Julie's Review: The London Séance Society

Author: Sarah Penner
Series: None
Publication Date:  March 7, 2023
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Pages: 352
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Gothic, Mystery
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: A bit of the supernatural within a mystery
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Summary: 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… Written with intoxicating suspense and sultry prose, The London Séance Society is an entrancing tale that blurs the lines between truth and illusion, and reveals the grave risks women will take to avenge the ones they love. ~amazon.com

Review: I was not the kid who at sleepovers would be the first to touch the Ouija board even though it was mass produced from Parker Brothers and definitely not the adult to attend a séance. It doesn't mean I don't believe in the supernatural, I just don't want to mess with them. You just never know what you are going to get. I loved Ms. Penner's debut, The Lost Apothecary, so I was curious about her sophomore novel about seances, powerful women and of course the men who ruled the world at that time. 

Lenna heads to Paris to learn the ins and outs of being a spiritualist by famed teacher Vaudeline D'Allaire, who also taught her sister, Evie. She also wants to know what Vaudeline might know about her sister's death. Vaudeline also left Paris quicky under mysterious circumstances which of course leads to all kinds of rumors and inuendo. Vaudeline is called back to London due to the murder/death of a fellow spiritualist. Of course things aren't always what they seem and they aren't at the Séance Society. 

I liked how Ms. Penner used her imagination for the incantations for the seances in the books but if she hadn't I would have been none the wiser. I did figure out some of the mystery but there were a few twists that I didn't see coming and some red herrings. I will definitely be reading more of what Ms. Penner writes. 

Julie's Review: The Keepers of Metsan Valo

Author: Wendy Webb
Series: None
Publication Date:  October 5, 2021
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Pages: 313
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Gothic
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: Stories aren't always stories
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Summary: In Metsan Valo, her family home on Lake Superior, Anni Halla’s beloved grandmother has died. Among her fond memories, what Anni remembers most vividly is her grandmother’s eerie yet enchanting storytelling. By firelight she spun tall tales of spirits in the nearby forest and waters who could heal—or harm—on a whim. But of course, those were only stories…The reading of the will now occasions a family reunion. Anni and her twin brother, their almost otherworldly mother, and relatives Anni hasn’t seen in forever—some with good reason—are all brought back together under one roof that strains to hold all their tension. But it’s not just Anni’s family who is unsettled. Whispers wind through the woods. Laughter bursts from bubbling streams. Raps from unseen hands rupture on the walls. Fireflies swarm and nightmares stir. With each odd occurrence, Anni fears that her return has invited less a welcoming and more a warning. When another tragedy strikes near home, Anni must dive headfirst into the mysterious happenings to discover the truth about her home, her family, and the wooded island’s ancient lore. Plunging into the past may be the only way to save her family from whatever bedevils Metsan Valo. ~amazon.com

Review: No one does atmospheric gothic stories like Wendy Webb and she continues that with The Keeper of Metsan Valo. When Anni goes back to her childhood refuge after her grandmother dies, she starts to feel like the house has shifted without her grandmother there to oversee it. When her twin, Theo arrives they both start to experience things that can’t be explained. Waking up in the forest, fireflies buzzing about and other strange occurrences. Not to mention the long-term caretakers are acting really strange and being all mysterious. 

Theo and Anni get to spend some time together and with their mother before the rest of the family come for the will reading and funeral. They each learn something new about each other's lives and the changes they have gone through recently. Things get really strange after the reading of the will in regards to the elder females of the family. 

This book isn't a horror novel; it is more in the vain of Fairy Tales and gothic stories which is why I loved it. It's about how all stories are based on some truth or folklore. 

This book is very much about honoring your culture, stories, family and tradition. It’s also about coming into your own and owning your destiny. I can't give too much away because you all need to read it yourselves. 

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Julie's Review: Girls of Brackenhill

Author: Kate Moretti
Series: None
Publication Date:  November 1, 2020
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Pages: 330
Obtained: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Gothic, Psychological Thriller
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: A wonderful, creepy gothic story involving a creepy castle, family secrets and a small town
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Summary: When Hannah Maloney’s aunt dies in a car accident, she returns to her family’s castle in the Catskills and the epicenter of a childhood trauma: her sister’s unsolved disappearance. It’s been seventeen years, and though desperate to start a new life with her fiancé, Hannah is compelled to question the events of her last summer at Brackenhill. When a human bone is found near the estate, Hannah is convinced it belongs to her long-lost sister. She launches her own investigation into that magical summer that ended in a nightmare. As strange happenings plague the castle, Hannah uncovers disturbing details about the past and startling realizations about her own repressed childhood memories. Fueled by guilt over her sister’s vanishing, Hannah becomes obsessed with discovering what happened all those years ago, but by the time Hannah realizes some mysteries are best left buried, it’s too late to stop digging. Overwhelmed by what she has exposed, Hannah isn’t sure her new life can survive her old ghosts. ~amazon.com

Review: It's that time of year when creepy ghost stories that are set in a small town with a mysterious castle are a perfect read and Kate Moretti's Girls of Brackenhill, definitely fills that need. We are introduced to Hannah when she's informed that her Aunt has died in a tragic car accident and needs to return to Brackenhill to settle her affairs and decide what to do with her dying Uncle. This triggers Hannah's flashbacks to that final summer when her sister, Julia, went missing. Hannah is determined to find out what happened to her and why rumors swirl around her aunt and the curse of the castle. 

Hannah has a new life that she's tried to cultivate away from her family's tragic past and even has a "steady-eddy" fiance in Huck. She's never told him much about her family and now she finds herself transporting herself back by returning to Brackenhill. Huck likes order and the details of her past are not orderly. Not to mention, Wyatt, who was her first love is the one involved in looking to see if her aunt's accident was an accident. 

Things start to spin out of control when Hannah's dog, uncovers human bones and an investigation team finds human remains. Is it Julia? If it's not Julia, who is it and why are they on the Brackenhill property? If it is Julia, will it help put Hannah's unanswered questions to rest?

Hannah is an interesting character because she's buried so much hurt and pain from her past and it's starting to ooze out of her. She's sleep walking, having dreams that seem real and starting to really lose it when it comes to figuring out what happened 17 years ago in the castle. Snippets of her past come rushing at her, she starts to unwind. She starts to investigate the past and how it's tied to people she didn't even know existed. 

As a reader you begin to wonder what is real and what is in her head. You see Hannah unravel in front of you. In the end, you yourself wonder what is real and what is in her head. I loved the ending and am still thinking about it days later and trying to make up my mind on what I believe. I'm totally ok with the non-tied bow ending for this novel. 

If you are into Gothic mysteries, then you will want to dive into Girls of Brackenhill. 

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Julie's Reviews: The Clockmaker's Daughter

Author: Kate Morton
Series: None
Publication Date: October 9, 2018
Publisher: Atria
Pages: 496
Obtained: publisher
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Kate Morton's books never disappoint this reader
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Summary: My real name, no one remembers. The truth about that summer, no one else knows. In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe's life is in ruins. Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist's sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river. Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets? Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker's Daughter is a story of murder, mystery, and thievery, of art, love and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker's daughter. ~amazon.com

Review: The Clockmaker's Daughter was so worth waiting for. For this avid Kate Morton fan, it is up there with my favorite of hers, The Distant Hours. I will also say this is probably the first book of hers that made me cry.

I know that some people struggle with multiple POV with traveling to various time periods, but it is what makes Kate Morton books so damn good. There is never a character that isn't central to the main plot but she writes their stories so well they could stand on their own. The story is clearly about what happened to the clockmaker's daughter but to understand her story we have to understand the story of those who came after her and then with her. 

What happened on that night over a hundred years ago that went so wrong and how does it relate to the sketchbook that Elodie finds tucked away in a leather satchel. The sketches in the book feel very familiar to her and yet she knows she hasn't been there previously. The pull is so strong that she decides that she needs to investigate. Elodie's story is just the catalyst to launch us into the stories of Edward Radcliffe and his mysterious model, Leonard and then of the family who came to escape the war.

I absolutely loved the nuances in this book and how when the pieces came together it all made so much sense. I had a couple of "a ha" moments that made me stop and think about how we got there. My heart broke for each of these characters that we either get to know extremely well or are only with us for a bit of the book.

As with most of Ms. Morton's books, the house is it's own character and very central to the over arching story.

I can't say enough about this book but I don't want to say too much because I want you to enjoy it as much as I did.

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Julie's Review: The Univited

Author: Cat Winters
Series: None
Publication Date: August 11, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Pages: 368
Obtained: Bookslapped
Genre:  Gothic, Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.75/5
Bottom Line: Atmospheric, stunning novel with quite the twist
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Summary: Twenty-five year old Ivy Rowan rises from her bed after being struck by the flu, only to discover the world has been torn apart in just a few short days. But Ivy’s life-long gift—or curse—remains. For she sees the uninvited ones—ghosts of loved ones who appear to her, unasked, unwelcomed, for they always herald impending death. On that October evening in 1918 she sees the spirit of her grandmother, rocking in her mother’s chair. An hour later, she learns her younger brother and father have killed a young German out of retaliation for the death of Ivy’s older brother Billy in the Great War. Horrified, she leaves home, to discover the flu has caused utter panic and the rules governing society have broken down. Ivy is drawn into this new world of jazz, passion, and freedom, where people live for the day, because they could be stricken by nightfall. But as her ‘uninvited guests’ begin to appear to her more often, she knows her life will be torn apart once more, but Ivy has no inkling of the other-worldly revelations about to unfold. ~Bookslapped.com

Review: The Uninvited is an atmospheric story about a young lady who was holed up in her family home because she was afraid to live her life. This all changes one night when a crime occurs and Ivy has decided that she needs to leave. She wanders into town to look for boarding but Buchanan, IL has been struck with the Spanish Influenza; it has pretty much been deserted. She finds refuge with May Dover, widow of an old classmate Eddie Dover.

With Ivy's new found freedom, she tries to right the wrong of her family by helping the brother of the German who died in town. She feels extremely guilty that her family could cause another one such pain, that she literally feels it in her body. She tries to help Daniel clean up the business including the blood that her family shed but he, obviously, isn't exactly welcoming of her. For someone who has been a shut in, Ivy really is pretty persistent. Not only does Ivy end up helping Daniel but she also ends up helping some volunteers at night who are trying to help those afflicted with the flu in the poorer areas of town.

It is the jazz music that begins to work its way into Ivy's soul. It is through the music that she finds the courage to start to take control of her life. It is also her relationship with Daniel that helps her "come into her own" as well.  She begins to act in ways she never had before. Even her taking up with Daniel is out of character for her.

What I loved about Ivy was her innocence but she wasn't so naive or innocent that she didn't understand what was going on around her. It didn't stop her from finally deciding she had enough of her life as it was on the farm. Although having been raised and worked on a farm did come in handy when she needed to assist Addie and Nela with the crank on the ambulance. Ivy finally felt needed and wanted. It was something she never felt while living with her own family. She was the caretaker of her brothers or the protector of them from their alcoholic father.

Ms. Winters sets the stage early in the book for the ghostly visits for both Ivy and her mother. I was actually expecting more of a ghost story but was very pleasantly surprised while there are supernatural elements most definitely a story about finding out who you are and who you truly want to be. It's about breaking free from those things that bound you and experiencing the things you have missed.

For those who are fans of supernatural novels, then you won't want to miss The Uninvited. To those of you who might think the "ghost" aspect isn't for you, I heavily encourage you to read it anyway because you will be pleasantly surprised.

To check out more on this great novel click here to see USA Today's Happily Ever After excerpt.


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Julie's Review: The Thirteenth Tale

Author: Diane Setterfield
Series: None
Publication Date: October 9, 2007
Publisher: Washington Street Press
Pages: 432
Obtained: borrowed from a friend
Genre:  Gothic
Rating: 3.5/5
Bottom Line: Underwhelming
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Summary: When Margaret Lea opened the door to the past, what she confronted was her destiny. All children mythologize their birth... So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist. The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself — all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission. As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves. The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life. ~powells.com

Review: The Thirteenth Tale is a book that people seem to love but unfortunately I am not in that category. I was completely underwhelmed by the novel. I figured out aspects of the story early on and by the time she pulled out the big twist, I just didn't care.  It's not to say that Ms. Setterfield doesn't know how to set the tone and atmosphere of a novel because she certainly does. One of the things I enjoyed was her description of Angelfield both past and present. I felt like I could see the stately house both as it was when the twins were living there and now as a ruins.

I don't always feel like I have to connect  with the characters but I should either connect with them or be engrossed in their tale but I wasn't. I wasn't sure if Miss Winter was really going to be telling the truth to Margaret or if she was just going to lead her on a wild goose chase as well. Margaret was fighting her own demons as well. She has been keeping a secret from her parents and her parents have been keeping a secret from her. It would have all been easier for all of them if they would have just been honest.

My favorite character in the novel was Aurelius. Once introduced in the novel, I knew he would be an integral part of the story. I also feel like he was the one who got hurt the most and while he might have answers now, he'll never fully recover from the losses he has endured.

If you are into Gothic tales, then this one will definitely interest you but if I had to pick another Gothic tale to read again it would be Kate Morton's The Distant Hours.


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Julie's Review: The Vanishing

Author: Wendy Webb
Series: No
Publication Date: January 21, 2014
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 304
Obtained: publisher
Genre: Horror
Rating: 5
Bottom Line: Spooky on so many levels.
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Summary: Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired . . . and who the world believes is dead. When she arrives at the Sinclairs' enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her "too-good-to-be-true" position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls. ~amazon.com

Review: I had read Wendy Webb's The Tale of Halcyon Crane a couple years ago and loved it. So when I read the summary for The Vanishing, I knew I couldn't pass it up. I'm so glad I got an early copy of this one. Ms. Webb has created a truly gothic atmosphere with Havenswood and the strange goings-ons in the mansion.

Of course Havenswood is a character in itself; it's eerie, dark, huge and old. Of course you are going to hear things and perhaps see things. It is really Amaris, Julia, Adrian and Drew that make the book for me. It is the intricaies of how they build their relationships that intrigue me. Amaris is perhaps the most intriguing of them all. A world-renowed, best-selling author who has been in hiding for 10 years. What happened in her life that made her want to vanish?

We quickly know why Julia would want to leave her current life. It's understandable that she would want that to go away. So I can't say I blamed her for jumping for the offer from Adrian Sinclair. Her motives aren't the ones I question. Throughout the book it is Adrian's motives that I constantly am evalutating. Also, as dreamy as Drew is, I wondered what his motives were as well. As for Amaris, I figured she was just lonely and needed companionship and maybe she was a little less lucid than previous years.

What Ms. Webb does an excellent job of is keeping you wondering throughout the novel. She writes in such a way that you get chills up your spine with regular frequency. She writes Havenwood so well that you feel like you are there walking the halls. You feel the cold of the snow storm, the chill of the ghosts and the warmth of the fires. I don't like to be scared but I do like to be spooked; and spooked I was. I felt what Julia was feeling. The depth of her unease towards the end of the book was my unease.

I still have The Fate of Mercy Alban to read and it will be read sooner rather than later. If you haven't read Wendy Webb before, The Vanishing is a fantastic place to start.

Thank you to Hyperion Books for my copy of the novel.


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Julie's Review: The Elementals

Summary: From a star YA writer Francesca Lia Block, author of the Weetzie Bat books, comes an adult novel about a student, haunted by the disappearance of a friend, who must face the truth.  The Elementals is on one level an intriguing coming-of-age novel about a young woman, Ariel Silverman, facing the challenges of her first years away at college in Berkeley, California, while her mother battles cancer at home in Los Angeles. But the book takes on deeper, stranger meanings when we realize that Ariel is haunted by the disappearance of her best friend, Jeni, who vanished without a trace a few years before, closing Ariel's heart and changing her forever. Ariel wonders if she will ever be fully alive, until she meets three mysterious, beautiful and seductive young people living in a strange old house in the Berkeley hills. Through them Ariel will unravel the mystery of her best friend's disappearance and face a chilling choice. ~powells.com

Review: First off I have to say that the cover of this book totally fits in with the novel. It is dark and mysterious. Who's the girl? Is it our heroine, Ariel? Is it her missing friend, Jeni? Is it the uber-mysterious, Tania? Even after finishing the book, I'm not sure.

I've never read Ms. Block before so this was an intriguing foray into a new author. Her prose is stunning. She has a way of writing that is lush, hypnotic, eerie and sensual. Like Ariel, you kind of float through the words while reading them. I liked Ariel but moreso, I felt sorry for her. She was stuck. She was lost. She didn't know how to move on from her pain of losing Jeni. Her parents didn't know how to move her past the pain either. Not only that but her mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer. To get her out of the house during her mother's battle, they allowed her to go to Berkley, the place where Jeni disappeared to attend school. I don't know if I agreed with that decision but then there would be no novel.

Ariel doesn't fit in at school. She's a bookish young lady and is harassed for this by the other students in her dorm. I get the idea that Ariel would be pretty if she attempted it. She just doesn't care. She randomly goes to a house in the hills for a Halloween party and this is where she meets the mysterious trio; John, Tania and Perry. It is John that she is immediately drawn to. It is John that sends a jolt through her body to her very soul. Unfortunately, she can't have John without the other two. They are a packaged deal.

Much of the novel is Ariel living in a daze/haze trying to find Jeni. When she's not looking for Jeni, she feels guilty. When she's with John she feels alive and when she's without him she goes through withdrawals. It's like he's a drug for her. Now, all of us have had those intense relationships at some point but reading this I felt there was something different.

While The Elementals is a short novel, I wanted the story of what happened to Jeni to be resolved earlier. At times it felt like Ariel was repeating herself. Also, I think I could have done with out the epilogue. I was fine with it ending where it did without it.

While reading the book I did get hypnotized with the writing. I could picture the house and the lush gardens described. Ms. Block has a divine way of writing atmosphere.

If you are looking for a novel with a gothic bent, then The Elementals is for you. I'm not sure I would let a teen read this but would recommend it to someone in their early 20s.

Final Take: 4/5

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for my copy of the novel. This is the October pick for the Hashtag Book Group. You can find our conversation by searching #TheElementals on Twitter.


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