#The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

[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…

[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…

[childrenstoryhour]

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

[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!

[abookishidentity]

Books finished in June 2024

-Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway started May 29, 2024 and finished June 3, 2024- 4/5 stars. Kind of a crazy book for just fiction. Could have easily been urban fantasy. Son of a mobster who doesn’t want to carry on his dads legacy and just wants to work on clocks. Funny thing is that trying to fight fate doesn’t usually work out. People go through extreme lengths to get what he knows. It makes sense that after some torture and spending an indeterminate amount of time in a mental hospital he’s like “Fuck it. I’m going to be what people see me as. A gangster like my dad” This book also spends a lot of time going through the background of a certain character which is interesting. She was cool. Annoying how she died though. Good book. 

-The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey started and finished on June 4, 2024- 4/5 stars. Quick read as you can see. I love Richard Kadrey’s work. This book was like 112 pages so I’m glad I didn’t buy it. The two main characters work so well together that I saw them as a couple. One man was alive, one was undead or whatever. It was good. I would read more of these guy’s adventures. 

-The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner started June 4, 2024 and finished June 6, 2024- 3.5/5 stars. Good read. Feminist and I love how the main character deals with the men who fucked things up at the end. I’m glad the sister was doing good. 

-Severance by Ling Ma started June 7, 2024 and finished June 8, 2024. - 3/5 stars. What an interesting read. Kind of pretentious though. I think I would be like the main character and keep trying to work at my job even though the world has ended. Book just sort of ends. Wonder how she’s going to give birth in that kind of life. 

-A Pale Light in the Black by K.B Wagers started June 9, 2024 and finished June 12, 2024. 3/5 stars. Should have done more research with this one. I liked that the main character was ace. It had good characters and family drama. I just didn’t care for the games. The majority of the book was that. Also, if a science fiction book has spaceships and takes place in space where are all the aliens? There weren’t any cool aliens. 

-When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill started June 12, 2024 and finished June 14, 2024 - 4/5 stars. Such an insane but great read. Pretending that the dragons don’t exist at all? Don’t look up at the sky? Also the fact that the main character has to practically raise her cousin sister daughter is kind of insane. Mom dies and her dad just kind of shoves them into an apartment without him and tells her to raise her cousin-sister-daughter? Insane. In some places this book felt like a trans allegory which was cool. 

-My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland started June 14, 2024 and finished June 17, 2024. 3/5 stars. Decent urban fantasy. Wished she didn’t fall for the cop. She spent like a good amount of the book being like “What the hell? Why do I want brains?” The cop was the one who turned her and he didn’t at all go up to her to be like “I know you are confused. Here is some help” just some cryptic ass notes. Also she should have just cut off her abusive dad at the end. Not going to continue to read the series. 

-Echo Rising by Danie Ware started June 18, 2024 and finished June 22, 2024- 3/5 stars. This book seemed cool. The first part of this book was pretty cool. Reminded me of Blade Runner. Then the main character gets essentially isekai'd into a fantasy/cowboy land. It was pretty entertaining to read his thoughts on it and people’s reactions to him. It wasn’t enough of that though. There was too much going on. There were too many characters I didn’t care for. The evil centaur basically enslaving a woman and raping her to do what he wanted was very unpleasant to read. Not going to continue on with this series. 

-Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Winters started June 23, 2024 and finished June 26, 2024 -3/5 stars. Is it weird that I thought this book was kind of boring? It’s certainly not terminator. I think the problem is how it’s written. Found footage kind of thing. Makes me think how it’s even possible. Too many characters also. 

-And Then? And Then? What else? by Daniel Handler started June 26, 2024 and finished June 27, 2024. 3/5 stars. I didn’t expect to read this book. Daniel Handler is such an interesting dude. There were some interesting parts of the book. He kind of writes in a pretentious way though. Also he had passages from different books in the book. I want to read his words and not other people’s. 

-Broken Souls by Stephen Blackmoore started June 27, 2024 and finished June 30, 2024- 4/5 stars. Eric Carter has a pretty interesting life going on. Married to a goddess of death who is essentially manipulating his life in certain ways. It’s awesome. He also thought he was losing his mind because he kept seeing and interacting with his dead friend. I would continue reading this series. The third book seems impossible to get without spending lots of money though. 

[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.

View all my reviews

[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!

[positivexcellence]

genpadalecki:  I love a historical thriller - especially one that transports me to Paris! THE LONDON SEANCE SOCIETY by Sarah Penner is my March book club pick. This book is full of intrigue, spirits, murder, and a sisters bond that connected to the beyond. Sarah writes such eccentric characters that had me so invested in their journeys. Pick up a copy today if you are ready for a smart and mind-spinning novel. Read along with me all month and don’t forget to let me know what you think! 📖🐛

[sapphicmsmarvel]

2023 reading catalog

January

a million to one by adiba jaigirdar 💜

Iron widow by xiran jay zhao 💜

An encore of roses by st gibson 💜

Im a therapist and my patient is going to be the next school shooter by Dr. Harper 💜

I’m a therapist and my patient is in love with a pedophile by Dr. Harper 💜

I’m a therapist and my patient is a vegan terrorist by Dr. Harper 💜

The disturbing incident at lonesome woods boarding school by dr. harper 💜

One dark window by rachel gillig 

February 

The twisted dead by darcy coates 

The house across the lake by riley sager 

Renegades by marissa meyer 🤍

Archenemies by marissa meyer 🤍

Supernova by marissa meyer 🤍

Daisy darker by alice feeney 

March 

The lost apothecary by susan penner 

MHA 37 by kohei horikoshi 

The pronoun lowdown by nevo zisin 

The queen's english by chloe o davis

MHA team up 1 by kohei horikoshi and yoko akiyama 

To make monsters out of girls by amanda lovelace 

MHA team up 2 by kohei horikoshi and yoko akiyama 

JJK 0 by gege akutami 

MHA team up 3 by kohei horikoshi and yoko akiyama 

Hell bent by leigh bardugo 

Spice road by maiya ibrahim 

The stardust thief by chelsea abdullah 

The london seance society by susan penner 💜

All the dangerous things by stacy willingham 

April 

The fae princes by nikki st crowe 

Carnage by sarah bailey 

Final offer by lauren asher. 

Glitch by briana michaels 

Never lie by frieda mcfadden 

The locked door by frieda mcfadden 

The inheritance by cassie cole 

Emily wildes encyclopedia of faeries by heather fawcett 

 The stolen heir by holly black 

May 

Chaos by sarah bailey 

Corrode by sarah bailey 

Cataclysm by sarah bailey 

Howl's moving castle by diana wynne jones 

Fourth wing by rebecca yarros 

Cursed crowns by catherine doyle + katherine webber 

Girls of fate and fury by natasha ngan 💜

We free the stars by hafsah faizal 

A war of two queens by jennifer l armentrout 

The crown of gilded bones by jennifer l armentrout 🤍

Malice by heather walter 💜

Misrule by heather walter 💜

June 

MHA vol 38 by kohei horikoshi 

Sofi and the bone song by adrienne tooley 

jjk vol 21 by gege akutami 

jjk vol 22 by gege akutami 

lore olympus vol 4 by rachel smythe 

the fiancee farce by alexandria bellefleur 💜

the only survivors by megan miranda 

what lies in the woods by kate alice marshall 

the last word by taylor adams 

you’re invited by amanda jayatissa 

ward d by freida mcfadden 

once returned by darcy coates 

double pucked by lauren blakely 

mated to the monster by sarah spade 

July

the thicket by noelle w ihli 

the good lie by ar torre

a naughty lesson by mika lane 

love creekwood by becky albertalli 💜

the heartstopper yearbook by alice oseman 💜

demon in the wood by leigh bardugo and dani pendergast 

the young elites by marie lu 

nick and charlie by alice oseman 💜

a haunted road atlas by christine schiefer and em schulz 

the rose society by marie lu 

the midnight star by marie lu 

a wicked education by mika lane 

a sinful classroom by mika lane 

the girl from the sea by molly knox ostertag 💜

August

how to sell a haunted house by grady hendrix 

the foxglove king by hannah whitten 

seven faceless saints by mk lobb 💜

divine rivals by rebecca ross 

sing me to sleep by gabi burton 

silver in the bone by alexandra bracken 

foxglove by adalyn grace 

assistant to the villain by hannah nicole maehrer 

September

a broken blade by melissa blair 

bonesmith by nicki pau preto 

the angelmaker by alex north 

the family across the street by nicole trope 

October 

the sun and the star by rick riordan and mark oshiro 💜

lore olympus vol 5 by rachel smythe 

the chalice of the gods by rick riordan 

fangs by sarah anderson 

throne of the fallen by kerri maniscalco 

kingdom of the wicked by kerri maniscalco 🤍

kingdom of the cursed by kerri mansicalco 🤍

kingdom of the feared by kerri maniscalco 🤍

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon 💜

catwoman soulstealer by louise simonson, samantha dodge and sarah j maas

starling house by alix e harrow 

November 

savage hate by amanda richardson 

a curse for true love by stephanie garber 

forged by blood by ehigbor okosun 

if i have to be haunted by miranda sun 

heart trick by kristen granata 

the legacy by elle kennedy 

odd man rush by kristen granata 💜

that one night by emily rath 

pucking around by emily rath 💜

pucking ever after vol 1 by emily rath 💜

iron flame by rebecca yarros 

my hero academia team up missions vol 4 by yoko akiyama and koehi horikoshi 

December 

spin the bottle by stephanie alves 

as good as dead by holly jackson 

the lightning thief by rick riordan 🤍

the sea of monsters by rick riordan 🤍

i am not your final girl by claire c holland 

the titans curse by rick riordan 🤍

the battle of the labyrinth by rick riordan 🤍

[mountainmaven]

Hi! End of year book asks: 2, 12, and 22?

Hi! Thank you so much!

2. Did you reread anything? What? No, I did not reread anything this year. Oh well unless you count the Paper Girls graphic novel - I had only read the first issue of the comics when it first came out. This year I read the whole thing. So sort of I guess LOL.

12. Any books that disappointed you? Oh gosh yes. All the ones I DNF. Plus, a few others: The Untethered Soul by Michael A Singer (that book didn't just disappoint, it infuriated me). Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister. Greenwild by Pari Thompson. The Villa by Rachel Hawkins, and the Wife Upstairs by the same author. The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner - okay this one - it wasn't a HUGE disappointment, I just went into it thinking I was going to love it as much as I loved The Lost Apothecary by Penner and I didn't.

22. What's the longest book you read? Well it was a DNF but Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes which if I remember correctly has over 800 pages. After that it would be the Paper Girls graphic novel which is a 3 book hardcover edition. As for a single book, it's probably the one I'm reading now, Remarkably Bright Creatures which according to Goodreads has 360 pages - though I don't trust Goodreads for that kind of information since they count non-reading pages as well. I don't keep track of page numbers, though I might starting next year in my book journal?

Thank you again!!

[cheshirelibrary]

7 Historical Crime Fiction Books We’re Reading This Year 

[via Novel Suspects]

From German snipers to Cold War missions and magic in the unlikeliest of places, take a trip across time with these historical crime fiction books coming in 2023.

The Bullet Garden by Stephen Hunter

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

The Last Kingdom by Steve Berry                   

Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline

Time's Undoing  by Cheryl A. Head. 

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez

...

Click through to see more titles.

[thelonesomequeen]

Book recs

Some spooky/unsettling book recs for you:

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

The Whistling by Rebecca Netley

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

The Death of Mrs.Westaway by Ruth Ware

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

The Hollow Places by T.Kingfisher

The Invited by Jennifer Mcmahon

���🎃🎃🎃🎃

Yeeees thank you! I’ve heard GREAT things about Project Hail Mary. I’ve also heard that’s one that’s great in audiobook format. It’s been on my TBR for a while now and I’ve gotta get to it! 🦎

[fearsomeandwretchedandwrong]

A Book Haul

Suburbia by Eric Bogosian

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

Such Pretty Flowers by K.L. Cerra

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

Glitterland by Alexis Hall

Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows

Perforated Heart by Eric Bogosian

The Spite House by Johnny Compton

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner