#London seance society

[mountainmaven]

Currently reading.

[coffeeatmidnight]

ARC Review: "The London Séance Society," by Sarah Penner

Happy almost publish day! I was given Sarah Penner’s The London Séance Society as an ARC after falling in love with her first book The Lost Apothecary (thank you, Harlequin and Netgalley!) While Society was less my style than Apothecary, I still can’t wait to talk all about it! From the Publisher: From the author of the sensational bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes a spellbinding tale about…

[agameofbooksblog]

New book! I haven’t read this yet. Have you?

[childrenstoryhour]

Just finished the London Seance Society. Really enjoyed this one: Victorian England, murder mystery, ghosts!

[marzipanandminutiae]

so I'm reading a new book

"this character is a sapphic medium in the 1870s! she's off to solve a murder mystery"

oh cool!

"...she's also a masochist who fucked her former lover's ghost into such corporeality that he left a bite scar on her thigh. during aforesaid fucking. and her current love interest seems very into that"

[ko2mi]

when everyone said the secret history was dark academia i was thinking secret libraries and studying by candlelight but this just sounds like normal college (minus the murder)

[onlymurdersintheafterparty]

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

I finished the book today and I give it four stars. Lenna’s ongoing struggle with believing in the supernatural but pushing through it to get justice for her sister was an interesting read and as odd as Mr. Morley was, the book wouldn’t be the same without him. I found the book to be predictable in some parts but still found myself shocked at the plot twist at the end when the truth was revealed. I wish there was more Lenna/Vaudeline rather than mutual pining and hesitation because of the mystery they were trying to solve because it would have been nice to get some flashbacks of how things were when they first met.

[andreabadgley]

Rainy spring night.

[oracleofmadness]

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

This is a thrilling tale about the dark side to seances and the lengths frauds go to to make money off of their unsuspecting victims.

The scene opens on a cold night in Paris at a spooky chateau that was the scene of a murder. Lenna is sitting around a table as an apprentice to the great Vaudeline who is renowned for her work with the supernatural while performing a seance. Lenna has recently lost her sister, Evie, and is learning this art so she can channel her sister's spirit and solve her murder.

This story also follows a Mr. Morley, who is head of one of the departments of the London Seance Society. He soon reaches out to Vaudeline, requesting her to perform a seance in London to learn more about the director's sudden death.

Many secrets are revealed, which only gave me more questions to consider throughout this story, definitely keeping me on the edge of my seat.

I loved the story and the attention to detail about seances at that time. However, I didn't completely love Lenna's character and often had a hard time relating to her.

Out March 7, 2023!

[ferretsarefurryappendagedsnakes]

On chapter 5 of The London Seance Society and every other thought is “these bitches gay⁉️👀”.

If they aren’t, this is the worst case of queerbaiting I personally have ever experienced.

[melodies-and-memories]

Finished The London Séance Society

2/5 ⭐

didn't like it very much

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

Author: Sarah PennerPublisher: Park RowReleased: March 7, 2023Received: Own (BOTM) Book Summary: The year is 1873, and Lenna Wickes has no intention of letting go of her sister, Evie. Evie was brutally murdered, yet there’s no suspect and no real investigation into the case. As such, Lenna is taking the matter into her own hands. She will have Vaudeline D’Allaire teach her everything she knows…

[shesamreads]

This book comes with recipes! I know what I'm doing this weekend.

[just-a-bookish-reader]

The Lost Apothecary Book Review

Spoilers below

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4.5 Stars I thought at the beginning of this haunting masterpiece, that this was going to harp on women's instincts to be mothers. I've seen so many pieces of media that do this in a disgusting light. Ok maybe not many but Multiverse of Madness certainly disgusted me in the way it portrayed Wanda's desperation to be a mother. As someone who likely will struggle to not only get pregnant but carry a pregnancy to term and physically give birth should that be something I want to do, I avoid those sorts of stories like the goddamned plague. So when I realized that wasn't where this book was going, I was so fucking relieved. In fact I felt stronger myself as it seemed to make it clear that women don't need to be mothers to be happy or successful. The mystery aspect was so delightful, and I really liked the almost "slice of life" aspect of Caroline struggling to figure herself and her husband out. I also really enjoyed reading from wisened and older characters perspectives, and though Eliza was quite literally a child, she was amusing in certain ways herself. The only reason that this did not get a full five stars for me was because I wondered if Nella had arthritis but it was never confirmed, and again, as someone likely to suffer from it in the future thanks to genetics, I would have loved some sort of confirmation of that representation, but I personally believe that what we got was confirmation enough, hence the 4.5 clarification at the beginning of this review. I also really really wanted for Caroline to be related to either Nella or Eliza (of course more likely Eliza than Nella at that point) but she wasn't as far as I can tell and I feel like that really would have pulled everything perfectly full circle. Still, this really was just a masterpiece and I simply cannot wait for The London Seance Society - I may just have to reach out for a physical advanced reader's copy… unless it comes out relatively soon. Ok nope it comes out in March, and considering I already have to wait for Shadow and Bone Season 2, I will be reaching out as soon as I publish this review. I leave you with this final thought on the book: A woman does not need a man nor a child to be happy, and in fact, they can both hinder her true dreams.

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[bajingoarts]

The Rathbones

Here they are! The Rathbones! Much smaller family than the Ratigan's by a mile.

Basil's father was inspired by Judge Frollo, Little Finger/Tywin from Game of Thrones, and the Duke from Moulin Rouge. Creepy power hungry hypocrites.

Basil's mother was inspired by the weird shit The Victorians got up to with their seances and other occult interests. Victorian era goth girl.

Mace is a bit pompous but just wants to reconnect with his brother :')

All their names are also based on different herbs or spices <3 Read more for all the background!

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Sorrel Rathbone

Sorrel is a shrewd successful lawyer who services politicians and high society figures. He sees everything in his life as a means to further his own political and social standing. His family, his work, all of it was carefully regulated in order to maintain an image of stuffy British excellence. Sorrel arranged a marriage with a beautiful debutante lady, but he only did so out of selfish desire, as she was very ill and easy to control. Sorrel dislikes anything that does not meet his impossibly high standards.

Rosemary Rathbone

Rosemary was born the only daughter to a highly respectable rich family. Rosemary was very ill her entire life. Doctors assumed she would not live past the age of 18. She beat the odds and survived, however it left her very weak. Her family, desperate to have her married off, agreed to the match with Sorrel to give their daughter good protection and income. Unlike her cold unfeeling husband, Rosemary was kind and gentle to her children. Rosemary had an obsession with the paranormal. Being so close to death all her life made her fascinated by the strange, macabre, and creepy. She often had taxidermy bugs and would take her youngest son Basil to cemeteries and seances, where Basil quickly pointed out all the ways they would trick their visitors. Her illness did eventually take her life, and she passed away at the age of 30.

Basil Rathbone

Basil is the youngest son. Ever a strange child, Basil was obsessed with chemistry, mystery, and was proven to be quite skilled in his powers of deduction. He became interested in murder and crime as a result of his mother's influence and her own fixation on death and the macabre. Basil was extremely close to Rosemary and when she passed away when Basil was 11, he was left extremely lonely. His brother and father were distant and inattentive, and Basil lacked the social skills required to make friends. So he threw himself into study and work as his escape from the world and soon ran off to Cambridge to study chemistry and the newly booming forensic sciences. There he met his first real friend Padraic Ratigan. After a year at school, however, Ratigan and Basil had a falling out. Ratigan left to build his criminal empire, and Basil was determined to stop him at every turn. After Basil thwarted Ratigan’s biggest plan to overthrow the monarchy, he’s been trying to get back to serving his community through his detective work. But the events of his time with Ratigan haunt him.

Mace Rathbone

Mace is the oldest son. Mace is an ambitious young man who has been molded to follow in his father’s footsteps from the day he was born. While not as cruel or cold as Sorrel, Mace has learned to be cunning and manipulative when needed. He is the pride of his father who often compares Basil to him, further estranging the brothers. Mace was always jealous Basil got more time with their mother, while he was stuck being paraded around like a show pony by their father. He resents Basil for his intellect and the fact that their father largely ignores Basil. He was arranged to marry a rich mouse named Camilla. Mace went along with it as he did everything his father asked of him, but the marriage was purely for duty not for love. In the marriage, however, Camilla and Mace fell in love. They went on to have two children and live in a large home in London. Mace will, on occasion, try to be friendly and reconcile with Basil, but Basil still keeps a distance.

[your-gay-grandma]

book club chain! everyone respond with what book you’re reading and one thing you think about it please!

i’m currently reading 7 books (because i like to have one in every room and every bag and for every mood…..i am awaiting an adhd diagnosis if it’s of any interest to anyone)

but! currently in hand this week of the 20th of july is London Seance Society by Sarah Penner. i just started this and am 10 pages in but i love ghosts and women so am thrilled to see how this develops!