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caseythereader's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Lesbophobia, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Cancer, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Classism, and Medical content
Minor: Rape and Suicide
doomham's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Rape, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism
arealpageturner's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Murder, and Child abuse
mfallon3491's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
tofugal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
With gorgeous prose and a lovely gothic feel, this definitely delivered on its “for fans of Sarah Waters” promise. It felt like a solid blend of Fingersmith and Affinity. Though this was more predictable than Waters’ books, there were still plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing whether the ghosts were real, fake, or some combination of the two.
Sylvie’s perspective held my attention, but I feel like the book truly picked up when it switched over to Charlotte’s perspective, in large part because Florence stole my heart. I really wanted that poor gal to win.
My only criticism is that the ending felt rushed, the final twist was too obvious, and I don’t think the epilogue was needed.
Overall, a very impressive debut. I look forward to reading more from Carmella Lowkis.
CW: For DA, deaths, and mentions of past SA.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault
tonyaf's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis was such a pleasant surprise for me! It’s a mystery, historical fiction, and family drama with captivating characters and complex relationships.
The story is set in 1866 in France and is about two sisters, Sylvie and Charlotte, who formerly worked as fraudulent mediums and conned wealthy families out of money. The job was part of their family business built by their mother, who has since passed, and their father who is currently very ill. The father’s illness reunites the sisters for one last con, but this new job sets off a string of events that leads to wide-ranging consequences.
Both sisters are complex characters and have complicated feelings towards each other. The story references Charles Perrault’s The Fairies throughout. The Fairies tells the story of one good sister and one bad sister. Spitting Gold argues that the story would be far more nuanced than that. All stories have more than one side. Sylvie and Charlotte are both the good sisters and the bad sisters. They love each other dearly but also harbor anger and resentment. They both make decisions that both hurt and help the other. They are both doing their best in the world they are living in. This complexity makes for such a riveting story!
While the sisters and their relationship is the star of Spitting Gold, I also loved the mystery plot and the cast of side characters. There’s also a sweet Sapphic love story entwined (and a few other delightful queer characters too).
The story is set in 1866 in France and is about two sisters, Sylvie and Charlotte, who formerly worked as fraudulent mediums and conned wealthy families out of money. The job was part of their family business built by their mother, who has since passed, and their father who is currently very ill. The father’s illness reunites the sisters for one last con, but this new job sets off a string of events that leads to wide-ranging consequences.
Both sisters are complex characters and have complicated feelings towards each other. The story references Charles Perrault’s The Fairies throughout. The Fairies tells the story of one good sister and one bad sister. Spitting Gold argues that the story would be far more nuanced than that. All stories have more than one side. Sylvie and Charlotte are both the good sisters and the bad sisters. They love each other dearly but also harbor anger and resentment. They both make decisions that both hurt and help the other. They are both doing their best in the world they are living in. This complexity makes for such a riveting story!
While the sisters and their relationship is the star of Spitting Gold, I also loved the mystery plot and the cast of side characters. There’s also a sweet Sapphic love story entwined (and a few other delightful queer characters too).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault
camillessi's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
((More coherent review to come closer to publication date. E-galley received through Edelweiss.))
This was an enjoyable gothic read that was a breeze to get through. The tension stayed consistent, making me want to read more, without feeling overbearing. However, because the comparison to Sarah Waters is what caught my eye in the beginning, I found myself a little more critical than I might have been otherwise.
The prose flowed well, but sometimes felt inconsistent. Sometimes it would be drawn-out and flowery, or feeling very of-the-era. Other times, it would read quite modern and simple. Neither is bad, but the inconsistency sometimes drew me out of the story.
The characters also fell a little flat for me. I could see and understand what the story was trying to do with the two sisters, but I never felt like I could hold on to one thing about them. I wasn't always convinced by what we were being told about them—possibly because much of the time, we were being told things about them rather than seeing it.
But all in all, this book was exactly what it said on the tin: a twisty gothic historical novel with a sapphic romance. I would recommend it for readers of Penner & Waters, but perhaps more for the basics of the story, and not necessarily the writing style. I'm also happy to have another historical sapphic novel to add to the slowly-growing list.
This was an enjoyable gothic read that was a breeze to get through. The tension stayed consistent, making me want to read more, without feeling overbearing. However, because the comparison to Sarah Waters is what caught my eye in the beginning, I found myself a little more critical than I might have been otherwise.
The prose flowed well, but sometimes felt inconsistent. Sometimes it would be drawn-out and flowery, or feeling very of-the-era. Other times, it would read quite modern and simple. Neither is bad, but the inconsistency sometimes drew me out of the story.
The characters also fell a little flat for me. I could see and understand what the story was trying to do with the two sisters, but I never felt like I could hold on to one thing about them. I wasn't always convinced by what we were being told about them—possibly because much of the time, we were being told things about them rather than seeing it.
But all in all, this book was exactly what it said on the tin: a twisty gothic historical novel with a sapphic romance. I would recommend it for readers of Penner & Waters, but perhaps more for the basics of the story, and not necessarily the writing style. I'm also happy to have another historical sapphic novel to add to the slowly-growing list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Terminal illness, Child death, Death of parent, and Homophobia
Minor: Suicide
ardentlyelle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis is a book about family, chosen and blood and the strength of each. It’s about greed and the way it changes people. It’s about ghosts and fairy tales and the people who tell those stories. It’s about sisters, and love, and all the ways that love can look and feel and be.
The story is told in first person, and while I typically prefer more escapism in my fiction, the insight we get into Sylvie and Florence because of this point of view is integral to the story. The first half of the novel is told from the older sister’s perspective, and the second half from the younger. While there is some overlap, the author does a great job at not making us sit through the same dialogue again - there is a whole second story happening that we get access to when the POV switches.
I found myself more compelled by the queer sister’s story, of the two, but that has less to do with the writing and more with my personal preferences in books. Both sisters were captivating, and by the time I was 60% through the book, it consumed my every thought, and I didn’t want to put it down.
The relationship between the sisters is one of the best I’ve read. The miscommunication and inability to see past their own experiences, a trope so often used to spice up a romance novel, makes Sylvie and Charlotte feel like real people. They are fleshed-out and flawed, they are passionate and angry, they love each other so much and they are so, so hurt by each other. It’s family, and it’s real.
The ending destroyed me, as all good endings do. I loved this book beginning to end, and I hope this review helps other readers to find it and love it, too.
Content warnings: Family death, domestic abuse, suicide, homophobia. Nothing particularly graphic, although the domestic abuse has brief heavy moments.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, and Child death
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