One of my TOP 3 Books of 2024! I loved this book so hard - the characters, the setting, the feminist themes, the power dynamics, all of it created this full immersion experience into a world I wanted to visit. Well done! I cannot wait for the 2nd Book of The Dirty.

DNF. The atmosphere was great but the book was not for me! It was a very slow, atmospheric start. However, i feel like the technical aspects of the book were pulled well, and the cover is stunning

Well I can’t seem to get past chapter 4. The beginning of this book is so dense on the world building and honestly kind of confusing. I do plan to revisit this when I feel like I can. I just can’t get into it right now.

Necrology is eerie and dark, and just the sort of book that you need to give yourself over to at first, until the world establishes itself and you can find your feet again. That disconcerting edge continues, lurking in the background of the narrative, and leaves the reader unsettled and uncertain.

This book has a lot to say about power and privilege, especially when it comes to women, magic, oppression, and liberation. I loved the magic system, its ties with dirt and the land, and the found family is powerful. Though I felt the world could do with a little more world-building, the prose is a delight and the overall vibe so haunting and deliciously dark and witchy that I really enjoyed this. Recommended.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Creature Publishing, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this historical feminist horror novel that follows an alternative universe version of the dirty witches of Salem. The writing was so incredibly beautiful and poetic. The world building was so strong. Meg's first novel hit it out of the park. This novel is atmospheric and reminds me why I love reading lyrical fantasy, especially when it is horror driven.

A beautiful and haunting tale that I think every woman can relate to in their own way. Necrology explores the long suffering idea that women are less than men and how women can fight back while wrapping it into a horror witch story. A great read that sticks with you after the last page.

Necrology is a fantastical, feminist horror offering social commentary using both recent and distant history. Kind of a magical realism iteration of The Handmaid’s Tale. An alternate reality, with a social system and religion ever so slightly different than ours, it requires a bit of focus to understand, and still feels just a little out of grasp (which, frankly, is an enjoyably off-kilter experience, and reminds me of The Country of Ice Cream Star). Ripley writes with a lyrical quality, and a rhythm reminiscent of the old fairy tales.

This is definitely a slow burn. I liked a lot about this book but unfortunately the fantastic atmosphere did not save the story.

I tried so hard to like this one. I just don't love the author's way of writing. I'm not sure if this is the way Ripley always writes or it's unique to this book. It didn't feel natural to read.

A dense atmospheric fog of a novel. I mean this in the best way. Dark magic mixed into a familiar historical setting, all focused around a raw feminist tale made this a treat to read.

My gosh. What a book. From the first page, the reader becomes aware that this read will be memorable. The language, the rhythm of the dialogue, the rich, earthy descriptions, the accessible magic and the heart of the characters is apparent immediately. I was completely drawn into Rabbit, Rook and Whitetail’s world.

Rabbit and Rook are the eldest in the family, a family of orphans taken in by a strong, independent practitioner of the magic known as the Dirt. It is a simple life of gratitude and balance with the earth. But their house is owned by the Andrews family, a corrupt dynasty of Freemen, looking to suppress the powerful magic in all women, the magic tied to the earth, the wilds, the Dirt.

When the Andrews son assaults Whitetail, a foretold series of events occurs and Whitetail is imprisoned, the orphans are separated and Rabbit is taken in by the Andrews. Rabbit begins to doubt her upbringing, to understand the women who give up their magic and succumb to the religious teachings of the Father and the daily gaslighting and bullying of the Freemen.

This powerful novel is hard to fit in a genre. There are elements of horror, fantasy, historical fiction and magical realism. It is a coming of age tale of feminist rage, political corruption and daily overreaching of religious patriarchal cultism. It is GLORIOUS.

Necrology has an intriguing premise, set in a world where magical women, known as the “Dirty,” are forced into a truce with non-magical men called the Freemen after the Salem witch trials.

While the characters are compelling, I struggled with the world-building, which felt murky at times. There were moments when I felt fully immersed in the eerie atmosphere, but the overall structure left me confused, making it hard to stay engaged. I think fans of dark, feminist fantasy may really enjoy!

darkly despairing and ominous. weirdly enough, reminded me in some sense of Handmaid's tale, though of course it's quite different.

This book is amazing for all the readers who love women being in their power, supporting women's rights and wrongs. This book is filled with raw emotion and gives us a great look at love, power, sexism, balance and so so much more. I throughly enjoyed this book and if you're a fan of feminist horror novellas you should check this out!!

I really enjoyed this book in the historical fiction setting that it provided. The Salem witch trials are a very interesting. In history and I love to read a fictional account of it. I will not recommend this book to my students, I am glad that I read more from this genre.

A slow-burn feminist fantasy with witchy vibes. Lots of world-building and abuses of power here. The magic system takes a moment to grasp and I was a bit confused about what was going on for a chunk of the first half.
Overall, I found this strange and atmospheric. I appreciated the storytelling but not necessarily the writing.

Necrology by Meg Ripley is an eerie bit of feminist fantasy. Ripley builds out a beautiful bit of atmosphere with lyrical descriptions laid against a child’s raw pragmatism. Where my concerns lay are in the fact that the world building was as misty as the tone being set. When I’m in it it’s tangible and encompassing, but any attempt at a firmer grasp disproves this theory. I’m having a difficult time formulating my opinion on this book as a whole as my thoughts are quite contradictory.

I found there were short bursts that I found gripping and general moods were interesting but my enjoyment seems to be quite shallow. When asked about this book I found that I didn’t have much to really describe outside of the fact that women have magic and the men are evil. While heavy handed exposition is never good, the lack thereof isn’t much better. Spooky children named after animals and a woman with antlers pulls you in, but if Rabbit was named Rachel would this story have traction? I think Meg Ripley is a master at creating a vibe and that’s not a skill to be taking lightly. Necrology most definitely has an audience out there waiting to revel in it, I’m just still not sure if I plan on joining the party.

Could be a historical fantasy for all witchy friends out there. A raw and visceral story, you could see it a fantasy or see it as a political stance on women’ and how they are seen and treated in society

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was interesting, I thought the structure started out interesting but dragged a little bit in the middle. I'm going to give it another shot later on when I haven't been reading similar titles.

This was an interesting take on the Salem witch trials. Well written and I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in anything witchy and historical you will not be disappointed Thank you for my advanced kindle copy