The London Seance Society takes place in 1870s Paris and London. In it, we follow an ethereal, highly esteemed medium and spiritualist Vaudeline D'Allaire and her more skeptical, science minded apprentice Lenna. Lenna is seeking answers that Vaudeline may have about the murder of Lenna's sister Evie, as Evie was Vaudeline's previous apprentice. Vaudeline, who had previously fled London under mysterious circumstances, is unexpectedly summoned back to perform a seance for her dear friend Mr. Volkman, leader of the London Seance Society, who was murdered the same night as Evie--All Hallows Eve. His colleague, Mr. Morley, tells Vaudeline that he is convinced that a seance, and communication with Mr. Volckman, would uncover details that would lead them directly to the killer. To do this, Vaudeline and Lenna must spirit themselves from Paris to London, and lie in secret in the belly of the London Seance Society, a paranormal gentlemen's club where women are expressly forbidden.

I really appreciated how this book was dual POV: Lenna's and Mr. Morley's. It gives appropriate backstory and an insider's view into the inner workings of the London Seance Society, as well as views from an outsider hiding inside its walls. They also have drastically different personalities, which was fascinating to jump back and forth between--especially in the later chapters as more information is brought to light. 

I already knew that I loved Sarah Penner's writing style from The Lost Apothecary, and The London Seance Society was no exception. This book was truly a roller coaster of emotions. It was more of a murder mystery than I expected, but I really enjoyed having my suspicions early on, then learning whether I was right or totally off base. (Non-spoiler spoiler alert: I was right!) 

As someone married to a paranormal investigator in the 2020s, my favorite part of this book was read about techniques and methods that the Victorians used to communicate with the dead, many of which Penner explains in an Afterword are historically accurate. The Victorians, apparently, had somewhat of fascination with Death and the dead, and seances were a quite regular occurrence. Reading this book even prompted me to add a few less traditional, less technologically advanced, more "old school" paranormal gear under the tree for my husband this year.

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner is out March 31, 2023, and I seriously cannot wait for more people to read it. It has Sarah Penner's trademark poignancy that will leave you all in your feels, while also having you longing to take a trip to 1870s London, if only for a moment.

Sarah Penner lives in St. Petersburg so we are highly likely to purchase considering she is a local author.

I loved the Lost Apothecary, but this one didn’t land for me. The pace felt too slow and the opening felt too tell-not-show for me to get into it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Legend Press for the ARC.

I enjoyed The Lost Apothecary so I was very excited to receive an arc of the author’s newest novel! The world Penner created in The London Seance Society is tense and atmospheric and has you questioning what’s real and what’s a ruse. It’s obvious Penner did tons of research into the world of spiritualism and the inner workings of seances during the height of the spiritualist movement in London society. However, while I appreciated Penner’s thoroughness in her writing, I found myself bored throughout the majority of the novel. I never liked any of the characters or felt they had any real connection with each other. I didn’t become truly invested in the story until well over halfway through. Even then, I didn’t care about the characters or wish for justice or vengeance, I just needed to know how everything wrapped up. There were some twists that took me by surprise, and if I’m honest, those twists, which happen in the last 20% of the book, are the only reason this book is worth reading.

The book opens with Lenna Wickes whose sister, Evie, was recently murdered, apprenticing with internationally renowned medium Vaudeline D’Allaire. The two women are called to London to investigate the death of Vaudeline’s friend and president of the London Seance Society, Mr. Volkman, by Mr. Morley, the Society’s vice president. The women and Mr. Morley are soon playing a tense game of cat and mouse as they try to determine who killed Evie and Mr. Volkman.

Lenna had some good moments, but she came across as selfish and callous, especially towards the end. She does redeem herself, but I just never cared much about her, so it wasn’t a very satisfying redemption.

It was intriguing to have Mr. Morely’s point of view as we see how Evie became involved in the society and Morely’s connection to her and Mr. Volkman. Again, I just never liked him or any of the other characters.

Honestly, I think I would have preferred the story from Vaudeline’s point of view, or even having Evie’s POV at points would have been interesting since the book does vacillate between past and present.

While I didn’t love the characters or find myself enjoying the majority of the novel, I found myself entranced for the last 20% of the book. I couldn’t stop reading and had to know how things ended. If you enjoy murder mysteries with a paranormal element, or have any interest in the spiritualist movement of the Victorian period, I think you’ll enjoy this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

I am all for a Victorian England setting. The creepy vibes were on point and I was so stunned by where the book was taking to.
It was a bit slow at points, but it didn’t take away from the story!

Creepy and compelling!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book.

Ms. Penner thoroughly researched seances, but this book was a disappointment.

I loved THE LOST APOTHECARY and was looking forward to another great read.

The characters were not any I connected with along with the story line.

There were certain surprises with who was who and who was really honest, but it was difficult to follow.

I kept reading because I wanted to see how this all ended up and why so many readers gave it high praise.

It still ended up to be disappointing for me.

This book will be enjoyed by those readers who enjoy spiritualism.

It was not enjoyable for me even though I read until the end. 2/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

“May mercy be upon the man who finds himself the enemy of a vengeful medium…”

Don’t throw the book at me, but I’ll be honest and tell you that my copy of The Apothecary is still on the shelf, unread. Curiosity had me eager to read something by this wildly popular author and I was willing to ride the coattails of her debut’s popularity….promising myself that I’d read my dusty copy if I liked this one.

I appreciated the exploration into the question of whether women in the 19th century could adequately live out their passion or calling and whether they really found power or if it was simply an illusion.

I was hooked by the premise of a conjurer solving baffling murder mysteries. I knew that the Victorians were curious about the supernatural and appreciated the author’s note that this book was loosely based on the London Ghost Club.

The characters were great, the different POVs added to the development, and the mystery was ok, but the atmosphere was the star of the show. Definitely.

Despite all these positives, though, the book fell short for me. It was not a compelling read and I felt that the characters didn’t represent what I’d read about Victorian society. Furthermore, due to severe pacing problems mid-way through, I kept setting the book aside. Had the author been able to bridge the gap with an emotional pull, or have a tighter rein on the plot development, I might have enjoyed this one more.

I know this will be a popular book for many, but it didn’t appeal to me.

I was gifted this copy by Legend Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This is an interesting delve into the world of séances and the supernatural in victorian England. An enjoyable read if you're looking for an easy historical read.

First things first…. The cover of this book is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. What’s nice though is not only is the cover amazing but the pages in between the covers is equally as great. One of the quotes in the description of the books is “May mercy be upon the man who finds himself the enemy of a vengeful medium…”. And boy is that true in this book. The book goes back and forth between Lenna, a women who is determined to learn the truth behind her sister’s untimely death, and Mr Morley one of the members of the London Séance. Lenna must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When her mentor Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves…

This book had a great mystery mixed with some supernatural and a great love story. If Sarah Penner is going to keep putting out books like her last two I can wait to see what she comes up with next.

Victorian era London, this book follows the story of Lenna, whose sister was found murdered. Lenna is an apprentice to a famous Medium, with the hope that she herself can hold a Séance and find her sisters killer.

This seemed to have all the ingredients for my kind of book and initially I really enjoyed it, being hooked on the story. However the middle of the book dragged hugely, feeling like a real chore to keep reading which is such a disappointment because the premise with interesting and honestly, it's difficult to make Spiritualism dull.

I have heard many good things about this Author, I've yet to read any of her other work, however it won't put me off from reading it in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this ARC.

It’s 1873, and on the outskirts of Paris, France, a seance is about to commence in the eerie confines of an abandoned chateau. Leading the seance is acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire, who has a talent for bringing forth murder victims, in order to discover the person responsible for their deaths. Not unnaturally, D’Allaire is very popular both with grieving widows and investigators alike.

Lenna Wickes has come to Paris as an understudy with D’Allaire but she’s also here to discover who killed her sister Evie, but unlike Evie, Lenna is rather sceptical about the afterlife, never mind contacting the dead.

After the seance, D’Allaire’s services are required in London by the London Seance Society, to solve a high profile murder, and accompanied by Lenna, the two will find themselves in extreme danger as they battle some of the most powerful men in London, because Lenna is determined to avenge Evie’s death, regardless of whether that person yields power or not.

Victorian London is brought deliciously to life in this creepy gothic storyline, and especially the popularity of spiritualism, it’s simply oozing with atmosphere. It’s eerie, full of suspense, with a little romance thrown in for good measure, not to mention some salacious propositions!

I love the paranormal vibes, sapphic relationship and murder mystery set in Victorian era vibes. This was highly engaging and I really liked the ambiance of the book. I can’t wait for people to pick this up next year!

The London Seance Society was my first time reading a book by Sarah Penner, I really enjoyed the writing style. I liked the story line and the follow of the story, I can't wait to share this book with the readers a Yooneek Books.

I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction but I jumped at the chance to read this as I'm a lover of anything to do with the occult.
This book was a treat, murder, mystery and ghosts.
London in 1873 Lenna's sister is murdered and her goal is to find out how, who and why.
I really enjoyed this and will definitely be interested in reading more of Sarah Penner's work.

I really enjoyed this one!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Park Row Books for my advanced copy of The London Seance Society!

What I Loved-

✨ The Cover- Stunning.

✨ The Atmosphere- Amazing.

✨ The Dual POV.

✨ The History.

✨ The Characters.

✨ The Mystery.

Why this wasn’t a Five Star Read- The beginning of the novel moved very slow for me. It took me a minute to get into.

Overall- highly recommend. I cannot wait to see what this author puts out next.

Wonderful in evetry way

Gothic and compelling

Lovely scenes and scary ones at the seances!

Good writing and an overall exciting plot which I felt part of.

What a good story!

I loved the characters and the plot of the story, I will definitely be reading more from this author.

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

Thank you Netgalley and Legend Press for an arc ebook for an unbiased review.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Lost Apothecary, and so was extremely excited to read this arc.

Lenna's sister Evie is killed. Up until then, Lenna Wickes was driven by a belief in the sciences, and most certainly not by something she had considered to be meaningless and irrational.
Now, Lenna travels to an abandoned château, where she asks the renowned medium, Vaudeline D’Allaire, to see if she can get answers about Evie's death. Despite becoming Vaudeline's understudy, Lenna still finds it hard to accept séances as anything other than exaggerated parlour games.
From the château, we then end up in London, where at the bequest of Mr Morley, Vaudeline accompanied by Lenna, travels to try and find a killer.

I won't say more, as it might verge into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say, there are layers of complexity and connection that not only were surprising to me as we went along, but could easily become too entangled, and yet Sarah manages to weave them nicely.

Engaging, vivid and once it got past an initial slow buildup, was superbly paced. Murder and mystery aren't always something that can be pulled off, yet here it works. From the abandoned château to Londons Séance Society, we are drawn into a world that is rich with the right amount of gothic vibes. We have some romance, and usually, in the kind of setting such as this it would annoy me, yet it isn't the focus here, and so blends into the background without distracting you from the book's true purpose.

I am so tempted to just give 5 stars, but I felt the pacing was just a tad too slow initially, and that pulls the star off. Well more of a ½ star. Others could easily give it 5 stars, and I wouldn't have any qualms about them doing so. In one way I feel almost disappointed in not giving it 5 stars myself. Argh, the dilemma! lol

Certainly a book I will place onto my bookshelves once released, and have no problem gifting or recommending it to others.

4/5 stars 🌟

Welcome to the world of the occult, romance, and death.

Vaudeline is known throughout the world for her skill in conjuring the spirits of murder victims in order to ascertain the identities of their killers. An esteemed spiritualist, she had solved several of Europe's most baffling murder mysteries.
Lenna, Vaudeline's apprentice, would have to learn the art of séance herself in Paris, then return to the site of Evie's death with the hope of conjuring her sister's spirit on her own. These ghosts were victims of violence, and they are gone too soon. They'd been murdered, every one of them. And worse, their killers had gotten away.

Could women find their voice, their power, and their mission in the 19th century, when men were in charge?

The lively female protagonists, who are not only looking for the killer but also their passion, are perfectly described in this historical fiction.

Good read.

I loved The Lost Apothecary and I picked this without reading the blurb and was hoping for a similar read. Unfortunately it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I found it to be a very slow burn read. I didn't particularly connect to the characters which didn't help with the enjoyment of the book. I really wanted to enjoy this book, so maybe I will revisit post publication. The writing style was perfect, the subject was interesting so it wasn't all bad