My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen | Book Review

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My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen
Published by Poisoned Pen Press on May 14, 2024
Genres: Gothic, Horror, LGBT, Romance
Pages: 377
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Content Warnings: Death, Abuse, Sexual Assault, Gore, Self Harm, Mental Illness, Incest, Homophobia 
Rating:

Spirits are drawn to salt, be it blood or tears. Roos Beckman has a spirit companion only she can see. Ruth—strange, corpse-like, and dead for centuries—is the light of Roos' life. That is, until the wealthy young widow Agnes Knoop visits one of Roos' backroom seances, and the two strike up a connection. Soon, Roos is whisked away to the crumbling estate Agnes inherited upon the death of her husband, where an ill woman haunts the halls, strange smells drift through the air at night, and mysterious stone statues reside in the family chapel. Something dreadful festers in the manor, but still, the attraction between Roos and Agnes is undeniable. Then, someone is murdered. Poor, alone, and with a history of 'hysterics', Roos is the obvious culprit. With her sanity and innocence in question, she'll have to prove who—or what—is at fault or lose everything she holds dear.

I am seriously slacking on writing reviews in a timely manner at the moment, but some of these books lately have required some thought before sitting down to write. My Darling Dreadful Thing left me reeling, unsure what was real and what wasn't. And for that reason, I have had to marinate on my feelings.

The story is divided into three parts and flip flops between Roos Beckman telling her story and notes from her doctor after she is locked up for allegedly murdering her employer and lover. This back-and-forth between viewpoints was sometimes jarring and left me feeling uneasy, which added to the story's creepiness. Despite this, the book is not particularly scary, which I was disappointed in because it was advertised as gothic horror. There were certainly times of unease, especially regarding the statues and the depiction of the ghosts Roos and Agnes can both see and talk to, but other than that, this is not a scary story, which van Veen mentions in her notes at the beginning of the book. 

"If you strip My Darling Dreadful Thing until nothing remains but its essence, you will not find a horrific secret at its very heart. You will find, instead, a love story." And that is exactly what I found, a love story between two abused and discarded women who sought comfort in their shared trauma. Their story is a tragic one, and a reminder that childhood trauma can manifest in many ways and bind people together. Some have mentioned they felt the love story happened too quickly, but I didn't feel that way. Roos certainly falls faster and harder, and I blame her lack of love as a child for this fact. Agnes was also discarded as a child, but at least had a loving mother for part of her childhood, creating a more reserved adult. Things don't fully blossom between the two until much later in the story, which does include some spicy scenes. I don't particularly like spice, but they were tastefully done. Even if some believe the love story happens too quickly, the love feels easy and real. Roos and Agnes finally found some solace in their desperately lonely lives with each other, which is all anyone could ask for.

What I enjoyed most, however, was the world-building. van Veen has a knack for picking just the right words to describe every detail, fully immersing the reader in the world she has created. Every macabre detail adds to the richness of the story and is anything but superfluous. It's clear van Veen pulled inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, and she does a beautiful job reimagining the events that happen there. The Universe has certainly wanted this story retold recently, with several retellings popping up across multiple media types. I wonder what it's trying to tell us...

Despite loving the characters, the environment, the love story, and the attention to detail, the story fell flat for me. The juicy, dark secret was predictable and that lack of horror was disappointing. I wanted more than what I was given, but that's okay. It's still a stunning debut novel, just not one I will likely read again. Do I recommend My Darling Dreadful Thing? Yes, especially for those looking for tragedy and sapphic romance.