Special thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the setting and premise of this book. The book is pretty well done and the historical aspects were interesting. I found that the premise did not live up to the execution, but overall enjoyed this book. I would recommend it.

I did enjoy this... the premise was more intriguing than the execution. The abrubt plot twist in the middle of the book seemed like a bold choice and I didn't like the characterization of... any of the characters i think.

Two estranged sisters reunite for one last con in this darkly comic Gothic historical set in 1866 Paris. A confident, carefully executed debut.

Genre - Historical Fiction, Gothic

I have long been drawn to a good Gothic tale. YA wasn’t nearly as well developed a genre when I was a YA - so I read adult works when very young. I cleared the Victoria Holt shelf at my little public library and enjoyed them thoroughly.  Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis evoked that feeling in me. I also love that the book is about sisters. Sylvie and Charlotte grew up in a rather unconventional home in 19th century Paris. In it, they learned to become very effective false mediums. Together with their mother, they defrauded a fair amount of people - pretending to contact the spirits “haunting” them for one reason or another. After their mother passes away, the sisters’ lives become very difficult as their father resorts to drunkenness and abuse. As a young woman, Sylvie marries Baron Alexandre Devereux - in part out of love, in part to save her sister from jail from a job that went bad. To do so, she must cut all ties with her family. Charlotte feels deserted, left alone with their father. Both are extremely frustrated and angry with each other. Years pass, and one day Charlotte shows up and asks for one more performance. 

The setting here is particularly divine. Lowkis recreates so well (at least based on my reading and movie watching experience) the culture of the era: particularly the restrictions faced by young women and the lgbtq+ community. Also, dances and duels abound. I have read a fair amount about the medium/fraud/spirit situation of the times and was pleased with how Lowkis illustrated it here. For a while I was wondering if a real spirit might appear, an excellent plot wrinkle. The struggle based on miscommunication and misunderstanding between the sisters is fascinating. I can relate so well to the older sister, and I imagine my sister could relate equally well to the younger. Their love for each other shows in spite of the very real frustrations. A well developed cast of characters: surround the sisters. Through them the illustration of the culture of Paris is strengthened. The layering is lovely in terms of how the themes are developed in a variety of ways among these characters. Several times I thought things were resolving, and then Lowkis creates a new twist - sustaining suspense throughout. Without spoilers, the uncertainty of the ending seems perfectly on point. The use of a child’s fairy tale to frame the action and provide for the title was a lovely literary touch.

I am struggling a bit about where to focus my third paragraph energy. I suppose at the end of the day as a person who is struggling a bit to create a new kind of life with a different direction than that to which I’m accustomed, Lowkis is clearly a reminder that change is always possible - not always easy - but possible. I love the example that both Sylvie and Charlotte set in their commitments to their goals, but who are ultimately willing to admit mistakes and keep trying in new directions as needed. A problem for me is, perhaps, the lack of a clear goal. I always knew that was a retirement issue for me. But I am finding delight in trying a variety of different kinds of things. Teaching never allowed for much time for other endeavors - even at home (ask my kids). And that thought takes me to the memories evoked for me of my young reading life in this title. I very much enjoyed the kind of timeless feel of this debut title. I am grateful to Carmela Lowkis’ Spitting Gold for reminding me how long I have loved to read gothic work! Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Spitting Gold by Camella Lowkis follows two sisters living in Paris, France in 1866. They were once a pair of spirit mediums that would frequent parities of high sociiety. Baroness Sylvie Devereux recieves a call from her younger sister Charlotte Mothe, who is caring for their sick father. Charlotte needs Sylvie's help with de Jacquinots, who are aristocrats that they believe are being haunted by their great aunt, brutally murdered during the French Revolution. Sylvie is now doubting that there may be such things as ghosts. The fist half of the book is told from Sylvie's point of view, while the second halft is told from Charlotte's point of view. The ending was spectatuar. This is a debut from Carmellia Lowkis and is beautffully written. While I felt for Slyie when her husband throws her out of the house and she has to live with her sister and father again in squalor. I really felt for both Francis and Charlotte and how they were treated by their families. I want to thank both NetGalley and Atria Books for giving an aadvance copy of this book to read.

I wanted to love this one more than I actually did. I give it a low 3 star rating.

To its credit, I had to find out what happened and the writing wasn’t bad. But I felt as if, once I’d finished, that the story could have been told in half the time it took.

this story has themes of how women are treated poorly, familial bonds, how different people remember the same event, etc. but for me it fell flat.

I didn’t connect with Charlotte or Florence. I did connect a bit with Sylvia but felt she was unfairly portrayed throughout most of the book.

I may try more from this author but definitely wasn’t wowed by Spitting Gold.

FAVE QUOTE: “just because a story is not politically convenient does not make it fiction.”

One sister, cast out from privilege, is caught back up with her old life as a spiritualist act with her sister. They are asked to visit the large creaky manor of the local gentry, but it may be that this ghost is real? I *loved* this book. The historical fiction with supernatural elements genre can be a little hit or miss for me. This one hit all the way. The character development for our main characters flows naturally and keeps something new and unique in a story that, on it's surface, you might think is familiar. There is, perhaps, too much work done with the folktale that backs the title (a favorite of mine, actually), but that can't take away from the vivid writing and the super fun ending.
(thanks NetGalley for the ARC!)

Paris in the 1860s, spiritism, tangled family relations, and secret queer lovers? Say no more, I already like it! And in fact I found this story deliciously compelling from start to finish. It tells the story of a pair of sisters who run the occasional business of acting as spirit mediums to rich folk willing to pay to contact their dead ancestors. Sure, all the ghosts are fake because the sisters are staging every single rattling table and color-changing candle flame, but if it consoles the family, and the sisters make some money, who could it hurt?

Naturally this story is about the time when someone does get hurt. But even that might turn out to be part of the plan, because this book has a couple of wickedly good twists in it. It’s one of those rare novels where I sympathized with all the protagonists even though none of them were being completely honest nor acting fully honorable—most were backed into a corner and had good reason for acting the way they did. They were lovable tricksters. I couldn’t predict how it would turn out, either, so it kept me riveted through the last page.

Atmospheric, clever, heartfelt, and overall a satisfying yarn—this is a unique and fun historical tale, and I look forward to more of Lowkis’s books!

This will be a book that will really resonate with you or one you will not enjoy. I did find myself engaged with it at the end but the beginning took a while to get into. That could be because I am not one to read much historical fiction. For a
debut novel, Carmella Lowkis has incredible prose and someone who definitely has talent. I am excited to see what other works she puts out in the future

first of all, i would like to thank netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book to read. i am super thankful and am eager to share my review with all of you. alright,

i started reading spitting gold by carmella lowkis mostly blind and finished the book within a day. all that i was aware of going into the story was that it would follow two sisters and their fraudulent spirit medium act. this alone was incredibly enticing to me and the book ended up exceeding my expectations. there was never a moment where i could truly predict what was going to happen plot-wise and it was so refreshing. additionally, i always enjoy finding books with sapphic representation and was ecstatic to read about a queer main character (charlotte mothe). i also truly appreciated how carmella lowkis didn’t shy away from writing a wlw romance with some grit to it. honestly, all of the relationships between characters were incredibly well executed. the two sisters/main characters felt like real family when they interacted- they quarreled, cried into each others arms, etc. although i didn’t anticipate it, spinning gold was also able to touch upon very serious topics that provoked lots of emotion from me. i would highly encourage readers to look up any potential trigger warnings before jumping into the book. if the trigger warnings don’t disturb you then i highly encourage you to give spinning gold a try. i mean there’s even a bit of female rage within the novel- how can you resist?

positives aside, there are a few aspects of the book that might not be for everyone. for starters, this book is written in first persons point of view. while this might appear rather nit picky, i know it’s information that some readers prefer to know beforehand. that being said, as a person who usually gravitates towards books written in third pov, i had no issues with it (the writing is still very descriptive but not overly so). however, it took a bit of time to adjust to the second act of the book where the narration switches from sylvie to charlotte without it plainly being stated. initially i was very skeptical about the shift in narration, but looking back it was a clever way to provide insight into both characters ( you get compare their desires as well as what they think about each other). honestly, carmella lowkis needs to commended for not repeating dialogue when revisiting scenes in the second act of the book.

overall, i think this was a very interesting book to read and if you’re in the mood for a dramatic mystery with tense familial relationships you should give this spitting gold a chance.

Blurb:
Paris, 1866. When Baroness Sylvie Devereux receives a house call from Charlotte Mothe, the sister she disowned, she fears her shady past as a spirit medium has caught up with her. But with their father ill and Charlotte unable to pay his bills, Sylvie is persuaded into one last con. Their marks are the de Jacquinots, a dysfunctional aristocrats who believe they are haunted by their great aunt, brutally murdered during the French Revolution. The scheme underway, the sisters deploy every trick to terrify the family out of their gold. But when inexplicable horrors start to happen to them too, the duo question whether they really are at the mercy of a vengeful spirit. And what other deep, dark secrets may come to light?

My thoughts:
At no point was this book going in the direction I thought it was. This made for quite an exciting read. The way that Lowkins strings the story together, giving you only the most pressing information up front, leads to a story that takes its time spanning out. I enjoyed learning about the sisters’ dynamic through the tidbits left in the story, having it all culminate in a final reveal. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the differing timelines and POVs. These were handled in a way so that the story didn’t spoil itself and instead followed a cyclical tunnel of realizations for the reader. So many parts of the story I feel like I can’t speak about without accidentally spoiling some part or another, but take my word it is worth the read.

The one critical note I have is about the formatting of the eBook. The indents of the paragraphs are very small so often it looks like a block of text when in fact there are several paragraphs on a page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free review copy.

I loved this book! It had a bit of a slow start but once they had their first seance, things really picked up and I loved the second half when we finally got Charlotte’s POV. Spooky vibes, a vengeful ghost, lesbians, con artists…honestly what more could I ask for. My only complaint was that I would’ve liked to stay with Charlotte in the epilogue, since I simply did not care all that much about her straight sister. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Sarah Waters book I think you’ll enjoy this — it was like Affinity, Fingersmith, and The Little Stranger had a beautiful Parisian baby.

Spitting Gold is a debut novel set in 18th century Paris. Two sisters, Sylvie and Charlotte, are reunited to perform their final con as mediums. The family business was taught to them through their mother’s natural insights and their father’s cunning. Charlotte agrees to help a wealthy, aristocratic family, the de Jacquinots, with a haunting by what is presumed to be their great aunt. To ensure the success of the con, Charlotte enlists the help of her estranged sister Sylvie. Sylvie, now part of the wealthy society, is reluctant to come clean about her shady past and has promised her husband to disengage from the family business.

Told from each sister’s perspective, the story unravels to reveal the tricks of their trade, each character’s different points of view and the unexplainable acts that are out of their control. A fast paced well written debut that mixes mystery, sapphic romance and family bonds in a gothic atmosphere.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in return for my honest review.

It was alright. A bit slow in the beginning but u enjoyed the relationship between the sisters and also its queer which we LOVE!

Sylvie has moved up in the world, and wishes to leave her past hidden long behind her. But when her sister Charlotte shows up on her doorstep, Sylvie fears that the past may come back to haunt her. With their father ill and Charlotte, needing money to support him, Sylvie agrees to return to her past for one final act. But will the past, or the present, be what haunts her the most?

This is a fabulous debut novel from the author. I look forward to reading more from her in the future, as this was absolutely mesmerizing to read.

I thoroughly enjoyed Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis. This gothic mystery unspools from the point of view of two different sisters in 19th century Paris. It includes a bit of upperclass Paris, a bit of the underbelly, and lots of spiritualism. What's not to like? Lowkis is an excellent writer who deftly moves the plot forward while also describing (with beautiful turns of phrase) the small details of life. I look forward to reading more from her.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Set in 19th century Paris, we follow two sisters who are known for their abilities of being a medium. Though they are frauds, this gothic story will keep your toes curled during a seance and your heart will ache for the turbulance. If you love everything dark and gothic pick this read up!

I loved everything about this. Victorian spiritualism, scheming and cons, mystery, dual POV's of estranged sisters with vastly different views, a dash of haunting and sapphic romance; a deliciously wicked concoction that I couldn't get enough of!

This time period setting is absolutely one of my favorites to read and this didn't disappoint one bit. It definitely quelled my deep yearning for a Sarah Waters/Laura Purcell-esque type of story...a bit anyways

A beautifully written gothic mystery about two estranged sisters in a historical Paris setting. The story starts with Sylvie, a baroness who receives a surprise visit from her sister Charlotte and gets pulled into a scheme involving their old profession as faux spirit mediums.

This was a really captivating and page turning mystery which had me questioning whether the hauntings were real or not. There were so many secrets to uncover and a very unexpected ending. The POV does switch halfway through from Sylvie to Charlotte, who isn’t quite as likable, but it is nice to get both sides of the story. Her POV includes a sapphic romance as well. I would recommend this book if you like historical mysteries with a supernatural aspect.

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC!

Sylvie Devereaux has been estranged from her younger sister Charlotte Mothe for years, but that’s about to change as these faux spirit mediums embark on one last endeavor to bring peace to the de Jacquinots family.

I found that I was much more fond of Sylvie than Charlotte. Within the story the girls reference a tale from their childhood about two sisters - one good, one bad. In the end the good sister spits gold out whenever she speaks and the bad sister spits out frogs. We are given a dual POV which allows us to understand the motivations of each sister and see the different perspectives behind the scenes. Sometimes the dramatic irony was painful to endure and I had some strong feelings throughout.

I would love to read more from this author - Carmella Lowkis’ style of writing is captivating and this book was hard for me to put down. I was definitely in suspense and wanted to know what was really going on — it’s challenging to know what to trust or believe.

I will say that as a new mother, the last part of the book can definitely be triggering so be mindful of that if you are a mother who is going to read this. I definitely shed a few tears and my heart felt so heavy. Otherwise I definitely recommend this book to those who like supernatural stories and puzzling mysteries.