The Parlour Game is a pretty solid debut for Jennifer Renshaw, I would not have guessed it was her first if I had not known in advance.

It is a story about a young woman named Ivy who is feeling trapped in her life situation. After her mother dies and a visit from a mysterious woman, she decides to takes things into her own hands . Things don't go as she hoped and the search for the mystery woman spurs a series events that she never imagined she would have ties to. As strange things happen and she slowly begins to make the connections, will she walk away from this alive or will she, too, become a victim ?

If you enjoy the writing style of Victoria Schwabb you're sure to enjoy The Parlour Game..

The descriptions and writing are gothic, eerie, and a bit poetic.

Ivy has a family member who she holds hostile feelings towards, from the little interaction we got with them together I don't believe Ivy's intense thoughts were warranted or deserved. This bothered me a little bit.

There was a few chapters in the middle of the book that lost my attention, thankfully it picks back up and reads fast the rest of the story.

I loved the historical nods to feminism and would recommend this as a perfect fall / Halloween month book. I really enjoyed reading this story .

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🪶
The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw

I had the opportunity to read an ARC of The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw through NetGalley.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting and the mystery had me intrigued. Is it her imagination? Are the voices and apparitions real? Is she crazy?

Ivy is a relatable main character- in that she doesn’t have a grand plan. Things go awry, and she hasn’t already accounted for it. She has to think on her feet, bide her time, and course correct after making mistakes.

There were parts that book felt long and the story lulled at times. That being said, I was very much invested in finding out just what in the world (or other world?) was going on. The transitions between POVs were clunky at first. Once I knew what to expect, it was fine, and the book didn’t end up switching POVs all that much.

The mysteries within the book kept me on the hook. There was no certainty on who was a friend. It seemed like everyone was keeping secrets, and dismissing questions, making it hard to trust anyone. By the time the reveal came around, I already had an inkling of what was going to happen. But. then things went off the rails. The relationships between characters was a surprise that I really appreciated.

The book wrapped up well enough that it could be a standalone, but there is more to the story, and I believe it is set up for a series (The Corvidae Hauntings.)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Reviews posted on
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4963267155
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.graves.escape
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/review/RGXI4YLKGXLFW/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I really loved this book! I just couldn’t put it down!
It is a superb historical fiction novel blended in with a perfect amount of gothic.
I am not sure how Ivy pulled through all of her troubles, discoveries and hardships, but she did and I felt very proud of her.
The spiritual element was perfection, and even towards the end we were still presented with revelations and truths.
You couldn’t help but just wish for her survival and escape, and I am extremely glad she found her long lost aunt and came to understand her gifts.

Absolutely would recommend for fans of historical fiction, gothic and supernatural literature.

The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw

Dark, grim, and gritty – a story difficult to read filled with wealthy, selfish, evil people, their servants, and a woman trying to find a woman who promised to help her but disappeared in the dark home the wealthy live in.

Ivy Granger is first seen burying her mother. She is quiet, seems oppressed by something unknown, is misunderstood by her family, and is bereft without her mother. She has dreams that do not fall in line with those of her father and rather than following his plans for her, she heads to London to find answers about herself and her mother. Unable to find Miss Earnshaw, the woman with answers, she ends up working as a maid at Blackham House – a cold, dismal, creepy place that hides secrets…rather horrible ones.

This book has all the elements of a gothic horror story. It is not a romance. It had me skimming through parts to get the gist of the story and wishing that there was someone there for Ivy as she faced numerous problems. At times I wondered how she had gone from compliant quiet daughter to a force to be reckoned with. I am curious what will happen to her and if this is a one and done novel of if Ivy might show up in a book yet to come.

I have a feeling that with so many mysteries surrounding Ivy, she will need a mentor to help her find her place as she moves forward and wish her well.

There were questions I had that remained unanswered about who various people were, how they might be important, if some had died or not, and what Ivy would do after the last page of the story. Well written and atmospheric but also a bit slow to draw me in, I wanted to feel closer to Ivy and wished I could care more about her as a person. Perhaps if more of her backstory is provided, if this is a series, those questions will be answered for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

👑"But I want to live, not disappear and become a forgotten name, like the servants before me."

❓ Ivy, who had just lost her mother, discovered that she might have a chance of living her life of her own choice through a mysterious woman, Miss Earnshaw. However, upon reaching London, she discovered the woman had gone missing. In a desperate attempt to find out about her mother's past, Ivy seemed to have discover something eerie about herself as well.

❤️ The twists in this book are certainly a delight to enjoy, I like how Ivy is both a strong and somewhat naive character, especially in dealing with things she is not used to. She is someone who is aware of her shortcomings, and tried her best to overcome them. All the while, we can see how her interests are (mostly) unchanging and fears explored.

The idea of the story itself is interesting enough, and each characters felt real and matched with their upbringing/outlook of their society. I liked how detailed the description of emotions and environment in the story, and how the author was able to match both to make both an intriguing and terrifying book.

💔 While I love the characters and the idea of the story, the plot felt all over the place to me. We had moments when nothing seemed to be happening, and suddenly everything happened all at once. And one main issue I had with Ivy was her random thoughts about Master Blackham, which seemed to come out of nowhere. A lot of the revelations seemed rushed and random, and some seemed to be added in the last minute just to throw Ivy (and readers) out of sorts. While the main reason of Ivy being at the house was solved in the end, Ivy herself didn't do much to reach that point.

⭐⭐⭐.25 STARS

When Ivy Granger's mother dies of a mysterious illness, she is left with her father, step-brother, & interfering cousin. The funeral is barely over before they are making plans to marry Ivy off to the local undertaker, a man who has already tried to assault her once. Fortunately at the church, Ivy had been approached by a woman she had never seen before who introduced herself as Miss Earnshaw, said that she knew Ivy's mother & asked her to come to London & seek her out if she wanted to know more about her past & continue her studies as an amateur botanist. Ivy runs away from home but when she reaches Miss Earnshaw's home, she is too late. Miss Earnshaw is a semi-famous medium & she went missing after conducting a séance at the home of the Blackham family.

Ivy pays them a visit but is mistakenly taken on as a housemaid in a mix-up, but she decides to use this to her advantage & investigate Miss Earnshaw's disappearance from within the household. The cook seems quite friendly, but Hannah, the other maid is standoffish & jealously guards her 'territory', whilst the gardener is very odd indeed & seems to do precious little gardening. There are a large number of birds in the garden, especially magpies, & they seem almost otherworldly. Meanwhile Alexander Blackham is the sole surviving heir to the estate after his brother died at sea, something his mother has never gotten over. Alex's first wife & child died mysteriously & he has just returned from overseas with a new bride, but it isn't long before she starts to sicken. There is something seriously wrong at the heart of the Blackham family, & Ivy starts to wonder if Miss Earnshaw is dead rather than missing.

This turned out to be a really good Gothic horror novel. Ivy is a main character with whom it's easy to empathise & become invested in what happens to her. The strange atmosphere & sense of foreboding at the Blackham home is evoked well & although I did guess some of the twists, I didn't guess them all. I'm not sure if there will be a sequel, but there really should be because of that ending & the fact that there are several loose ends that need finishing up. There was a slightly issue with pacing as it seemed to go on just a little too long, but it's a minor quibble. Overall I rated it a 4 star read.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, BooksGoSocial, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

The Parlour Game was an interesting, creepy read. You spend the novel wondering just how much of what is occurring is reality, or supernatural forces, or the results of the actions of other characters. This one kept me reading to find out what exactly was going on.

The protagonist, Ivy, loses her mother at the start of the novel and is left with an uncaring family. She works to follow her own course, seeking out a path that leads her into mystery. When an acquaintance goes missing, she works to find out why, and uncovers more than she was bargaining for.

A gripping, gothic ghost story, this is perfect for the spooky season!

Ivy is to be wed to a man she doesn't love and her future looks oppressive, but a visit from a mysterious lady, Miss Earnshaw, who tells her she's in trouble leads her to travel from Godalming to London in search of Miss Earnshaw when she suddenly disappears without a trace. Ivy tracks down her last movements to Blackham House and starts working there as a servant to undercover the mysterious activities of the Blackham family, discoverering many more missing people are connected with this house.

This is a really well written and gripping story, nobody is quite who they seem and with voices from beyond the grave this is the perfect autumn read on a rainy day.

In Jennifer Renshaw’s The Parlour Game, Ivy Granger—an aspiring botanist in 1873 London—runs away from the family bent on stifling her ambition.

After her beloved mother dies, Ivy is left alone. But when a mysterious woman, Miss Earnshaw, appears at the funeral, beckoning her to London, only to have mysteriously vanished before Ivy arrives, Ivy’s plans change dramatically. With her money running low, she takes a position as a maid in the last place Miss Earnshaw was seen alive: the haunted and haunting Blackham House.

Well-paced and exciting—or frustrating if you like characters with a little common sense—The Parlour Game is an admirable debut.

The novel itself is classically gothic in its formulation: a scary house, a virginal heroine, a ghostly presence. However, the story seems to rely heavily on these tropes and cliches. It would, additionally, benefit from a few more rounds of proofing and editorial intervention. Inconsistencies in the plot and readily obvious sentence level issues throttle readers out of the plot.

Crammed with historical detail and references, the novel would also benefit from a narrower focus. It becomes, at times, heavy with exposition that can drag, and which ultimately proves unnecessary to the plot. Nods to the presence of a serial killer slashing women in the streets suggest a Jack-the-Ripper character lurks in the shadows (though the timing doesn’t make sense), but remains undeveloped, as do other more critical elements. I assume to gear up for a sequel, the final chapters are crammed with so much new information it will set your head spinning, but it lacks the appropriate buildup.

I did need to know what happened in the end, which is a good sign! But The Parlour Game ultimately reads like the author isn’t quite sure where they’re headed yet.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is riveting from start to finish. You have to read on to find out what will happen next. The author makes you feel so many different things about the characters that you can never rest and think you know what will happen next. There are so many plot twists that have been very carefully executed that you are surprised right to the very end. I was so disappointed when it finished. I hope there’s more to come for these characters.

[Actual rating - 3.5/5]

(Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

This book would be perfect for reading around Autumn/Halloween as it is full of spooky gothic, mystery thriller vibes. It was well-paced and full of twists and turns that kept me hooked the entire time. There were lots of storylines that linked well but there were also a few loose ends that could have been tidied up a little neater. The writing style was unique and took me a little time to get used to but I really liked it.

Speaking of, I quite liked her as a character and how she wanted to be a botanist but I wish we saw more of this. In the beginning, all she can talk about is her love of plants and studying them but this was almost forgotten as the book progressed. There were a few side characters I liked and found intriguing, like Miss Earnshaw who I wish we had gotten to see more as her backstory and personality were so interesting. However, some of the other side characters lacked depth and didn't really provide anything to the plot. I do think the writer did a perfect job with the setting though. The descriptions and atmosphere were vivid and made me feel as though I was actually in 19th-century London.

Overall, the spooky atmosphere of this book was fantastic and it had an interesting plot but it felt as though it was trying to accomplish too much in one book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this arc.

When I first read the description I got super excited. But unfortunately, I felt let down by the book itself. It was long and dragged out in parts only for the climax to be rushed and confusing. The saving grace of this book was the way the language flowed. The prose was very pretty which helped me enjoy the story more than I would have otherwise.

Overall I enjoyed the characters and the plot of the book. The main character was likable, made justified choices and wasn't annoying, which is especially important when we have a first person narration. The language was well researched and didn't feel fake or flat, which is often the case is historical fiction novels.

I think the main issue for me was the pacing of the book. While the start was promising, the middle of the book delivered very little to push the plot forward, and then, the ending felt rushed. I also couldn't bring myself to care for any of the supporting characters, except maybe for the wife, to an extent it was hard to remember who is who.

I was hooked from the very first line. The author does and exceptional job of setting the scene for this historical gothic mystery. Her ability to vividly create this 19th century setting with its dark undertones to really drive this gothic and dark setting was done so well. I really could not put this book down. I loved the protagonist and her narration really allowed me to understand her and how she views this unfair world as a sheltered girl who want to follow her dreams and is brave enough to do it as well as her curiosity. There were so many questions that needed to be answered and it kept me guessing and kept me turning the pages to get them answered, mainly what was going on in that house. I definitely enjoyed it and cannot wait for more. There are too many questions left.

Started: 8/14/22
Finished: 8/18/22
Genre: historical fiction, thriller, suspense
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Recommend? Yes

Ivy Granger, a shy spinster whose mother just died is met with a stranger at her mother’s funeral. This stranger imparts a very important piece of information, driving Ivy to investigate her life and the unknown of her family in London without the support of her father.

Who is this mysterious stranger? What does she know of Ivy and her family?

All is truly not as it seems.

This really is a gothic thriller masterpiece! It was a little slow to get truckin, but once it was? Wow! Lots of unexpected twists and turns that really led to a “whodunit?” But with ghosts and demons!

A fairly quick and easy read that I very much enjoyed.

I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley and am providing my honest review as such.

Immediately the writing style was not to my taste. Too exaggerated and flowery. But perhaps a better fit for others looking for something a but more formal in tone.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial for the ARC.

The Parlour Game is an atmospheric, dark mystery about what goes on beyond the veil. Our protagonist, Ivy, is an aspiring botanist constrained by society and without hope of reaching her dreams. That is, until a mysterious woman appears and promises her a better life.... as well as issues some mysterious warnings.

The setting and atmosphere of this book are absolutely vivid and goregous. The house where the majority of the book takes place sucks you in and makes you question your own sanity as much as the occupants do their own.

The action was a bit slow to build, and I agree with other reviews that there is a lot going on. It tied together in the end pretty well for me, though, so all the many goings-on only added to the intrigue. I do wish we'd seen a bit more growth from Ivy, as she does read as young, meek, and not particularly engaging. However, if the author is setting herself up for a series that could be a point to be taken later.

Of note, the book still needs a read-through by the editor for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and continuity issues, which will hopefully be corrected by time of publication.

This was one of those stories that was intriguing and interesting because there was a LOT happening. But WOW did I love every minute!!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

What an excellent book, hopefully part of a series, I would love to read more. A real Victorian Gothic book in the ' Penny Dreadful' vein. It held me right to the end and was exciting and suspenseful all the way through. Loved it !

A fantastic gothic novel. The last third of the book was so gripping and tense that I couldn't sleep until I had finished it!

Readers meet aspiring botanist Ivy Granger, a young woman grieving for her beloved mother, as she embarks on a journey to London to meet with famous spiritualist Rosetta Earnshaw only to find she has gone missing. Taking a role as a housemaid in Blackham House, the location of the last known sighting of the medium, Ivy tries to uncover the mystery of her sudden disappearance. Events quickly take a sinister turn as Ivy begins to doubt her own sanity, surrounded by the strange Blackham family and their curiously loyal servants.

I loved this novel. It was so creepily atmospheric and the characters were fantastically written. Descriptions were so vivid and realistic that I could almost see the barren gardens, the dark hallways and the attic bedroom in which Ivy has to spend her nights. A perfect autumnal read for fans of well-written gothic novels!