Andrea Hannah's debut Where Darkness Blooms is a dark delight for any fans of folk horror.

Bishop is an isolated town where the women disappear in the sunflower fields that stretch for miles and a strange wind prevents all rescue attempts. Delilah, Jude, Whitney, and Bo have known since their mothers left without a trace. Too wild, some of the townspeople muttered. The women were too restless. But an incident at the memorial unearths a clue that sends the lives of these girls on a tailspin – Delilah, who hears screaming whenever her boyfriend touches her; Jude, who loves someone she should not; Whitney, who her dead girlfriend haunts, and Bo, who carries traumas of her own. Their mothers are gone, but can others be saved before Bishop drains them of their blood?

Hannah crafts a gothic book drenched in sunlight and storms. I felt utterly compelled to finish the story in one night, shivering at the visuals of the ever-watching sunflowers and the blood that seeps into the soil. While the aesthetic is present (the sunflowers will give you creeps), and so is the beautiful prose (the inner narration about rising with your trauma!), Hannah knows how to craft a strong plot with a sisterhood at heart. These girls are angry and messy. They make mistakes and try to do the right thing even when their town pushes them into a corner. Their POVs are balanced nicely, allowing the mystery to unspool organically as they each take on different parts. I could go on for paragraphs about the strengths of their characterizations as protagonists and how they move the plot forward. I could also go on for more paragraphs about why folk horror is such a great genre because of the talent in this book. (Pssst, preorder The Gathering Dark that comes out this September), but I will let the readers discover that for themselves.

Where Darkness Blooms is perfect for fans of Claire Legrand and Courtney Gould,

NetGalley and Wednesday Books provided an ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded up
This was so close to being a book I could have ranked amongst my all-time faves, with the spooky midwestern gothic atmosphere and the supernatural theeat being very much rooted in a real-world terror. However, something just seemed to be... missing. The four main characters are primarily compelling in regards to their relationships with one another (and others outside of their little family), but this made it difficult to distinguish them as individuals. The antagonists are (perhaps purposefully) vague, but the lack of insight into their characters is equally frustrating. There were a lot of emotional beats in this book that felt like they ought to be important, but failed to land with the impact they could have had because of this.
However, it was a compelling ride to the end and the mysteries surrounding the town kept me intrigued until the end. Overall enjoyable!

An incredible, powerful, stunning novel that left me breathless at times. The atmosphere, the writing, the characters, and the premise all had me hooked and sufficiently creeped out at times.

This is such an amazing book, and a hard one to adequately review. All I know is this is one of my favourite books I've read in a long time and this is a must-read.

A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me an arc in exchange for an honest review,

What a weird, exciting book this is! The story starts out vague but it is so compelling to get to know the 4 girls as they deal with their loss of their mothers. Delilah, Jude, Whitney, and Bo are each unique characters who add a little something special to the story. Their relationship makes the story pop with life.
The plot is weird but unique as well. It is similar to Children of the Corn but also has The Handmaid's Tale influences. It is a story about female oppression but also a story about powerful female's who take a stand against the injustices they face.
The only downside I saw was the final few chapters. The ending was fitting but at risk of spoiling it, the chapters after the 'ending' didn't sit well with me. I couldn't fathom the reasoning of the mothers. I would be interested in a sequel about the girls' lives going forward though as I had a hard time putting this book down.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes novel ideas and strong female characters. Anyone who likes mystery and horror would enjoy this too, even though it's not horrific, the underlying theme is disturbing.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

As soon as I saw the cover for Where Darkness Blooms I knew I had to read it. The story is easy to follow and I liked pacing from the very beginning. I can't say much about the world or things that happened, but this book definitely brings mystery/horror vibes.The atmosphere and the characters were amazing.
The imagery was also really done well. Overall I would highly recommend checking this one out. It's new and fresh.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review is of my own thoughts.

Wow! Just wow! I'm blown away by the story of the four girls from a dusty small town in Kansas, where sunflowers stand by the thousands, waiting, whispering. The author did a marvelous job in weaving the emotional trials of each girl together, making you wanting, no needing to read the next chapter to find out what happens next. The ending left me teary eyed. You can feel the passion of the author in this book. It's going to be one of my top favorites of 2022! Thank you Wednesday books for letting me read such a gem!

honestly this didn’t do much for me, couldn’t get past the first few chapters. i wasn’t engrossed by the story or attached to any characters in particular.

Thank you Rivka Holler, St Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for inviting me to read and review this title! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The land of Bishop, Kansas craves blood and demands sacrifices be made while the townsfolk live there. Hauntingly beautiful and eerie Where Darkness Blooms is a story about four teens whose mothers disappeared two years ago. While either trying to move on or figure out what happened to their mothers, the four main characters Delilah, Bo, Whitney and her twin sister Jude delve deeper into the towns lore as more women disappear and are dying all around them. Nothing is what it seems in Bishop and it might just kill them to find out the truth...

The writing is intriguing and kept my attention until the very end. Each of the four teens have their own POVs and I disliked reading Jude's. It wasn't because of the author, it was because of Jude's actions and her naivety towards Bennett, Delilah's boyfriend. Andrea Hannah did a very good job of keeping me invested in her characters and their lives.

The story is gruesome, unforgiving, and memorable. There is LGBTQ representation and it was perfectly written.

I thought the sunflowers being the voices of the many lost women of Bishop was a clever and emotional concept. I liked the way each of the girls viewed the flowers and how they handled their realistic grief.

I highly recommend checking this book out if you've read: Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne, Small Favors by Erin A Craig, and/or The Wicked Deep by Shea Earnshaw!

I did have one small negative and that's the parents. I didn't like the mothers decision to up and leave their daughters without either taking them or leaving some sort of anything behind so the teens could find them. It was really sh*tty and I wouldn't be as forgiving as some of the girls were. Yeah I'd be happy to see my mother alive and well but they literally left their kids behind to die.

I enjoyed this creepy and anxiety inducing story overall! I think many YA mystery readers will love Where Darkness Blooms.

4 stars

Beyond amazing! This book was an incredible read and I can't recommend it enough. This is a book you'll want on your shelf and to give as a gift. Everyone needs to read it.

Wow. The atmosphere is so rich in this strange little book, a book where the land craves blood and the sunflowers seem to talk and corruption runs deep and sinister. I was hooked on this book from the very first page and I am so grateful to St Martin's Press for offering it to me and putting it on my radar! This is absolutely one to keep an eye out for, a creepy little tale set in the town of Bishop, Kansas. It was pitched to me as being suitable for fans of Courtney Gould and that comp is spot on. If you liked The Dead and the Dark, you'll like Where Darkness Blooms!