This story turned out to be quite different than I had anticipated, as I was hoping for a story that revolved around the main character, Ivy, learning more about her abilities, and how her abilities impacted those around her. What the story really was, was her trying to find a long lost relative, and basically going undercover to find her, by posing as a maid in the home where she was last seen.

While I greatly enjoyed the writing style of the author, the pacing of the story was just so slow. I felt like not much happened, and when it finally did, it was a cliffhanger at the end of the book, and I didn't even realize this was meant to be the first in a series. There were so many questions left unanswered, but at the end of the day, I couldn't go lower than three stars, because it really was well-written, it just wasn't the story for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced read copy.

Creepy and compelling!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

London 1873. Ivy Granger is devastated by the loss of her mother, the only person she felt truly understood her. Now her family is insisting she marry a man she loathes or face an asylum.

During her mother’s funeral she meets Miss Earnshaw who implies that she is kin to Ivy and offers her an escape; to come and stay with her in London. Out of options Ivy flees her home and travels to London only to find Miss Earnshaw has mysteriously disappeared.

On the night she vanished she was holding a seance at the home of the Blackhams, a house haunted by a terrible past and full of strange and ancient artefacts. Determined to find out what happened to Miss Earnshaw, Ivy takes up a role as a maid in the house. Faced with suspicious servants and mysterious apparitions, Ivy will have to be careful if she doesn’t want to end up as the house’s latest victim.

All of the classic elements of a gothic novel are included here; a haunted house, a mysterious atmosphere, a naive female protagonist, strange visions and supernatural occurances. Renshaw weaves all these elements together to create a thrilling and spooky book which never feels contrived or forced. Ivy is a sympathetic character and the inhabitants of the house are suitably sinister, especially Lady Blackham whose presence lingers over proceedings even in her absence.

The central mystery is plotted well and kept me engaged throughout, and some of the reveals at the end genuinely surprised me. The atmosphere and setting of the book is so well done and I felt immersed in 19th century Victorian London, fog and all.

Only slight criticism is the book could do with tighter editing, in some places the words used felt incorrectly chosen and pulled me out of the story. Overall all though I thought this was a well written and entertaining read which sets things up nicely for the sequel. One thing’s for sure however, I’ll never look at Magpies the same way again.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. It kept you guessing until the end. I like it when it's not so easy to figure out. It centers around Ivy, who just lost her mom. She meets a strange woman at her mom's funeral which prompts her to leave her father (and the prospect of an unwanted marriage) and head to London. Once there, she finds that the woman has disappeared and no one will talk about what happened to her in the house where she was last seen.

I had such high expectations for this! It sounded so good, but ultimately the characters fell flat for me. If I can't get interested in the characters, I can't get interested in the story. The pace was also dreadfully slow and the writing felt uninspired. It felt like the author was trying to do Gothic but couldn't quite get there.

What a fantastic start to a promising new series. I apologise for posting a day late, but I wanted to finish the book before posting my review.

The Parlour Game is the first in The Corvidae Hauntings series...and also the authors debut novel.

I couldn't tear myself away from it, I needed answers and had to keep reading..."just one more chapter" and here we are at 3am writing this. Yep, it's that good!

Set in London 1873, the settings were gothicky, dark and very atmospheric, adding to the suspense and mystery.

Wonderfully written with some great characters and a touch of the supernatural.

When can I sign up for book two?

Many thanks to Random Things Tours for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

⭐⭐⭐ or ⭐--- Love the cover on this one!

My rating for this one depends on if there is going to be a sequel or not. If there is, then this was a strong 4 star read. Well written. Well paced. Atmospheric. Creepy. Mysterious. Strong characters. However, if this was a one off than I have to unfortunately knock off a star. The ending was rushed and confusing, and there were so many loose ends. What happened to the Jack The Ripper guy? The the vicar and his housekeeper? The weird old man at the jewelry shop? There is a ton left unexplained. So hopefully there will be a sequel! 🤞🏻

**ARC Via NetGalley**

An enjoyable gothic read just in time for fall. I enjoyed the atmosphere surrounding the mystery plot, but the lengthy descriptions are definitely not for everyone. I wish Ivy had more personality to her, something to make her stand out just that little bit more.. but she's a serviceable protagonist. The mystery itself it well thought out and interesting, if you can stick around till the end.

This book has stayed in my mind for quite some time after reading it, very much the mark of an outstanding book.

The Parlour Game is the first book in a new series - The Corvidae Hauntings - by Jennifer Renshaw.

The story centers around young Ivy Granger, whose grief at her mother's passing is sidetracked by the appearance of a mysterious woman at the funeral. The woman is beautiful and refined, and in pulling Ivy aside in the graveyard, she reveals that she knows many secrets about Ivy's mother and even about Ivy herself. Desperate to get away from her controlling father, Ivy travels to London to seek out the woman, only to find that she is the famous spiritualist Rosetta Earnshaw - and that she's gone missing after a disastrous seance at the formidable Blackham house.

Ivy sets out to solve the mystery of Miss Earnshaw's disappearance and in doing so gets herself in way over her head.

With an imposing house, a brooding yet attractive heir, ominous magpies at every window, a strange garden where nothing grows but thorny plants, a pervading air of ruin that rots fruit and wilts flowers within hours, whispers among the servants, and a strange collection of taxidermy and Egyptian artifacts, this story has every wonderful element of a Victorian Gothic.

There are multiple mysteries to solve here, the question of who (if anyone) to trust, and a coming-of-age for young Ivy as she grows from a shy and timid girl into the brave young heroine we want her to be. Though there are some parts in the middle that drag a bit, the story starts with a bang and ends with a thrill and the promise of more dark adventures with Ivy pitted against the dark occult plans of the Corvidae.

I enjoyed this book immensely and look forward to the rest of the series.

I love gothic mysteries and ghost stories so this book seemed right up my alley. Sadly the execution was a let down. I had a difficult time getting into the book and felt like the plot and action were buried underneath long-winded descriptions. I found myself getting distracted and bored in the middle of chapters.

Ultimately the slow pacing and writing style made me DNF at 30%. The writing can’t make me care enough about Ivy to find out what happens. And based on other reviews I wouldn’t enjoy the rest of the novel anyways if the middle ends up dragging with the climax rushed and leaves room for a series to begin. In theory a great sounding book, in execution the author should’ve focused on one thing and not dragged the story out

The cover and description of this book had me hooked from the beginning. The story line was well developed and had me engaged throughout. I would love to see this developed into a series. Would definitely recommend. 4/5 stars. Thank you netgalley for the arc!

The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw is set in the 19th century, and follows the protagonist Ivy Granger, opening the story with the funeral of her mother and continuing as she leaves her pastoral life for London when pushed toward a future she does not want for herself. She thinks she will be welcomed into the home of a possible relative, but instead she finds herself thrust into a mystery that soon spins out of her control and leaves her struggling to make it out alive--or with her wits still intact.

This book is simply marvellous! I could be biased in saying so, given my love of both spiritualism and the Victorian Era, but I think it would appeal to fans too of suspense or horror books. The last third of the book is a masterpiece of tense foreboding, and I couldn't sleep until I had finished it and reached the conclusion of the story. It leaves you turning the pages faster and faster, cursing yourself that you can't read quicker so as to find out what happens all the sooner.

I see that there are plans for this to be a series, and I definitely will have to pick up any future instalments!

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love Ivy, I wanted to love this book but it reminded me far too much of another story read in the last year. This made it very hard to continue reading and I lost interest rather quickly.

The Parlour Game is a macabre, mysterious Victorian thriller. Ivy Granger is far from alright. She is haunted by the death of her mother, she hides in the shadows of depression, a solemn darkness on the verge of insanity. She feels misunderstood and has no yearnings other than to be left alone to her botanical studies. She unexpectedly meets a woman at her mother’s funeral named Miss Earnshaw who changes the course of her life and takes her places she may not have ever ventured to if she knew what awaited her.
She travels to London to study under Miss Earnshaw but she has gone missing once Ivy has arrived.
A tragedy begins to unfold as Ivy searches for her. While in her search for Rebecca she comes across Blackham House where she takes on a most unexpected position.
An evil lurks about but it’s history is tangled in knots and Ivy is determined to untangle every lie, secret. Her bravery and willpower to face the darkness within herself and Blackham House will be the trial of a lifetime.

This is a high quality book. Good plot, good writing, and a good message. Sadly, I found myself struggling to get into the story. I spent about 90% of the time being bored and the other 10% being impressed by the twists or genuinley spooked out. In the end, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for but it is something I found good when I needed a relaxing read.
"Some men... are afriad of the power women wield when they grow to their potential"
3.25

A lovely first read from Jennifer Renshaw!

I thoroughly enjoyed the dark atmosphere of this book. Perfect to pick up as we draw closer to the fall weather. Definitely recommend giving this one a read if you are a fan of creepy magical realism!

A fantastically well written historical thriller.

The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw is wonderfully written, you'll find yourself firmly planted in 1873 London shortly after starting the book and you'll stay there until the end. Excited, atmospheric and attention grabbing this was a great read that I won't spoil with too many details but rest assured if you're a fan of historical gothic horror you will NOT be disappointed in this title.

It did leave me wanting to know more about some of the characters, hopefully this is the start of a series and we'll get to learn more about them, the Blackhams especially!

Immerse yourself in a tale of dark mystery in 1873 London as Ivy, our young botany-loving protagonist, sets out to solve the mystery of the lovely Madam Earnshaw, a spiritualist who has unexpectedly appeared in Ivy’s life with strange claims and warnings, and attempts to survive the consuming darkness of the Blackham House.

This story had a lot going on. Overall, I enjoyed the atmosphere and main plot of this story, but I got too caught up in the small details. One one hand, the author did a good job of using some unexplained moments to add to the feel of unsettling haunted mystery to the book. Though, on the other hand, there were too many of these unexplained moments. At the end of the book I found myself wondering too strongly about all of these small moments - I was left with too many unanswered questions. I felt that there were too many aspects for this book that did not have a strong enough tie throughout the entire story to make them feel entirely relevant, which ultimately left me feeling like I didn’t get to know the characters nor the story itself deep enough.

As I was looking for a dark haunted read with an air of mystery to get me in the mood for the coming fall season, this book did keep my attention and satisfy that atmospheric vibe I was hoping for. So, if you are a fan of dark, magical realism with a mystery at the heart of its plot, this book may be a read for you.

Thanks NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.

A historical horror novel with a female protagonist, what's not to like? Well actually a couple of things, but first the good stuff and there is quite a lot of good stuff here.
The book begins with some nice descriptive sections and paints a picture of our heroine efficiently. The time appears to be portrayed without anachronism and a strong, independent woman appears on the scene to suggest what is possible for Ivy.
The plot proceeds at a reasonable pace, slower at the start and rushing towards its climax and this help keep me reading. Some interesting plot devices keep things moving and this was a fun read overall.
However, potential seemed to be squandered. The events at the coach house near the start of the book were airbrushed over and never explored. The jeweller appeared to be set up for another encounter with Ivy which sadly never occurred. The plot twists were a little leaden and predictable; Star Wars has ruined that line of literary device forever. My final critique is that I didn't find the characters had different enough voices. Hannah should use vastly different vocabulary to Ivy and Lady Blackham's voice should be different again, but they weren't and that bothered me.
All these point suggest this is a bad book and it isn't - not at all. It's a book that felt like it wanted to take a deep breath and expand and grow just a bit more. To become a larger, more dangerous version of itself. This book was fine, good even...but I'd have loved to read the book that might have been.