Maybe thrillers just aren't for me? Maybe I just have high expectations? I felt like suspense was building the whole time, I was just waiting for something to happen. But when it finally did it felt like a let down. I wanted to be like scared to turn the lights off. Mostly I just felt a little bit creeped out.
I think its a really interesting concept and the quality of the writing was good. It had a clear plot line it followed. But emotionally it didn't conjure the feelings that I wanted. I guess it kind of felt like there wasn't a twist. It seemed kind of obvious to me what was happening as I read it, so when it got to the end, where things started happening, it really only clicked the pieces I had into place. It didn't really add an element of surprise for me.
More of a 3.5 rounded up.

When Holly's brother, Dane commits suicide, she finds it suspicious. Determined to discover more about what happened to lead up to his brutal death, she befriends his girlfriend, Maura. Except, it doesn't end there. In order to find out more, she decides she should move into Maura's house which is convenient since her roommate is getting married soon and is looking to get a place with her fiance. So, let's just recap this once more... When Holly suspects that her brother's girlfriend may have had some involvement with her brother's death, she decides a smart idea is to move in with her to see what she can discover. This naturally puts her at potential risk....so that makes sense, right?

This book was a bit of a mind twister. Just when you think you have it pegged, things seem to change. When it seems clear that something is a certain way, you just can't be sure. It almost seems too easy. is it or isn't it? Overall, it's a tricky read. It's a bit creepy and quite clever.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This book started off really well for me, then got really weird. It wasn't a bad weird, but not at all what I was expecting. I went from 65% to done in one night because I couldn't leave it where it was. Simply put, I had to know what the heck was going on. It was so freaking strange. Trigger warning: this book does include lots of talk about mental health issues and suicide so if that's a trigger for you, this is not a good book for you to pick up. There are also lots of discussions about drinking and drug use, so be aware of those triggers as well. Overall, this was a good read though. Kept me reading which is the point of the book!

3.5

Oddly enough, I read this along with another book that ventured into the occult and both were very creepy. I don't read too many books in this genre (mostly because I can only handle so much gruesomeness), so it was a coincidence that both books read concurrently could be classified as gothic horror. However, this one was written by an American author, and the other by an Argentinian author and translated from Spanish and the atmosphere was very different.

This was dark, eerie, mysterious, and queer, and it felt more like witchcraft of sorts (humans messing with the power of botanicals) than demonic powers/outside influences as in the other book. Holly, the main character, is reeling from the loss of her younger brother, who apparently committed suicide, and while he showed signs of a mental breakdown near the time of his death, a message he sent to her just before it happened makes her suspect that there was more to it than a simple suicide. This leads her to make some questionable decisions (in a movie, these things would make you yell, "Don't do it!") but something drives her, a mixture of guilt and a magnetism her brother's girlfriend possesses.

I found the story to be disturbing, yet compelling and even though I would yell at her to leave or whatever, I wanted to find out what she wanted to know. The story reminds me (in an atmospheric sense) of Mexican Gothic, and I think people who enjoyed that book would like this as well. I enjoyed the writing and found it engrossing, even if I had to occasionally put it down because of the images conjured.

I believe this is a debut book for the author and I congratulate her on it. I look forward to reading future books by her.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for feedback. Recommend for fans of Mexican Gothic

“Such Pretty Flowers” is K.L Cerra’s debut novel. The story focuses on Holly and her brother Dane. Two siblings who were incredibly close until they inevitably grew apart. When Dane commits suicide, Holly is devastated. But as she starts to talk to Dane’s girlfriend and the other people around him, she realizes that there’s more to the story, and she is determined to find out the truth.

I would say this story is for anyone who loves ‘southern gothic’ or ‘southern noir’ type books. This is a fast read and it does have some weird aspects to it, but I personally found them entertaining. If you’re into trying horror books that are a little out there, this is definitely worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group (Bantam) for the ARC of this novel.

Unfortunately, the vibes for what this promised and what it delivered did not match and not as ghosty as you would expect with such a premise.

Thank you, Netgalley and Batam Books, for providing me an ARC copy of "Such Pretty Flowers" by K.L. Cerra. This is a southern gothic thriller with an addictive narrative voice and intriguing, mysterious plot. Well written and easy to read, you follow along the narrative of a woman who is reeling at the lost of her younger brother to suicide. With the tragic loss of her brother, she becomes increasingly suspicious of his stranger girlfriend and the odd occurrences leading up to his death. Could not put this down! Would recommend for anyone who enjoys modern gothic thrillers with a dash of horror.

Was really looking forward to this one but could never fully connect to it. It’s described as being a Gothic Horror story but I never felt like it was dark enough to ever have Gothic vibes. I feel like there was too much going on for there to be enough depth, whether with the characters, the setting, or the horror elements. On top of that Holly was such an unlikeable character I could not get myself interested in the mystery.

A southern horror story set in the most haunted, eerie city in the world, Savannah. Holly's brother has tragically passed away, leaving her with only one message "Get it out of me" His cryptic text sends Holly on a wild chase involving his former fiancée, Maura.

This bizarre story fails to fully bloom, yet it is original. Holly is an incredibly frustrating character as she kept putting herself in situations she should know better, but does it anyway. This novel was also not very atmospheric considering its setting and label of southern gothic.

I also found the romantic storyline between Holly and Maura ill-placed, and felt it like a grab to be more titillating for the reader. It had potential to be something mind-bending and terrifying but it didn't root itself to be a good story.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the complimentary copy.

In Such Pretty Flowers, Dane is graduating college and moving in with his new girlfriend, Maura, a florist. Dane’s family begins to see that he may be dealing with some mental health challenges. However, weekly therapy does not prevent Dane from soon killing himself in a most unusual way. Holly, Dane’s sister, believes that Dane wasn’t suicidal and suspects Maura may have had something to do with his death. Despite having no clue what she is doing, Holly decides to investigate by getting close, really close to Maura.

Such Pretty Flowers is marketed as a modern Southern gothic, which it is. However, it frustrated me like a Mary Roberts Rinehart Had-I-But-Known plot. Could Holly be any stupider? Constantly taking huge risks for minimal payoffs isn’t brave, it’s just idiotic. Towards the end, I was hoping she would get killed just to take us both out of our misery. However, I realize that this opinion is solely my own so 3 stars for a well-written book that was just not for me.

Thanks to Bantam Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Not gonna lie, I have no idea what to think about this one! There are so many aspects where it's mystifying that the main character Holly acted the way she did, but she was never ridiculous enough that it annoyed me to make me want to stop reading.

There was definitely something missing that i couldn't place my finger on, but not enough that I didn't enjoy it. Though lmao I did love the way the botany played a part in the ending.

Overall a very strange weird. Captivating but not my absolute fav.

Thank you very much to Bantam and NetGally for a chance to read and review!

Trigger warning: suicide, mental health conditions

When Holly's brother Dane completes suicide, Holly and her family are left stunned. He seemed to go from a happy college student to a severely depressed young man in a matter of months, and Holly can't help but feel like his girlfriend, Maura is somehow to blame. Right before his death, Dane texted Holly some weird messages saying that Maura wanted to "play a game," and that "something was growing inside him." But as Holly begins to investigate Maura and ingratiate herself into her world, she finds herself becoming both obsessed and frightened by her brother's former girlfriend, a florist who specializes in strong, sometimes dangerous plants. Will Holly be able to escape Maura's spell, or will she be her next victim?

This book was so fascinating and original, with a spellbinding young florist being the main focus of the thriller. Maura is a mystery and it was such a great ride as we watched Holly trying to unravel the puzzle that is Maura as well as figure out what happened to her brother. It was an amazing complex puzzle that was filled with twists and turns. I finished this book in like two days because I was just so hooked on figuring out what was going on.

And the ending is just insane! It was so original and unique! I loved the concept, and I don't want to spoil it so I'll keep my mouth shut about it. But it was truly unique, which I appreciated.

Also, the author played the "relationship" super well. It would have been super awkward to have Holly just start a relationship with her dead brother's ex (and she mentions this), but her draw to Maura is undeniable so the author creates this tension, which just rows, even as Holly becomes frightened of her. It's an obsession and a repulsion pulling her both ways. It's written really well.

Overall, this book was really intense and interesting. I recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting thriller with some unique qualities.

Have you ever fallen for someone you shouldn’t have? What if it was your brothers fiancé? Even worse what if your brother had died upon mysterious circumstances and you still fell for his fiancé?

In this one our main character falls for her dead brothers fiancé and mysterious things to start to happen. This one was recommended by both Layne Fargo and Gillian Flynn and other then that I haven’t seen it around much, but I knew I had to give it a shot.

It’s classified as being thriller/mystery/gothic/horror and I can def see why it was put in those categories. It was def a unique read, or in my case a unique listen. It kind of reminded me of a Blumhouse horror movie. Kind of weird, but also kind of intriguing. I would love to see this get adapted by them or Netflix into a movie.

@britpressley was the narrator in this one and did a phenomenal job. I don’t want to give anything away, but if you are looking for a unique read with queer representation and a twist of horror and gothic vibes def check this one out!

Such Pretty Flowers had beautiful and exquisite writing and was an eerie gothic and mesmerizing tale that was hard to put down. Overall, a unique, queer story that I would recommend to those who love gothic horror.

Such Pretty Flowers is seriously a spine chilling tale and will sit with me for quite sometime going forward. Holly's brother dies by what they say is "suicide", she becomes instantly suspicious and even suspects his girlfriend. Several events unfold and it eventually escalates into holly falling for her - who saw that coming? I found myself questioning everything that I was learning along the way. I very highly recommend this one.

I've been inching into horror just a little bit. But not gory horror, more psychological will mess you up if you think about it too long horror. I have to admit I fell for the cover before the plot on this one but holy moly, this was such a ride.

Set in Savannah, the story focuses on our main character Holly who has just lost her brother to suicide. All Holly knows is that her brother sent her a cryptic text and hours later, he was dead. When Holly sees her brother's ex at the funeral, she starts to hatch a plan to find out what really happened and works at getting to know the ex, Maura more and more. The more she gets into Maura's life, the more she finds out and the creepier the book gets until everything comes to a head at the climax.

I thought K.L. Cerra did such a great job at making the discomfort creep up on the reader. One minute I was fine, the next, I needed a security blanket and stuffed animal just to make it through. It was such a good read. I wish it had come with some content warnings but I'm sure they are out there, I just didn't look for them.

Such Pretty Flowers is out now wherever you buy books. 3.5 stars.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆. 𝑺𝒂𝒘 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒅, 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆.

(tw: suicide) Holly’s younger brother Dane took his own life in a brutal and tragic way, only months after moving in with his new girlfriend. Holly thinks something is off with his girlfriend, Maura. After the opportunity presents itself when her roommate plans to move out, Holly moves in with Maura so she could investigate and stalk her. But she’s in over her head, and she might not find a way out.

This was such an eerie, atmospheric read. The writing style was beautiful, and it made Savannah, GA and the flowers come to life. The descriptions and prose was fascinating. The storyline and plot was unique, and it reminded me of Bunny by Mona Awad in the best ways.

Holly is a determined main character. Even when she got distracted from her goal, she always found herself right back on track. Maura is very interesting, and she’s written amazingly as a master manipulator.

Overall, I enjoyed the creepy, Southern Gothic vibes, the queer elements, and the original concept.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of this. My thoughts are my own.

This was a really engaging thriller and as someone who has read a lot of thrillers, it’s typically hard to impress me! I really enjoyed that we weren’t waiting for a twist ending, but existing in the tension of wtf Maura was up to and why. I’ve read reviews that other readers didn’t like Holly and hated how she behaved, but that was the part of the story I most enjoyed. People stricken by grief and anxiety often don’t make logical choices. Holly is proof that people do crazy things when they are hurting. I loved the botanical elements as a garden nerd and just generally thought the entire concept was really well done!
Also, the text from Dane saying “GET IT OUT OF ME” in chapter one was the ultimate hook. Such a great way to draw readers in.

Thank you to NetGalley, K. L Cerra, and Bantam for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A dark and gothic thriller that had so much more to it than your typical popcorn mystery. I loved the story and the characters, despite themselves.