In 1887 Netherlands, Lucy's twin sister Sarah refuses to eat, mumbles, and is obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband's estate. It's being called temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain, and Lucy fears that she'll be sent to a lunatic asylum. With secrets of her own, Lucy tries to unravel what happened to Sarah even as she changes. Is Sarah possessed or truly mad?

Gothic horror invokes a suffocating sense of place, secrets, longing, and often a bloody monster of some kind. Here we have the specter of mental illness and the lack of understanding of it in that time period. Men had power and prestige, and could do whatever they wanted to wives "in their best interest." As a result, asylums were feared places for women, where abuses could run unchecked.

It's in this world that we have Lucy summoned to help her ill sister, who fixated on the bog body found on the family property. Sarah had once been the more outspoken of the two but became a shell of herself. We find out more about the body, the relationship between the twins, the husband, the cousin by marriage, and the childhood friend who is their doctor. It's such a tight-knit cast of characters that secrets are hard to keep, yet they still manage it. The ultimate secret about Sarah is a bit of a surprise and not quite what we think it is. We get the full story about halfway through, and then it's a question of survival, identity, and loyalty. The ending is surprising yet not, and it kept me enthralled until the last page.

Blood on Her Tongue was every bit of gothic codependency I hoped for after reading My Darling, Dreadful Thing. Without any spoilers, "a girl's gotta eat" is my favorite sub-genre of horror, and this was such an excellent morsel of it! Recommend for anyone who wants something dark with more of a slow-build rage with a healthy dose of angst and hysteria.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance copy for review!

One thing about me is if there's bog bodies involved, I am going to be reading it! My Darling Dreadful Thing was one of my favourite reads last year so naturally I was excited to read what Johanna van Veen was releasing next. Blood on Her Tongue is gross, atmospheric, and oh so very atmospheric. The word "gothic" is thrown around too casually these days but not in this case. van Veen understands gothic sensibilities to their core and it drips from the page. This book is seeping, weather-ravaged, and full of creeping dread. I can't wait to read it again during spooky season! Johanna van Veen is an auto-read author for me!

The writing in this novel is gorgeous. I appreciated the true gothic vibes and was genuinely creeped out.

I was an absolute fan of “My Darling Dreadful Thing” when I read it last year and knew I had to read “Blood on Her Tongue” the moment I heard about it. Who doesn’t love a gothic little vampire story?!

Things I particularly enjoyed:
🖤 I was a huge fan of the horror itself! I think it did a great job of being creepy and disturbing without being so heavy handed.
🖤 Loved this take on vampires! It’s such a unique version, at least to me, and found it very interesting.

Things I wasn’t necessarily a fan of:
🖤 Personally, I just didn’t understand why Lucy made certain decisions she made throughout the book and I found that to be super distracting for me.

Overall I did enjoy the book and think it is definitely worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for making an advance copy available to me in exchange for an honest review!

Overall Rating | ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Set in the Netherlands in 1887, Lucy finds out that her sister, Sarah, is unwell and heads to see what is happening. Sarah seems not to be eating, mumbles a lot, and has a strange obsession with the bog woman. The bog woman is a corpse that was found on Sarah and her husband's property, which the doctor was doing an autopsy on once it was removed from the bog. The doctor, a childhood friend, has reported that she is temporarily insane due to fever of the brain. Due to past family history with trauma around insane asylums, Lucy must figure out what is causing her sister to act so strange before she is carted off to an asylum. Sarah is hiding something, but Lucy has her dark secrets too.

This book was interesting. At times it felt a bit slow, but at others it was intense. I thought this was a vampire book, but it was an excellent gothic horror showing a bond between twin sisters tested through illness, grief, and something lurking from beyond. I think the author did a great job of staying within the time period while weaving in queerness as well with Sarah. There are definitely some gruesome scenes, which don't bother me, but if you can't handle blood and guts - maybe stay away.

If you’ve been searching for a book to satisfy your endless craving for gothic stories, look no further than Blood On Her Tongue.

This book was beautiful, eerie, and atmospheric. I truly enjoyed my experience reading it. I could go on and on endlessly about how much I loved it. Suffice it to say, I devoured it. In just a few pages, I was enthralled and I found it hard to put the book down. There was a line at the beginning when I knew I would love it because it reminded me of Jane Eyre. If you’re like me and you can never have enough gothic stories, the this book is for you.

This is a book about two twin sisters, Lucy and Sarah. Lucy rushes to her sister’s side when she receives an alarming letter from her sister. It seems that Sarah is gravely ill after finding something on her property. Lucy is quickly drawn into the mystery at Zwartwater and things soon take a turn for the worse. Lucy is then left to decide how far her devotion to her sister goes.

Van Veen took well known gothic tropes and breathed new life into them. This had everything one could hope for in a good gothic novel from mystery, a bit of body horror, gore, and even bog bodies. The story kept me engaged throughout the novel. The atmosphere was so vivid that I felt I was in Zwartwater with Lucy and her sister. This book was as easy to fall into as a puddle of water. Once it has you in it’s grip, it won’t let go until the end.

This was my first experience reading this author’s work and it definitely won’t be the last. I look forward to reading My Darling Dreadful Thing next. If you’re someone who fell in love with the story in Crimson Peak and has desperately been trying to find something that feels similar, I’d highly recommend Blood On Her Tongue. I'd recommend this book to horror lovers, especially those that love gothic books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for providing me with an ARC for review.

4/5 ⭐️

This had the most gothic, dark, mysterious, creepy, and grotesque vibes. This is the second book by Johanna I've read and I really enjoyed both books. I don't want to say too much to give anything away but if you're into gothic/horror books I would recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Johanna van Veen, and Poisoned Pen Press for my early access to this.

Miss Lucy Goedhart looks forward to letters from her twin sister, Mrs. Sarah Schatteleyn. The letters have been interesting as of late. Sarah provides all the grotesque details, and even a haunting drawing of the bog body recently found on her estate. While out of the ordinary, the bog body is not what concerns Lucy enough to travel to her sister’s side. Sarah’s letters become increasingly unintelligible. Lucy travels to her sister’s lovely but damp home, fearful of what she may find. Is her sister ill and dying? Has she suffered from another mad episode? When Lucy arrives, she will uncover the bloody secret of what truly ails her twin.

The author gives a fair warning at the beginning of “Blood on Her Tongue,” that this story is bloody descriptive. There are horror and gore moments that may be difficult for anyone squeamish, I don’t consider “Blood on Her Tongue” too gory as it doesn’t overindulge in these moments, but they are there to keep the drama in this gothic tale. The novel is about codependency. One sees it between the twins. There are secrets between sisters. As one finds the secrets, will it satisfy you?

First things first I sadly didn’t love this as much as My Darling Dreadful Thing, but you can’t love everything an author puts out. Although I thought this was a pretty solid story.

In the Netherlands in 1887, Lucy receives word that her sister, Sarah, is gravely ill. Determined to care for her during this difficult time, Lucy makes it her top priority to ensure that Sarah is not sent away to an asylum due to her unusual behaviour. This task becomes increasingly challenging as Sarah begins to act erratically, exhibiting a foul smell and displaying an insatiable hunger.

This book was very unhinged, and I was drawn in from the very first chapter. It’s full of gore, sisterly love, mental illness, and self-worth; also, the gothic theme was on point. It presents a great take on vampires! If you are a fan of Carmilla, I think you would enjoy this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for my Arc!

Preliminary feels: a bloody good time.

I have a feeling this is going to be one of my top reads of 2025. It's got all of the trappings of a historical gothic - a restrictive era of behavior, family drama, dark secrets, a supernatural twist, body horror, vampiric acts, and a moody, broody locale. But it's also got dynamic women who are loyal to each other, and have no qualms about overruling the controlling and patronizing men in their lives to do what they believe is right.

Despite the older cadence of the time, the writing is dynamic and pulls you in quickly, sucking you into the estate of Zwartwater, the complex dynamic between lead Lucy and her twin sister Sarah, and the both allure and repulsion of the bog woman, having very specific appetites, and how far we would go for the people that we love.

I also love the underlying thread that darkness and selfishness can be forgiven. While I still think Lucy gets the shortest end of the stick even if she's got a chance for happiness in the end, there's so much about how we all act selfishly or make mistakes, and that there's room to move on from them. That we aren't damned forever by the majority of our choices.

This was so excellent. A bloody, slutty, vicious good time.

With Blood on Her Tongue, Johanna Van Veen took everything in the vampire genre and turned it all the way over, providing such a unique and fresh perspective I’ve yet to see.
From page one this was everything I could hope for in a twisty gothic horror novel, dark and creepy, mysterious, and vaguely sexy in a strange, indeterminate way. Right away it’s clear something eerie is going on, but as we delve into what has happened and things progress, the anticipation builds to a heady tension that shatters everything in such a delightfully violent way.
The female rage vibes are immaculate and I love the perspective of what happens when girls stick together in the face of dismissive, self important men. I 100% recommend you dig right into this one like it’s a girl dinner 😉

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley.
Publication date 3/25/25

Thank you to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of Blood on Her Tongue in exchange for an honest review.

"If this is what death tastes like, and death is as it tastes, then it is a dull thing indeed."

This is a fast-paced gothic horror that I enjoyed reading. We're starting the book with Lucy coming to Zwartewater to care for her unwell twin sister. Sarah becomes obsessed with a bog body that was found on their estate and is not refusing to eat. Lucy is trying to unravel the mystery of the corpse while Sarah keeps getting worse

The book had me in the first 2 parts, but then I was lost when we got to part 3. (Spoilers) This book was just chaotic. The description of how the parasite operated was annoying. Lucy needs to grow a backbone and should have lived happily ever away from all of that foolishness. Sarah was a horrible human being before and after the parasite and did not deserve that bling support from her sister.

Overall, I rated this book a 3.5. It's a cool book if you don't look too deeply and are just here for entertainment.

“𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨.”

i do not have the words, wow, i did not anticipate that ending at all.. like.

weirdly creepy, dark at times, but!! such a good read. aside from her main characters, the side characters really stood out to me (i am trying so hard to not spoil this). the writing flowed well, didn’t feel at all overwhelming. slow start but that ending! pls, overall enjoyed reading this. got me out of a reading slump a bit.

recommend looking up some TWs before reading -

𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 :’)

This is a splentactuar gothic horror novel. Johanna van Veen knows how to write dark, gothic novels that make me uncomfortable. This is a great story of a sisters' love that know no bounds. If you love bog stories, vampires, gore and body horror following strong and determined women, you need to add this book to the top of you TBR.

Blood on Her Tongue, while not bad just kind of fell into the okay category for me. Van Veen creates a lovely eerie period atmosphere and then the characters will speak in a wholly modern manner which would jolt me out of the story. It was a curious style choice to make and I personally think it detracted from the success of the novel. My biggest problem with the book is it just seemed a little derivative of other gothic vampire novels and didn’t bring much new to the table. Not a bad book but one I doubt I will remember.
Thank you to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for this arc.

First and foremost, thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the ARC! I enjoyed this one a lot!

Since I'm currently in my Gothic Horror Era, I was so, so happy to be able to read this one prior to publishing and I can say it did not disappoint in any way.

The story begins when Lucy, our narrator, rushes to her sister Sarah's sickbed after receiving notice that she is currently battling an unknown sickness. Ever since growing up, Lucy always made sure that Sarah was okay, and that her twin was happy, going as far as letting her marry the love of her life without saying anything. So it's no surprise that she left everything behind in order to help her sister in any which way she can, even if it's just sitting by her bedside. The only thing anyone knows about her sister's sickness is, that it followed immediately after her discovery of a bog body on her grounds. Once Lucy is on Sarah's side she notices just how peculiar this mysterious illness really is. Her sister doesn't eat and speaks in riddles, telling about a mysterious woman haunting her, her delusions making her act irrational in Lucy's eyes, going as far as biting her husband Michael and drinking his blood. Lucy, a prisoner of her time, needs to act fast to discover how to help and save her sister before the men in their life act.

Oh, how I liked this one. Johanna van Veen has such a way with words, it immediately pulls you into the story and era it plays in and paints this haunting, mysterious atmosphere you can't help but wonder about. Reading the letters Sarah wrote Lucy highlights just how fragile her mind truly is, how much she's haunted by the presence surrounding her. Lucy, in the beginning, feels very much trustworthy, even angelic, having nothing on her mind but saving her twin and looking after her. Only after a time do you start to realize that Lucy isn't the angel you think her to be at the beginning, having done things in the past, not only frowned upon but also hurtful against the very sister she's trying to save. And still, you understand her reasoning, where she came from, and why all of it happened the way it did.

The ending both surprised and actually made me happy, as haunting as it was. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's a happy ending, at least not in the traditional sense you'd expect. They break boundaries, do the wrong thing and the reader is left asking themselves, what happened after.

This book is as haunting and dark as you'd expect, with a surprising and yet satisfying conclusion. For all the gothic horror fans out there, this one is a great read!

This was such a unique and interesting story. It definitely made me more curious about exploring the gothic horror genre. I liked the characters I was supposed to like and hated the characters I was supposed to hate. The ending of the book was done masterfully with all the loose ends tied up. I'd definitely recommend this!

Posted on Goodreads: 3/29/2025

Nothing like a little gothic thriller to get your blood pumping! This story follows twin sisters, Lucy and Sarah. After Sarah assists with the discovery of a body in the bog on her and her husband’s estate, she seemingly slips into madness. Lucy works to figure out what is wrong with her sister, and why she has had such a change in appetite. It has themes of family loyalty, guilt, deception, and how far people will go for the one’s they love. This is definitely a great addition to gothic literature, and I’m so glad I was given a copy to review through NetGalley.

Note: Please check the trigger warnings! If things related to eyes freak you out, proceed with caution!

This historical horror puts a unique spin on vampirism combined with Victorian gothic fiction. The historical details and the beliefs of that era enhanced the narrative. I enjoyed the main character Lucy’s perspective, and her desperation to figure out what ails her twin Sarah. The sisters have a special and complex relationship that plays out well with all the spooky, supernatural happenings. Fans of slightly gory horror will enjoy this book. I’ll be adding My Dreadful Darling Thing to my TBR.