The title of this book certainly delivers on its name. It was simply mesmerizing. It was a touching tale of magic, hardship, perseverance and strength of strong women. The writing was beautiful. I can always tell when I’ve read a good book, because I end up missing the characters. Regardless of whether or not you choose to believe in mesmerism, you will be taken on a journey that you will not forget.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5*

This was an absolutely beautiful read.

Based on the cover, I expected something a bit more fun and lighthearted but I was (pleasantly) surprised by the undercurrent of sadness and longing throughout the book.

I loved the dual timelines and how the mystery was slowly unravelled throughout the book. This is definitely a slower book in terms of pacing and plot but it worked perfectly for me. The newspaper article excerpts at the beginning of some chapters were such a lovely touch also.

The clear standout in this book for me were the female friendships. The feminine rage was a subtle, quiet understanding amongst the women and was weaved exquisitely throughout.

Kaufman's writing is absolutely beautiful and I love how she much depth and complexity she brings to all her characters in such a quiet, thoughtful way. A heartbreaking, atmospheric read for fans of slower-paced historical fiction with a touch of magical realism.

I wasn’t sure what to expect and normally I don’t pick up historical fiction but the title and the cover art won me over. I read this book in about 3 settings; it was catchy, fun, fascinating, and well written. I loved the focus on women and the innate power they hold.

This one is told in a dual storyline/timeline that intersect in such a cool way! As it was happening it was so fun to read the intersection. Overall, I thought the women were well written and the underlying ideas of powerful women were so good. Loved every minute of this one!

The entirely true story of the fantastical mesmerist Nora Grey is magical realism and historical fiction rolled into one - I should have loved it. This book follows a young woman traveling the Scottish countryside with her father, Tavish. She interprets tarot cards for those willing to pay for what they wish to hear but also possesses a genuine gift for communicating with the spirit world, YES PLEASE. And it's based in Scotland! Again - YES PLEASE!

However, I never really connected with the characters or even the plot. The back half of the book dragged for me and I wish the elements of being a mesmerist and a connection to the spirit world was explored more. While I finished reading it, it took a lot for me to keep going.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy. The opinions are my own.

This one was okay. Loved the idea of the book, and the title and cover are both very catchy, but I wanted more of the mysticism and not just another feminist polemics. I wanted a story not a sermon.
I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

My rating about sums this one up - The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey was okay. I think I was hoping for more fantastical and I ended up with a reminder of how much it can suck to be a woman. And even in these moments it felt like I was only given the bare minimum. I wanted more. More details, more feelings, more atmosphere.

There was something here, just not enough of it.

Lottie Laith (1860) has just lost her husband in a mining accident. She is pregnant and needs her husband's last wages to survive. Sadly, her late husband's boss does not see it that way. After she attacks him, she is sent to Argoll Asylum, where some doctors perform experiments on her because they think she had mesmerist powers.

Nairna (later Nora) Laith (1901) and her father Tavish travel around the country trying to make some money out of Nairna reading the cards for people. Nairna isn’t shy about the fact that this is all trics and she has no real powers. Until she meets Rona, who sees that Nairna has potential and wants to train her to get better. She eventually ends up in America.

Lottie and Nairna’s worlds collide through their spiritual connection. Can Nairna find out what really happened to Lottie? And can she find her place in a world that is full of spiritual craze?
▪
This book is a historical fiction with some paranormal aspects. In the dual timeline we meet Nairna and Lottie, two women who are victims of their environment.
Every chapter starts with a newspaper article, log entry, … which gives us an idea of what to expect.
The setting of the Victorian spiritual craze is not a unique one but definitely an interesting one. The author also describes the locations very well, we already know asylums in that time were horrible places but you can really feel the dread of this place.

This book was a pleasant read because the whole paranormal and spiritual setting is something that interests me but it was a bit unconvincing that the timing of Nora’s sessions and Lottie’s experiments seemed to coincide every time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey. I thought the book did an excellent job of telling the story of mesmerism through a feminist lens. I think this would make an excellent book club pick.

I was captivated by the magical title and drawn into this ARC’s gypsy-like tale of a father and daughter’s survival. Kaufman’s vivid writing made the paranormal elements and settings feel real. A well-written story I'd recommend to fans of witchy historical fiction.

Fantasy + Horror is that strange combo that keeps growing in my TBR.

And I don’t know if it’s because I’m hungry for revenge and redemption or if I’m curious how well dark elements play with lighter ones. Probably both, hence why it peaked my interest.

(So, TY to @netgalley for this ARC.)

If you want your feminist hackles raised, look no further. 😅 I bet the audio would be awesome (if this is your mood reading vibe) to listen to with the different accents at play.

Kaufman does a decent job building the some dramatic tension, but I wonder if this would thrived more in first person vs not. I did like the newspaper/letters at the start of the chapters.

I have to say, I tend to like the magical elements a little heavier and a little better explained. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Overall, a decent read- but unsure if it’ll stick in my long term memory.

Filled with mystery and intrigue this is a blend of historical fiction and magic realism and it worked so well. I connected with both of the female characters and loved reading their story through the dual timelines Lottie's side hit me the most. There were moments were I thought I was reading a true story something about the writing style makes it feel real and puts you right in the middle.

Seances, ghosts, female rage and tarot cards what more could you want?

4.5 Stars

Nairna Liath, used to a life on the road with her swindler father Tavish, reads cards for patrons when her talents are discovered by a stranger. She is whisked into the spiritualism scene and performs for wealthy audiences. She becomes entwined with her spirit guide Lottie Liath, a pregnant widow from decades earlier who is being experimented on by cruel doctors. This atmospheric historical fiction read, with female rage and multiple points of view and time periods, is captivating and will appeal to many readers.

Nairna and her father travel from town to town in early 20th century Scotland. Reading cards and divining for water the two of them scrape by fleecing people out of a few coins here and there. Nairna possess more powers then she had let on yet. After catching the interest of a spiritualist society her world changes forever. Lottie is the widow of a coal miner. Pregnant and trapped in an asylum she is the subject of a series of experiments meant to measure the strength of her paranormal abilities. Connected through blood, Lottie and Nairna will find strength across time with each other.
This was an intriguing story. I found myself caught up in both ladies stories as they developed their abilities and fought against the people who sought to use them. Thank you to @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for letting me get an early look at The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey, which will be available July 29, 2025.
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At first, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this book—stories that jump between timelines can sometimes lose me. But I’m so glad I stuck with it. The way everything came together was completely worth it. This is a truly original story that weaves together all my favorite elements: magic, a touch of history, and just the right amount of suspense. It kept me guessing the entire time—nothing about it felt predictable. The characters were rich and complex, and it was fascinating to unravel their backstories and see how their pasts shaped who they became. A captivating and refreshingly unique read.

The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey offers a solid premise, blending historical fiction with paranormal elements. While the dual narratives and the gradual bridging of two historical timelines are intriguing, I found the overall execution somewhat lacking.
Set at the dawn of the 20th century, the story follows Nairna, a young woman yearning for independence, and Lottie, a patient in an asylum subjected to mesmerism as a supposed form of medical treatment—used, in truth, for exploitative experimentation. Lottie’s story is by far the most compelling aspect of the novel, tackling the still-relevant topic of women’s mistreatment by medical science. Deprived of autonomy and subjected to invasive, degrading procedures, Lottie becomes a powerful symbol of how women were often treated as objects of medical study rather than individuals with voices and agency. This part of the novel tells necessary and tragic story, which is still hugely relevant. As the story unfolds, you can't help but root for Lottie’s escape from the system that oppresses her—even as you sense the tragedy looming.
Lottie’s hypnosis treatments open a bridge between past and future, linking her to her granddaughter, Nairna. Nairna’s character, however, feels underdeveloped. Her yearning for independence mirrors Lottie’s, but lacks emotional depth. Nairna is described as bland, and unfortunately, she remains that way. What I found missing—and what could have made her journey far more compelling—was a deeper exploration of how our ancestors live within us in more than just memory or appearance. Lottie’s trauma clearly affected her son, and by extension, Nairna’s life. But the novel stops short of exploring how such legacy might be carried in less visible, more mysterious ways. We inherit more than eye colour or health conditions—we may inherit emotional shadows, trauma-etched tendencies, even instincts shaped by what came before us. I was hoping for a profound reflection on this kind of ancestral haunting— one of ghosts, but of memories inscribed in blood, where the past moves through us like an echo, as if some part of Lottie had been reincarnated in Nairna.
Despite the shortcomings, the pacing is solid, with alternating points of view between the two women. The structure—focused on the gradual thinning of the veil between past and present—is an interesting narrative choice, though it grows repetitive toward the end. The conclusion, while predictable, still carries emotional weight. Overall, The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey presents thought-provoking ideas, but a lack of thematic depth and character complexity keeps it from being a truly memorable read for me. Still, I would recommend giving it a try if the premise speaks to you—it may resonate deeply.

First, thank you NetGalley and Kathleen Kaufman for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this and when I finally sunk my teeth into this story and as soon as I did the book switched characters on me and… I think it’s just a bad match for me. The prose and dialogue were really nice, the characters were likable but even for Magical Realism this book felt lacking in magic. Again, lots of positives I just think I’m not the intended audience.

This was an interesting dip into historical fact and fiction with the story of Nairna Liath, later to be known as Nora Grey, traveling with her Da, Tavish, reading cards and performing séances for superstitious commoners (always with the fear of being accused of being a witch) until a member of a spiritual society recognizes her talent as real and from there it is a whirlwind of fame, power, doubters, and men looking to control her for their own purposes. As a foil, Nora comes to the realizaton that her spirit guide is Lottie, a woman also with powers but locked in an asylum and under the control of some completely despicable doctors, experimenting on her for their own research. It is a story of these two women, what they put up with and how they will do whatever it takes to be free. A sad but good message for women, to never give up and be their own women with power and freedom for those trying to stamp down on you.

This book was good and felt nicely real with characters that made their mark on the story and I liked the ending, even if it had a bit of sadness with Lottie, though I did like the connection between the two women, each depending on the other to make it through the dark and hard times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this interesting book.

This book. This freakin’ book.

Kathleen Kaufman grabbed me by the soul with The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey and did not let go.

Set in the grimy, gaslit corners of early 1900s Scotland and America, this story is dripping with gothic vibes, real psychic powers, and the kind of simmering feminine rage that makes you want to punch a Victorian doctor in the face. (And maybe also gently knock over a candle during a séance. (For
drama.)

We follow Nairna Liath, a girl with very real gifts, trying to survive in a world that mostly wants to exploit and silence her. And layered underneath her story is the haunting thread of her grandmother Lottie — institutionalized after standing up to a bully, and kept there because her unexplainable gifts made her dangerous to the wrong people. The way Kaufman weaves past and present together? *Chef’s kiss*. Utterly seamless. It aches in all the right places.

The writing? Atmospheric and lush without ever getting bogged down. You feel the mist rolling in. You feel the heavy, restless energy at the edges of every room. It’s so easy to get lost in it — in the best, most chilling way.

If you’re into slow-burn magic, righteous female fury, actual supernatural gifts (not just "is she or isn’t she?"), and stories that feel a little like getting wrapped up in a cursed velvet blanket... this book is your next obsession.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Some stories haunt you because they’re true in all the ways that matter. This is one of them.

This is a story with one foot in the 1900s of our world and another in the mystical. it is written as a historical account but discusses the experiences of fictional psychics. So, a little historical fiction and fantasy hybrid. Thematically, I imagine this would appeal to dark academia fantasy readers (Atlas Six, Ninth House, etc.)

I really liked the ending. It's touching, very mystical, a little spooky, and the end result ultimately fits the characters.

Unfortunately, I did struggle through most of the story. I'm having a hard time putting my finger on exactly why. I think I maybe just found it a little slow and was having a hard time getting invested. It is also different from what I have been reading. I like both fantasy and historical fiction, so it's definitely not off brand, but I haven't been picking up historical fiction recently, so it might be... off mood if you will.

After reading a different book by Kathleen Kaufman, I immediately searched to find more of her books. I was delighted to see that she has a new book!. I don't know how she does it, but she writes scenes that are so memorable without being overly descriptive. I've read many books with Spiritualism during the Victorian era and many times I am let down with the plot.
This book gets it right. The spirit guide angle was very unique. The dual timelines have just the right amount of historical fiction, magical realism, and creepy supernatural.