I absolutely loved this novel.
Such a great story with defined characters and a great plot.
What drew me in the most was how fleshed out the characters were
The writing style was fluid and relateable.
The cover was fascinating as well.
A reviting read overall
Definitely recommend adding this to your TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

Sarah Penner's sophomore novel brings her readers back into a side of London that is not always seen. This story follows Lenna as she apprentices a famous medium as she tries to find the answers she has wanted about her sister's murder. The premise of this book intrigued me, and though it was interesting this story ultimately fell flat for me. I found some plot points to be a bit predictable, and I missed some of the twists and turns that Penner took with her debut novel, The Lost Apothecary. I think this could be a fun read for fall, but it is not anything groundbreaking.

I really enjoyed this book and so many aspects of the novel. The Victoriana, the Spiritualism, the sexuality, the exploration of patriarchy and gender. Really well written, throughly engaging and exciting, and great characterisation. Loved it.

I loved The Lost Apothecary and was thrilled to read this book. I was gripped by the plot of this story and enjoyed it. While there was a slow start, there were many twists to keep the reader engaged. Recommend!

I felt that the author had developed a lot since her first novel and the mystery plot was definitely better thought out and paced compared to the mystery of The Lost Apothecary.

I also felt that Lenna was infinitely more likeable as a character than Caroline from Lost Apothecary.

Overall really enjoyed it and will be reading whatever the author comes out with next.

I was really gripped by the plot of this story. It took a little while to get into it, but once I was hooked, I could not put this down.

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. It was well written, but unfortunately, I found it quite slow, and I didn't connect with it

A different amd intriguing read, felt it could of been better. I might re-read at a later date. Definitely worth the read.

The London Séance Society follows the story of multiple characters Lena, Vaudeline and Mr Morley mainly. Vaudeline is a renowned medium specializing in finding murder victims killers who had been chased out of London. Lena is a sceptic who has joined Vaudeline in Paris to learn the craft in the hope to call on her dead sister. Mr Morley is the Vice President of the London séance society and enlists there help when the president is killed. As the story unfolded it appears that these deaths could be linked and there are many secrets to uncover.
The story was interesting and had many twists to keep you intrigued. Each chapter focuses on one of the characters views of the events. It was well written and easy to read. I did find it a little repetitive though. As the characters explain there involvement they go over the same events and to be honest they were the same story repeated, nothing knew was revealed so I felt like I was reading the same thing over and over. It was an enjoyable read but it was slow going based because of this. I would have preferred a little more variety in the characters versions of the story.

This was a super quick and fun read to delve in to. It has fantastic character development, has a little bit of everything included for everyone, and is just a really good and easy read to enjoy

Thankyou to Netgalley for gifting me this arc copy of the London Seance Society.
I started reading this on my kindle and then the publisher kindly sent it to me in physical form too.
Lovers of historical fiction will really enjoy this and I did too. The mystery and suspense was present throughout but fell kind of flat towards the end. A good cast of characters making it a 3 star read.

The London Seance Society
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Sarah Penner
GR: 3.51

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Legend Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This story has a little of everything, creepiness, spiritual, suspense, romance, and told in a historical background. Lenna, while an apprentice, is really interested in solving her sister’s murder. Lenna does not believe in the spiritual world and believes in science and actual evidence, but will do anything to find out who murdered her sister. Wolckman’s death occurs around the same time as Evie’s death. Wolckman was very close to undermining the deceptive practices of The London Seance Society when he was mysteriously murdered.

The story is dual narrated by Lenna, Evie’s sister and apprentice of D’Allaire and Morley, the VP of London’s Seance Society. The story starts off as a slow burn, building the storyline. The last part of the book really unfolds dramatically. The characters were well developed with depth, mystery, eccentric, and creative. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, twisty, and kept you intrigued, especially the latter half of the story. The author does an amazing job with the background of The London Seance Society with the culture, history, and norms. The plot was intriguing but at times, I found the storyline a bit repetitive and dragged a little in the first half of the story.

Overall, a good read. However, I think it would have been better if the twists and excitement were earlier in the novel. The ending was not predictable, which I loved. I had a hard time staying on track for the first half of the book. However, I would recommend this story for other readers to pick up, especially if you enjoyed her prior novel, The Lost Apothecary.

Sarah Penner - The London Seance Society.

THE BLURB…

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER March 2023
'Gloriously gothic, delightfully atmospheric slice of Victoriana' Daily Mail
From the author of the intoxicating bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes an entrancing exploration of the blurred lines between truth and illusion and the grave risks women take to avenge the ones they love.
'A great choice for fans of historical European settings, the power of women, and the fringes of the paranormal' Booklist Starred Review

May mercy be upon the man who finds himself the enemy of a vengeful medium…
1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.
Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When 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…
A Most Anticipated title by: Good Housekeeping, Washington Post, E! News, Bookpage, CrimeReads, Readers Digest, Popsugar, The EveryGirl, Sunset Magazine and more.
'Steeped in suspense, mystery, and illusion' Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestseller of The Maid
'Breathtaking' Pam Jenoff
'Smart and seductive' Fiona Davis
'An explosive, immersive, time-bomb of a novel' Laurie Lico Albanese
'Mesmerizing, seductive and absolutely irresistible' Hank Phillippi Ryan

MY REVIEW…
This book is a pretty slow burner, but after the build up comes a gripping read, about two feisty women on a mission to solve a mystery.
It’s full of historical detail that will intrigue the reader.
Sarah Penner is a bold writer who creates an atmospheric story and really brings to life Victorian London in all it’s eerie spiritual glory.

This is a delicious read. Plough through the slow start and you won’t be disappointed.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to Netgalley and Legend Press for a digital arc of this title.

I haven’t read this author’s first book, so unfortunately I can’t give a comparison on writing style. However, I didn’t thoroughly enjoy this title. The solving of a murder mystery was intriguing, but overall, it fell flat for me. I would probably give other titles by this author a try.

Look I am dissapointed ..
the hardback is beautiful
the narrator is lovely
gthe concept is perfect
the actual story has great characters, the correct historical victorian society and time frame aspects are correct.

then what happened?
Lenna is so boring
There is no need for the romance angle because its bland and doesn't feel real.
the book starts and ends great but the middle is too drawn out.

if the good wasnt there this would have been a DNF

This has a really good premise, and the characters were well-rounded. It was a slow start for me, which unfortunately meant in my case I lost momentum with it, but lovers of historical fiction will enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Legend Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. 4.25 stars rounding down to 4 for GoodReads. After having read Penner's first novel and enjoying it, I was quite excited to receive an arc of their latest book despite having no idea what it was about. I was immediately enraptured by the title specifically and am pleased to say that this book was a great reading experience. Both the plot and characters of this one were very solid and I liked that it was set only in the 1870s. For the most part, the setting felt like it was back in time although a bit more description would've really boosted this one for me. The plot isn't necessarily very twisty in that there were no gasps as I was reading but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think the plot progressed in a natural way and I really enjoyed the story overall. I do wish the writing was a bit cleaner and then this would've been closer to a five-star read for me. Penner put all of the characters' thoughts and reasons for each and every action onto the page and I don't think it was super necessary. I found myself already understanding the characters' motivations and they were a bit too spelled out on the page at times. I am excited to see what Penner does next as I think they have the ability to really grow in their career as a writer.

I quite enjoy historical fiction especially with a gothic twist so thought this one would be right up my street.

Overall I enjoyed it but for me it was a bit slow.

Thank you to #NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this.

The London Seance Society is a bit of an odd collection of men, working across London seemingly conducting seances, but there's trickery and fraud afoot and that's not all.

True spiritualist Vaudeline D'Allaire travels to London to hold a seance to aid the investigation of a murder, and her protegee Lenna Wickes accompanies her. Together they unfold the real goings on of the society, aided by Lenna's murdered sister Evie.

This is a really mysterious and intriguing read, the characters are interesting and colourful, and the action is fast paced throughout. A really fun read and quite unique.

A historical murder mystery set against the seance scene. What fun! I am always intrigued by these particular stories, I find it quite fascinating, so knew I had to pick this one up.
We follow Lenna, who travels to Paris to get answers about her sisters death. She soon teams up with acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire, who then takes Lenna to London to help her solve a murder.
While I did enjoy this one, it took me a quick second to get used to the two narrators, third person POV, Lenna and first person POV, Mr. Morley. I also found the middle a bit lacking. But I really enjoyed the start and the end of this one. I also enjoyed the character development, the twists and turns and Victorian setting. So moody.