Review time!
Secrets and Sacrifices by Cath Lauria

I recently read an ARC of Secrets and Sacrifices by Cath Lauria. My husband and I have been playing a Call of Cthulhu tabletop campaign for going on 3 years with a group of friends and it has totally sucked my into the mythos that Lovecraft created.

If you know me you know I LOVE a good romance so when I found out about Secrets and Sacrifices I had to read it! As I read, I ended up jokingly calling this book "Pride and Prejudice and Cthulhu" because the LI gave me MAJOR Mr. Darcy vibes. I think I preferred the romance aspect of this story more than the mythos related mystery that drove the plot. The progress felt a little too fast and too slow at the same time. Cassandra's whole plan was immediately ruined in the first couple chapters by the arrival of Thomas but she was quickly able to pivot and come up with a new plan.

The mystery aspects felt a little too easy and predictable, but it was fun to read nonetheless. I felt there were a few missed opportunities as far as the consequences of a well known figure also being a devout cultist, but without spoiling anything, there was a character death near the end that genuinely made me gasp with surprise. Honestly I felt maybe the author was too focused on giving the reader a HEA but as someone who has played Call of Cthulhu and other games in the Arkham family as much as I have, it felt a little unrealistic but it was still a fun read.

Cassandra and Thomas's romance kept my giggling and swooning through the whole story. "Regency couple solves a mystery and falls in love" might be one of my new favorite genres!

Overall, I give Secrets and Sacrifices a 3.5/5 and recommend it for those who like regency mysteries as well as those who are fans of Lovecraft stories!

Loved this. It definitely wasn't life changing, but I had a great time reading it. I cant wait to read more from Lauria.

The first time I tried to read this, I DNF'd. It started SO DARK and I just wasn't prepared. Second time around, I made it through. For people who love some gore and horror, this regency-era book would be perfect!

Personally, the gore was a little much for me; however, the regency aspect was wonderful. The writing stayed true to the era and it was interesting to see dark fantasy mixed with regency!

The FMC and MMC were great. I adored them!

I had been looking forward to this book, as the first 'historical' in the Arkham series. For some reason though, it just didn't click with me. I don't know if it was the time period or the romantic subplot, but I found it hard to read and DNF. I'll likely try again in future, but sadly not for me right now. Apologies!

Thank you to the author & NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to review.

Personally I struggled to get into this book and feel I may not have been the target audience.
I did end up DNFing this book as I just struggled to engage with it.

This is probably my own fault as I didn’t realise this was loosely based around a game so feel if I had knowledge on this, I’d probably have enjoyed it more!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Listen: Lovecraftian horror and regency romance, this should totally be a Beth book, right? Eh, in theory it should have been. I'm not familiar with the game the source material comes from, so I don't know if there are any nods to that, but what I do know is that it was fine. I don't feel very strongly about this one. It had an interesting concept and I guess it was well executed, but it didn't.... sing (if that's the word to use) for me like I thought it would.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book to be honest. It's not really my kind of fantasy, but oh boy, was I wrong?

I really liked the character and the FMC was quite charming. Sure, you may find it a bit typical, rebellious, smart, not caring what the world thinks about her. But I become quite found of her. I like that she feels real for me (especially when she didn't plan more because she wasn't sure what's gonna happen)

The MMC is charming as well, especially when compared to the rest of the high society.

The ending is a happy one and this book is more of a typical historical romance with a sprinkle of paranormal more than anything, so if you like this type of book, the monsters are not too much imo.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion

DNF at 37%. there is nothing inherently wrong with this book, I just don't think I'm the target audience.

A regency Cthulu Novel - it proudly states, and certainly the Role Playing Game Call Of Cthulu has pumped out enough supplements to make the entanglements of the unspeakable horrors from beyond our dimension not just plausible but likely in a Regency Romp. After all in the Napoleonic Wars era Grea Britain we have spooky country piles, plenty of class climbing, superstition, a desire for power, and potentially military supremacy that perhaps could be granted by Shub-Niggurath herself. In the end the fit os so good that its a little disappointing that this never really gets gothic or all that weird. Our heroine's Father died in mysterious circumstances (well during an occult ritual that we see in the Prologue), and she has come to the country house of her ex-fiance to find out more. A dishy old acquaintance is also there, and a few weird things start happening, but she discovers her father's notebook about the summoning a bit too early for there to be that much mystery. Infact the problem - which I have with much Lovecraft and his secondhand creators, is for all the tentacles and formless shapes from beyond, its never actually that scary. Not so much Shub-Niggurath and Shrub-Niggurath, A fun enough read if this is an itch you need scratching, but the hints of sea creatures being used against Nelson seem more fun, and this has such a chunky happy ever after and Epilogue that I was convinced there would be a twist that one of our leads might actually be possessed.

Five years after her life falls apart, Cassandra Wright is eager to find out what truly happened to her father despite her lack of prospects, money, station, and her betrothed. Found dead AND accused of the murder of another man, the scandal surrounding her father has ruined her family. Her younger sister sent off to live in society under the care of their aunt. Her brother away at war. Cassandra takes it upon herself to discover the truth.
A chance meeting with her childhood friend Thomas (and the best friend of her prior fiancé) at the commencement of her plan to infiltrate society as a servant to finds her changing her plan and accepting Thomas' help by acting as his bride-to-be.
The secrets that society hides are greater and darker than anyone expected.

This book was honestly a true joy. I'm entirely biased on this and was prejudiced to love this book from the jump; two of my favorite things smooshed together: regency romance and cosmic horror. What's not to completely love?
Lauria masterfully writes a convincing and charming regency romance and the horror vibes are impeccable. I would 100% read plenty of more "Regency Cthuhlu" books if they were planned. I love the juxtaposition of manners and society with horrible tentacle monsters.

Thank you to Aconyte Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

5 stars easily.
I hope these call of Cthulhu books continue to release. I had so much throughout this story that I want more. My favorite thing about this book was that every time a sit down to read it I would notice I would finish 20-30% at a time, meaning it reads super easy. I’ve never played to call of Cthulhu rpg board game so I don’t know if it follows any of that but all I know is that I enjoyed it and can’t wait for my physical version to arrive.
Keeps up the great work!

I feel like I need to preface this by saying I really, really did not like Regency literature while at university. I could not get in to Jane Austen or anything like that. But when I saw this title two things stood out and overshadowed the Regency aspect. First the author, Cath Lauria who I know is a fantastic writer and second Cthulhu (and of course the Call of Cthulhu game links). I am so glad it did because now I can say that if my regency novels had eldritch horrors or secret societies I am sold on them.

First I want to say that this does read a lot like Regency novel but as mentioned, I actually enjoyed that when in Lauria’s hands. We are transported back to the time of dances and high society but with the added bonus of horror thrown in and let me tell you Lauria knows what she is doing! I have never had so much fun reading, that is a slight lie because I did when I read Lauria’s other works but you know what I mean.

From the prologue we are made aware just what we are in for and I was hooked. I will say that while the eldritch monster may not have all the bells and whistles you could throw in I feel like for Secrets and Scarifies and the setting it works. I will also admit that the prologue made me love said ‘monster’ but that may reflect more on my psychology than anything else! Still I feel like it was the perfect creation to wreak havoc on polite society of the time. Beyond the monster the human characters, particularly Cassandra (and Thomas as well) are wonderful. I loved seeing a female character of the time taking matters into her own hands and seemingly dragging Thomas along for the ride.

I always avoid spoilers but if you like your heroines pushing historical boundaries but in a believable way, your regency historically on point and more than a few twists and turns, not least an eldritch monster, you need to pick this one up!

Dark doings!

First up, I felt I was at a huge disadvantage, I know nothing about Lovecraft or the world of Cthulhu.
I thought I was getting a Regency novel with some Gothic aspects thrown in. There’s a bit more than that.
Cassandra Wright, a gentlewoman with a ‘single trunk’ was on her way to Tarryford to find out what she could about the powerful James Fraser and her dead father’s stolen journals.
Cassandra was sure Fraser had something to do with her father’s untimely and disquieting death five years ago.
Cassandra had all but been engaged to Fraser’s son, Gilbert. That had quickly became a non event at that time.
When Cassie arrives at Tarryford she’s shocked to run into Thomas Griffith, a friend of Gilbert’s.
There are dangerous times ahead for her.
The Beast of Avon Vale, as it’s called, has been eviscerating live stock. Humans might be next.
Than Mr. Fraser, and the darkness that surrounds him, comes home. Shiver!
Eldritch happenings and arcane methods are being employed to summon creatures not of this world, and Mr. Fraser is right at the core, supposedly to counter creatures Napoleon has been summoning. He has acolytes, guests at a so called hunting party.
There are some frightening and shocking moments but overall I felt Cassandra and Thomas are too simplistic in their rush to counter evil. Cassandra walking in to face the enemy with a hat pin is more foolish than brave. Their romance is a bit too good to be true, a bit wooden. However it works.
It didn’t take a lot of insight to predict what would happen on the Eldritch and the romance front.

An Aconyte ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

So i wanted to liked this but i just couldnt get into it. I still dont really understand what happened or what was really going on.

A gripping regency eldritch tale! Running in the woods, sleuthing in libraries, eluding monsters lurking in the dark with love!
Finally a book I couldn't put down after such a reading slump...

The 18th century England ambience is definitely there and the scary parts are not too scary but enough to be believable and keep you reading. A great read for new Lovecraftian readers and regency lovers. It's a bit gory, but not too much.

Beautifully written and authentic to the Regency Era.
I absolutely DEVOURED this book quickly .
I appreciated the immense detail and descriptions presented by the author and I look forward to see what other works the author has.

Secrets & Sacrifices is a charming attempt to meld Lovecraftian horror and a Romance of Manners, in the name of the new Call of Cthulhu Regency system. I think it does a good job at achieving what it sets out to do: the horror and lovecraft is just as present as the Manners, but the Manners don't get put aside for the horror. They're given equal weight here, which is nicely achieved. Cassandra is a great protagonist: she's headstrong, clever, occasionally rash, and genuinely a delight to read about. I found myself enjoying it thoroughly.

The one thing the book did that I felt hampered itself was by having a prologue that revealed far too much of the story. If it had started with chapter 1 instead, I think we as the reader would have felt the dread Cassandra felt as much as she did, not knowing who to trust or what had happened in the past, and the horror as she discovered more. Instead, we spent a lot of time waiting for her to catch up to what we knew, and it sort of undercut the tension of who was to blame for things. (There is one other comment on Goodreads not included here, as I can't put spoiler markers on Netgalley reviews themselves.)

Nevertheless, it was deeply enjoyable. I just might advise other readers to skip the prologue.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aconyte books for this ARC.

I’m usually a romance gal, but I was pleasantly surprised I liked this book!! It kept me engaged the entire time & I couldn’t put it down!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
No Spice

⭐️ PNR
⭐️ Love Interest
⭐️ Quick Read

I began reading this book with little familiarity with Lovecraftian literature, and I believe it was the ideal story to start with.
The world-building in the book was captivating, blending the key components of an epic journey often found in high-quality fantasy novels.
I felt a strong connection with Cassandra, the main character, on multiple levels.
Nevertheless, there were moments where I became slightly perplexed about the narrative's progression.
However, I found this book to be mostly enjoyable.


I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

While having some knowledge of Call of Cthulhu or Lovecraftian mythos in general would provide some fun Easter eggs, Lauria is effective at describing the rituals and monsters that anyone would enjoy this Regency horror with a touch of “fake dating” romance. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. #NetGalley #SecretsSacrifices