The premise of this story is what drew me in initially. I was really intrigued right from the beginning of the novel. I went in with strong hopes after reading the Lost Apothecary, which was fantastic. I think this is a great addition into YA historical fiction. It has many elements that I enjoy in a novel: exploration, whodunnit mystery, the setting, the background into seances. I would say this is a pretty solid story overall, I think where it lacked in my opinion was the characters overall. I just hoped for a little more by the ending of it all. I would recommend because there is definitely an audience for this book!

I approached The London Seance Society with very high hopes, having devoured The Lost Apothecary last summer. In some ways, this book met my expectations, while in others it unfortunately fell short. Looking back, I wish it had been titled differently; I had expected the Society to play more of a starring role and not to be lurking more in the background. Our way into the Society, Mr. Morley, was slimy from the start and I found myself almost wanting to skim through his chapters - in my opinion, he was just that unlikeable. Lenna and Vaudeline were decent characters, but I would have liked to hear more about their backgrounds.

The story really picked up at the end, where the only full seance we get to witness takes place. These last chapters contained the masterful storytelling that made me fall in love with Sarah Penner - clearly well researched, amazingly well written. I wish we'd gotten more of this through the rest of the book! And I may or may not have cheered reading each character's ending, happy or not.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I look forward to Ms. Penner's next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and invitd for providing a copy of The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner in exchange for an honest review.  Penner’s last book, The Lost Apothecary is a favourite of mine so I was quite excited to dive into this book.  Set in the late Victorian period, this story is about loss and love.  Lenna Wickes has lost both her younger sister and best friend tragically, and sets off to Paris to study under respected spiritualist Vaudeline in hopes of finding out how both have died.   At this time, séances are common following the death of a loved one and The London Séance Society is ready, willing, and able to help grieving families connect with their lost loved ones. Vaudeline’s specialty is helping murder victims name those who have killed them.  Lenna is a skeptic, but also feels that Vaudeline might be able to help her find answers about her loved ones.  Vaudeline is summoned to London with Lenna in tow by Mr. Morley, a member of the London society, to help solve the murder of a society member’s death.  This story is told in turn between Lenna and Mr. Morley revealing clues and memories leading up to a séance where faith and facts ultimately collide through supernatural voices.  This book would be perfect for those who love a historical mystery or a touch of the supernatural.

As someone who read, and loved, The Lost Apothecary, I went into The London Seance Society with extremely high hopes. The story at is base is a whodunnit - Lenna, apprentice to famous medium Vaudeline, is trying to solve her sister's murder. Told in a similar manner to Apothecary with its dueling narrators, we hear about events from Lenna's perspective as well as those of Mr. Morley - the man who runs a department of the London Seance Society.


There were parts of this book that I did enjoy, the whodunnit aspect, the discovery and exploration (exploitation?) of seances and what is real versus trickery. But there were also elements that I did not enjoy. Penner did such a fabulous job with the dual narrators in Apothecary that I expected the same here...but it just fell flat. The plot was extremely drawn out, and extremely repetitive at times. We would learn something from Lenna, and then learn it yet again from Mr. Morley - or vice versa. I found myself bogged down in the middle of the book due to this back and forth and seriously considered if it was worth my time to finish. I ultimately did finish, obviously, and the payoff was good, but the pacing had a serious effect on my enjoyment of the story.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of the London seance society by Sarah penner. The book was very good but the lay out was almost impossible to read with the words being gray

As with Penner’s debut work, this was an incredible novel. She has woven together so many well-researched themes into a novel that I could not put down- from the start to the finish, I was entranced. (Bit of a seance-themed pun for you!) As an historian, I understand that I may have higher standards for research than most readers. However, she makes her research so readable and engaging- this novel is exciting and time appropriate. (And there are notes at the end!)

This is a complex novel, there were many pieces at play at any given time. In my head, I really see this as a historical mystery rather than purely historical fiction, and it wholly delivers for both genres. Not only was I compelled to keep reading to find out who was behind Evie’s death, I also really enjoyed simply “spending my time” in 1870s London.

If I was going to compare it to a period drama, I would say that it gives me Miss Scarlet and The Duke vibes. (And that is a good thing for me.) I am excited to see what Penner has planned next!

The mystery of the Seance society was a good suspenseful plot, however, the pacing was lagging and slow. I almost did not finish the book. I tried to keep going because I wanted to see if Lena would find the killer and get her revenge for her sister's murder. I think the book had too many subplots and needed better editing. The pace was very slow and the book became bogged down in the backstory of each character. The main characters were intriguing and they provided the best excitement of the novel. Lena was a likeable narrator. I liked the author's previous novel better.

Charlatans, Seers, Murder & Seances, Spirits & Lesbian romance - I thought I was ready, but I wasn't ready for any of it. I must say, I liked Penner's first book, "The Lost Apothecary" a bit more than this one. This was pretty dark and I still really didn't care about any of the characters by the end.

The story is told in dual points of view trading back and forth between the past and the present. The first narrator is Lenna, who is trying to solve her sister Evie's murder. The second is Mr. Morley who runs the London Seance Society and was having an affair with Evie. The points of view trade off every chapter so this justifies the expense of having two great audiobook narrators! Yay!

I received this book as an ARC e-book and then my library got the audiobook so I switched back and forth, but the audiobook was how I got through most of it. I'm not sure I'll remember the plot of this book in a few months.

Maybe it was the lesbian romance that made the characters of Lenna & Vaudeline unrelatable for me or that I found Mr. Morely so sympathetic (Yes, he plotted crimes, but Evie was a manipulative, scheming witch to him!), but this book humanized both the "bad guys" and the "good guys" so much that by the end I just hated everyone. They were all evil and redeemable at the same time so it didn't really matter to me who survived until the end. If that makes sense.

The description of this book sounded so good. It is set in 1873 in both Paris and London at a time when many wealthy people conducted seances to speak to their recently departed loved ones. I kept thinking back to Mary Todd Lincoln and the stories of how she conducted seances in the White House after her son died in 1862. I can easily imagine a group of people in Victorian dress around a table holding hands and inciting incantations while candles flicker around them.

The story unfolds around two women, Vaudeline D'Allaire, a famous medium, and her understudy, Lenna Wickes. Vaudeline's claim to fame is that she is able to solve murder mysteries during her seances and Lenna is studying to learn how she does it so that she can hopefully solve her own sister's murder. Vaudeline and Lenna team up with the London Seance Society to solve the murder of Mr. Volckman, the society's president. It is discovered that it is all inter-connected and the women have to use their wits, as well as calling up some spirits of the dead, to solve the murders.

I did enjoy many parts of this book. The gothic setting, the murder mystery element, and the exploration of whether seances are "real" vs trickery. My biggest issue was that it was not as fun to read the book as I was hoping. It was all a bit too drawn out and sometimes repetitive. Penner was telling the story from multiple points of view. However, sometimes things were revealed through one character's narration, and then she retold that same part of the story through a different viewpoint with nothing gained in moving the story forward. There were many times that I thought to myself "get on with it already".

I really give this book 3.5 stars. I am rounding down as I did feel as though I was slogging through it at times. The ending was very satisfying and Penner shared some of her historical findings on spiritualism in an author's note.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early digital copy.

After reading Sarah Penner's debut book, The lost Apothecary, I was very excited to see what was next for her. The London Séance Society might be even better than The Lost Apothecary. It is a historical novel that follows two women looking for answers to recent murders. They look for their answers through the spiritual realm and try to reach lost loves ones via séance. I find the paranormal aspect to add intrigue to the story line. I also enjoyed that the author tied in some romance as well. I really enjoyed the book overall and would definitely recommend it.

Paris and London in the 1800s, an exclusive seance society, and murder!

The London Seance Society is a fun read that explores the societal constraints placed on women, the Victorian-era spiritualist movement, grief, and greed. We even have a bit of a love story. All this is beautifully woven together with depth, complexities, and surprises.

Sarah Penner excels with atmosphere and setting. I felt like I’d traveled back in time, and I enjoyed every moment.

Fascinating - creative. So well done and readable. - terrific setting and cast of characters.
A great start to a great new series. Bravo.

This book was so good! I loved how creative it was and I haven't read anything that is like it! I can't wait to read another Sarah Penner novel!

I was so disappointed in this book. It sounded like it would be great but then when I started it I had a hard time. I struggled to finish it. The old time language was not fun but I do understand that it had to be authentic and read like the era it was set in.
I think for me it was just not what I was expecting. I love historical but this one was just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Sarah Penner’s The Lost Apothecary quickly became one of my favourites of the year when it came out, so I couldn’t wait to dig into The London Séance Society as soon as it became available.

I love Penner’s blend of strong female characters, who support themselves and fight for their rights. These books are historical fiction with a blend of mystery that trends a little into thrillers – and they are truly unputdownable.

The LSS it set mainly in London in 1873, following an acclaimed spiritualist and her understudy. They find themselves in the middle of a potential murder.

I absolutely loved the atmospheric setting, this author has a knack for making the reader feel like they are in the middle of the book along with the characters.

I will definitely be looking out for future works from Penner, and highly recommend picking up her books (start with her debut, The Lost Apothecary).

Sarah Penner has written a lovely follow up to the Lost Apothecary. Although the London Séance Society is not a sequel, it does have Penner's trademark excellent writing and historical immersion. Lenna Wickes has gained an apprenticeship with the infamous Vaudeline D'Allaire, a medium with experience in actually contacting the dead. Lenna's sister had been working with the London Séance Society, a group of powerful men investigating paranormal activities among the gentry. When her sister is violently murdered, Lenna begins to investigate as well as to learn how to contact the dead in hopes of discovering what really happened to her sister. As she tries to discover if Vaudeline is a legitimate medium, she finds herself falling in love with the unusual, passionate women. The deeper the two women become involved with the Society, the more dangerous their investigation becomes and the more passionate their relationship. Sarah Penner writes with such detail that I was surprised to be back in 2023 when I finished reading. It was an interesting, exciting read and I found it difficult to put down. Fans of historical mysteries will love this book as will fans of paranormal fiction. Many thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read an ARC.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬💭:
The Lost Apothecary was one of my favorite reads of 2021. So i was absolutely thrilled to receive a copy of the author’s sophomore book. Thanks so much Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending in exchange for my honest review!

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛📝:
Lenna is seeking answers about her sister’s death. The year is 1873, conjuring murdered victims is a medium to solve their deaths. When Lenna becomes an understudy to a well known spiritualist, she finds herself tangled in the London Sceance Society, an exclusive group of powerful men that just might be more than what it is.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. I had a bit of a difficult time following this book. I think it might have been the old english language and the lack of connection to the characters. The first half dragged a bit and i kept waiting for it to pick up. The premise was really interesting though, and the second half finally became more interesting. I thought it was very well researched and certainly very intriguing as I’ve never read anything about sceances before. It’s definitely far from the author’s first book, and because I had high expectations going in, it just wasn’t up to standard for me. However, if you are as intrigued as I was, this one is still definitely worth a read.

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚: 𝘎𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘓𝘎𝘉𝘛𝘘+ 𝘳𝘦𝘱, 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴, 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴, 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴

A well-written story of Victorian deception and revenge, told in alternating points of view. Two murders, no answers from the living, and mediumship. Sarah Penner's sophomore offering is an engaging read that drew me in and kept me on pins and needles.

I'm really impressed by authors who put effort into crafting their story. Penner obviously spent a great deal of time getting the details of English spiritualism in its Victorian heyday. The ritual, the ways that some tried to trick others, the way some preyed on families left behind. She weaved it all into the story in a way that left me wanting more.

The cast of characters in this story is just the right mix. All have secrets, all have their own motives. Lenna is seeking answers for her sister's murder. While she is already stepping out into her own disbelief to work with a spritulist (Vaudeline), she is unprepared for what she learns about her sister. Vaudeline is written as if she's exotic, and after leaving London in fear of her own life, she has returned to uncover the secret of her mentor and friend's death. Mr. Morley has asked for her help, Their interactions and the events of this story are darker than I could have imagined.

This is not a repeat of The Lost Apothecary, despite being set in London in days gone by. I enjoyed Penner's debut, but found The London Seance Society to be a much more satisfying read. I look forward to what Sarah Penner brings us next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the review copy.

Atmospheric and lovely! This book was all the feelings I was hoping it would be after reading and loving the authors other book!

I adored Sarah Penner’s first book. She knows how to write dark, witchy, historic fiction that appeals to a broad range of readers. She brings her game again for her sophomore novel about two brave women who conjure the dead in the 1800s. I’d say this goes a bit darker than her first book, and might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for fans of dark and mystical fiction it should hit the right notes