Welcome to Litsy!

Well, I don‘t know if it‘s because I paused halfway through to start another book on my kindle (didn‘t feel like lugging a hardcover to Peru), or if it was just slow, but this took foreeeeveeerrr to read. Not my favorite.

I don't think this author is for me. I wasn't a fan of her first book and this book was also a miss. The main heroine was annoying. I was constantly frustrated with her decisions.

I finished this book through pure stubbornness. I'll admit the ending was unexpected, but not really worth the effort.

I listened to this on audio. The performers were very engaging, so I recommend listening. Overall, the story was good. I was excited to read it, because I really liked The Lost Apothecary. This one wasn‘t quite as good, in my opinion. I thought the romance angle was unnecessary. I did enjoy the twists and trying to figure out who could be trusted.

I thought the Lost Apothecary was okay, but I was hoping the London Seance Society would be better. Unfortunately, I liked it even less! So this just fell flat for me. There was mystery, but it‘s mostly revealed halfway through the book, and the rest is predictable. All the bad people are men and all the good people are women. I also am just not fascinated by seances and ghosts, so… this felt boring and wasn‘t for me.

I think this book was amazing. Seances are interesting to me because of the history, and because of the way the mediums are in control. I want to read more books by this author.

A very slow burn. The ending was great but I don't think that is enough for me to love this book. #20in4

Here‘s the book with my Lego orchid plant I got for Mother‘s Day! In 1800s London, a clairvoyant and her student try to get to the bottom of several murders revolving around seances. I liked the story and it had a twist, but the final seance got a little crazy. The book has a special section at the end explaining how popular seances were in Victorian London and even gives some recipes for houses that were in mourning.

We're halfway through May which is a perfect time to post an April wrap up. Right? 😬https://youtu.be/Ayr3qL1repo

It had potential, but i found it lacking a few things. Very predictable. Some hurried plot points, especially the romance and some weird dialog. I will round up to 3 stars. First audiobook down as i worked and hit the market. Now i can fully dive into #deweyapril #readathon.

A skeptic enters into the secretive world of victorian era spiritual societies to help solve her sisters murder.

My stack for #deweyapril #readathon. 2 library books, 2 audiobooks, 2 netgalley on my kindke. I am starting with the tagged book as an audiobook while i work this morning. I started it yesterday, and I'm more than halfway through, and it's ok. It would be a DNF if i wasn't too busy (lazy) to go find something else..

This was a pretty alright book. It could have probably been 100 pages shorter but it was entertaining enough. 3�� #botm

Nope. Super predictable plot and the writing is just not good in my opinion. Disappointing because I liked Penner‘s previous book. Anyone else feel this way?

4-13-23: My 39th finished book of 2023! 1873 London. Lenna Wickes has traveled to Paris to find answers on her sister‘s death. To do that she must study and embrace the occult, and let go of her science mind. She will study with Vaudeline D‘Allaire. But then Vaudeline is summoned to London by the London Seance Society, to help solve the murder of their leader and she brings Lenna with her. They realize all the lies about the society might be true.

This was my book club‘s April pick. It was a quick read and overall liked the book. Didn‘t really love any of the characters and thought the story was a bit predictable. Solid 3/5 â­�ï¸�. This was the first book I‘ve read by Penner. I‘d like to read “The Lost Apothecaryâ€� at some point too, I‘ve heard good things about it.

https://youtu.be/9GzFXuzN__g

I really enjoyed this book. It was much better than The Lost Apothecary. Lenna's sister is murdered and to help her find the killer, she apprentices with the renoun medium Vaudeline D'Allaire.
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#NoShameReadathon2023 #lgbtq+speculative @Nessavamusic

3.5â­�
Ehh..sadly this was a bit of a miss.
I wanted to like this so much! Penner is a local author, and I'm fascinated by Victorian spiritualism but just nope.
The root of the story was great but this would have been better suited as a short story IMO. The filler of this book is just immense repetition. It feels like the author thinks the reader is dumb and needs to be reminded of things constantly. Also, weak character development. Womp womp.🕯�

Definitely not The Lost Apothecary. This one remains all historical but from dueling POVs. Seems everyone is well versed in narcissistic behavior these days enough to call it what it is but rarely do I read it as a character attribute in historical books. Swindlers active when mourning is at its worst just seems extra wrong. Several times I questioned all the characters not knowing who to trust. I also enjoyed the author's notes at the back.

This reads like her debut novel The Lost Apothecary in that it isn't fast-paced, but it tells you the story on its own time, and you best be paying attention to all the details so you don't miss anything. I had a vague idea of the infatuation with the mediums in that era, and this really told a story. I was stoked about the subject, too, and am eager to read what she comes out with next.

I decided to tempt myself during #buyless2023 with a stroll through Barnes and Noble and was SO tempted by the tagged book. The left is the hardcover under the dust jacket and the right is the endpapers. Putting it on my list of really want, even if it‘s getting mixed reviews.

My March #botm arrived earlier than expected - just in time for the weekend and Spring Break next week! 🎉

I somehow totally forgot that today was the last day of the month! 😱 Thank goodness @glowyone texted me to let me know the Book of the Month picks were love this morning! 💕📚 I loved Dear Edward so I'm excited about Ann Napitano's new one! 😀 Here is what I went with! What did everyone else choose? #botm

This is very different from The Lost Apothecary, although the writing style is similar. Fans of Penner‘s debut novel may be disappointed in this one, which is sort of a murder mystery-spiritualist-lesbian drama. It‘s an enjoyable read but somehow less than I expected. However, I was super-distracted while reading this, so this could be a situation of “it‘s me, not you.â€� Out in March 2023.

Only the first chapter in and I'm already holding my breath in anticipation... this is going to be a good one!!

#SarahPenner author of #TheLostApothecary #HistoricalFiction #Thriller #Poltergeist #MurderMystery #TheLondonSeanceSociety

Sarah Penner liked my comment! 😊
I can't wait for her new book (tagged)
It sounds so wonderful!!