Review by cozysabie - They Bloom at Night

cozysabie 's review for:

They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

3.5

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

"There are birds and trees, revived flowers. Friends. From the red algae come monstrous forms, but there is also life in the animals returning where they were once extinct. This world and it's sharp, intense beauty.

There is me too, scars and all, freckled and peeling.

I was beautiful. I am beautiful."

GENRE: Gothic/Horror Fantasy with Folklore
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
FORMAT: eBook on Netgalley with Colored Pages Book Tour

Would I recommend to others?: I'd recommend They bloom at night for people looking to read gothic fantasy with multiple themes happening at once & with a quick pace as well.

Long Review:
They bloom at night is a Gothic Fantasy book in which we explore a red algae overtaking a small town called Mercy near the water. We explore the different themes regarding Vietnamese Folklore, Ocean Species and Algae overtaking the world. We look at identity and gender throughout the book. We grow with the characters and learn the distinction of being an adult and the reality of it.

I quite enjoyed They bloom at night, I think we get to explore the folklore of Song and how Nhung sheds her human reality to become a creature of the sea. We get to explore the generational trauma of moving, leaving behind our ancestors and a country that once loved us with its folklore, its good & its bad. We get to explore the lack of acceptance and having to stand out when we are all different.

We learn what it's like growing up with an older generation that lacks hope and lacks the focus on love that it leaks into our generation:

"It's a bad habit of mine, finding the worst in every situation, but no one has taught me to hope."

But, we also learn that we aren't responsible for a whole generation's mistake and that we do not need to keep apologiseing for them:

"I'm learning that she will never apologize for her father's mistakes, the same way I won't for Mom's. And why should we, actually?"

They bloom at Night also has a sarcastic humour to it, which I loved:

"We are late a lot," I say in what must be a betrayal to multiple cultures. I'll apologize to the entire continent of Asia later."

We also get to explore Grief and how holding on to folklores is the only way to go forward sometimes:. We cling to folklore in the hope that it can still prove our loved ones are around and that they haven't gone far. We cling to the fact that maybe one day, we will be able to see them in this world and that they haven't truly gone.

They bloom at Night was truly an adventure that I quite enjoyed. I think I would have liked to know more about Song as a folklore and I do feel that was not explored deeply in here. The book is more on the shorter side though and addressed numerous themes at once. I think the pace varied from fast pace in most parts, with a slower pace in a few places. This book would be ideal for people to get introduced into Vietnamese Folklore, like me. However, it will leave you wanting to explore it further (like me) and perhaps that was the intention.

Thank you to Netgalley, Colored Pages Tour and the publisher for the eArc copy in exchange for my honest opinion.