Gothic novels are my favorite genre. Spooky, emotional, unreliable narrators and ghosts I can’t get enough of, this did not live up to that. There was a lot of great moments with the twist in sisters, never knowing who you can and can’t trust, but it felt rushed. I would say it’s worth a read but it’s not my fave.

*Netgalley Copy*

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
superb modern gothic that kept me spellbound til the last page.

Abandonment, secretive islanders, ghosts, secret passages and more populate this suspenseful romp in the gothic tradition.

I’ll definitely read more from this author!

“I wanted to leave my mother behind, but I’ve been carrying her with me every day, every step…”

Two sisters unknown to each other face different fates in this Gothic style novel. Both return to Block Island, the home of their mother, to find out why they were separated at birth. One sister is mysteriously murdered, the other returns to find out what happened to the sister that she never knew. With bits of Jane Eyre thrown in, this book had me on the edge of my seat. I loved it!!

This is a fun, gothic thrill ride!

I loved the how to survive a gothic novel bit and the references to Jane Eyre and of course the haunted house that actually scared me while reading at night.

Brief Snyopsis:
Thalia Mills receives a letter from her sister, Blake ( a sister she doesn't know she has).

Blake traveled to Block Island to confront her mother and understand why her mother gave her up. Blake is murdered right after she mails the letter to Thalia.
Now Thalia returns to Block Island to solve the mystery.

Told from each sister's POV, the novel is very atmospheric with a dark past and family secrets! I am all in.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book!

I have scheduled promotional posts around release day for this book and I will provide a full review on my Instagram once I am able to get to this read.

Rating 5 stars on Netgalley as a placeholder for me to update later once the review is complete.

Will also complete a review on Goodreads once read.

Thanks again!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Blake Bronson, recovering addic and growinf up as a foster care kid, travels to Block Island in search of her birth mother. But once she embarks on her stay at White Hall, she begins to believe she is living in a gothic novel.

Thalia Miller, Blake’s sister she never met, returns to Block Island after tragedy strikes with a plan to solve what happened to Blake and the myster surrounding White Hall.

An interesting, mystery read that read very much like a gothic novel. Some nice twists I didn’t see coming.

This book was so boring and so slow. There was nothing dark and twisty about this book and I could not get into it. This was packaged beautifully but nothing was in it.

I had REALLY high hopes for this but was left disappointed. This book was so BORING! The premise seemed exciting, but the execution wasn't there. There was a lack of tension and a lack of reasons to care about the characters so I kept wondering why I was reading what I was reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC!
The Daughters of Block Island is a horror novel following two sisters who were strangers from birth. This book was so good! Lots of things in this are very relevant to your classic horror novel but with some twists! The setting of the book being on Block Island, RI in the middle of winter gives it the perfect eerie feel and the characters seem so typical of islanders in the middle of winter. While this book seemed predictable in the beginning, I was extremely surprised with the ending. The last 35% of this book, I flew through. Christa Carmen does a great job connecting every single dot in the story and leaves everything well answered (and there was quite a lot going on in this book)! Written very well and I loved the added tidbits from all the horror classics that were mentioned in this book. A little clunky in some places and a bit repetitive but other than that, this book was great!

Two sisters, strangers since birth yet bound by family secrets, are caught up in a century-old mystery on an isolated island.

The Daughters of Block Island is a well-written gothic style novel with a unique and intriguing concept. Switching between POV, I found Thalia's to be more enjoyable to read, with her being quicker witted and exciting. However, I did also find the pacing to be slow at times, and the book lacked some of the tension I was expecting based on the synopsis. I felt let down by the ending, purely because some characters involved did not get enough build or story to be included.

Overall, this is a solid read that's perfect for anyone who loves supernatural tales centered around family, murder and secrets.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a copy of this book to review. My opinions are my own.
I loved this book. I was taken on a ride that I was not prepared for and it was so satisfying. I am not going to reveal much in this review as I think the best way to read this book is to go in blind. It is in third person and has more than one POV. 4 stars. Get when it comes out on October 10th!!

As a BI lover, picturing it in the setting it was placed in was a little difficult to start. Second, I found it hard to connect with the characters- more so with Blake than Thalia. Although I am a sucker for thrillers, paranormal activities, and haunted mansions.... this didn't have the gothic feel I needed it to have. (Again, partly because I couldn't imagine Block Island being gothic, even in the off season.) By the time I got to the exciting twists and turns, I had already reached the end of the novel. I didn't feel like there was enough creepy bread crumbs left for my imagination. I found myself waiting for more.... but I never got it.

I believe The Daughters of Block Island COULD be enjoyed by the right reader. I just wasn't one of them unfortunately.

There were two parts to this tale with two main characters. I had difficulty warming to the character in Part 1 and I wasn't feeling enough tension or edginess to keep my interest. Part 2 pulled me back in and with the focus on a character who felt more three dimensional to me, the action became more compelling as well. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, as the story began to slide again, with progress slowing for the main character and the author falling into the trap of the characters explaining events to each other in order to tell the story to the reader. I guess it may have been more fascinating to readers of classics, with the frequent comparisons, but this just took me away from the story itself.

A three star read for me, which would be enjoyed but many, but for me it was not a cut above the many mystery tales that are out there.

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

DNFed at 30%. I just couldn't get into this one which was a shame because I love paranormal books and haunted houses. It felt like the repetition of the addiction was taking me out of the story. I know addiction is an important topic but it just felt like it was over the top and felt like it took away from the spooky aspect of the book. All opinions stated in this review are solely my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

If you're looking for a thought provoking book "The Daughters of Block Island" is definitely worth checking out. The author tackled complex issues with sensitivity and skill making for a truly gripping read.

I thoroughly enjoyed the atmospheric elements, it allows the reader to be fully immersed in the storyline while trying to solve the mysteries presented in the book.

Being able to read the story from both sisters's perspective proved to be a very captivating experience.

Thank you Christa Carmen, Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Thalia Mills is sitting in her kitchen in Boston when she receives a mysterious letter from her sister, only to discover that the sister she never knew about has turned up dead on Block Island, the small island off the coast of Rhode Island Thalia had abandoned long ago. Blake goes to the island in attempt to discover secrets about her past, including why her mother gave her up for adoption, while struggling to keep her 30 day chip from AA. Following Blake’s tragic death, Thalia does the same and stumbles upon secrets the island never intended to give up.

Holy cow. I loved this. There was so much going on all at once but in a good way? I’m still heartbroken about Blake and that her redemption arc was cut short - she was doing her best!! Thalia is so steadfast in her determination to figure it all out and I so deeply wish Thalia and Blake could have figured this all out together and both survived the tragedy. I do think the dual pov was incredible and seeing it from both sisters was a wonderful tactic. Even though I’m sad about Blake this was so so good.

TW: Rape, drug addiction

3.5 stars, rounded up

The story starts with Thalia Mills who receives a letter from her sister, Blake - the catch? She doesn't know she has a sister. It turns out her mother had a second baby and put her up for adoption. Now Blake is traveling to Block Island to meet her mother and figure out why her mother gave her up. Unfortunately, right after she sent the letter to Thalia, she gets murdered. Now Thalia is returning to her childhood home to solve the mystery.

First off, the setting was amazing. Blake and Thalia were staying at the island B&B called White Hall which is a converted mansion (with a dark past, because of course). The author does a great job of creating this gothic, creepy atmosphere. I appreciate how both characters are readers of gothic fiction and talk about how the mansion is right out of one of those novels. Blake even makes up a list of rules for how to survive a gothic novel. One of my pet peeves is when a book exists in a world without other books - no, lean into <i>Wuthering Heights</i> and <i>Jane Eyre</i> existing. There was a point where I had been reading the book, heard a bump in the house but was home alone, and I got freaked out. Usually I am not the least bit bothered by random noises but this book got to me.

The first chapter is with Thalia receiving the letter and finding out that Blake was murdered. The story then jumps back to Part 1 which is told from Blake's perspective as she explores the island. The story is well done and you know what's coming but still hope for something else. Then Part 2 is told from Thalia's perspective after finding out about Blake's existence.

The story was gripping for the first 80%. I don't know what happened for the last 20% but it felt too predictable. I was guessing throughout the story for who was in on what and the actual reveal was a letdown. It was way simpler than the stories I was making up (which isn't a bad thing) and didn't feel unique. It relied on cliches and fell too heavily into the "you're in a novel" trope. The resolution wasn't necessarily bad, but I was ready for it to be over (which was so strange after thinking how it was one of best books that I've read in awhile).

What also drove me crazy was everyone's use of everyone's last names. Everyone would refer to Thalia/Blake's mother as "Maureen MILLS" even when talking to Thalia. She obviously knows her mother's last name, especially since they still have the same one, so stop saying "Maureen MILLS". The owners of the B&B were Fiona and Aileen SEARLES. They'd be having a conversation and say "I'm staying at the B&B and talked to Aileen SEARLES" "Ah, yes, she runs that with her sister Fiona SEARLES". I kept waiting for some twist because of how much everyone's last names were emphasized - no, that's just how the author wrote it.

Overall, a decent book. I recommend it for the atmosphere and decent characters. I don't recommend it for the resolution, so if that's a big point for you, you probably want to skip over this one.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

I love a dark and mysterious novel. This book is one to grab on a rainy day with a hot cup of tea and a blanket. While the story itself is not cozy, make sure you are! Follow two sisters as they plunge themselves into their past; a past they would soon prefer to soon forget. I liked the way this book was written. Gothic novels can sometimes move in a slow, but beautiful manner. I did not find this book slow, at all. I kept turning pages to discover the truth with the characters. The book was very nuanced and smartly written.

This was a page-turner and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next! It’s the story of two women who are sisters, but have never met. They both end up on Block Island and bad things happen. I felt like there were some holes in this plot and it felt a little convoluted at times, but it did suck me in!

The Daughters of Block Island is everything you’d want from a self aware gothic novel with murder and twists and turns and strong female characters. Add in some family trauma and small town everybody knows everybody drama and you’ve got yourself this wonderful story.