DNF. The pacing of this book isn’t particularly slow, and it’s well written. However, for some reason it just doesn’t pique my appetite. It may have to do with the amount of description, and what it borrows from The Secret History and other dark academia books. I don’t think it’s bad per se, but I kept dreading reopening it again.

When I say I’m in the mood for a thriller/horror story, THIS is what I mean. It was like Bunny meets The Secret History meets Ninth House, in the all the best ways. The writing was engaging, the characters were interesting, the horror was indeed horrifying. I was seriously hooked from the opening chapter.

Ok, but on a side note, maybe the real horror story is the competitive nature of being a woman even at the cost of our mental health and friendships..spooky! Hahaha just a thought.

Anyway, if you’re reading this, this is your sign to get this book!!

I read this book via netgalley.

This wasn't quite perfect, but I liked it so much I can't bring myself to give it four stars.

My main complaint was the lack of characterization. Somehow, the protagonist and her love interest had far less personality than the three side characters that made up the rest of their group. Jo felt a little more realistic, since we see things from her viewpoint at least, but Finch was so bland I couldn't tell you a single thing that distinguished her from every other random character or made her attractive to Jo.

The other big problem was the pacing and the level of horror. Other than the occasional bits of intense gore, things felt quite tame and not all that spooky. Somehow, with the book blurb and the foreshadowing within the book, I was expecting a more intense climax with a more devastating outcome. I was left with a bit of a "that's it?" feeling that was fairly underwhelming. It would've been nice to see Pearson really dive into the interpersonal relationships of the group, ramp up the insanity more and more, and show how everything completely fell apart due to the ritual.

However, none of these issues kept me from deeply adoring Voice Like a Hyacinth. While it was a so-so horror book, it was a truly fantastic art book. Pearson is absolutely brilliant at writing about art and the process of making art. While we might not know Finch's hair color or favorite family member, we know all about her approach to painting, and that's a very fun way to explore a story. The author's love of art and experience with art shine through every sentence, and it makes for a very unique and enjoyable read. Everything felt so authentic to my experiences as a painter and art student that I wasn't surprised at all to learn the author was also an artist. She does an excellent job of drawing you in and making you deeply care about the artwork. About a quarter of this book was just descriptions of various paintings yet it never felt boring or repetitive. Everything was so beautifully and thoughtfully written that it was a blast to read.

A group of art students take dark academia to the next level by summoning someone, or something, they definitely didn't anticipate.
If you've seen the movie The Craft, this gives that exact same feeling. It will haunt you long after finishing, an instant cult classic.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I am obsessed with this book. It may be one of my top five of the year. It had a combination of so many things that I love, art school, which described in such loving (and accurate detail!), hauntings, friendship, found family. The writing was breathtaking and visceral and really grounded. I loved it.

Voice Like a Hyacinth was a book about obsession, ritual. I wasn’t sure I would like this book as it’s not my typical genre, but I was pleasantly surprised and found it enjoyable yet very chilling. It was a good

Voice Like a Hyacinth is a dark academia story about rituals gone wrong, the ruthless art world, and the price of success.

Jo and her friends, Caroline, Finch, Amrita, and Saz have a coven type friend group as students at a prestigious art school. When they each have the chance to compete for a solo art show, the lengths they will go to protect and sacrifice themselves for a shot at fame turn occult and deadly. A sketchy professor becomes their target after one of the friends suggests using black magic to unleash their creativity and access artistic talents that would otherwise lay dormant. When the ritual backfires, the girls will learn just how fragile, ruthless, and sinister the price of art truly is.

Voice Like a Hyacinth is a combination of The Craft and the The Secret History, perfect for fans of witchy fiction and dark academia. The writing had a mystical quality with the descriptive prose and inner dialogue of Jo having a bit of black humour to balance the dark themes. The writing did remind me of Mona Awad's style, with its devilish creeping writing style. I enjoyed the plot which explored the power of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice with a fiercely competitive and toxic academic culture serving as the backdrop. The occult aspects were macabre and its consequences for the girls, making up the flesh and soul of this story. I liked that each of the characters had a strong individual identity and role in the story with their friendship giving coven vibes, with their undying loyalty and obsessions with each other.

Voice Like a Hyacinth is a witchy and wild story that offers many warnings about the power of creative female energy.

In this spooky sapphic novel we follow five students during their final year at an art college, on their path toward the ultimate goal of displaying their art in a solo performance that will open doors to a successful painting career.

The writing is atmospheric with a hint of dark academia and the characters nuanced with complex relationships. I enjoyed my time with this book but felt that the story at times was overwritten and the pacing a bit inconsistent.

This read perfectly fit my mood and I am curious to further explore Mallory Pearsons works in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The characters....oh my god....these characters were so complex, layered, and incredibly well written that I could find pieces of them inside myself. The writing of the story made me feel like I was immersed. I loved this book so much and NEED to read more by this author!

I wish I could put into words how much I loved this book. There’s so much to say! The characters feel so fleshed out and vibrant. The scenes suck you in. I can’t wait for the next Mallory Pearson book!

This book makes you feel like you are the thing lingering in the shadows. The imagery of not just the characters but also their surroundings is superb! You root for the characters in everything they do and you have hope that the best outcome is waiting for you on the next page. It’s a beautiful book of the depths of friendship and pushing those friendships to the very edge. Wonderful! Cannot recommend enough!

A beautiful read.

Sapphic and spooky perfect combination.
Complex characters and relationships.

A haunted sapphic tale about the lengths a tight knit group of friends go to ensure success. Voice Like a Hyacinth is dark, vulnerable, eerie and tender.

It's my first time reading anything from this author and I was pleasantly delighted by how up my alley this book turned out to be.
Thank you Netgalley and 47North for this ARC.

The writing itself is beautiful, thoughtful and atmospheric, and is the driving force of the plot. The pacing is a bit shaky, starting off slowly, picking up quickly enough to keep the attention of the reader, slowing again once more, before finally descending rapidly to culmination.
By the middle of the book, I started tearing through it, desperate to know what happens next. The characters are built so well, they are easy to root for, to mourn with, and to celebrate. The moments of grotesque horror are cushioned by sweet romantic softness woven in-between (which may sound like an uncomfortable thing, but it worked so well!) Art and artistry are vividly present throughout, blending well with the pretty prose. I appreciated the slow-rising unnerving feeling that eventually careened into absolute horror. And while a few events were predictable, even that couldn’t take away from the enjoyability, if only just to see the morbid results come to pass.

Voice Like a Hyacinth sings a chilling, queer song, bursts with delicious imagery, and begs you to fall deeper, deeper still into its delicate, vicious maw.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the arc! Unfortunately, I DNFd this one pretty early on. The prose was lovely until it felt far too overwritten. I also never cared for the characters in the short time I spent with them. This is just not for me

This was such a delight!! Wow I loved this. Sapphic and spooky, this was oozing atmosphere. Pearson’s prose might be a little too purple for some, but I felt it was lyrical and really added to both the beauty and grotesque in the story. I enjoyed the pacing, the characters and their relationships felt realistic and complex, and I loved the supernatural/spooky elements. I also loved how art was woven throughout this book, it added so much depth without feeling pretentious. This was a surprising 5 star and now Mallory Pearson will definitely be on my radar.

ARC provided by NetGalley