WHERE DARKNESS BLOOMS is a YA paranormal thriller that showed great promise, but failed to execute its quad-narrated, long-winded tale. The novel is riddled with plot holes, heavy-handed metaphor, and side quests that ultimately don't move the story forward.

Where Darkness Blooms is a supernatural young adult thriller about a town settled a few generations back and the land tamed with a heavy payment many are willing to pay — but not all.

Hannah sets up an interesting premise and a wide variety of characters — all featuring and centering on four young women working hard to solve the mystery that has cursed their town and taken their girls and women from them. Hannah sets up a dark and sinister town, and the eerie atmosphere hangs in the background for much of the novel. But, beyond the premise and initial setting, this novel left me wanting. The tone and approach is on the incredibly juvenile side of YA — complete with bell-tolling lines to close out each short chapter — an intermission that often only feels like a brief commercial break from an 90s TV show and the action simply shrugs off this interlude to continue on the next page.

The characters, along with the plot, are more than a bit smudgy, and everything seems to get lost in the idea that was probably the springboard for this story. Hannah loses all the characters in and around each other — the four young women, Bo, Jude, Whitney, and Delilah (two of whom were sisters, but I can't remember which two) were not recognizable from each other. Nothing particularly individual set them apart, and I struggled with trying to figure out who said what to whom and when.

The lack of total connection to the outside world was a problem for me, too. This small, isolated town could only be so isolated in reality. Where were the state investigators? Where were the news specials on decades' worth of missing women? Or we could just get down to brass tacks — was this town self-sustaining? Did they provide all their own food? All their own work? All their own banking? All their own manufacturing? It was just too difficult to ignore the true reality of what this situation would prompt.

This one was difficult to read at time. I found it incredibly slow and dull. There were also several plot holes that didn’t make sense and were never explained. I think this could have been really well executed but fell flat.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

It’s taken me nearly six months to finish this book, which I feel says a lot on its own. As someone who can devour a 500 page book in less than two days, taking six months to read something less than 300 pages is very indicative that I didn’t really love it.

The concept is really great, and that cover? Stunning!

The story itself, however, definitely left me wanting. I found it really difficult to differentiate between Bo, Jude, Whitney, and Delilah throughout the story. They somehow all blended into each other, which was unfortunate and confusing.

There was also a lot of flowery writing (pardon the pun) that seemed to weigh the story down, just a lot of over describing that seemed quite cloying. I

The second half of the book was also just…too much. There was so much physical violence and so many injuries that, even with the help of magical sunflowers, I just couldn’t believe these four girls were still walking. Delilah running towards the mothers’ house only hours after her neck had been sliced open and stitched together, Bo somehow still able to open either of her eyes after she’d been taken out at least twice in 24 hours, and Jude somehow still being upright after being shot in the leg.

Never mind Delilah’s absolute hypocrisy towards Jude kissing Bennett when she’d just been kissing Evan and being high and mighty about it.

I also could only suspend my disbelief at the lack of external concern. You’re telling me a town is known to be weird and spooky af, women go missing on the regular, and there’s no state investigation? I’m also wondering how big this town was if a) there’s enough of a population to keep going without bringing in newcomers and b) there was a wait list for an English class? Doesn’t quite add up.


Overall it felt like too much time was spent crafting elegant phrases instead of making sure the story connected together a little bit better. Which is really unfortunate because I do like a spooky/slightly gothic read but I kept having a lot of questions as I read and never really got really gripped into the story.

A huge, huge thank you to 'NetGalley' and 'St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books' for the digital ARC of 'Where Darkness Blooms' by Andrea Hannah.

Let me start by saying this book was the right kind of horror that deserves to be turned into a movie.

Delilah, Whitney, Jude, and Bo live in a town that craves blood, and like clockwork women of the town keep going missing. This backdrop, along with the shifting perspectives between the four girls also help highlight more serious world issues such as rape, the exploitation of women, and the silence that women keep out of fear.

This is a book I think most of my students would be able to appreciate in some way, whether it's because of the horror/supernatural factor, or the tackling of real world issues in a way that's easy to digest.

Definitely adding this to my personal collection as well.
5/5

Couldn’t get into it. Characters were uninteresting and I didn’t really care for the setting either.

DNF. Nothing bloomed for me - overwritten, plot holes big enough to drive several trucks through.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

This was atmospheric and good for fans of Sawkill Girls.

I think the teen you would recommend this to are the ones who look for creepy places and witchy vibes. The characters can be hard to tell apart voice-wise which can work if you're just there for the vibes, as teens usually are. I think they'll find lots to resonate with the navigation of feelings and actions of the girls in the story.

I received this arc for free from St Martin’s Press. This book is available to buy Feb 21 2023.

This is my review:

I absolutely loved this creepy atmospheric ya horror book. The prologue set the tone and then it was off running. It really reminded me of Children of the corn. It was insidiously creepy. The town is cursed. The sunflowers pop up where blood is spilled. The main characters mothers disappeared 2 years ago and these teens lived without their moms. I really recommend this book.

This book is creepy and weird. And to be honest, I just couldn't get a handle on the characters or the writing style. Also I have so many more questions now then I did before. If you like strangely off putting books, this one might be for you.

The book blurb drew me in, and the prologue was significantly creepy enough to pique my interest further, but I didn't love it. The story itself was ok and the characters were interesting in their own different ways. I have no issue with the supernatural, but I find it odd that the "town" allowed 4 teenagers to live alone with no explanation as to why that was a valid solution or that the town has to be 75% male by now, but none of the other residents find this odd or if they do, it is not mentioned. I did like the explanation of the sunflowers, but I was not a fan of the ending and can't explain why without spoiling the story, so I will leave it there.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press-Wednesday Books, and Andrea Hannah for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC!!

Content warning for rape (not on page, but talked about multiple times)

There was a lot about this that I liked! I love a weird sentient location, like when the setting for the story is a character unto itself? LOVE that. It worked very well here, I think! I did not ever think I’d find myself creeped out by sunflowers but here we are!

I also enjoyed the four girls—some more than others, but they were all good! I was impressed at how individual they all felt within the story. The author did a great job of making them all feel like distinct characters with their own motivations and traits.

The end felt a little lackluster to me, but it was still fine. I did appreciate the focus on healing/moving forward/etc. I did not like that it felt like I was supposed to feel bad for Bennett? He can die. He should have died. I don’t care.

Overall, I did enjoy this! It has a good, atmospheric vibe and it was easy to read for sure.

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah is a title that totally caught my eye. Plus, that cover is pretty eye catching as well. The story has a great prologue that made me want to keep going. The storyline has quite a hook, but the pacing drags a bit though it does have an unsettling atmosphere. The main issue I had with this story is that the cast needs to be more fleshed out. I had to remind myself constantly about who's who.

This book was not for me. I found it to be trying to be too much, yet also not very interesting. Each character didn't feel like they had a distinct voice, and I found it hard to keep everyone straight. I also wasn't a fan of the premise, and the ending reveal did not leave me satisfied. I wish there had been so many more feelings and tension present. I hope this finds the right readers.

I was sucked into this book solely because of the cover. That was probably a mistake. This book has great tense feelings throughout the entire book. However, I wasn't a fan of the writing and I felt the premise of the book just barely missed the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for early access to Where Darkness Blooms in exchange for a honest review!

This. Book. I’ve spent the past two days eager to learn just what was going to happen next in Bishop. The characters are dynamic, flawed in ways you can’t help but feel for, and just wanting a taste of freedom from this town that’s taking so much from them all.

I did get teary eyed around 70% in, and I can still feel it now that I’ve finished reading this amazing story. I truly adore this book and can’t wait to see what the author will write next!

5 stars!

"Delilah thought there could be something very wrong with the sunflowers, then why not the wind? Strangeness didn't discriminate between flowers and the breeze."

This book follows 4 teenagers who are trying to put their life back together and carry on after their mothers all disappear on the same day. This isn't uncommon in the small town of Bishop, Kansas - women go missing or mysteriously pass away from heart attacks or natural causes. Delilah just wants her sisters to move on, but Bo simply refuses to believe her mother would ever just leave her behind.

Wow, I was hurt, angry, so upset, and yet in love, with every one of these girls as I read their story. The changing POV between chapters kept me on my toes as the girls work to uncover the secret history of their town and their missing mothers.

I appreciate that the author included a content warning of sorts at the beginning, especially since this covers some harder topics at times and it is geared towards a YA audience. I still recommend it for adults though as this gripped me the entire read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for supplying me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the different narrators for the different POVs. I especially loved the found family essence of this, and the spooky town. Gorgeous and well written with a delightfully perfect cover to match it!

A midwestern folk horror perfect for fans of Rory Power, Where Darkness Blooms is the story of five teenage girls fighting in every way they can against a town that can't be content with already taking everything from them. The multiple POVs may not be for everyone, but each of the four protagonists feels fleshed out in a way that highlights both their best qualities and their flaws. Unafraid to be angry while showcasing all the different ways the world betrays adolescent girls, this book weaves a tale of oppressive patriarchy that never feels like a caricature.

This one is more of a 3.5 for me but I just didn't round up to 4 stars. Our book starts off interestingly creepy with a quick backstory on our land. It's vague but intriguing and has you sucked in for more. Once we hit "modern-day" is when our pacing slows and things get a little distracted. Our main character all lost their mothers on the same day and no one really knows why. Now no one is really surprised considering the town has a history of this happening to girls. Which absolutely no one has really questioned it seems like. We cut between povs of the girls to find out what led them to the day their mother disappears and so on. I enjoyed the creepy factor we're given and the great tension that built up the entire book, the pacing had me flicking through but I was adamant about sticking to it because I wanted to know what happened. Everyone around them seems super suspicious the entire time to me and none of it really sits right, and when you do find out some truth you'll be happy you questioned everyone's motives from the start.