Thank you to the Author and Publisher for the ARC!
Characters were written very well and felt real. Lost myself completely in this story and was a fast read for me. Loved the mystery and gothic dark feel to it.

The summation is better than the book.

This was sadly a DNF for me. The multiple viewpoints were confusing, I couldn't get into the writing or the characters and I just didn't find myself wanting to continue reading this one.

I'm incredible disappointed. I won't be reviewing elsewhere.

I’m automatically interested in any book with a cover that has a girl with flowers growing out her face, and Where Darkness Blooms met all my expectations. Spooky, dramatic, and atmospheric—I read this in one sitting because it’s such a page turner.

The setting is fantastic. Small Midwest town surrounded by giant sunflowers? It’s simple yet captivating, and the town itself is like a character. Four POVs is a lot, but it works because each girl has their own plot that weaves seamlessly with each other.

It felt a bit rushed throughout, but I don’t think most teen readers will mind at all. It moves fast enough that you really have to focus on what’s happening right now, and that doesn’t leave much opportunity for the reader to try and guess what’s happened to the missing women. But when it’s revealed, it seems like it should have been obvious but I was really impressed by the execution because I didn’t guess it.

I really loved the start of this book with the Bishop chapter. A town, Bishop, is known for missing women and endless amounts of sunflowers. It’s a town founded on blood, quite literally. This book has a strong concept. There were things I liked more than others but overall a good addition for #spookyseason
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Thank you Wednesday books and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

ARC was given by NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (February 21st, 2023)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Death, murder, depictions of blood, loss of loved ones, grief, abandonment, underage drinking, mentions of cancer (in the past), trauma, talk of rape, mentions of drugging, gun violence, violence

“The land had always been parched but it’s thirst for blood was learned.”

Wow, friends! I absolutely devoured this book! In two days, TWO days, I read and finished this book! It was just one of those books that I just couldn’t put down. I had to know what was about to happen next, I had to know if any of these characters would redeem themselves, and let me tell you, this book didn’t disappoint. It was a great, spooky, thrilling time and I was here for it! Plus, the cover, the sunflowers, lured me in and I didn’t realize how big of a role they would play!

“Where blood had been spilled, sunflowers grew over the unmarked graves.”

Our story follows the four perspectives of four friends who have all lost their mothers in the small town of Bishop, Kansas. Yet this is nothing new as women of all ages seem to disappear in the town of Bishop for a long while now. Delilah, the one who looks out for everyone, trying to keep them all safe, but who also wants to move on with her boyfriend, Bennett Harding. Whitney, twin sister to Jude, who’s grieving for the loss of her mother, but the loss of her girlfriend, Eleanor. Jude, who fines it hard to communicate with everyone, but who had a fling with Bennet Harding that summer and find herself still in love. And then there’s Bo, a soul full of rage for many a reasons and demanding answers for all the odd things that don’t add up or make sense. As strange things begin to happen and secrets come to light, these four girls will have to decide how far they’ll go to uncover the truth and to protect each other.

I had a lot of mixed feelings on these characters and I feel like I have to say, these characters aren’t perfect. They’re flawed and morally grey, and they may not be quite what you expect. Though, I really loved Bo and Whitney as characters. Both of these characters felt raw in their own way and I really loved the way the author built them up to the very end of the book. I think they both got the endings they deserved and even though both of their endings were still emotional, it was still nice to see their story wrap up the way it did. However, I really didn’t like Delilah or Jude, especially Jude. Even at the end of the book I still felt Jude hadn’t redeemed herself in anyway possible and I almost wish she had been killed off or the author went the obvious route with Jude’s character. Delilah, on the other hand, I just didn’t personally connect with. And I also want to say that the way Delilah’s character is written, it almost seems like Delilah has a sensory disorder or sensory sensitive, but then later on in the book it’s addressed as some special ability to “detect evil” and it made me feel a little weird and uncomfortable at times. So that was a whole thing that added to the mixed feelings about Delilah’s character as a whole. Needless to say, I had a 50/50 split when it came to these characters.

“So much had happened in the last two years. They had all lost so much. But no one had lost all that Bo had. No one wanted to be found as much as she did.”

The mystery of this whole story was so captivating and I’m so glad I was wrong about the sunflowers. Look, I can’t help that the cover made me believe there might be killer sunflowers in this book, okay? I’m so glad I was wrong though! Sunflowers hold the meaning of adoration and loyalty, but it can also hold other means in other cultures like harvest and bounty in Native/Indigenous culture or good fortune, vitality, and long life in Chinese culture. So naturally, from my own sentimental connection to them, I adored the sunflowers, the role the sunflowers came to hold within this book, and the way the truth about them unfolded at the end of the book had me so soft and emotional in the way things seemed to come full circle. It was all beautifully done and I’m probably being more sentimental about the sunflowers than I should be. I digress! We do get some paranormal elements laced into the story as well. However, I like how they weren’t a huge part of this story. It was just casually sprinkled in and I think it was just the right amount. Plus, it kind of plays a tiny, key part of Whitney’s perspective. It was a nice touch!

The book as a whole is very atmospheric and very mysterious. It really has the small town vibes to it and as we all know, small towns come with their secrets and sometimes dark histories. I think that’s what pulled me in the most at the beginning, the way this small town was established. I love stories that play to the small town vibes and take that theme, and run with it as far as they can. I think the author did a really good job at making you feel like you’re in a small town that holds a dark secret, just waiting to be discovered. I also want to mention that the storyline builds up quickly and especially near the end, you can feel how high the stakes are.

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

However, I did have some issues with this book. I think my main issue with this book was a lot of things felt very obvious in the direction it was going to go. For example, it was very obvious there was going to be a betrayal from one of the main characters we follow. If not, multiple betrayals from that one particular character. Another example would be the way the book ended. It’s just very obvious from the 75% mark and it kind of chipped away at the mystery a bit. The other thing I did really like was a scene where Bo decides to end things and honestly, it was anti-climatic. It felt like there should have been more to it except there wasn’t and it just turned out the way it did. It felt too easy and like there should have been more. Honestly, that part was a bit of a disappointment and I just wanted more especially since Bo’s character has so much rage within her.

“She ran straight into the sunflower fields, praying she’d come out on the other side alive.”

Overall, I really enjoyed my time reading this book. As I mentioned above, I read this book in two days! It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that quickly in such a short amount of time that wasn’t a novella or short story. I also don’t want to reveal too much in this review because so much ties in with main plot or climax moments, but it was so good friends! I really enjoyed my time reading this and the need to know all the secrets and mystery behind what’s happening was a great pull. If you’re looking for some new books to put on your anticipated 2023 release list or if you’re looking for mystery thrillers with small town vibes, this is one to keep your eye out for!


The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Where Darkness Blooms is a supernatural, YA thriller about a town built on blood, closed off from the world by an endless sea of sunflowers, and protected by gale-force winds. It centers on four girls – Delilah, Bo, Whitney, and Jude – who lost their mothers to the town two years prior. As they try to piece together what happened to their mothers and all the missing women before them, the town - and the wind - grows angry... What is it hiding? Why do the sunflowers watch and whisper to the girls? Will they meet the same fate as all the women before them?

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gets a solid four-star rating. It was interesting and very well-written. I often felt like I was in the story too, standing with the girls in Bishop, Kansas, feeling the wind whipping around me and listening to the sunflowers. For me, that’s the hallmark of a good story – when the words become a movie in my mind.

My favorite thing about this book was that it was told from alternating points of view – each chapter was told from the perspective of one of the four girls. The author expertly jumped from one point of view to another without breaking the flow of the story. It kept moving forward (and it all tied together) regardless of who’s voice was telling the story.

I noted a few minor holes (e.g., it seemed to be set during the present time, but there was no explanation for the lack of cellphones), and it would have been interesting to learn more about the evil underneath the town, but these things did not detract from the overall story.

Definitely 100% YA. The right reader will give this an easy four stars. I am not the right reader. :-)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

The small town of Bishop has a history of disappearing women, so when three more go missing one night, few people raise a fuss. The only ones concerned are their four daughters: Delilah, Bo, Whitney, and Jude. Delilah is trying to hold things together for her family, Bo is battling a dark secret, Jude is secretly in love with Delilah’s boyfriend, and Whitney can’t get past the unexplained death of her girlfriend. When the secrets buried in Bishop start to surface, they realize something terrible may have happened to their mothers, and they might be its next target. I received an invitation to read a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books. Trigger warnings: death (on-page), rape, abduction, captivity, severe injury, blood, stitches, sexism.

This was one of my most anticipated releases this year, but it fell short of expectation. It’s possible I was hoping for too much out of it, but the whole thing just left me lukewarm. I think the biggest letdown was the lack of horror, and there’s very little development on whatever is cursing the town. That’s not to say all books need extensive world-building, or that there’s something wrong with leaving the supernatural parts vague–sometimes answers are much less interesting than questions–but it didn’t really work for me here. On their own, wind and sunflowers just aren’t that frightening.

The real horror of the book, of course, is the rampant sexism and the way the men of the town are completely fine with sacrificing women for personal gain. It’s a message I can get behind, and the human villains are definitely worse than the supernatural ones. It handles a number of important issues, including rape, with sensitivity. Unfortunately, a lot of the plot is sidelined in favor of petty high school dramas and uncomfortable romances, which are probably better suited to its target audience than adults venturing into YA. Sometimes it’s really clear to me that I’ve aged out of YA, however much I still enjoy it.

I didn’t have a problem with any of the main characters, but they all ended up sounding very similar. It could be hard to distinguish whose chapter we were in, and the differences between the four main girls are already starting to run together on me, with the exception of Bo–love a smol, angry queen. I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it, but it’s probably not something that will stay with me.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

A fun, creepy YA book that asks a lot of questions. Some of the answers are confusing, but the overall vibes of this mysterious town is worth the price of admission.

Great idea but was somehow lacking in execution. There was a creepy atmosphere and characters were just okay. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This book absolutely blew me away, I'm not even sure where to start with this review. I'm glad I got to read this in October because this book is immaculate for reading during spooky season. I'm not usually one for "horror"; though this is a YA book so it's not over-the-top in terms of disgusting things. So, if you're like me and get scared more easily, this is the perfect supernatural book for you.

Out of the four main characters - Delilah, Jude, Whitney, and Bo - I loved all of them, but Bo especially. I loved that they all had such unique voices in their chapters. When books have big casts, sometimes I think it's easy to fall into a lull of "I forget who's speaking right now, who's chapter is this again?" But you won't find that here.

Each character has their own wants and needs that take shape early on, and all of them are fulfilled by the end. You start to get a sense of what's going on right before the 50% mark of the book, though you'll still be guessing right up until the end.

I loved the plot. This book is definitely one you can binge over a few days. I had certain hopes for the ending (especially relating to Bo) and I'm glad to see my predictions came true. The ending was satisfying in itself. Overall, one of my favorite reads this year, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Where Darkness Blooms is a creepy and thrilling tale about a town in rural Kansas where women die frequently and the cursed land requires blood. The supernatural components in this book were great and I appreciate the ominous feeling the land provides. At times, I thought the storyline felt repetitive but overall I appreciated the tale. If you’re into spooky reads, I would recommend checking this out.

Good book about a forest that craves blood and multi POV. The writing wasn't really my style, but I think this will find its audience for sure.

What a delightfully creepy little story! I was expecting a mystery, but what I got was a strangely awesome combination of gothic horror, magical realism, thriller, whodunnit and of course, a brand-new fear of sunflowers. Thanks a lot. The four main character POVs were hard to follow at the beginning as they all sound the same, but as I got into the story, it became easier to determine who was doing what.

Before starting this one, budget a couple of solid hours to do nothing but read. You will not be able to put it down before you get answers!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A really great book with supernatural elements that were "out there" but not so much that you questioned reality. I really enjoyed this book.

Bishop is a town that is known for windstorms, sunflowers and missing women. Three women disappear and no one bats an eye. The daughters of the missing women start to question what had happened, but the cases are closed. Delilah, Bo, twins Whitney and Jude deal with the loss of their mothers differently. Bo has a feeling that the locals are holding on to some deep rooted secrets and wants answers. Will this town hold on to the long held secrets? Or will it claim more victims. A riveting thriller with breathtaking twists and turns.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Where Darkness Blooms is part magical realism, part coming-of-age story, part mystery, and all gorgeously written. The creepiness of the town of Bishop is just *chef's kiss*. The main characters are flawed and brush aside red flags and rationalize their situations for far too long, and honestly I LOVE that. How often do we rationalize weird stuff to ourselves in our own lives, especially if "that's the way it's always been" or if there are outside forces influencing us?

For me, the prologue did take just about all of the mystery out of what could have been the "big reveal", but that put more focus on the moment-to-moment crises the fearsome foursome were having, which was an interesting change of pace from a lot of thrillers/mysteries. I am not a writer, but I can't help but wonder how the experience would have been different if the prologue had been an epilogue instead?

Overall, I absolutely loved the spooky small town vibes of this book. I never thought sunflower fields could be scary, but I guess you learn something new every day!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing a digital copy of Where Darkness Blooms in exchange for an honest review! Where Darkness Blooms will be available February 21, 2023.

So I love going to the sunflower festivals annually...take a bunch of pictures....yeah not anymore. No thank you.

Why did they have to take sunflowers and make them so creepy? But, really this was full of twists and turns and I wanted to know all of the answers as soon as possible. This is one you want to finish in 1-2 sittings max because you need to know the truth.

I will say some of the POVs [there are 4] confused me because the tone or language in a couple were very similar. It might have actually been more effective or enjoyable with 2 POV in order to be more concise. However, loved the mystery and the spookiness!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishing team for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In the town of Bishop it is known for two things: the recurring windstorms and the endless fields of sunflowers that stretch far and wide...... and the one other thing.... all the missing women. When three women disappear on one stormy night, no one really questions it except for their daughters: Delilah, Bo, Jude and Whitney. Now they all live together, each of them trying to survive and figure out what happened to their mothers. Delilah has been looking after the girls but she’s also been hiding a secret: the touch of her boyfriend is painful to her, she can’t bear it, but she pretends that everything is fine. She thinks she is suppose to love her boyfriend Bennett but every time he touches her, her skin feels like its being painfully zapped. Bo can’t bear the touch of people... not after the night in the cellar... not after what he did to her... what he took from her... now she is rage personified, she can’t feel safe anywhere, and she is determined to find out what happened to her mother. Whitney has just lost both her mother and her girlfriend Eleanor. Eleanor was found mysterious murdered and Whitney needs to know what happened to her. Jude, Whitney’s twin sister, has had a secret fling with Bennett, Delilah’s boyfriend, and she is still in love with him. Each of these girls will be forced to confront the secrets they each hold while also discovering just how sinister and dark their town actually is... and who is responsible for the murders of all these women and the fact that they might be next. This story for me felt underwhelming and frustrating, it has all the things to be a fantastic read and definitely sounded like it was up my alley but it just didnt meet expectations and just fell flat for me. The relationship between the girls weren’t well fleshed out and some of their actions and thought processes were so juvenile that it had me pulling my hair out. Also the fact that one of them was sexually assaulted but no one really brings it up or discusses or does anything to really talk to the girl who was?? seriously??? The only character I actually liked was Bo, she was the most fleshed out and empathetic character out of all of them. The final battle/ confrontation was underwhelming after the set up of the story and I just felt like there was something missing. Overall, this one was a miss for me but definitely check it out if you are looking for a cursed small town story with multiple protagonists and be sure to read the trigger warnings before going into it.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Andrea Hannah's Where Darkness Blooms is a supernatural thriller about an eerie town where the sunflowers whisper secrets and the land hungers for blood.

What is not to love about this!
My favorite things were
-magical realism
-mystery in a small town
Could use a little work on character development and the multiple pov was hard to keep track of at times.
Definitely will check out more by the author