I see what this book tried to do. I really do, but it just didn't hit any spots for me.

Part of that is my own fault for the things I expected from this book and how they didn't line up with what WHERE DARKNESS BLOOMS actually is, but there are also just things about this book that fell flat in my opinion. Though I started with high hopes, the beginning already lost its grip on me. Still I pushed through in hopes of falling in love with the characters, the eeriness, anything, but nothing pulled me back in.

I don't think this book needed four POVs, especially not since none of their voices felt distinct to me. The only one who I could really always tell apart was Bo, who was definitely interesting but still didn't leave a mark on me. Except for that, the plot just seemed really messy to me, and, well, that eeriness I hoped for never really showed up.

There's not a lot I can say besides this to be honest, because nothing about this book really stood out to me. Not in the "this book is not unique enough" way, but as in... it didn't make me feel anything, which is an important factor of enjoyment for me while reading. So, unfortunately, WHERE DARKNESS BLOOMS didn't grip me like I wanted it to. I'm still very, very hopeful for the author's next book(s), but this one didn't do it for me.

Without giving away too much of the content, I enjoyed this story.
The initial premise is set up well, the intro gives us a glimpse into the small towns history and the root of what’s going on. Then it throws you into the modern day and leaves you with lots of questions about what’s happening, and what it has to do with the intro. The story was quite interesting but some of the characterization fell a little flat for me. Interestingly, our protagonist Delilah was the least interesting of our central group, in my opinion, and I was much more interested in what her group of friends were doing/thinking. I think it’s definitely worth a read even if I didn’t fall in love with it, there’s certain to be someone who will!

I know I am in the minority but I could not get into this story. It was too weird and I could not understand it. Parts dragged on, yet the action was good.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book!

This book is so deliciously creepy that I don't want to spoil it by saying too much! I was captivated from the first page and it just kept right on enthralling me.

The writing is incredibly lush and something you can really sink into.

The cover really makes it seem creepier than it actually is.

I feel like I can split this book into parts in the way in which I experienced it. Here's how it was: First 30% - a really slow start, between 30% and 60% - an intriguing story with easy-to-root-for characters,  between 60% and 90% - absolutely getting beaten over the head with the message and themes, the last 10% - a well developed ending.

Anyway. Apart from that, this is actually a pretty good book! The main 4 girls are well developed and distinct from one another. I think that fans of The Raven Cycle series will enjoy this -- the characters have a similar dynamic with each other. The concept of the story is quite interesting in of itself and there were some really twists of phrase used to created a particular image at times. I really enjoyed how characters' feelings were never stripped of complexity -- even if we only saw them experience something for the equivalent of a glance, the multi-layereness of their experiences was always there. Also, the sapphic elements were immaculate. 

The book lacks atmosphere. In a story such as this one, with a magical small town, it's quite crucial to create a really heavy sense of atmosphere, it is what makes these kinds of stories memorable. We never really see much of the town and the magic/horror element doesn't really land quite well because it's not really built up towards from the very beginning, if that makes sense.

Which leads us to my main gripe with this book: it lacks subtlety, in such a way that it makes me think that the author perhaps underestimated her target audience. Everything is very obvious, all the time and, like I said, at one point it feels like you're getting bludgeoned with the message. It was really quite frustrating. I hope you'll allow me one moment to express it: you DO know that young adults aren't idiots, right? You really don't have to painstakingly spell out what you mean to say. You can have subtle themes in YA novels, things don't have to be overexaggerated to the point of almost cartoonish-ness for teens to pick up on what you're saying.

Overall, a pretty good book except for the incredibly heavy handed messaging and lack of atmosphere.

I am extremely grateful for the chance to get early access to this book, however I stopped reading at chapter 6 (14%). I just felt like I couldn’t connect with the book, I’m sure others will love it and get into it better than me but for some reason I just couldn’t get into it.

I will always love and be drawn to books with complicated messy heroines, and the Midwest Gothic setting was a wonderful bonus. I didn't love it quite as much as I wanted to, mainly because I knew what was going on well before the characters did and it was difficult to sustain the narrative tension. Still, I think that was more of an individual issue and many readers who love a good speculative thriller will enjoy this!

I requested an arc of Where Darkness Blooms due to the GORGEOUS cover art which immediately reminded me of the beautiful and haunting cover art of Katrina Leno's HORRID. Pretty girls + flowers/plants covering their faces + horror is MY THING. I had never heard of Andrea Hannah before, but the cover, title, and description had me interested enough to give this book a chance. And I am so glad I did!!

This story is set in the small town of Bishop in central Kansas which is unfortunately cursed by misfortune after misfortune- for women, that is. They just keep disappearing. We follow 4 characters: Whitney, Delilah, Jude, and Bo who live with their mothers. Well, that is until their mothers disappear. Not great.

During a memorial that is held in order to honor their mothers (at the insistence.of Bo), things go sideways which unearths secrets, causing our 4 main characters to begin questioning everything they once thought they knew about themselves, each other and the town they live in.

I knew this was going to be a horror book, so I was not surprised by bad things happening, but what I loved was how unsettling it felt from the jump. It was a slow-creeping horror that had me feeling tense/anxious before anything scary actually even happened. I LOVE that.

This book is FULL of twists and turns. I was constantly wondering and trying to figure out what was going on with the town, the CREEPY flowers (I now have a new fear of Sunflowers, thanks to Andrea), the missing woman, the wind, etc. This book was impossible to put down. I NEEDED answers and needed to know who or what was behind it all. I do not want to spoil anything for anyone so I won't elaborate beyond that, but the ending was ultimately satisfying and was not what I suspected.

This book was exceptional. From the haunting book cover, to the intriguing title to the way it was written from 4 different POVs. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants a creepy, haunting, dark and spooky story that is more than just horror. It's about friendship and loss, pain, and the author weaves all of these elements flawlessly.

4.75/5 stars.. Looking forward to more work from Miss Hannah. This lady knows how to write a gripping tale that won't let you go.

First of all, THAT COVER. Gorgeous. I kind of wish the rest of the book would have similarly blown me away.

I dug the concept for this book. I though the four girls were interesting and the writing was solid. Overall, as a psychological thriller, I thought this was a great story. I like the idea of a "town that time forgot" bordered by all these fields of flowers.

However, I just wasn't as jazzed by the supernatural elements.

Again conceptually, the idea of offering women to the land is interesting, but the execution seemed a little all over the place. Sunflowers and wind aren't terribly scary, but they're meant to be menacing here. And the idea of "blooms" is introduced pretty late in the book and didn't really track with what I'd read earlier. Some "ghosts" are dead people, some are alive. The evil men can brainwash people, but sometimes they can't/don't

I think with the domestic plot line and the histories, needs and desires of these four girls being given (somewhat) equal play within this story, there simply wasn't much room left to do all this supernatural stuff justice. And, ultimately that's the part that's being sold in the cover of this book.

Overall, I didn't dislike this story. (Maybe like a 3.5 for me). I just thought it didn't quite rise to the occasion in the way I would have like it to. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warning for reference to rape. (Which come to think of it didn't exactly serve the story. Isn't cutting women's throats and feeding them to the land enough to make someone a bad guy? Did one of them randomly need to be a rapist too?)

Thanks Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this eARC, these opinions are my own. This was an interesting one for me. In Bishop Kansas women have gone missing for years, as is the case with Bo, Whitney, Jude, and Delilah’s mothers. After years the town hosts a memorial to them at which disaster strikes. Now they will have find out what is really going on in this town. I thought the depth of the history of the town and characters was well done! The first chapter hooked me from the start! The descriptions were well done. I enjoyed this and if you enjoy a good mystery you will too!

This was definitely a spooky read, perfect for gloomy days and stormy nights! Just make sure to beware the flowers. They have a mind of their own.

What a remarkable book. This was absolutely haunting and gorgeous. These four flawed and strong heroines captured my heart, every single one of them. Jude, heartbroken by the boy who suddenly dropped her for her friend Delilah. Whitney, Jude's twin who lost the love of her young life to a seemingly random tragedy. Bo, deeply traumatized by a boy and trying to navigate her rage to find herself again. Delilah, trying to discover why her mother suddenly disappeared two years ago. These four beautiful girls lost their mothers on one night two years ago and they'll do everything they can to figure out what happened. This was just so wonderful, every piece of it. The beauty of female friendship, the harm men do to women, and how we can harness everything within ourselves to not only survive, but to thrive.

Where Darkness Blooms, by Andrea Hannah was a book that I could not put down. Literally could not. From the moment I saw the cover debut, I knew it was a book I wanted to read. The cover is gorgeous.

One thing I like most about books are characters. Especially well developed characters that I could relate to. Throughout the book, I heavily related to both Bo and Delilah. Those two are a perfect mesh of who I am to my core. Jude made me so mad throughout the book. I think it’s because I was friends with a Jude in high school and it brought back all of the memories.

I did suspect a few things along the way and ended up being correct, which I love. However, it wasn’t so predictable that it annoyed me. There were several moments that I had to fight the urge to message Andrea Hannah on Instagram because I was shocked at a scene.

Last, but certainly not least, if you like a book that can paint a picture in your head, as if you are watching a movie, then you will love the exquisite use of imagery with this writing!

Long standing curses, power, nature magic, and the ultimate strength of friendship and belief in each other. Strong characters facing strong evil and intertwining threads that weave a tapestry of evil, loss, and ultimate redemption and finding home. A must read!

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I did thoroughly enjoy Andrea Hannah’s writing style. The book had a great pace to keep the readers going. The story was intriguing from the beginning. Jude, Delilah, Whitney and Bo all live together. Their mother’s have gone missing like many others in the town of Bishop, Kansas windstorms and endless sunflowers are a normal occurrence. I enjoyed the book had multiple POVs and how each character stated picking up on the small things about the town. Overall it was a great read and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

This book had a great concept, and I thought the prologue and narrative were very interesting, but it honestly ruined the twists of the story for me. I did still enjoy it, just not like I thought I would!

Such a different type of story but one I could not put down. A town plagued by lies, deceit, and mysteries. Where do all the women go? Follow a group of girls that are left to fend for themselves after their mothers mysteriously disappear from a town that won't let anyone leave.

Ultimately, this fell flat for me, but I really loved the concept and wanted so badly to enjoy it more. It's so frustrating when you can see the potential but it's just not hitting any of the marks for you.

The first thing I have to say and what really is still baffling for me is that the entire plot and twist of the book is given away in the prologue I am honestly at a loss for words why the author would do this, and the only thing I can think of is that she thought the book would focus more on the characters and so it would be okay that there was no element of surprise. But the characters were all extremely flat, to the point I got all of the girls mixed up because their voices all sounded the same and they didn't have unique enough personalities to distinguish them.

And even if the prologue hadn't given away the narrative and story, I had to keep putting this book down out of sheer frustration due to how predictable every single little thing in this book is. I can only have so much patience for main characters that are willfully obtuse, or characters that refuse to see and understand things for the sake of propelling the 'mystery' forward. Knowing which characters were bad and what was happening so long before the main characters got on board made for an unenjoyable reading time. There was also a random love triangle thrown in right away that I felt was unnecessary and took up too much time in the plot.

It really felt like the author wanted this to be more character-driven than it ended up being. Besides the characters being one and the same and flat, there was a lot of exposition that was either never explained or explained too late and so I was very confused the first 25% of the book (which is how long it takes until the actual plot starts btw). The writing felt like it was trying too hard to be introspective and deep, and its floweriness was underwhelming. And I like more detailed writing. But it just lacked any emotion behind the words and so it didn't work for me. I need to also emphasize how repetitive much of the writing was. I had to read the author describe something as 'feral' wayyy too many times. Using that word unironically and repeatedly in general was mind-boggling. Also, the villain 'chuckles' way too many times as well. It just felt overdone to me.

Overall, between the plot that's literally spelled out for you before you begin the book, the incredibly boring and similar characters, overly cartoonish villains, and a too-easily wrapped up ending, this book did not accomplish for me what I think it set out to do. But as I said at the beginning of my review, I wanted to like it. I love this new push for the spooky/gothic Midwest that so many books are doing. I just feel like this one could have been so much more.

What is going on in the small town of Bishop!?

When their mothers each go missing, four young women are thrown together in a ramshackle house and form an unlikely glued together sort of family. They each feel differently about the circumstances that led them together: some want answers; others want to move on with their lives.

Told in alternating POV, Where Darkness Blooms is a slow-to-build story of grief, love, and perseverance all steeped in an unusual mystery.

With great atmosphere and some gorgeous prose, this book will appeal to readers to YA coming of age stories, magical realism, and those who like an offbeat mystery.

The story does have some pacing issues and some may find the climax with some things to be desired, but overall the story is a unique and strange tale.

3.5 stars rounded up for that gorgeous cover!

An intriquing read though I had difficulty continuing on. It seemed that the book was drawn out at times. Not a bad read, but not one of my favorites. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.