Blood on Her Tongue

• Author: Johanna van Veen
• Genre: Horror
• Publication Date: March 25, 2025
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“I’m in your blood, and you are in mine…”

The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy’s twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband’s grand estate. The doctor has diagnosed her with temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain. To protect her twin from a terrible fate in a lunatic asylum, Lucy must unravel the mystery surrounding her sister’s condition, but it’s clear her twin is hiding something. Then again, Lucy is harboring secrets of her own, too.

Then, the worst happens. Sarah’s behavior takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angry… and hungry. 

Lucy soon comes to suspect that something is trying to possess her beloved sister. Or is it madness? As Sarah changes before her very eyes, Lucy must reckon with the dark, monstrous truth, or risk losing her forever.

I went through a short vampire fiction phase in my younger years, and I’m guessing that there is at least one person reading this who did too. There’s something about them that appeals to readers, since we’ve remained fascinated by them for centuries, from Dracula to modern day.

The summary sounded quite intriguing, and for some of the book, it was. But I didn’t realize that the summary would basically be a synopsis of the book itself, leaving very little left to surprise the reader. Additionally, I was clearly confused by the summary, because for some reason, I thought this was going to be about the Lucy involved with the OG Dracula, but I’m not sure what would have made me think it other than the name Lucy.

I went into this unfamiliar with van Veen’s writing, and was quickly slapped in the face with her writing style. She has a tendency towards the gross part of gory, and it happens several times throughout the book. I don’t mind a little gore, but this felt like it was a bit excessive, and I don’t know if all of it was really necessary to further the plot. In addition, there was a lot happening, yet the reading felt like it was so slow-paced. Maybe it was just that I was less and less motivated to pick it up the more I read.

Something that I really struggled with was the wide range of unlikable characters in the story. Lucy and her sister have such an unhealthy, codependent, and toxic relationship. Lucy is the quiet twin who is satisfied with letting her twin have all the time to shine, yet it comes to light that both of them have kept really harmful secrets from each other. Since this is the late 1800s, the men in the story all demonstrate differing levels of toxic masculinity … or maybe they all have equal levels of it, but some are better at hiding it than others. 

The story is told through the eyes of Lucy, as well as some journal entries of Sarah’s, and it never really felt high-stakes until the very end of the book. Like, the last three chapters. But the rest of the book felt as though it was just a meandering stroll through the dysfunctional interactions between Lucy and Sarah, as well as everyone else that they come into contact with. Saddest of all was the character of Katje, who just feels like she’s present in the story just so certain events occur, yet we never really get to know Katje on her own, as a unique character. There are hints towards her background, but her character never felt as though it was fully developed. 

Overall, this historical horror had great gothic vibes, and I loved the way it was set outside of the usual places, landing it in the Netherlands. The social norms of the times also played a role in this story, leading our female characters towards becoming morally gray because that was the only way for them to be who they are. However, I can’t say that I found this to be an enjoyable read, yet there are many who are raving about it. So take my opinion with a grain of salt, but go into this reading prepared for some eyeballs exploding.

You might enjoy this one if you:

• Love gory, gothic, historical horror.
• Enjoyed van Veen’s other work.
• Can’t resist reading about twisted relationships.
• Are all about a new spin on vampire novels.

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