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On Sundays She Picked Flowers
In this sinister and surreal Southern Gothic debut, a woman escapes into the uncanny woods of southern Georgia and must contend with ghosts, haints, and most dangerous of all, the truth about herself.
When Judith Rice fled her childhood home, she thought she’d severed her abusive mother’s hold on her. She didn’t have a plan or destination, just a desperate need to escape. Drawn to the forests of southern Georgia, Jude finds shelter in a house as haunted by its violent history as she is by her own.
Jude embraces the eccentricities of the dilapidated house, soothing its ghosts and haints, honoring its blood-soaked land. And over the next thirteen years, Jude blossoms from her bitter beginnings into a wisewoman, a healer.
But her hard-won peace is threatened when an enigmatic woman shows up on her doorstep. The woman is beautiful but unsettling, captivating but uncanny. Ensnared by her desire for this stranger, Jude is caught off guard by brutal urges suddenly simmering beneath her skin. As the woman stirs up memories of her escape years ago, Jude must confront the calls of violence rooted in her bloodline.
Haunting and thought-provoking, On Sunday She Picked Flowers explores retribution, family trauma, and the power of building oneself back up after breaking down.
When Judith Rice fled her childhood home, she thought she’d severed her abusive mother’s hold on her. She didn’t have a plan or destination, just a desperate need to escape. Drawn to the forests of southern Georgia, Jude finds shelter in a house as haunted by its violent history as she is by her own.
Jude embraces the eccentricities of the dilapidated house, soothing its ghosts and haints, honoring its blood-soaked land. And over the next thirteen years, Jude blossoms from her bitter beginnings into a wisewoman, a healer.
But her hard-won peace is threatened when an enigmatic woman shows up on her doorstep. The woman is beautiful but unsettling, captivating but uncanny. Ensnared by her desire for this stranger, Jude is caught off guard by brutal urges suddenly simmering beneath her skin. As the woman stirs up memories of her escape years ago, Jude must confront the calls of violence rooted in her bloodline.
Haunting and thought-provoking, On Sunday She Picked Flowers explores retribution, family trauma, and the power of building oneself back up after breaking down.
9 pages, Audiobook
First published October 18, 2020
112 people are currently reading
20867 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 276 reviews
January 25, 2026
a favorite read of 2025🩵
one of THE best sapphic, southern gothic horror novels i’ve ever read, aside from beloved, of course; i’ve been thinking about it for months.
on sundays she picked flowers is insanely gory from quite literally page one, full of twisted family dynamics, and ultimately left me chilled to the bone.
full rtc
one of THE best sapphic, southern gothic horror novels i’ve ever read, aside from beloved, of course; i’ve been thinking about it for months.
on sundays she picked flowers is insanely gory from quite literally page one, full of twisted family dynamics, and ultimately left me chilled to the bone.
full rtc
May 27, 2020
The author has put up the first chapter for previewing on Medium, and just a glance at it tells you exactly why you should pick this book up and read it cover to cover.
https://medium.com/@ariesconceptss/on...
Yah Yah Scholfield has an impeccable grasp of atmosphere and horror, and the skill to create an immersive experience with the two.
A culmination of their previous work in the genre of horror (particularly notable in their range, from the gripping and subtle fear present in their science-fiction story 'It's Warm In Here' to the death-and-devotion turned on its head of 'Cherry Wine', to stories shot through with terrible joy, of becoming, with 'What The Water Gave Me') Scholfield paints a picture of their protagonist and her world masterfully, giving us just a taste of the horrors yet to come.
This reader has already pre-ordered their copy of On Sundays, She Picked Flowers and is eagerly awaiting its arrival and the subsequent revisiting of this review.
https://medium.com/@ariesconceptss/on...
Yah Yah Scholfield has an impeccable grasp of atmosphere and horror, and the skill to create an immersive experience with the two.
A culmination of their previous work in the genre of horror (particularly notable in their range, from the gripping and subtle fear present in their science-fiction story 'It's Warm In Here' to the death-and-devotion turned on its head of 'Cherry Wine', to stories shot through with terrible joy, of becoming, with 'What The Water Gave Me') Scholfield paints a picture of their protagonist and her world masterfully, giving us just a taste of the horrors yet to come.
This reader has already pre-ordered their copy of On Sundays, She Picked Flowers and is eagerly awaiting its arrival and the subsequent revisiting of this review.
October 21, 2025
honestly one of the best horror books I've ever read. I read a lot of horror so not many shock me as much as this one did. plus the writing is phenomenal & the exploration of toxic familial relationships, as well as the notion of scrounging for love despite everything was really well done. the fact that this is a debut novel is unbelievable. I can't wait for more people to read this when it comes out in January. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a very long time.
Thank you to Saga Press for sending me an early copy!
Thank you to Saga Press for sending me an early copy!
June 15, 2020
Five stars for just the first chapter? Yes. Five stars for the whole book? Absolutely. I’ve been cured of gay illiteracy forever, I can’t thank the author enough.
October 21, 2020
anyways this book is a masterclass in horror and if you're going through the reviews thinking "wow sure seems to be a lot of one star reviews wonder what's with that" I'll tell you why it's because white folks on tumblr can't stand when someone calls them out on their sh*t and resort to acting like the babies we know they are and give the author one star reviews because their voltron inc*st didn't get enough kudos on ao3 :)
May 22, 2020
everyone order this or 🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫
November 11, 2025
3.25 stars.
I wanted to really love this since the horror and the bleak Southern Gothic atmosphere were on point, but the dark romance ended up being nonsensical and relied a lot more on vibes than I liked.
I loved the evocative storytelling and the graphic horror in this short novel. If you want something really dark and really visceral, then I'd definitely recommend this novella.
The descriptions of gore and death felt like I was either there with Jude, or watching a Guillermo del Toro film. (The haunted house that Jude moves into was giving Crimson Peak vibes.) Hell, even the extremely toxic familial relationships were engrossing.
But then the romance happened.
I won't lie. I didn't get it. There were too many time jumps and it made the relationship flow so unnaturally. I wanted to root for Jude and Nemoira so badly, but the whole thing felt more like a dream sequence or a hallucination than anything that actually happened.
Idk.
I wanna say props to the author for writing an older FMC. But I'm not really sure if this made any difference in the end.
I'd still recommend this because the author's prose is lovely and the vibes were so deliciously creepy.
Thank you to S&S/Saga Press and NetGalley for this arc.
I wanted to really love this since the horror and the bleak Southern Gothic atmosphere were on point, but the dark romance ended up being nonsensical and relied a lot more on vibes than I liked.
I loved the evocative storytelling and the graphic horror in this short novel. If you want something really dark and really visceral, then I'd definitely recommend this novella.
The descriptions of gore and death felt like I was either there with Jude, or watching a Guillermo del Toro film. (The haunted house that Jude moves into was giving Crimson Peak vibes.) Hell, even the extremely toxic familial relationships were engrossing.
But then the romance happened.
I won't lie. I didn't get it. There were too many time jumps and it made the relationship flow so unnaturally. I wanted to root for Jude and Nemoira so badly, but the whole thing felt more like a dream sequence or a hallucination than anything that actually happened.
Idk.
I wanna say props to the author for writing an older FMC. But I'm not really sure if this made any difference in the end.
I'd still recommend this because the author's prose is lovely and the vibes were so deliciously creepy.
Thank you to S&S/Saga Press and NetGalley for this arc.
July 12, 2021
*chef's kiss*
October 22, 2020
Honestly, Yah Yah is on their way to becoming one of the best horror writers of this generation. There are not many with their ability to capture the atmospheric tension that is found throughout their work. I've read all of their short stories and the first chapter of On Sundays, and I am truly excited to read the novel once it comes out. There are a lot of people, white people, creating comments calling a black, non binary, lesbian racist and homophobic. And the question is, do you have this energy for actual racist and homophobic white people? Because ya'll truly went out of your way to try and make Yah Yah look bad when all they said was the truth. Like sorry, not sorry, but everyone in the comments acting stupid AND loud, need to go outside and find real problems to worry about. And just in case I've been unclear, you can't be racist to white people. Anyway, read On Sundays and give Mx Yah Yah their well deserved coin.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5 stars.
🥀"Escape, reflection, those were the joys of reading."🥀
🔪Another day, another great book tour/review.
📕On Sundays She Picked Flowers
👩🏾🦱Yah Yah Scholfield
🗣@sagapressbooks
📅January 27th, 2026
🥀SYNOPSIS🥀
When Judith Rice fled her childhood home, she thought she’d severed her abusive mother’s hold on her. She didn’t have a plan or destination, just a desperate need to escape. Drawn to the forests of southern Georgia, Jude finds shelter in a house as haunted by its violent history as she is by her own.
Jude embraces the eccentricities of the dilapidated house, soothing its ghosts and haints, honoring its blood-soaked land. And over the next thirteen years, Jude blossoms from her bitter beginnings into a wisewoman, a healer.
But her hard-won peace is threatened when an enigmatic woman shows up on her doorstep. The woman is beautiful but unsettling, captivating but uncanny. Ensnared by her desire for this stranger, Jude is caught off guard by brutal urges suddenly simmering beneath her skin. As the woman stirs up memories of her escape years ago, Jude must confront the calls of violence rooted in her bloodline.
Haunting and thought-provoking, On Sunday She Picked Flowers explores retribution, family trauma, and the power of building oneself back up after breaking down.
🧠My Thoughts🧠
Where do you run when your families past is dark and haunting? Who do you choose when the bear is no longer an option? This story was beautiful and painful. The writing was amazing and flowed so well that I read this in one sitting. It's a heavy story but I couldn't look away.
"Judith was conceived in evil, born in evil."
⛧Thank you so much to @coloredpagesbt for having me on the tour and to @sagapressbooks and @fluoresensitive for sending the book my way. Even though the book was gifted, all thoughts are my own.
💬ⓆⓄⓉⒹ: Do you think people can be haunted just like a house?
#OnSundaysShePickedFlowerstour #onsundaysshepickedflowers #yahyahscholfield #coloredpagesbooktours #SagaSaysCrew
🥀"Escape, reflection, those were the joys of reading."🥀
🔪Another day, another great book tour/review.
📕On Sundays She Picked Flowers
👩🏾🦱Yah Yah Scholfield
🗣@sagapressbooks
📅January 27th, 2026
🥀SYNOPSIS🥀
When Judith Rice fled her childhood home, she thought she’d severed her abusive mother’s hold on her. She didn’t have a plan or destination, just a desperate need to escape. Drawn to the forests of southern Georgia, Jude finds shelter in a house as haunted by its violent history as she is by her own.
Jude embraces the eccentricities of the dilapidated house, soothing its ghosts and haints, honoring its blood-soaked land. And over the next thirteen years, Jude blossoms from her bitter beginnings into a wisewoman, a healer.
But her hard-won peace is threatened when an enigmatic woman shows up on her doorstep. The woman is beautiful but unsettling, captivating but uncanny. Ensnared by her desire for this stranger, Jude is caught off guard by brutal urges suddenly simmering beneath her skin. As the woman stirs up memories of her escape years ago, Jude must confront the calls of violence rooted in her bloodline.
Haunting and thought-provoking, On Sunday She Picked Flowers explores retribution, family trauma, and the power of building oneself back up after breaking down.
🧠My Thoughts🧠
Where do you run when your families past is dark and haunting? Who do you choose when the bear is no longer an option? This story was beautiful and painful. The writing was amazing and flowed so well that I read this in one sitting. It's a heavy story but I couldn't look away.
"Judith was conceived in evil, born in evil."
⛧Thank you so much to @coloredpagesbt for having me on the tour and to @sagapressbooks and @fluoresensitive for sending the book my way. Even though the book was gifted, all thoughts are my own.
💬ⓆⓄⓉⒹ: Do you think people can be haunted just like a house?
#OnSundaysShePickedFlowerstour #onsundaysshepickedflowers #yahyahscholfield #coloredpagesbooktours #SagaSaysCrew
December 16, 2025
I wish I had loved this and in theory all the pieces were there of things I normally enjoy. I would recommend this to the right reader but this just wasn't for me. This was a beautifully written Southern gothic full of literary sapphic monster fucking, brutal murders, cannibalism, child abuse, rape, racism, the scars of slavery, and generational trauma. I thought I was prepared for the trigger warnings and I still found it pretty gross, even as I understood Jude's motivations in the end. It also did a wonderful job at evoking atmosphere.
The story opens with Jude brutally murdering her mother after she tries to choke her for leaving their physically abusive home at age 41. I understood her mother and her pain so even though that was bleak, I found that arc beautiful in its trauma in the end. I also liked how the FMC was older. Jude doesn't really seem to change her violent ways much other than she gains a deeper understanding of her past, and not much happens in the plot other than she adopts a haunted house in the woods and is visited by a beast that brings her gifts of meat and becomes even more of a loner.
I liked the idea of haunted objects that become friends, but I thought this would be more of a haunted house story and it was a misunderstood character-driven feminist witch in the woods story instead.
A strange woman named Nemoira stops by, and Jude asks no questions, which was strange. She just gives into her loneliness and falls madly in love. Then the cycle of violence begins anew. This is a story at its heart of people who look away and let things happen, and the people who are left behind. And the characters vomit quite a bit, for good reason.
There was just not much happening other than the gross body horror, cannibalism, and generational trauma, and despite the beautiful writing I also found it hard to get into the romance. It was a romance in the end, but I found it a desperate, gory, unsatisfying kind that often turned my stomach.
So if you like literary gross horror dripping with Southern atmosphere and trauma, this may be more for you than it was for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The story opens with Jude brutally murdering her mother after she tries to choke her for leaving their physically abusive home at age 41. I understood her mother and her pain so even though that was bleak, I found that arc beautiful in its trauma in the end. I also liked how the FMC was older. Jude doesn't really seem to change her violent ways much other than she gains a deeper understanding of her past, and not much happens in the plot other than she adopts a haunted house in the woods and is visited by a beast that brings her gifts of meat and becomes even more of a loner.
I liked the idea of haunted objects that become friends, but I thought this would be more of a haunted house story and it was a misunderstood character-driven feminist witch in the woods story instead.
A strange woman named Nemoira stops by, and Jude asks no questions, which was strange. She just gives into her loneliness and falls madly in love. Then the cycle of violence begins anew. This is a story at its heart of people who look away and let things happen, and the people who are left behind. And the characters vomit quite a bit, for good reason.
There was just not much happening other than the gross body horror, cannibalism, and generational trauma, and despite the beautiful writing I also found it hard to get into the romance. It was a romance in the end, but I found it a desperate, gory, unsatisfying kind that often turned my stomach.
So if you like literary gross horror dripping with Southern atmosphere and trauma, this may be more for you than it was for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 18, 2026
6 stars
June 4, 2020
The author put up the first chapter on medium and it was wonderful. The cadence, the suspense, the imagery and silent soundscape of the chapter has me impatiently waiting for the actual release.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The nitty-gritty: A beautifully written story of survival and redemption, Yah Yah Scholfield’s weird, devastating and brutal Southern Gothic debut is a rollercoaster of emotions, both monstrous and beautiful.
On Sundays She Picked Flowers wrecked me, but in a good way. This is an absolutely stunning debut. Yah Yah Scholfield digs deep into some heavy topics, like generational trauma and abuse, matricide, incest and racism and segregation, but they have also written one of the most unusual romantic relationships I’ve ever seen. There is a lot of pain between these pages, but there is also joy, forgiveness and love. Do be aware of the above triggers going in, but I think this is an important book, and I think it's going to be one of the best debut horror releases of 2026.
The story begins in 1965, and Ernestine Rice and her forty-one year old daughter Judith live together in the Rice family home. Ernestine is a hard woman, and she takes out her anger on her daughter. Jude’s aunts Vivian and Phyllis have always looked the other way, never interfering with Ernestine’s abuse. But one day, Jude decides she’s had enough. When she tries to leave, though, Ernestine attacks and nearly chokes her to death. Jude does the only thing she can to survive—she kills her mother with a butcher knife.
Fleeing her childhood home, Jude winds up in a small town called Whitnee, where a kind hotel clerk directs her to an old abandoned farmhouse in the nearby woods. The house is full of ghosts (“haints”) and is falling apart, but Jude settles in and begins to carve out a new life for herself. She sets up an altar to the house, offering it coins and food (to appease the ghosts), and she forages for herbs and medicinal plants in the woods. She senses a presence nearby, a lurking beast who never shows itself but leaves Jude offerings of fresh meat.
Until one day, a strange woman shows up on Jude’s doorstep calling herself Nemoira. Jude doesn’t want company, but she invites Nemoira in anyway. Nemoira forces Jude out of her self imposed seclusion, and little by little, she becomes enamored with the odd woman. But Nemoira is not what she seems. Has Jude left one dangerous household for another?
The story captured me from the first page and I could barely put the book down. Not only is Scholfield’s writing evocative and masterful, but their plotting is perfectly paced. Tension and emotion leap from the page, and the author is brilliant at slowly revealing each mystery. At first we don’t understand why Ernestine is such a horrible mother, but later the author explains her similarly horrific childhood, growing up alongside her sisters under the shadow of violence and abuse. It doesn’t excuse what Ernestine has done, but it makes her a little bit more sympathetic. The fact that Jude’s mother locked her in her bedroom and beat her when she tried to leave—for forty-one years!---is shocking, but it’s not even the most shocking thing in this story.
Once Jude settles into Candle (the name she gives the old farmhouse), the story takes a new turn. Her life becomes peaceful for the first time ever and she begins to heal. She still has to deal with the trauma of killing her mother—that’s never going away—but now she has the space and time to do so. I loved the haunted house, which has a life of its own—doors and cupboards rattle in their frames, wallpaper peels off the wall by itself and windows shatter—but Jude learns how to calm the house and it always repairs itself eventually. I also loved that Jude's mother taught her how to sew and make quilts (the only nice thing in that relationship), and I loved how she makes a special quilt for each year she lives in Candle.
When Nemoira enters the picture, we get yet another bizarre twist in the story. Nemoira is a mystery until her true nature is revealed, but her relationship with Jude was surprisingly tender and uplifting—even with some extremely horrific elements added to the mix. I don’t want to spoil anything, but things take a very dark turn—very very dark!---and I’ll admit I loved this part of the story.
In alternating chapters, Scholfield adds another layer to her story, describing what happens when Vivian and Phyllis discover the slain body of their sister. This is where the author delves into the women’s past and reveals a terrible family secret that’s been buried for decades. The pain in these chapters is palpable. It’s hard to read about the treatment of Black people during this time, and Scholfield uses unflinching language to paint a heartbreaking picture of the past. I hated both aunts and the way they treated Jude, but I also came to understand them a bit.
The final act was even more emotional that what came before, and here’s where I started crying and couldn’t stop. Scholfield ties up all their loose ends, bringing everything full circle in some astonishing ways. Even the very last paragraph felt perfectly executed, and I finished the story feeling both relief and regret that it was over. If you've read anything by Tiffany McDaniel (Betty, On the Savage Side), you'll probably have a similar emotional reading experience with this book. I can’t recommend On Sundays She Picked Flowers highly enough.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
On Sundays She Picked Flowers wrecked me, but in a good way. This is an absolutely stunning debut. Yah Yah Scholfield digs deep into some heavy topics, like generational trauma and abuse, matricide, incest and racism and segregation, but they have also written one of the most unusual romantic relationships I’ve ever seen. There is a lot of pain between these pages, but there is also joy, forgiveness and love. Do be aware of the above triggers going in, but I think this is an important book, and I think it's going to be one of the best debut horror releases of 2026.
The story begins in 1965, and Ernestine Rice and her forty-one year old daughter Judith live together in the Rice family home. Ernestine is a hard woman, and she takes out her anger on her daughter. Jude’s aunts Vivian and Phyllis have always looked the other way, never interfering with Ernestine’s abuse. But one day, Jude decides she’s had enough. When she tries to leave, though, Ernestine attacks and nearly chokes her to death. Jude does the only thing she can to survive—she kills her mother with a butcher knife.
Fleeing her childhood home, Jude winds up in a small town called Whitnee, where a kind hotel clerk directs her to an old abandoned farmhouse in the nearby woods. The house is full of ghosts (“haints”) and is falling apart, but Jude settles in and begins to carve out a new life for herself. She sets up an altar to the house, offering it coins and food (to appease the ghosts), and she forages for herbs and medicinal plants in the woods. She senses a presence nearby, a lurking beast who never shows itself but leaves Jude offerings of fresh meat.
Until one day, a strange woman shows up on Jude’s doorstep calling herself Nemoira. Jude doesn’t want company, but she invites Nemoira in anyway. Nemoira forces Jude out of her self imposed seclusion, and little by little, she becomes enamored with the odd woman. But Nemoira is not what she seems. Has Jude left one dangerous household for another?
The story captured me from the first page and I could barely put the book down. Not only is Scholfield’s writing evocative and masterful, but their plotting is perfectly paced. Tension and emotion leap from the page, and the author is brilliant at slowly revealing each mystery. At first we don’t understand why Ernestine is such a horrible mother, but later the author explains her similarly horrific childhood, growing up alongside her sisters under the shadow of violence and abuse. It doesn’t excuse what Ernestine has done, but it makes her a little bit more sympathetic. The fact that Jude’s mother locked her in her bedroom and beat her when she tried to leave—for forty-one years!---is shocking, but it’s not even the most shocking thing in this story.
Once Jude settles into Candle (the name she gives the old farmhouse), the story takes a new turn. Her life becomes peaceful for the first time ever and she begins to heal. She still has to deal with the trauma of killing her mother—that’s never going away—but now she has the space and time to do so. I loved the haunted house, which has a life of its own—doors and cupboards rattle in their frames, wallpaper peels off the wall by itself and windows shatter—but Jude learns how to calm the house and it always repairs itself eventually. I also loved that Jude's mother taught her how to sew and make quilts (the only nice thing in that relationship), and I loved how she makes a special quilt for each year she lives in Candle.
When Nemoira enters the picture, we get yet another bizarre twist in the story. Nemoira is a mystery until her true nature is revealed, but her relationship with Jude was surprisingly tender and uplifting—even with some extremely horrific elements added to the mix. I don’t want to spoil anything, but things take a very dark turn—very very dark!---and I’ll admit I loved this part of the story.
In alternating chapters, Scholfield adds another layer to her story, describing what happens when Vivian and Phyllis discover the slain body of their sister. This is where the author delves into the women’s past and reveals a terrible family secret that’s been buried for decades. The pain in these chapters is palpable. It’s hard to read about the treatment of Black people during this time, and Scholfield uses unflinching language to paint a heartbreaking picture of the past. I hated both aunts and the way they treated Jude, but I also came to understand them a bit.
The final act was even more emotional that what came before, and here’s where I started crying and couldn’t stop. Scholfield ties up all their loose ends, bringing everything full circle in some astonishing ways. Even the very last paragraph felt perfectly executed, and I finished the story feeling both relief and regret that it was over. If you've read anything by Tiffany McDaniel (Betty, On the Savage Side), you'll probably have a similar emotional reading experience with this book. I can’t recommend On Sundays She Picked Flowers highly enough.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
January 21, 2026
Did I devour this story or did it devour me?
This is a raw and visceral southern gothic that leaves a weighty impact. Through stunning prose and transformative settings, we witness a breaking of generation cycles and violence and an unraveling of a character born of trauma.
Jude escapes her abusive mother and secludes herself in the woods of Georgia. There she lives peacefully in a house among ghosts and haints until she meets a beautiful and monstrous woman who may very well be her undoing. Much like the house, Jude will fall apart.
The symbolism in this story was insanely rich and gorgeously presented. I particularly loved the symbolism held in the houses, both Jude’s childhood home and the house in the woods. The slow deterioration and the need to dismantle it all and rebuild anew.
Watching Jude find her space and heal ancient wounds was at once aching and beautiful. The rage she held was so valid and ancestral but I desperately just wanting relief for her. As she unravels, I bore witness to the catharsis and then rejoiced in her reclamation.
This is not light on body horror. The gore is used intentionally and loudly. Healing isn’t clean and it isn’t always kind. The real horror lies in the familial trauma and the generations of abuse.
The pacing gave me some issues and I would have loved more dialogue or context around Nemoira’s arrival and mechanics. Nonetheless, this story is strong and impactful with beautiful rage and a satisfying character arc.
Consider Yah-Yah Schofield a new autobuy author. Their use of symbolism and visceral horror wooed and awed me.
I recommend for fans of sapphic horror, literary symbolism, lush prose, and southern gothics.
Thank you to Saga Press for the gifted ARC copy - all opinions are my own.
This is a raw and visceral southern gothic that leaves a weighty impact. Through stunning prose and transformative settings, we witness a breaking of generation cycles and violence and an unraveling of a character born of trauma.
Jude escapes her abusive mother and secludes herself in the woods of Georgia. There she lives peacefully in a house among ghosts and haints until she meets a beautiful and monstrous woman who may very well be her undoing. Much like the house, Jude will fall apart.
The symbolism in this story was insanely rich and gorgeously presented. I particularly loved the symbolism held in the houses, both Jude’s childhood home and the house in the woods. The slow deterioration and the need to dismantle it all and rebuild anew.
Watching Jude find her space and heal ancient wounds was at once aching and beautiful. The rage she held was so valid and ancestral but I desperately just wanting relief for her. As she unravels, I bore witness to the catharsis and then rejoiced in her reclamation.
This is not light on body horror. The gore is used intentionally and loudly. Healing isn’t clean and it isn’t always kind. The real horror lies in the familial trauma and the generations of abuse.
The pacing gave me some issues and I would have loved more dialogue or context around Nemoira’s arrival and mechanics. Nonetheless, this story is strong and impactful with beautiful rage and a satisfying character arc.
Consider Yah-Yah Schofield a new autobuy author. Their use of symbolism and visceral horror wooed and awed me.
I recommend for fans of sapphic horror, literary symbolism, lush prose, and southern gothics.
Thank you to Saga Press for the gifted ARC copy - all opinions are my own.
June 7, 2020
The first chapter is incredible, and I can't wait to read the whole book and give a more in-depth review.
February 7, 2022
lovely read.. it started with a bang n then the book recollects itself, maybe due to the romance in a way too good to be true, though i definitely didn’t expect the direction it ended up in.. 😟
January 26, 2026
I’m going to make a longer review for my post on Sunday but I never expected a book about cannibalism, abuse, trauma, murder, & incest to be so beautiful. I cried through a lot of this. This is powerful & it does horror in a way you wouldn’t think. Jude is such a strong person for so many reasons and I don’t know how I would be able to go on after all the things that happened to her. This story grabbed me from the beginning with Jude’s tragic life. I feel like in the end she truly found her happiness and her reason for being. You either let your grief & trauma consume you like Vivian & Phyllis or you rise against it. Ernestine is such a complicated character and I won’t spoil anything but her character is not as black & white as it seems. This story was so good and it hit everything I love. A bit of gore, some sapphic romance, a bit of cannibalism, a bit of horrible familiar trauma and dynamics. What more is there? I’ve literally read so many great books this month and the year is already starting off with a bang! Also I read so much YA a MC being 41 in the beginning got me off guard for a minute but I loved it!
Read
April 27, 2022On Sundays is a richly detailed horror debut that remains a little rough around the edges, but overall worth your while. While we await the author's future books, I recommend reading Scholfield's short fiction.
Content warnings: Abuse, gore, cannibalism, injury, murder, parent death, death, animal death, self harm.
Specific thoughts below:
Content warnings: Abuse, gore, cannibalism, injury, murder, parent death, death, animal death, self harm.
Specific thoughts below:
December 14, 2023
Only reason this didn’t get 1 star was because it was gay.
The pacing was really off, and I didn’t actually believe the love story at all. Probably because the author kept doing time jumps and just telling us things happened instead of actually showing us.
The two different chapters from the different POVs were the most interesting part of this book; I wish we got way more chapters like that and it could have helped the pacing.
I recognize that fantasy needs a suspension of disbelief but there are so many unanswered questions that I can’t get over:
- Why did no one report Jude’s mom’s murder?
- why did the aunts basically not care that Jude killed her? They said they loved her even knowing she was abusive.
- why did Nemoira wait 17 years to talk to Jude?
- how in the world did Jude buy things? She didn’t have a job and didn’t seem to sell anything
- why did the innkeeper own the cabin? Why did they pay for the utilities?
Jude immediately falling out of love with Nemoira and then falling back in love after she killed her made no sense. Sorry but if that’s the love of your life and the love of your life is a wolf… I feel like you gotta get over that the cannibalism
Also, I know this was an independent author but they couldn’t have gotten an editor or even a friend to read through it? There was a typo on almost every single page and some of them made sentences unreadable.
The pacing was really off, and I didn’t actually believe the love story at all. Probably because the author kept doing time jumps and just telling us things happened instead of actually showing us.
The two different chapters from the different POVs were the most interesting part of this book; I wish we got way more chapters like that and it could have helped the pacing.
I recognize that fantasy needs a suspension of disbelief but there are so many unanswered questions that I can’t get over:
- Why did no one report Jude’s mom’s murder?
- why did the aunts basically not care that Jude killed her? They said they loved her even knowing she was abusive.
- why did Nemoira wait 17 years to talk to Jude?
- how in the world did Jude buy things? She didn’t have a job and didn’t seem to sell anything
- why did the innkeeper own the cabin? Why did they pay for the utilities?
Jude immediately falling out of love with Nemoira and then falling back in love after she killed her made no sense. Sorry but if that’s the love of your life and the love of your life is a wolf… I feel like you gotta get over that the cannibalism
Also, I know this was an independent author but they couldn’t have gotten an editor or even a friend to read through it? There was a typo on almost every single page and some of them made sentences unreadable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2022
FINALLY a horror book that isn't boring. Like, some books feel like they know the horror history and the rules but that's it. Not this one tho! Bless the rest of y'all hearts y'all try so hard and I applaud you for your efforts but this was AMAZING. It's got blood but like the right amount of horror, blood thats scary and terrifying and beautiful, without being gross. The writing is so...like you know how in movies and shows somebody's reading something or telling a story and the room shifts around them to show they're so immersed in it all that's how I felt reading this. *Chefs kiss* 10/10
June 15, 2020
The author released the first chapter of this book as a preview of what was to come and what a begining it was! Generally I'm not a fan of horror but the way that this author writes is captivating. It makes it very hard to stop reading after you start and once you finish it's always a pleasure to start it all over again. I've read that first chapter several times and I am looking forward to reading the rest of it!!
December 8, 2021
Don’t say shit to me about feral women unless one of you is a bear and one of you is a cannibal in love with a bear
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2025
This right here is a true southern gothic novel — filled to the brim with flawed characters, illicit themes, raw emotions, and a fair amount of gore.
Overall, it's a rough story that really focuses on dark ramifications of generational trauma. We follow the story of a woman named Jude, who runs away from her childhood home — and more importantly from her abusive mother. One thing that really hit me harder for this novel is that this wasn't a case of a young woman or teenager running away to try and start a new life. Jude is actually already 41 years old before she finally manages to escape from the house of suffering she's been stuck in for her entire life. The meat of this novel is really about how Jude grows and adapts to her new life in the abandoned, haunted home she's fled to deep in the Georgia woods. We watch as she learns some harsh truths about herself, and we also watch as she develops a deep, intimate relationship with a mysterious woman who suddenly appears at her door one day.
Written with lush and descriptive prose, you can really feel the anger, fear, lust, sorrow, and disgust absolutely dripping from the pages of this novel. But in between all the bad, there are moments of serenity that help make the story more palatable and really humanize (most of) the characters. It's also a pretty fast-paced story with frequent time skips, but the pacing feels very natural and there's an impressive amount of character development packed in along the way.
I don't want to give too many details on the plot as I went into this one mostly blind and I'm glad I did so, but here's a list of some keywords I jotted down during my reading for anybody who might want a little more of an idea of what to expect: visceral, haunting, incandescent, tranquil, frenzied, wanton, harrowing, hopeful.
If you're a reader that tends to be triggered by darker themes, you'll probably want to pay special attention to the content warning at the beginning of this book before fully committing to it. But for those who do not have any triggers, I would highly recommend this one. I'll also most definitely be keeping an eye out for future works from Yah Yah Scholfield!
(Thank you to Saga Press for providing me with an advance review copy for free via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
Overall, it's a rough story that really focuses on dark ramifications of generational trauma. We follow the story of a woman named Jude, who runs away from her childhood home — and more importantly from her abusive mother. One thing that really hit me harder for this novel is that this wasn't a case of a young woman or teenager running away to try and start a new life. Jude is actually already 41 years old before she finally manages to escape from the house of suffering she's been stuck in for her entire life. The meat of this novel is really about how Jude grows and adapts to her new life in the abandoned, haunted home she's fled to deep in the Georgia woods. We watch as she learns some harsh truths about herself, and we also watch as she develops a deep, intimate relationship with a mysterious woman who suddenly appears at her door one day.
Written with lush and descriptive prose, you can really feel the anger, fear, lust, sorrow, and disgust absolutely dripping from the pages of this novel. But in between all the bad, there are moments of serenity that help make the story more palatable and really humanize (most of) the characters. It's also a pretty fast-paced story with frequent time skips, but the pacing feels very natural and there's an impressive amount of character development packed in along the way.
I don't want to give too many details on the plot as I went into this one mostly blind and I'm glad I did so, but here's a list of some keywords I jotted down during my reading for anybody who might want a little more of an idea of what to expect: visceral, haunting, incandescent, tranquil, frenzied, wanton, harrowing, hopeful.
If you're a reader that tends to be triggered by darker themes, you'll probably want to pay special attention to the content warning at the beginning of this book before fully committing to it. But for those who do not have any triggers, I would highly recommend this one. I'll also most definitely be keeping an eye out for future works from Yah Yah Scholfield!
(Thank you to Saga Press for providing me with an advance review copy for free via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
January 21, 2026
“I wish someone had told you the truth, that there’s more to life than what’s done to you.”
On Sundays She Picked Flowers is a sapphic southern horror and officially one of my favorites books ever. This was an emotional read that covers some heavy topics, like self-harm, incest, grief, and child loss. But there are also some lighthearted fun themes like haunted houses, lesbians, and cannibalism✨
The story follows Jude, a Black woman in her 40s, living with her abusive mother in Georgia. She finally realizes she’s fed up, flees her home, and comes upon a very moody house in the woods full of disgruntled haints. There are multiple POVs including a super unique mini chapter from one of my favorite entities in the book.
I’m struggling with finding the words to express my love for this book without spoiling anything, I just want to scream about every little detail from the rooftops. Yah-Yah wrote beautiful scenes spent in nature and moments of peace found in daily routine that made me feel cozy while also giving us detailed gross gore, a haunting eerie atmosphere, and mentions of slavery, segregation, and generational trauma that made me need to sit with my thoughts for a bit. The character development, the writing style, the plot, the setting, literally everything was fantastic.
5 stars, 10/10, I cried and I will never shut up about this book.
On Sundays She Picked Flowers is a sapphic southern horror and officially one of my favorites books ever. This was an emotional read that covers some heavy topics, like self-harm, incest, grief, and child loss. But there are also some lighthearted fun themes like haunted houses, lesbians, and cannibalism✨
The story follows Jude, a Black woman in her 40s, living with her abusive mother in Georgia. She finally realizes she’s fed up, flees her home, and comes upon a very moody house in the woods full of disgruntled haints. There are multiple POVs including a super unique mini chapter from one of my favorite entities in the book.
I’m struggling with finding the words to express my love for this book without spoiling anything, I just want to scream about every little detail from the rooftops. Yah-Yah wrote beautiful scenes spent in nature and moments of peace found in daily routine that made me feel cozy while also giving us detailed gross gore, a haunting eerie atmosphere, and mentions of slavery, segregation, and generational trauma that made me need to sit with my thoughts for a bit. The character development, the writing style, the plot, the setting, literally everything was fantastic.
5 stars, 10/10, I cried and I will never shut up about this book.
January 2, 2026
On Sundays She Picked Flowers is a harrowing and haunting look into toxic familial relationships, trauma, and abuse. From the first page on I was engrossed in Jude’s story. It’s peculiar and not at all what I expected. This book made me cry and angry for what is done to Jude. But, also made me proud for her, for taking charge of her life in the way she does. This book is visceral and raw and full of emotion. The southern gothic atmosphere is relayed beautifully. I can already tell this is gonna be one of my favorite reads of the year. I’m looking forward to reading what comes next from Yah Yah Scholfield.
Thank you to the author, Saga Press, and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to the author, Saga Press, and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
January 27, 2026
Oh lord
That was absolutely crazy. That sisterhood, I don't envy it one bit. A sad story. I don't even know how I feel about Jude. But I am glad she made it. I wholeheartedly understand the reasoning behind why all three of the sisters treated Jude that way, God knows, I can't see myself wholly being any different after all that pain, but at least I would want to still be conscious of my actions like Phyllis was. Vivian is a different story and I can't blame Nessie. But just for the sake of being holly and mighty, I like to think I would have treated Jude differently, in a good way, had I been one of the sisters. At the very least, listened. But we all don't know what we would be if put in these really heartbreaking scenarios. Just tragic.
I do love horror stuff, but I don't think I understand the appeal of goth. All in all, an intriguing read.
Ps: I am so bad at reading between the lines but I wonder what happened to Vivian.
That was absolutely crazy. That sisterhood, I don't envy it one bit. A sad story. I don't even know how I feel about Jude. But I am glad she made it. I wholeheartedly understand the reasoning behind why all three of the sisters treated Jude that way, God knows, I can't see myself wholly being any different after all that pain, but at least I would want to still be conscious of my actions like Phyllis was. Vivian is a different story and I can't blame Nessie. But just for the sake of being holly and mighty, I like to think I would have treated Jude differently, in a good way, had I been one of the sisters. At the very least, listened. But we all don't know what we would be if put in these really heartbreaking scenarios. Just tragic.
I do love horror stuff, but I don't think I understand the appeal of goth. All in all, an intriguing read.
Ps: I am so bad at reading between the lines but I wonder what happened to Vivian.
January 23, 2026
“Was that all life was, running and hiding, always at the mercy of somebody, something, anything?”
Let me start off by saying this book DEVASTATED me. Yah Yah wrote a beautiful, lyrical story of Jude and all of the generational violence that she grew up with. Jude was a very sheltered and broken woman, she runs away from her mother’s house to a forest with a haunted house that she takes up residence in. This book pulls us into the mind of a woman who for her whole life has never been loved and is so hurt and is afraid to love herself. So many gorgeous metaphors and incredible prose made me fall in love with Jude and the world she created for herself. So much heartbreak and devastation, and with a shocking twist that had my jaw on the floor. All with ending that was exquisite, On Sundays She Picks Flowers will live in my heart forever.
Let me start off by saying this book DEVASTATED me. Yah Yah wrote a beautiful, lyrical story of Jude and all of the generational violence that she grew up with. Jude was a very sheltered and broken woman, she runs away from her mother’s house to a forest with a haunted house that she takes up residence in. This book pulls us into the mind of a woman who for her whole life has never been loved and is so hurt and is afraid to love herself. So many gorgeous metaphors and incredible prose made me fall in love with Jude and the world she created for herself. So much heartbreak and devastation, and with a shocking twist that had my jaw on the floor. All with ending that was exquisite, On Sundays She Picks Flowers will live in my heart forever.
January 29, 2026
An interesting an intense literary horror debut.
The good: Yah Yah Schofield is a great writer. Her flow through visceral graphic horror to poetic Sunday morning prose felt natural and impressive. It’s a heavy book, one about trauma, abuse, and generational violence, but Scholfield’s unique writing kept me interested. The writing stays consistent throughout and I think this is the type of book that elevates the genre.
The okay: there is a love story (or something like it) embedded in the second half of the book that was a bit hard to follow. The structure gets a little odd and there are some time skips. The pacing takes the book in a different direction that doesn’t feel as grounded.
Overall I’d recommend this to any horror fan and some literary fiction fans who are looking to dip their toes into the Southern Gothic.
Thank you Saga Press for the Advanced Reader Copy!
The good: Yah Yah Schofield is a great writer. Her flow through visceral graphic horror to poetic Sunday morning prose felt natural and impressive. It’s a heavy book, one about trauma, abuse, and generational violence, but Scholfield’s unique writing kept me interested. The writing stays consistent throughout and I think this is the type of book that elevates the genre.
The okay: there is a love story (or something like it) embedded in the second half of the book that was a bit hard to follow. The structure gets a little odd and there are some time skips. The pacing takes the book in a different direction that doesn’t feel as grounded.
Overall I’d recommend this to any horror fan and some literary fiction fans who are looking to dip their toes into the Southern Gothic.
Thank you Saga Press for the Advanced Reader Copy!
December 15, 2025
On Sundays She Picked Flowers is a Southern Gothic horror novel that explores the complexities of generational trauma, human nature, vengeance, forgiveness, abuse, and betrayal.
Yah-Yah Scholfield packs a lot in her novel, and she packs a punch. Her book often made me pause and meditate. While she could have made her novel simplistic or one-dimensional, she did not. Instead, she often switched perspectives so it was never truly black-and-white. Scholfield thrives in nuances and prospers in complexities. Everyone should read On Sundays She Picked Flowers at least once.
Yah-Yah Scholfield packs a lot in her novel, and she packs a punch. Her book often made me pause and meditate. While she could have made her novel simplistic or one-dimensional, she did not. Instead, she often switched perspectives so it was never truly black-and-white. Scholfield thrives in nuances and prospers in complexities. Everyone should read On Sundays She Picked Flowers at least once.
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