This was a bit of a wild ride. A gothic horror, it was a little bit campy, in the sort of way in which you would expect a Victorian horror novel to be. Bloody funny if you will.

Winifred Notty arrives at her new job as a governess. She is a bloodthirsty psychopath with a plan. With her questionable impulses, you have to wonder what ever lead her to this sort of role anyway, as she’s clearly not your typical governess and then the dead bodies begin to pile up.

Did I pick up this book purely based on the cover? Yes. It’s fantastic. Was it grotesque, yet cleverly funny? Also (shockingly) yes.

Fans of gothic horror tales will definitely want to pick this one up!

This book is an anomaly. While the story and descriptions are very horrific and gory in nature, I also found them comical. I say comical, but not in a bad way, but in a very dark satirical way.

While I may not have loved this story, it was entertaining. I felt there was something lacking. There is plot twist that I didn't see coming and that was fun.

I wish there were an epilogue to learn the fate of one of the characters.

If you like Victorian Gothic, gore, and like to laugh in terrible situations, this book is for you.

The narrator was fantastic.

I really didn't enjoy this one at all. I find the topic of Victorian psyche so interesting especially when it comes to murderesses. I thought this was going to be a deep dive into the study of psychology at the time and an exposé of the inaccuracies of mental illness. There was so much that could've been done. Instead this felt like a ridiculously over the top slasher with no substance. Nothing interesting was said. If it was a revenge story perhaps it would have made more sense but the main character seemed like a characatuer of 'crazy'. Potentially feeding into Victorian beliefs of mental illness rather than showing how outdated and misunderstood it was.

A perfect blending of historical fiction and horror together! As a reader of historical fiction, historical, romance, mysteries, thrillers, and horror. This was a real treat!

I like to describe this book as a Jane Eyre gone wrong. A psychotic governess arrives the remote estate of her new host family, and we follow the descent of her madness and the destruction of the family as a whole.

A fascinating portrayal of madness during the Victorian era and the perception of women at the time. This is a fast pace read/listen they quickly has governess Winifred unravelling as she enacts her diabolical plot.

The narrator, Annie Burnett, does an excellent job in this first person narrative getting into the mind and headspace of Winifred. There’s a subtle shift as she narrates the character and the story the parallels Winifred descent. Excellent narration that really encapsulates the listener.

I had such a fun time with this. Ms. Notty is Unhinged with a capital U. This novella does not take itself too seriously, just the right amount in my opinion. The victorian/ gothic vibes were great and the ending hit for me as well. If you enjoy an unhinged, indefensible main character you may really enjoy this! Really kept reminding me of stories of real female victorian serial killers I have read about.
The part where Ms. Notty replaced someones ___ for another ___ and they didn't notice. lol. Wild.
Thanks for Netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Let me tell you, "Victorian Psycho" was exactly the kind of demented horror I needed! If you want something truly off-the-rails with a Victorian backdrop, grab this book.
It's chilling, it's bloody, it's gripping, and it's got a twisted sense of humor that hit just right. Winifred? I fell for her from the start, and watching her lose her grip on reality just made me love her more.

Anna Burnett’s voice acting was *chef kiss*

Seriously, this was my favorite read of February 2025, and I don't see anything topping it anytime soon.

Thank you NetGalley, Virginia Feito and RBmedia for this ALC.

Just finished Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito, and wow, what a wild ride! While this is the second book in a series, I hadn’t read the first one—but I definitely didn’t need to. If you’re into horror with a side of humor, this is for you. And honestly, I highly recommend the audiobook—the narrator made it twice as fun and brought the eerie, dark humor to life in such a perfect way.

Meet Ms. Notty, the new governess with a very unique perspective on child-rearing—let’s just say she’s not exactly the warm-and-fuzzy type. She’s more of an outsider, observing the workings of the household from a distance, and you get to experience everything through her darkly comedic, twisted inner monologue. It’s a mix of horror and humor, with a likable yet creepy psychopath at the center. You’ll spend most of the book guessing what everyone else is really thinking while Ms. Notty indulges her… interesting hobbies.

Set during the Christmas season in a secluded country home, Victorian Psycho had me hiding behind my fingers in anticipation of what this inventive (and slightly unhinged) young woman would do next. It’s not the kind of book that’ll give you nightmares, but it’s definitely unsettling, and I wouldn’t recommend listening to it around children. Just a heads-up!

Overall, I had an absolute blast with this one—it’s my third book for February, and it’s edging out the competition for my Top Of The Cart Book (aka my favorite of the month). If you’re looking for something a little creepy but with a wicked sense of humor, this one is a must!

Big thanks to NetGalley, Virginia Feito, Recorded Books, and Liveright for the ARC of this audiobook.

#FebruaryBooks #VictorianPsycho #HorrorWithHumor #BookReview #BookAddict #AudiobookRecommendation #Bookstagram #BookLovers #NetGalley #NetGalleyReview #BookCommunity #CreepyFun

I have mixed feelings about this book.
I have zero issue with horror/gore and some of the descriptions were very grisly and right up my alley!
However, I had a bit of trouble understanding the MC's motivation. And dragging other family members in to the psychosis left me even more confused. Seemed almost like a thin storyline was created to just give the author an excuse for writing their darkest fantasies.

I would definitely give this author another go.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Possible contender for the most nuts thing I’ll read in 2025, this was exquisitely written – the beauty of the prose contrasting sharply with the grotesquery of the subject matter. The main character is exactly as the title suggests – someone so far on the antisocial personality disorder spectrum that she could rightly be called a psychopath complete with ticks and desires most people would find abhorrent and a complete lack of empathy and remorse. That said, there is method in her madness and it’s an interesting journey to follow her on – an interesting killing spree at least. There are moments of ghoulish dark humour and buried beneath the gore, a meditation on whether or not we all have something monstrous withing and whether women are subjected to a different expected standard than men. This pulls no punches and delights in its slasher style narrative – read in one sitting.

Hmmm interesting….

Was not what I expected. Very bloody and brutal.
The gore felt excessive sometimes.
The vibe was well bloody and creepy.
The ending was quite obvious

Add to your TBR if you like...
🎧Sadistic horror
🎧Victorian era themes
🎧English Narration
🎧 Vengeance

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

You know, I never thought about an oyster having an anus until this book🤣 I will definitely think of this line every time I eat raw oysters now.

This novella is full of dark humor, shock value, and gore. Winifred is the female Patrick from American Psycho, but set in the Victorian era. I did NOT see the ending coming, although in hindsight, I realize I might have had my blinders on. Anna was the perfect narrator for this story!👏🏼

I would definitely recommend this to all fans of horror and dark humor.

If you love unhinged Victorian horror, gore, and all over all general creepiness. Then this is your story! The voice acting was superb bringing this story to life. I enjoyed this audio book from beginning to end, but maybe I shouldn't have listened to it at night while alone in my house...

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

If you love horror and gore, this book is for you. I found the best thing about it was the narration.

This was totally deranged ... in a really fun way! I found the FMC to be completely unhinged and interesting. This was a super short book, but I wanted more. I wanted to know more of Winifred's past. The audio was really good! 3.5 stars.

This was certainly a creepy read and our main character is certainly psychotic. I found the book very confusing in places. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

This book was just what I was needing after a very tough week! The story was so chilling and gripping, and the narration was fantastic! Really want to read more from this author!

Perfect narration from a voice actor. I loved this story so much that I bought a copy for my home library and have been recommending it often. I look forward to more. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thank you, NetGalley!

I unfortunately did not like this Audiobook. The narrator was good but the plot was too slow for me to like it. I heard so much about this book but sometimes historic fiction is not for me.

10/10, no notes. This is the perfect pick for anyone who loves horror, gore, and an unhinged main character. The narration was perfect! I originally read an ebook version but audio is the way to go. I know this will stand out as one of my favorite novellas/shorter books this year.

I was influenced into applying for this ALC by another book lover, who had read the ARC and loved it.

For me, I understood the plot and the time period, and what the revenge was meant to be, but I honestly got very confused by the end of the whole story. Like it was interesting but I think I got lost in listening and was more tuning out if that makes sense. So by that it wasn’t really a fave, because I wouldn’t be tuning out otherwise.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. I wish I’d loved it more though since it sounded so interesting.