This was so good I read it twice!

Emma Hinds has written a dark powerful novel and if you're going to read any book in January 2024 this needs to be top of you're list!

Flora is a girl of about 18 who moves from one bad situation to another.
I read a third before I gave up. In this mystical magical world there is still loads of SA and brutality.
The author uses a fair amount of terms and words used in that period like “I am one and eight” denoting 18.
but then uses the word f*ck a crazy amount. There was an unnecessary amount of repetition. I a world that is so dark already, this book wasn’t for me.

Thank you net galley for the arc. DNF @60% and should've done it earlier. The blurb of this book sounded appealing, a mixture of fantasy, mystery, and romance. It didn't deliver. TW: rape, SA, abusive relationships, paedophilia (I think), murder, among others.

There is a lot of abuse in this book. It very quickly starts you off in one abusive relationship and sweeps you into another (with rape scenes, references, and other SA featured heavily throughout). The blurb describes a love triangle between Florence, Minnie, and Chester. Whilst Florence is 'saved' from her first abuser by Minnie, her fate doesn’t seem much better. Minnie is the lesser of two evils, but both Minnie and Chester try to force themselves on Florence at least once, and it's all very icky with power imbalances and all kinds of abuse. Chester is also sexually abusive to Polly, who I think is a minor, but she's only described as 'young' so I'm not sure of her age. I didn't really like anyone and reading it was a chore. This combined with so many abusive relationships (I don't think I could ever root for Florence and Minnie with how things started, idk how it ends) solidified that I need to DNF. I'm very reluctant to DNF books in general, but I'm learning more and more that I need to stop wasting my energy on things I don't enjoy.

This absolutely gorgeous debut novel from Emma Hinds is truly spectacular.

From the first line to the very end I was entranced by the story that unfolds.

Florence, a young tattoo artist with a special gift. The Knowing, able to comminicate with the spirits of the dead, living in the slums of 19th century New York trapped in a relationship with a man who doesn't love her as much as he thinks he's entitled to her, she is his property, to do with as he pleases and no more.

When Flora meets the enigmatic Minnie everything changes and what unfolds is a story of hope, tragedy, love and the sheer will to survive in a world where men make the decisions and women live by their rules.

Beautifully written, immersive and utterly addictive. I have never rooted for a character so much as I did for Flora, I was so invested in her "happy ending" and finding her peace, it broke my heart and made it smile at the same time.

I cannot praise this one enough, it was absolutely wonderful and a fantastic debut novel!

Thank you for the opportunity and absolute pleasure of reading this one prior to release.

The premise of this book is really cool - it follows a tattoo artist with 'the knowing' as she escapes from her abusive partner in 1920's New York. The story follows across the globe to Manchester and London in a dark, twisted tale of ghosts, tarot cards and tattoos. I loved learning more about the intricate links between characters but was a bit confused with the specifications of what possessing 'the knowing' entails.

A visceral, tale of love betrayal and the dead in 1800s New York. Flora, a Five Points orphan turned lady tattooist has been under the yoke of a brutal master who uses her as his living canvas. A chance encounter with diminutive Minnie leads her into a life that on the surface seems comfortable but is perhaps more
dangerous than her life on the streets. Flora's tarot cards and her mystical abilities will not be silenced for much longer. This novel is breathtaking, brutal, and bewitching.

"The Knowing" by Emma Hinds is just the type of book I love: tarot-card readers, mystics, freak shows, the grimy underworld in which they live and much more. What elevates this book above the rest is that it brings to life New York, Dublin and Manchester with the descriptions of those who dwell there. I loved the story of Flora meeting Minnie and trying to get away from Jordan who used her as a human advertising board for his tattoos. Great story and bound to be a big hit in 2024.

This was a book whose blurb roused my interest and yet somehow the story failed to deliver despite starting well. I was hoping for more atmospheric details and cohesive plot. I did not really connect with any of the characters. Thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

A creative power has been unleashed in Emma Hinds debut novel The Knowing. For anyone with an interest in the occult, Emma's descriptive powers puts flesh on the bones of those at the periphery of our vision. Those we know are lurking in the dark shadows of a room or even our mind and when the mystic becomes possessed......well, let's just say I've never read anything quite so compelling.
The story itself is one of abuse. The abuse of women by men. It is very gritty so prepare to be shocked.
For me there was a little too much repetition and whimsy but an excellent debut novel.

If I could read the future, I'd definitely say this one is going to be huge (expect a lot of people to make this remark)

It's packed full of atmosphere, and descriptive detail that makes locations come alive.
THEN you get to the characters.
They're all larger than life, and immediately recognisable, familiar somehow.
Throw in the cards and knowing for a bit of spooky creepiness and it's a sure fire winner.
As the book closes, as much as I loved it, I can't help but think I would love more.....

In the slums of 19th-century New York. A tattooed mystic fights for her life. Her survival hangs on the turn of a tarot card. Powerful, intoxicating and full of suspense. The Knowing is a darkly spellbinding novel about a girl fighting for her survival in the decaying criminal underworlds. It is a hard-hitting story of love, obsession and betrayal. Whilst working as a living canvas for an abusive tattoo artist in the slums of 19th-century New York, Flora meets Minnie, an enigmatic circus performer who offers her love and refuge in an opulent townhouse that is home to the menacing and predatory Mr Chester Merton. Flora earns her keep reading tarot cards for his guests whilst struggling to harness her gift, the Knowing - an ability to summon the dead. Caught in a dark love triangle between Minnie and Chester, Flora begins to unravel the secrets inside their house. Then at her first public séance in the infamous cathouse Hotel du Woods, Flora hears the spirit of a murdered boy prostitute and exposes his killer, setting off a train of events that leaves her fighting for her life. The Knowing is a stunning debut inspired by real historical characters including Maud Wagner, one of the first known female tattoo artists, New York gang the Dead Rabbits, and characters from PT Barnum's circus in the 1800s.

This was a wonderfully dark, gothic and mysterious story with lots of twists and turns that kept me hooked! The pacing was spot on while the characters and sense of time and place were great. Very atmospheric and suspenseful, I devoured this in two days as I didn’t know what was coming next

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early readers copy in exchange for my honest review

A very involving read that draws you into the strange world of the tattooist, tarot reader and seance. There is a lot of cruelty involved particularly towards women and girls. The author shows amazing imagination and brings everything to a satisfactory resolution.

What a stunning debut by Emma Hinds!
The Knowing is set in 19th-century New York, where a young slum-dwelling girl has a gift for card reading and communicating with ghosts. The voices that guide her steer her away from any dialogue with the spirit world, but circumstances keep bringing her to face them.
Flora is young but has seen a lot in her life already, including witnessing the person who cared for her and looked out for her as a child being abused and abducted. She ends up in the care of a tattooist who gives her affection for a while, protection, tattoos, and a roof over her head, but at a cost.
Then she meets Minnie, who turns her life upside down. She flees her home, then lives a life filled with worry that she will be found and 'dealt with' in an unpleasant manner, as well as the added concern about the man under whose roof she now resides.
Her inked body becomes a lure for people keen to watch the freak shows common at that time and the chance to hear from a 'painted mystic'. Yet the spirits keep knocking at her door, despite her trying not to listen.
Events occur which push her and Minnie to a different destination in another country, where her nightmares follow.
I was intrigued by the characters, the story, and the twists and turns. I love a bit of supernatural!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bedford Square House for an ARC.