Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

“I’m in your blood, and you are in mine…” Set against the eerie backdrop of 1887 Netherlands, this gothic horror novel is a haunting blend of sisterhood, madness, and body horror. Lucy’s twin, Sarah, is slipping into obsession—drawn to a centuries-old corpse and something far darker. As Lucy tries to save her, she’s pulled into a nightmare of possession, secrets, and the terrifying power of love that refuses to let go.

The twin bond is the emotional core of this story—intense, unsettling, and heartbreakingly tender. Lucy’s loyalty is fierce, and watching her navigate the line between devotion and destruction is unforgettable.

Van Veen’s prose is lush and atmospheric, steeped in dread and dripping with gothic beauty. Think foggy moors, decaying estates, and horror that creeps under your skin. If you love stories that are as emotionally raw as they are terrifying, this one’s a must-read.

Oh I loved this gothic tale of betrayal, secrets and strange occurrences. the first half solidly lays a foundation for the sisters relationship and a backstory to their separation over the years, come the second half, it all kicks off. There is creeping dread, some body horror, mental and emotional abuse, lies and revenge. Johanna Van Veen has a wonderful horror writing style and I am a big fan of her books.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the setting of this book. It was intriguing from start to finish and had moments that genuinely surprised me. I do think I wanted just a little bit more from the ending.

WHY YOU WOULD WANT TO READ THIS BOOK:

If you're the kind of person who reads the title "Blood on her Tongue" and thinks this would be a good time. You may want to buckle up and perhaps hide your vanilla sensibilities, because this twisty, gothic-feminist tale from Johanna Van Veen is about as wholesome as a polar bear in a blizzard-if said polar bear was roaming the halls of the haunting of hill house.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART:

Let's address the elephant in the haunted manor shall we? Blood on her Tongue is gay as fuck, with a darkly feminist storyline at its centre. It's set in the deeply repressive times for females in 1887. It's setting- in The Netherlands was a nice change other than Britain. It made me think of blankets, hot cups of tea and maybe even a crack team of vampire hunters to get you through the initial few chapters. But don't let the haunting backdrop fool you, Van Veen's writing is so beautiful and atmospheric that you'll literally feel the blood dribbling from the puncture wound in your neck.

THE CAST- QUESTIONABLE BUT CURIOUS

Our heroine, Lucy is a twin and she leans into that identity with everything. She's sharp, persistent, and would kill to protect her sister. She is rather niave however, and falls for the charms of her sister's husband, Micheal. She's always felt under the shadow of her sister and she just wanted something for herself, no matter how wrong it is. So when she returns to care for her ill sister things take a drastic turn when she is almost buried alive.
The supporting cast - Sarah - her vampiric twin sister, who also treats Lucy like an extension of her self.
Micheal - her broody brother-in-law, whom she is having an affair with.
Arthur- A lifelong childhood friend, the local doctor, and desperately in love with Lucy.

PLOT- GRISY SCENES

The plot of Blood on her tongue is a simple one, a young woman becoming a vampire. She becomes obsessed with the mysterious case of the bog woman, a dead body of a woman having been buried in the bog on Sarah and Micheal's land. It is centuries old and the mystery of it encapsulates Sarah to the point of obsession. Two scenes will stay with me- that of one of the housemaids being eaten out by Sarah while she is in the midst of menses and the blue bottle and eye scene.

Blood on Her Tongue suggested a book with bite. Sadly, it just kind of nibbled. The first third was strong and the vibes were vibing, but then the writing thinned out and everything turned a bit one-dimensional. Characters felt more like placeholders, and the atmosphere never really settled in. I wanted gothic horror, body horror I could salivate over, and some sharp social commentary. I wanted moody satisfaction but it didn't deliver and just left me kind of moody. A miss for me but thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this in exchange for my honest thoughts.
I would rate this straight down the middle at 2.5 stars.

‘’That night, it stormed. The wind stripped trees of their bark and branches. It howled, threw things, like a child having a tantrum. Raindrops cold and hard as bullets smashed against walls and windows and wormed their way into every nook and cranny. Soon, rain trickled down the walls and ruined the wallpaper or dripped from the roof.’’

A body unearthed from a bog sets in motion a chain of events that are simply too unfathomable to comprehend. A young woman struggles to help her sister who has found herself in the centre of an impossible fight. How can you battle demons and men at the same time without losing a piece of yourself in the process? This is the reality Lucy is facing in a novel that is the epitome of the word ‘unforgettable’.

I really, really do NOT have the words to describe my reactions as a chapter finished and another started. We are talking about moments that surpass the definitions ‘Dark’ and ‘Gothic’ and ‘Haunting’ and so on and so forth. What we have here is a novel that belongs to the Gothic genre but with a story that centres around female identity, oppression, loyalty and independence. The hunger for blood can be read as hunger for a life that is not dictated by marital and societal rules but by the familial bonds and the interests that cultivate our personality. The characters are deeply flawed - even Lucy, our amazing main character - but the way the narrative has been constructed makes you deeply interested in their fate. They will anger, shock, and frustrate you, but it will be impossible for the reader not to devour the chapters with a pounding heart.

Point one: If you are squeamish about blood, tread carefully. I am the most stone-hearted creature on the planet when it comes to gore and grim but even I had to avert my eyes from the page in certain parts.

Point two: ‘Female rage’ - and I have no idea why this absurd term was coined and why it should be considered a new literary genre - is for idiots. Labels are for idiots. Good stories are good stories that need to be told. Woke terms are for political agendas.

Yeah, not interested.

‘’By now, the sun had thoroughly set, but she had the light of the stars and moon to guide her. It was a thin pale light, painting everything around her in hues of gray and blue. Thin tendrils of mist crept from the earth and nipped at her ankles. It was said that they heralded the arrival of the witte wieven, white women who came out at night from the burial mounds that were everywhere on the Dutch heath, hungry for gold, hungry for souls. They were the restless ghosts of witches, or fairies wishing to lure people off the straight and narrow, or perhaps something else altogether.
They could be the ghosts of those unfortunates who have drowned in the bog.’’

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/

I adored this, it was the gothic horror I've been looking for and failing to find for the past few months and years. Delightfully creepy, Blood On Her Tongue feels like a classic gothic horror novel but still manages to be fresh and new and exciting. Can't wait to read more from Johanna!

No one builds a gothic atmosphere quite like Johanna Van Veen, and Blood on Her Tongue is a wonderful example. Much like in her debut (Darling Dreadful Thing), Johanna rips apart what makes the main protagonist who she is, building her back up as someone entirely new. I will never not be excited for anything this author writes.

An interesting take on a vampire story.
Unfortunately, this missed the mark for me. I was hoping for more horror, more fear, even some sketchiness which I didn’t feel I got. :(
The love between twin sisters was majority of the story. The only real action came towards the end :(
The main characters were rather bland imo - Lucy really needed to get a grip tbh.

A wonderfully gothic novel with a haunting atmosphere. I loved the complicated relationship between the twin sisters who will stand by each other no matter what sin committed. Lucy's husband was terrible in all the best ways, him having extra teeth that have to be filed down so he doesn't cut Lucy during kissing was a fantastic touch. This is a book I won't easily forget and is one of my favorite reads of the year. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks | Poisoned Pen Press and Johanna Van Veen for the e Arc of Blood On Her tongue.

Who can resist a Vampire story? I can't and this book is beautifully written which tackles more than just blood sucking. Set in the Netherlands, in 1887. Sarah, Lucys twin sister becomes upwell and Lucy goes to unravel the mystery before Sarah is committed to an Asylum. The narrative opens in letter form as Sarah writes to Lucy regarding seeing a " Bog Body" and becoming completely obsessed in researching why this body was buried, nailed to wooden bars and a large rock in her mouth. For the first 1/4 of the book we get to know what Sarah is investigating as well as snippets of Lucy coming to look after Sarah. These aren't really clearly marked in the chapters which can be a little confusing but I do believe, after reading this book, it adds to the unsettling, atmospheric edge of knowing where the plot is going with added dread.

Johanna's description of Sarah, or Not Sarah as Lucy refers to her goes from being the women she knew as a twin sister to something completely inhuman. It's slow burning, sets you on edge and explores not only the class/ expectations of that timeline, the bonds that not only sisters have. But how twins just know what's going on with the other. I literally binged this book within 2 days ( work got in the way !) and I loved every word.

4 .5 stars for Storygraph, 5 stars for Netgalley

What an experience! If you want gothic tales with horror then this is for you - this is such a unique book. Such interesting stories/plots. This is my first reading a book from this author and it won’t be my last

Blood on Her Tongue is a dark and intriguing gothic horror tale that follows a woman named Lucy who is travelling to stay with her twin sister Sarah who has become unwell. When Lucy arrives she finds Sarah is deathly ill and has been diagnosed with temporary insanity caused by a brain fever. Lucy’s terrified Sarah will be committed to a lunatic asylum, but when Sarah starts acting even more strange Lucy discovers just what lengths she will go to in order to protect her sister.

This was a really fascinating story and it felt like such a unique take on a gothic vampire tale. Veen does a brilliant job creating a really tense, creepy atmosphere and I really enjoyed that this was set in The Netherlands in the 1800s. I really enjoyed Veen’s beautiful writing style and the story was well paced. I did think the latter half of the book was a bit chaotic and far fetched in places, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this sinister story.

Blood on Her Tongue very much explores the sibling dynamic and I loved seeing how their relationship evolved as the story progressed. Their relationship was often messy and chaotic and I really liked the way Veen portrayed that. This is a dark and bloody tale and I was completely fascinated by the bog bodies – something I’d never heard about until I read this book. If you’re looking for a Victorian horror tale with vivid writing, an atmospheric setting and well developed characters, you won’t want to miss Blood on Her Tongue.

I haven't read a horror book in a while, but Blood on Her Tongue was the perfect reintroduction. Inspired by Dracula and Carmilla, this Gothic horror is set in the late 1887 in The Netherlands, and follows Lucy as she travels to her twin sister to nurse her through an illness. She had fallen ill shortly after discovering a bog body nearby. Lucy has to unravel the mystery for her sister's affliction, with the help of Sarah's husband Michael and Childhood friend (now doctor) Arthur. It was told with different reports, newspaper articles and Sara's diary entries spliced between Lucy's point of view which was really effective. The book was well paced to keep the tension exactly where it needed to be throughout.

The writing style was really immersive. Johanna van Veen is an incredibly strong world builder, each setting, from the manor house to the bog itself, was so vividly drawn that they felt like characters in their own right. This book is dark, gruesome, disturbing at times in the best way, explicit in moments but never overly so.

Lucy was a highly engaging protagonist. She isn't the innocent maiden, and she isn't the manipulative siren, she's a complicated character with flaws, but underneath it all is a loving sister and a woman navigating how to survive in the 19the century with all the oppression that entails. We will never know how we would deal with something so unfathomable, but Lucy reads like one of the most realistic examples.

I recommend this to anyone who likes horror, Gothic or dark stories, but the main draw for me was the exploration of sisterly bonds, feminine rage, and finding humanity in every being.

Thank you to NetGalley and Source Books/Poisoned pen Press for the advanced copy!

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 Goodreads.

An incredibly creepy, bloody, and haunting gothic fiction novel.

Not for the faint of heart, and I would advise you check trigger warnings beforehand.

This was an absolutely phenomenal read.
The gothic horror of it all was perfectly written and had some disturbing elements that made it brilliant. I did think that this would have been a gothic romance but was shocked to see it wasn’t

This novel establishes itself as a leading player in the current world of gothic writing, appealing to iconic and well-established tropes but removing us from their expected routes to lead readers into a horrific, gory and thrilling story that grips onto your attention and refuses to let go.

I loved this book. It gave me everything and more I could have wanted, and leaved enough room to surprise and shock me with every page. As an avid lover of the gothic, mostly classic Victorian gothic, it’s a pleasure to see a modern gothic novel take on the genre in a way that feels refreshing and familiar in one fall swoop.

Honestly, I hesitate so say too much because this book does more than enough to draw you in with as little prior information as possible. All I shall say is if you love gothic horror, pick this book up.

This was a fantastic twist on 'thing that makes you crave and require human blood' - not a vampire in this case, but something violating and gross and REALLY COOL. I can't stress the 'gross' bit enough though; I'm not really squeamish but I was wincing in places lol. The plot was pacey and the character conflict was juicy, with a toxic codependent relationship between sisters while the men who hold the power are... unhelpful at best. I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Source Books/Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: horror, death, corpses, body horror, injury, abuse, gore

Deeply creepy, incredibly bloody and as haunting as gothic fiction can get, ‘Blood on Her Tongue’ is set in the Netherlands, 1887, and follows Lucy, as she travels to be with her beloved twin sister Sarah, who is deeply unwell. Ever since a bog body was discovered on her husband’s land of Zwartwater, Sarah has become deeply obsessed, refusing to eat or sleep and spiralling into what doctors call temporary insanity caused by a fever in the brain. To protect Sarah from being sent to an asylum, Lucy seeks to discover more about Sarah’s condition, even the possible identity of the dead woman from centuries ago. Both twins are keeping secrets and the deeper Lucy pushes, the more disturbed she becomes. And then Sarah worsens further, becoming deeply angry and violent and worst of all… hungry with a craving for blood. Soon enough Lucy begins to suspect that her sister has been possessed, but despite everything she can’t let go of the idea it might be madness. In order to save her, Lucy must face the truth- or lose the other half of her soul.

The heart of this story is the relationship between Sarah and Lucy and this book drags both sisters through the darkest possible places and into a situation worse than anyone could imagine. The atmosphere of this book is absolutely stunning, it’s so impressively tense and disturbing at all times, and every time you think you know where the story might go it does the opposite. It’s a slow burn of a story, but it’s necessary- you become absorbed in Lucy’s world from the first page and into her relationships until you feel as if you know her personally. Aspects of this book are truly distressing, there’s a strong element of body horror and an ongoing discussion around women’s madness and wider misogyny. The writing in the scenes with Sarah, and those further in as Lucy starts to spiral herself, was vibrant and raw, unafraid to go to terrifying and gory places. I really enjoyed Lucy as a main character, Sarah is her entire world and her devotion to her sister is so powerfully written. I was fascinated by what happened to Sarah and the woman in the bog, even as I got more and more tense. This is my first book by this author but it definitely won’t be my last. I raced through this in just under a day and I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. Definitely check the trigger warnings if you plan to read this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks UK for sending me this ARC!

Blood on her Tongue was simultaneously what I expected and nothing like I was expecting. I was given the moodiness, the secret sapphic relations, and the haunting imagery (think crimson peak), but I was not given vampires, which I naively expected based on the description of the book. Instead of vampires, I was treated to a centuries old parasite.

Whilst not what I expected, I enjoyed the concept of a blood hungry parasite, and as always, I love watching men get their comeuppance.

Personally, it took a little while for the story to get going/capture my full interest. 3.5 stars.