This was a strange story. It took me a while to get into in. I enjoyed the twisty, small village feel when every word, deed, movement is judged. Had a witch trial vibe.

The description of this book ("The Crucible" meets "The Virgin Suicides") is quite apt, although I must admit that impression comes from seeing the Sofia Coppola film rather than reading the novel. The build up to the ending was a bit dragged out but the creepy, uncomfortable atmosphere throughout the story was well done.

The premise of this book immediately caught my eye. These central ideas— regarding the harmful side of storytelling and the difficulty of being a young woman in a suspicious society— are ones I always love to see explored in fiction. I knew from the beginning I would love this story, and upon reading, I discovered The Hounding is exactly what I thought it would be; an investigation into town gossip, societal norms, and possibly mass hysteria.

This story has Gothic influence to it, no doubt. The rural 17th century English setting and emphasis on claustrophobic small-town connections reminded me of the Brontës’ work. Even the narrative, being told from an outside perspective (in this case, the townsfolk, rather than the Mansfield sisters) was Gothic inspired, and incredibly well crafted. Purvis is a talented writer, clearly pulling from centuries of literary influence.

Despite being a relatively short read, the world and characters were well developed; every person in this story was a believable, complex character who had trouble reaching a conclusion on the strange occurrences around them. A part of me wished to hear more of the story from the sisters’ perspectives, and to hear more about them individually, but upon reflection, I think this story was told exactly as it should be. The decision to have ‘the sisters’ or ‘the girls’ referred to as a collective was a smart one, as it stripped them of their identity and individuality. The reader is then left in the dark and forced to consider siding with the townsfolk; to believe that the Mansfield sisters truly are turning into dogs, despite all rationality and evidence suggesting otherwise.

I found this a poignant, thought-provoking read, though I was not surprised by the turns the story took. I would recommend this story regardless.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for providing me with an eARC.

Thanks to Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for the ARC of Xenobe Purvis's 'The Hounding,'

This is a haunting and evocative novel set in 17th century Oxfordshire and focuses on a small Thames-side village in which several key characters interact during a hot, drought-ridden summer. It's about the targeting and 'hounding' of women by damaged and imperious men and taps into the insanity that pervaded then and pervades now about women and the power (or the perceived power) they have over men, in league with the devil, of course.

This family of young girls and women become the focus of outlandish rumours about them transforming into dogs and the men (and some women) of the area are determined that they should pay for it.

The atmosphere of centuries-ago rural England is captured wonderfully by the author and the atmosphere of suspicion, hate. and misogyny of the time and of every time period since, including today, is equally well captured and conveyed.

The ending is abrupt but, I felt, as ambiguous as it should be but it may dismay some readers.

Given the backsliding in the US and elsewhere into white male-centrism, Christian fundamentalism, and superstitious nonsense from the top down, this is a very timely read.

A gorgeous cover for a gorgeous book. This was such a strange and haunting read. A beautiful look at what it is to be a woman in the world and how society views and punishes those that it doesn't feel correctly slot into their roles and expectations.

God I loved this writing. It was so atmospheric and immediately put me into the setting and place. I loved the characterization of the town, it felt like its own person and really drove that us versus them mentality. This seems like it’ll be an instant classic.

Darkly atmospheric and unsettlingly immersive, this novel captures the chilling power of collective fear and suspicion in a small, superstitious village. Set in Little Nettlebed — a place steeped in eerie folklore and uncanny occurrences — the story centers around the Mansfield sisters. The townspeople have always regarded these three women with a wary eye. But when rumors surface of the sisters transforming into animals and strange barking is heard in the dead of night, the simmering tension in the village boils over into something far more sinister.

Told through the rotating perspectives of five villagers, the novel cleverly exposes how fear, prejudice, and gossip can spread like wildfire. Each narrator offers a distinct and often contradictory version of events, leaving readers to piece together the truth—if there even is one. The author masterfully captures the voice of each character, from the devout housewife to the local drunk, creating a web of conflicting narratives that keeps readers guessing.

What makes this book so compelling is its refusal to provide easy answers. Are the Mansfield sisters harboring dark powers, or are they misunderstood women who don’t conform to the village’s narrow expectations? The novel expertly blurs the line between reality and paranoia, allowing the reader to feel the weight of collective hysteria closing in on the sisters. The constant presence of supernatural folklore — the ravens, the river creatures, the barking in the night — heightens the sense of dread, making it impossible to separate superstition from truth.

Beneath the eerie premise lies a sharp commentary on societal othering and the timeless human tendency to demonize those who are different. The Mansfield sisters’ fate feels heartbreakingly inevitable, as does the community’s desperation to find a scapegoat for their fears. Yet the story never feels heavy-handed; instead, it thrums with a quiet, unrelenting dread that captivates readers.

The final chapters are particularly haunting, leaving readers to question what happened to the Mansfield sisters and the nature of truth itself. Was the village cursed — or were the sisters simply victims of a different kind of evil? This ambiguity lingers long after the book closes, making it an unforgettable read.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've been on a kick lately for atmospheric, haunting books that highlight the hardships/accusations/abuse that women have faced throughout history when they've tried to exist in a way that doesn't quite fit society's mold and The Hounding was another perfect fit for me. It's a character-driven story that examines a family of young women who live life a little too freely for their 18th-century, small town British neighbors and the rumors that grow around the free-spirited girls. The book does a good job of cleverly guiding you to the climax scenes by examining the girls through the eyes of a number of their neighbors, friends, enemies and lovers.

There are some incredibly serious topics that the book touches on but the way it's handled is masterfully vague enough to not be triggering. I found myself pondering the hints as to what really happened in the story to cause the trauma (on page and off) - hints both slight and overt - long after I had finished reading. Just when you think you know where the story is going and what a character will do, it shifts and I will say that it ends with a beautiful, albeit vague resolution. Additionally, I couldn't stop thinking about the way that Ms. Purvis excelled in making the setting, the heat, the river, and the villagers feel completely real and immersive whilst reading. It was all very beautifully built in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ms. Purvis, and the publisher for the opportunity to receive and review this ARC

THE HOUNDING is a short, impactful, strangely beautiful book that explores concepts of rumor, collective paranoia and misogyny in a unique way. My basic takeaway: Is it safer to be a dog than it is to be a woman?

THE HOUNDING is told from several different perspectives, but never from the POV of any of the five sisters who are suspected of transforming into dogs. This choice was intriguing to me … at first, I wanted that glimpse into their minds. Were they or weren’t they? But the further I got into the book, the genius of author Xenobe Purvis was revealed: her decision made the book more haunting.

Although the ending didn’t completely do it for me - some of the questions I had went unanswered - there is enough closure to be satisfying. This one won’t appeal to everyone, but for those who enjoy eerie literary fiction that will sweep them away, this is it.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Henry Holt & Co. for the chance to read an early digital copy of THE HOUNDING in exchange for my honest feedback.

Sometimes you just want to turn into a dog with your sisters in the eighteenth century English Countryside, but men have to come and ruin it!
The Hounding was so so good - very much a mix of The Virgin Suicides with The Crucible as described. I loved how as the readers, we were kept on the outside of the Mansfield sisters and were told the story through rotating perspectives of those around them, never really knowing the truth of the allegations (until perhaps the very end).

"Beautiful dogs, fierce and full of power... he'd rather they were dogs than damaged girls. He's rather they were free than confined by him." Of course the scariest thing to the townsfolk is a group of girls who don't conform to exactly who they want them to be.

As a fan of The Crucible, the description of this book hooked me immediately! This was such a beautiful and unique read. I sometimes hesitate to pick up historical fiction from this time period, as the language can be daunting at times, but this book was written incredibly well and was easy to follow. I only wish it had been a bit longer, as I would have loved to learn more about what happened to the girls at the end of the novel—but I understand why the author stopped there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc!

"For a moment, she wanted nothing but to think about these women, and the many women like them, and those unlike them too. She thought about what they all went through each day: the great, gruelling trial of being a woman in a world governed by men."

The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis is a phenomenal debut. Beautifully written and very timely, I highly recommend this read for 2025.

Five strange and gothic sisters living on a farm in 18th century England who are spotted by villagers turning into dogs? Ya, you read that right.

This is a story about how the world views women who are outside of the norm, who don't fit the mold, and who dare to be independent or different.

We follow multiple villagers perspective of the girls, including some who love them and some who hate them. We watch as rumors spread and destroy their reputation, and the lengths that people will go to to get them back in line.

Also, the cover is clearly gorgeous.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for the eARC. It was a wonderful read.

I was sold on the "girls that transform into dogs" aspect right away, but such an amusing plot hook was only a small piece of a complex little story. In 17th century England, the Mansfields - elderly, nearly blind Joseph, and his five granddaughters - weren't anyone's favorites in the tiny country village. Joseph owned a big house and a successful farm, and the five girls weren't stereotypical meek, quiet ladies. A drunk, grumpy local, Pete Darling, began a rumor that he saw the girls turn into dogs, and of course, the tale spread like wildfire.

I really enjoyed the writing and format of the book. It truly felt like I was part of the rumor mill because we uncovered the point of view from several characters in town, but never the young women in question. I liked the powerful, feminist message, and it was easy to get sucked into this beautifully-written novel.

As soon as I read the description of The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis, I knew it would be right up my alley. The Crucible meets The Virgin Suicides? Five sisters in 18th century England? Townspeople think the girls are turning into dogs? Sign. Me. Up.

The book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting (I was prepared for 18th century Nightbitch), but I thoroughly enjoyed this exploration of gender, conformity, and patriarchy. Yes, these are similar themes to Nightbitch, setting it in the past—where panicked villagers hold all the power and the sisters have none—makes for a very different experience. The story is never told from the sisters' perspectives, which only reinforces their lack of agency. Instead, we witness their fate through the eyes of those around them.

Purvis’s writing is sharp and unsettling, with a detached tone that reminded me of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. This is Purvis’s debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
Also, that cover! 😍

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC to review.

In this whimsical, yet dark, novel were we follow the people of a small town in a deliriously hot summer. We get varied perspectives and personalities, some likable and some mistrusting, as strange occurrences keep popping up in the village. Everyone becomes obsessed with these sisters who are so tightly-knit and a bit out of the ordinary in how they hold themselves in society. Things turn dark and mysterious as sightings of a pack of hounds starts to be suspected to be connected to the girls. This twisted novel was a very fun and fantastical world to be immersed in. I couldn’t put it down!

You can feel the isolation of Little Nettlebed seeping from the pages of this book and in turn how it feeds the lore the village-folk have created around the Mansfield sisters. Much like Merricat in Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, the five sisters cause an uneasiness when they pass by others—they “had always seemed separate from the goings-on of the village, distant somehow.” & “they haunted the borders of the village.”
Purvis writes in a way that has you wondering if the girls truly do become dogs by night/have dark intentions or if they’re just girls “wanting to live— loudly freely” against societal standards of a young lady at the time. Do the whisperings of the villagers have enough influence to make the readers question their own view of the sisters?
I definitely see the comparisons to The Crucible! I really enjoyed the writing in this one, and I suggest picking it up this summer!

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for the advanced copy of The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis!

This was such a delightfully bizarre read which follows the Mansfield sisters in their village of Little Nettlebed. As the heat of a particularly dry summer climaxes, the villagers began to suspect the sisters of something unsettling…they’re turning into dogs?

While I wouldn’t say the concept of “village falls into hysteria because obviously those young women have been touched by the devil” (uh huh yeah sure) is that revolutionary, I found this book incredibly entrancing without coming off forced or overdone. The prose was quite haunting and the plot was fueled by this idea that as the village falls into drought, strange things keep happening and people get more paranoid (and who do they blame? The women, duh!!). One particular section that stuck out to me was “their spiritedness and singularity, the way rumours about them bred. How people grew preoccupied with them, how they dreaded and pursued them and might eventually ruin them. No other girls in history had ever met with such a fate.” The Hounding encapsulated to me the experience of being a girl and despite being truly bizarre, at its core, is a deeply relatable tale as old as time.

This is definitely for folks who love bizarre, atmospheric literary fiction and was a definite 5 stars for me!

Weird girl fiction lives on! The atmosphere in this was so well done, there is this uneasiness that makes you want to find out what's coming next! Slow burn but well done.

This is a reminder of what it looks like when the biggest crime in a very small town is simply being a woman who wishes for autonomy.

Introduced by the atmospherically eerie setting, the unseasonably hot air thick with impending doom, we meet the five sisters who will inevitably spark your curiosity. You will want more — aside from straightforward answers, you will want their perspective, what makes them individuals, what articulates their dreams, what secures the deep bond that weaves each sibling together. Through varying observations from the village outside their farm we can piece together answers from our own assumptions, but they are just that: assumptions. Which is exactly where lies the moral of this story. It’s giving, “sure, don’t judge a book by its cover, but more over, seriously do NOT descend into hysteria via unconfirmed stories from villagers that don’t drink nearly enough water”.

It is a quick read that compels you to read faster and faster as more madness unfurls. The language is purposefully pointed, blurring the fine line between love and hate, obsession and indifference, to a state so unrecognizable you’d think it’s just shimmering air from oppressive weather.

I wouldn’t call this groundbreaking, but I would call it affective. The emotions the author aims to pull out of you come tumbling out whether you roll your eyes during their fall or not. You will be rooting for these sisters you hardly know a single truth about. You will be invested in the fate of those defending them. You will be frustrated, skeptical, and endeared — and sometimes that’s really all you need to make a worthy thought-provoking novel.

A layered, quick, and delightful read. Incredibly unique in its premise. Purvis’ writing is both simplistic in that it’s an easy read while also being multifaceted and thought-provoking. I really enjoyed myself & know this is going to get the litfic Hype™️ this year.

*DMX barking noise*

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This title has a publishing date of 08/05/2025.