They Bloom at Night sent shivers down my spine. This climate horror delivers plenty of thrills, suspense and surprises.

I adored She is a Haunting and Tran returns in full force here with this ocean horror that is eerie, disquieting and delivers the goods. This is excellent YA horror. I really like how much we delve into the intersection between capitalism, colonialism and climate crisis. Even in this altered world, rich men seek to exploit the world around them for their own gain. It is a deeply angry book that looks to burn down those power structures by highlighting how they affect people.

Noon is a fantastic protagonist within this. She has been changed by a secret she holds deep within her heart but cannot let this show for fear of upsetting her grief-stricken mother, obsessed with rediscovering the people they have loved and lost. The throughline of grief is wonderfully depicted with nuance and sensitivity. Grief brings out differing responses in everyone it affects, which is on full display here.

I loved the unnerving feeling of inevitability that the book possessed. From the first page, it feels like the events have been set in motion, leading towards the outcome that was always destined to happen. Of course, as a story, the course is set by the author already, but as a reader, you wish for it to change anyway. It also matches the book’s fascination with fate and the expectations of where our lives may lead. This blends Vietnamese folklore with the speculative story within, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality even further.

They Bloom at Night bares its teeth, sinks them in and does not let go. It is horror at its finest – holding a mirror up to our society and warning of the monsters within.

I was really excited for this, as I enjoyed She Is a Haunting, particularly for the horror and gothic elements. I loved how in She Is A Haunting Tran wrote about and explored the impact colonialism had and is still having on the Vietnamese people, while looking in to the Vietnamese diaspora and how that can effect how Vietnamese people identify themselves and move through the world.

Tran continued with these themes of diaspora in this, with the added addition of Vietnamese folklore. I thought this was really interesting, showing how these stories can follow you and the impact they can have on your life. For Noon and her mum this is transformative, in ways I will not spoil.

I really enjoyed the plotting and storytelling in this one, and I thought it was fascinating. However, I did find the world building somewhat lacking and confusing. I understood that this was happening in Mercy, but I found myself confused on the rest of the world. There was some mention of how the rest of the world was running and their reactions, but it didn’t feel clear enough to me. I was all around just a tad confused the entire time.

This was a criticism I had for She Is A Haunting too, but some of the sentences in this just didn’t make sense to me. I found myself having to reread entire paragraphs at a time because the sentences did not feel like proper sentences nor did they make sense.

Additionally, while I enjoyed the cast of characters I never really found myself enamoured or caring too much about them. There wasn’t a great amount of chemistry! By far the best character was Noon, and the most interesting relationship was the one she had with her mum.

Overall, I did find this to be a good book and I would recommend it. However, at times I felt like the writing was difficult and the world building lacklustre.

This was such a dark read that had me fully invested immediately. I am a big fan of body horror books and movies so I felt drawn to this one.

disclaimer : I received this free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

content warnings: violence, horror, body horror, gore, rape, sexual assault, racism, queerphobia

rep: vietnamese non binary m/c, lesbian side character & LI, queer side characters

I so wanted to love They Bloom at Night & while I enjoyed the novel at times, I was also just so bored at times too - which I was shocked at bc it's such a short novel. They Bloom at Night follows Nhung in a louisiana town after a hurricane has devastated the area & a red algae bloom has caused mutated wildlife. It has a good blend of sci - fi/post apocalyptic horror & also a haunting supernatural element. It talks about class , racism, intergenerational trauma, climate change , discovery of one's gender & queerness , Asian American experience - but all in all - it's really a coming of age novel, which may be why I struggled to get into it bc I've aged out of that now (this isn't the novels fault). Even tho this didn't hit the spot for me, if you're wanting a YA ocean horror with sci fi & supernatural elements, then I do recommend you have a nosy at this one.

A Vietnamese folklore inspired body horror set on the waterways of Louisiana.
As a red algae starts clogging the water around the town of Mercy, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants pairs up with the daughter of the local morally not-so-great man in charge to hunt a monster, all the while being aware that she herself is transforming.
This is YA, and not particularly subtle at times, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. There's an oppressive, swampy atmosphere, and I liked the empowering message.

Are you a horror reader?

I have never considered myself to be one, but I think this year I am having my horror renaissance.

This book was astounding - I could not put it down. I loved the horror of it, the folklore, the characters and the depiction of humanity and its depravity.

I am devastated this is only getting a paperback release because I would have paid good money for a beautiful but terrible special edition of this book.

The best horror book I've read this year by far, no notes.

Thank you to @netgalley and @bloomsburypublishing for my advanced copy of this amazing book.

#horrorbooks #yaficton #queerfiction

I was looking forward to this so much as the whole premise sounded wonderful.

I was really disappointed as the story was so slow and never really seemed to go anywhere thought the writing was well done.

For me a no but I could see how others may really like this.

DNF at 20%
This just hasn't grabbed me or caught my attention it's not for me nothing feels well fleshed out and I'm struggling to find a story to hold on to.

The tension in this queer body-horror was real, from the monsters unknown and the ones that are all too human. I was very invested in the relationships, as the book examines the ties of blood- and found- family and how they can save us or drown us if we let them.

A suitably creepy post-apocalyptic monster story but with human trauma at its core.

Tran tackles questions about gender, inter-generational trauma, sexual assault and various other ways that humans can be considered monstrous or 'other', and then she interweaves this with the notion of pollution causing evolutionary anomalies and creating actual physical monsters. This was reminiscent of one of my favourite films, Beasts of he Southern Wild, and I love the southern Gothic feel of it.

A great read for older teens but it definitely has challenging themes and it doesn't have mass appeal. Errs on the more literary side of YA. I'd particularly recommend it to A Level Lit students who want some stretch and challenge.

I really enjoyed this book, the descriptions of the dystopian world noon lives in was amazing, the constant underline threat of what lays beneath the water was brilliant, but also not all monsters are unseen. I also love queer representation in YA books.

After red algae invades Nhung’s hometown and people start disappearing, Nhung is forced by the local immoral businessman Jimmy to either hunt the monsters that are taking people or lose their boat that has became their home and more.

This YA novel was a fantastic mix of horror (especially body horror), mystery, queerness and Vietnamese folklore. It was very introspective, covering topics such as environmental issues, ‘soul-searching’ - a cheesy phrase - and belonging. I also loved that it spoke about the realisation that adults aren’t all-knowing and are just honestly winging it. The descriptions of the environment were incredibly beautiful and gave me Where the Crawdads Sing vibes. I also LOVE the cover design. If I’ve convinced you to pick this up, it comes out soon in early March! Thank you @bloomsburypublishing for sending this ARC!

TW: SA

This was an fascinating concept interweaving queer identity and body horror that I enjoyed but the plot was a little baggy in places.

After a hurricane has devastated the town of Mercy in Louisiana and red algae bloom has taken over. The wildlife has been mutated and there are fears of monsters preying on the few remaining residents. Vietnamese American teen Noon is dealing with trauma that happened long before the storm, struggling with her identity and trying to navigating life with her Mum who is convinced their family has been reincarnated as sea monsters. Then the town's sinister leader demands they bring him a monster

I did love the writing, there is a growing sense of foreboding throughout much of this and the central relationships between Noon and her mother (very complex) and of Noon and Covey, the daughter of the town's lead predator, were really well crafted. And the body horror also worked for me, which was a surprise as I'm not a natural horror reader. Noon is beginning to transform mentally as well as physically and believes there maybe a monster itching to get out of her skin. And there are some fairly detailed body transformation descriptions in here but it's very much in the service of the story. It's connected to the mythological elements of the story as well as the broader theme of transformation. And in this book the most dangerous monsters are very much the ones walking on the land, not the ones coming from the sea.

What worked less well for me was how everything was brought together. There is a lot of great rep in here, it's very queers, it examines identity, sexuality and has references to SA, but it didn't always flow with the story and some of the connections felt a little forced or seemed to come from nowhere. The friends that become the side kicks to the action always seemed very tacked on although they did have a role to play in Noon growing awareness of her own identity, but it never quite worked for me. But having said all that I still really enjoying this, I just wanted it to be a tighter, with a less cumbersome flow. If you enjoy queer horror and books that are on the darker side then it's definitely worth a read.

4 Stars!

Synopsis: The Bloom changed everything. Now Noon must hunt the monsters in the Bloom, for freedom, for peace, but Noon knows that sometimes people are the worst monsters of all.

CW/TW: Drowning/Violence/Death/Loss/Rape (not explicitly detailed)/Dysmorphia/Discomfort in Body/Body Horror/Gore/Threats/Blood/Diaspora references/Others may be present.

Rep: Vietnamese MC, Queer MC and cast, Trans side character, bi and sapphic side characters.

Other books by Trang Thanh Tran: Book Review: She Is A Haunting, by Trang Thanh Tran

They Bloom at Night is an atmospheric, touching, beautiful and hauntingly horrifying read.

Trang Thanh Tran has, once again, given us a captivating and haunting horror that is just an absolutely gorgeous read overall. I have read both of their books so far and I have firmly landed in the realm of them as a ‘must buy, must read’ author.

I don’t read much YA anymore, but I make an exception for Trang Thanh Tran‘s stories. They Bloom at Night is a complexly woven tale of what it means to be a monster and to be yourself. They perfectly weave together personal and supernatural stories that compliment and develop each other. This creates a depth to the stories that is incredibly touching and relatable.

The horror aspect is divine. The tensions, the creepiness, the monsters, the Bloom, the transformations. It all comes together beautifully to give you a creepy but captivating horror that you can’t help but be drawn into.

Trang Thanh Tran‘s writing flows wonderfully. It is descriptive and detailed, painting gorgeous and horrifying scenes while still being a smooth and easy read that is well paced. They write with an emotional depth that you can feel radiating from the page. It is hard not to love their writing and stories.

Overall, this was a brilliant, haunting, touching, and compelling read and I will forever pick up any of their books in the future!

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) | Bloomsbury YA for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

They Bloom at Night is a wonderfully creepy book about family, queer love and sea monsters. It is an amazing blend of body and water horror (which I’ve grown to appreciate more since reading Our Wives Under the Sea) which will give you a chill. And the cover is absolutely gorgeous, that can’t be refuted.

What I love about this and Tran’s previous book is the focus on character development amid all of the horror. Like in She is a Haunting, she creates complex characters who are haunted by their own past, family history and coming to grips with their own sexuality. All of this tension is only compounded by the horrible monsters they encounter.

I also love the focus on more nature based horror in her work. In the previous book there were bugs and in this book there is red algae and slimy things that crawl in the water. Nature can be terrifying, let’s face it, so it’s great when we expose the dark underside and see all the creepy crawlies beneath the surface. I wouldn’t say this is so scary that you won’t be able to sleep at night, but it certainly instils a dread in the reader.

I have really enjoyed seeing how Tran’s writing has developed and I look forward to reading her next book!

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for a review

In a word: visceral. Body horror at its finest, locked in with a end of the world scenario or at least surviving in a disaster zone. And then we have Song, and its terrifying. YA horror does not hold back and I loved the message about how adults fear the wrong things. Identity, gender and race gets ramped up as people find themselves hampered by things far outside of their control and I loved it.

Would definitely read from this author again.

They Bloom at Night is a creepy, dark mystery infused with supernatural folklore and set in the atmospheric swamp-like backwaters of Louisiana, USA. Noon's world is the water and the fishing boat she lives and works on with her mom. The water was infested with a red algae after a violent hurricane and the wildlife became infected and mutated. Mom obsesses about finding her missing husband and son, convinced they are in the water somewhere and neglecting the needs of her daughter. In debt to the local kingpin they are forced on a dangerous journey, with his daughter, who is more concerned about finding her own missing mom. Lots of small community dynamics, regrets, questioning loyalties and identities and a cracking plot to keep you guessing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Amazon.

They Bloom at Night, was a fantastic book full of suspense and errieness. Once I started reading it, it was difficult to put down. I was transported to the hurricane ravaged Mercy and quickly grew to love the characters as they felt like real authentic people. I also really enjoyed the Vietnamese culture and language that was shared in the novel. The novel cleverly examines real life issues through the lense of a suspenseful creature feature. I held my breath in anticipation until the last page was read.

I am a big fan of world horror novels. The creepier the better. This one is CREEPY!

Noom is a bewitching protagonist and I was engrossed in watching her change as she learned to grow in a world after trauma.

Definitely will be re-reading to review properly. I don’t think I got everything I could from the story the first time around. It has so many layers!!

Recommended to anyone who enjoys good horror, eerie worlds, characters with depth and folklore!