The story follows Hecate Cavendish as she explores a world filled with magic and spirits, which she discovers she can see while working at the Cathedral and library in her small English town. Love, murder and magic make for an exciting tale set in Victorian England.

I enjoyed the characters, plot and setting of this book and how they all worked together seamlessly. The author did an excellent job of merging very disparate worlds with Christian England, Ancient Greek mythology, and barbaric tribal traditions all making sense in the same story. The pacing of the story was also quick, and each event felt natural coming after the one before it. The characters were also well developed, each unique in their own personalities, and I enjoyed seeing the world from the point of view of Hecate.

Where I struggled with this book was how the writing style made it challenging to feel the urgency, danger and sensationalism of the events of the story. We encounter everything from murders to malevolent spirits, and yet the writing is so detailed and mundane that it felt challenging at times to continue in the story even when exciting events were happening. It’s on parr with the writing style from other Victorian English works, such as Austen or Brontë, but with the contents of this novel, I found it challenging to read at the fast pace in which the plot is laid out.

Overall, I did enjoy the story and I’m looking forward to seeing where the next instalment leads.

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish. I enjoyed the story and found the context and real history most interesting. The writing was very descriptive, somewhat to a fault. The action scenes were great and really kept you on the edge of your seat, and I found myself caring for most of the main characters. Clemmie, take her or leave her.

Two of the biggest issues I had were the extremely long paragraphs and the transitions between the different sections invoking the feeling of accidentally skipping ahead or missing a vital scene.

I am not going to lie, the ending left me a bit confused. I found myself turning back to see if I missed something from the library fight scene. Then I came to understand that the evil spirits were not yet defeated and this was only book one of the series. Still, it ended too quickly after building up for almost the entire book.

I just want to say my heart went out to John. It made me upset that the lost souls who helped Charlie couldn’t break John’s fall. That part bothered me a bit.

I would read the next book in the series based on the topic alone. I love history and archaeology and the mappa mundi is an intriguing subject. In the next book, I am looking forward to learning more about Hecate and hopefully the author will make more sense of how she came to possess the powers she does.

I liked this book, the main character was exactly what you alwant out of a female heroine. Strong willed, sure of herself and her choices. The story was a bit slow at the beginning and then got there and picked up nicely. Didn’t love the ending but that’s a story issue more than the authors writing because I thought the author was a great writer!

Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity!

I quite enjoyed this beginning to the new series by this author. I’m excited to read more from it.

3.75ish. Historical fiction/romance/mystery/fantasy(?) A few general plot spoilers ahead.
The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish tells the tale of Hecate, a young woman living in the late 1800s. She gets a job as an assistant in the cathedral library. There she discovers her ability to see or communicate with spirits and other mystical things such as the Mappa Mundi, an historically significant map which comes "alive" in her presence. When there is a disturbance discovered in the crypts of the cathedral and subsequent murders around town, Hecate takes on the role of unofficial detective, determined to solve the mystery.

The writing of this story is so wonderfully descriptive. It was a joy to read about the library and all of its old splendor. I could vividly picture what was happening and put myself in the story alongside Hecate. I literally sat down with tea and biscuits because I was so immersed. (I'm a coffee person!) That is no small task, and the sign of superior writing in my opinion. Hecate is a delightful FMC who feels accurate to the time period while remaining headstrong, stubborn, and determined.

"I am as I have ever been. The girl you both know. The only difference is, now I know myself better".

The negatives I feel come down to editing mostly. It IS an ARC copy, so grain of salt going forward. The paragraphs are loooong and difficult to get through at times. Pages without paragraph breaks are daunting. The chapters are also very long which is likely more of a personal preference. These two combined make the reading a bit of a slog. The ending is... unexpected and wildly frustrating. There's a huge climax that has you on the edge and there's absolutely no resolution afterwards. I understand the use of cliffhangers and generally don't mind them. This one is a on a different level and I hate it.

Overall, I think this book is worth the read. Especially if the time period is of interest to you and you like a little bit of odd-ness added in. The writing is stellar and the story is compelling.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC copy in exchange for this review.

I (quite literally) spent the entire day entranced reading this book, and I regret nothing! Paula Brackston, I Am Obsessed with Hecate!

Obsessed - That is how I feel about this fast-paced story.

This historical bibliophile dream of a tale was full of goddesses and demons and the fight for the light of goodness versus the darkness of evil, which just happened to be taking place in the library of a religious cathedral. Our assistant librarian protagonist was familiar to me for her tenacity and self-assuredness. I recognized myself in her character and immediately was immersed in her story. I laughed, cried, and felt swept away with the charm as her journey progressed. I researched locations, legends, and histories. At the climax, I could not stop reading - I needed to know the ending, even as I did not wish for the story to end. The good news…I sense a sequel!

I will need to own and reread this story. I am beyond grateful to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin’s Press, for allowing me the opportunity to read this A.R.C. Five stars from me, as I have already preordered the tangible copy for my collection. I cannot wait to read more stories from Ms. Brackston.

I enjoyed this ghost story. Some suspense. I didn't want to put it down. I would definitely recommend it.

This was a DNF for me. I read the first couple of chapters and it just failed to catch hold, unfortunately.

I tend to agree with some of the other reviews that say this book is a bit slow paced. However, that doesn't take away from story Paula Brackston has created. Magic, a bit of horror, a bit cozy, it's all in this book. If you're one who likes stories that are magical/ fantastical, this book might be right up your alley. Worth the read.

The description of this book sounded so interesting and I was so excited for it.. Unfortunately, the story was very slow. So it just didn't grab my attention.

This book genre blends by hopping one into another. At times cozy, and then easing into horror territory. I think there are readers who will love the vibe and style, but I suspect it's more of an acquired taste situation. A bit too much telling versus showing, not the deepest character development, but still can be an enjoyable read for someone looking for a light magic story.

I continue to be amazed by Paula Brackston’s imagination. She has written so many excellent books, including this one. She has the ability to create characters that are unique and places them in settings then builds a story that pulls the reader into their world. Even with all of her books and characters there is no formula to her writing, each new series offers adventures and creativity with the only similarities being the inclusion of a strong female protagonist. Hecate Cavendish definitely fits this model as she faces unbelievable revelations and danger but stands up to face everything thrown at her. As I was reading I could clearly see how this would make an excellent movie, especially the epic battle between good and evil. Other reviewers commented that this book ending abruptly but I respectfully disagree. Having read all of the Little Shop of Lost Things series it has a similar ending, not a real cliffhanger but definitely leaving the door open for the next phase of the story. I am grateful to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for offering me an ARC of this excellent book - however, this did not impact my opinion.

I find it hard to believe this is a book being published in 2024 - it reads like it was written in 1930. I believe this is partially intentional and partially unintentional. I haven’t read anything else by this author, so I don’t know if the writing style is typical for her, but to me it read as a bit stilted. I think it was going for atmospheric, but as a result, the story was very slow to get started and in general I found it difficult to connect with the characters. I did enjoy Hecate’s love of her bicycle, her clothing choices which were described in great detail, and her general rejection of certain social norms. Her relationship with her father was also great, but really are we not past the dad is the only one who gets me and mom just wants me married trope?
Even worse in the dated tropes category is the use of persons of color as shorthand for “mystical,” both in the “evil cannibals” who kick off the plot and the “mysterious helpers” who guide the main character on her quest. This is so deeply unnecessary and totally took me out of enjoying the book.
Finally, the book’s conclusion is definitely unsatisfying, clearly meant to set up future installments in the series, but I doubt I’ll be reading.

I don't read a lot of books about magic and fantasy. At least not since reading the Harry Potter books when they came out. So Harry Potter is my measure of what is a good fantasy story and what is not. This book definitely measured up. Although a lot of the action was by mythical characters on a map, it was written in a way that was totally believable and carried the plot along nicely. I would definitely recommend this book and this author.

Paula Brackston has a very distinct way of writing, even though this is a new story, you could tell it was written by Brackston. While the story didn't interest me like the author's other books, I still enjoyed the diverse cast of characters.

Hecate has power. She has the power to communicate with ghosts and spirits. Set in the 1800's in a mysterious eerie location, Hecate develops powerful and intriguing relationships. Fast paced and well plotted..

This book is a full of mystery, ghosties and murder! Ill be honest it started out quite slow for me the first 45% of the book it was hard to keep reading but after that it started to flow better.. The characters are well written and the story does progress well and there is great character development. I will say I did not realize that this was the first book of a series and the ending left me quite unsettled and wanting a better wrap up or even a better cliff hanger.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

The pacing of the book seemed to be a combination of slow and fast. It was different but I could keep up with the story. This book may not be for all but I thought it was unique. 

I loved all the characters due to their quirks and how they make up the story. The shop owner was an interesting person. I will say since Hecate is the main character, I enjoyed her journey in seeing ghosts and learning all the things she did. She journey with books and the library was so fun to read. She was a lady of independence, thinking on her own, and having courage to deal with what came her way!

Psst...the griffin and the ghosts! I adored this aspect of the book a great deal.

The vibe of the book seemed to have religion considering the books are in church...it was almost like church and magic was to be combined in this story. It did give off some suspense vibes to me in small amounts. I will say I was hoping for a little bit more but hopefully the next book will have it along with questions answered! 

Psst..the cover is amazing!

If you like any of Paula Brackston's works, you will want to add this one to read next.

Full of mystery, and darkness and fantasy, there are ghosts, a mystical map, ancient texts with strange powers, and dark forces at work! Place all of this in the setting of a library full of medieval texts inside of a gothic cathedral, and you have absolute magic!

I loved this story, and the main character was so intriguing!

The downfalls of the story: Hecate's father was far too easily accepting of the bizarre things that were happening to his daughter. Yes, yes, I know...there was a prophecy, and he was expecting mystical adventures. But I still felt like his character lacked depth. I actually felt that many characters in the book were just a little too easily convinced of the mystical character of the unexplainable. It didn't feel like the skepticism that is common to our human nature was found in any of the characters.

I would have also loved a LOT more backstory on the shop owner who cuts keys for Hecate...you'll have to read it to see what I mean. There was a lot of meat there that I felt was just glossed over!

In all, and enjoyable read that I will be happy to recommend to my teenage daughter after the July release.

Content synopsis: no language, no spice! Perfect to hand off to a teen who loves fantasy!

I recieved an arc of this book from #netgalley , all opinions are my own!

As always, Paula Brackston delivers a mesmerizing story. Hecate is a strong, fascinating protagonist. The reader follows her as she searches for answers regarding strange happenings with a crypt. While she is constantly thwarted, she doesn’t give up and breaks societal norms as a woman not afraid to face down authority in her quest for the truth. This book is the start of a series and I will warn potential readers that you do not get answers at the end of the book, but I can guarantee you will have enjoyed the ride and eagerly look forward to the next installment. Thank you for the opportunity to read in advance!