What's not to love? A Slow burn romance gothic murder mystery featuring Dracula and Sherlock Holmes' daughters? I devoured this!

I love reading paranormal books and adding mystery and fighting scenes. Sign me up!
This book was great; the main character was great. Sometimes, the writing seemed long-winded and confusing during the inner monologue.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the way the story was written.
This book had me ready for more. I loved learning French while reading and the education about mythical beasts. Very mythical beasts but more deadly.
Thank you to Binderly Books, NetGalley, and Susan J. Morris for the chance to read this book for an honest review

Had a great time reading this period piece/urban fantasy/ monster hunter/mystery/lowkey feminine rage manifesto?

Great fun! It was a perfect mix of fantasy, light horror and nods to beloved classics with a little sapphic romance and a lot of femininism. The twists kept me guessing and surprised me but they didn't feel confusing or like they were there just for the sake of being twisty. The story dragged on a little bit at times but it never lasted long as there was always a new element coming to help pick up the pace. The atmosphere was brilliantly spooky, mysterious and had gothic vibes I really loved. The downsides for me were that I wasn't a fan of some of the more gruesome descriptions as I get grossed out quite easily and also I went in expecting a standalone but the ending feels like it's not.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with this eARC.
4.25🌟 thoroughly enjoyable, I loved the main characters and can't wait to read more of them! The author did a wonderful job of creating a very atmospheric early 20th century Paris. The mystery was engaging and the political elements were well done without being overly preachy.

This debut novel is an amalgamation of Stoker’s Dracula and Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Strange Beasts sees a couple of unlikely paranormal investigators team up to catch the gruesome deaths of what is suspected a werewolf.

I really enjoyed this one. I think this has great potential as a series and I could see it being adapted as a TV series. My main qualm as to why it isn’t a 5-star read is that at times thought it was a tad slow and difficult to understand what was going on.

The ending was good and makes me want to read a sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

What a page turner! Perfect balance of fantasy, historical (Victorian Paris), romance, and horror all with a modern feminist bent. Lots of twists and turns, but never to the point that you get lost, it’s always just one step ahead of you. Hoping for a sequel!

This book was a curiosity. And possibly too clever for me. Somehow it manages to feel equal parts Dracula (a niggling sense of unease and a world that feels slightly askew but even stranger in it’s familiarity) and Sherlock Holmes (too clever by half and giving you the pieces in a way that will absolutely make sense but that you’ll never figure out before the reveal). At its core this is a story about the space women exist in the world, and how it’s almost always relational to a man.

Sam and Hel prove that it’s possible to be subject to these views but to work the system towards their own ends. A fun Edwardian gaslamp tale that leaves the door open for more. Curious about what fun Sam and Hel could get into in the Emerald Isle.

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for the gifted e-ARC.

Strange Beasts is an urban fantasy whodunnit — told in a witty, Holmesian style. The Dracula and Sherlock Holmes influences are very apparent. This was overall a very “vibe-y” gothic mystery.

I loved the sapphic elements (though there wasn’t much “romance”), the feminine rage, and the monsters. It did feel a bit long. There were a lot of twists and long-winded moments by the end of the book.
My rating: 3.5⭐️

I’d recommend this for fans of Sherlock Holmes, quirky characters, whodunnits, and feminist novels.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Bindery Books for an ARC of Strange Beasts in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed the mystery intertwined with characters inspired by Dracula. The captivating phrases and quotes drew me in. I truly adored it and will recommend it to everyone.

Totally enjoyable and well-written, the monsters and mystery made for such a fun ride. Some really visceral descriptions that had me a little grossed out at times, but I loved it. The crossover between the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes was delightful! I will say I wanted a little more from the romance - I understand it was supposed to be a slow burn, but it was maybe too slow as I feel some moments really caught me off guard as I felt there hadn't been adequate build up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Thank you to Net Galley and Bindery for the ARC. I was excited to read this because I love murder mysteries, sapphic romance, and Dracula and Sherlock. Unfortunately, the only thing I liked were the details about perfume. The characters were one dimensional and the plot was boring.

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book feels just like the bbc show Sherlock. And I’m here for it lol. I loved this book with the the whole gender bend on this. It’s so good! It’s fun but it also has very serious book. The one thing that I had a problem with is that I think that it need to be longer like the pacing is just fine but I just like a longer book but this was so good that the length really did not mess with me too much. So thank you net gallery for let me read this before it came out! And I can’t wait to read more for this author!

Such a GREAT premise.... the queer daughters of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula solving mysteries you have cat to be kitten me........ Absolutely slaps and I love you fellow gay people

This was such a fun (in a really creepy way) story and I look forward to the next installment!

We meet Samantha Harker, daughter of Jonathan and Mina, and Helena Moriarty, daughter of Professor Moriarty, both shaped into the women they are by their parents. Sam is incredibly naïve, sometimes unbelievably so, until you think about how protective her parents would have been given their little Transylvanian experience. Helena, you see, is not as loved by her father is Sam is by her parents, plus her partners in investigation tend to die, so she has a bad rep.

There is something (someone, more than one someone?) committing gruesome murders and as our heroines delve into the underworld they discover bits and bobs about each other, and realize what a connection they have as well.

I will be looking out for the next book because I absolutely loved Hel and Sam and need more of their adventures!

This book is really good but i was surprised in the end, i thought it was a standlone. I had a hard time getting into it at first, it's pretty slow paced. The MC is very compelling and the slow burn romance is well done. I loved the gothic vibes

A thrilling gothic whodunit set in 1900s Paris…
The links between our two leads — Samantha Harker and Dr Helena Moriarty — with characters from famous books such as Sherlock Holmes and Dracula added to the atmosphere of the book without seeming to much like a parody. Sam and Helena were their own people within a story based around the legends of the genre and that was what made following their journey so interesting.
The supernatural elements worked well with the mystery element; Susan J Morris excelled in creating a world entirely hers within a Paris we all know so well!

3.5 stars. Lots of creativity and intelligence in this book. A Dracula (Harker) and Holmes (Moriarty) mash-up?!?! Yes, please! Stunning cover art! The shortened names to Sam and Hel made me laugh. Loved all the creatures and Paris folklore. Great family secrets and mystery as well. Very insightful and impactful quotes. But...Sam seemed to get wrapped up easily in dire moments and fall for whomever was in that moment with her. The "romance" with Hel was nonexistent, not even a whisper, and then it is. Odd. Also, the twists were too plentiful and got a bit confusing. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

🦇🔎 OK, this is completely on me, but I thought the description of ‘Sherlock meets Dracula’ would be more of a metaphor than anything else, I expected it would have VIBES like that, but wow was I surprised when I realised is very much literal and the description had just gone completely over my head. To be honest, I had a few moments at the beginning where I thought it might close in on fanfic territory (although it would be a very good one!), but very quickly settled into a story all of its own and I really enjoyed the ride!

Strange Beasts is a delightfully dark gothic mystery that really delivers—monsters, secret societies, and gruesome murders galore! The atmosphere is *chef’s kiss*, and the characters have a snarky charm that keeps the pages turning. I won’t lie, the pacing wobbles a tiny bit in the middle and it almost lost me for a second, but the overall vibe is so immersive that you’ll forgive it. I really loved the characters and their chemistry and found myself super invested in their story (There may have been some giggles and kicking of feet)

When I tried to recommend this to someone, as a ‘gothic, horror murder mystery historical fiction thriller queer romance fantasy novel’…I realised I have absolutely no idea what genre this is…but I don’t care, I love it. Who doesn’t love a book the destroys genre boundaries?

Outside of genre, the story doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but it does put a really fun, eerie, femme-centric spin on a familiar formula. If you’re in the mood for gothic thrills with just enough bite, this one’s well worth your time. Personally I think this one will shine extra bright as an audiobook and I practically ran to get the audio pre-ordered 💀📜

A big thank you to the author, Netgalley and Bindery Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Are you interested in stories about government organizations dedicated to investigating supernatural phenomena? Are you curious what a partnership between the daughter of Mina and Jonathan Harker from Bram Stoker's DRACULA and the daughter of Professor Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes series would look like? Did you like the idea of the bookish researcher (with an academic and personal interest in the occult, like NINTH HOUSE) taking to the field like in the Emily Wilde books? The possibility of a quasi-religious/political group being behind horrific beastly attacks like in THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF? The scheming to trap a potential werewolf at the opera like in GABRIEL KNIGHT: THE BEAST WITHIN? Do you appreciate queer representation in the books you read, with a gentle romance arc that takes a backseat to the adventurous and mysterious plot? Do you like your feminist rage to have actual, literal bite?

If you said yes to any of the above, then do I have a treat for you!

In 1903, Sam and Hel are agents of the London Field Office of The Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. Ostensibly, the group hunts dangerous monsters of the paranormal variety. Our two heroines are sent to Paris to look into a spree of brutal murders thought to have been committed by some kind of Capital B Beast. Their investigation takes them to illicit salons, the catacombs, the opera, and many other places besides.

The two women must learn to trust one another, which does not come easy. Sam is used to keeping her ability as a channel secret, as most people believe this means she will inevitably fall under the sway of monsters and is therefore a danger herself. Conversely, everyone knows the identity of Hel's father, but what they don't know is that by making the choice to free herself from his influence, she guaranteed that he will always target people she gets close to.

Some minor complaints: 1) I didn't always follow the characters' lines of reasoning with some of the conclusions they made, and 2) it seems like this book tried to be and do a little too much. There's Sam channeling, false visions, a hidden rage, Jakob Van Helsing (son of Abraham) foiling her wherever she goes in a bid to save her from her own inexorable descent into monstrousness, the men in the Royal Society discounting the abilities of the women, personal agency, the question of monster versus victim, alchemy, religious and political motivations, the potential for Moriarty to be manipulating their investigation, covert ciphers, messages sent via bees...all on top the of the basic premise of uncovering who is responsible for the murders and stopping them.

(And one extremely niggling issue: I understand that "wills o'the wisp" is probably the proper plural form of the term, but it still sounds off enough to kick me from the immersion in the story, and it is a term that gets used SO. MUCH.)

Even with being a bit extra, this is a 4.75 star book for me. I really liked the characters, the early twentieth century Paris setting, the paranormal elements, and the investigation into the Beast killings. It was a lot of fun, and I wasn't bored for even a moment. It does leave the door open for another adventure to come. I will be keeping an eye on this author, and this publisher, for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bindery Books, and Inky Phoenix Press for the eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.