Where Darkness Blooms is a unique, captivating horror novel that deals with intergenerational trauma and what it means to deal with trauma at the hands of men. Andrea Hannah's talent as a writer reflects across the pages through her plot and her characters. All four of the protagonists (Delilah, Bo, Whitney, and Jude) have separate voices that are clearly distinguishable from each other while also complementing each other extremely well. Something that I think Hannah did particularly well is how there isn't really a Big Twist that most horror novels have, but this novel doesn't need one. The dread, anticipation, and genuine horror of Bishop and its curse are terrifying enough without a big shocking twist to throw the reader. I mean, there IS a twist, but it's not necessarily a surprise when you get to it, and it takes a great writer to be able to keep a horror plot moving along and remain engaging without having a Big Twist thrown in.

Overall, I'm so impressed with this book and would highly recommend it, especially to fellow lovers of eco-horror! Trigger warnings for sexual assault and very mild gore apply, so please be aware of that and take care of yourself if you decide to read this wonderful novel!

3.5 stars. As soon as I saw the cover of this book-AMAZING-I knew it was going to be my next read. Ever since reading The Ruins by Scott Smith I have been obsessed with horror plants and looking for another book to fill the void. These excerpts gave me that creepy 'flowers-watching-you-vibe' and I absolutely loved it.

"She looked around. The clearing was eerily quiet, the wind nonexistent. Even the sunflowers' heads drooped, completely ignoring the sun. Like it was satiated. Like they were satiated."

"Bo had always known that this town was creepy around the edges. The whispering sunflowers and hellish windstorms. The missing mothers."

I definitely got the mystery and horror vibes from it, although I could have done with a little more horror. I struggled with the main characters. At one point they all melded into one and I had to reread a few times to remember who's point of view I was reading from again. There could have been a little more world-building. I couldn't picture it and I just wanted more. All in all, I did enjoy reading this and I would recommend it to a friend. I think this author has a lot more to offer and I will be reading more of her books!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

To begin thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this.

I did enjoy the story overall, I thought the opening was so strong and got me into the story. I was interested in the lore of the town. Why did it need blood and it’s origins.

But it I feel like the book is trying to balance two storylines 1) the town mystery and 2) the complexities (romance and the dynamics of a small town) without diving into either all the way. With that I got characters mixed up several times.

I feel really f the book was a longer we’d have more time to dove into the lore of the town and the girls.

I really thought this was a beautiful, however, it was pretty slow. Not that that is always a bad thing, but for this book, it seemed a little unnecessary. Nevertheless, I did really enjoy this book. I liked the ominous spooky vibes and that fact that the main characters were likable. Another things that other reviewers have also pointed out that I noticed was how confusing it can be to follow all four girls' inner dialogue, along with that their mothers were added in as well so it was tough to remember who was who at times and which mother belonged to which girl and so on. I did think the ending of this book was worth it, even though it took a little while to get there. I think that younger readers would really enjoy this, it's a unique read with an interesting premise.

3.5 stars/5

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an arc. I received this arc free and my review is based on nothing but my own opinions.

I never thought I'd read a book that made sunflowers seem creepy to me. And yet here I am.

The town of Bishop is surrounded by an endless field of sunflowers. It also has a lot of missing women. When a group of girls become fed up after their mother's disappear, they go searching for answers. But if they aren't careful, they'll become the next to disappear.

This will appeal to those who like spooky small town secrets and women brave enough to fight back. Outside of the overall mystery, each girl has their own inner turmoil they are battling against, adding very personal stakes to solving the mystery of Bishop. I'd also say the mystery is a bit of a slow burn.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*Review may include slight spoilers*

First and foremost, I commend the author on one simple thing that most authors seem to neglect : trigger warnings (which include SA, implied sex, death/stabbing, and underage drinking). Thanks for the heads up 🙂

This book started off great: beautiful cover, intriguing prologue, the promise of an epic mystery. But it took my 70% of the book to get to that promise. 🥴 But once you get to that last third of the book, oh boy, does it take off and leave you hanging on for dear life.

Down to the nitty-gritty. My biggest complaint: all the girls inner dialogue reads the same and blurs together, even though they each experience different things.

Nonetheless, it was overall an enjoyable read. An imperfect friendship that survives against all odds. A sweet, sweet revenge after a terrible crime. A beautiful love between two humans. And a mystery about a peculiar town.

I loved the symbolism of the flowers. That even though a terrible thing happened, a beautiful flower grew in its place. And while it's mystery led the reader to believe the flowers were evil, they were a reminder that people never really leave you, even after they're gone.

Well worth the read, I recommend! Over 3.75⭐

One of the reasons I requested this book was the cover, it’s so beautiful, and the premise of the book sounded intriguing. In my opinion this is a slow moving book, and the payoff did not exceed the expectations of the journey. Whitney and Bo were definitely characters I gravitated to most and I feel like this book has potential, i just feel like I needed more out of it than what I got.
Thank you for letting me read :)

I received this book via NetGalley, thank you!

I enjoyed the basic premise of this book. It was different, a little bit spooky, and overall an enjoyable story. I did however find the characters hard to follow. There were 4 teenage girls living together, and their personalities and backstories blended together for me. I had to keep going back and rereading sections trying to figure out who was who, and who was doing what at certain times. Then there was their mothers added on top of it, and trying to remember which mom belonged to who and what was specifically important about each one and their relationship to their daughter(s). It was a little too much to track character wise for me, leading to some confusion.

One minor and silly thing I cringed a little at was when one of the girls was reviewing an address book that was used "before the internet" to get a phone number (because apparently the shop wasn't able to use email at the time they were utilizing this book, due to the lack of internet?). She looked at the publish date of the address book, it was 2003. She called it ancient. Meanwhile back in 2003, I and every other teenager was coding their own MySpace page on the internet, and also regularly using email, instant messengers, etc. So that was just... a little off!

I do wish there had been more detail gone into with the curse and the wind and sunflowers, and how these girls were able to just figure it all out. A lot of it seemed as if all the answers so easily fell in their lap. The curse itself and the sunflowers is such an interesting concept, I want to know more! I like how *****spoiler***** the sunflowers weren't the evil part at all, even though they came across as so ominous earlier on in the book. That was a great twist and I loved where that took the story.

I read a lot of YA and typically do enjoy what I read. This is one that I think had I read it when I was actually a teenager I would have really loved it way more than I did reading at 35. So I highly recommend it for the younger audience as it is actually intended. :-)

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the arc!

Where Darkness Blooms is a rural ghost story about four girls whose mothers all disappeared two years prior. Lost women are common in Bishop, Kansas, where the sunflowers are watching and the wind is alive. Women die all the time, and the girls have to choose between being the next victims or the first to leave.

It took me a bit longer than I’d liked to get into the story, but I was hooked soon after. The idea of whispering winds and magic in a non-fantasy book was a bit confusing. However, I think the small cast of characters really helped to solidify the plot. Also, this was the first time in a while that I still liked the brash and cold female character in a novel. Bo was a firecracker but still super compelling. The others were a bit flat and really depended on their romantic relationships to shape their stories—which is annoying—but since that’s kind of the main point of the story it’s ok. Overall, this read like a campfire story which I am always here for so it was super fun.

I really enjoyed this! It started out a little slow but the second half was addictive and I read most of it in one sitting. I became so invested in the characters and I could not put it down. The mystery was really good and each of the characters was well fleshed out and developed. Overall this was a great read and I'd recommend!

Where Darkness Blooms is a fantastic spooky read about sentient sunflower fields, a small town where women going missing or dying unexpectedly is the norm, and four teenage girls who have had enough.

I was instantly drawn to the cover of this book (it's so beautiful!) and the premise was so intriguing. I honestly couldn’t read this book fast enough. I was so hooked!

Sunflowers are my favorite and who knew they could be so sinister! The atmosphere is amazing and the suspense keeps a tight grip on you as the mystery unravels.

The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it doesn’t release until February 23rd, 2023. I’m itching to have a physical copy of my own!

CW: discussions of sexual assault (implied, later revealed), stabbing/death, sex (implied), and underage drinking

*Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for an eARC!

First off I have to say I love this cover, it's really eye catching. The story had a creepy atmosphere and the twists kept me guessing.

This book was creepy, powerful, moving and thought provoking. This book speaks on sheer determination and just how strong anyone one individual can be when faced with no other decision but to be strong or to give up. I will never look at sunflowers the same way again!

Thank you, St. Martins Press, for allowing me to read this story early!

First of all, I adore the gorgeous cover. And I love that I judged this book by its cover (in a positive way) because I really liked the stpry as well, especially the diverse rep. The pacing was a bit slow at times, but furthermore: fantastic!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

First, I love the cover. The art is so beautiful and dark and I was expecting some body horror here like Wilder Girls.

Okay, I was obsessed reading this book. I had to finish as quickly as possible. It started off on heavy notes and I was so curious to what was going on. The suspense was killing me the whole time. I absolutely loved the tension and the twists and turns it took. When the answers starting lining up I was up late and early to read and figure out the ending.

This story is an interchanging POV between a group of 4 friends who live together in a town where women just randomly die or disappear. Their mothers have disappeared two years ago and they are still grieving and searching for answers to where they’ve gone.

I didn’t really mind anyone’s parts but Jude. I kind of flip-flopped between hating her and feeling so sorry for her. The person I felt the most for was Bo. She had so much hate and rage inside her because of her assault and her mom disappearing and I wanted to just hug her.

The supernatural elements were subtle but used very well. The wind talking to people and leading it places, the sunflowers being able to watch people, and the way the land seemed to be crying out for more and more. The end was satisfying yet I wanted more pain for those who’d wronged the girls.

This is probably one of my favorite books I’ve read in a while! I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future!

I'm not gonna lie, that cover is the reason I requested this book. Look at it, it's gorgeous.

Where Darkness Blooms follows four woman (Delilah, Whitney, Jude and Bo) as they uncover the dark secrets of this small town named Bishop known for disappearing women, heavy wind storms and seemingly endless sunflowers.

The setting is amazing. A tiny rural Kansas town, sunflowers, windy and storms. The imagery is great, I can vividly imagine the town, the endless sunflowers, the wind. It was the perfect amount of show and tell, the author painted a great picture.

The plot was interesting. It does an amazing job interlacing female's being treated as less than with the plot, and that was really well done overall. In this town women are treated as less than the men, much like they are in society still to this day, and any woman who digs too deep or talks too much is a problem. I also love how this book acknowledges that trans women are women and that just because they weren't born with female parts does not make them any less female.

Which brings me to to my next point. There is a very diverse cast of characters, and I loved that. But I just did not feel connected to them at all. They could easily be one character and I think it would have been so much better if Bo was the only main character, she had the most depth and it was a shame she didn't see much development. They feel like they have so much potential but they really fall flat, weren't very developed and didn't feel real at all. I think that's just because I really can't relate to them, and that may just be me but they just aren't pulling much from me at all. I loved Evan and we really only saw him a few times before he died, we didn't know much about him but I still felt more for him dying than any of what the main characters went through and were dealing with.

The whole thing with Delilah, Jude and Bennet is ridiculous and felt like just an added layer of unnecessary drama. Everything that happened as a result could just have easily happened if there wasn't a love triangle.

The plot twist really wasn't a twist at all and I find it hard to believe none of those girls connected the dots until it was written out for them that the Hardings controlled the winds and that they sacrifice the women for the curse. I mean, come on, they're not dumb.

Honestly I had to push my way through this one. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the plot, the setting, the descriptions, it's just I hated the characters, which made it so hard to read, I nearly DNFd it but I really wanted to see this one through. Overall I think a lot of people would enjoy this one, I'm still giving it 4 stars, but the characters definitely need better development.


Goodreads review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4826734404

Instagram review link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfwJuuihlOa/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion!

When I saw this cover I immediately knew that I had to read this book and I ended up truly enjoying it. The setting and characters were both amazing and I loved the plot. It was a little bit slow at first and hard to get through but that changed later on. It wasn't the best book I've ever read but i really enjoyed it.

This cover pulled me right into this book. Never thought i would be so freaked out by sunflowers. Thanks, #netgalley.

Four girls, brought toegther by their mothers' friendship, are abandoned to fend for themselves in a town with a murderous and secret past, and full of evil shitty dudes.

I enjoyed this book. It was creepy and interesting, but i wish the clans powers were more explained/ explored rather than them just kind of being able to do everything. I felt the tension in all of the relationships between the girls, and while two had a good resolution i don't see them so during it their issues and i surely would not forgive the adults in my life so easily. However, it was unpredictable and i thought had a good resolution. Curse breaking is always satisfying.

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah follows a group of four teenage girls who live in the town of Bishop. The town is known for an endless field of sunflowers and a recurring theme of missing women. The aforementioned teenagers are committed to cracking this case and figuring out what has happened to their mothers!

I was really digging the premise of this book along with the potential of how things could turn out. I was hopeful that I'd make connections to these girls and feel engaged within their story. I never really felt totally immersed in what was happening, I always felt like an outsider looking in. I think the biggest thing that made the consumption of this material a struggle was the multiple characters who are so tightly bunched together they almost become indistinguishable. For the first part of the book, I found myself confused trying to figure out who is who and identifying the different personalities and what makes each girl unique. I think the development of these characters didn't come to fruition for me, by the end of the book I still didn't feel those connections that I feel so easily with other characters and series. I couldn't even tell you who my favorite character was.

I would recommend this book to the younger crowd - I think my teenage self might have enjoyed this book more than me in my early 30s...even though I am no stranger to enjoying YA. If you enjoy small town vibes and following a group of tight-knit friends solve a mystery - this one is for you. Bonus if you like supernatural elements.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press along with NetGalley for the ARC in return for honest feedback.

Where Darkness Blooms is a dark, twisty YA novel about a small town where the sunflowers seem to be alive and women are mysteriously disappearing.

The setting was so eerie and something felt off right from the beginning. I thought the writing was fantastic, and the characters were well fleshed out.

I really enjoyed, I think many YA mystery readers will love Where Darkness Blooms.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.