I was thrilled to get an advanced reader copy of this book by Sarah Penner. As a huge fan of her debut novel, I felt like having to wait for her next book was going to be difficult. Like her first novel, this book is a page turner due to the easy-to-follow narration (not an easy feat when you are going back and forth with the narrators). If you're a fan of Victorian history and magic, this for sure is a spooky read that you will want to pick up. My one critical feedback is that it was a slower start than the first book and even though it had thriller elements, the ending was not difficult to predict. However, it keeps you on the hook!

Lacking the magic of The Lost Apothecary.

I started The London Seance Society anticipating reading about the craft of a group of women. I was immediately drawn in - the first chapter inserting you directly into the middle of an active seance. Then, the plot quickly changed and I was no longer captivated. While Penner penned a masterful telling Victorian London, once again proving herself an adept researcher, I was unable to connect with any of the characters. I think this was partly due to the choice in prose and the fact that both POVs had a tendency to jump back and forth in time with little warning. I was intrigued enough to see the novel through, but it did take me longer to finish than normal and I never got overly invested in the conclusion. While The London Seance Society is an interesting historical fiction, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations having read The Lost Apothecary, which was a five star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Park Row for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Penner did it disappoint! I loved the suspense and build up thought out this book. She grabbed our attention and I was hooked from page one. Penner’s research was evident in the smallest details that present in this book. She truly transported her readers to 19th century London.

Thank you so much Netgalley for harlequin for allowing me to read this in advance!

Ghosts, spirits, two bloody and brutal murders’ connection, the spiritualists’ hard efforts to connect with the deadly souls to find the killers: I scream yes to all those elements! Who can resist the charm of another brilliant historical thriller created by Sarah Penner’s intelligent mind!

The story told by two POVs: Lenna ( apprentice of famous spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire even though she believes in science and concrete evidences. She’s desperate to find the killer of her sister Evie who was also an apprentice of Vaudeline and who also believed in spiritualism and was bold enough to risk her life to go too far to connect with the spirits.

Other POV is Mr. M. Morley of London, vice-
president of the Society's Department of Spiritualism. His predecessor Mr. Wolckman was killed brutally and he was the one who has found his corpse! The society members did everything to connect with his spirit and they also start to work with law enforcement but nothing helped them to find the identity of the killer.

That’s why Mr. Morley sends a letter to Ms. D’Allaire, requesting her service to solve this big mystery. Vaudeline was close friend of Wolckman and his wife. She was a member of Society's Department of Spiritualism till she suspected the fraudulent activities which were conducted by some of the members, sent away to Paris for protection.

Mr. Wolckman was too close to identify the people who were behind the scheming and fraudulent but unfortunately somebody shut him up before he reveals the truth.

Lenna’s sister died at the same day with Mr. Wolckman anc Vaudeline promises her to have a special séance to connect with her spirit at the place she’s died.

At first Lenna had hesitations because she had truly hard time to believe in conniving ways of spiritualism but when she accompanies Vaudeline throughout her trip, her encounter with Mr. Morley makes her think that mysterious man could be related with her sister and he may know more about her secrets that can help her to find who actually killed her. Eventually she accepts to work with Vaudeline to find the truth which may out both their lives into danger.

Well, even though it started a little slow burn, I loved the eccentric characters and tempting spiritualists’ world and the last quarter was absolutely smart, mind spinning, fast pacing!
It pushed me to add extra half star to my grading. I’m rounding up 4.5 to 5 brilliant, addictive, jaw dropping stars!

I advise you to read it! Full enjoyment and thrill are guaranteed!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sharing this amazing reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Sarah Penner has done it again! This book was captivating from the very first page!

It follows the lives of 2 sisters. Leena is on a mission to find out who murdered her sister Evie. As the story unfolds there are so many twists and turns it takes. Once you think you have it figured out...bam...something adds to the suspense!
Penner is amazing at capturing your attention and the time period she writes about. She has become one of my favorite authors!

Thank you netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

After reading Sarah Penner's debut novel, The Lost Apothecary, I immediately knew I would be interested in reading whatever she writes. When I found out her second novel was going to be darker, spookier and about seances, I was super excited to get my hands on this ARC.

This book is written from two POV's: Lenna Wickes and Mr. Morley. We are introduced to Lenna and her seance instructor, Vaudeline, from the beginning of the novel and we follow these two women as they uncover a sinister mystery that takes place at the London Seance Society where Mr. Morley is one of the men in charge.

This book started out interesting but I had trouble becoming absorbed with this one. I think I expected to be sucked in immediately, like I was with Penner's previous book. By about 25%, I was much more intrigued with the plot. The book moved rather slow and sinister until about the halfway point where the book takes off from there. The last quarter of the book I couldn't put it down and I was racing through the pages to find out what would happen. The ending felt a tad rushed and much too neatly concluded, but overall, I really enjoyed the unique premise, the darker feel and the eerie events. Loved the whole idea behind the seance and the connection with the dead. I also enjoyed seeing how the events unfolded and were explained. Without giving too much away, Penner has a creative imagination with how she wove the "behind the scenes" events of the London Seance Society and their motives.

If you enjoy dark magic, a look into the afterlife, sinister cult-like societies, dark academia, strong female leads and historical fantasy, this book is the perfect read.

4 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC. I am posting my review to Goodreads and plan to post on my personal Instagram and Facebook accounts closer to publication.

I love that Sarah Penner taps into these dark and mysterious topics of seances and apothecaries in her books while cloaked within a secret London society. Historical fiction at its finest. Well done!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Harlequin Trade Publishing and #NetGalley. Thank you to the publishers, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.



An entertaining read full of suspense and intrigue.

This book was so good. I really enjoyed The Lost Apothecary last year, and The London Séance Society was even better. I kept thinking “seductive mystery” when trying to decide how to describe the overall vibe of the book.

Lenna has suffered great loss in her life and is doing everything she can to find out what happened to her sister, Evie. She’s brave, determined, and trying to open her tangible science mind to the intangible world of séance to study under spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. There’s an underlying current between the two of them that you can feel in the pages as they work in Paris and then travel back to London. Vaudeline is asked to return and perform a séance to reveal who murdered the Society president. Through the perspective of Mr. Morley, vice president of the Society, more of Evie’s backstory is revealed and scandal in the Society begins to be exposed. The whole novel is a winding and weaving tale that comes to a dramatic conclusion with a twist I didn’t see coming. There’s an added finale moment that was unexpected, but so satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC copy.

First and foremost, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the privilege of reading The London Séance Society in premiere.
This book was an incredible read. The ambiance that the author sets was – in my opinion – better than the first book. I also took a liking to this work more than The Lost Apothecary because it was sapphic, and everybody loves a good historical sapphic romance. I just wish the relationship between Lenna and Vaudeline had been more deepened because I just loved them so much. The scar scene was my favorite.
I also very much enjoyed the intrigue, and all my questions were answered, though it felt like it was little predictable.
Sarah Penner did it again and worte a masterpiece : her writing is simply beautiful. Once again, I am so flattered to have had such an honor.

I enjoyed the base of the story and I did not see all of the twists coming. This definitely had a few surprises.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC. Lenna Wikes has lost her sister, Evie. She was found murdered in their backyard. Evie had been an avid paranormal understudy to the famous spiritualist Vaudeline d'Allaire before she died. The sisters were close but didn't see eye to eye on the notion of an afterlife and ghosts. Evie was always writing in a journal and Lenna wanted to find it. Maybe that would help solve her murder.

Lenna travels to Paris to become an understudy to Vaudeline, hoping to learn more about what her sister was so obsessed with. Lenna is into rocks and science and the physical proof of something that existed, like a scarab. She is cynical about the seances that Vaudeline holds. Perhaps with proof, not only would she learn to believe in the paranormal but also help solve the murder of her sister.

Vaudeline was suddenly called back to London to solve a high profile murder at The London Seance Society. The club only allowed men in but as Vaudeline was popular for her skills and a friend of the deceased, the Vice President was able to sneak her in. Lenna decides to go with her to learn more about the occult and because she feels a personal pull to Vaudeline. The President of the Club was murdered on All Hallow's Eve, the same night as her sister's murder. As the mystery starts to unravel, they start to find connections to Evie and the club. Both Lenna and Vaudeline start to realize that the Vice President is hiding something and that something more sinister is afoot.

I found the book fast paced and exciting. It was interesting and surprising. While intense, I felt the ending dragged a little. I wasn't aware of the lesbian arc which I could have done without. Overall, I quit enjoyed it.

Captivating. Romantic. Thrilling. Suspenseful. Delightfully spooky! The story pulled me in from the start and it was a never ending series of unexpected events, plot twists and incredible character development. A beautiful reminder of a woman’s powerful influence in this world, especially when we ban together. The most impactful theme in this story though is certainly what we all have inherently in common, what united all of us no matter who we are, where we come from, what we believe: love. Love wins, for everyone.

This was incredibly atmospheric and just dripping with a gothic mystery. I ignored my daily chores just to figure out what happened next. It is a gorgeous read.

This story would be great for those who enjoyed Ms. Penner’s previous book, historical fiction, the supernatural, mystery, and LGBTQ romances. In this book there are two points of view - Lenna, an English woman skeptical about the spiritual world, and Mr. Morley, who has a position of rank at the London Seance Society. What that book has going for it is the research that Ms. Penner has (again) done - her sources (and recipes) are in the back of the book. This book started off strong for me - fakery in seances I find interesting (ghost photography) - but as it progressed was more about the mystery and less about mediumship and seances. I also felt that the romance was there to, well, be there - opposed to it moving the story along. The lead-up to the ending felt a bit rushed for my taste. However, if Ms. Penner’s first book was something you enjoyed, I would strongly recommend this book to you. 3.5 out of 5 starts, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC!

Story Synopsis: Great for fans of historical fiction, mystery, and LGBTQ romance novels, The London Seance Society weaves a tale of mystery, heartache, love, and murder in 1800s London. Lenna, a young Englishwoman, lives in Paris under the tutelage of Vaudeline D’Allaire - a powerful medium who contacts murder victims to discover the identity of their killers. Vaudeline receives a request to visit London and identify the killer of a friend and longtime leader of The London Seance Society, Mr. Volkman. Lenna travels with Vaudeline under the guise of continued mediumship training but plans to secretly investigate her sister Evie’s murder.

Thoughts & Feelings: I had high, high hopes for The London Seance Society after Penner’s debut novel, The Lost Apothecary was one of my favorite books read in 2021. he London Seance Society started strong. In the late 1800s, women could be friends but not lovers, and I always enjoy seeing LGBTQ representation in historical fiction. However, as the book progressed, I was disappointed there was not more in the way of mediumship and seances, and the book was more like a mystery. The end also felt extremely rushed. I also hated that Lenna’s part was written in the third person, while another character was written in the first person. It felt disjointed. And there are massive issues and implications with it for the story, but I won’t say more to avoid spoilers.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Lenna Wickes is drawn into the world of spiritualism as she becomes frustrated with the police investigation of her sister's death. Was there any meaning to her sister's death on All Hallows eve? Lenna begins her own investigation as an understudy of renowned medium Vaudeline D'Allaire. She soon discovers that many spiritualists are indeed fake. She observes Vaudeline and can't quite make up her mind. Lenna's sister also studied with Vaudeline, was she interested in the truth or in making money available at a seance? Lenna finds herself drawn to the beautiful and mysterious Vaudeline but finds herself wondering who she can trust. Is Vaudeline helping her reveal the scam or is she part of the scam? It is hard to know.

Sarah Penner's sophomore book is excellent. She has thoroughly researched the spiritualism fads. Grief attracted many who wished to prey on the grieving family. The various spiritualism societies discoverd that when spiritualism was funded by the wealthy members of society, the fraud was protected and continued. There are several twists in the story that are quite surprising. Some events are expected but the details can be shocking. Descriptions of the various locations in London place the reader in the time of the seance. It is amusing to read the different trickery done to convince people that a spirit was at their seance. Hard to imagine someone trying these things today as some schemes were simple and others were quite elaborate. All of this information fills the story out nicely. Penner has returned us to old England and entertwines sisterly love, trust and devotion with spiritualism, seances, and fraud. This is an excellent blend!

While I did finish this book, it was a struggle for me. I did not enjoy the romance between the two women characters. It was little more than sexual, and added absolutely nothing to the plot. While some people may want to read about a person masturbating, I did not find it appealing at all. I won't be reading anything else by this author.

I love anything Victorian, set in London, dealing with magic, so I was very excited for this read. The author takes us to Victorian London in vivid detail and gets the atmospheric mood right: it's dark, and foggy, and I could see gaslamps and hear the clip clop of horses and carriages on cobblestones. As a Victorian and history buff, I found the book to be well-researched. Some universal themes are explored here, such as loss, grief, the pursuit of justice, and the means we'll turn to when we're desperate for answers and closure.

It was a pleasant read, but not a standout - the mystery element wasn't quite strong enough for me, and the prose was overly fluffy at times. As a reader of history and 'serious' historical fiction, this felt more like a cozy, light read to me, which I'm sure some will appreciate, but for me this was just a fun read and not something substantial.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

Sarah Penner is 2/2! This book was so fantastic I couldn't put it down!! Her writing style and the atmosphere she creates is absolutely incredible. The story was so wrought with twists and turns I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on half the time (in the absolute best way possible). If you were a fan of The Lost Apothecary, this should definitely be a favourite as well. I'll probably have to buy the print copy just to have it on hand (it helps that the cover is so pretty too)

Thank you so much to Netgalley for allowing me to read this wonderful title!!