Bitterbloom - by Teagan Olivia King

About the Book

In the village of Rixton, the vicar's daughter--plagued by visions of strange monsters and blamed for the sudden deaths of several village girls--realizes the monsters she sees in the woods are actually lost souls seeking her help and decides to travel into the hellish purgatory where they reside in hopes of bringing her late mother back to life, only to uncover horrifying family secrets along the way.

Book Synopsis

For fans of Hannah Whitten and Ava Reid comes a thrilling new fantasy by the author of Spit Back the Bones.

Once a fool. Twice a thief.

In a village plagued by mysterious deaths, Adelaide Thorn wonders if she is truly touched by the Devil. The villagers believe her to be the monster responsible for all the tragedies. Even her father, the vicar, presumes she's guilty, tying her to a chair as punishment, afraid that if he cuts her loose, more girls will wind up dead. Her chronic illness causes her to have strange visions and blackouts, and even Addie herself begins to wonder if she is the one with blood on her hands.

Addie feels drawn to the Rowan Wood on the outskirts of her village, and when she wades out into the river to get closer, she cuts her foot on a strange bell nestled in the riverbed. Ransom Black, a lordling with secrets of his own, helps her stanch the bleeding and speaks to her without any indication of fear.

Back at home, Addie rings the bell and realizes it gives her the power to see the ghosts of those the village has lost, including the ghost of Bram Avery, who begs for her help. Bram tells her that the bell--a Reaper's Bell--can open the door to the Rowan Wood, a hellish purgatory where the souls of the dead reside.

Accompanied by Bram and Ransom, Addie ventures into the Rowan Wood with hopes of rescuing her late mother. There, Addie quickly realizes that their beloved might not be who they once were. Addie's journey to find her mother's soul is complicated by her attraction to Ransom and her unexpected feelings for Bram, who might be more dead than alive but sees Addie in a way no one has before.

As the three make their way deeper into the Wood, each motivated by their own desperate desires, trust turns to betrayal and flawless facades begin to flicker. It may be that the ones Addie has so longed to reunite are those who have been lying to her her entire life.

Review Quotes

"Beautifully grotesque, hauntingly romantic, and as twisty as a woodland path--I loved every minute of Bitterbloom." --Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

"An eerie narrative bound skillfully together by luscious, biting prose, Bitterbloom wears the trappings of gothic romance like a crimson lace cloak--familiar yet enticing, with plenty of secrets lurking in the dark." --Maggie Rapier, USA Today bestselling author of Soulgazer

"Brimming with emotion and told in fairytale prose, Bitterbloom perfectly captures the ache of female rage, and the lengths we will go to in order to escape disempowerment." --Lyndall Clipstone, critically acclaimed author of Tenderly, I am Devoured

"Ethereal and gothic, Bitterbloom drips haunting imagery from every page. A beautiful exploration of the blood-soaked sins of religion, the power of women allowed to be their own, and the difference between never dying and truly living. I couldn't put it down!" --Alexandra Kennington, author of Blood Beneath the Snow

"Dark, visceral, and ultimately redemptive, Bitterbloom is a mesmerizing journey. Readers will find themselves both lost and found in this riveting tale of reckoning." --Autumn Krause, critically acclaimed author of Grave Flowers

"King's prose rings with the haunting timbre of a Reaper's bell and charts the necessary pains and joys of being alive. Decadently rotten and tightly plotted, Bitterbloom is for anyone who yearns for a side of horror with their fantasy romance." --Allison Saft, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic

"Bitterbloom is a beautiful, macabre thing. A sharp-edged, dark fairytale of a book that will lure readers in and then haunt them." --Amanda Linsmeier, author of A Dance With Death

"A wickedly sharp and sumptuous tale, Bitterbloom rings with heartache, delicious prose, and spine-chilling twists and turns. The gruesome world that King has created will grip you by the throat and keep you turning pages late into the night." --Ruth McKell, author of Honey in Her Veins

Praise for Spit Back the Bones

"Beautiful and impossibly filled with the stench of stagnant water and loamy earth, Spit Back the Bones is a slurry of pain, rage, and hope. In her haunting debut, King exposes the horrors of coming home to the ghosts we never really bury and the pervasive rot of regret." --Tanya Pell, author of Her Wicked Roots and Cicada

"Gruesomely romantic, Spit Back the Bones pulls you in as surely as the bog does. Gripping, ethereal, and ultimately hopeful." --Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

"Emotional and atmospheric, Spit Back the Bones is dripping in heady bog water. You'll never look at black flies the same way again." --Saratoga Schaefer, author of Serial Killer Support Group and Traditional Wife

"Spit Back the Bones is at once grotesque and hauntingly beautiful, exploring grief, rage, love, and of course, power--those who take it, and those who reclaim it. A monstrous debut that yanks at the heartstrings so well it hurts." --Amanda Linsmeier, author of Starlings and Six of Sorrow

"Teagan Olivia King's debut tears through you like a scream and shows how home can be a place that holds you and haunts you all at once. Mila's dedication to her family will speak to anyone who has a sordid past they just can't shake--but can't bear to let go. Small-town religious corruption, a rekindled romance, and a bloodthirsty bog culminate in a story that will creep you out as much as it will lovingly embrace you." --Isa Agajanian, author of Modern Divination

"Spit Back the Bones will consume you. King's world is nightmarishly beautiful; her setting will claw beneath your skin and settle deep in your bones. Beyond its delectably dark prose, this debut offers a deeper exploration of love and loss and the monstrous form one's grief can take in the dark." --Skyla Arndt, author of Together We Rot and House of Hearts

"Lush with dread and steeped in folklore, Spit Back the Bones is a spellbinding fever dream of grief, rage, and the monsters we inherit." --Lindy Ryan, author of Bless Your Heart

"Grief, family legacy, and religious trauma make for a truly authentic American gothic, this one possessed by the grasping hands of a living bog. Spit Back the Bones is equally gruesome as it is beautiful." --Dawn Kurtagich, bestselling author of The Thorns

About the Author

Teagan Olivia King grew up in Michigan's wild Upper Peninsula but traded in the stormy shores of Lake Superior for the wind-beaten sandbars of Lake Huron. She holds a degree in Creative Writing from Northern Michigan University and is the author of several works of short horror fiction. She lives in an old farmhouse with her beloved, a rescue pup named Remus, a black cat named Chester, who may or may not harbor the soul of some long-dead deity, and probably some ghosts. She is the author of several works of adult horror and dark fantasy.