Review of Blood On Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen
Title: Blood on Her Tongue
Author: Johanna van Veen
Genre: Horror, Vampires, Historical Fiction
Year Published: 2025
My Rating: 5/5
Blurb:
"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.
Review
I could not put this book down. It was full of intrigue and mystery that led me to keep reading. The mystery of Sarah’s illness was easy to figure out, but I had no idea what would happen next or how each character would act. Some scenes I had my mouth wide open as I couldn’t believe what I was reading (in a good way).
I liked the fresh take on vampirism and how it blurred the lines between the supernatural and the mundane. The gore was in abundance but it wasn’t entirely unpalatable, just what you expect from a gothic horror novel. Trigger warning for eyeball gore, however.
The ending was a tad rushed but I don’t mind, I still really enjoyed the read!