This just wasn’t it for me. I was intrigued by the premise but it felt drawn out and kind of poorly thrown together. Maybe it’s just not for me- and other people more familiar with the genre or this specific type of story will love it more.

An unhinged, horrifying, vile novel with the perfect touch of dark humor. This book is definitely not for the fate of heart as there is blood, murder, mayhem, and horror throughout. The title was perfect and Feito spins a creepy and dark tale set in the Victorian era following the protagonist, Miss Notty, who is a governess arriving at the Pounds residents to teach their two children. However, Miss Notty, has hidden secrets and a darkness that is oozing to be set free. Miss Notty is character you soon will not forget. The story is crazy and evil yet an interesting take on a female villain with a mission of revenge and pain. I picked this book up as I enjoyed the author's previous book, Mrs. March who also featured a dark, deranged, and unreliable narrator.

This book really has it all: gore, dark humor, ambiance, horror, an oddly charming main character, a well-developed setting, feminine rage, and TONS of violence. The perfect read for any fan of slashers & gore but also a beautifully-created Victorian England setting. I'm in love with Virginia Feito's prose. Her writing style, paired with short and fast-paced chapters made this book so binge-able and I could not put it down. I devoured this books so quickly. Seriously one of my favorite reads in a while.

I loved how, despite our main character's delusional state and thirst for blood throughout the novel, there was a lot of feminist commentary here. I found it very satisfying that after witnessing and commenting on many aspects of how women are viewed & treated in the family vs how the men are, Winifred was able to take a sort of "revenge" against the way society has structured their gender views and the roles of men and women within Victorian English culture.

I am so lucky to have received this amazing read as an ARC in exchange for my honest review, so thank you to NetGalley and Liveright Publishing Corporation for this opportunity. And thank you to Virginia Feito for a thoroughly-entertaining read!

Thanks to Netgalley, Liveright Publishing Company, and Virginia Feito for this e-ARC.

Well then, I'm not too sure where to start with this one. It's sick, twisted, and gory as you can imagine.

In this dark, horror novel we are invited into the frightening mind of governess, Winifred Notty, who is hired to care for the 2 children at a Victorian home called Ensor House.

Winifred is, in simple terms, a psychopath. She talks of her Darkness throughout the book and we understand that she has killed many before, and plans to kill everyone at Ensor House in due time. There is nobody who is safe, not even babies or young children, who she kills easily and simply, without a second though, and with zero remorse.

There are many disturbing scenes and very gory descriptions in this book, and while I did cringe at a lot of, it didn't stop me from reading and enjoying the crazy story.

This book was great! I really enjoyed it. It was twisted, weird, gothic, dark, and funny. I would recommend reading this if those are your type of vibes. Definitely a 5 star read!

I really wanted to like this but too much violence and body horror scenes and not enough storyline for me. Despite of this I liked the setting for this novel and the little story line that was present. The twist at the end and the conclusion of the novel were ok. I enjoyed the authors former work Mrs March so had high hopes for this one.

This book is really something. Horrific. Terrible. Entertaining. This is not literature for the faint of heart. As readers, we are taken down a twisting path of madness that grows progressively darker and more strange with every turn of the page. It is a worthwhile read for any horror fan.

I read a lot and I don't exactly remember every book in detail. That won't be the case with Victorian Psycho. Virginia Feito sure knows how to set up scenes that will be remembered.
This book is disturbing, gothic, and grotesque. It also has dark humor.
It's not my usual gothic read, but curiosity won out.
The dialogue, character descriptions, and plot are very creative.

This book is the most deviously comedic telling of Victorian society I have ever encountered. I fell in love with the gothic and grotesque themes and stayed for everything else.

Wow. What an unhinged and psychotic little book. I laughed. I cringed. I did the reading equivalent of a double-take, like “WTF did I just read?!”. I loved this - not sure what that says about me…

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito is a horror novella following Winifred Notty as she arrives at Ensor House as the new governess. She tells the reader early on that in three months everyone in the house will be dead. It’s gruesome and so, so murder-y. The commentary on Victorian society is hilarious. If you like a deranged antihero and a dark, twisted plot will all the gory details, I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for an eARC.

I woke up in the mood for a Weird Girl Book and Victorian Psycho delivered.

I had been seeing some buzz in Aardvark Book Club’s online communities suggesting this might be an upcoming book choice, so I gladly accepted a free copy from NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company in exchange for an unbiased review.

Grotesque, delightfully suspenseful (seriously I had no idea what was going to happen next), and unexpectedly witty. Would absolutely recommend to all my fellow Weird Girls (and read more from Virginia Feito).

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito follows Winifred Notty, a young woman who becomes the tutor to two young people. This is a rather short book so I’ll just say that hijinks ensue.

I loved this book. I would bet that it will be on a lot of horror readers favorite books of the year. This was just the right amount of humor and gore that I think a lot of audiences will enjoy. I would classify this in the same kind of category that I would put Maeve Fly. You have a sort of unhinged female main character that is unpredictable and a little unhinged.

I love short horror and I feel like this book was perfectly paced for the story that it wanted to tell and the ending was pretty perfect to me. I feel like I could recommend this book to a lot of readers and they would have a good time with it.

I already can’t wait to see what this author does next!

What a sick, twisted, disgusting story and I mean that in the best way possible.

While reading Victorian Psycho, there were two different pieces of media it reminded me of and ironically both have Margaret Qualley in them. If you don’t know Victorian Psycho has already been picked up for a Hollywood movie staring Qualley, coincidence? Who knows. But it has some disgusting (positive) vibes similar to The Substance while also invoking a horror themed Poor Things quality. Either way I can see why this has already been picked up to be a movie as it’s a visual delight in the most gruesome way possible.

When Notty comes to a new household to be the governess for two spoiled children, murder and mayhem ensue and we are truly pulled along for the ride. It is an incredibly quick read but there were still multiple surprises along the way that had me muttering out loud “oh no” on many occasions. I love a good horror book, a gore fest, and a woman being an absolute sicko. There was nothing I didn’t like about this book and am honoured to have gotten an ARC for it.

Gothic spooky and fun!
You know immediately within a few pages what you are getting into

The atmosphere is great

But wasn't for me to heavy and to wordy

The kindle version was a tad hard to read .. maybe physical will change my mind

it's historical so note that set in the Victorian era so if that's your vibe

Thank you for the chance to read this

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito is a gloriously unsettling tale of repression, chaos, and razor-sharp social satire set against the bleak opulence of a Victorian estate. Feito’s knack for blending the grotesque with the hilarious is on full display here, making this a dark, devious page-turner for fans of both gothic horror and wickedly unreliable narrators. Winifred Notty is not the governess you’d expect—she’s a walking disaster wrapped in starched skirts, dripping sarcasm, and barely-contained madness.

From the moment Winifred arrives at Ensor House, it’s clear that this won’t be a typical "stern but kind" governess story. The Pounds family is a buffet of Victorian dysfunction: morally bankrupt, apathetic, and drenched in self-importance. Feito delights in skewering these archetypes, imbuing each interaction with cutting wit and a mounting sense of dread. The children, Drusilla and Andrew, are particularly odd—whether they’re victims of their own privileged ennui or something more sinister is a mystery that adds another layer of suspense.

But it’s Winifred herself who steals the show. She’s hilariously unfit for the role she’s assumed, oscillating between performative propriety and outright menace. Feito crafts her inner monologue with biting humor and chilling candor, making her both captivating and horrifying. Whether she’s sabotaging the staff for sport or indulging her darker impulses under cover of night, Winifred feels like an antihero born from equal parts Victorian ghost story and modern psychological thriller. The comparisons to Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) are apt—Winifred’s moral unraveling is both disturbing and fascinating, but her venom is aimed less at consumerism and more at Victorian social mores and the absurdity of gendered expectations.

The gothic elements are masterfully done. Ensor House is described in lush, sinister detail: moonlit corridors, suffocating drapes, and the ever-present sense of decay and isolation. Feito imbues the setting with a creeping sentience, as though the house itself is complicit in Winifred’s descent. The Christmas scenes, in particular, are deliciously eerie—what should be a time of joy is steeped in claustrophobic dread and a sense that something awful is about to burst forth.

The novel’s exploration of repression is as pointed as it is unsettling. Winifred’s attempts to stifle her "horrid compulsions" speak to the ways women in Victorian society were often forced to contort themselves into impossible shapes for the sake of appearance. Yet, Feito takes this trope to its most extreme and absurd end—Winifred’s unraveling isn’t just a symptom of repression; it’s her form of rebellion, albeit in the most macabre way possible.

If there’s a critique, it’s that the pacing can feel uneven. The middle section occasionally meanders as Winifred becomes embroiled in the banalities of estate life. But just when things seem to slow, Feito hits you with a moment of pure, jaw-dropping insanity that yanks you back into the story.

At 4 stars, Victorian Psycho is a deliciously dark and twisted tale that blends gothic horror, satire, and psychological suspense with impeccable style. Virginia Feito’s writing is as sharp as a dagger in the night, her humor as cold as the winter air. Winifred Notty is a protagonist you’ll love to loathe—and perhaps secretly root for in spite of yourself. Fans of Shirley Jackson, Rebecca, and subversive thrillers will find themselves utterly bewitched by this macabre masterpiece. Just be prepared for a Christmas morning you won’t soon forget.

This is delectable! Fast paced, but full of (sometimes numerous) gore in such a small book. I really enjoyed getting to read something that genuinely seems of the Victorian era— but with such darkness. I will not be forgetting this one! Thank you for the opportunity to read it early!

"Victorian Psycho" by Virginia Feito is seriously messed up in the best way possible! This book is a wild ride. It's like a gothic thriller on steroids, set in this super creepy and suffocating Victorian London. You've got Eliza, this young woman trying to survive in this insane social scene, and things quickly go off the rails. Feito's writing is incredible. It's dark and atmospheric, and she really nails that Victorian vibe. The characters are all twisted and fascinating, and you're never quite sure who to trust. This book will seriously creep you out and stay with you long after you finish it. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller or just wants to escape into a deliciously dark and twisted world. 5 out of 5 stars!

A deliciously deviant horror story where the main character, a perfect psycho villain, GOES THERE!
Finally... a 'psycho' story starring a female, unlike American Psycho or Hitchcock's Psycho, women have many more reasons for absolutely losing it. There's only so much we can take.
In this vividly picturesque tale, a governess wrecks havoc on a household. And for what reason? A barely justified reason once all in considered... but still, a reason. As the story unfolds and sanity is hanging on by a mere thread, you the reader will begin to wonder if perhaps you also have gone insane.

For fans of American Psycho and Maeve Fly, Victorian Psycho is hilarious absurd, in the best possible way. Both nonsensical and poignant at the same time, somehow, this was just plain fun to read.

Holy crap, this book was good! Its gothic themes are present throughout the story, wrapping us in a blanket of constant "omg, what's gonna happen next" vibes. I sat in rapt attention the entire time. The descriptions can be a bit gory, so be aware of that. What an incredible story.