Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

What the FUCK did I just read, a memoir.

No, but seriously, the last thing I read that had me holy shitting like this was probably Ania Ahlborn's BROTHER. And BLOOM is so insidious, starting out like a cute little sapphic cottagecore romance. Ash seems like a manic pixie dreamgirl straight out of homesteader TikTok, and yet, beneath her little cottage, a dark secret lies...

I liked this book... as horrible as it was. The writing was beautiful, even poetic at times, and I think this is a masterclass on how to make two toxic, deeply fucked up and unlikable people compelling. I saw a lot of reviews about how much people hated Ro but I think that was the point; she's needy and doesn't have boundaries and a deeply flawed person, and those flaws end up being exploited in the worst way.

One of the running themes in this book is Ro ignoring Ash's red flags even though if they came from a man, they would alarm her. And she questions this multiple times, wondering if her fear and unease is internalized misogyny rearing its ugly head-- because of course, a woman could never do anything violent or terrible? Except this is, in and of itself, internalized misogyny, and it is a narrative that enables violent and predatory women to fly under the radar in a society that only sees women as victims or recipients of violence. And I think that was the ultimate goal of this book.

I don't really have much else to say because I don't want to spoil anything, but don't worry-- the kitty lives.

4 to 4.5 out of 5 stars