Deliciously dark and clever with a twisty gothic plot. An enjoyable sapphic romp with a haunting mystery at it's heart. Very much enjoyed.

I so enjoyed 'Spitting Gold', a novel that ticks all my gothic/historical/sapphic boxes! I found the storyline to be reminiscent of Sarah Waters' Fingersmith, with the novel constructed in two parts, following two different viewpoints. Each part is told by a sister - Sylvie and Charlotte, estranged but brought back together to undertake a spiritualist con. The plot is clever, twisty, and kept me turning the pages to the very end. I particularly liked the character of Mimi, a man who refuses to follow convention and goes his own way. Lowkis has brought to life the stultifying conditions that women lived in during the 18oos, and she has succeeded in conjuring vivid characters in Charlotte and Sylvie and Florence, This novel is full of hauntings and dark secrets, hidden passions and sisterly love. A deliciously dark and dangerous historical debut,

Great fun, a dark and twisty tale of spirits and things that are not what they seem. Really enjoyed the telling.

Thoroughly enjoyed this story, set in the 19th Century. Full of excitement including two sisters working as spirit mediums, contacting the spirits from the other side or not? The sisters’ characters came over as very different with one having married well and the other still at home and single.
We get to hear about life as it was in that early time and are also reminded of the practice in those days of people attending a public viewing platform that looked into a public mortuary. This, in the hope of identifying missing loved ones amongst the bloated and disfigured bodies dragged out of the Seine. A morbid practice but gives us a real feel for the horrors of life in the 19th Century.
I was really surprised by the ‘reveal’ in part 2 and felt this was very cleverly written. It brought everything together to show us how this story transpired and also gave us an excellent ending. Not one I was expecting but it was good and everyone involved received what they deserved for their part in the story.
Well worth reading.

I enjoyed #SpittingGold in one sitting as I was thoroughly drawn into this gothic tale. Set in Paris, 1866, two sisters reunite. One is a wealthy Baroness, the other poor and eager to join forces to pay for their dying father’s medical bills.

The plan is to resurrect their previous double act and conduct seances for a rich family who claim to be haunted. One last con, as the cover states, or is it

Thanks to NetGalley for my free advance copy of this book in return for my unbiased opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a very entertaining twist on the Victorian spirit hunting trope. It features two estranged sisters who start off conning folks for money but it does not work out that way. Well written.

This is a great historical fiction novel. I loved the dark story, the ghostly goings on and the family relationships particularly between Sylvie and Charlotte as for who is the good and who is the bad sister that is up to you to decide. The story is really cleverly woven together and the story keeps giving right until the end. There is something quite magical and special about the writing of this story and I am really looking forward to reading more by this author.

A fantastic debut novel for Carmella. I really enjoyed this one. Two estranged sisters- proficient in convincing people they can actually summon spirits are brought back together for one last job…

But at what cost?

A brilliant novel, fabulous characters, twists and turns, and just a great read.

My thanks to Netgalley and Transworld, Penguin Random House for inviting me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked so quickly on this story and managed to read half of it in a day as I couldn't put it down. It is a haunting mystery that draws you in quickly. Even when a big part of the story is revealed, the atmosphere was still dark and mysterious, and I still needed to know exactly what had happened as quickly as possible.

I did find the switch to a second POV quite jarring and there was no explanation that it had happened so took me some time to work out what was happening. Just a note at the start of the chapter or splitting the book into part one and part two would help make this easier to deal with and make it more obvious that the voice was changing.

The insider info provided about how spiritualists faked hauntings and seances was fascinating and added another dimension. Despite all of these tidbits and details, I was still convinced there was a real haunting at one point because Lowkis paints such a detailed and spooky picture.

The story isn't exactly what I was expecting and I think the book is better for it. It has several twists and turns, so just as you think you've worked it out, something else comes along. There are smaller mysteries surrounding the larger one too, so the whole read is spent trying to tie up loose threads - which are all explained well before the end.

If you like gothic, slightly creepy reads with a sapphic angle, this is definitely the book for you.

This book was captivating, mysterious and intriguing—everything I love about a mystery/gothic book! The gothic elements were spot on in this book and made it so atmospheric that it constantly felt like I was there with the characters. I know a story is well written when characters can evoke a sense of annoyance, concern and excitement when I read it.
Also, the ending? Spectacular!
I have so many theories on some of the things that have still been left unsolved for the reader, especially regarding our main characters' mother.
Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday and NetGalley for sending me an ARC for my honest review!

𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐺𝑜𝑙𝑑 | 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎 𝐿𝑜𝑤𝑒’𝑠 | 𝟑.𝟕𝟓*

𝑆𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑆𝑦𝑛𝑜𝑝𝑠𝑖𝑠
Two estranged spirit-medium sisters reunite for one last con of a bizarre family that claim they are being visited. When things start to unravel and they have to wonder, is there really a malevolent spirit present?

𝑇𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑠
⟡ gothic mystery
⟡ sapphic romance
⟡ complex family dynamics
⟡ 19th century paris

𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑
From the prologue, I was hooked. This was much more fast paced than I expected. I think I finished it in around three and a half hours. Once I was immersed in the con just as much as the sisters, Sylvie and Charlotte were, I could hardly stand to put this book down!

I really love the sister dynamic in stories, and the dynamic in this particular story is fraught at best, spitefully resentful at worst. I loved how morally dubious they both were, and how each of the sisters felt cast into the role of the villain. I really enjoyed the parallel of the children’s fable written by Charles Perrault, Toads and Diamonds. The author drew elements of the sisterly natures from this tale and the result is a stunning contradiction of sisters that each have a degree of loyalty until this loyalty gets in the way of what they want.

The solution to the mystery was a bit obvious to me but once I read the context, I didn’t care how predictable it was, only that a just karma was gained. This sub-plot had a really heart wrenching storyline and the emotion from the side character involved was extremely guttural and provocative.

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑
This book is told in two parts. Part one is from Sylvie’s POV and part two is from Charlotte’s. My gripe is that they are both told in first person, and I found this quite jarring. This is completely personal preference, but I’d have preferred this book to be told entirely in third person.

I also thought that the ending was rushed. I loved the climax itself but it seemed to stop prematurely, and the epilogue only deepened my dissatisfaction by undoing the complex resolution that had already been sought.

𝐹𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑄𝑢𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠
“𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥: 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘗𝘢𝘱𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘢; 𝘔𝘢𝘮𝘢, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴: 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘔𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 ‘𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴’ 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘔𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴; 𝘸𝘦’𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘱 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩. 𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥; 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴.”

“𝘐’𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧; 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘪𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 ‘𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯’, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘪𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.”

This was a very interesting story of two estranged sisters with a history of working together as spirit mediums, joined again for another haunting. I found this book entertaining from the off, and whilst the 'twists' were glaringly obviously to me, I think they were well done, and the romance felt believable. I would've liked more of the ghost/haunting elements, but overall this was a very easy and enjoyable read, and I was pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable I found it. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

"Spitting Gold" by Carmella Lowkis is right up my street - a gothic novel with spiritualism, set in Paris, with plenty of twists. I loved that it was told from two perspectives as you really got to see what was happening, and I felt as manipulated as some of the characters as I got caught up in the plot. I'll be on the look out for more books by this author.

This book really intrigued me. Two sisters who fake spiritual connections for others, only to learn that actually the spirits need to talk to them desperately. A gothic, atmosphere fun novel. I enjoyed the dual POVs and really liked the sisters!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Carmella Lowkis writes an engagingly atmospheric and gothic historical fiction of the complex relationship between sibling sisters, with a sapphic romance, and fraud, where little is as it seems, and that has echoes of Sarah Waters' work. Set in Paris in 1866, the author's rich and vibrant descriptions bring the city and time period vividly alive. Baroness Sylvie receives a visit from her estranged sister, Charlotte Mothe, worrying over her troubling and dark history as a 'spiritual medium' is catching up with her position now as a figure of the establishment. However, their father's serious health issues have left Charlotte unable to pay the bills, and it is this that pushes Sylvie to help in the pulling off of a last con.

The sisters decide to target the dysfunctional and wealthy de Jacquinots, most of the family feel they are being haunted by the violent killing of a relative in the French Revolution. Planning to con their way to their gold by frightening them, they utilise all their machinations, skills and pull their tricks, only to be confounded, finding themselves facing the challenge of mysterious and strange terrors. In this sharply witty, well plotted and tense story, structured into 2 parts, we are immersed in the differing perspectives of the siblings, first of Sylvie, and then Charlotte. There is romance, seances, twists and turns, secrets, and more.

Lowkis's debut historical fiction is written well, capturing my interest, and at the heart of the book is her creation, depth, development, the chaos and conflicts, of her distinct characters, and their pasts and relationships, amidst the question of whether the spirit is real. The sapphic romance felt real with its authentic range of emotions which so often pepper the nature of actual relationships. This was a fascinating read set in a wonderful historical period and location, although there are issues of pacing. This will appeal to fans of historical fiction, mystery, relationship dynamics, and sapphic romance. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Historical adventure novel set in Paris in 1866.

Sylvie, now a baroness, once a spirit medium / con artist, is dragged into a new con by her sister with fatal consequences. The plot has a little of everything which makes it engaging and a worthwhile read. The characters are well–defined and interesting. The plot moves along at a good pace. A convenient happy ending is served up in the epilogue. I enjoyed this novel more than I expected. Recommended. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

An intense Gothic romp in which two sisters, divided by fortune and estranged by feelings of betrayal, revisit their past as spirit mediums to do one, last job together, with catastrophic results. This is compulsively readable with a series of strong plot twists that keep you guessing for some time. Rather cleverly, the denouement comes at the mid point of the book, at which stage you might think you know where the book is going, but it pivots really well and is as page turning in the second half, just for different reasons. It will draw comparisons to Sarah Waters' Affinity for all kinds of reasons, but it is a strong novel in its own right. I enjoyed it very much.

Spitting gold is a great book. Unique in its premise I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

It follows two sisters who work together as spiritualists in Paris, there are two parts to the book both read by the sisters. I thought it was a nice little mystery that was quite funny in parts and I’d definitely recommend this to others.

It’s not a gothic as the blurb but I was glad of that.

This story is about a family of spiritualists, tricking people into paying for their services.
I was disappointed in it and really wasn’t keen to pick it up and continue the book. I found myself unable to engage with the characters and was often annoyed with their behaviour. I felt that the home life and the working life didn’t fit together and that at the end, there was a ‘tidying up’ chapter to deal with loose ends.
Sorry, not for me.

Whilst I enjoyed this novel I wasn’t bowled over by it. The premise of spiritists in Paris in the 19th century was right up my street and indeed the descriptions of the seances were well done. I thought however that the second half of the book got a bit boring and somewhat unbelievable and i was anxious to get to the end. I do feel though that this book will be well received and should do well.