3.5⭐️

Having previously read and enjoyed the Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner I was very excited to read her next book The London Séance Society.

Set in 1873, we meet Lenna a 23 year old who is searching for the murderer of her younger sister Evie while practicing as an understudy to the best medium and spiritualist, Vaudeline D’Allaire.

The beginning of the story starts off strong and drew me in but then went a bit flat for me as it became a bit repetitive. I didn’t mind the ending but felt it was drawn out and could have wrapped things up much quicker.

I did end up purchasing the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition because under the dust jacket it is gorgeous!

Thank you to NetGalley, Park Row and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC I’m exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed The Lost Apothecary, so I couldn’t wait for the release of The London Séance Society. Sarah does a fantastic job at creating immersive worlds that are easy to get lost in. I find the London backdrops captivating as well.
The unveiling of séance hoaxes were quite interesting and very believable. Her point that the participants’ interpretations - whatever they maybe - were sometimes very therapeutic and therefore worthwhile to help them gain closure. It’s a perspective I hadn’t really considered before.
I loved the strong female characters and how they didn’t abide by societal norms. My favorite kind of characters!
The last third or so of the book was great; I didn’t want to put it down!
Overall, another great read by Sarah Penner! I highly recommend checking it out! I can’t wait for her next one!!

Lenna goes to Paris in search of answers regarding her sister's death. Lenna is cynical of the supernatural world but still becomes an understudy of Valentine. Valentine is a spiritualist who is widely known to solve the unsolvable crimes. Together they travel to England to help in a high-profile crime. They meet with the members of the London Seance Society and try to work together to solve this mystery. A historical fiction story that deals with the occult and has a mysterious plot. Well written characters and a suspenseful story. A beautifully written story.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was so excited for this book to release! "The Lost Apothecary" was one of my favorite reads of 2022, and I knew this one wouldn't disappoint! The creativity with the storyline was captivating, and there were twists and turns I didn't see coming. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it did drag on at times, and although I didn't have a problem with it, I felt like the relationship between Vaudeline and Lenna was farfetched for that time period (I'm not saying it wasn't possible, but it wouldn't have been something they would have easily admitted to in those times). If you like historical fiction with a little bit of *magic* then I highly recommend this book!

Lenna Wickes travels to Paris to train as a medium under famed spiritualist Vaudeline D'Allaire after her sister is murdered. But rather than embrace the occult, Lenna sticks to logic and investigation as she tries to unravel her sister's murder. Before her training is complete, D'Allaire is called back to London to solve the mystery of her friend's death, who happened to be the head of the the London Seance Society. Of course, not all is as it seems.

The London Seance Society leaves a lot to be desired. I felt like it was trying too hard to be good. I think it's because I have a problem with historical fiction and the contortions it takes to make a strong female lead - she dresses as a boy, she is daring with her sexuality, she is a better detective than all the others.

This just wasn't my cup of tea.

I just reviewed The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner. #TheLondonSéanceSociety #NetGalley

I loved Sarah Penner's first book, and if possible I enjoyed this one even more. She did such an amazing job at describing the time period and I loved all the women-- Penner writes such amazing women, I can never get enough.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

There are seven steps to a successful seance for Vaudeline, a French medium who aids in solving crimes by summoning the spirits of the dead. After the sudden murder of her younger sister, the skeptical Lenna seeks answers under the tutelage of Vaudeline. When a letter arrives from the London Seance Society, Vaudeline and Lenna must use extreme caution and disguise themselves as they seek to uncover the mysterious death of the Society’s president. But what they discover leads to more than what they bargained for.

Sarah Penner does it again in her sophomore novel The London Seance Society, crafting a masterful weaving of historical feminism, forbidden passion, and the fight against the patriarchy in this Victorian murder mystery.

3.5 Stars

I loved The Lost Apothecary so I was excited to read this one.

I really liked that it was set in the Victorian era, and I thought that the concept of the London Séance Society was unique and interesting. It was full of mystery and paranormal elements. My biggest complaint was the pacing was a little off to me. I enjoyed both the beginning and ending but the middle was slow. If you enjoy historical reads, I suggest giving this one a try!

I really liked the twists and turns of the plot and also how the novel was framed, but I found Lenna such a frustrating, inconsistent, and unbelievable character that by the conclusion of the book I was just happy that I wouldn't have to read about her any more.

I don’t know what it is about Sarah Penner’s novels but I genuinely enjoy them so much. I loved the characters and switching perspectives. The plot twist was somewhat expected but I was still invested in how the story ended.

#TheLondonSéanceSociety #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-arc copy of this novel.

When Lenna Wickes' sister, Evie dies suddenly, Lenna decides to pick up where Evie left off- trying to unwrap the mysteries of life after death, by studying the paranormal under Vaudeline D’Allaire, Evie's former tutor and renowned for contacting victims of crime in the afterlife. Lenna is a skeptic, but travels to Paris to learn Vaudeline's techniques and see if she can make contact with Evie in the afterlife. Bt suddenly, Vaudeline is called to England for an important mission by the London Seance Society, an all-men's paranormal investigation club which is at it's wits end when one of its own in murdered. When Lenna discovers a link between the Society and Evie, she decides she will join Vaudeline on what may be the most dangerous seance of her life - but the danger might not be from the dead this time.

The premise of this book captured my attention right away - ghosts, secret societies, murder, what isn't there to intrigue someone? Well all of that and more is there, along with touch of a little sex, lies and betrayal (ok, a lot of betrayal). I was completely hooked throughout the book as the main protagonists' stories unfolded and each of their secrets came to light. And most of them were indeed hiding secrets - some of them quite large. Twists abound in this one, guys!

The ending is quite good with plenty of said twists, just when you finally think you finally have it all figured out. Some of the ending was a little muddled as things moved pretty quickly, but everything ended up getting resolved and I was satisfied.

The author also weaves several details and side plots into the story that add layers to the story that make for a deeper book and I really enjoyed that. It just makes for some really good storytelling that kept me interested and coming back for more. When the dots became connected I found myself saying "Oh yeah!" multiple times.

Overall, this is another great novel from Sarah Penner, on par (I think even better) than her mega popular debut The Lost Apothecary.

I adored Penner's previous book and so London Seance society was on my radar early, possibly one of my most highly anticipated books of early 2023.

And there were things about it that were wonderful. The unique seance descriptions and themes were creatively done. The characters were bold and well fleshed out. Being in the world of the late 1800's with all of its societal norms, taboos and cultural views on women, specifically, set an ambiance for the story that was especially atmospheric. Even the mystery itself started off intriguing and sets a suspenseful vibe.

That said, even though it started out quite optimistic, the execution was somewhat lacking. Even though it's not actually long in page count, it felt long and, perhaps, repetitive until about the last quarter of the book. I could have done without several entire scenes in the middle.

The ending wraps up with a bang and even a few surprises...it just took a bit too long to get there for my liking.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for my free e arc in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book so much! I really didn’t know what it was about when I started reading it, but I quickly was obsessed! The characters are well developed, and I couldn’t help but love them all!

The London Séance Society is the second novel by Sarah Penner. Unlike her first novel, which was dual timelines in the present and the past, this one is purely historical fiction. This story was well-researched and combined fact and imagination to create a believable setting. While I did enjoy reading this book, I much prefer The Last Apothecary.

I jumped at the opportunity to read The London Seance Society after absolutely devouring The Lost Apothecary. I enjoyed this book - don't get me wrong, it had it's issues - but overall I really enjoyed it! Much like the Lost Apothecary, this book heavily picks up at the end of the story. I adored the ending and I cannot wait to read more of Penner's books in the future!.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eGalley to review!

This was a thrilling story about skepticism, mysticism, feminism, and a will-they-or-won't-they slow-burn queer romance. Phew. It was definitely a ride.

I would like to first mention the structure of the book. It goes back and forth between our main protagonist and skeptic Lenna who is the student of the famed medium and seance conductor Vaudeline, and Mr. Morley, a department head in the London Seance Society who is quite an anxious man; however, Lenna's point of view is in third person while Mr. Morley's is in first person. This threw me off at first but eventually I hardly noticed it, believing there to be a reason why it went back and forth between the two. Turns out there is--and I won't spoil it, but it's quite clever on Mr. Morley's part! Though I don't quite know why Lenna's POV couldn't have been in first-person too. I think it may have benefited from having it totally in first-person perspectives, but everything still works regardless.

As for the story itself, nothing is as it seems. Let me tell you, I ended up having to read the latter two-thirds of the book in one sitting due to time issues and that was not a problem because I was enthralled--the twists and turns and doubts that are seeded in your mind are genuinely interesting. I kept thinking one thing and then something new would come to light and change my mind. I was as confused and invested as Lenna in working out what is the actual truth of the situation. The only time this falls apart is when--SPOILERS--there is merely only evidence that Mr. Morley is a fraud and then in the very next perspective shift, he suddenly outright admits to wrongdoings without prompt. There's no time for us to wonder if we were indeed wrong about him as we analyze his next actions and words, we're just simply told we are wrong about him and it's like he becomes an entirely different person on the page. It was jarring, because it went against how his character was presented this whole time. I would have just liked a better transition into it. That said, later character reveals did make me gasp.

The queer romance in this story I mentioned is between Lenna and Vaudeline and it's, as I said, definitely a slow burn. Lenna has so many conflicted feelings and her doubts are legitimate given the circumstances. I didn't have any issues with how their relationship was portrayed nor with how it progressed. It made sense, it was sultry, and it kept their interactions with each other interesting. I also quite liked that while it was repeatedly mentioned how it was not customary/traditional in Victorian London for two women to be romantically involved with each other, we didn't get bludgeoned over the head with homophobia, internal or otherwise. It was nice.

The final third of the book--namely the seance for Mr. Volckman--was fascinating and probably the most fun part and I couldn't help but think about how great it lent itself to a horror movie adaptation. It wasn't as cheesy as I'd fear it would and could have been. Skeptics reading the book would probably think otherwise, but it's a perfect "just desserts" situation in my opinion, which is arguably the more important outcome. Following the ending is a most interesting author's note about the inspiration for the book along with some Victorian funerary customs, a set of recipes for Victorian wake dishes, and instructions for making a trick candle. I thought that was awesome.

Overall, I would say that structurally it could have used a bit more refining, but I enjoyed this thrilling ride.

This book just wasn’t for me. I did not find the story as engaging as I had hoped, and the reveal was not surprising for me. I do think others would enjoy the setting and the characters so I would recommend it to the friends I think would enjoy it

***I received a free digital copy of The London Séance Society curtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

Boy oh boy am I glad I received this copy via NetGalley! Truth be truth (the driving theme of this novel) I requested a copy because of the breathtaking cover art, but the real beauty lay in the words on the pages! Set in Victorian England - with few jaunts to Paris - we find a murder mystery that can only be solved by communing with those who’ve departed. Séance deception and those deceptions of the most human of natures push this who-done-it forward, with this read loving every twist and turn. Although the spiritualism was intriguing, the over all feel of the book was that of a historical mystery and I highly recommend to those who love the genre. This is one of the best in the class.

3.5 Stars, Rounded Up

I really enjoyed The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner so I was eager to get my hands on her newest release, The London Séance Society. The plot of the book instantly intrigued me - a murder mystery set in the occult-obsessed Victorian London. Sign me up!

A few things I really enjoyed about this novel:

1. The backdrop of Victorian London and its society's focus on the fascination with spiritualism. I'm far from a spiritualist, so I learned a lot reading this book. While I love most historical fiction books, this was unique in setting and subject-matter.

2. The sense of danger. My heart raced the last 75 pages or so and I really was unsure what was going to happen to our main protagonist, Lenna. This felt very similar to how I felt reading the last 100 pages of The Lost Apothecary.

Ultimately, this book fell flat in a few areas:

1. The mystery was predictable. This was my biggest qualm with the book. I figured out the "mystery" about 25 pages in. I think this was due to the duo-POV nature of the book and I think the novel would have benefitted being told solely from Lenna's POV.

2. The book seemed to repeat itself multiple times as if it needed to hammer home the most basic points. With a mystery that was easy to guess, this felt almost belittling to the reader.

3. I felt like there were forced elements of romance that weren't ever really exposed. Penner touches on some matters of sexuality but I never felt like they were fully dived into and examined. Lenna has a boy who is pinning after her despite having romantic feelings for females. I felt like her sexuality and romantic feelings for two different women read like after-thoughts and felt under-developed in a book that at times felt significantly longer than necessary.

Overall, I think this was a quick-paced mystery with a unique and intriguing setting. If you were a fan of The Lost Apothecary, I would recommend picking this up and giving it a read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner.