⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little torn on how to rate “The Island of Small Misfortunes” by Jackson Kuhl. The premise absolutely hooked me – a Gothic tale of inheritance, war, memory, and ghosts set on a private island? Yes, please. It’s the kind of atmospheric, eerie read I can see becoming a seasonal favourite around Hallowe’en.

There’s so much to love – the characters are enigmatic and often unlikeable, and I appreciated not being able to clearly predict how things would unfold. Guilt lingers like a shadow, and I enjoyed the ambiguity around who carries the heaviest burden. However, I feel this had the potential to be excellent. Some plot points left me questioning Sequoia Owen’s choices, and at times the pacing felt both jumbled and rushed.

That said, I read it in one sitting – so clearly, something kept me gripped! I couldn’t predict the ending, which speaks volumes. Maybe I’m being overly critical, but I suspect this is a book I’ll revisit. With a second read, I might appreciate it more fully.

Set in the summer of 1898, the story follows Sequoia Owen as he visits his estranged uncle at the family’s summer home on Todeket, a private island off the coast of Connecticut. His ailing aunt Geneve believes he is accompanied by the ghost of her late son, Jacob. Over the course of a tense weekend, Sequoia faces hostile relatives, threats against his life, and conflicting stories about the house’s history as he unravels the dark secrets of Todeket.

If Gothic fiction with a twist of family drama and spectral mystery intrigues you, The Island of Small Misfortunes is well worth a look - out 25 March 2025.

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