A review by tastytakoyaki
My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book. There were many references to other gothic works (The Haunting of Hill House and the Turn of the Screw most prominently), which I had fun making note of. The writing is fantastic, the story is tragic, and the romance was both beautiful and terrible. I loved the use of the case studies interspersed every few chapters- you know how things are going to end very early on, but you don't know how, or why, and in the end, was Roos really able to see spirits, or was she mentally ill and affected by her childhood trauma, as Dr. Montague concluded? 

All in all this was a 5 star read for me. I was incredibly moved by this story and plan to recommend it to anyone who will listen. Truly a stunning work of gothic fiction and I wish I could read it again for the first time.  

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