I loved this book more than I expected. It was dark and twisted, but oh so beautiful! Each page kept me wanting more and more. I was very satisfied with the ending and can’t wait to add this to my libraries shelf!

Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester spans three centuries in the cursed town of Hawthorne Springs, following women who fall prey to a mysterious illness when they step out of line—boils in their mouths, teeth falling out, the whole gruesome package. The setup has potential: Anne Bolton makes a dark bargain in the 1700s, Mary Shephard has a forbidden affair in the 1950s, and Camilla Burson questions her preacher father's congregation in 2007, all connected by this sinister legacy. DeMeester clearly knows her way around body horror and feminist rage, and the concept of generational curses tied to female rebellion should have been right up my alley. But despite all the right ingredients—witch trials, religious hypocrisy, queer longing—the execution felt sluggish and overly heavy-handed with its themes. The multiple timelines never quite clicked for me, and by the time the big revelations arrived, I was more relieved to be done than genuinely surprised.

Thank you, Netgally and St. Martin's Press for this ARC, Dark Siaters is out September 12th, 2025


The premise of this book is why I picked it. I love stories that are dark and focus on women, and this hit both on the head. Cut between three different time lines, 1751,1953 and 2007, the story and the mystery of what the Dark Sisters are unraveled at a decent pace. The book was a fast read, but when things clued in, I couldn't put it down. hearing lore dump in the 1953 setting and then hearing more clues in the other time lines or vice versa really worked! When we find out what the purity ball is, I want to gag!!!! This story also made me really sad for women and women today who are still under the thumbs of their husbands, fathers, and other men in their lives sometimes. What Anne and Florence go through in the 1700s still happens now. What the "Retreat " stands for still happens

"So many women who've tried to escape only to bleed" really stood with me. It still rings true in 2025. Going into this book I assumed it would be gory, gross more like a horror movie but it was just a different type of horror, the horror of men and feeling helpless and of society you can't escape. This book was very much a "good for her" vibe. I really enjoyed this book and I think it will stay with me a while for sure. if you are a fan of The VVitch or Slewfoot or other type of witch books, I highly suggest checking it out!

This story was epic. It was a tale told in three different timelines - the 1700's, the 1950's and the early 2000's. The story told of the women made one realize that the more things change the more they stay the same.

There is no such thing as women's rights. If there were they would simply be called 'rights'. The control has been and is still in the hands of men. The amazing story points out with magical realism just some of the ways that men and religion control women.

Kristi DeMeester tells such a well crafted story. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to read this early. Thank you also to St. Martin's for publishing another amazing book.

Highly Recommended.

I love books with multiple / overlapping characters and storylines and this book delivered!!

It fed my Halloween and spooky season need in the middle of the summer — just what I needed ☺️

Thank you thank you thank you SMP and NetGallery for the ARC!

I want to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC copy in exchange for my review.

I read it in one day. It was THAT good. This is "The Grace Year" older, more mature, darker sister (see what I did there?). To Kristi DeMeester : I love you I love you I love you.

Holly Collins

*Dark Sisters* by Kristi DeMeester is a haunting, genre-blending novel that intertwines horror with themes of feminine rage and empowerment. Spanning three timelines—it follows three women who confront a generational curse, each battling societal constraints and reclaiming their power. The narrative is both eerie and poetic, offering a visceral reading experience that lingers long after the final page. With its rich storytelling and atmospheric tension, *Dark Sisters* is a compelling choice for readers seeking a thought-provoking and chilling tale. I highly recommend.

I story with different POV and in different time lines coming together for a cathartic ending.
I really liked it!

#NetGalley

I want to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC copy in exchange for my review. This was an incredibly well written story that was hard to put down. It's written in three different timelines, 1750s, 1950s, and 2007. Each timeline centers on women who are oppressed by the men in their lives. In the 1750s, Anne and her daughter being accused of witchcraft makes a deal with an entity that causes a curse to continue on throughout the generations. The rest of the story deals with how this affects the women in all three timelines and how they deal with heartbreaking issues such as sickness, physical abuse, mental abuse, homophobia, and misogyny. All three timelines come together perfectly, which leaves nothing unexplained. However, this is a horror story. It's always a good idea to remember that, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." I very much recommend reading this highly entertaining novel.

This was a somewhat enjoyable read, I did feel more invested in one of the three timelines and found one of them to feel a bit lacking.

I don't mean to be overly picky, but the oldest timeline does mention having to flee into the forest and then survive there - the practical part of my mind can't wrap itself around the idea that somehow they took a horse with a wagon into the depths of a forest with no roads or paths... and then the horse disappears and is never mentioned again. I know this is something that most people probably won't be bothered by, but it got under my skin. The characters themselves were decently well crafted but their surroundings fell a bit flat.

As far as books about witchcraft and feminine rage - this was another book I'll recommend to folks looking for those tropes but it doesn't particularly stand out for me.

Kristi DeMeester has brought together a dark imaginings over a length of time with interludes into the lives which discovers how the redirection occurred. Within the connections of the years the quest into all the whys are intense. There where ups and downs but the path was achieved. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Feminine rage is real! This book is a minute between horror and historical fiction and we follow the lives of three oppressed women. I will say the it did take awhile for me to fully engage with the book, but once I was hooked I really enjoyed the store. And the ending was the perfect pay off.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC of Dark Sisters. I appreciate the chance to share my thoughts on the book.

This book was gristly and graphic! I had more than a few moments of borderline gross out at the descriptions of what was happening to a character. As a regular reader of horror and suspense, this is not a task easily accomplished and I welcomed feeling so uncomfortable at the gruesome scenes. Brava! If you are faint of heart, this wont likely be your cup of tea.

I really liked the narrative structure of each chapter featuring one of three time periods / group of character. The pacing was really well handled throughout, even with the added challenge the constantly shifting viewpoint. It felt almost cinematic to have 'cliff hangers' at the end of each chapter and made it really hard to put down as things were ramping up! I'm fascinated by this take on witches / witchcraft and despite my confusion on some the 'rules', I appreciated the world that was built to contain this story.

While I struggled to connect to one of the main characters, the other two leads were complex, flawed, and relatable. Their struggles of self vs community (colored by their specific time period) had me rooting for them (and groaning when they made 'the wrong choice').

Overall, this book was unique, compelling, brutal, and yet somehow also fun (maybe I'm just odd).

I've seen a lot of books recently promoted as tales of 'female rage' — which is great when they deliver. What sucks is when I patiently wait for the rage to come, and it's just...lackluster. Oh, she sends a scathing text and tells him to fuck off? Love that for her, but where's the primal, uninhibited anger? Where's the revenge, the justice?!

All of those are beautifully served on a silver platter in Dark Sisters. As we follow the lives of Anne (1750), Mary (1953), and Camilla (2007), we're thrown into the town of Hawthorne Springs with its defining features: Christianity is king, appearances are everything, and the men — no matter how deceptively kind they may seem — are firmly in charge. The degrees to which each of the three women is cast aside as an outsider from this path varies, but the underlying oppression is the same. The more things seem to change, the more they absolutely stay the same. As Anne, Mary, and Camilla struggle against the restraints of their time, they face a challenge to confront the light and the dark that dwells inside of them before it's too late.

The horror here is perfectly haunting because it's built up of all those little eerie things that could be misconstrued or imagined at first. Like a dream that you can't quite shake throughout the day. But as with any good horror book, the horrors *are* real and they're sinister as hell — just not in the way we might think.

There's also a queer love story that is tender and bittersweet (and all I'm saying is that I'll be forever waiting on a whole book about Sharon, my beloved witchy lesbian!) I actually came to love all of the women and all three timelines were equally as interesting to me.

I did this book the disservice of setting it down for about a week or so, but when I picked it up I finished the rest in an afternoon. Once the pieces are all laid out, the pace moves quickly as you try to form the puzzle. Simply put, if you're looking for a witchy, creepy story with genuine female rage, social commentary, and good ol' gory revenge, go forth and read! (Just beware that you'll never want to come across a tiny strand of hair in your mouth again.)

I'm excited to check out more of DeMeester's work! Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is truly a book of horror, but not the type of horror you’d think. This isn’t Michael Meyers chasing his sister around trying to kill her. Oh no, this is worse. This is real. This horror is alive and well, even today.

People can say look how far we’ve come as a civilization. But in all reality, we are no different or better than we were hundreds of years ago, and this book spells it out so well and so clear. The way women were, and are, still treated is chilling. Women are still second class citizens, at best. Objects. Possessions. This is a man’s world and they will stop at nothing to protect themselves.

Oh, I could go on and on. But please, read this book. I don’t give 5 stars to books lightly. They have to earn it. But I’d give this book 6 stars if I could. Horror, thriller, historical fiction. It’s scary because it’s real, and it’s relatable.

Halfway through and it’s a DNF for me.
There are three different story lines and none of them are pulling my interest. I have no idea if or how they connect and no idea who the dark sisters are. It’s just boring to me.

"Anne Bolton, a healer facing persecution for witchcraft, bargains with a dark entity for protection—but the fire she unleashes will reverberate for centuries. "
This book was absolutely a fabulous horror novel in which the real horror is that of man (e.g. misogyny, homophobia, religious oppression). Three women in three separate timelines show the true horrors of man...with a sprinkling of witchcrafts and a dark being. I ate this up. I have to say that the character development is absolutely phenomenal, and it made these characters relatable. I was absolutely rooting for the women to get revenge in this one!

The tale of the Dark Sisters has been passed down from generation to generation as a means to scare women and girls into complacency and virtue. In the small town of Hawthorne Springs there is a close-knit church, The Path, where men lead the congregation and women are expected to be guided by their husbands and faith. Women fall to a mysterious illness when they have been led astray, boils in their mouths, teeth falling out, and wasting away until death slowly comes. The Dark Sisters are coming. When Camilla sees the Dark Sisters for the first, she starts to wonder why they are there and question Hawthrone Springs honored traditions. With the women so tight lipped about the Dark Sisters and her mother and best friend suddenly falling ill with the mysterious illness that plagues their small town, will Camilla be able to unravel the mystery of her picturesque hometown or will she be led back into complacency by The Path.

Dark Sisters spans across multiple generations and builds up the story of what happens when females do not obey their fathers, husbands, church leaders, and above all, their god. Are women born with the innate ability of witchcraft and do the men in their lives save them from the devil himself, or use it for their own benefit?

I was immediately drawn in to the book with multiple time periods and the tale of the Dark Sisters and how they came to be. From the beginning, Kristi DeMeester takes us into a world where whispers of being a witch is enough to have you hanged and life revolves around the church. Mothers love, daughters love, and love for fellow women. Will it be enough to pull them through?

A beautifully written multiple point of view work of art. The raw emotions in this book were outstanding, I felt so much sympathy towards the characters and feminine rage burning deep within. Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this amazingly dark and empowering tale

💜 Dark Sisters (Pub Date: 12.9.25): This is my favorite horror read of the year my friends. It’s horror meets historical fiction with some witchy women that will pull you in and not let you go. I seriously couldn’t put it down and read it in one day. If you’re into horror and powerful, bad ass women you’ll love this. I can’t wait til I can get a physical copy!