𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙨: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal
𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 3⭐️
This book had a great premise, and I was excited to dive into a world of ghosts and magic. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me for three main reasons:
1) The constant use of flashbacks made the story feel disjointed and unorganized. For a book that starts chapters with character names and dates, Penner had a huge missed opportunity to play with her timeline. I would have loved to see her write scenes as they happened instead of cramming multiple flashbacks per chapter.
2) The second character was unbearable. Talk about an incel who’s given too much air time. 😮💨 He was a little too woe-is-me-but-also-look-how-smart-and-awesome-I-am to be given the second POV.
3) The “big twist” was easily called from like the third chapter. I kept hoping there would be an actual twist, but there wasn’t. It’s often hard to surprise me (being a writer helps me call things pretty early on), so this could be more of a fault on my end. Either way, I left feeling disappointed.
Lastly, I would NOT recommend this to a YA reader. There was an…adult moment about 2/3rds of the way in that came out of nowhere. Without this one scene, this would have been a good book for a younger teenager.
💬 QOTD: What’s your favorite ghost story?
Goodeads synposis
A spellbinding tale about two daring women who hunt for truth and justice in the perilous art of conjuring the dead.
1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.
Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves…
Author: Robyn Storm
