Where Darkness Blooms

This review is of my own thoughts.

Wow! Just wow! I'm blown away by the story of the four girls from a dusty small town in Kansas, where sunflowers stand by the thousands, waiting, whispering. The author did a marvelous job in weaving the emotional trials of each girl together, making you wanting, no needing to read the next chapter to find out what happens next. The ending left me teary eyed. You can feel the passion of the author in this book. It's going to be one of my top favorites of 2022! Thank you Wednesday books for letting me read such a gem!

Beyond amazing! This book was an incredible read and I can't recommend it enough. This is a book you'll want on your shelf and to give as a gift. Everyone needs to read it.

Wow. The atmosphere is so rich in this strange little book, a book where the land craves blood and the sunflowers seem to talk and corruption runs deep and sinister. I was hooked on this book from the very first page and I am so grateful to St Martin's Press for offering it to me and putting it on my radar! This is absolutely one to keep an eye out for, a creepy little tale set in the town of Bishop, Kansas. It was pitched to me as being suitable for fans of Courtney Gould and that comp is spot on. If you liked The Dead and the Dark, you'll like Where Darkness Blooms!

Oh my gosh, what a book! I really didn't know what I was in for, but the story blew me away. The writing and scenery were stellar and I can't stop thinking about this book! I will definitely purchasing for our collection as we have patrons who will devour Where Darkness Blooms.

What an incredible book. I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style, and stayed for the girls finding their way to their own power and freeing themselves from the curse of the men around them.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for a chance to read Where Darkness Blooms.

I loved this book. You’re transported into a creepy, secretive, sunflower-filled small town where women are going missing and dying at an alarming rate and no one seems to be doing anything about it. I loved the multiple POV’s with the four MC’s and the found family. I also just enjoyed the overall creepy small town atmosphere of this book. The writing is exceptional/very descriptive and I was hooked after the first sentence. I’ll also never look at sunflowers the same way again. Really enjoyed this, I’ll definitely be re-reading this again in the fall for some spooky vibes, and I’ll be recommending this to others.

Where Darkness Blooms was absolutely enchanting! Hannah wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story

My favorite thing about books in general is the atmosphere they create. Here I felt like I was part of the world, drawn into the story by some magnetic force. The writing was just amazing, the biggest stand-out of this novel for me. More detailed review to come closer to publication date. And I'll be awaiting more from this author!

This book was EVERYTHING I hoped it would be. It had creepiness, weird unexplainable things, plants, and a cast of characters that kept me interested from start to finish. I literally couldn't put it down, and the moment I saw the cover I knew it would be going on my shelf the SECOND it gets published.

I know I try to always look for that 1 thing in a book to bring it from a 5 to a 4.5, but I honestly don't have that in this. I loved everything, and even after finishing this book I can't stop thinking about it, and sunflowers.

Where Darkness Blooms is a dark, twisty YA novel about a small town where the sunflowers seem to be alive and women are mysteriously disappearing.

The setting was so eerie and something felt off right from the beginning. I thought the writing was fantastic, and the characters were well fleshed out.

I really enjoyed, I think many YA mystery readers will love Where Darkness Blooms.

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

WHERE DARKNESS BLOOMS is the kind of book that starts slow, but creeps up on you faster and faster like a strangling vine you cannot escape. It is dark and feminist and ominous in all the best ways.
One highlight of the book for me is how distinct and separate each of the four narrating girls is. They each have their own journey going on, but it all ties together with each other. And most of them not being related (two of the girls are twins, but the girls are otherwise unrelated) they really come across a family (even if a bit dysfunctional at times).
Another part of the book the author absolutely nails is the atmospheric tone. Once you pick up this book, you feel the doom of being trapped in the windy sunflower filled tone of Bishop just as much as the characters are, and become just as desperate for them to escape as they are.
I highly recommend it for anyone in the mood for something spooky and eerie, and for anyone who wants to see a feminist take on horror.

Where Darkness Blooms is a creepy and wonderfully haunting story. I mean, just look at that cover! It says it all. The author’s use of the land, wind, and sunflowers was brilliant, unique, and made the setting very atmospheric. I just wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. I loved this story!

Andrea Hannah has crafted a beautifully haunting, aching story about four teen girls and the curse that traps them. Bishop is a living, breathing character in it's own right, and the mystery Hannah weaves about this town and the choices that echo through generations will leave you breathless. It's a stunning, angry, brutal but ultimately hopeful novel, and it will stick with me for ages.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC to review.

I absolutely love this. The perfect book to join my bookshelf of creepy reads. Those that loved “Burn our Bodies”, “House of Hollow” and “Wilder Girls” will absolutely fall in love with this twisted tale. Keeping this author on my radar now!

What a remarkable book. This was absolutely haunting and gorgeous. These four flawed and strong heroines captured my heart, every single one of them. Jude, heartbroken by the boy who suddenly dropped her for her friend Delilah. Whitney, Jude's twin who lost the love of her young life to a seemingly random tragedy. Bo, deeply traumatized by a boy and trying to navigate her rage to find herself again. Delilah, trying to discover why her mother suddenly disappeared two years ago. These four beautiful girls lost their mothers on one night two years ago and they'll do everything they can to figure out what happened. This was just so wonderful, every piece of it. The beauty of female friendship, the harm men do to women, and how we can harness everything within ourselves to not only survive, but to thrive.

Long standing curses, power, nature magic, and the ultimate strength of friendship and belief in each other. Strong characters facing strong evil and intertwining threads that weave a tapestry of evil, loss, and ultimate redemption and finding home. A must read!

I LOVED THIS!!!! It was just the right mix of creepy and mysterious. I loved getting to know the characters and the town. I wasn't expecting how much I would care about the four friends. Overall a super fun book and I'd love to see more from this author.

Phenomenal, dark and suspenseful book about four young women exposing their towns lies and solving the disappearance of their mothers from two years ago. I found this book deeply cathartic and will never look at sunflowers the same way again.

When I say this is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time, it is so masterfully done and this story and these character will haunt me for a long time

Absolute banger of a book. Fierce, unflinching, and unapologetically awesome characters that blew me away with their portrayal of... fantasy?..with realistic teenage characters full of flaws and imperfections you just can't help but be enamored with or relate to. The storyline is very interesting as well, but I feel like there's potential for a sequel? Maybe? Or that could just be wishful thinking on my part. I need a prequel AND a sequel, thanks!

Wow. This is a dark story with well developed characters. You suffer with them, through every struggle and heartache and pain. But in the end, this is a beautiful story of friendship, forgiveness, love, family, resilience and hope.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

First of all this cover is gorgeous and drew me in instantly. After finishing this book I was not disappointed. I love a good mystery especially when elements of magic are intertwined. The characters were fleshed out and easy to connect with. The magical realism was done phenomenally and I just couldn't turn the pages quick enough. Well done!

Where Darkness Blooms is an incredible book! I mean, right away, look at the stunning and eerie cover that is enough alone to send a chill down your spine. The story really was way more than I expected - the world was lush and beautiful and I cannot wait to make sure we get this in our library! Everyone will love this!

This was so beautiful I thought I would explode. This is my first read of 2023 and I honestly don't think it can be topped. The girls were so tough and so vulnerable, the town was delightfully creepy, and the story was enthralling.
I love sunflowers so picturing a dusty town surrounded by them was just amazing.
The ending was perfection.