Reviews

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

moonlightmadness's review

This was a dnf for me.

melindakiernan's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

bookycatlady's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

You can tell the author put an incredible amount of effort into research, which I appreciate. I didn’t know a thing about the Victorian-era spiritualism movement, so that aspect was interesting to learn. 

I normally love a F/F romance but it felt out of left field at first. It did make more sense towards the end.

Pacing wise, the book felt uneven. Long periods of dull talk and then a big reveal. Not a typical building-to-the-end burst.

I’m not sure why but I struggled to get into this. It had all the components of stories I like - mad women, historical nuance, unsolved murder, and a twinkle of magic. Maybe I just don’t jive with the author. 

montanamomreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

If you're a fan of fantasy and historical fiction, I highly recommend this book. At first, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, but it surpassed my expectations. 

The story centers around Lenna, who enlists the help of a spiritualist in France to uncover the truth about her sister's murder. As they delve deeper, they find themselves embroiled in a dark and corrupt London Seance Society. The book is filled with mystery, murder, and magical elements that will keep you on the edge of your seat. 

The narrators did an excellent job bringing the characters to life, and their accents added an authentic touch to the London setting. Don't miss out on this captivating read.

sandymcosta's review

2.0

Very annoying when an interesting concept grips you, but it is executed in such a sub-par way. I don't know if it was fact that the "mystery" wore off about 5 chapters in, and I still had most of the book to go with these seemingly clever characters who couldn't figure it out, but this was unfortunately a let-down after the author's previous book.

scatchley's review

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

caffeinated_reads3's review

slow-paced

2.5

leeniebell's review

Didn't keep my interest. 

cattpurrson's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

abnormal_shadow's review

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

So, this book was recommended to me by someone who had read the Last Binding Trilogy (a book series i love very much and everyone should read) saying it was pretty similar which I do get. I like that the book is based off sort of off real life setting and Seance craze as stated by the author in the note they left. When I first started to book, I assumed it predictable from what I could see but as the story progressed, I realized I knew nothing of what was going to happen, guessing something spot on and others very much wildly wrong. I like that the romance was not the A plot and not even the B plot more of a side to the main course that was the 2 murder mysteries. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault

Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol