Victorian London, 1873, Séances. This is a book of murder, spirits, mystery.

This is a gothic read that brings a new slant on an historical fiction. It is interesting, eerie and thrilling. Starting slowly with numerous but good characters this book builds as you read it further. The characters are quirky, the setting brings the right ambience and atmosphere to the story and the other-worldliness is wonderful.

I enjoyed this read as I love historical fiction and this gave another twist to this genre which I thought was very interesting. It is so entertaining, filled with mystical suspense and kept me reading with its twists and intrigue.

I really enjoyed this one and would highly recommend.

OMG - this book was not what I expected. I thought it sounded good but I was blown away by the twists and the turns.

The London Seance Society follows the story of Lenna. Having mourned the death of her best friend and then her sister, Lenna seeks out the famous medium, Vaudeline to learn how to make contact with the dead and learn what happened to her sister. The catch is in the middle of her training, Vaudeline is called back to London after fleeing months prior to conduct a seance to learn what happened to one of her prior colleagues and friends. Lenna accompanies Vaudeline and what is discovered is a series or illusions, ruses, scams and deceptions that run deep within the London upper society, all of which could cost both Vaudeline and Lenna their lives.

I found the story kept a steady pace which meant from the moment I started I was intrigued and this continued throughout the read. I could not put it down. This was an all round good read, the plot was strong but this was not at the cost of the character development. Likewise the character development was just enough that that a relationship could be formed with the characters but not at the cost of the plot. 5 stars for me!

Trigger warnings for prostitution, murder, alcohol use and most obviously supernatural themes.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved how the story is told from the viewpoints of Lenna and Mr Morley. It really helped to move the story along while also creating tension and suspense. But I didn't love how slow it was to start. It was a real struggle to get into it, but once the pace started to pick up about a third of the way in it was hard to put down.

Overall, this was a well written and atmospheric historical fiction that has it all - mystery, suspense and romance! This was my first book by Sarah Penner and I'm now excited to read more from her!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

I’ve accidentally submitted the wrong review! I’ll be back to post the correct one soon! I’m so sorry!

The year is 1873. Victorians are fascinated by anything supernatural.

Lenna Wickes travels to France to train under the great Vaudeline D’Allaire, a medium who escaped from London after receiving threats to her life. Lenna wants to communicate with her dead sister and find out what happened to her. But soon, Vaudeline is called back to London to investigate the murder of a dear friend.

Will they find out who killed him, and also get the answers Lenna is looking for?

This book was easy to read and an easy flow. Although there are flashbacks, it primarily takes place over just a few days. There were a couple of twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting, and the main characters were likeable.

Although this wasn’t as good as The Lost Apothecary (in my opinion) I did enjoy the book.

There was some fascinating information at the end of the book about Victorian mourning customs, and some recipes, too!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫