This review is for the 5-chapter "sneak peak" sampler of the hardcover edition that I got sent by the publisher via NetGalley.
It's the story of 12-year-old Makepeace. Stongwilled and resilient for her age, she has not had an easy life. Her mother is very insistent in strengthening her against the ghosts and visions she sees, and makes her sleep in graveyards which I found quite a cruel thing to do. Makepeace is very sensitive to the mistreatment of animals and people and I found her likeable. Her life changes after her mother's sudden death early in the story, and she still has some strange visions, but remains as strong and resilient as before.

The characters are very visual as is the setting in England in a time of high superstition about ghosts and the devil. Makepeace lives with her strange puritan family and has to fight against the ghosts who want to get inside her.

I'n giving this 3 stars as it's a great start to a novel, but may be too dark for some people. I'd need to read the full book to be able to properly review it, I'm liking Frances Hardinge's writing so far though, and this is the first time I have read anything by her.

What for me is the most important is that I did not want this sampler to stop, I very much wanted more. The story is very well written, it might be classed as youth fiction but it for me everything I expect in a tale of this type. The weaving of the beginning of the story is excellent, characters well formed and the reader is engaged from the first minute. The historical setting gives depth and further interest.

Well thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan I was able to read a sampler of the very haunting tale. I found myself remembering those childhood nights when the only safe place was under the sheets but always with the worry of whether would I return to the nightmare or escape to better dreams. A great book by a good author who has the knack of forcing you to read on even though at times you might not want to know what comes next..
Do I want to read the full book - of course I do but will it assuage that dread that childhood nightmares could return? Hmm I am not sure!
A very good read.

I've loved Frances Hardinge since I picked up Fly By Night in my local library a few years ago. Since then I've hunted down everything she's written and loved all of it. Strange, fantastic, dark and endlessly imaginative, her work leaps off the page and buries itself in your mind and thoughts long after you've finished reading. A Skinful of Shadows is no exception. I love the mash up of history and fantasy in the book and Makepeace looks set to be another great female protagonist. I'm so looking forward to reading the whole book when it comes out. https://makingthemreaders.wordpress.com/2017/08/04/a-skinful-of-shadows-frances-hardinge/

I really liked this sampler, the first few chapters really drop you straight into the action. Makepeace finds herself suddenly an orphan after years of her mother guiding her, occasionally harshly, through life. Haunted by nightmares of ghosts trying to claw at her, Makepeace now finds herself alone, except for the company of a certain spirit. Makepeace is a great character, strong, despite being afraid, and clever!

Hardinge really brings together both history and gothic mystery in her writing. With an eye for detail and great descriptive writing, you feel like you're right there with Makepeace as she tries to find a way for herself. I'd definitely read A Skinful of Shadows, since it sounds very intriguing!

Fabulous Hardinge! Her tales are masters of gothic narrative.

I was lucky enough to get a free sample of the first chapter or so of this book.

Once again Hardinge promises a work of Gothic suspense in which the heroine's relationship with her mother is ambiguous. Makepeace doesn't know who her father is but to toughen her up against spirits her mother locks her in a crypt each night. At one point she takes on the spirit of a poor dancing Bear.

When her mother dies Makepeace is sent to a manor house where there is a mysterious and sinister patriarch with strange powers.

This is where the extract ends.

The setting is Stuart England and Hardinge again backs her Gothic story with supernatural overtones as well as ideas about belief and the roles of women. I am very interested to see where the story will lead.

Ideal for readers of The Essex Serpent.

This is definitely one of my most anticipated books of the year - the cover is just so beautiful! The sampler immediately draws the reader into Makepeace's world. The prose is hauntingly lyrical and I can't wait to read the rest of the story.

Really intriguing opening - I'm really looking forward to the book now. I'm so sad that this was only a sampler, but I will definitely be getting this book as soon as possible.

Sampler only, but what a rich blend of history, fantasy and supernatural. Can't wait to find out just who Makepeace is.

This book seems to have all of the charm, magic and mystery of Hardinge's award winning 'The Lie Tree'. From the first pages when Makepeace is abandoned by her mother in a church at night, in order to learn how to fight away ghosts, I was both horrified, gripped and desperate to give Makepeace a hug. As the novel continued Makepeace's story got progressively more tragic, yet kept me completely engaged. I cannot wait for publication so that I can find out how Makepeace's story ends.

I read and enjoyed "The Lie Tree" by this author about 12 months ago so I was very happy to get my hands on a sampler of her latest book. As with the Lie Tree it is probably more aimed at a younger reader than me however it was a perfectly reasonable read for me. It concerns Makepeace and initially her mother. Makepeace is not a teenager yet, Makepeace isn't really her name but she doesn't know what it is and she is illegitimate. Her mother, who dies early in the story, encourages her - even forces her - to fight shadows. These shadows are the spirits of the dead who try and enter her living body. By the end of this sampler she is with her father's family away from London where it seems possible civil war will break out. Has a shadow gone with here and is she better off with the new family she has?

I really got to like Makepeace as a character in the five chapters available to me. She comes over as a very good and strong character. I found the writing wonderfully dark in places. Frances Hardinge certainly manages to evoke feelings of fear and dread with her writing and it gripped me after a while. I'll not rate this as five chapters really isn't enough for a proper balanced view however I'd happily read the rest of the book. I can't see it being anything other than a success.

A really engaging and intriguing sampler to read. The story holds a continuous air of mystery. Even within 3 chapters the pace of reveal is brilliantly timed. I was gutted to have to stop reading it. It comes across a very high quality read. A book you just do not want to put down.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a five chapter sampler of this book through NetGalley. Having really enjoyed The Lie Tree, I was eager to see what A Skinful of Shadows was about.

I found the start of this book really intriguing, as I have very vivid dreams myself. In fact, my dreams can often be more vivid that my waking life, so I do love books featuring dreams.

This is beautifully written and visually descriptive in a magical, ghostly and emotional kind of way.

Oh my goodness, the bear. I think it stole my heart.

Dying to read more of this story now!

When I requested this, I didn't see that it was just a sampler. However, it's done the trick and 'A skinful of shadows' looks to be like another compelling read from Frances Hardinge and I'll definitely be reading it in full when it's published.

This was a 5 chapter sampler given by Netgalley as an ARC. It was great! This in itself is no surprise if you have read The Lie Tree by the same author.
Makepeace our young main character hasn't had a happy life so far, being raised by a loveless mother within a puritanical family. This is set in the past in a time of superstition and ghosts, where things go bump in the night. Her mother seems to be training Makepeace to endure the presence of ghosts but this is cut short by ma' untimely demise. Makepeace is sent to her relative Obadiah- and there is a strong sense of danger around her. She is exhibiting aggressive behaviour, linked to a recent entanglement with the ghost of a bear and she fears Obadiah could have her persecuted as a witch or sent to Bedlam. Just at the point where it starts to get really interesting, where Makepeace works out what has happened and starts to communicate with the bear, the sampler finished. How frustrating! I can't wait to get stuck in where the sampler left off.

I first came across Hardinge when I read THE LIE TREE and loved her surreal worlds with relatable characters.
To me she is the closest author to the spirit of Neil Gaiman.
I loved the beginning of SKINFUL OF SHADOWS - I just am desperate to read more!

Also, please, can we get an edition of it illustrated by Chris Riddell? Pretty Please?

A Skinful of Shadows was automatically one of my most anticipated reads of the year - Frances Hardinge does ghosts? YES. Frances Hardinge has been an auto-buy author for me since I read Fly By Night, and I've been in love with ghost stories since I can remember, so this book really felt like a present from the universe. And the sampler was nothing but incredible! More than lived up to expectations, and expectations were high. The writing is beautiful and the world-building is already so vivid in just a couple of chapters. The ghost mythology is treading a fine and wonderful line between known conventions and inventions and I can't wait to learn more about it. Makepeace is already one of Frances Hardinge's strongest narrative voices for me - kicking for her own survival even when she's not sure what that means; fiercely loyal and kind. I loved this sampler and it was a genuine shock when it finished - I'd stopped looking at how much there was left; I was just reading. I have the book preordered. This is beautiful.

A tantalising sampler that hooks you right from the first page! I can't wait to read more!