Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.
What a stunning debut! I was hooked right away. Perfect for the spooky seasons of autumn and winter. With seances, spirit companions, mystery, darkness, and overwhelming/all consuming love, readers won’t be able to put this one down. And can we just stop and swoon over that cover?!

Finished this in 1 day and just couldn’t put it done! This is something I never read and it was such a good surprise and I love it! What captivated to read this was the cover it’s absolutely stunning! I highly recommend this book. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book to read.

I was captivated by Roos, Ruth and Agnes from start to finish.

My Darling Dreadful thing is a tale woven from the perspective of Roos, our troubled first person narrator, and notes from the doctor tasked with ascertaining her mental state - because she’s been accused of a gruesome murder.

The clever combination of the two means you’re constantly on edge: chasing more details to put together the story, left wondering what the truth is, and feeling like you’re always a step away from finding it out but not quite close enough.

Roos’ voice is compelling and at times deeply unnerving. Her animalistic descriptions of her spirit companion Ruth are both horrifying and (grossly) delightful. There was never a moment in reading this book that I wanted to put it down - although there were points where I had to so I could digest what I’d just read.

If you like queer (specifically sapphic), atmospheric gothic horror you absolutely need to read this book.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. It was extremely thought provoking and left me feeling very uncomfortable. It was like reading about a train wreck. It's disturbing yet at the same time fascinating, and you can't look away. The dark, gothic theme and psychological aspects of the story were hauntingly beautiful and portrayed very well by the author. I was confused about Ruth and the spirit companions though. I'm stumped on whether they were real or imagined for comfort. I can't say that I loved this book, but it made me feel a lot of emotions. Some good, some bad. And that is why I gave my high rating. If a book can make me feel like that, it deserves high praise. If you are into gothic, disturbing love stories then this book is for you, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to the author, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

I can’t explain the ache I felt upon finishing My Darling Dreadful Thing. I can’t explain the grief I felt or the tears I shed.

I am enamoured and awed and completely, utterly devoted to this story. I wanted to be explicit in my review and provide a thorough deconstruction of my thoughts but I simply don’t think I can. This book was nearly perfect—so nearly perfect—and is, in a way, my own darling dreadful thing. Two things I wish had been better executed: the passage of time was a mystery to me, and I felt a disconnect between the year(s) this story takes places versus when it felt like it should be taking place (late 1800s, in my opinion!).

I loved Ruth with my whole heart. Her attachment to Roos felt so sacred and fragile; I sobbed and sobbed on chapter 32 until I remembered I had a few more chapters to go.

The writing was sublime and I yearned for more of Ruth and Roos’s interactions. I adored Agnes, please don’t get me wrong, but something about Ruth shifted something in me.

I cannot wait to read this as a finished work as I know it will be a favourite again. Thank you to the author, Johanna van Veen, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

oh, this was good. creepy, gothic and filled with beautiful writing? Hell yes. i was instantly hooked from the very first pages and only got more invested as the story progressed. will say as the book neared the end, i found myself bored with the turn of events that were unfolding and the answers to the mystery, which lie at the centre of the novel, felt lacklustre imo. regardless it was still a pretty, solid read.

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for supplying me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

It seems I'm in the minority, but My Darling Dreadful Thing did not work for me whatsoever. For full transparency, I DNFed it at 41%, and refrained from a star rating for my Goodreads review.

Johanna van Veen's prose is serviceable, but delivers almost no plot to speak of. I made it about halfway through before throwing in the towel, and still each chapter barely differed from the last. I felt like I was living some kind of literary Groundhog Day, a feeling likely exacerbated by the fact that it was taking me so long to get through. I would put it down because I spotted a shelf that needed dusting, and, after completing every household chore I could possibly think of, would feel absolutely no compulsion to pick it back up again.

The setting is unique - I can't say I've read any other gothic romances set against the backdrop of the Dutch colonial empire, and the period and ongoing process of decolonisation is always a rich and interesting one - but it didn't feel particularly well researched or authentic. Or, at least, it wasn't explored fully enough for my tastes, which was a shame.

On top of that, the text is littered with strange, amateurish asides that could easily have been cut down upon in editing. Why are there so many descriptions of food? I understand the references to cultural dishes and the purpose they serve, but at a certain point, I felt that Agnes' Indonesian heritage was well enough established that overlong descriptions of household mealtimes became redundant and, quite frankly, tiresome.

As is usual for me when I leave a book unfinished, I won't be assigning it a star rating, and just because it didn't work for me, does not mean I don't think it will work for anyone else. In fact, if you are primarily a romance fan, as opposed to being primarily a horror fan; if you enjoy a slower pace and a historical setting; if you like high fantasy-esque descriptions of food; if you like your books with just a touch of darkness, and you prefer vibes over plot, My Darling Dreadful Thing might be the pick for you.

So, on the first page, we meet our main character, a young woman with quite a unique friend – a bestie who can actually possess her body. They, along with Mama, use this talent to hold fake seances for grieving clients. But things take an unexpected turn during one of their sessions, and suddenly, they find themselves in a decrepit mansion with more than just secrets to uncover.

I absolutely loved the hybrid first person and epistolary narration in this book. We get to uncover the chilling details of a horrific incident involving our main character through a clever blend of first person accounts and tantalizing doctor's reports filled with dialogue. The constant doubt cast by the doctor's sections adds an extra layer of intrigue to an already unreliable narrator. I was left questioning everything, never sure what to believe. It's a brilliantly sharp, witty, and edgy storytelling technique that kept me hooked from start to finish.

The author's reverence for the Gothic genre is palpable, evident in the exquisitely crafted descriptions of eerie and dilapidated settings, the lingering influence of the past on every character, and the use of paranormal elements.

It's dark, it's gothic, it's sapphic, and I absolutely adored every single moment devouring this!.

This queer gothic tale is a beauty, both well-written and engaging, with some gorgeous (and often gross) imagery. The story follows Roos, her spirit companion Ruth, and her caretaker-cum-lover Agnes, and is told through Roos’ recollection of a tragic event as well as transcripts from sessions with a psychiatrist. I was gripped and couldn’t put it down, and felt very attached to Roos. I’ll definitely be recommending this title and look forward to reading more from van Veen.

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


“How else does one show the strength and sincerity of one’s love if not through suffering and sacrifice?”

When I first laid eyes on the cover, I was genuinely drawn to dive into this read. However, I must admit that this novel didn't quite resonate with me. Despite being a commendable sapphic gothic horror with vivid depictions of both psychological and physical terror, it somehow fell short for my taste.

The initial pace was a bit slow for my liking, and I struggled to establish a meaningful connection with the characters as I had initially hoped. Some chapters leaned heavily into descriptions, while others seemed dominated by dialogue. It wasn't until the middle that the narrative found a harmonious balance, capturing my attention more effectively.

Surprisingly, the ending managed to captivate me to the extent that my rating increased by a star.

Despite my general opinion, I do think it's a worthwhile read. So, don't let my review discourage you from picking it up!

The cover draws you into the book. And the words keep you captivated!
You can’t help but feel bad for Roos. The poor girl who has a spirit companion forced to work for her mother doing seances. Until a wealthy widower meets her and shares the same passion for spirts that cling to them.
She has to explain her whole story to a doctor who must figure out if insanity or a crime of passion occurred. Such a great horror love story

I found this book engrossing from the first page and devoured it in a single day. I just kept coming back to it. There are some content warnings, which are included in an advisory at the beginning of the ARC (and, I assume, will be in the final version of the book). Here are my content warnings: child abuse, sexual assault, spousal abuse, self-harm, child loss, homosexuality as mental illness (historical time period appropriate), incest.

To give a quick summary of the beginning of the novel and introduce some primary characters: Roos has a spirit companion, Ruth, and conducts fake seances under her tyrannical and abusive Mama. Agnes Knoop, a widow of Indonesian descent, comes to one of these seances and shares a moment with Roos that, soon, turns into a full-blown relationship when Agnes buys Roos’s freedom and Roos moves into Agnes’s estate. They are bound together by their traumas, their experiences with spiritual companions (Agnes has one, too, named Peter), and love.

The book uses a split-narrative structure. Most of the narrative is first-person perspective from Roos. Between these sections, there are interviews between a doctor and Roos that, we soon learn, are meant to determine if Roos is competent to stand trial for murder. A split-narrative structure like this can be tricky to balance, but van Veen does so expertly. The two sections dovetail each other, each supplying pieces of information needed to fully understand the whole story without supporting one interpretation over another. It also allows van Veen to offer to the viewer the choice of deciding whether the supernatural elements or the medical elements, or some mix of both, are “true,” much like The Turn of the Screw, which is referenced throughout the novel.

I loved the depth and care given to all of the primary characters and their various forms of relationships, be they friend, family, spouse, or self. They are complicated and messy without being unlikable or unsympathetic. I also found the balancing between different forms of horror, particularly psychological. It was deliciously spooky. Based on this offering, I would eagerly read something from van Veen again.

What a perfect way to end my spooky October reads.

Johanna van Veen weaves a magnificently haunting love story.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding this title and it’s on many of the ‘Horror books coming out in 2024’ lists particularly because of the astounding cover as well as that title. I love the title. It’s an interesting story with a character whose mother does seances and is not… a particularly nice mother, let’s say. At the end of each chapter, there’s a summary of the dialogue that happened during each seance, to help the reader keep track of all the episodes that the protagonist has been recording. The story is about so much more than just ghostly possessions. I think that fans of this genre of books as well as films like ‘The Others’ will enjoy it.

Johanna van Veen’s _My Darling Dreadful Thing_ is a disturbingly beautiful slow-burn read. Roos Beckman can see spirits, and has her own companion in the centuries old Ruth, who helps her act in séances for Roos’s abusive mother. When socialite Agnes attends a séance, both Roos and Agnes feel an attachment to one another, and Agnes invites Roos to live with her at her deceased husband’s family estate. Soon secrets are revealed, and death and spirits come to the decrepit house. This read is haunting, with beautifully descriptive writing.

Nothing could've prepared me for how much I ended up loving this book!! I went into it mostly blind and I don't regret letting myself get the full experience. The prose was so lovely and the tone was so dark and confining, it really makes you feel like you're there. Definitely will be on my to purchase list when it's published.

For the majority of Roos Beckman’s life, her sole companion was a spirit only she could see. Roos’s life changes when she forms a connection with Agnes Knoop, a wealthy young widow, and moves into her spooky dilapidated estate. When someone is murdered, all signs pointed to Roos being the murderer and she must prove her innocence or risk losing everything.

Prepare to be obsessed with My Darling Dreadful Thing! I love a good gothic horror book and this one was absolute perfection. I got major Mexican Gothic vibes (which is an all-time favourite book of mine) with the spooky family estate in need of repair, sickly family members and paranormal activity and I loved every minute of it. It was haunting and deliciously creepy, but romance and devotion were also woven into the storyline, which helped give it depth. I also absolutely adored the main character Roos, and grew to feel almost protective of her in a way. Simply put, this is a must-read in my book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ //5

My Darling Dreadful Thing
by: Johanna van Veen

THOUGHTS:

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to read an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Do you love a book that is:

-dark
-gothic
-horror
-psychological

This will be for you and it has even more within!


Literally take all my dreaded stars—really take them all and all my love. This book was so good. I ate it up and didn’t take a second to break from it until it was done. I adored the writing style, the world and character development, plot/setting—ALL of it. I am always excited and in the mood to read a dark horror type read and this fed me just that. This books cover is just the icing on this. The way that Johanna feeds you this horrific terror on a platter was beautiful. I do not want to go too much into this book because I believe this is a perfect book to curl up with blindly on a cold day with a hot drink and warm blanket and get lost within it’s pages. I cannot wait to share this book with everybody that I know!

Roos has not had an easy life. Her mother uses her as a medium,someone who can speak to the dead. It’s a con and one that makes Roos feel sick. She has no other options though, as her mother keeps her almost starved, and she has no one to turn to, and no other place to go.
Until Agnes Knoop comes for a reading. Her husband has died, and she is looking to connect with him. She recognizes something in Roos and soon takes her away from this awful life. Roos now has food to eat and warm clothes, but when they reach her husband’s home, she begins to learn that the wealthy life she envisioned, it’s just a façade.
What could bring these two women together? Agnes can live in her dead husband’s home until she dies, but his sick and malevolent sister (Willemijn)combined with the house crumbling around them is anything but glamorous.
Roos only has eyes for Agnes and will do anything to ensure that she doesn’t send her away. Her misguided thinking has her to listen to Willemijin and it will be the biggest mistake she has ever made.
Told from two POVs, Roos and Dr. Montague in the past, and in the present. We learn how the spirit Ruth will do anything for Roos, and where Agnes found her spirit, Peter. Roos tells a tragic and unbelievable tale to Dr. Montague while he tries to save her from jail. It’s apparent from the first time we meet him that something has gone horribly horribly wrong. As Roos tells her story, I vacillated between thinking she was an unreliable narrator, or that every word she said was the truth.
A very creepy creepy story and I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s the kind of tale that does not have a happily ever after ending. I was engrossed throughout this book. I’ll definitely be looking forward to the author’s next book. 4.5 stars.