It’s okay… 2.5 rounded to 3.
I might try picking it up on Libby when it’s released but the eARC didn’t leave me super interested. They seem to really get things correct which I appreciate in historical fiction regardless of the plot but it kinda felt a big dragged out or I got lost in how we were going to get to where the book or author wanted us to get? If that makes sense

I enjoyed this book! I don't need fancy "twists" at the end or sudden about-faces of characters. This book is set in the Victoria period and there wouldn't be dramatic twists and turns to a typical plot. It's a good, solid story and I found myself wanting to continue to the end to find out what happens. There's nothing wrong with a book that is like this, and in my opinion we could do with more stories that are just entertaining and steadfast like this one. Not everything has to be over-the-top dramatic and making readers gasp.

I liked all of the characters and I felt like they were drawn well. I would have liked some more details around Bella's death - we know that she drowned, but ... where? Was there a pond on the farm and I missed reference to it? I liked seeing how Ellen's parents' withdrawal of affection from her after Bella's death led to certain aspects of her character development. I did find it a little odd that she wouldn't accept people telling her that Bella's death wasn't her fault - at some point, you have to let go of your guilt and move on, right? I don't feel like she ever does.

I liked the character of Grace, I felt like she was neurodivergent-coded. I also enjoyed the variety in back story of the other women in the house. Some of them were just "there" and others had a larger part to play in the story.

All in all, I enjoyed the book. The setting is great, the old drafty house is very gothic and I actually enjoyed reading about the seances. My one quibble would be I'd have liked to have heard how the seance affects were achieved - we know how the wet footprints appeared and the flourescent paint, but not the candle flames or the tapping.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

It was the cover of The Spirit Circle that first caught my attention, the deep blue background with the candles and flowers all of which feature in the book. Then once I read the blurb, I knew I wanted to read the book! I do find the spirit world, and things like tarot readers fascinating.

The book is set in East Melbourne Australia and the central characters are William Whitfield, Ellen Whitfield and Harriet Kirk. William lives with his spinster sister Ellen Whitfield. Harriet Kirk, Ellen’s friend lives alone, nearby the Whitfield siblings, as all her family died when the ship they were on sank at sea. Ellen and Harriet have become closer over the years, in fact, Ellen had romantic feelings for her friend that were unreciprocated. Their friendship continued despite the rebuttal. Harriet and William became close, dated and became engaged and Ellen is truly happy for her friend and brother. Once married it is planned that they will all live together in the Whitfield home. The wedding of William and Harriet has been postponed due to the mourning etiquette of the era, but William is happy to wait until Harriet feels it is the appropriate time. So, when Harriet suddenly calls off the engagement saying her mother told her to call it off, he is surprised as he always got on so well with Harriet’s family as well as being curious to how Mrs Kirk has told her daughter to call off their engagement/relationship from beyond the grave.

It turns out that Harriet has discovered a Spiritual Church and has been attending it for a while. It is there whilst in a séance circle that her mother spoke to her through the Circle leader Caroline and told her to break off her engagement with William. Harriet cannot seem to stay away from the Spiritual Church, in fact she confides in Ellen that she is going to move into the house where the Spiritual Church is based. Harriet tells Ellen that she feels safe and at “home” there and closer to her family again. Ellen tries to be the voice of reason asking Harriet about the home she is leaving, but Harriet reassures her she can/will come back when she is ready and she may even rent it out. Harriet then invites Ellen to visit her at the house where the Spiritual Church is based.

Ellen discusses the changes that Harriet is making in her life, with her brother William and naturally they are worried she is being taken advantage of. With her family gone, they are the only people to really look out for Harriet, and they are worried that this new on the scene Spiritual Church is just wanting Harriet’s money and property as her family left her quite comfortably off. Ellen explains that Harriet has invited her to visit her at the Spiritual Church house and suggests to William that maybe she should. Ellen plans to show her best friend Harriet that the Spiritual Church and its seances are nothing more than charlatans. Ellens idea is to visit and observe as much as possible, then work out how the séance’s etc work, to reveal the “tricks” that are being used against her friend.

Ellen does visit the once quite grand house that seems to have been let go into disrepair. The door is answered by the house owner Mrs Margaret Plumstead, herself a widow who is fiercely protective of the Church leader Caroline McLeod and isn’t afraid to make it known to new comers and anyone she may be suspicious of their motives for attending/visiting. Ellen visits on a few occasions welcomed by the house owner Margaret and Church leader Caroline. Everyone is very “normal” and welcoming, so much so Ellen feels a little guilty about the fact she is there on a mission to unmask their tricks! The only unwelcoming person in the house is Caroline’s daughter, Grace, a quiet, sullen young woman. At one point in the book Grace tries to warn Ellen off from becoming overly involved with the church. However this warning has the opposite effect on Ellen, who visits more and more, witnessing seances, and the use of the message boards. Ellen learns that the spirits communicate in various ways using Caroline as a conduit. The spirit may send a message via the dead Reverend McLeod who then speaks through Caroline with his voice. The spirits can also give Caroline the message directly for her to tell the recipient, or they can be asked questions and answer yes/no via sounds/taps on the séance table.
It's not long before Ellen is invited to move into the house and share a room with her friend Harriet. Ellen talks the idea over with William but has really already made up her mind to move in, though she is still determined to unmask Caroline as a fraud she is also becoming more and more drawn into the idea of those departed into spirit being able to speak to the living, even if it is via a third party or a variety of knocks on a table.
When Ellen moves in the house it’s full of women of various ages that have either lost husbands, or family members as well as a woman there who lost a child. All the women are waiting for a message from a departed love one for one reason or another. All the women have their own sad stories about those from their past they wish to have a message from. Even Ellen has suffered the loss of a loved one, though she keeps this information to herself, she is not really there to receive a message. Not everyone’s partners and families accept their loved ones living in the house in the hope of receiving messages from those departed loved one, very well. One husband becomes angry and tries to strongly persuade his wife to return home. Another rather spoilt young woman from a wealthy family, continually sways between staying as she likes being part of everything and getting a message but wanting to return to her family home to attend fancy balls and functions.
Mrs Plumstead is always quick to try to talk the women into staying, saying they never know when they’ll get a message and that if they only attend the church rather than living there, they could miss an opportunity. Caroline soon becomes attached and interested in Ellen saying she can sense she herself has a “gift” that if worked on could lead to her being able to communicate with spirit. Though sceptical, Ellen does some “work” on her gifts with Caroline. Theres a sudden increase in spiritual activity, it seems the departed are giving more physical messages for the women like a favourite flower, moving their things round etc.

When two mysterious deaths occur the suspicion immediately falls on those at the house when they cannot explain what happens there to the satisfaction of the Police.
The Police investigate - secrets are uncovered, lies discovered and half-truths exposed.
Caroline is under suspicion, until someone else comes forward as the culprit, not of murdering those that died but of creating circumstances that led to accidents and their deaths. It’s a really sad end for the character that comes forward, it is clear they were so desperate not to be lonely, to keep their spiritualist family together and caught up in keeping the mystery and magic of spiritualism going that they themselves gave a human living hand to the spirits which ended in disaster for the two characters that died, meaning they had an extremely sad ending themselves too.

I really enjoyed the book, the way Ellen initially started attending the Church to prove to her friend Harriet that she was being tricked, but Ellen ended up moving in and though I don’t think she ever truly, fully 100% believed, though she came pretty close when she received her own “message” from a departed loved one. The book is very cleverly written as even as a reader you feel your opinions of the Spiritual Church and its leader Caroline flipping from one view to the other. The book covers a few important issues such as grief, loneliness, abuse, sexuality and women’s rights. I think the character of William was a very patient and fairly modern male in his attitude to Harriet’s reasons for calling off their engagement, his sister then visiting the Spiritual Church services more and more often and leaving the family home where she was the one who “looked after” him and “the home” which in that era would have been looked upon as her “abandoning her duties” to move into the Spiritual Church House. William was the voice of reason when Ellen visited him when she needed to escape the Spiritual House, never ridiculing her, only being supportive and providing a listening ear. Grace was a complicated character torn between protecting and caring for her mother and being truthful and pursuing a relationship with Ellen which was frowned upon in that era too. Women may have had relationships but it would have been behind closed doors and never talked about. During her time at the house Grace appear to really dislike Ellen, she even warns her to leave the house. Then she seems to warm to Ellen and there is a budding relationship between them, though Caroline will always be Grace’s first priority.

When deaths occur and the Police are called in to investigate secrets are uncovered, lies discovered and half- truths exposed.


I really enjoyed learning the different stories and reasons for why the women were at the Spiritual Church house desperately awaiting messages from those in their lives who had died. Though most of the stories were emotional and I guess what I’m trying to say is I could understand why they felt the need for reassurance and messages from spirit.
I’ll admit that I’d had my suspicions and they were proven right about who the real 'puppeteer' of the spirit apparitions was. It was a seriously sad ending for them.

My immediate feeling upon finishing the book were “Wow, my suspicions were right”! But then there was the feeling of sadness, particularly for one of the characters and how things ended for her. I was also curious as to whether Caroline was going to continue her séances and a Spiritual Church House.

Summing up, The Spirit Circle it was an interesting historical fiction book that covers a lot of subjects from thoughts and feelings about grief and séances, to sexuality and family relationships. I really enjoyed reading this one a lot, I was as intrigued as Ellen at some points as to what was happening and how! I loved the descriptions of the séances the wind flowing round the room, flickering candles etc they really helped you visualise the scenes well. I’d say that The Spirit Circle had a similar feel to it as The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond by Amanda Glaze which I also loved. The Spirit Circle would make a great TV mini-series!

From the minute I read the synopsis I was hooked and it didn't disappoint, I read this in 2 settings as part of my commute and someone could have been murdered in the seat next to me and I wouldn't have known. My eyes didn't leave my screen

Whilst the premise was everything I love in a book, having been obsessed with the sapphic gothic of Sarah Waters since I was young, unfortunately The Spirit Circle didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The first 60% (at least) is full of absolutely nothing, where we follow the MC as she (we?) has to endure what feels like endless seances that don’t particularly bring anything to the plot. I think it’s particularly difficult to read as there is an awful lot of telling instead of showing, resulting in very shallow characters and events. I felt very much like Adelaide, one of the young girls in Margaret’s house: “I’m just so bored!”

The plot was entirely predictable and there wasn’t a single surprise in sight. A number of deaths felt like they had been sprinkled in (to make it darker? More gothic?), rather than have an actual function to the plot or atmosphere. And when Ellen; a staunch non-believer, seems to have forgotten why she’s at the house within just a few days of arriving, even the author had to ask, “How had things changed so greatly in such a short space of time?” Beats me! It also felt a bit lazy to me to reveal that the seemingly supernatural phenomena had indeed been orchestrated, but with no explanation as to why, as if the author couldn’t be bothered to consider how herself.

I can see from the reviews that some people have absolutely loved this book, and for that I’m glad. It’s just not for me.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy The Spirit Circle by Tara Calaby. I thought it was very slow paced and boring. I would have liked there to be more tension and mystery between the characters and a strong sense of foreboding or creepiness to boost the atmosphere which I felt was lacking. I didn't feel it brought anything new to the spiritualism genre which is disappointing.

I want to say first and foremost that the elements within this book were exactly what I was looking for. Historical fiction, Victorian era, and deeply enveloped within the time of seances and mediums.
I can also appreciate strong central female main characters.

Unfortunately this novel did little for me. The plot was mostly unmoving and one wouldn’t even know the setting is in Australia without reading the synopsis. None of that delivered.
The interactions between characters did not feel the right time frame of 150 years ago.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read The Spirit Circle.
Publication date: January 7, 2025.

This book was a bit of a departure from the norm for me. I’m not fond of historical fiction, and while I will sometimes read supernatural fiction, I rarely read fiction that so heavily features religion. The description for this one intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try, and I’m not sorry that I did.

The story was slow to get started; I felt that it dragged for over half the book and considered giving up on it not because it was bad but because I could already see where it was heading and was bored with waiting for it to get there. When the pace finally did quicken the story was quite engaging, if predictable, and the last third of the book was much more enjoyable.

I found many of the characters shallow and unlikable, and frankly that continued throughout the entirety of the book. The only characters I consistently liked were William and Grace, though Ellen and Caroline did eventually grow on me.

The writing style put me in mind of much older fiction, of the sort written around the late nineteenth century, but I suspect that choice was made deliberately in keeping with the setting. If my suspicions are correct, the author did a very good job of keeping it authentic.

If you enjoy historical fiction, particularly with a supernatural twist, this book is for you. The sapphic sub plot is actually quite sweet, and turn-of-the-century Melbourne made for an interesting backdrop, particularly with the historical fact the author wove in.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am posting a voluntary review.

Despite my excitement to dive in, the tiny text made it impossible to fully experience the content. I got to 60% before I dropped it. Not sure if I will continue this when released as it didn't really grasp me to begin with.

I wanted to like this book, and did at first, but the experience ended up being very lacking.

The writing was okay, though there was way more telling than showing. I don't believe using telling over showing is a cardinal sin, but there was too much of it here. I didn't connect to any of the characters and I would confuse who was who a lot. The climaxes were, well, very anticlimactic and the explanation for what really happened wasn't satisfying. Much more emphasis was put on mundane details and then important scenes were rushed through.

This also could have been set anywhere and it wouldn't have made a difference. I wanted Victorian Australian culture to be shown in some, way, shape or form and there was none to be seen. Just basic Victorian mores.

It just needed more care put into it, I think.

*Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.*

I enjoyed this historical mystery about seances which is a favourite subject of mine. This was well written with interesting characters and a real sense of the time period. The mystery was intriguing and the book had quite a dark atmosphere

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

"For Ellen Whitfield, the betrothal of her dear friend Harriet to Ellen's brother has brought both loss and solace. But when Harriet suddenly breaks off the engagement, ostensibly at the insistence of her deceased mother, Ellen is bewildered. And when she learns that Harriet is involved with a spiritualist group led by the charismatic Caroline McLeod, she fears losing her friend altogether.

So it is that practical, sceptical Ellen moves into the gloomy East Melbourne mansion where Caroline, along with her enigmatic daughter Grace, has assembled a motley court of the bereaved. Ellen's intention is to expose the simple trickery - the hidden cabinets and rigged seances, the levers and wires - that must surely lie behind these visits from the departed.

What she discovers is altogether more complicated.

Tara Calaby weaves a compelling and richly detailed narrative around the romance of old Melbourne in this intriguing, possibly supernatural, historical mystery."

I mean, spiritualist possible cult leader? Sign me up. To read about it, not to join.

I enjoyed this story set in Australia in the 1800s. The plot was a bit slow, especially in the middle and it was pretty clear where it was going. I would definely recommend it to readers.

I had hoped for a little more about Melbourne but it was a fun read. Nothing too surprising. The end was a little too neat but it was a romance...

I was drawn to this book for the Spiritualism. That element is certainly there. However,I don’t know if it will offer anything new to the person who reads that topic frequently. What “The Spirit Circle” does highlight is the grief, loneliness and need to be accepted that would lead people to be persuaded.

I’m sorry I don’t have better things to say about this book, it seemed like it would be right up my alley.

Ellen’s best friend gives up her life for a spiritualistic cult and Ellen follows her in, supposedly to rescue her friend but ultimately loses herself too in the seances, charismatic leader, and falling for the leader’s daughter.

This book was ostensibly a mystery, but unfortunately every assumption you make about what is behind the spiritualism is correct. It’s super disappointing that there was not really one surprise for an aware reader. Ellen herself even wonders about twists that ultimately prove correct, but she still mindlessly follows the cult. Even after people have died and the truth has been revealed.

Another sticking point for me was the love story. It felt very formulaic, enemies to lovers, and again, it goes exactly how you think it would. Complete with anachronistic treatment of two women in love in this time period.

The aspects of the book that saved it from a 1-star review for me were the highly descriptive and evocative atmosphere and overall readability.

A great queer historical fiction novel. It had a very plot shift near the end which made me enjoy the book more. It had an amazing mystery element that was really fun.

3.5, Honestly for the first 40-60% I was going to DNF it, the only reason I kept reading was I needed to know what happened with Harriet.

The last part was great and I didn’t expect some of the outcomes, saying that it’s a shame the whole book wasn’t that way.

Overall it’s a good book, there is a plot shift towards the end which is good and if you’re considering DNF stick with it.

I really enjoyed this as a historical fiction novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall story being told. It worked with what U was looking for and enjoyed the maybe supernatural element maybe not. It had that mystery element that I was looking for and glad I read this. Tara Calaby has a great way of telling the story and characters.

I love historical fiction about queer characters living their truths under the weight of heteronormative oppression, so I was immediately drawn to this lush Gothic thriller about a woman, Ellen, who seeks to rescue her dear friend, Harriet, from the clutches of spiritualism after she unexpectedly breaks off an engagement to her brother.

Ellen, a lesbian when there were no words or examples to explain her feelings toward other women at that time, was at one time in love with Harriet, who had teased her with kisses and touches that Harriet felt were merely platonic - and later was unneccessarily cruel to Ellen about the way things were, but Ellen's affections eventually cool to sisterly love. I was grateful this didn't turn into a love triangle.

Beset by grief after her family dies in a shipwreck, Harriet becomes immersed in a spiritualist church in their home of Melbourne, Australia, which holds seances and claims to speak to the dead.

A woman of science and logic, the practical skeptic Ellen resolves to expose the fraud of the spiritualists. But she becomes enamored by the found family of women she finds in the church house, all united in grief and sisterhood, and a maternal figure in Caroline, their leader. And she finds an unexpected heat with Grace, Caroline's daughter, who is rude and unwelcoming at first. Could this time her romantic longings be exchanged with something more than platonic affection?

Thus follows a charismatic leader, family secrets and even murder as Ellen becomes swept up in forbidden love, sapphic yearning and her beliefs about the supernatural begin to shift. The murder mystery bits felt rushed and a lot of the pacing was focused on Ellen's belief and her conversion, but overall I loved the atmospheric, cinematic writing style.

It did not turn out the way I expected at all, either. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.

A delightful, wonderfully written story and an unexpected find.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.