Spitting Gold is a historical fiction mystery romance set in Paris during the height of the spiritualist movement. Sylvie and Charlotte are sisters who were famous spiritualists at one point. They are now estranged and Sylvie has created a new life for herself married to a Barron. But Charlotte has found her and is determined to convince her to take part in one last con. This family believes that they are being haunted by the ghost of their great aunt. Part 1 of the story is told from Sylvie's point of view. We see all the events through her lens, including the tricks that the women employ during their meetings with the family. The de Jacquinot family members are varied in their opinion on the ghost and as the story progresses, things begin to happen in the house that Sylvie can not explain. Part 2 of the story is told from Charlotte's perspective. We go back to the beginning and see the story in an entirely new way.

With out giving anything away, there an plenty of twists that I did not see coming. While I liked reading Sylvie's perspective the most, Charlotte's part of the book was eventful and gripping. She is morally grey and how I felt about her changed a lot throughout the book. I think the author did a great job blending together the genres of mystery and romance. This is equal parts romance and mystery in my opinion. The gothic atmosphere really suited the story and the ending pulled all of the threads together in a unexpected way.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book so much and i'm not usually a fan of ghosts and mediums. But I loved the relationship between the two sisters, they were estranged and a little toxic at times, but It made it believable.

“I’m saying there’s more than one way to look at a story. There’s more than one point of view.”

This quote sums up Spitting Gold, the debut novel from Carmella Lowkis. Set in France in 1866, the story follows two estranged sisters, Charlotte and Sylvie, who reconnect to pull off one last job as (fake) spiritist’s - people who claim to speak to and be able to summon the dead.

I enjoyed how the first part of the book is told from Sylvies perspective and the second half is from Charlottes. These dual perspectives work together to create a nuanced and more complete version of events. This was an entertaining read and I was intrigued by the twists and turns that the story took. I also liked how Sylvie and Charlotte weren’t black and white characters but rather had me questioning “who really was the good or bad sister?” In the end, both sisters have good traits and their fair share of flaws - although in my opinion, Charlotte seemed to be more intentional in how she hurt her sister which made it hard for me to completely root for her. I also enjoyed that the setting was Paris and the historical details throughout - although I would have liked a bit more of the gothic and supernatural elements to have played a bigger role. Overall a fun read with a satisfying ending.

Spitting Gold is a gorgeously written historical mystery about two estranged sisters in Paris reuniting for one last spiritist con. It dips its toes into more gothic elements at times that contribute well to the fantastic setting that Camella Lowkis evokes. She does a commendable job establishing 1860s Paris and the spirit speculations of the time.

I found myself really struggling near the end of the first half, but once we got the explanation as to why the sisters were estranged and not long after our POV switched, I was fully engaged. If you find Lowkis’s narrative voice as delightfully atmospheric as I did, it’s an easy commitment to make and one you will be rewarded for. I did pick this up because of the promise of a sapphic romance, which comes with Charlotte’s POV.

I think the more fairytale elements unfortunately fall really flat. Sylvie is obsessed with using the Perrault folk tale Diamonds and Toads to understand her relationship with her sister which is mirrored in a bizarre anecdote from the family they are performing their spiritist work for. The book makes a commendable effort to tie this story back with its title, but it does this so unsubtly I found myself rolling my eyes every time it came up. It’s a harsh fairytale, but the elements still feel so much softer than what the rest of the book is surrounded by, which is in disservice to the story.

This is also a story about the love between siblings and the lengths we’d go to protect one another. Sylvie and Charlotte’s relationship is full of years of hurt as much as it is love. They both serve as POV characters and I found them to be equally unpleasant people. This isn’t to say that they’re poor characters, the exact opposite. I knew I wouldn’t have liked trying to be friends with either one of them, but they intrigued me, especially in the ways they fit together as sisters, so much so that I had to see how everything would play out. Charlotte knows she’s the more unlikable one which is perhaps her saving grace, Sylvie is wholly ignorant to how cruel she can be which can make being in her head maddening at times. Maximilien and Florence’s relationship is an interesting contrast to our main characters, and we get a small window into what a hopeful, if unlikely future between the two sisters could be.

This is an easy recommendation for lovers of historical mysteries and people who adore dreadfully messy sibling relationships.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

Content Warnings: Child Death, Gaslighting

The premise of Lowkis’s novel captured me from the start, as I’m always interested in the profession of mediums at this time period. The novel splits POV, starting with Sylvie, who married into a higher class and left her former medium ways. Her estranged sister, Charlotte, approaches her for a job after several years; Sylvie reluctantly agrees, but begins to question whether the haunting is actually fake. This first section of the book had good tension and some spookiness.

When the book shifts to Charlotte’s POV half-way through, the spookiness disappears. Sylvie, and the readers, have been duped, taken in by a plot between Charlotte and Florence, the supposedly ‘haunted’ client. There is no build up to this shift, and the transition is abrupt. I admit, it took me some time to get used to it. This section does, however, provide a good contrast between Charlotte’s life and Sylvie’s, as Charlotte is a lesbian and trapped in both a lower economic class and with an abusive father. The ending is also pretty good.

Aside from the abrupt shift in narration, the other weakness in the book is that the allegory of good sister vs. bad sister and how the role of “good” and “bad” can shift depending on narrator was pretty hamfisted. Overall, though, this was a fairly engaging read.

Special thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the setting and premise of this book. The book is pretty well done and the historical aspects were interesting. I found that the premise did not live up to the execution, but overall enjoyed this book. I would recommend it.

I did enjoy this... the premise was more intriguing than the execution. The abrubt plot twist in the middle of the book seemed like a bold choice and I didn't like the characterization of... any of the characters i think.

Two estranged sisters reunite for one last con in this darkly comic Gothic historical set in 1866 Paris. A confident, carefully executed debut.

Genre - Historical Fiction, Gothic

I have long been drawn to a good Gothic tale. YA wasn’t nearly as well developed a genre when I was a YA - so I read adult works when very young. I cleared the Victoria Holt shelf at my little public library and enjoyed them thoroughly.  Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis evoked that feeling in me. I also love that the book is about sisters. Sylvie and Charlotte grew up in a rather unconventional home in 19th century Paris. In it, they learned to become very effective false mediums. Together with their mother, they defrauded a fair amount of people - pretending to contact the spirits “haunting” them for one reason or another. After their mother passes away, the sisters’ lives become very difficult as their father resorts to drunkenness and abuse. As a young woman, Sylvie marries Baron Alexandre Devereux - in part out of love, in part to save her sister from jail from a job that went bad. To do so, she must cut all ties with her family. Charlotte feels deserted, left alone with their father. Both are extremely frustrated and angry with each other. Years pass, and one day Charlotte shows up and asks for one more performance. 

The setting here is particularly divine. Lowkis recreates so well (at least based on my reading and movie watching experience) the culture of the era: particularly the restrictions faced by young women and the lgbtq+ community. Also, dances and duels abound. I have read a fair amount about the medium/fraud/spirit situation of the times and was pleased with how Lowkis illustrated it here. For a while I was wondering if a real spirit might appear, an excellent plot wrinkle. The struggle based on miscommunication and misunderstanding between the sisters is fascinating. I can relate so well to the older sister, and I imagine my sister could relate equally well to the younger. Their love for each other shows in spite of the very real frustrations. A well developed cast of characters: surround the sisters. Through them the illustration of the culture of Paris is strengthened. The layering is lovely in terms of how the themes are developed in a variety of ways among these characters. Several times I thought things were resolving, and then Lowkis creates a new twist - sustaining suspense throughout. Without spoilers, the uncertainty of the ending seems perfectly on point. The use of a child’s fairy tale to frame the action and provide for the title was a lovely literary touch.

I am struggling a bit about where to focus my third paragraph energy. I suppose at the end of the day as a person who is struggling a bit to create a new kind of life with a different direction than that to which I’m accustomed, Lowkis is clearly a reminder that change is always possible - not always easy - but possible. I love the example that both Sylvie and Charlotte set in their commitments to their goals, but who are ultimately willing to admit mistakes and keep trying in new directions as needed. A problem for me is, perhaps, the lack of a clear goal. I always knew that was a retirement issue for me. But I am finding delight in trying a variety of different kinds of things. Teaching never allowed for much time for other endeavors - even at home (ask my kids). And that thought takes me to the memories evoked for me of my young reading life in this title. I very much enjoyed the kind of timeless feel of this debut title. I am grateful to Carmela Lowkis’ Spitting Gold for reminding me how long I have loved to read gothic work! Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Spitting Gold by Camella Lowkis follows two sisters living in Paris, France in 1866. They were once a pair of spirit mediums that would frequent parities of high sociiety. Baroness Sylvie Devereux recieves a call from her younger sister Charlotte Mothe, who is caring for their sick father. Charlotte needs Sylvie's help with de Jacquinots, who are aristocrats that they believe are being haunted by their great aunt, brutally murdered during the French Revolution. Sylvie is now doubting that there may be such things as ghosts. The fist half of the book is told from Sylvie's point of view, while the second halft is told from Charlotte's point of view. The ending was spectatuar. This is a debut from Carmellia Lowkis and is beautffully written. While I felt for Slyie when her husband throws her out of the house and she has to live with her sister and father again in squalor. I really felt for both Francis and Charlotte and how they were treated by their families. I want to thank both NetGalley and Atria Books for giving an aadvance copy of this book to read.

I wanted to love this one more than I actually did. I give it a low 3 star rating.

To its credit, I had to find out what happened and the writing wasn’t bad. But I felt as if, once I’d finished, that the story could have been told in half the time it took.

this story has themes of how women are treated poorly, familial bonds, how different people remember the same event, etc. but for me it fell flat.

I didn’t connect with Charlotte or Florence. I did connect a bit with Sylvia but felt she was unfairly portrayed throughout most of the book.

I may try more from this author but definitely wasn’t wowed by Spitting Gold.

FAVE QUOTE: “just because a story is not politically convenient does not make it fiction.”

One sister, cast out from privilege, is caught back up with her old life as a spiritualist act with her sister. They are asked to visit the large creaky manor of the local gentry, but it may be that this ghost is real? I *loved* this book. The historical fiction with supernatural elements genre can be a little hit or miss for me. This one hit all the way. The character development for our main characters flows naturally and keeps something new and unique in a story that, on it's surface, you might think is familiar. There is, perhaps, too much work done with the folktale that backs the title (a favorite of mine, actually), but that can't take away from the vivid writing and the super fun ending.
(thanks NetGalley for the ARC!)

Paris in the 1860s, spiritism, tangled family relations, and secret queer lovers? Say no more, I already like it! And in fact I found this story deliciously compelling from start to finish. It tells the story of a pair of sisters who run the occasional business of acting as spirit mediums to rich folk willing to pay to contact their dead ancestors. Sure, all the ghosts are fake because the sisters are staging every single rattling table and color-changing candle flame, but if it consoles the family, and the sisters make some money, who could it hurt?

Naturally this story is about the time when someone does get hurt. But even that might turn out to be part of the plan, because this book has a couple of wickedly good twists in it. It’s one of those rare novels where I sympathized with all the protagonists even though none of them were being completely honest nor acting fully honorable—most were backed into a corner and had good reason for acting the way they did. They were lovable tricksters. I couldn’t predict how it would turn out, either, so it kept me riveted through the last page.

Atmospheric, clever, heartfelt, and overall a satisfying yarn—this is a unique and fun historical tale, and I look forward to more of Lowkis’s books!

This will be a book that will really resonate with you or one you will not enjoy. I did find myself engaged with it at the end but the beginning took a while to get into. That could be because I am not one to read much historical fiction. For a
debut novel, Carmella Lowkis has incredible prose and someone who definitely has talent. I am excited to see what other works she puts out in the future

first of all, i would like to thank netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book to read. i am super thankful and am eager to share my review with all of you. alright,

i started reading spitting gold by carmella lowkis mostly blind and finished the book within a day. all that i was aware of going into the story was that it would follow two sisters and their fraudulent spirit medium act. this alone was incredibly enticing to me and the book ended up exceeding my expectations. there was never a moment where i could truly predict what was going to happen plot-wise and it was so refreshing. additionally, i always enjoy finding books with sapphic representation and was ecstatic to read about a queer main character (charlotte mothe). i also truly appreciated how carmella lowkis didn’t shy away from writing a wlw romance with some grit to it. honestly, all of the relationships between characters were incredibly well executed. the two sisters/main characters felt like real family when they interacted- they quarreled, cried into each others arms, etc. although i didn’t anticipate it, spinning gold was also able to touch upon very serious topics that provoked lots of emotion from me. i would highly encourage readers to look up any potential trigger warnings before jumping into the book. if the trigger warnings don’t disturb you then i highly encourage you to give spinning gold a try. i mean there’s even a bit of female rage within the novel- how can you resist?

positives aside, there are a few aspects of the book that might not be for everyone. for starters, this book is written in first persons point of view. while this might appear rather nit picky, i know it’s information that some readers prefer to know beforehand. that being said, as a person who usually gravitates towards books written in third pov, i had no issues with it (the writing is still very descriptive but not overly so). however, it took a bit of time to adjust to the second act of the book where the narration switches from sylvie to charlotte without it plainly being stated. initially i was very skeptical about the shift in narration, but looking back it was a clever way to provide insight into both characters ( you get compare their desires as well as what they think about each other). honestly, carmella lowkis needs to commended for not repeating dialogue when revisiting scenes in the second act of the book.

overall, i think this was a very interesting book to read and if you’re in the mood for a dramatic mystery with tense familial relationships you should give this spitting gold a chance.

Blurb:
Paris, 1866. When Baroness Sylvie Devereux receives a house call from Charlotte Mothe, the sister she disowned, she fears her shady past as a spirit medium has caught up with her. But with their father ill and Charlotte unable to pay his bills, Sylvie is persuaded into one last con. Their marks are the de Jacquinots, a dysfunctional aristocrats who believe they are haunted by their great aunt, brutally murdered during the French Revolution. The scheme underway, the sisters deploy every trick to terrify the family out of their gold. But when inexplicable horrors start to happen to them too, the duo question whether they really are at the mercy of a vengeful spirit. And what other deep, dark secrets may come to light?

My thoughts:
At no point was this book going in the direction I thought it was. This made for quite an exciting read. The way that Lowkins strings the story together, giving you only the most pressing information up front, leads to a story that takes its time spanning out. I enjoyed learning about the sisters’ dynamic through the tidbits left in the story, having it all culminate in a final reveal. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the differing timelines and POVs. These were handled in a way so that the story didn’t spoil itself and instead followed a cyclical tunnel of realizations for the reader. So many parts of the story I feel like I can’t speak about without accidentally spoiling some part or another, but take my word it is worth the read.

The one critical note I have is about the formatting of the eBook. The indents of the paragraphs are very small so often it looks like a block of text when in fact there are several paragraphs on a page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free review copy.

I loved this book! It had a bit of a slow start but once they had their first seance, things really picked up and I loved the second half when we finally got Charlotte’s POV. Spooky vibes, a vengeful ghost, lesbians, con artists…honestly what more could I ask for. My only complaint was that I would’ve liked to stay with Charlotte in the epilogue, since I simply did not care all that much about her straight sister. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Sarah Waters book I think you’ll enjoy this — it was like Affinity, Fingersmith, and The Little Stranger had a beautiful Parisian baby.

Spitting Gold is a debut novel set in 18th century Paris. Two sisters, Sylvie and Charlotte, are reunited to perform their final con as mediums. The family business was taught to them through their mother’s natural insights and their father’s cunning. Charlotte agrees to help a wealthy, aristocratic family, the de Jacquinots, with a haunting by what is presumed to be their great aunt. To ensure the success of the con, Charlotte enlists the help of her estranged sister Sylvie. Sylvie, now part of the wealthy society, is reluctant to come clean about her shady past and has promised her husband to disengage from the family business.

Told from each sister’s perspective, the story unravels to reveal the tricks of their trade, each character’s different points of view and the unexplainable acts that are out of their control. A fast paced well written debut that mixes mystery, sapphic romance and family bonds in a gothic atmosphere.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in return for my honest review.

It was alright. A bit slow in the beginning but u enjoyed the relationship between the sisters and also its queer which we LOVE!

Sylvie has moved up in the world, and wishes to leave her past hidden long behind her. But when her sister Charlotte shows up on her doorstep, Sylvie fears that the past may come back to haunt her. With their father ill and Charlotte, needing money to support him, Sylvie agrees to return to her past for one final act. But will the past, or the present, be what haunts her the most?

This is a fabulous debut novel from the author. I look forward to reading more from her in the future, as this was absolutely mesmerizing to read.