Set in Victorian England, this novel is about Iseult and her hateful father. Dear dad has been trying to marry off Iseult for years. Iseult likewise hates her father so much you can almost taste the vile emotions rising from the book’s pages. Victorian, Gothic, full of psychosis (or IS Iseult really haunted?), and self-mutilation with dread on every page . . . I loved it!

PROS:
Iseult’s solitary musings are SO real and SO deep with pain and ennui (yet incredibly captivating to read, in a voyeuristic way).

I was puzzled by the cover at first because Iseult isn’t a seamstress or anything. Then about 20 percent into the book, I understood the cover art and thought it was brilliant.

The novel’s structure is rather evident as you’re reading, but I didn’t mind. It made me feel like I was in the hands of a capable author.

This book has the vibe of other fabulous stories like The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, and The House on Cold Hill by Peter James. If you like any of those, I think you’d enjoy The Unsuitable.

CONS:
If you don’t care for slow burns with disturbed characters and little action, this isn’t the book for you. (On the other hand, if you like character-driven stories full of rich, poetic language and symbolism, you’ll love this book.)

OVERALL:
Five brilliant, intelligent, captivating stars!

I grew up loving gothic ghost stories. It’s basically the number one genre in my heart. Books containing stories like this are few and far between, so I was itching to read this.

I’m sad to say that the writing of The Unsuitable didn’t click with me. It was a bit choppy and felt incomplete. I had to DNF it because it wasn’t holding my attention.

Thank you to #netgalley and Henry Holt Publishing for my advanced copy for my honest review! This premise of this Victorian gothic novel involves Isuelt Wince and her struggle to be married at a "reasonable" age and she talks to the scar in her neck that she believes is her mother who died. I pretty much stopped reading here as I could not get through this after... I love love love victorian historical novels and a good thriller/horror, but this was just something else and it was hard to get through unfortunately.

Looking for something different? Look no further but know that this is a little, well, out there. Iseult is a 28 year old spinster whose father is desperate to marry her off. And why, you ask? Well, her mother died when she was born and Iseult believes that she lives in her neck. And that her mother talks to her. So she cuts herself. A lot. This doesn't make for an appealing bride but then her father finds a man with silver skin. Jacob, whose skin changed as a result of a failed medical treatment, is a good guy but how can he and Iseult become a couple? Lots of questions on the table but this will keep you shaking your head. It's a ghost story, it's a horror story, it's a commentary on how women were viewed during the Victorian era. I had a lot of sympathy for Iseult, who has a lot of issues and not much empathy from anyone around her before Jacob. No spoilers but don't look for happy endings. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good, if a tad disturbing, read.

"Molly Pohlig's The Unsuitable is a fierce blend of Gothic ghost story and Victorian novel of manners that’s also pitch perfect for our current cultural moment.

Iseult Wince is a Victorian woman perilously close to spinsterhood whose distinctly unpleasant father is trying to marry her off. She is awkward, plain, and most pertinently, believes that her mother, who died in childbirth, lives in the scar on her neck.

Iseult’s father parades a host of unsuitable candidates before her, the majority of whom Iseult wastes no time frightening away. When at last her father finds a suitor desperate enough to take Iseult off his hands - a man whose medical treatments have turned his skin silver - a true comedy of errors ensues.

As history’s least conventional courtship progresses into talk of marriage, Iseult’s mother becomes increasingly volatile and uncontrollable, and Iseult is forced to resort to extreme, often violent, measures to keep her in check.

As the day of the wedding nears, Iseult must decide whether (and how) to set the course of her life, with increasing interference from both her mother and father, tipping her ever closer to madness, and to an inevitable, devastating final act."

I'm here for ALL things Gothic! ALL OF THEM! ESPECIALLY THIS!

I love a weird book and this has all the weird (along with a nice balance of horror), which is why I loved every minute of it. Can't wait to share it with our library patrons!

I'm somewhere between two and three stars on this one. It was, first and foremost, ... intense. There was loads of self-harm/self-mutilation and blood. There was suicide. There was awful verbal abuse, both externally and internally towards the self. There was, no doubt, a lot of mental illness. The story itself felt more like a vehicle for this intensity than a developed, plot-driven, world-built kind of story. It felt a bit like the author wanted to have this intense stuff happen, and popped a world around it. The world, I should say, is a Gothic, 1800s period where women are burdens to their fathers and essentially chattel for business and money boosts. I never really felt that Iseult's mother was *really* in her neck, so much as I felt this was an intense mental illness going on, so the only inkling of possible hint at any kind of actual "horror" or "ooooOOoo, spooky" stuff going on was literally the last page. Meh. Given the intensity, it felt way to long and very difficult to want to return to to finish. The book didn't give too many options aside from a dismal ending to hope for anything better, which may have been part of the difficulty in wanting to keep reading.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so dark and strange but to be honest I am on the fence about my feelings on it. While the story was good I just cant decide my feelings on it no matter how much I think about it. It rides that fine line of being creepy and weird to dark and demented.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

I love the gothic genre - it’s been my genre of choice lately. But there was too much blood and uncomfortably graphic topics for me in this one. Isuelt has some deep, really horrible issues. Her dad’s insistence on marrying her off was pretty entertaining, though.
Quirky and unique with great visuals and quick wit (I always love the scenery and Victorian dialogue in a gothic novel) but just not for me.
*Trigger warning: self harm, blood, suicide*

I received an early e-book from the publisher (Netgalley) in exchange for an honest review.

CW: self harm, suicide.

I always love the beginning of a book. The first line that will welcome me into a new a world and the first three lines from The Unsuitable, though, intrigued me into reading more of it. This is not the kind of book I would usually pick for myself to read but I thought it would be nice to give this one a try!

The Unsuitable is a story about Iseult, a 28 year old who lives with her father. Her mother died when Iseult was born and ever since she was little, she has been hearing her mother’s voice in her head. Iseult blames herself for her mother’s death.

As soon as I read the first chapter I got chills. This was definitely a dark story that deals with heavy topics like self harm and suicide. Even though I read this book in two days, there were times when I just had to stop reading for a while and would later come back to read more.

My least favorite character from the story was Iseult’s father, the only thing he wanted to accomplish throughout the story was to get rid of her daughter. He was always looking for potential suitors for his daughter, not really caring at all if she approved of them, he only wanted to be the one who would get something out of it, but Iseult always made it impossible for him.

Iseult was tormented by her mother’s voice and while she sometimes didn’t want to listen to her anymore, there were other times when she appreciated knowing that she was there...

Overall, The Unsuitable was an intriguing story with secrets and twists that I didn’t see coming at all. It was impossible for me to know what would happen next.

I received a physical copy of this as well much earlier. I enjoyed it. I felt it was a solid read. Nothing to wonderful, but I'd say it's good. I thought the plot was decent and the characters were believable.

This tale of a young woman who believes her mother who died giving birth to her lives beneath her skin was creepy and unsettling.

Irene Wince never really had a chance at a normal life. Her father loathes her. Injuries she’s had since she was an infant still pain her. Oh, and her mother—who died in a terrible accident after giving birth to Irene—haunts Irene. Irene hears her mother’s voice everywhere she goes…except when she hurts herself. Molly Pohlig’s The Unsuitable is a disturbing portrait of a tormented young woman. This book is one of the most unsettling things I’ve ever read.

The first chapters of The Unsuitable led me to believe that this was a story of a neglected Victorian girl, who just needs a chance to metaphorically spread her wings. Even when Irene and her mother started to have dialogues in Irene’s head, I hoped that The Unsuitable would turn out alright for Irene. Instead, even chapter either reveals more of Irene’s mental disorders or introduces new complications to her life. Her father has been trying to marry her off for years, so that he can get her out of the house. The potential suitors have gotten less and less attractive. Now, even the old, unhealthy, bald men are turning her down. Irene doesn’t mind. She is as unimpressed with them as they are with her.

When her father brings the very last possible suitor, there are glimmers that Mr. Wince has found someone who might actually be a good match for Irene. Jacob is a sweet, understanding man…who happens to be silver. Yep, he’s silver. At this point, I really thought that the book would have a happy ending. At the risk of ruining the novel, Irene’s relationship (for lack of a better word) with her mother grows ever more destructive. The ghost of her mother or her own mental illness push and pull at Irene until she doesn’t know what to do. She goes back and forth between wanting to go her own way and wanting to please her mother.

The Unsuitable took me down a road that I didn’t really want to visit. It kept getting darker and darker. I think I only finished the book because I hoped everything would turn out all right. Instead, I got an unsettling trip inside the mind of a young woman who never had a chance to be normal. Because of that, I’m not sure who I can recommend this to, especially since it contains so much that could trigger people who self-harm.

Atmospheric and lyrical, claustrophobic and intense, The Unsuitable confronts social pressures and the body in a delightful new way.

Very darkly disturbing and probably the strangest thing I have ever read! The main characters mother died in childbirth having her, the baby shot out , umblilical cord around her throat and dead. She was saved by the nurse. Years later her deceased mom talks to her and harasses her from the scar. There is very disturbing suicide attempts , self harm and abuse. Her father tries to marry her off to no avail. A man whose skin is silver and comes along and offers to marry her. It's not an easy read but an odd, original Victorian ghost novel. It flowed and was a fairly quick read. I recommend it to those that the trigger warnings don't bother.

Dark, disturbing, but fascinating book! I couldn't decide if Iseult was haunted/possessed or mad, but whatever the circumstance, this was definitely a character in need of help that she didn't receive. There were a few glimmers of hope, but this was a tragedy from the very beginning. Not an easy read, but very recommended. Many thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for the opportunity to read The Unsuitable.

It was very hard to read the first part of this book. It was a bit scattered and I had hard time getting into the book or understanding what was happening. This book was not for me.

Content warning - abuse, suicide, self harm
This was a nervewracking page turner and I've already recommended it to two other people. It thrums with anxiety on every page. The protagonist isn't exactly likeable - more pitiable. It isn't for everyone but people who like an atmospheric Gothic feminist book with some black humor but more mental illness and claustrophobia will love it.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Unusual little book, a very fast read but dense and rewarding, with a muted amount of cheesiness for a gothic ghost story. Good for a cold quiet night

The Unsuitable follows a Victorian woman haunted by her dead mother, a negligent father and a large amount of self-loathing. This one earns just about every trigger warning out there. There is a lot of self-loathing, suicidal thoughts and a massive amount of self-harm. So if any of these things can be a trigger for you, steer way clear of The Unsuitable.

The Unsuitable was kind of heartbreaking. Iseult (and how the heck do you actually pronounce that name) wasn’t a bad person, but she was treated incredibly poorly. She was simply trying to live her life and make the best of her increasingly dire situation. It made her very relatable. I was rooting for her throughout the whole story, but as the pages dwindled it became increasingly obvious that she probably wasn’t going to get a happy ending.

The Unsuitable was a wicked quick read for me. I started and finished it within a few days. A few work days! (Yeah, suck it, TV!) The story progresses nicely and the pacing was perfect. The story wasn’t rushed, but it also wasn’t dragged out. The ending had a lot of potential to fall victim to being rushed, but it was amazing and shocking and exactly the kind of ending that I should have been expecting, but, like I said, I was hoping Iseult would find happiness.

There were a couple of issues that I had with the story. One being the way that the conversations between Iseult and Beatrice were written. There was no punctuation and a lot of sentences had repeat words and made little sense. The conversations were, understandably, most likely written chaotic and gibberish-y, but it would have made them much easier to follow if there had been some sort of indication (punctuation) to inform the reader that they were supposed to read like the incoherent babblings of a deranged woman. The lack of punctuation made the conversations much less readable, in my opinion.

Another thing that bothered me was just how graphic the self-harm scenes were. I mean, I totally understand why they were written the way that they were, but it wasn’t something that I personally enjoyed reading.

I think that, as long as you can handle the self-harm and other triggering elements, The Unsuitable would be good for any fans of Gothic horror stories. It wasn’t the scariest, but it was entertaining and quick!