I read this book up to 40% - I want to make it clear that I did not finish but I still have some feedback to give.

While I was intrigued by the idea of a story told from a spinster - the main character did not act like she was spinster age. It felt very juvenile. I also was a little disturbed by the fact that plot was mostly revolving around her self-harm.

Considering the book is MAINLY FOCUSED on self-harm this book can be very harmful to those who struggle with self-harm and a trigger warning is necessary.

Set in Victorian times historically, here is a tragic horror tale so graphic I had a hard time reading to the end. A young woman who’s birth resulted in her mothers death, set her on a path to self destruction. Iseult is a young women who by Victorian standards is disfigured and unsuited for marriage. Her father continues to trot her out to possible young men only to have them turn her down . It seems her mother can communicate with her daughter through a scar in her neck. It’s the constant communication that drives Iseult to find a way to silence this voice . The only way she finds to stop this is through self mutilation. A macabre resolution. A sad story

I love gothic novels, and the Victorian period is my favorite, but the self-mutilation in this novel was really hard for me to read. This is definitely a disturbing book, it didn't really work for me.

I was intrigued by the premise - and particularly drawn by the cover. A creepy gothic tale sounded great to me! Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into it so this was a DNF for me.

Iseult is a young Victorian woman who hears her dead mother's voice in her head (her mother who died when Iseult was a child). Her mother guides her through life situations. However, Iseult has found a way to calm the voice--by cutting herself. Most of the characters in the book are not very likeable--Iseult is very odd. Her father is very nasty to her. The aunt is not very kind. The potential fiancés are not "swoon worthy." There is not much that happens in the book. I kept waiting for there to be "something" happening but there is not much of a plot. Mainly we are waiting for Iseult to find a fiancé and to stop cutting herself. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The writing style is intriguing for this story. After the first 100 pages, though, the grotesqueness of the story began to wear on me.

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. This debut book is set in Victorian times. Iseult Wince is 28, and her father is down to very few suitable men for her to marry. She has a problem with thinking that her dead mother lives in a scar in her neck. Will she get married or will her mother kill her first?

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I really just could not get into this. I tried and failed repeatedly and just didn’t love the characters. I didn’t like the writing style but that is likely just me.

Not very good, just weird and annoying. Too creepy for my tastes. Also, why didn't any of iseult's wounds ever get infected? Antibiotics had not been discovered yet....

I had no idea what to expect when a read this book and I ended up very much pleased with this selection. Dark and interesting , it held my attention from page one. this was a unique book, I would totally recommend it. Thank you, Henry Holt and Co. for this gifted copy.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I found this to be a very different and surprisingly good read almost immediately. This gothic thriller will leave you on the edge your seat no dobt! As I'll say their is some trigger warnings in the book the blurb will give you, I had no issues with. A new author to me this book was hauntingly good!

Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

Now that I got that out of my system. This book was everything I hoped for and boy, did I get it ten fold.
Miss Iseult is a bit different, a bit odd, a bit peculiar.. Her father despises her and her mother passed away in childbirth, or so she was told. During this childbirth, Iseult had her clavicle broken and endured surgeries to fix the abnormality. As she grew older, she began to believe that her mother lived within the scar. Her mother would speak with her daily. She was caught out often. Hence, description of odd, different, and peculiar.

Iseult is now almost passed marrying age and her father has become restless attempting to find a suitor. Unfortunately, these suitors are not necessarily her cup of tea and she does her best to dissuade them. After each occurrence with a suitor, she removes herself upstairs to her room and takes out from hiding her journal called The Unsuitables. .Here she writes of the suitors and how displeased she is with them and her hopes that they do not come back, the anger and unease she experiences with her father, and what she tolerates less and less from her mother and what she does to make her mother shut up. And the truth. Her father is a most unpleasant man. The truth will be laid bare on Iseult's wedding day. Again her father is most unpleasant man.

Dark, unsettling, cruel at times, and even a weird sense of hope, emanate from this novel. So creative. So profound. And at once repulsed, Iseult may have even found love, or something like it. The journey will be uncomfortable, unless you are like me, and find Iseult enthralling.

Thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Molly Pohlig for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Yet another book that I get approved for on NetGalley and feel guilty about not reading and end up buying my own copy. And you know, I'm glad I did get my own copy. This book is dark and quirky and weird and uncomfortable and I absolutely loved it. Probably not for the faint of heart-- some of those descriptions!! the body gore!! ahh! -- but Iseult was such a unique voice that I couldn't put it down. I would recommend it in a heartbeat.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. A young woman has a complicated relationship with her father and her departed mother. The story is centered around her objections to her father trying to marry her off for several years. She deals with her stressors by self-injuring. Her only friend is the housekeeper who raised her. No spoilers, but I was not expecting the ending.

My only complaint about this book is the dialogue between the mother and daughter was difficult to read because of the structure and the change in font. The change in font may not have been as bothersome if the dialogue used capitals, punctuation, and common sentence structure, though this may have been an intended literary device.

WOW. W O W. So I went into this book knowing exactly nothing about it and I think it was better that way. This book is completely and totally *nuts* but in the best possible way. It’s a wholly unique and quirky story and I can honestly I say I have never read anything like it.

Iseult’s mother is dead but she believes her mother lives in the scar on her neck. That’s all you really need to know. What results from that is a Victorian “horror” story that, at times, is more a comedy of errors. This story has a lot of heart and a LOT of laughter. There were times when I was positively cackling.

I’m not entirely sure how to categorize this because it is definitely on the darker side. Iseult’s means to ~cleanse herself of her mother’s presence are not for the faint of heart. So while this novel is quite fun at times, it’s also darker and perfect for spooky season. (Have I confused you yet? This novel is so totally unique, it’s a little hard to describe.)

It is so completely and totally worth it though! This book hooked me from the start and kept me going, wanting to know more and unravel exactly what's happening. The characters are all fascinating, the writing is wonderful and the story is, well, unlike anything I've ever read before and I'm so glad to have read it now. I only wish I hadn't waited quite so long. This book has been sitting on my kindle for months, just waiting for me to have time for it. I wish I'd made time for it long before now.

But anyway. If you’re looking for a quick little, fascinating and fun but also sad and scary jaunt for spooky season, I HIGHLY recommend this one! I absolutely loved this book and I will definitely be revisiting it in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt Books for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review! It was an absolute pleasure!!

I feel conflicted about giving this book a rating. Overall, it was an interesting book with interesting characters and some gruesome scenes. I wanted to like this book, and in a way I did, but it just was not the book I needed right now. This book was dark and discussed self-mutilation in one of the most disgustingly graphic ways I've ever read, which was a big minus for me. This book was also not very plot-driven, which isn't necessarily a negative, but the first half of the book felt like it took forever to get through.
Overall, this wasn't the book I needed right now, and although I thought it was an interesting book, I can't really see myself recommending this book to anyone, at least not right now when almost everyone I know is having decreased mental and emotional health.

This was a strange book that it just couldn't get into. I think this would have been more powerful as a tightly edited short story or novella than a novel.

This is a dark Gothic horror story taking place in the Victorian era. Despite the fact that it's well written, I found the book disturbing. The descriptions of self harm and intimations of mental illness were chilling.

I found the style of writing made it difficult to fully engage in the book. It was heavy and a bit archaic.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley. I am leaving my honest review.

I could not get into this book. I found the style difficult to read and the story just didn’t grab me no matter how far into the book I got.

This book was a little weird. It had a great premise, but I don't think it was carried out to its full potential. The strange punctuation and capitalization throughout also made it hard to concentrate on exactly what was trying to be told. I had high hopes, but this one just didn't do it for me.