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No one cares when Lila Carson’s ten-year-old brother Beau disappears. He can’t speak. He throws tantrums. He’s a useless Carson, one of those kids in a broken-shuttered house that lost its glory when his father died. When the sheriff and his good ol’ boy deputies show up to investigate, they eye up Lila and call her twin brother, Quentin, names. A closeted bisexual girl in the South, she’s terrified.
Lower Congaree recites it like an eleventh commandment: Don’t go in that swamp. But as the long night drags on, it’s clear Beau disappeared behind those ancient trees. The sheriff’s deputies won’t risk going back there.
Lila might not have a choice.
Lower Congaree recites it like an eleventh commandment: Don’t go in that swamp. But as the long night drags on, it’s clear Beau disappeared behind those ancient trees. The sheriff’s deputies won’t risk going back there.
Lila might not have a choice.
100 pages, Paperback
Published April 3, 2025
1 person is currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Broadbent
13 books21 followersElizabeth Broadbent (she/her) left the South Carolina swamps for the Commonwealth of Virginia. She’s the author of Ink Vine (Undertaker Books), Ninety-Eight Sabers (Undertaker Books), Blood Cypress (2025, Raw Dog Screaming Press), and Breaking Neverland (2026, Sley House Publications).
Her speculative fiction has appeared with Hyphenpunk, Tales to Terrify, If There's Anyone Left, Penumbric, and The Cafe Irreal, among other places. During her long career as a journalist, her nonfiction appeared in places such as The Washington Post, Insider, and ADDitude Magazine.
Her speculative fiction has appeared with Hyphenpunk, Tales to Terrify, If There's Anyone Left, Penumbric, and The Cafe Irreal, among other places. During her long career as a journalist, her nonfiction appeared in places such as The Washington Post, Insider, and ADDitude Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
October 20, 2025
'Stand on the edge of that swamp, right where water and land become uncertain brothers , and that soupy air turns scum-sweet...'
'...You’ll feel it then. The hair on your neck will rise, and you’ll know it’s watching. You’ll know it’s waiting , too, and if you step wrong it’ll suck you down into that muck with every other lost thing'
'Something else brooded deep in that swamp, where trees stretched taller than watchtowers and water stood stagnant and dark. We didn’t understand it— it wasn’t for us to understand, any more than ants can understand us. And if you walked in, it decided if you walked out again.'
3.8✨
'...You’ll feel it then. The hair on your neck will rise, and you’ll know it’s watching. You’ll know it’s waiting , too, and if you step wrong it’ll suck you down into that muck with every other lost thing'
'Something else brooded deep in that swamp, where trees stretched taller than watchtowers and water stood stagnant and dark. We didn’t understand it— it wasn’t for us to understand, any more than ants can understand us. And if you walked in, it decided if you walked out again.'
3.8✨
May 7, 2025
4.5 Stars
Arc from NetGalley.
Blood Cypress by Elizabeth Broadbent is a Southern Gothic novella that floored me. From its murky and bleak setting to the hostile and menacing humans in the story. The beauty of this novella is seen and felt in the constant yet subtle terror the reader feels for the duration of the read.
Elizabeth Broadbent made it possible for a non-American person to experience Southern America through her eyes, her words and experiences. Albeit secondhand, the author’s prodigiousness in their skill is so superior, you could taste the swamplands in the back of your tongue.
I just finished another novella prior to Blood Cypress and the stark difference in calibre between the two is day and night. I cannot comprehend how a NOVELLA (short and approximately 100 pages) could possibly carry so much in its limited pages but Blood Cypress completely and utterly “served and ate.”
I highly recommend reading Cypress Blood by Elizabeth Broadbent if you are looking for a quick gothic read because it cannot get any better than this.
Arc from NetGalley.
Blood Cypress by Elizabeth Broadbent is a Southern Gothic novella that floored me. From its murky and bleak setting to the hostile and menacing humans in the story. The beauty of this novella is seen and felt in the constant yet subtle terror the reader feels for the duration of the read.
Elizabeth Broadbent made it possible for a non-American person to experience Southern America through her eyes, her words and experiences. Albeit secondhand, the author’s prodigiousness in their skill is so superior, you could taste the swamplands in the back of your tongue.
I just finished another novella prior to Blood Cypress and the stark difference in calibre between the two is day and night. I cannot comprehend how a NOVELLA (short and approximately 100 pages) could possibly carry so much in its limited pages but Blood Cypress completely and utterly “served and ate.”
I highly recommend reading Cypress Blood by Elizabeth Broadbent if you are looking for a quick gothic read because it cannot get any better than this.
April 30, 2025
Absolutely loved this, even though it's so hard to read. It feels like a child of Flannery O'Connor (with all the violence and darkness in people) and Jeff VanderMeer (the beautiful and disturbing nature descriptions), as well as being something that is just completely Broadbent. It also reminded me so much of Preacher's Daughter by Ethel Cain, which I actually listened to while reading this perfectly sweet and rotten novella.
April 2, 2025
Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from netgalley.
This novella explores a southern family where everything is seemingly wrong. The father is dead, the mother is lazy, the daugher’s a lesbian, one son has long hair and the youngest son is just plain wrong and doesn’t talk. Or so the chatter in the town goes. Nobody actually cares about the precarious finances of a family raised by a grieving mother and a son that needs constant caring, not when the appearances are just so wrong (after all, a woman who can’t keep her house in order doesn’t really deserve any pity! And one that lets her kids run around like that? Even less so.) And when the youngest son goes missing one day while everybody else is at work and the brother tasked with watching over his little brother takes his eyes off him to do his homework everything begins to unravel and prejudices that were just boiling under the surface for far too long start boiling over.
The story is interrupted with short chapters exploring that Lila, the daughter, has grown up to actually sleep with women and left that small southern town as she tells a woman she spent the night with about what happened during that search for her little brother. It is very interesting and I liked that the listening character could function as an audience stand in, asking a few of the questions I was asking myself. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the swamp in the end and I liked how the stories tied the two separate timelines together in the end.
All in all, if you like gothic horror with queer aspects, a really interesting exploration of swamps and a view at the small town prejudices against poor, autistic and queer people, this was a fun novella and I really enjoyed reading it.
TW: ableism, death, death by fire, homophobia, attempted incestuous assault, talk of sexual assault, sexual harassment
This novella explores a southern family where everything is seemingly wrong. The father is dead, the mother is lazy, the daugher’s a lesbian, one son has long hair and the youngest son is just plain wrong and doesn’t talk. Or so the chatter in the town goes. Nobody actually cares about the precarious finances of a family raised by a grieving mother and a son that needs constant caring, not when the appearances are just so wrong (after all, a woman who can’t keep her house in order doesn’t really deserve any pity! And one that lets her kids run around like that? Even less so.) And when the youngest son goes missing one day while everybody else is at work and the brother tasked with watching over his little brother takes his eyes off him to do his homework everything begins to unravel and prejudices that were just boiling under the surface for far too long start boiling over.
The story is interrupted with short chapters exploring that Lila, the daughter, has grown up to actually sleep with women and left that small southern town as she tells a woman she spent the night with about what happened during that search for her little brother. It is very interesting and I liked that the listening character could function as an audience stand in, asking a few of the questions I was asking myself. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the swamp in the end and I liked how the stories tied the two separate timelines together in the end.
All in all, if you like gothic horror with queer aspects, a really interesting exploration of swamps and a view at the small town prejudices against poor, autistic and queer people, this was a fun novella and I really enjoyed reading it.
TW: ableism, death, death by fire, homophobia, attempted incestuous assault, talk of sexual assault, sexual harassment
July 26, 2025
interesting story but i don’t think it was done as well as it could have been.
the story of the “strange” family with a dead father, a lesbian daughter (horror, gasp!, a lesbian?), two bothers -one “normal if a bit strange” and one nonverbal (again gasp!) and a mother who instead of taking care of her family rather doesn’t.
that all set in the swamps that have a natural spooky factor to it should have been a very interesting story and an easy horror to tell.
but with the two different time lines and moments it just didn’t work.
it should have either just been told as a story being told to a person not understanding how the south works and have it be a horrific family story that ends in tragedy or just have that family tragedy be the only story being told.
both together felt rushed and cut to short sind neither felt fleshed out enough.
all in all okay but not the best of this collection even if it had so much potential
the story of the “strange” family with a dead father, a lesbian daughter (horror, gasp!, a lesbian?), two bothers -one “normal if a bit strange” and one nonverbal (again gasp!) and a mother who instead of taking care of her family rather doesn’t.
that all set in the swamps that have a natural spooky factor to it should have been a very interesting story and an easy horror to tell.
but with the two different time lines and moments it just didn’t work.
it should have either just been told as a story being told to a person not understanding how the south works and have it be a horrific family story that ends in tragedy or just have that family tragedy be the only story being told.
both together felt rushed and cut to short sind neither felt fleshed out enough.
all in all okay but not the best of this collection even if it had so much potential
February 8, 2025
Blood Cypress is a beautifully written southern gothic novella. Broadbent writes with such a strong sense of time and place, that the reader gets completely enraptured by the Carson family and their struggles in the backward, bitter, back-stabbing town of Lower Congaree.
Broadbent gracefully and heartbreakingly addresses mental illness, grief, homophobia, misogyny, family dysfunction and small-town hatred of otherness, while telling Lila’s story of her little brother disappearing one night.
Engrossing and tense, perfectly paced, both voluptuously gothic yet subtle in its terror, this is an excellent read.
Broadbent gracefully and heartbreakingly addresses mental illness, grief, homophobia, misogyny, family dysfunction and small-town hatred of otherness, while telling Lila’s story of her little brother disappearing one night.
Engrossing and tense, perfectly paced, both voluptuously gothic yet subtle in its terror, this is an excellent read.
August 28, 2025
this was a nice surprise!
The Story wasnt mainly creepy spiritualy but surely unsettling.
I was hooked from the beginning and now I want all of them books... hopefully they are as good as this one.
all the themes worked very well together, but the questions at the end reminded of homework... hmpf
The Story wasnt mainly creepy spiritualy but surely unsettling.
I was hooked from the beginning and now I want all of them books... hopefully they are as good as this one.
all the themes worked very well together, but the questions at the end reminded of homework... hmpf
May 7, 2025
I enjoyed this! It was a quick read that had me invested and is unique. This is entertaining and there's a foreboding atmosphere that is masterfully created. If you enjoy gothic stories then I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Elizabeth Broadbent,RDS Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 4, 2025
I am going to be haunted by this book.
BLOOD CYPRESS by Elizabeth Broadbent
This was just so moving
The plot is about finding your lost brother but the story is about being alone in a house full of people. It’s hard to read because it is such a raw feeling. It is subtly powerful, it is vulnerability exposed.
The main story takes place in 2016 but if you told me it was 1916 I would believe you. Ignorance is only bliss to the ignorant.
The heartbreaking knowledge that the world will just pretend to be there for you because it has to can leave a person feeling powerless. It will go through the motions so it can’t be blamed for not helping. You are less than insignificant, but you are something that will pass the time until something else comes up. You are a person damnit, and being different makes you more worthy, not less.
Lila does not put up with the treatment she gets and instead she takes the bull by the horns and goes looking for her brother on her own.
The swamp. I was so tense in that swamp. To this northerner, the swamp was otherworldly and I do not want to think about it again. Let’s see how that works out for me because, like I said, I am going to be haunted by this book.
“Stand on the edge of that swamp, right where water and land become uncertain brothers, and that soupy air turns scum-sweet.”
BLOOD CYPRESS by Elizabeth Broadbent
This was just so moving
The plot is about finding your lost brother but the story is about being alone in a house full of people. It’s hard to read because it is such a raw feeling. It is subtly powerful, it is vulnerability exposed.
The main story takes place in 2016 but if you told me it was 1916 I would believe you. Ignorance is only bliss to the ignorant.
The heartbreaking knowledge that the world will just pretend to be there for you because it has to can leave a person feeling powerless. It will go through the motions so it can’t be blamed for not helping. You are less than insignificant, but you are something that will pass the time until something else comes up. You are a person damnit, and being different makes you more worthy, not less.
Lila does not put up with the treatment she gets and instead she takes the bull by the horns and goes looking for her brother on her own.
The swamp. I was so tense in that swamp. To this northerner, the swamp was otherworldly and I do not want to think about it again. Let’s see how that works out for me because, like I said, I am going to be haunted by this book.
“Stand on the edge of that swamp, right where water and land become uncertain brothers, and that soupy air turns scum-sweet.”
April 23, 2025
Publishing date: 03.04.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for the ARC. My opinions are my own.
TLDR: Less horror, more uncanny, backwater bayou family drama. 3 stars
So far in my romp of this series it looked to be a very strong contender to be my favorite series. Finally, we have found the weakest one (so far).
To summarize the story, we have our FMC who lives with their family in a dilapidated house slowly but surely breaking down more and more. Their family is harshly judged and that is reflected in our characters' interactions with some external people in the book. Our main plot starts off properly after her brother suddenly disappears and she is insistent on finding him.
Most of the book centers around the drama sparking from the disappearance. In my opinion, the book was too centric on this theme. Also, lots of non-consensual innuendos and ... hints ... Extremely uncomfortable.
Another highly uncomfortable theme is the twins. If you know, you know. Explaining it is spoilers, but it felt super unnecessary to add that one specific conversation.
I was not a fan of how the little brother (who disappears) represented autism. I know that autism can look so different from person to person, but it felt so flat and stereotypical.
Lastly, the horror. Or lack of. You can make an argument that it is psychological horror instead of the usual slasher horror we see in these books, but it felt very weak. It was more of a "terrible situation" utilizing the uncanniness of the family and the external persons as "horror". Just ... Not a lot of horror to find here.
I believe that those who have enjoyed the series so far might still really enjoy this, but it fell slightly flat for me.
Giving it 3 stars. Not bad, not good either. Just fine and had the potential to be a strong entry. I will still be back for the eight installment.
Thank you to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for the ARC. My opinions are my own.
TLDR: Less horror, more uncanny, backwater bayou family drama. 3 stars
So far in my romp of this series it looked to be a very strong contender to be my favorite series. Finally, we have found the weakest one (so far).
To summarize the story, we have our FMC who lives with their family in a dilapidated house slowly but surely breaking down more and more. Their family is harshly judged and that is reflected in our characters' interactions with some external people in the book. Our main plot starts off properly after her brother suddenly disappears and she is insistent on finding him.
Most of the book centers around the drama sparking from the disappearance. In my opinion, the book was too centric on this theme. Also, lots of non-consensual innuendos and ... hints ... Extremely uncomfortable.
Another highly uncomfortable theme is the twins. If you know, you know. Explaining it is spoilers, but it felt super unnecessary to add that one specific conversation.
I was not a fan of how the little brother (who disappears) represented autism. I know that autism can look so different from person to person, but it felt so flat and stereotypical.
Lastly, the horror. Or lack of. You can make an argument that it is psychological horror instead of the usual slasher horror we see in these books, but it felt very weak. It was more of a "terrible situation" utilizing the uncanniness of the family and the external persons as "horror". Just ... Not a lot of horror to find here.
I believe that those who have enjoyed the series so far might still really enjoy this, but it fell slightly flat for me.
Giving it 3 stars. Not bad, not good either. Just fine and had the potential to be a strong entry. I will still be back for the eight installment.
June 21, 2025
For me, this was just okay.
Yes to the feminist rage, yes to the creepy swamp, but I didn't really feel like the story fit together in a totally coherent way. There seem to be odd mood swings in the middle of conversations, a lot of hand-holding when it comes to descriptions, and the horror part didn't entirely make sense to me. Also, I should not be bored when reading a 100-page book, but there was enough repetition in places that I sometimes wish we'd just get on with it.
I'm not going to say that men aren't this bad, because there are men who absolutely are. There was, however, a lot of reliance on trope and shorthand, followed by circular conversations and the same repeating images and sentiments. It made everything feel pretty flat.
I don't know, I didn't hate this, and I appreciate the author's point. But the grand finale left me scratching my head. I'd have liked it more if the repetition paid off or the elements meshed more cleanly, rather than feeling a bit random and disconnected. There are definitely some beautiful and atmospheric lines, especially when the author describes the swamp itself, and the question of Beau as a character as interesting.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this novella. This is a standalone within a collection of... ghost stories? Creepypastas? Either way, it seems like they're all framed as, "I found this letter written by a person who once met a guy..." in the style of Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Yes to the feminist rage, yes to the creepy swamp, but I didn't really feel like the story fit together in a totally coherent way. There seem to be odd mood swings in the middle of conversations, a lot of hand-holding when it comes to descriptions, and the horror part didn't entirely make sense to me. Also, I should not be bored when reading a 100-page book, but there was enough repetition in places that I sometimes wish we'd just get on with it.
I'm not going to say that men aren't this bad, because there are men who absolutely are. There was, however, a lot of reliance on trope and shorthand, followed by circular conversations and the same repeating images and sentiments. It made everything feel pretty flat.
I don't know, I didn't hate this, and I appreciate the author's point. But the grand finale left me scratching my head. I'd have liked it more if the repetition paid off or the elements meshed more cleanly, rather than feeling a bit random and disconnected. There are definitely some beautiful and atmospheric lines, especially when the author describes the swamp itself, and the question of Beau as a character as interesting.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this novella. This is a standalone within a collection of... ghost stories? Creepypastas? Either way, it seems like they're all framed as, "I found this letter written by a person who once met a guy..." in the style of Are You Afraid of the Dark?
February 17, 2025
Content Warnings: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual Commentary on a Minor, Ableism, Incest, Poverty, Fire/Burns
Note: This is the 7th entry in the series Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena. However, each novella in the series acts as a stand alone work.
Broadbent's writing here uses good imagery, but ultimately disappointed me. It felt like a checklist of Southern Gothic tropes: rotting house, scary swamp, sexist and homophobic community, "wrong" child, incest. It didn't really offer me anything new or different enough from other, similar stories. This novella is also set, alternatively, in 2016 and 2019. It doesn't read like it is set in those time periods, though. Aside from some fashion references and super minor technology (e.g., GPS), it reads like it's from the 1950s.
Personally, I found the queer elements kind of superfluous (why is Lila's one-night-stand actually needed to tell this story?), and the treatment of Beau, who may have autism or some other form of neurodivergence and/or brain injury and/or developmental disorder (it's not clear in the novella, so I'm casting a wide net) pretty distasteful, both in the family unit (arguably on purpose) and when he "escapes" to the swamp.
If readers really dig Southern Gothic, then this might be satisfying, but otherwise I can't recommend it.
Note: This is the 7th entry in the series Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena. However, each novella in the series acts as a stand alone work.
Broadbent's writing here uses good imagery, but ultimately disappointed me. It felt like a checklist of Southern Gothic tropes: rotting house, scary swamp, sexist and homophobic community, "wrong" child, incest. It didn't really offer me anything new or different enough from other, similar stories. This novella is also set, alternatively, in 2016 and 2019. It doesn't read like it is set in those time periods, though. Aside from some fashion references and super minor technology (e.g., GPS), it reads like it's from the 1950s.
Personally, I found the queer elements kind of superfluous (why is Lila's one-night-stand actually needed to tell this story?), and the treatment of Beau, who may have autism or some other form of neurodivergence and/or brain injury and/or developmental disorder (it's not clear in the novella, so I'm casting a wide net) pretty distasteful, both in the family unit (arguably on purpose) and when he "escapes" to the swamp.
If readers really dig Southern Gothic, then this might be satisfying, but otherwise I can't recommend it.
April 1, 2025
Another excellent selection by Elizabeth Broadbent. I’ve been looking forward to more of her work since Ninety Eight Sabers and Blood Cypress did not disappoint. It’s a shorter novella but still a fleshed out, solid story. Broadbent nails the southern atmosphere. I’m from Georgia (Atlanta, fortunately, so that tiny island in a big sea of mostly hick) and still live down south (TN). I think some people may struggle to believe this type of story could take place in 2016, but just check some of the local news comment sections and your disbelief will be gone.
Blood Cypress follows the Carson family living in Legare County, South Carolina. Lila is our main protagonist and she lives with her mentally checked out mother and siblings. Beau, the youngest Carson, is neurodivergent in some way and while he is deeply loved, he’s just not well cared for. When he goes missing Lila is forced to see reality and confront some of her own inadequacies.
The trauma and mistreatment of women and children in Blood Cypress are both heavy and felt very accurate. The complex relationship between the twins was difficult to read but definitely adds to the burden Lila carries. Broadbent does a great job at writing a novella with clashing family horror and preternatural elements. Definitely recommend. Tough read but solid vibes and horror.
Blood Cypress follows the Carson family living in Legare County, South Carolina. Lila is our main protagonist and she lives with her mentally checked out mother and siblings. Beau, the youngest Carson, is neurodivergent in some way and while he is deeply loved, he’s just not well cared for. When he goes missing Lila is forced to see reality and confront some of her own inadequacies.
The trauma and mistreatment of women and children in Blood Cypress are both heavy and felt very accurate. The complex relationship between the twins was difficult to read but definitely adds to the burden Lila carries. Broadbent does a great job at writing a novella with clashing family horror and preternatural elements. Definitely recommend. Tough read but solid vibes and horror.
January 28, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for a review! To me, "Blood Cypress" is a 3.5/5, definitely an interesting read that I liked.
I found "Blood Cypress" when I was looking for a short read, and it immediately stuck out to me. I'm a sucker for forest/swamp/rot/etc horror, so a story about a boy that goes missing in an ancient swamp had me hooked.
While some novellas feel like they need to be expanded, I think "Blood Cypress" worked really well! In 11 chapters and 100 pages, a compelling story was told, and by the end I was left curious but content.
I found Lila and MacKenzie to both be interesting characters, especially with the role that MacKenzie played in the overall story despite only meeting Lila after. Being a novella, of course, there wasn't much time to get to truly know the characters before the story was over, but I still think they were well done!
I've never heard of The Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena collection of works until now, but after reading "Blood Cypress", I definitely plan on checking out some of the other novellas!
I found "Blood Cypress" when I was looking for a short read, and it immediately stuck out to me. I'm a sucker for forest/swamp/rot/etc horror, so a story about a boy that goes missing in an ancient swamp had me hooked.
While some novellas feel like they need to be expanded, I think "Blood Cypress" worked really well! In 11 chapters and 100 pages, a compelling story was told, and by the end I was left curious but content.
I found Lila and MacKenzie to both be interesting characters, especially with the role that MacKenzie played in the overall story despite only meeting Lila after. Being a novella, of course, there wasn't much time to get to truly know the characters before the story was over, but I still think they were well done!
I've never heard of The Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena collection of works until now, but after reading "Blood Cypress", I definitely plan on checking out some of the other novellas!
April 5, 2025
Blood Cypress; is the eighth book in the collected papers from the consortium for the study of anomalous phenomenon by Elizabeth Broadbent. all the boys like Lily Carson unfortunately Lily Carson doesn’t like boys in one night she tells her one night stand what it was like growing up in a backwards town with a mute brother and how when he went missing in the dark swamp she had to do what most grown men were scared to do and that was fine her brother Bo. Lily lives in the back water country town with her incestuous wanna be twin brother her Lucy goosy mom but when little Bo goes missing tempers flare people get honest and not everybody uses their words to express their feelings. Just another horrible portrayal of a backwards southern town in the random strange people that live there. I have read every book in the series and although this one wasn’t my favorite I still found it, oh so creepy and a pretty good read.#NetGalley, #RDSPublishing, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #ElizabethBroadbent, #BloodCypress,
December 28, 2025
Broadbent's Blood Cypress is a swamp-ridden fever dream of a novel, and the atmosphere and rot brought to life by her descriptions is simply wonderful. As someone who lived in the South for most of my life (including South Carolina), I felt the oppression of the humidity and the swamp seeping out of the book, and couldn't have been more impressed by her prose. The way she brings the South to life in this atmosphere-rich story offers a perfect single-sitting horror read for a dark night.
My only complaint is actually not with the story. I felt like the series-based intro to frame the novella as a paper, and then the afterword by Sonora Taylor, were both wholly unnecessary and somewhat lessened the novella itself. If I read another book in the series, I suspect I may just skip any other-authored intro and out-tro.
Still, I loved Broadbent's story itself, and would absolutely recommend it.
My only complaint is actually not with the story. I felt like the series-based intro to frame the novella as a paper, and then the afterword by Sonora Taylor, were both wholly unnecessary and somewhat lessened the novella itself. If I read another book in the series, I suspect I may just skip any other-authored intro and out-tro.
Still, I loved Broadbent's story itself, and would absolutely recommend it.
January 8, 2025
Thank you Netgalley and RDS Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is my second Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena, and it has continued to keep me captivated. A woman in a bar, her presence beckons to MacKenzie, and she looks like she's full of stories, or maybe just a singular tragic one. Lila relays her younger experience, of losing her younger brother, Beau, and the challenges she has had to face in the south without a father, and a Mother who barely holds the family together. The setting, and the descriptions that accompany this novella continue to astonish me. In the pieces that I've read in this series, the authors never fail to hold me into where the characters are. The sweet rot of the Lower Congaree, the panic, anger, and fear that Lila felt every step of the way. Now I fear whether I believe her story
This is my second Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena, and it has continued to keep me captivated. A woman in a bar, her presence beckons to MacKenzie, and she looks like she's full of stories, or maybe just a singular tragic one. Lila relays her younger experience, of losing her younger brother, Beau, and the challenges she has had to face in the south without a father, and a Mother who barely holds the family together. The setting, and the descriptions that accompany this novella continue to astonish me. In the pieces that I've read in this series, the authors never fail to hold me into where the characters are. The sweet rot of the Lower Congaree, the panic, anger, and fear that Lila felt every step of the way. Now I fear whether I believe her story
May 5, 2025
3.5 stars
An engrossing gothic horror novella with a bisexual protagonist. It engages you right from the beginning and keeps you on the edge of the seat even after the last word is taken in.
I was interested in this book because of it's bisexual protagonist, of course. The genre being horror made it better. And I'm glad to say I enjoyed it.
I liked that Lila was a bi woman with a preference for women. We don't see much of that. Though I wish her bisexuality was made evident by making her use the word for herself in the book itself.
The ending left me speechless for a while.
Beau was a character I felt most fondness for. He deserved way better. Poor kid.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
An engrossing gothic horror novella with a bisexual protagonist. It engages you right from the beginning and keeps you on the edge of the seat even after the last word is taken in.
I was interested in this book because of it's bisexual protagonist, of course. The genre being horror made it better. And I'm glad to say I enjoyed it.
I liked that Lila was a bi woman with a preference for women. We don't see much of that. Though I wish her bisexuality was made evident by making her use the word for herself in the book itself.
The ending left me speechless for a while.
Beau was a character I felt most fondness for. He deserved way better. Poor kid.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
January 5, 2025
I enjoyed this short southern gothic. After leaving a small town that gave off very similar vibes to the one in this story, I felt like I could connect with Lila’s character or at least understand the town background. This was an eerie tale of the horrors Lila had to face coming from a small southern town with many disturbing views and a swamp that holds many secrets. Her youngest brother is missing, and Lila is determined to find him regardless of what troubling tales are told about the depths of the swamp. I would recommend this to anyone that is interested in exploring a southern gothic novella. Thank you to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 11, 2025
I loved this SO much. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a really good southern gothic story and didn’t realize how bad I’d been itching for one.
This book grabs you by the throat immediately and doesn’t let up until the very end. The story is fascinating and you can’t turn the pages fast enough to see what happens next. Where it went was not what I was expecting at all and the pay off was worth it.
The writing flowed so flawlessly and I felt like I was sitting with someone while they told me a story.
As a lifelong V.C. Andrew’s fan, this very much gave me that eerie southern vibe like her books but with the authors own voice shining through so brightly. This was such a pleasant surprise and I’m so happy I read it.
This book grabs you by the throat immediately and doesn’t let up until the very end. The story is fascinating and you can’t turn the pages fast enough to see what happens next. Where it went was not what I was expecting at all and the pay off was worth it.
The writing flowed so flawlessly and I felt like I was sitting with someone while they told me a story.
As a lifelong V.C. Andrew’s fan, this very much gave me that eerie southern vibe like her books but with the authors own voice shining through so brightly. This was such a pleasant surprise and I’m so happy I read it.
October 19, 2025
BWAF Score: 9/10
Elizabeth Broadbent doesn’t just waltz up to trauma—she stomps in with a lit cigarette dangling from her lip, a box of gasoline-soaked matches in one hand, and a middle finger raised in the other. By the time she’s done with Blood Cypress, the seventh gut-punch in the Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena series, you’re either sobbing into your beer, reeling like you’ve been slapped by a wet gator, or sniffing your bathroom tiles wondering if that mildew’s hiding your grandma’s pissed-off ghost. This Southern Gothic novella is a swampy, vicious bastard—blending emotional wreckage, family fuckery, and a stench of terror so thick you’ll want to gargle bourbon just to clear your sinuses.
If that’s your bag, strap in, you sick freak. If not, run like hell before the cypress knees snag your dumb ass and drag you under.
Broadbent’s a goddamn Southern Gothic witch with an MFA from the University of South Carolina and a résumé that screams “I’ve seen some shit, and I’m here to ruin your day.” Her debut Ink Vine already had us hooked like catfish on a line, and Blood Cypress proves she’s not about to lighten up on our fragile little souls. Whether she’s dredging haunted swamps or reality-TV-soaked plantations, she cracks the South open like a rotting pecan and lets the maggots wriggle out with style. She’s funny as shit online, dabbles in speculative weirdness, and seems to have a PhD in how royally fucked families can get. In short: she’s a terror, we’re obsessed, and we’re begging her to keep the pain coming.
Blood Cypress pretends it’s about Beau, a missing ten-year-old who’s nonverbal, developmentally delayed, and a total inconvenience to his trainwreck of a Southern clan. But let’s be real—it’s not just about where the kid wandered off to; it’s about why nobody gives a flying fuck he’s gone. When he vanishes into the swamp behind their Lower Congaree, South Carolina shithole, his twin sister Lila’s the only one who doesn’t shrug and crack a beer. The sheriff’s too busy ogling her tits, her mom’s a catatonic mess, and her older brother’s a sexist prick who’d fit right in Faulkner’s dumpster. So Lila grabs her imaginary machete and charges into the swamp’s slimy green guts. What she finds isn’t just creepy—it’s rot, the kind that’s been festering in her family’s bones since Jesus was a toddler.
There’s also some barroom chick listening to Lila spill her guts, which ties into the Consortium’s archival, oral-history bullshit. It’s a weird little frame that makes you wonder if the spooky stuff’s real or just swamp gas screwing with your head. Either way, Blood Cypress is a Southern Gothic wet dream: crumbling houses, queer vibes stuffed in the closet, Bible-thumping hypocrisy, and a town so cruel it’d make a snake blush. Broadbent doesn’t just play the hits—she stabs ‘em in the throat with a rusty spoon and carves out something bloody and raw.
The swamp? Land and water blur together like love and guilt, care and control, truth and bullshit. It’s where the masks come off and the ugly steps up to say howdy, feathers and all.
Beau’s “otherness”—call it autism, brain damage, or just “fucked by small-town standards”—is served up raw and uncomfortable. The town screws him over. His family screws him over. You’re left sitting there, squirming like you’ve got swamp mud in your shorts. Broadbent wants you to feel that failure, and if you don’t, you’re probably dead inside.
Lila’s a closeted bi girl in a hellhole where folks still think Jesus hates dancing and dicks in equal measure. Her queerness is her armor and her Achilles’ heel, and it’s damn real.
Broadbent writes like Flannery O’Connor’s ghost possessed her and brought a grudge. Her prose is lush, nasty, and sticks to you like swamp slime. You can feel the gnats buzzing your neck and smell the mildew on Lila’s curtains—it’s poetic without being some pretentious ass-kiss, gritty without wallowing in cheap grimdark. Take this gem:
“Stand on the edge of that swamp, right where water and land become uncertain brothers, and that soupy air turns scum-sweet.”
That’s not just writing—that’s a sucker punch to the senses. You’ll want to scrub your soul with bleach and maybe cry into your whiskey. But she doesn’t overdo it. The horror’s not cheap scares or guts—it’s a slow, soul-fucking creep, folk horror with a magnolia-scented shank.
Blood Cypress drowns you in its vibe. It’s immersive like waking up in a coffin full of mud. You’re not just reading about a swamp—you’re knee-deep in it, slogging through a busted family, a busted town, and a busted girl trying to hold it together. Lila’s a badass protagonist: fucked-up but not weak, pissed-off but not stupid, tough without turning into some gritty trope. Her voice hauls this novella like a cypress limb about to snap.
The good shit:
- Pacing’s tight as a gator’s jaw—tense, not rushed.
- Horror’s a slow simmer that’ll wreck you.
- Emotional punches land like a tail-whip to the tits.
The not-so-good shit:
- That barroom frame? Kinda feels like literary garnish that didn’t cook right. Not a dealbreaker, but it’s like finding a fly in your gumbo—meh.
- Tropes? If you’ve binged Southern Gothic, you might roll your eyes. Rotting houses? Check. Queer repression? Check. Creepy family vibes? Oh hell yes. Broadbent nails ‘em, but they’re not exactly fresh off the vine.
Blood Cypress is a fever dream where the sweat’s dripping from the swamp, not you. It’s about being unwanted, invisible, and ignored, and one girl saying “fuck that” anyway. It’s brutal, tight, and toxic as hell—in the best damn way. It’s near-perfect, and it’ll make you feel something ugly and true. That’s horror done right, motherfucker.
Elizabeth Broadbent doesn’t just waltz up to trauma—she stomps in with a lit cigarette dangling from her lip, a box of gasoline-soaked matches in one hand, and a middle finger raised in the other. By the time she’s done with Blood Cypress, the seventh gut-punch in the Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena series, you’re either sobbing into your beer, reeling like you’ve been slapped by a wet gator, or sniffing your bathroom tiles wondering if that mildew’s hiding your grandma’s pissed-off ghost. This Southern Gothic novella is a swampy, vicious bastard—blending emotional wreckage, family fuckery, and a stench of terror so thick you’ll want to gargle bourbon just to clear your sinuses.
If that’s your bag, strap in, you sick freak. If not, run like hell before the cypress knees snag your dumb ass and drag you under.
Broadbent’s a goddamn Southern Gothic witch with an MFA from the University of South Carolina and a résumé that screams “I’ve seen some shit, and I’m here to ruin your day.” Her debut Ink Vine already had us hooked like catfish on a line, and Blood Cypress proves she’s not about to lighten up on our fragile little souls. Whether she’s dredging haunted swamps or reality-TV-soaked plantations, she cracks the South open like a rotting pecan and lets the maggots wriggle out with style. She’s funny as shit online, dabbles in speculative weirdness, and seems to have a PhD in how royally fucked families can get. In short: she’s a terror, we’re obsessed, and we’re begging her to keep the pain coming.
Blood Cypress pretends it’s about Beau, a missing ten-year-old who’s nonverbal, developmentally delayed, and a total inconvenience to his trainwreck of a Southern clan. But let’s be real—it’s not just about where the kid wandered off to; it’s about why nobody gives a flying fuck he’s gone. When he vanishes into the swamp behind their Lower Congaree, South Carolina shithole, his twin sister Lila’s the only one who doesn’t shrug and crack a beer. The sheriff’s too busy ogling her tits, her mom’s a catatonic mess, and her older brother’s a sexist prick who’d fit right in Faulkner’s dumpster. So Lila grabs her imaginary machete and charges into the swamp’s slimy green guts. What she finds isn’t just creepy—it’s rot, the kind that’s been festering in her family’s bones since Jesus was a toddler.
There’s also some barroom chick listening to Lila spill her guts, which ties into the Consortium’s archival, oral-history bullshit. It’s a weird little frame that makes you wonder if the spooky stuff’s real or just swamp gas screwing with your head. Either way, Blood Cypress is a Southern Gothic wet dream: crumbling houses, queer vibes stuffed in the closet, Bible-thumping hypocrisy, and a town so cruel it’d make a snake blush. Broadbent doesn’t just play the hits—she stabs ‘em in the throat with a rusty spoon and carves out something bloody and raw.
The swamp? Land and water blur together like love and guilt, care and control, truth and bullshit. It’s where the masks come off and the ugly steps up to say howdy, feathers and all.
Beau’s “otherness”—call it autism, brain damage, or just “fucked by small-town standards”—is served up raw and uncomfortable. The town screws him over. His family screws him over. You’re left sitting there, squirming like you’ve got swamp mud in your shorts. Broadbent wants you to feel that failure, and if you don’t, you’re probably dead inside.
Lila’s a closeted bi girl in a hellhole where folks still think Jesus hates dancing and dicks in equal measure. Her queerness is her armor and her Achilles’ heel, and it’s damn real.
Broadbent writes like Flannery O’Connor’s ghost possessed her and brought a grudge. Her prose is lush, nasty, and sticks to you like swamp slime. You can feel the gnats buzzing your neck and smell the mildew on Lila’s curtains—it’s poetic without being some pretentious ass-kiss, gritty without wallowing in cheap grimdark. Take this gem:
“Stand on the edge of that swamp, right where water and land become uncertain brothers, and that soupy air turns scum-sweet.”
That’s not just writing—that’s a sucker punch to the senses. You’ll want to scrub your soul with bleach and maybe cry into your whiskey. But she doesn’t overdo it. The horror’s not cheap scares or guts—it’s a slow, soul-fucking creep, folk horror with a magnolia-scented shank.
Blood Cypress drowns you in its vibe. It’s immersive like waking up in a coffin full of mud. You’re not just reading about a swamp—you’re knee-deep in it, slogging through a busted family, a busted town, and a busted girl trying to hold it together. Lila’s a badass protagonist: fucked-up but not weak, pissed-off but not stupid, tough without turning into some gritty trope. Her voice hauls this novella like a cypress limb about to snap.
The good shit:
- Pacing’s tight as a gator’s jaw—tense, not rushed.
- Horror’s a slow simmer that’ll wreck you.
- Emotional punches land like a tail-whip to the tits.
The not-so-good shit:
- That barroom frame? Kinda feels like literary garnish that didn’t cook right. Not a dealbreaker, but it’s like finding a fly in your gumbo—meh.
- Tropes? If you’ve binged Southern Gothic, you might roll your eyes. Rotting houses? Check. Queer repression? Check. Creepy family vibes? Oh hell yes. Broadbent nails ‘em, but they’re not exactly fresh off the vine.
Blood Cypress is a fever dream where the sweat’s dripping from the swamp, not you. It’s about being unwanted, invisible, and ignored, and one girl saying “fuck that” anyway. It’s brutal, tight, and toxic as hell—in the best damn way. It’s near-perfect, and it’ll make you feel something ugly and true. That’s horror done right, motherfucker.
January 4, 2025
The primary Southern Gothic (with elements of folk horror) story as standalone would have rated higher for me, but I didn’t enjoy the setup with the introductory narrator. Her character and her relationship with Lila felt not only unnecessary, but borderline insulting to the reader. Most of her purpose seemed to be as a surrogate for the reader, to prompt for additional explanation of the central story which could have been inferred by the reader without her help. Her POV was not necessary for the epilogue to have been included to cap off Lila’s story, and I think the book overall would have been stronger for it.
January 17, 2025
This novella had so many elements that I love. I'm originally from southeastern North Carolina, so I'm familiar with the swampy setting in South Carolina. I love a good southern gothic tale, especially with queer representation, as a pansexual woman myself. I also absolutely love reptiles, and there were some really good scenes with a gator and some snakes in this book. It was very much an atmospheric novella with dark themes. I also loved the story within a story aspect of it. I would recommend it if you love atmospheric writing and queer coming of age stories. If you're a fan T. Kingfisher's style of southern gothic, I'd recommend giving this one a read.
April 17, 2025
This book is so haunting and beautiful. I love a good southern gothic story and Broadbent knocked it out of the park with this one.
She managed to tackle so much in such a short span throughout this novella. We can see the horrors of humanity in a backwards town that thinks judgement passed on people who seem different is acceptable. Then we have the horrors of the swamp that will certainly stay with me.
This was so beautifully written and is a quick and captivating read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book. I also snagged a signed copy from the author at a convention because it’s a winning story all around.
She managed to tackle so much in such a short span throughout this novella. We can see the horrors of humanity in a backwards town that thinks judgement passed on people who seem different is acceptable. Then we have the horrors of the swamp that will certainly stay with me.
This was so beautifully written and is a quick and captivating read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book. I also snagged a signed copy from the author at a convention because it’s a winning story all around.
January 3, 2025
Thank you very much to RDS Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC.
Lila's brother Beau goes missing but no one cares cause he is neither heir, nor spare. He is either special needs or has medical issues - but no one knows because "he wasn't born right" so no need to take him to a doctor.
We listen to how he went missing and what happened after from Lila years later. The incident itself is scary enough, but the small town people make it even more scary and disturbing.. it was hard to read but at the same time I could not not keep reading.
It was a solid 4 star read.
Lila's brother Beau goes missing but no one cares cause he is neither heir, nor spare. He is either special needs or has medical issues - but no one knows because "he wasn't born right" so no need to take him to a doctor.
We listen to how he went missing and what happened after from Lila years later. The incident itself is scary enough, but the small town people make it even more scary and disturbing.. it was hard to read but at the same time I could not not keep reading.
It was a solid 4 star read.
April 28, 2025
3/3.5
For such a short read, there is a lot to unpack here. I liked the writing, it's good. But I just didn't like the story much. The ending left me puzzled, I had to re-read it a couple of times. The story jumps from 2016 to 2019, Lila is the narrator, she's the one who "lived" it.
Pick this one up if you like:
- suspense
- swamps
- mysterious things happening
- short reads
Thank you to Netgalley, Raw Dog Screaming Press and the author for the ARC. This review is my own and I'm leaving it voluntarily.
For such a short read, there is a lot to unpack here. I liked the writing, it's good. But I just didn't like the story much. The ending left me puzzled, I had to re-read it a couple of times. The story jumps from 2016 to 2019, Lila is the narrator, she's the one who "lived" it.
Pick this one up if you like:
- suspense
- swamps
- mysterious things happening
- short reads
Thank you to Netgalley, Raw Dog Screaming Press and the author for the ARC. This review is my own and I'm leaving it voluntarily.
March 11, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!
This was a much darker novella than I went in expecting, which was a pleasant surprise. I was surprised by how attached I grew to Lila in a short amount of time. I am furious, heartbroken, and somehow also satisfied with the way her story (and Beau's) wrapped up. I also really enjoyed the frame narrative -- it reinforced Lila's outsider perspective while also only providing a brief and ambiguous glance into the (possibly) supernatural elements of the story.
This was a much darker novella than I went in expecting, which was a pleasant surprise. I was surprised by how attached I grew to Lila in a short amount of time. I am furious, heartbroken, and somehow also satisfied with the way her story (and Beau's) wrapped up. I also really enjoyed the frame narrative -- it reinforced Lila's outsider perspective while also only providing a brief and ambiguous glance into the (possibly) supernatural elements of the story.
March 27, 2025
Thank you to the author for providing a review copy.
Well. Blood Cypress was an unexpected punch to the gut, from so many angles. I was absolutely riveted by the story, and would have happily read a longer version of it. Perhaps, though, a longer version wouldn't be quite as effective. This book manages to accomplish a whole lot in a very short space, and I ran through a whole slew of emotions reading it. There are some heavy triggers here, so check them if you need to. 4.5 stars
Well. Blood Cypress was an unexpected punch to the gut, from so many angles. I was absolutely riveted by the story, and would have happily read a longer version of it. Perhaps, though, a longer version wouldn't be quite as effective. This book manages to accomplish a whole lot in a very short space, and I ran through a whole slew of emotions reading it. There are some heavy triggers here, so check them if you need to. 4.5 stars
April 5, 2025
This was rather disappointing, unfortunately. From the blurb, I'd expected this to be mainly a horror novella, set in a swamp. What I got was 70 pages of family and police drama next to a swamp, with maybe 20 pages of trudging through swamp horrors tacked on at the end. The framing device of the academic paper (I think) also made little sense to me, since no part of the following story felt anything like that, especially as the 'anomalous phenomenon' described only takes up around a fourth of the book. I was also very put off by the autism 'representation', particularly the fact that the autistic brother never received any professional medical support, which is justified by saying that 'an autism diagnosis would've broken their mother' and 'you know how it is in the south'.
June 23, 2025
A quick and easy Southern gothic. Lila's story about her missing brother unfolds as pillow talk with the woman she's taken home for the night, and Elizabeth Broadbent does a great job defining the air of toxic masculinity that defines the South for her closeted, bisexual protagonist. Blood Cypress is a solid character pieces, but given the ballyhooed nature of the swamp I do wish it had more supernatural oomph.
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