In this gothic retelling. A mansion on an island lures two sister in, but they don’t know each other. The chaos and secrets start exploding into their lives, the truth and death. I was I. Edge the whole time reading this!

Suspenseful, Enjoyable, great pacing, exciting settings kept me hooked. Great novel that will be the perfect to lose yourself in. Thank you Net Galley and Tor for ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

As someone who vacations in Block Island, this one hit a bit close to home! Loved this. Thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing an eARC copy of The Daughters of Block Island by Christa Carmen.

WOW. It has been quite some time since I've read a good Gothic Horror story and The Daughters of Block Island does not disappoint. Christa Carmen does a wonderful job blending the tropes of typical Gothic Horror with family dynamic and struggles of the modern world. Not to mention, generational family struggles that seem to be overlooked in some ways here or there. The twists and turns keep you pulled into the story as when you think you have it all figured out, you don't realized that what you thought was completely wrong. I also enjoyed that the two timelines were broken up as well it made everything more interesting.

This book had ghosts, mystery, and friendship. I liked getting to hear both Blake and Thalia’s perspectives in the book. I felt like the book took me a little bit to get into it before I really got into it. After I got to that spot, I wanted to read until I was finished.

This isn’t quite what I was expecting. I thought it moved a little slow and I wasn’t always interested in the main character or invested in the story. It did pick up but it wasn’t super memorable to me.

Wow! This gothic novel is not for the faint hearted! Deeply athmospheric I highly recommend this book for an autumn thriller read! Loved the storyline and the plot twists! Wished it was a little shorter, but a great read still!

I was really excited about this one as a huge gothic horror lover, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I feel like it had the setting of a gothic horror without all the heart. I did enjoy the dual point of view, and I enjoyed watching the sisters both try and solve the crime.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book. Good read about two sisters unknown to each other who each go to Block Island to uncover their family’s mysteries. First half of the story is told from Blake’s pov and the second from her sister’s Thalia. Intended as a modern Gothic mystery it leans heavily into the style complete with a crumbling mansion, ghosts and unrelenting rain. Perhaps too much. Intriguing story and good writing but by constantly referring to Blake’s love of all things Gothic in a way worked against the overall Gothic-ness, too much in your face and pulling away from the moodiness. Could have been more subtle but was generally a fun page turner.

First, many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for making this available.

The Daughters of Block Island has the trappings of what could be a modern gothic tale, but falls a bit short for me. Our first narrator is Blake, a recovering addict who has come to Block Island with hopes of finally having answers from the mother who gave her up. She finds herself caught up in the gothic tales she has found solace in the moment she arrives, but then finds herself repeating the "rules" of the gothic tales.
Narrator changes to Thalia who learns of the half sister she never knew and her death simultaneously. Now she's looking to find out what truly happened and how a secret this big had been hidden for all these years.

Let me say, I think this is such an intriguing idea and immediately pulled me in. That being said, it feel short. This was a very slow read and I'm torn if it was the writing or just the overall pace. There were many times reading this that the third voice narration actually pulled me out of the story more than pulling me in. There are references and hints to the classic gothic tales and tropes, but it never really merged together. On one hand, it was meant to be more of Blake's POV than Thalia's, but it always felt like an aside reference that never merged together.
On another hand, it also felt like the small "townie" mentality was being pushed so hard, yet also kept at a distance. It also felt so tied up with the characters that it seemed like the end was so rushed.

An interesting idea and plot, but fell just off the mark for me.

Gothic novels are my favorite genre. Spooky, emotional, unreliable narrators and ghosts I can’t get enough of, this did not live up to that. There was a lot of great moments with the twist in sisters, never knowing who you can and can’t trust, but it felt rushed. I would say it’s worth a read but it’s not my fave.

*Netgalley Copy*

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
superb modern gothic that kept me spellbound til the last page.

Abandonment, secretive islanders, ghosts, secret passages and more populate this suspenseful romp in the gothic tradition.

I’ll definitely read more from this author!

“I wanted to leave my mother behind, but I’ve been carrying her with me every day, every step…”

Two sisters unknown to each other face different fates in this Gothic style novel. Both return to Block Island, the home of their mother, to find out why they were separated at birth. One sister is mysteriously murdered, the other returns to find out what happened to the sister that she never knew. With bits of Jane Eyre thrown in, this book had me on the edge of my seat. I loved it!!

This is a fun, gothic thrill ride!

I loved the how to survive a gothic novel bit and the references to Jane Eyre and of course the haunted house that actually scared me while reading at night.

Brief Snyopsis:
Thalia Mills receives a letter from her sister, Blake ( a sister she doesn't know she has).

Blake traveled to Block Island to confront her mother and understand why her mother gave her up. Blake is murdered right after she mails the letter to Thalia.
Now Thalia returns to Block Island to solve the mystery.

Told from each sister's POV, the novel is very atmospheric with a dark past and family secrets! I am all in.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book!

I have scheduled promotional posts around release day for this book and I will provide a full review on my Instagram once I am able to get to this read.

Rating 5 stars on Netgalley as a placeholder for me to update later once the review is complete.

Will also complete a review on Goodreads once read.

Thanks again!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Blake Bronson, recovering addic and growinf up as a foster care kid, travels to Block Island in search of her birth mother. But once she embarks on her stay at White Hall, she begins to believe she is living in a gothic novel.

Thalia Miller, Blake’s sister she never met, returns to Block Island after tragedy strikes with a plan to solve what happened to Blake and the myster surrounding White Hall.

An interesting, mystery read that read very much like a gothic novel. Some nice twists I didn’t see coming.

This book was so boring and so slow. There was nothing dark and twisty about this book and I could not get into it. This was packaged beautifully but nothing was in it.

I had REALLY high hopes for this but was left disappointed. This book was so BORING! The premise seemed exciting, but the execution wasn't there. There was a lack of tension and a lack of reasons to care about the characters so I kept wondering why I was reading what I was reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC!
The Daughters of Block Island is a horror novel following two sisters who were strangers from birth. This book was so good! Lots of things in this are very relevant to your classic horror novel but with some twists! The setting of the book being on Block Island, RI in the middle of winter gives it the perfect eerie feel and the characters seem so typical of islanders in the middle of winter. While this book seemed predictable in the beginning, I was extremely surprised with the ending. The last 35% of this book, I flew through. Christa Carmen does a great job connecting every single dot in the story and leaves everything well answered (and there was quite a lot going on in this book)! Written very well and I loved the added tidbits from all the horror classics that were mentioned in this book. A little clunky in some places and a bit repetitive but other than that, this book was great!

Two sisters, strangers since birth yet bound by family secrets, are caught up in a century-old mystery on an isolated island.

The Daughters of Block Island is a well-written gothic style novel with a unique and intriguing concept. Switching between POV, I found Thalia's to be more enjoyable to read, with her being quicker witted and exciting. However, I did also find the pacing to be slow at times, and the book lacked some of the tension I was expecting based on the synopsis. I felt let down by the ending, purely because some characters involved did not get enough build or story to be included.

Overall, this is a solid read that's perfect for anyone who loves supernatural tales centered around family, murder and secrets.