howlinglibraries's reviews
1804 reviews

I MIGHT try this again someday, but I've been slowly chipping away at this book for 4 months and it isn't grabbing my interest. I've also been spoiled for some content later in this series that makes me think the morbid curiosity might not be worth it right now, which is fine! 🤷‍♀️ It'll still be here if I change my mind!

In the words of my best friend, "DNFing is self-care!" 🖤

This story could have been so much fun, but the writing and a very unlikeable main character mostly ruined it for me. Why is this alleged lifelong witch, who was raised in a family of witches, so clueless about her own craft (and the craft of others)? And how is she this close-minded despite her craft? Maybe I could have enjoyed this more if it hadn't irked me on such a personal level. 😅 Also... who the fuck names their partner after the place they were born? Like, how unimaginative can you possibly be?

I'll read other books by both of these authors, but this one wasn't for me. As someone who reads a lot of smut in romance and horror, this book definitely suffered from 'Sex Scenes Written By Men' lol (IYKYK).

 

This was one of the most beautifully haunting books I've read in quite a while and has easily, instantly found its way onto the 'best books of 2024' list in my mind. My Darling Dreadful Thing is precisely what I want from a gothic horror novel: dark, romantic, claustrophobic, and downright chilling. Scenes of horrific imagery and even worse traumas take place against an immersive and poetic backdrop filled with forbidden love, and I adored it. It broke my heart more than once. I can't wait to read more of Johanna's works. ♥

✨ Representation: sapphic romance, queer MC, Indonesian and bi/pan love interest