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ginafugate's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was amazing!!! I absolutely LOVED this author’s first book, The Lost Apothecary, & thought nothing else could compare but I was wrong! This book is as good - if not BETTER - than TLA. Loved all the mystery with its many twists & turns, super strong world building, solid character development, plot, and romance of different kinds. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for her next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, Child death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
cpachet's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I read and enjoyed Sarah Penner’s Lost Apothecary book and London Seance Society didn’t disappoint. Her attention to historical detail is excellent and her characters are well developed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Murder
asanders88's review
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? Yes
5.0
Very captivating look back to a time when spiritualism was taking over London. The author really painted the picture and drew me into the story. I love a dual point of view as both characters work to solve murders and you wonder about their connection. Very well written!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Confinement, and Murder
mckiheather's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A great book, it had so many twists but they all unfolded so naturally I just had to think like “of course”. I loved how the whole depth of the conspiracy was never unveiled at once, there was never a moment with like the villain monologue that gives away the whole plan. You alternated POV between Lenna and Morley and pieced together the story as they unveiled what they each knew, and what they each discovered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Misogyny, and Confinement
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Blood, Gore, Homophobia, and Sexual content
tea_at_mole_end's review
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Confinement
dismantlethepatriarchy23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Confinement
sareidle's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was recommended to me by a friend and I had a fun time reading it! The dual perspective creates tension as the characters get closer to uncovering the conspiracy at the heart of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Grief, Rape, Blood, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury
bold_badger's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Lesbophobia, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Alcohol
kelly_e's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Title: The London Séance Society
Author: Sarah Penner
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: March 7, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Atmospheric • Reckless • Mystifying
📖 S Y N O P S I S
1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.
Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I am a sucker for a gorgeous floral cover, and this one certainly fits the bill, meaning I added it to my TBR without even reading the synopsis. Maybe that's where I made my first mistake, but this book ended up just not working for me.
The premise of two women performing séances in order to solve murders was so clever. And in my opinion the first 50 pages were very atmospheric and mysterious drawing me into the depths of the Victorian era. While I do have an interest in the afterlife and spiritual world, for me there was too much focus on the whodunit aspect than the actual paranormal aspect. As the story unfolds, it gets overly repetitive and it is easy to figure out who did it very early on. Therefore, the unraveling of the mystery felt sooooooo drawn out, and the séance wasn't as big a part of the story as it should have been.
But my biggest qualm is with the audio. It irritates me to no end when narrators mispronounce words in audiobooks. In this one there are a lot of French words or words drawn from the French language, and as someone who speaks French, these mispronunciations were incredibly bad! Like not even close! This issue could have been avoided if I'd kept to reading with my eyeballs, but I am not sure I'd have been able to make it through if I'd stuck to just the written copy.
At the end of the day, this one just fell really flat for me in its execution. I didn't care about or connect with any of the characters. And of course, I had a hard time getting passed the poor attempt at French by the narrators.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Murder She Wrote
• readers who like paranormal historical fiction
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"We may die, but we are never really gone."
"There's no money in truth."
Author: Sarah Penner
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: March 7, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Atmospheric • Reckless • Mystifying
📖 S Y N O P S I S
1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.
Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I am a sucker for a gorgeous floral cover, and this one certainly fits the bill, meaning I added it to my TBR without even reading the synopsis. Maybe that's where I made my first mistake, but this book ended up just not working for me.
The premise of two women performing séances in order to solve murders was so clever. And in my opinion the first 50 pages were very atmospheric and mysterious drawing me into the depths of the Victorian era. While I do have an interest in the afterlife and spiritual world, for me there was too much focus on the whodunit aspect than the actual paranormal aspect. As the story unfolds, it gets overly repetitive and it is easy to figure out who did it very early on. Therefore, the unraveling of the mystery felt sooooooo drawn out, and the séance wasn't as big a part of the story as it should have been.
But my biggest qualm is with the audio. It irritates me to no end when narrators mispronounce words in audiobooks. In this one there are a lot of French words or words drawn from the French language, and as someone who speaks French, these mispronunciations were incredibly bad! Like not even close! This issue could have been avoided if I'd kept to reading with my eyeballs, but I am not sure I'd have been able to make it through if I'd stuck to just the written copy.
At the end of the day, this one just fell really flat for me in its execution. I didn't care about or connect with any of the characters. And of course, I had a hard time getting passed the poor attempt at French by the narrators.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Murder She Wrote
• readers who like paranormal historical fiction
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"We may die, but we are never really gone."
"There's no money in truth."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Death
Moderate: Gore, Rape, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
sibling deathemmas_bookshelf's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I loved Sarah Penner’s first book The Lost Apothecary and I also really enjoyed this one! Two badass women (and a surprising sapphic romance side plot) take down a group of murderous, swindling men during the age of Victorian Spiritualism. Such an interesting historical fiction book and definitely one I would recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Confinement, Alcohol, Violence, and Misogyny