What a great cover! I love this style of illustration a lot. Often magical realism is pretty black and white, for me. I either really like it or I really hate it, there is very rarely a grey area. But, this sort of made the grey area for me. I loved the magical atmosphere and the writing style, but the pacing was not my favorite. I just felt that it was sort of inconsistent and would sometimes cause the story to drag so much. Overall, I liked it, but I do wish the plotting/pacing was a bit tighter!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

First off, lets give a round of applause for the cover because it is absolutely gorgeous. It also perfectly represents the vibe of this book. The small town of Bishop, Kansas is surrounded by an overwhelming amount of sunflowers and people rarely leave. If they do, they are women, missing or dead by mysterious "medical issues." When the mothers of five childhood friends disappear, they band together for lack of any better options and start uncovering the dark secrets of their hometown.

This was a very atmospheric read and I enjoyed it quite a lot! The fact that there were five main characters and I actually cared about them all really caught me off guard. I love conspiracies, elemental creepiness, thought provoking plot, and this had all that and more. I loved that there was a sapphic romance subplot so so much! Sunflowers are my favorite flower but now I will forever look at them different and just wonder,,,My favorite character was Bo because she was so characteristically human. Loved the different emotions she went through and how her growth really unfolded.

I did wish that there had been a more in depth explanation to the full extent of what the hell was going on, but everything else made up for that, in my opinion. The general gist was clear but I think some extra details would have made it feel more cohesive overall. Definitely look forward to reading more by this author!

Thank you, NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book!

Can I just say this cover is gorgeous?? It also perfectly encapsulates the vibes of this book which are spooky, but magical and very much small-town mystery, which I love! The premise drew me in from the very beginning, and I definitely saw the magical realism and atmosphere present throughout the book. The writing was beautiful, but at times it could really drag which took away from the experience for me and space could also feel really slow at times. But overall, I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it!

3.5

Bishop is known for its recurring windstorms and endless field of sunflowers. But some have started to notice something else about the town: how frequently women go missing. When three women go missing, their daughters are desperate to find out what happened to them.

This book started off pretty slowly, but eventually picked up. However, it didn’t hold my interest as much as I thought it would. The atmosphere was spooky and the whole thing with the sunflowers was interesting, I just felt like there was something missing from the story that didn’t make me as invested in it.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention.

This book captured me with its cover. I was expecting something rooted in dark fantasy but this wasn't that. I suppose it was more of a mystery-driven drama, though there were fantastical elements. The premise was full of promise, in fact. However, there were a lot of things taking me out this book while reading. It was a little jarring right off the bat by having the story begin 2 years after a major event that is referenced the entire story. It just felt like an odd place to start. The pace was also unsteady and often slow. The writing was good but sometimes too drawn out, to the point I lost interest and would begin skimming paragraphs. The town is weakly described and I could hardly picture anything that warranted interest from me. This was unfortunate because settings are just as important as characters to me. Speaking of, the characters blended together with ease. I wouldn't say anyone really stood out, except maybe Bo. Everyone else was easy to mix up and no one was likeable really. I wanted a weird and twisty story but this one felt dry too often for such an interesting premise. And why did it seem like we talked about bonfires so often? Sadly, this title disappointed me.

What in the world did I just read! In the best way!!! This reminded me a lot of Rory Power’s YA novels, which is a huge bonus for me personally! Very much enjoyed this strange feminist tale!

This felt haphazard to me. At time I wanted to scream at the girls for not talking, they each had a part if they had only talked. The story was disjointed and hard to follow sometimes, that doesn't mean it was bad it just means that it was sometimes a little harder to read. I didn't like the characters at all in the beginning, but I couldn't stop reading about them either, This just left me feeling very mixed, I couldn't decide if I loved or hated it. Everything was answered or was it? This one takes some unpacking I think.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

Bishop is a town of sunflowers, storms, and secrets. It's a town where women mysteriously disappear. It's a town cursed. Delilah, Bo, and sisters Whitney and Jude share not only a house in Bishop but also the pain of having their mothers vanish overnight. Will they be able to confront the men of Bishop who seem to be behind the curse? Or will they hide behind their own secrets and lose more than their mothers?

Andrea Hannah's Where Darkness Blooms is a thriller that gets under your skin. The setting is as much a character as the girls, and it's all adds up to a delightfully eerie atmosphere.

Where Darkness Blooms has a lot of potential and it did keep me reading until the end, but overall I found the story a little flat. I had trouble connecting with the characters and telling the four girls apart for most of the beginning of the book and found parts confusing (like the fact that they all shared a house, and had done so before their mothers had disappeared.)
I liked the elements of the spooky town and the mysteries it held, but I also felt like we knew the answer to the mystery based on the prologue and the fact that it was pretty obvious who the bad guys really were. I also wish there were more to the relationships between the girls, it was a lot of telling that they were close or had been in the past without showing. Also, I really could've done without the endless descriptions of dust floating in the air and landing on people's lips almost every chapter. The writing felt repetitive at times and that made the story drag on. But honestly protect Bo at all costs she deserves the world!

This cover! Have you seen this cover? Okay, I know! I know! I know! I’m not supposed to read a book based on its spectacular cover but this one caught my eye with its beauty. Just look at it! It’s horrifyingly gorgeous. It screams welcome to the twilight zone. Let my plants feast on your eyes and your flesh. It just gives you the chills.

I knew way too much about this book going into it. I made the mistake (like I always do) of reading the synopsis and it ruined it for me. The synopsis gives away too much information and definite spoilers. Whoever wrote that synopsis needs a quick slap. It basically ruined this book for me. The story would have been so much better if I went into this blind. I think we all need to learn that lesson.

This story was a decent one even though I knew what to expect. I liked the idea of a small corrupt town with terrifying secrets. It gives off Children of the Corn vibes and we all know how much I love anything horror. If you didn't have trust issues, to begin with, you do now after reading this book.

Where Darkness Blooms was good but not as spooky as I was led to believe. The cast of ladies in this was all spectacular in their own way and not one was better than the other. They were all strong and sassy. That's what we all love in a main character. This will make you think again before you trust anyone with your heart and your soul. And remember to always listen to the sunflowers, they will lead you to the path of righteousness.

This story follows four girls, Delilah, Bo, Jude, and Whitney, as they unravel the mysterious deaths of women in their town of Bishop, Kansas. Bishop is familiar with two things: raging winds and sunflowers. Both seem to follow the people in town, staring as they move and acting up at the most inconvenient times, always limiting the things they are capable of doing.

After their mothers' disappeared, the four girls struggled with the idea that they would just up and leave them behind, especially from the town that seems to be keeping them all in. Two years later, and three deaths more, the girls begin suspecting something strange is going on in town, especially after they discover a bloody knife and charm bracelet in an empty field. They are determined to get to the bottom of it, especially after more things start revealing themselves to the girls.

Will they be able to discover the secrets their town has before anyone else gets hurt?


I found this book to be enjoyable overall with its unique concept and interesting storyline. There were some faults with the repetitive beginning and character building/development. The development of some actions felt a little silly, such as Delilah running back to the house after finding out Jude and Bennett were involved.

The writing could use some more refining as there were many grammatical errors throughout. However, this is something I would recommend to other. Overall, I give this story 4 our of 5 stars. The story kept me entertained and reading as it went on.

I found myself incredibly bored while reading. The characters were flat and underdeveloped and tended to blur together, the pacing was strange, and I was just confused most of the time because I couldn't keep all of the POVs and plot lines straight and the plot had some serious issues. Also, where were the horror elements? A lot of the horror/thriller "elements" seemed more like an aesthetic to me and that may have been okay for a YA if the atmosphere wasn't so severely lacking. Overall, not a bad book at all but it just really fell flat for me. I DNF'd over halfway through.

This book started off with a bang and never really loosened the grip it has on you. It was a wild ride from start to finish and I was desperate to find out what happens next.

The one big item I would call out is to potentially move the story of Bishop's origins to later in the book; perhaps after the details of Eleanor's murder. This will help to elicit a more sinister vibe of the townspeople vs just the land. In the end, while the land thirsts, it's the Harding family that are the true monsters.

Separately, it would be more interesting to learn about the madness within the family and would provide a better foil for Bennet's character as he vacillates between his "destiny" vs his "heart". As it stands, the ending is a bit annoying because it reduces Jude's character to a besotted femme fatale and provides redemption for Bennet, despite everything. In addition to Bennet gaining an ending he doesn't necessarily deserve, the mothers being alive actually triggered more anger than relief or happiness. Cori is the only mother to express regret over leaving her children in a town filled with homicidal maniacs and a malicious patch of dirt.

The true ending is where the girls break through the sunflower field and see the road. As a reader, who likes to live in the book's universe a bit longer, I like learning what happens after. However, I'm not sure if the current ending amongst the girls adds anything to the story.

Overall, this book was an adventure to read, but there are a few edits that could help to produce a wicked punch to the ending.

I can’t even explain it but this book gave me such Pretty Little Liars vibes. (But with a touch of the supernatural) It felt like the sort of YA book that would have been given a television series circa 2008. The story felt pretty original although there weren’t really any unpredictable twists. I felt like things mostly played out how I expected them to until the very end when I was just annoyed with some character decisions. Plot points were mostly wrapped up nicely. (Again, I sort of just want to shake some characters and scream at them. But like there were answers given. Just not satisfactory motives, I guess?)

Overall, I liked it! It took me a moment to get into but once I did, I really enjoyed the story.

Love the cover and the description sounded like a great read. DNF, unfortunately. I found the story hard to get into. The multiple perspectives were a bit confusing at times and I would have found it more compelling if the storyline started a little earlier, before the mothers disappeared.

A book filled with everything I love. Spooky mystery, female leads, multiple POVs and thriller. I loved this book. Great writing and great plot.

The prologue and the final chapter were the standouts here and created the haunted atmosphere I wanted that the rest of the book lacked. A strange town, sunflowers that demand blood, a century of missing women -- I was beyond intrigued but the book just didn't deliver. Instead I was met with four POVs (& I'm a reader that LOVES a full cast of characters!) of angry girls without any defining qualities or characteristics; their voices all sounded so similar that I genuinely couldn't differentiate between them.

I wish the romances would have been written out completely. I get it, I was 17 once, but daydreaming about afternoons spent with a sun-kissed boy immediately after learning that boy probably murdered people and is cheating on you *while you're also kissing another boy* had me rolling my eyes. Visiting your murdered girlfriend's grandmother in a nursing home to hopefully learn the truth about what happened to her..and instantly having FEELINGS for the cinnamon-breath girl at the front desk... pass.

The cover is absolutely gorgeous and the opening chapter completely captivated me. I just wish the entire book was just as good.

I really loved everything about this book! It felt spooky and isolating, but still modern and feminist. I loved all the characters and the way the story was told by rotating the focus on characters individually by chapter. The writing was just beautiful, though I did see the phrase "stuck like a burr on a sweater" twice. I think more metaphors like that one would have solidified the Midwest setting a little more. I wasn't sure I really bought that they were in Kansas based on the characters' use of language. If not for the tornados and sunflowers, they could have been anywhere. But on the whole the writing was so excellent. I felt like I could picture everything perfectly in my mind, whether the characters were in a flowershop or an art studio.

I enjoyed the way the story unfolded, with the girls recalling things that happened in the past, leading up to the present. The scenes felt like clues to help the reader figure out what's really going on, however implausible. The action scenes felt tense leading up to the climax and I had grown so attached to the characters, I was anxious to see what would happen.

I thought this was a fantastic supernatural mystery with a touch of horror and the feeling of true crime. I would love to read more from this author, especially on the same themes!

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley. This review contains some spoilers.

This book takes place in a town called Bishop and is from the perspective of four girls: Delilah, Jude, Whitney, and Bo. Their town is known for having a great deal of sunflowers, strong wind storms, and missing women. Two years before the start of this novel, all of their mothers went missing the same day.

To be honest, there were several confusing things happening in this book. The four girls wait until two years after these events to look into their mothers' disappearances, for some reason. Somehow in over a century of this town, enough people kept the secret about the cursed land the town was built on. The prologue gives away the secret of the town straight away and we're left watching the protagonists figure it out. The narrative choices seemed to lessen the sense of urgency, and created a plot hole at the very end that was frustrating to conclude with. In this book about women and violence against women, its prologue and, more jarringly, its epilogue are from the perspective of men. 

The structural issues with the narrative were incredibly distracting but the characterization of the protagonists was inconsistent and homogenous. It was difficult for about half of the book to tell the difference between them. 

I'm giving this two stars because I think it was actually very fun to see how the mystery came together based on the different experiences of the protagonists. And I enjoy watching women beat the snot out of horrible men.