I really love a story where men lose in the end, especially THESE kinds of men. I also enjoyed the idea of sisterhood through generations. Camilla Florence and her mom were bad bitches and I enjoyed watching them all realize that embracing both sides of them is what truly made them strong

I found this book to be so frightening that I could not finish it. If you are looking for a terrifying, haunting read that explores the themes of rage and revenge this is the book for you. It is a nightmare that has been painted with such detail and authenticity that it was too much for me, but I know many others are up to the challenge of this female rage-fueld fright.

Dark Sisters is a richly atmospheric novel that explores the lives of three women bound by a powerful, unsettling curse. DeMeester combines gothic horror with emotional depth, creating a tale of generational trauma, power, and forbidden choices. The interconnected stories of Anne, Mary, and Camilla allow the novel to span centuries, but they share common themes of female empowerment and oppression, which resonates throughout the narrative.

The book’s pacing is steady, allowing for slow reveals and a deep dive into each character's psyche. The atmosphere is thick with tension, and the prose is immersive, painting vivid, haunting imagery. The supernatural elements are used sparingly but effectively, leaving enough room for the psychological aspects of the story to shine.

While the characters and their individual struggles are compelling, some readers may find the slow pace challenging. The gradual buildup of suspense and the darker aspects of the novel are effective for the right audience, but could be less engaging for readers who prefer a faster-moving plot. That said, the emotional weight of the story and its well-crafted atmosphere outweigh any moments of slowness.

This is a book that will resonate deeply with readers who enjoy introspective horror and stories that explore the darker facets of human nature, especially as seen through the lens of women's experiences. Fans of slow-burn gothic horror will appreciate Dark Sisters’ unsettling tone and its exploration of generational curses.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was an ok read it was different than I normally read so I gave it a chance I would recommend… I will look into other books like this thank you for allowing me to read

Wow, I read this in one day.

I love books that intertwine horror and religion. It's done often enough, yet I still jump at the chance to read another.

So we have religion, moreso religious oppression--bring in some witchiness, misogyny, a dash of cult-y stuff and centuries of female rage and you get Dark Sisters

This was a book equivalent of a primal scream followed by a little tenderness.

I literally just finished this and had to get my thoughts down immediately! I loved this so much. The writing is amazing, the characters so incredibly fleshed out it felt like I knew them. Dark Sisters reads like Rosemary’s Baby via the Salem Witch Trials. Just incredible.

Wow, what a debut! This novel gave me a good fright I have not had in a long time. If you enjoy tales regarding the complications of girlhood, female rage, and vengeance- this is for you! Captivating story with each character POV being equally as interesting as the prior or the next. Well-written.

In the small town of Hawthorne Springs, everyone must conform to the norm. Belong to the local mega church, be pure of heart and mind until marriage, forsake the occult. Talk of the “Dark Sisters”, is used to scare children into conforming into their beliefs through fear. “Two sets of eyes. as pale as milk…creeping along the ground…forced to wander the earth as ghosts of demons or the smeared remainders of a sinful heart”. But is it all just a story…

After finishing this book all I can say is wow….
The story is self was so beautiful and dark. It sucked you in and let you see every aspect of the three various intertwined timelines seamlessly. It was truly a story of female rage and taking back your personal power.
**A must read**

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for access to this arc!

"Such things were typically done in darkness, but when those who deem themselves favored by the Lord discover a witch, a delay in punishment is akin to the profane" (page 6).

In a tri-timeline book, readers immerse themselves in the stories of women who are learning what it means to be a woman, challenge and accept themselves, and work within, against, and around systems that seek to oppress them. The story telling is dark, but fun. I found that while sometimes I disagreed with the character's actions, each action made sense for the character.

Small warning to readers, if you have issues with eating certain textures... this one might not be the book for you. A weird warning, I know, but potentially necessary for some. But if that doesn't bother you, I definitely recommend this book. A good read for a dark winter day.

I love a multi-generational, time-spanning horror novel, so I was super happy to pick up Dark Sisters. We find ourselves in the same creepy town of Hawthorne Springs in three different eras: 1750, 1953, and 2007. In each era, there is a mysterious affliction affecting women.
Of course the women of 1750 are most explicitly considered witches, but the misogyny of the 1950s and 2000s is just a slightly different flavor. Bound up in the fear of women is a cult-y religious faith called The Path, which is honestly the scariest part. Camilla, the protagonist of the 2007 storyline, is the preacher's daughter, and her proximity to the religion makes this storyline the most discomforting.
There's suspense, homophobia, and plenty of body horror (losing teeth makes me sooo squeamish). The switching timelines keep things very interesting. I'd suggest this one for fans of Once and Future Witches or Bad Heroines.

Witches, a generational curse, an almost cult-ish religious town, and some horror. This was an interesting read and easy to binge. It follows 3 women, alternating between each timeline with each chapter. This set up made it hard to put the book down as I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to each woman. I felt for each character as they felt out of place in their society. I liked the writing style and how it varied slightly for the different women. The horror aspects were genuinely creepy. Sometimes it felt a little repetitive, but it also kind of helped to show how ingrained certain ideas were in the characters' lives. You have to suspend your disbelief at times, but it is basically a speculative fiction.

This slow burn kept me engaged and continuing to want more! Loved it! This multi-timeline story kept me engaged with all the different timelines!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I unfortunately DNF this book about 25% in. There are 3 timelines from the 1700s, 1900s and 2007. I just couldn’t hold interest with all the timelines being soo different.

This is a book about women who refuse to stay quiet, even when the world tries to silence them.

Dark Sisters is a multi-generational horror novel that spans three centuries as it follows Anne, Mary, Camilla—three women bound by blood, magic, and a curse that refuses to fade. Each story is distinct yet echoes the same core themes: defiance, desire, and survival.

Thanks to NetGalley, The author, and publisher for the ARC

Read this book!

Dark Sisters is a brilliant and captivating novel which weaves together the stories of three different women from three different timelines and quite beautifully creates a generational connection. This is the story of these three women, but also the story of all women who are expected to meet impossible standards. It explores religion, oppression, misogyny, sisterhood, the patriarchy, homophobia, and more while artfully illustrating how power in women creates fear in men. I loved the theme highlighting the need to acknowledge all of the parts of oneself, both light and dark, to be whole, strong, and impactful.

This novel is a most certainly horror and very witchy. I would love to say it is completely fiction and historical for a society that has evolved and progressed, but sadly…here we are. Nonetheless, this is a great outlet for feminine rage!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Kristi DeMeester for this free digital book in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Sisters is a multi-generational horror novel that blends historical fiction with feminist rage in a way that feels both timely and timeless. Spanning three centuries, it follows Anne, Mary, and Camilla—three women bound by blood, magic, and a curse that refuses to fade. Each story is distinct yet echoes the same core themes: defiance, desire, and survival.

The writing is lush and vivid, with just the right amount of horror—psychological, supernatural, and societal. Anne’s storyline is especially gripping, and Camilla’s arc brings everything together with a sense of urgency and purpose. The pacing slows a bit in the middle, and occasionally the timelines blur in ways that feel more disorienting than intentional, but the payoff is worth it.

This is a book about women who refuse to stay quiet, even when the world tries to silence them.

A powerful, atmospheric read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

ARC Read: Yes, thank you to St Martin’s Press for the ARC!
Format: Digital ARC
Genre: Fiction, Horror, Mystery/Thriller
Content Warnings: religious trauma, body horror, the patriarchy
Rating: 🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆 / 🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆

Oh, boy. This novel was definitely a conduit for feminine rage, and as an ally, I’m here for it. Each of our main characters had to carefully navigate extremely overbearing religious institutions not built to celebrate or cultivate women other than to be baby factories, which got my spidey-sense not so much tingling as bursting my head wide open. There were so many instances where I wanted to reach through the pages and repeatedly punch most of the male characters in the face, which is a testament to Kristi DeMeester’s descriptive skill.

Overall, this novel is a perfect example of why people should try way harder to tend to themselves instead of forcing their waiys of life onto unwilling others.

Let’s break it down by era (and we’re going deep into spoiler territory here, so abandon all hope, ye who enter here):

Anne, 1700s: Anne’s story was very sad, proof that even if your intentions for others come from a place of love and care, it doesn’t mean the path you take to get there is the right one. Her daughter was unwilling to accept her mother’s teachings, doubling and tripling down each time another bump surfaced. It wasn’t until the very end of their lives that she saw through the tyranny the religious zealots were causing, a realization that came way too late.

Mary, 1950s: Another extremely sad tale for everyone involved. The 1950s were a horrible time for women not interested in the family unit fantasy, and especially for LGBTQIA2S+ folks in a religion-majority town. My wife and I discussed this at length during my read of this novel, as I kept bringing up segments for us to talk about. At the beginning of the story, it seemed Mary’s husband Robert was an innocent in all of this, as he did not force her into the marriage, nor to have their daughter, and seemed to love them both dearly. However, as the story progressed, his 1950s head of household stigma came in full force, and again, though he may have felt he was acting out of love and care for his wife and family, he caused way more damage than any good he thought he was doing with his words and actions. And what a heartbreak for Sharon, Mary’s love interest who just gets her world shattered as well, and Vera, who had to deal with the male religious control fantasies in both of these modern-era tales.

Camilla, 2000s: I grew up in North Texas, home to one of the biggest “prosperity preachers” in the world. The far-reaching parallels of his empire and how Camilla’s father treated wealth and his church were scarily accurate. And brainwashing camps, a.k.a. “Retreats,” are very real and frightening. Camilla’s religious rebellion was written well, and though petulant at times (she was a teen, after all), her maturity in the face of all that was happening was a welcome surprise.

The ending itself was very satisfying for me, as I found myself getting more and more furious every time Camilla uncovered more (and we got more context through the other stories). That’s all I’ll say on that front to avoid full-blown spoilers.

Feminine rage and historical fiction just go together beautifully. I can’t wait to hold the physical copy in my hands because I wanted to hug the story at times.

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy!
Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester is a fun, witchy read. The story follows three women, one in the 1700s, one in the 1950s and the other in 2007, who all have connections to the story of the Dark Sisters. No one quite knows who or what they are, but the women in Hawthorne Springs have always fallen ill and been drawn to a mysterious tree to die. And there's something strange and sinister that the men are involved in, specifically within The Path, an ultra-religious and misogynistic church.
This book combines dark themes of magic and witchcraft with real life themes of the patriarchy and antiquated gender roles, as well as themes of homophobia and religious cults.
I really enjoyed reading this and liked how the stories intersected, as well as the challenges the women faced. And it was interesting to see how it all unfolded in the end.

Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester is a feminist horror story full of sacrifice, rage, and lots of blood.

Set in three different timelines, Dark Sisters follows a curse through time as unsuspecting women are called to reclaim their power with the help of malevolent spirits. In the 18th century, Anne Bolton is a healer who lives in a village with her daughter who is about to be betrothed. Fearing for her safety, Anne decides to make an evil bargain in order to protect her and her daughter. The bargain lives on, cursing and awakening women for centuries. In the 1950s, Mary is a bored housewife who begins an illicit affair that threatens her safe and acceptable life. In the 2000's, Camilla is the controlled daughter of a preacher who uncovers the unholy secrets of her father's congregation. Each generation of women will be visited by the evil bargain that had bound them together through pain and blood.

Dark Sisters is a creepy story that contains Faustian bargains, blood sacrifice, and black magic. It uses these occult topics to explore female agency and feminine rage. Anne, Mary, and Camilla each experience the oppressiveness of the patriarchy as they try to embrace who they truly are. The lines were smudged between what is a curse and what is a gift, challenging the balance between light and dark. What does it mean to embrace your true essence, that part of yourself that has been conditioned away? What if you awakened your power, how would it transform your life? The story had a spine tingling quality with a shocking twist at the end that I did not see coming. This book offers a dark exploration of female power and male control, utilizing nature and its raw untamed magic to transform each character in this story to an empowered version of herself.

This is the most sinister story I have read about witches in a very long time.