An outstandingly graphic and gruesome tale! I was 100% there for it!

Feito's writing is so smart and elegant, even while getting disturbingly graphic with the thoughts and actions of the protagonist. I was enthralled with this story, hardly being able to put it down. I found myself eagerly awaiting what was to come in the next chapter, and to see just how this story came to a close.

I often experience disappointment with victorian era tales because they always seem to feel more modern, but that was not the case with this one. Feito does extremely well at providing language and settings that seem true to the victorian era. It served the story well, and added a sense of submersion for me, the reader.

For fans of horror with gore, I would highly recommend!

OMG! Very dark and campy, eat the rich, kill everyone, blood and guts and more blood, and the ending! I loved it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for providing me with an eARC of Victorian Psycho in exchange for my honest review!

I'd already received an eARC of this on NetGalley when I heard about how it's getting a movie adaptation starring Margaret Qualley, which is when I decided to bump this book up my TBR pile. I'm so damn glad to have made that choice, since it's turned out to be an unnerving and grimly humorous tale that's strengthened by the sociopathic complexity of its antiheroic protagonist. Virginia Feito guides me down the psychological twists and turns of Winifred's interior world, making me feel like I'm really getting to know her character—maybe getting know a bit too much of her murderous soul. That being said, she does become a fairly endearing individual for us to connect with, particularly while we learn about her past, and it's interesting to compare her with the people around her—people who leave you walking away from them with the bitter aftertaste of disdain clinging to your throat.

Overall, I'm officially rating Victorian Psycho 4.25 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding down to 4 stars. Now I'm keen to read another book by Feito, Mrs. March.

I absolutely just devoured this book, read it in one sitting, and the first thing I said when I read the final sentence was “Well that was fucking crazy” which pretty much sums up the experience of reading this.

It’s gothic and unsettling and you’re really taken on this journey of discovering just how mad the head of the person you, as the reader, are residing in is. The writing is extremely visceral and the acts violent, making the title apt. One thing in particular that I found and really enjoyed was that some of the descriptions of the food and eating were more disgusting than the violence.

Oh yeah! This book is set during Christmas!? I didn’t know that going in but it makes now the perfect time to read it! I did really enjoy this and I think if you like horror books with batshit crazy MCs who have murderous intentions all wrapped up in a Victorian gothic atmosphere then this is the book for you!

What a wonderfully grotesque story!
Winnifred is a very well written and confusing narrator. Confusing in the way that you want to hate her, but she’s hilarious and witty. The way she speaks is so eloquent and almost endearing? I almost forgot she was an actual psychopath.
I look forward to reading more from author! Thank you so much for this ARC.

This book was really intense from start to finish and there were some plot twists I didn’t really see coming. I can’t recall any of the main characters being very likeable and that really worked for the book. The writing was very vivid and engaging. I consistently wanted to find out what was going to happen next and there wasn’t a chapter where I was bored or wanting to skip through. With that being said, there are a lot of trigger warnings I’d like to point out because there are a lot of very gory and possibly upsetting scenes for anyone sensitive to animal death, child death, violent/graphic and sexually explicit scenes. Overall, this is a fantastic book for anyone who likes the horror genre. Or if you have a bad relationship with your parents.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Feb. 4, 2025
Winifred Notty is hired on as the governess for Drusilla and Andrew Pound, the spoiled and pretentious charges of Ensor House. Determined to raise them to be proper members of Victorian Society, Winifred struggles daily to hide the secrets of her past, and who she really is. But her captivity at the secluded Ensor House brings out the Darkness, the Darkness that Winifred has long since kept hidden. But Winifred is not just a reluctant governess to unruly children; she had a plan to insert herself into the Pound household and, now that it’s successful, she can finally put more of her dangerous plans in action.
“Mrs. March” author, Virginia Feito, has written a novel that is delightfully creepy, gory and downright disturbing- and I loved it.
Winifred narrates the novel through posthumous journal entries, slowly unraveling the story of how she came to Ensor House and what plans she enacted there. Through these entries, we also learn a little bit about Winifred herself and her particularly dysfunctional childhood, which no doubt contributed to the decisions Winifred made upon her arrival.
The story is creatively written, told from the perspective of a very unexpected, very eccentric woman during the Victorian era. With a brazen and terrifying main character such as Winifred, I expected next-level horror and boy, did Feito surpass expectations. The giant Ensor House definitely checks all the boxes for a haunted house and, even without the paranormal component, Winifred’s delusions are enough to turn the House into a goosebump-inducing locale.
I loved the Victorian setting and Winifred as a protagonist (and antagonist, to be honest). “Psycho” takes the Victorian era and turns it on its head, leaving blood and destruction in its wake. I always love when I accidentally stumble upon smart, original Victorian horrors and Feito delivered this is in spades. “Victorian Psycho” is an unexpected delight.

I loved the writing style. The author uses words I would never think to incorporate and they help elicit the creepy atmosphere of this book so well. The narrator, our MC, has a fun dark and sarcastic tone through the book that is both jarring and humorous. I loved the twists, the characters, and the intensity throughout. Also, loved the ending!! I greatly enjoyed this gory and dark read.

Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the ARC.

Wickedly gory and delicious.

The minute I saw my favorite reviewer on IG (averynicebook) review this I knew I had to read it.

Definitely my favorite horror I read this year. Victorian Psycho is American Psycho if Patrick Bateman was a voracious and evil governess.

Winifred Notty is QUITE the villain. She’s vile yet funny. Terrifying yet sympathetic believe it or not. She’s an incredible narrator of her story unreliable or not. Overall, she’s a demon wrapped in layers of modest Victorian dress. I could not believe some of the descriptions in this book. The last few chapters are something to behold. The book leaves you breathless covered in coagulated dread.

Be very aware it’s violent and gross. Every TW you could imagine to be quite honest, but it’s surprisingly readable and un-put-downable.

Loved it!

Five rotting stars for this one!

Thank you NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the digital advanced readers copy.

Holy Christmas Cards - what did I just read??

Winnifred Notty arrives at a beautiful Yorkshire estate to be a governess to two tweens, and while her resume makes her appear reputable and responsible, the Darkness in her lurks and is growing more and more difficult to suppress.

This is a Christmas regency slasher, it starts slowly enough but devolves into a nineteenth century splatterpunk. Absolutely not for the faint of heart (content warning: murder, maggots, vomit, blood, entrails, gross food descriptions, child abuse, animal abuse, lots of chamber pot talk) but encouraged for the gore seeking rotted out readers looking for a seasonal slaying.

There were a few loose ends I would have liked to have seen tied up before the end, and I hate the title but overall it was an enjoyable (???) short read!

Haven't been this disturbed since Sayaka Murata's Earthlings. A must read for those who love all things dark, gothic, and grotesque!!

“Victorian Psycho” is giving Lizzie Borden to the absolute extreme vibes.

It’s supposed to be quirky and there were a couple of one liners that made me chuckle but the tone of the book is perculiar and unusual and it just didn’t land for me.

There isn’t much plot to the book other than the main character being an Absolute terror. There is a vague revenge plot but it seems more of a convenient placeholder and the real goal is to be as gory and shocking as possible.

If you are a fan of graphic gore and body horror with satire undercurrents this book may definitely work for you.

Thank you to Liveright and Virginia Feito for the EARC!

Publish date: February 4th 2025

This book has been on my radar since Mother Horror (Sadie Hartmann) brought it to everyone’s attention on her Instagram recently. So I was quick to request an ARC through NetGalley, and was pleasantly surprised when I was accepted! Thank you to NetGalley, Virginia Feito, and Liveright Publications for this review copy.

Winifred Notty has arrived to serve as governess at Ensor House for the Pounds family. Little does anyone know that “Fred” has brought with her both secrets and violence. Was she born evil, or was it the laudanum?

This gory, hilarious, dark and blood filled novella gives insight into the lives of Victorian women and children, the hardships endured, and little tidbits of every day life (what DID they wear as underwear?). Victorian Psycho was a blast from start to finish, told from the first person present, leaving the reader unsure as to where the story went from page to page.

There are so many unanswered questions, as often happens with a novella, but it leaves the reader with much to ponder over the following days. My only regret is that the ending was wrapped up too fast for my liking. I feel like our author made some great choices, but also a few that were surprising, simply because it seemed there was no reason for the action (or maybe there was and I missed it!).

Overall I would recommend giving this one a read! It’s a quick 208 pages and is easy to get through in one sitting. If you like gothic, bloody horror and mystery, you’ll like this one!

P.S. This book has already been optioned for a movie!!

Victorian Psycho, by Virginia Feito, is a book for a very specific audience.

This is very much a character-driven novel, with very little in the way of plot. There *is* a reason behind some of what our psychotic governess does, but it’s revealed very late into the book and can leave the reader a little non-plussed.

The book is extraordinarily violent and our governess is very, very weird.

There is definitely some humor and snark peppered in between the extreme violence and it gives a bit of relief here and there.

I found that I did like the book, even as I ached for more plot, however you MUST be okay with the level of violence in the book.

• ARC via Publisher

I honestly didn't care for this book. I was expecting a slow burn horror but it comes out swinging with the FMC being needlessly cruel and apathetic. I'm not going to lie, I didn't make it all the way to the end. The prose was dull and I felt like there was no real backstory. It really just felt like violence for the sake of violence. If there had been some lead up or reasoning behind the violence then I may have been more interested but as it stands, it just felt flat and uninspired.

This one intrigued me from the beginning and I was surprised by how much I liked it. It was so good, gross, hilarious, different. All of that is right up my alley if I am being honest. I had a good time reading this and I could not put it down. I just kept flipping the pages. The characters were great, the writing was well done and the entire thing was just so good! I cannot wait to have a physical copy of this when it comes out!

This one surprised me! I was not expecting this to be this repulsive, hilarious, and disturbing all at the same time. Frankly, I could not put this one down. I had such a fun time with Victorian Psycho, I loved how deranged our main character was, it was all so bizarre and made me wonder how someone could come up with ideas like this! Victorian Psycho is a good one to go in blind and just enjoy the disturbing ride until the end! This will be one I revisit for sure.

This is an intriguing and unsettling read for fans of the horror genre, especially those who appreciate a significant dose of gore. The story revolves around Miss Notty, an unreliable narrator who adds an interesting layer to the narrative. One of the key characters, Winifred, who is a presumed psychopath.

While the story has a compelling premise, it feels somewhat underdeveloped in its execution. It reads more like an in-depth exploration of a single character's psyche rather than a fully developed novel. However, as a short story, it successfully creates an eerie and disturbing atmosphere that will appeal to readers drawn to the psychological complexities of disturbed and deranged minds.

One of the standout elements of the writing is the bizarre and almost grotesque depiction of the characters’ meals, which surprisingly adds to the unsettling tone of the narrative, perhaps even more so than some of the violent events in the story.

Overall, this tale offers a unique blend of strangeness and entertainment, providing just enough intrigue to keep readers engaged. It's definitely worth exploring for those interested in psychological horror and unreliable narrators.

Thank you to Netgalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the ARC!

What in the gothic horror.....?

Victorian Psycho is the tale of Winifred Notty, a newly hired governess of the Pounds family. She's not your normal governess, she's worse.

Full of macabre thoughts and desires, Miss Notty slowly starts acting on her feelings. Everyone comes to a culmination during Christmas, where the truth come out about Miss Notty and why she is with the Pounds.

While the style of writing is of the gothic nature, the story itself is hilarious. Half the time, I was wondering if this was really happening or was this all in Winnie's head. She's a nut, but I still loved her and her mean streak.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was such a fun read! I read the whole thing in one sitting and wanted more. I found myself gasping in disgust and laughing out loud. This will be a christmas classic for me in the future for sure.