For most of this book, I wasn’t really sure what I was feeling about it. It felt like a variation of a story I’ve read quite a few times before, both in full-length novels and in stories in anthologies. There were some aspects that felt more unique, and I knew I was enjoying the magical realism elements that accompanied the more common story of a town that survived off harming its women secretly. However, I didn’t really feel like this book was one that would stick with me.

That changed when we got to the end. Most of these books end quickly and abruptly. Once the secrets are revealed and the evil has been apprehended, that’s it! Everyone can be safe and happy now, the day has been saved, and we can all forget about it. However, Where Darkness Blooms doesn’t quite stop here. It explores a bit further how the events of the book hang over the main characters, and how conscious the choice to move on and be happy really has to be. You aren’t suddenly free and safe just because you’ve figured out the truth and put a stop to it, as part of it will keep lingering and haunting you. 

While this ending was of course not the core of the book, this extra element, this extension of the conclusion, is what made the book stick in my mind longer. It leaves you with something to think about and helps you work through the thoughts that the traumatic events of the story bring, rather than just letting you go. In the end, this book was exactly what I expected from the synopsis, and plot-wise, it's a small-town mystery/thriller full of lost women and the men who harm them. But with that ending and with that final focus on how to move on after this kind of trauma, the book became more than just a series of painful events and ended on a note of healing. I do think it’s a book that will stick with me because of that, and I do hope more novels that take on these types of plots learn from this!