Publishers Weekly
08/14/2023
Dawson (The Violence) creates a sweet, cottagecore lesbian romance and patiently twists it into well-crafted but brutal horror. Lush present-tense descriptions of food, decor, and gardens draw readers in as Ro, a lonely and awkward 27-year-old academic, falls head-over-heels for Ash, an ethereal beauty who runs a stall in the farmers’ market, having inherited a working farm from her grim grandmother. Their romance doesn’t turn wholly sinister until a hundred pages of seduction have gone by and Ro finds odd but damning evidence of animal cruelty in the trash can of her girlfriend’s quaint country kitchen. Ash can expertly cook anything from scratch—heaven for “chubby” Ro—but she also enforces boundaries so fiercely that she edges into Bluebeard territory. And, like Bluebeard, this dark fairy tale is revealed as a nightmarish world for women. Dawson revels in painting female lovers, mothers, and grandmothers as loathsome and corrupting stereotypically feminine spaces and pursuits, showing them as mediums of abuse. Even the language of self-care and empowerment is rendered toxic. Ironic? Interrogative? The point is not made entirely clear, which weakens the otherwise indisputable power of the storytelling. Still, fans of slow-burning scares will find much to terrify them here. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Bloom:
"A sapphic, cottagecore Hannibal. It’s delightfully queer, viciously cruel, creatively cannibalistic, and distressingly passionate. It is a novella that revels in making the reader increasingly uncomfortable. You’ll want to put it down, but you won’t be able to." Locus
"A slim novel with incredible potency. A literary pursuit for the ages. I can't recall a courtship as captivating as the one in these pages, and if there's a better writer than Delilah Dawson going today, I don't know 'em."
Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Spin a Black Yarn
"This quick and compulsively readable fairy-tale nightmare from Dawson (The Violence) will have readers gasping for breath and hungry for more."
Library Journal
“A cottagecore dream turned nightmare, astonishing in its beauty and violence. Every page drips with delicious dread. This bite-sized tale is perfectly wicked.”
Rachel Harrison, author of Such Sharp Teeth
“Sensual, smart, biting, and downright nasty, Bloom is a dizzying, heady feast for the discerning palate. I devoured this book in one greedy sitting.”
Paul Tremblay, author of The Pallbearers Club
“Sumptuous, lyrical prose meets horrific brutality in Delilah S. Dawson’s harrowing tale of obsession and cruelty. An elegantly written nightmare, Bloom will beguile unsuspecting readers before finally slicing deep and drawing blood.”
Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke
“Dawson has brought the kind of irresistible treat you’ve been hungering for. Sapphic longing with a dash of darkness—the perfect recipe. Superbly seductive.”
Hailey Piper, author of A Light Most Hateful
“Delicate and murderous, Bloom is the perfect encapsulation of a subgenre I’d only heard of in theory but now exists in its final form: cozy horror. Delight in the berries, blood and cupcake frosting—find yourself enraptured by the farmers' market aesthetic as designed by the Mads Mikkelson version of Hannibal Lecter.”
Chuck Wendig, author of The Book of Accidents
“Like an unwary visitor to the Goblin Market, I was swept away by Delilah S. Dawson’s Bloom, with its lush cottagegore settings and heart of absolute darkness.”
Ally Wilkes, author of All the White Spaces
“Gruesome and lovely, Bloom is compulsively readable. Like being slowly boiled alive, by the time you see the rot beneath the beauty, it’s already too late. You’re hooked.”
Kristi DeMeester, author of Such a Pretty Smile
"Sumptuous, strange, and horrifying, Bloom walks the tenuous line between the ultimate romance and the ultimate nightmare. Delilah S. Dawson has created quite an intense and terrifying couple in her characters of Ro and Ash, and by the time you've finished the last page of this book, you won't soon forget them."
Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals
“Bloom unspools like a dreamy fairytale, Instagram-ready and dripping in enchanting language. The cracks in the surface are ever-present, hinting at the danger beneath, but in Delilah S. Dawson's hands darkness itself is as tantalizing as a richly frosted treat. Like Bloom's leading lady, readers will be seduced by this hypnotic, visceral romp—and be reminded that magic works because of what we refuse to see, which may be the moral of all the best fairytales.”
Zoje Stage, bestselling author of Baby Teeth and Mothered
Library Journal
07/01/2023
A fresh start for a young professional takes a shockingly dark direction in this hypnotic page-turner, great for fans of Eric LaRocca and Catriona Ward. Rosemary, known as Ro, has left the hustle and bustle of NYC and her recent ex to teach at the University of Georgia. She is quickly charmed by her new environment, and during a trip to the local farmers market she becomes utterly captivated by a beautiful and mysterious vendor of homemade soaps, candles, and more. Ro is pulled willingly into Ash's orbit with an immediate need to impress her and to please her. Amid lush, fairytale-esque imagery, Ro's infatuation grows, despite—or perhaps because of—increasing uncertainty. What begins as a sweet romance quickly becomes something much darker. Beautiful language with expertly placed details that inspire both wonder and dread will leave readers breathless, and a shocking third act is the cherry on top of a horrifying sundae. VERDICT This quick and compulsively readable fairy-tale nightmare from Dawson (The Violence) will have readers gasping for breath and hungry for more.—Emily Vinci
