3.5 stars

This is the epitome of mixed feelings for me when it comes to weird horror fiction. I am using the umbrella term for horror loosely. I had never heard of this book until I found it earlier this year nestled into the horror section at B&N. The cover was striking and the premise sounded interesting, so I bought it without any knowledge of what I was going into. I think that's the best way to approach Myrrh. It's a weird little novel that is often gritty in its descriptions, obsessions, fixations, and ramblings. Myrrh is a child of adoption with a voice inside of her head that she calls the Goblin. The Goblin makes her think terrible thoughts and wants to do terrible things. Myrrh is grappling with her identity and lack of it without knowing who her family is and what her place in the world looks like. There are several other points of view from women. Some are increasingly important and some are just background characters in a bigger tapestry of Myrrh attempting to make sense of the world. The horror does not come into the very end of the novel where Myrrh's story blends together with one of the women and a grotesque and absolutely brutal crime is committed (extremely disturbingly written and unsettling; I tell readers with birthing, miscarriage, or issues with conceiving to tread lightly with deciding to pick up this story). I loved the characterization and exploration of Myrrh's identity, but I thought the plot twist/ shock reveal of how it all wraps up was done with a sharp and rocky turn off a cliff and I was jarred. It took me some time to wrap my head around the unraveling and how that essentially changed the entire narrative from a story of mental illness and lack of identity to being haunted by something that wanted to live. I recommend it to my fellow weird fiction lovers, but go in with tapered expectations and the knowledge that this isn't a horror novel, but a literary horror novel, which is a separate subgenre that one has to know how to navigate when picking up a novel in the subgenre.

A dark mysterious and reflective novel from multiple perspectives that keeps you hooked right up until the very end. OMG.

Very strange, but not in a "blew my mind, what just happened?" good sort of way. At least it was a fairly short read.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I was so intrigued by the premise of this book I dived in immediately. I must confess that I was confused and frustrated a third of the way into the story. This was not for me.

This dark psychological horror novel masterfully explores themes of identity and belonging through the intertwined stories of two women. Myrrh, haunted by an inner goblin, embarks on a gripping quest to find her birth-parents in the eerie seaside towns of southern England. Her journey, marked by frustration and isolation, captures the reader's attention as the goblin's voice grows increasingly oppressive. Simultaneously, Cayenne, trapped in a loveless marriage, longs for a child and experiences haunting visions. As her husband becomes closer to his daughter, Cayenne's desperation leads her down a chilling path.

The author skillfully interlaces Myrrh and Cayenne's lives, creating a kaleidoscopic atmosphere filled with psychological depth and suspense. The pacing keeps readers engaged, and the rich, atmospheric writing draws them into the characters' emotional turmoil. The novel's climax is both powerful and unforgettable, making it a standout in the genre. This book is a must-read for those who appreciate dark, introspective horror with a compelling narrative and well-crafted characters.

From the blurb I was expecting a psychological thriller that explored what it was like to lose your mind but I felt this was more of a slight shock horror novel without the depth to it. I struggled to care much about the characters and it was a DNF for me last way through unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGally and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I had to DNF @35%. I just couldn’t get into the story and I feel like the way this book was described was not what was delivered. I was expecting this to be a weird girl book but it fell super flat. I hate to DNF an ARC but I had to push myself so hard just to get to the 35% mark. I will say the writing style was beautiful but again the story wasn’t what I thought I was getting into

I quite enjoyed this. It's not the creepiest thing I’ve read, but it does give disturbing and undertones which will keep some people on the edge of their seat. It’s a good story that kept me wanting to read on!

I quite enjoyed this. It's not exactly horror per-say but there is a creepy / disturbing element to the book that I think really worked in favour of the story which on a broader level is a story of identity, uncovering truth, and acceptance.

I loved the way everything tied together in the end - I have to admit that the main thing that kept me reading was Cayenne's side which had me puzzled as to how it was connected to the rest. I like to think I'm normally good at guessing plot points in advance but this one did keep me wondering until the end, and the reveal around the goblin was (although maybe slightly far-fetched) an interesting way to round everything up and tie it all together.

I do wish I'd had a chance to get attached to the characters, specifically Myrrh, a bit more as we follow her on her quest to find out more about where she came from. The only strong personality trait I got from her was self-loathing, which is obviously important to the story, but I do feel like there was an opportunity to create a very interesting, multi-dimensional female character, and that missed the mark a little for me.

Cayenne's psyche and downward spiral on the other hand had me hooked - I still don't understand why I liked her so much!

All in all, it took me a little while to get into and then feels like it all wraps up very fast unexpectedly, but the story itself really resonated with me and I loved the general atmosphere that the book created.

I was very disappointed with this book. I wanted to love it, on paper it is my ideal kind of book. But I just think it recycled tropes with very little new stuff to add. However, objectively I think it is a good book, and I have oversaturated myself with its kind

In horror, I am attracted to strange creatures and unexplained monsters. Vampires, werewolves, giant lizards, aliens, zombies…you name it. They are fascinating especially when their backstory is revealed, so I couldn’t wait to dive into Polly Hall’s Myrrh and explore the goblin that bullies from within the protagonist’s body.

At first, I struggled reading Myrrh though I’m not entirely certain why. The main protagonist, Myrrh, is adopted and knows nothing about her birth parents. Her mind is often attacked by the goblin, and it delights in tormenting her. The opening conveyed unfocused attention on Myrrh’s surroundings and her relationships. Nothing made sense for a while as I tried to understand Myrrh’s way of thinking. It was almost like I, the reader, was a goblin too, shifting through her perspective with little interest. Eventually I adapted and began to understand Myrrh’s longing for a place to call her own, and a sense of belonging as the world (thanks to the goblin) shuns her for being different.

While Myrrh battles with the decision to get in touch with her birth parents, another woman enters the scene. Cayenne is a woman deeply in love, who marries, but then cracks form in her marriage. She wants a baby, but her husband doesn’t. Cayenne has to deal with her stepdaughter’s meanness and her husband’s aloofness while her desire for a child goes unanswered. I knew Cayenne must have a connection to Myrrh and speculated that she was actually Myrrh’s birth mother, so I read on. I was so wrong.

Hall focuses on Cayenne and Myrrh while sliding in other women now and again, but at times this became quite confusing, especially when Myrrh’s timeline bounced back to her childhood. It was tricky to keep up with who was who and from which stage they were speaking. I had a headache afterwards, and found myself speculating what Myrrh’s goblin could be and where it came from. Was it mental health?

Piece by piece, Myrrh reveals the truth with a great ending, but it was a long time coming. By then, I was sick and tired of the goblin’s venomous words and Myrrh’s frustrating silence when she could have been asking the many questions that she had been leading up to. My patience was rewarded, but in part. The goblin’s backstory had a gaping hole that for the life of me I couldn’t figure out, and perhaps I was never meant to, but it feels like a letdown.

Even so, it was worth reading, and without giving any spoilers, I recommend Myrrh. It masterfully conveyed the many roles of women, the isolation of being adopted, and how secrets can be twisted. It’s thought-provocation tackles self-identity, the meaning of family, social appearances, marriage and pregnancy. The lush descriptions are beautiful and literary.

However… I’m not sure whether to call this horror. It’s disturbing in places, but focuses too much on adoption, self-identity etc, and therefore the horror doesn’t have as much impact as it could have. It reads more like a mystery thriller that wants the reader to keep on guessing how everyone’s connected.

For me, it was a victory to finish reading. It was one of the hardest books I’d read in a long time and perhaps this is because it is labelled as horror. I come for horror, so I expect horror. Instead, I found strong female characters, diversity, and a unique writing style. Read Myrrh and you might find yourself completely disagreeing with me. I think Myrrh is a complex read that will have many readers disagreeing on its identity, ironically on brand.

I was drawn to this book as it mentioned Eric LaRocca fans enjoying. I wouldn’t classify this as a horror though. Perhaps lit fic and psychological thriller would be more accurate?
i thought Myrrh’s story was written very well but i found the other p.o.v’s difficult to follow - found myself going back to find out who the chapter was, a few times.
I won’t lie, I still do not understand the ghost lover?!
Desire, obsession and identity were portrayed brilliantly as each characters psyche began to unravel, Halls writing is nice to read, descriptions are vivid, references are understandable etc but would have benefited from less confusing pov switching - maybe, 3 separate stories and a conclusion bringing them all together? or maybe slightly longer chapters?

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for access to this eARC.

I was so intrigued by the concept of this book and was expecting a creepy, psychological vibe. While there are creepy elements throughout the novel, this ended up being one of those psychological thrillers that's too confusing to follow until the very end. There were a couple times where I considered putting this one in my dnf pile because it was so confusing and I wasn't sure whether or not I cared about any of the characters. The horror really comes in at the end when everything comes together, but I wasn't necessarily satisfied with the ending. That being said, I do think that the confusion caused by the plot and changing perspectives represented Myrrh's character and the confusion she felt with trying to find out where she came from, who she came from, and who she is. While I feel that there was a miss on creating a full-on creepy atmosphere, this book is definitely for those who want to have a deep, profound experience alongside the main character. Ultimately, this wasn't for me, but there is a very specific audience that I would recommend this to.

On occasion, when I have strong opinions on a book that I've read I'll head over to the internet to have a look at what others have said about it, curious to see if my love or hate of a book is common, or if it's just me. On occasion, I'll also check out other people's thoughts when I struggle with a book. If I ended up confused, or found the journey something of a chore, I'll go and see if I'm the only one who went through this. Myrrh by Polly Hall kind of falls into this later category. It's a winding, maze-like narrative with some difficult and occasionally dark themes, and was a book that made me uncomfortable to read at times. I needed to see if that was just me or not; and this time it seems like Myrrh is the kind of book that has gotten under a lot of people's skins.

At it's heart, Myrrh is a story about family and belonging. It covers the topic from a range of perspectives, including adoption, step-families, marriage, and parenthood in three interweaving narratives that meet and interact in some unexpected and surprising ways. The two main stories follow Myrrh, a young woman who was adopted as a baby and is now searching for answers to her past by looking for her birth parents; and Cayenne, who has married a man with a teenage daughter, who struggles with her desires to have a child of her own and has to watch as her husband and step-daughter bond in ways she's always wanted for her own child. There's also a smaller plot involving Marian, who has a connection to Myrrh and her birth father.

The novel shifts between the various characters and their narratives often, using fairly shot chapters to keep things moving at a fairly fast pace. Whilst this does move things forward well, it's also done in a way that helps to make the story feel more confusing too. It often feels like the reader is having to play catch-up, that events are moving from one thing to another before we've had a chance to get our heads around the first thing. This kind of feels like it's meant to mirror Myrrh's own sense of confusion, and her somewhat unusual mental state (she has an internal voice called Goblin that doesn't seem healthy at all). It's an interesting choice from Hall, and it does put you in Myrrh's shoes well, though it also does make the book a little bit harder to digest at times too.

One thing that I did enjoy about the book was the complexity of the characters. They're the kinds of characters that seem to have a fairly clearly defined trait, ones that are easy to describe and are great starting out points. However, as the book went on you begin to learn that there's a lot more to Myrrh and Cayenne than you first think. The story changes them, it makes them face some shocking and life changing truths about themselves and the way that they view the world, and watching them go through that journey is a big draw to the book for me.

Something that I saw when looking at other people's thoughts on the book was that some people didn't finish the book. The long, interweaving narratives, and some of the dark content were cited as reasons why, and I can understand that perhaps those things might not be for everyone. However, I also saw several people talk about the books ending. It feels like Myrrh is one of those books where when you discover someone else has read it the first thing you're going to say it 'oh my god, the ending!'. I'm not going to say much on the actual content as I don't want to spoil it, but it's certainly one where you're going to be thinking about it a good while after you've put the book down, and whilst some people might be tempted to not finish the book, those that do are going to find something quite surprising and memorable waiting for them.

Whilst Myrrh has been described as horror, it's definitely more of a psychological thriller with some dark, horror-like elements. It relies heavily on mystery, and complex characters rather than overt horror imagery. If that's the kind of book that appeals to you, then Myrrh is definitely worth your consideration.

Myrrh was a book I was unsure of to begin with, but I'm so glad I read it. Haunted by a disparaging inner voice called 'Goblin', the novel follows the protagonist as she fights against 'Goblin' as it torments her about being adopted. Through the edition of characters, Cayenne and Marian, they add to the depth of Myrrh's plot. Marred with themes of jealousy, identity, obsession and loss/pain, the disturbing atmosphere creates a thought-provoking space and makes you think 'What am I reading?'

Polly Hall certainly has a talent for creating a tense, disturbing atmosphere that adds to the story as it feels claustrophobic, suspenseful and heart-rasing. It had me eating the story up in a day. Although NetGalley classifies Myrrh as horror, I would call this disturbing/psychological, instead. If you love horror or the disturbing, I highly recommend Myrrh as your next read.

Thank you, NetGalley and Titan Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley & Titan Books for the opportunity to read this title.

Myrrh is a novel that follows our main protagonist who deals with a disparaging inner voice ‘Goblin’ who torments her due to being adopted and not knowing her birth parents.

As the novel progresses, we find ourselves with two additional characters, Cayenne and Marian, we learn more about their story through each self titled chapter written in POV, and what links them together.

Although this novel is dubbed as a Horror I personally would not categorise it in this genre, I found it more to be ‘weird girl/mildly disturbing’.

The author has a real talent for descriptive and atmospheric writing, & the plot of this book had real potential, however, I feel it was quite long winded and confusing in parts; I didn’t feel satisfied upon finishing the book, I just felt glad that it was finally over. - K.

This is one of those books that I knew right away I was going to love!! I’ve marked so many thought provoking passages and things to reflect on. Story of jealousy, identity, obsession, loss/pain. The novel was so weird and disturbing but I loved it! Myrrh is equal parts thought provoking and “wtf am I reading.”

The novel is told through switching POVs told in 3rd person narration. All the characters and their stories come together by the end, it was very well done!

I loved the author’s note saying “horror allows you to shine a light on murky depths.” I think this perfectly sums up how I felt reading the book! It’s horror and disturbing and strange but it has very real issues at the heart of it.

I felt very connected with Cayenne’s feelings of desperation to become a mom. She mentions feeling like what’s the point of her life or contribution to society if she can’t be a mom and have a child of her own. I viewed it in the context not as her saying “women only have value if they become mothers” but in the perspective of someone going through infertility where you’re so desperate to be a mom and get pregnant that you have an identity crisis and question your life purpose. Part of that stems from what you always pictured for your life but also from the message from society as a whole as well. I don’t think the book is saying (and I’m certainly not saying it either) that women should and have to be mothers btw

Its especially interesting because I think from other things Cayenne says, her timeline narrative is in the 50s/60s but we see this idea of women “only being useful to society as mothers” play out in the US today with the laws being passed. It’s the character’s inner demons and fears based on that message throughout history being pushed onto women!

The book also made me pause and reflect on the ideas of identity, belonging, and family. This is for sure a favorite for April and maybe for the year. Myrrh had me hooked and obsessed from page 1, highly recommend and will be checking out more from Hall!

This was just not for me. While I could appreciate the writing and what the book was trying to accomplish, I found myself bored and not enjoying reading the book. If you like very cerebral horror books, this may be for you. Hope you have better luck!

Myrrh comes out next week on April 9, 2024 and you can purchase HERE.

She tried to remember the first time she had ever seen the sea and recalled it as a sound like trees in a storm, mingled with a scent like all things dead and alive at the same time, a preserved living-dead thing, and she felt drawn to it, but also wary of it; and there were spaces between the sounds, little pauses, like the white spaces between text on the pages of a book. And she wondered why people spoke of the sea like it was calming and restorative when it mostly destroyed things in it, on it or beside it, how it was filled with creatures munching their way through each other, currents grinding and crushing and mashing in an endless briny cycle.

This book was dark and weird, everything got progressively more unhinged as the story went on. I liked the different POVs and the writing was lovely. Inner goblins and ghost lovers, scandal and blended families, all revolving around the hunt for Myrrh’s birth parents. An interesting look at race and identity with Myrrh, and coping with a disinterested husband and awful stepdaughter while desperately wanting a child of her own with Cayenne.

Was I confused? Yes. But, the way it all came together was incredible and horrifying. It’s a bit of a slow burn but, the air of mystery in finding the connection between the different women kept the pages turning - even if at times it felt like it was dragging a bit.

I really enjoyed reading this story- it was scary and graphic and full of body horror. Unfortunately I’m not sure I actually understand what happened by the end?