I'm a sucker for a supernatural thriller, especially ones featuring dramatic irony so heavily. As the reader, we know EXACTLY what's going on in the town of Bishop. At times I found myself yelling "DON'T GO IN THERE!", because god damn. In a town where so many women go missing or die of strange circumstances, we follow a found family of 4 teenagers. Alternating between their perspectives, we unravel the secrets of Bishop and find the truth about what really happened to their mothers. I loved the use of the wind as a supernatural entity and how the land truly felt like a character. Will I ever look at a sunflower in the same way? Hell no. But this is a really quick and enjoyable supernatural thriller with some heavy themes.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

4.25/5⭐️

The cover drew me in and the storyline made me stay. This was such an intriguing book with such an interesting plot that I couldn’t get myself to really stop reading! It kind of reminds me of some other horror book i read once but I can’t remember what it was. All I know is that this was really good and I LOVED the multiple POVs!! I think this was done so well and was just phenomenal!

The town of Bishop is known for two things: raging windstorms and fields of sunflowers—but it is also known for women going missing so frequently that no one really bats an eye or looks into it. The cover and this description is what initially drew me to Where Darkness Blooms, but the overall execution fell flat.

I love novels where violence against women is explored, but for such a nuanced topic this book felt like it was doing too much too quickly to really explore the cusp of femicide that fuels the town. The land will feed on any blood, but at some point, it ‘chose’ specific women who could feel the town’s curse, which I felt could’ve been an excellent jumping point to explore the roles of women in relation to men and power, something the author was only kind of doing. In the end, the men’s role was reduced to being subservient to the curse. The curse was tied to this male family line (I guess? They never mentioned their mothers), and there was something almost magical about the Hardings and their ability to charm (?) women, so it almost takes away some of the blame from them, Bennet especially. Again, it was a missed opportunity to explore the dynamic of power between men and women.

The most important themes just weren’t explored well enough. I wish there was more time spent on showing the relationship between the four girls. This book is supposed to center on women and their breaking out of their chains, which only half succeeds in doing. But even at the halfway point, I didn’t feel like the characters were being fleshed out, just more of the same. It was jarring to see Delilah see her boyfriend kiss Jude, while at the same being subconsciously aware there’s something between them—but only knowing this through Bo’s perspective, and then cut to her kissing Evan. I had a hard time believing in what the author was trying to accomplish since the four girls were such bad friends to each other.

I thought the ending chapter was by far my favorite (cursed land hello!) but it left me with a few questions, like: How was Bo killing Caleb and William ending the curse if it was still feeding after the girls had left Bishop? Or did it stop when Bennett went into the sunflower field? If so, did he die then?

Andrea Hannah does create a wonderfully eerie atmosphere that pulled me into the story and had my blood pumping—land hungry for land and sentient sunflowers? that was SO cool! The beginning was really slow, but I loved the ending! I think this book could’ve been stronger had Bo been the sole protagonist. A lot of character traits and development got lost in the four different perspectives, so there was a lot to be desired.

This book is a 3.5 for me. I was very excited to start this because the summary looked interesting and that cover!!! When I started this, prologue gave me chills which made me think that this was going to be good. Unfortunately, I didn't like the characters much and and I also didn't like the love triangle whatever that was going on. To be honest, it's not a bad book, I kind of enjoyed uncovering the dark mysteries behind Bishop.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*I want to thank NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this Advanced Reader Copy. “

“The land had always been parched but its thirst for blood was learned.”
With this first sentence I knew this was going to be a great book. The author did a great job at creating atmosphere. I felt a constant sense of dread and claustrophobia from the author’s description of Bishop and the surrounding sunflowers: “..Bo stood surrounded by yellow in every direction, the whispers swelled. The flowers bent their heads, their petals stretching to her like wiggling fingers. Their voices—they each had a distinct voice—begged to be heard.”
I found this to be a very well written story. And it is easily one of my favorites of the year .

This book promises so much due to its strong beginning, author Andrea Hannah brilliantly setting up the atmosphere of a Midwest American storm as we are introduced to each of our main leads through their own POV chapters. They are each distinct, their voice carrying different notes and having their own conflicts they need to resolve alongside their shared plot thread: their missing mothers. While sometimes the metaphors used within descriptions falls flat, Hannah knows how to provide imagery that leaves you frozen within a moment.

Unfortunately, though, that is not enough for this book to engross you. The downfalls of this story are soon found as the plot is repeated several times within the first six chapters, the time jumping between past and present so frequently and it being vaguely noted to the point it is difficult to keep track of where you are with characters. It feels like exposition dump as you are reminded over and over again what happened two years ago, and how each girl feels about it. Above all, this really drags the book down, making the slow-burn feel like a crawl through the mud.

Although the mystery of what happened to these girls' mothers intrigues the reader, it is hard to want to follow along as the plot barely unfolds as time goes by. The ending isn't satisfying, either; rather, it makes all that time feel wasted as you realize the truth of all that happened is both predictable and contrived. Hannah writes the resolution to be one that is happy, but it doesn't feel earned--especially as it is hard to feel that certain characters even deserve such a thing. The lack of nuance all throughout, also, makes the theme feel like a blatant message rather than a real world moral giving the reader something to ponder.

While Hannah can weave beautiful words together and set you in an otherworldly setting, the logistics of the characters and plot fall apart at the seams.

I was provided both the print and audio arc via Netgalley, as always all opinions are my own. Thank you to OrangeSky Audio and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for providing me the opportunity to read this early. I spent most of my time listening to the audiobook, though I feel either choice would work well for this story.

Check the trigger warnings before reading this one, as there are some heavy topics in this book. There is a trigger warning page in the book, the following are mentioned as well as some I've added: underage drinking, physical violence, death (some gore), sexual assault, and teen sex.

This follows 4 teen girls trying to survive after the disappearance of their mothers. They live in the creepy town of Bishop that is surrounded by sunflowers and has constant windstorms, oh and women seem to disappear or drop dead without much concern. Each of the girls is coping with the loss of her mother in a different way, but they each have secrets surrounding the night their mothers went missing. When the town decides to honor the missing women with statues, the girls are prompted to look more closely into the history of the town the trail of missing women that the town has left in its wake. I don't want to say too much about the plot and spoil it.

I really enjoyed this. This is like if Children of the Corn met The Handmaid's Tale and mixed together into one horror novel. I would say it is meant for a more mature YA audience given some of the content and themes. I've read several books this last week about female empowerment and this is the one that sticks out to me the most. Hannah did a good job making the town of Bishop have the creepy and atmospheric vibe that you need to drive a horror novel. I'm not sure I can look at sunflowers the same way ever again. Each of the girls is on her own journey of self discovery to break free from the terrible things that happen in the town and break the cycle going forward.

If you are looking for an interesting YA horror book to pick up this spring I recommend this one!

Delilah, Whitney, Jo and Jude all have had mother’s disappear in the town of Bishop....creepy.
The deaths of women have been going on for years and years and no one knows why.
There are many supernatural aspects to this one. I enjoyed the atmosphere and suspense it gave. This was a quick and creepy, fun read. . I’ll never look at sunflower’s the same way again, thats for sure.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Where Darkness Blooms follows four girls who live in a house at the edge of the mysterious town of Bishop, a town where women disappear under mysterious circumstances all the time.

I was really hoping for unsettling and spooky, and in a lot of ways I got that from this book, which was great. There was also a lot to like about our four leading ladies, particularly the ways in which their different tendencies, and the ways in which they moved through the world and their relationships with others, led them all ultimately to the same or similar conclusions to the mysterious goings-on in town.

What I struggled with, and what I continue to struggle with as I reflect on this book days after finishing it, is that once you get past the vibes and start thinking about it, most of it doesn't really make sense. There's so much about the way the town functions, the way its curse functions, and the way that various people are involved in the curse-magic, that is never explained or even hinted at. It's easy to just sit back and accept that things in the book are the way they are, but if you're the kind of mystery-horror reader who likes answers, this book maybe isn't the best one to pick up. Like I said, it nails the vibes, but at its core it makes little sense.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for a digital copy of the book!

I really enjoyed this book! It was fun and dark as well as twisty, and I found myself getting lost in the beautifully crafted world and its characters. I was on my toes throughout its entirety, and I found myself being suspicious of everyone. Overall, I thought the pace of the book was great, and the writing really was to my taste. It was intriguing as well as thrilling. It was very much my cup of tea. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Andrea Hannah!

4.5/5

The town of Bishop is quite an eerie town that’s for sure. Where Darkness Blooms is a thrilling tale of supernatural occurrences, murder, and mystery. I was hooked to this story early on. It kept your interest and makes you want to keep going to know what Bishop is all about, why these murderers keep happening, and what happened the girl’s parents.

The plot unraveled at a good pace and didn’t feel rushed or too slow. The characters were great! I enjoyed each of our main girls a lot. I like that the story is told by the perspectives of Delilah, Jude, Whitney, and Bo. The story came together really well by the end and each of their plot lines crossed-over very well.

This is a fresh and new story that I definitely recommend to check out!

Where Darkness Blooms is the kind of dark and twisty feminist horror novel that only comes around once in a blue moon. The story starts out slow and creeps up on you, building into an spooky and atmospheric tale of doom and dread that is wonderfully haunting and eerily delicious. The premise was so unique and I couldn’t help but devour the story, eager to learn more about the land, the wind, the sunflowers, and what was going to happen next for our characters. All in all this was a brilliant novel, one I'm sure I won't be able to stop thinking about for a while.

I felt like this book was more of a magical realism vibe with the way it was told and the pacing. I am growing more impatient with YA books like this, though, because being vague and trippy about everything just keeps readers in the dark, which isn’t always the right way to tell a story. I appreciate what this book was trying to do, but I just couldn’t get through it.

Ok, I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I loved reading from each characters POV and really getting to know each character. The suspense had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up and I just could not put this title down!

The World’s Worst Mother award goes to all three of our four main characters’ mothers! O H  M Y  G O D. I am both dying of the outrageous absurdity of this and also super pissed that their mothers just left them in a town full of psychopaths WHO SACRIFICE WOMEN. Yes, this is a huge spoiler for the end of the book but I need to get this off my chest because I cannot believe what  I just read.

Okay, now that I`ve gotten that little outburst out into the world, let’s back up and talk about the town of Bishop, Kansas and its inhabitants. Bishop is a little town in the middle of nowhere surrounded by endless fields of sunflowers and a suspicious number of women go missing or are found dead. Like, a really suspicious number. Of young, healthy women dying of “natural causes” and everybody is just sad and kind of lives with it, except for a few people and sometimes they go missing or die too. No alarm bells going off here! Defiiiiinitely not any cult stuff or a serial killer - no siree! 

Now, to our group of girls that the story centers around! The four of them have continued to live together in the house that their mothers all shared after their fathers left, even though their mothers disappeared two years ago and they were only 15-16 at the time. Yes, maybe it’s because I’m a sensible adult, but it seems like they should have had some sort of adult supervision or a legal guardian. They’ve been running wild and free, who knows where the money for bills and groceries is coming from! These girls need all kinds of therapy, especially since only six months ago, Whitney’s girlfriend mysteriously died in her front yard. Whitney, Jude, Delilah, and Bo have been understandably suspicious about their mother’s disappearance but nothing has come of their timid attempts at investigation until Bo finds a blood covered knife at “the clearing” where a memorial statue was to be placed. Thus they begin anew, investigating the dark founding of Bishop, and finally snooping through their mothers’ belongings for clues.

So, I have to say first off, that this was a really entertaining book that I read in a single sitting on my day off. I really didn’t want to put it down because each page was some new discovery or dramatic event and I really wanted to see how it ended. Objectively though, it was riddled with plot holes and it wasn’t the least bit creepy after the prologue chapter. The prologue chapter really hooked me though, and I will say that the prose throughout the book flowed really well and there weren’t stilted, awkward bits of dialogue like I often find in these highly binge-able books. I think the cover art is pretty dang awesome as well, and it’s what initially drew me in and then the thought of Midwestern Gothic horror and liminal space sunflower fields really convinced me. I was let down though.

I’d like to give a shout-out to one particularly memorable series of events that leads to Whitney going to the non-existent hospital accompanied by her twin sister Jude and the Harding boys. They literally took her to an abandoned house in the middle of the sunflower field, patched her up, and took her home. While her sister is in the vehicle, declines to go in, and just thinks “what a weird looking hospital”. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHY? This isn’t all revealed right away, but comes out a bit later in the book and it’s just the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. I’m sorry, this boy with the ability to control the wind has made you that stupid over his good looks? What did he do, lobotimize you? I think this ultimately sums up the overall vibe of this book.

So I was immediately drawn to that cover. The story itself didn’t really hook me as much as I thought it would. The writing was beautiful and had lines that stuck in my head but somehow the characters didn’t stand out to me. I had a hard time keeping them straight and I had a difficult time becoming immersed in plot. Maybe I’ll come back and try it again but it was hard to keep focusing while reading it. Probably just me. I’d still suggest others read it and see how they like it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah
The Flowers See Everything

The wind blows, sunflowers watch, and girls disappear.

Four girls in a small town try to solve a mystery involving their dead/missing mothers. They do this while grieving and trying to live normally against the backdrop of a very creepy town they don’t know is cursed. As they follow clues and uncover some very unsettling information, their friendship is tested and their lives are on the line.
I couldn’t stop reading the last third of the book when everything is revealed!

Love this cover.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an eBook copy prior to its release in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great thriller/science fiction novel. It was the right amount of creepy and chilling.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. I loved this book, and I pre-ordered it! Can't wait to have a physical copy.

Firstly, the cover is stunning! Sunflowers are my favorite flower and I was intrigued by a story where they are a central focus. You slowly learn more about the sunflowers and other parts of the town, and things get strange and interesting.

I haven't read an Andrea Hannah book before, but I'll definitely pick up her other ones in the future. She has a beautiful writing style. The book is so atmospheric and full of intrigue. I didn't put the book down often, I read this over a few different sittings.

I love the characters, especially Delilah, Bo, Jude, and Whitney. Bo is my favorite character though. She's so brave, intelligent, and set on getting to the bottom of what's going on in Bishop.

The story builds up slowly, but then I was on the edge of my seat. I was worried about the main four characters and wondering who they could trust. A lot of the men in the town are suspicious. I enjoyed figuring out things slowly along with the characters. I haven't really read supernatural thrillers before, but I loved this book and will give other ones a try.

"Like there was anything to be afraid of in a place like Bishop. It was a speck on a Midwest map , a dust-laden town trapped by windstorms and sunflowers. Women went missing sometimes, sure, but if she had to guess, Bo figured they’d packed up and left for something better before someone could hold them back."

"There had always been something strange about this place. The sunflowers that hovered around them all like a threat. The way they watched. How they were a little too sentient to be just seeds and petals."

Author: Andrea Hannah
Page Number: 304
Publish Date: 2/21/2023
Star rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Supernatural Thriller

The cover and the prologue were what drew me into the book, the prologue especially because it was dark and very ominous and I’m a sucker for those types of intros but I immediately DNFd after the 12th chapter because the story just dragged for me. I didn’t care for any of the characters, the cheating boyfriend and starry, dew eyed sister were absolutely detestable; I just couldn’t stand them. There are subtle hints to SA but veiled with flowery prose that it’s hard sometimes to figure what the heck is going on and if it’s real and I’m not just having a fever dream from having a numb brain while trying to read this book.

The description in this book though concerning the creepy intensity of sunflowers was unsettling and well done. Gave some The Messengers vibes which I was sort of liking but it wasn’t enough to save the book for me.