madness, leaving readers questioning whether they’re witnessing supernatural events or the unraveling of a troubled mind.

Van Veen’s prose is both indulgent and claustrophobic, drawing readers into a chilling narrative that lingers long after the final page. Blood on Her Tongue is a dark and delicious novel, gothic horror at its finest—a must-read for fans of the genre.

Johanna van Veen is such a master of gothic fiction.

Blood on Her Tongue is a story about Lucy who, when she finds out her sister was potentially going mad again, rushes to be at her side and hopefully help nurse her back to health. But as with any proper gothic novel, the real question is, is her sister really going mad or is there something more sinister going on.

This was a beautiful story about love between sisters and at the same time it never shied away from potential downfalls of the strong bond between the two characters. I loved how masterfully the author thread the story where you're never really sure if the supernatural aspects are real or if the sisters are falling prey to some type of folie a deux. And the side characters all felt unique and like they had their own motivation while at the same time making the amount of characters in the story fairly low helped with the general atmosphere of isolation and unease.

I'm usually not particularly creeped out by gothic stories but this one was so good at building its atmosphere it kept me unsettled and some of the more gory scenes had me wanting to look away from the pages.

I cannot wait from more delicious gothic creepiness from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks | Poisoned Pen Press for this eCopy to review

When I started reading Blood On Her Tongue, I was drawn in by its promise of gothic horror and the eerie allure of its 19th-century Dutch setting. The story centres on Lucy, a devoted twin who is desperate to save her sister, Sarah, from what seems to be a descent into madness. Sarah’s obsession with a centuries-old corpse unearthed on her husband’s estate is unsettling enough, but her refusal to eat and her increasingly erratic behaviour hint at something far darker. Lucy’s determination to protect her sister from being institutionalized leads her down a path filled with secrets, supernatural whispers, and a chilling reckoning with the monstrous truth.

The atmosphere of the novel is undeniably its strongest point. Johanna Van Veen masterfully crafts a world that feels both claustrophobic and expansive, with the decaying grandeur of the estate and the shadowy corners of the story adding to the tension. The themes of familial bonds, societal expectations, and the thin line between sanity and possession are explored.

Blood On Her Tongue is a haunting tale that lingers in the mind. It’s a story that thrives on its gothic roots, offering a chilling exploration of love, madness, and the supernatural.

“There was a beauty in it still, the way imperfect things can be beautiful, but it was a beauty of a dark and fading kind”

Atmospheric, enthralling, mind-bending, unpredictable to the end and disturbing in the best way.

Having never read from Johanna van Veen before, I had no expectations of *Blood on Her Tongue*, but it turned out to be one of the best gothic horror novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The eerie manor house setting was palpable — experiencing this story felt like wading through boggy water, trying desperately to get away from an ominous presence, but not minding very much because of how beautiful the surroundings are.

I'm more surprised than anyone that my own personal nightmares captured in book form — from being buried alive, to intense and descriptive body horror, blood, gore and *retch* bodily fluids — seized me from beginning to haunting end. I struggled to put this book down and whenever I did the characters haunted me until I picked it up again.

Blood on Her Tongue deeply and satisfyingly explores themes of sister dynamics (the complexity and messiness of them!), the mistreatment of mental health and misogyny, especially during the late Victorian era.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Sourcebooks & Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

Thank you to Johanna Van Veen, Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Blood on Her Tongue in exchange for a review.

I would recommend this for fans of Carmilla, Dracula, Nosferatu, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, Victorian Psycho and Interview with a Vampire TV Series.

Blood on Her Tongue is a vampire novel set in the 19th century but done a little differently. It's gothic horror with a queer subplot. The 'vampire' is a much more visceral, parasitic being, requiring both meat and blood to survive. The story felt old and new at the same time. Imagine Nosferatu, but the vampire is Ellen's twin sister.

The setting was claustrophobic with an acute sense of isolation. This added to the intensity of the novel as there were very few moments of relief for the characters because they weren't able to leave the estate.

At no point while reading this book did I have any idea of where it would go next. If you like your horror to veer less on the side of fear and more on disgust with some gore and body horror then you will devour this book!

I give Blood on Her Tongue 5 stars!

Few literary devices are as inherently uncanny as twins, their mirroring, their duality, the way they fracture the boundary between self and other. Blood on Her Tongue builds itself on that very premise.

The novel begins with promise; atmospheric, visceral, and unflinchingly sordid. There is something grotesquely fascinating about its sensory detail and slow-building unease.

Yet as the narrative progresses, it unravels. What initially feels carefully plotted soon collapses under the weight of its own excess. Structurally, the novel falters, veering into the ridiculous. Characters frequently internalize a thought only to act on it moments later, creating a repetitive rhythm that dulls rather than sharpens its impact. And though the novel gestures toward themes of misogyny, sexuality, and mental illness, it treads familiar ground without offering anything new to the conversation.

What could have been a richly layered exploration of the uncanny instead dissolves into incoherence. Blood on Her Tongue has moments of brilliance, its grotesquerie, its atmosphere, but ultimately, it promises more than it delivers.

Rounding up to 3 stars. When it's good it's very good but it's too inconsistent.

This book was horrific, and I loved it. I couldn’t put it down! I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This was such a creepy historical novel where we have a woman travelling to look after her sister in 19th century Netherlands. Her sister has become deeply strange and unwell after a body was exhumed on their land.

We see our MC’s attempts to care for her sister alongside her sister’s letters which are dotted throughout the book and help us understand what happened with the bog body and how it has led to the current set of events.

The atmosphere was so oppressive! Everything in this book oozed darkness. The bog, the house, the patronising men, the ancient evil. Absolutely incredible atmosphere created here. This book felt for me like it was about female rage. Even the well meaning men in this book are condescending and deceitful and the women are forced into a corner where they have no choice but to surrender their freedom or take drastic action. We see this multiple times and it provides commentary on the poor treatment of women across the centuries.

The plot was so tight, unveiled so perfectly. This was a magnificent piece of gothic writing and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

Blood On Her Tongue was, for me, completely unexpected. By which, I mean, I requested it because it falls into the horror genre, but I didn't expect it to be so good. Johanna Van Veen has delivered an extraordinary story that flows lyrically from start to finish. Hypnotically.

Blood on her tongue publishes on 25 March.

My thanks to @sourcebooks and @netgalley for the free e-arc in return for an honest review.

obsessed!! this is the first time i've read a johanna van veen book, even though i've heard amazing things about my darling dreadful thing, and let me tell you!!!!!! i am rushing to buy it right now because this novel was INSANELY good. the perfect level of visceral, gritty, gory and gothic. spooky as hell and it did NOT go the way i thought it would but man, i am so impressed and so crazy about this.

i had a slow start for the first 40 pages or so while lucy's voice found its feet in my head, but after that i devoured the rest of the book in a day. and i'm a pretty slow reader, so that's a compliment in and of itself!!

this book was just the epitome of historical gothic horror, full of squelching mud, mist, creaking floorboards, terrible dreams, scribbling in the margins of books, letters hidden behind cracked mirrors, men assuming they know women's bodies better than they do (booo), women proving to said men that they do NOT (yaaay), and so so so much more that just makes this book an absolute classic.

left me feeling hungry - nay, *fucking starving* - for more. 5 stars, baby!!!!

Van Veen’s debut novel was one of my most surprising reads of 2024, and Blood on her Tongue was no different! Perfect eerie, full of unexpected horror so perfectly executed that I refused to read this book in the dark 😂 it was gruesome and enthralling, always keeping me on my toes and Van Veen just has such a unique narrative voice that you can’t help but be riveted by every word… even every gory detail.

I can’t wait for what she produces next!

I've come to realise I love a good gothic horror novel. I was expecting this to be a dracula novel, but what I got was just as good. I won't ruin it as it's a really good twist.

This book is macabre, it has elements of betrayal, love, deceit, body horror and a splash of sapphic love. Lucy travels to her sisters home following some letters she receives of her sisters ill health. While there she discovers not everything is as she expected and that there is something drastically wrong with Sarah.

Lucy was very flawed. She had a deep love for her sister, but she was also very jealous of her and this lead her to do things she wasn't proud of. In hindsight Sarah was also very flawed and, I believe, was also jealous of Lucy.

I hated Michael and while I didn't necessarily hate Arthur, I hated that he seemed to have no backbone when it came to the twins or Michael. He could have been a fantastic ally but ultimately was a man and believed he was entitled to certain things that Lucy couldn't provide.

The twins relationship was flawed, as every sibling relationship usually is, but the two loved each other fiercely and despite everything happening with Sarah you could tell how much they loved one another.

Thank you to the publishers at Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Blood on Her Tongue
Horror
Johanna van Veen
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• ꜱᴜᴘᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ • ɢᴏᴛʜɪᴄ • ᴘᴏꜱᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ •

I really enjoyed My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen so I was looking forward to reading this one!

I found this book to be quite slow to start with. The letters between Lucy and Sarah did confuse me a little but they soon made sense.

I couldn't put this book down! The plot drew me in and I finished reading it in about 3 hours because I was so eager to find out what really happened to Sarah.

There were many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I kept trying to predict the plot twists but I was wrong every time.

The characters were great and I felt sorry for Lucy. Especially because Michael was so misogynistic and prone to outbursts. I was glad when a certain character got what he deserved. I wish it had happened sooner 😂.

The vibes were perfectly gothic and creepy at times.

Johanna van Veen is a brilliant writer and she has become another of my auto buy authors.

*Thank you to @Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*