A Spell for Saints and Sinners

by Emily Carpenter

Like a gender-flipped You but dripping with Southern Gothic atmosphere, a young psychic on the verge of losing everything becomes obsessed with a wealthy, beautiful heiress in this clever, darkly atmospheric novel of psychological suspense set amid the lush, moss-draped beauty of Savannah.

In front of an elegantly shabby townhouse on a Savannah side street sits a hand-painted  Miss Edie, Psychic. Ingrid White inherited the house and business from her beloved grandmother, a local celebrity in town. But unless Ingrid can find a way to pay for crushing property taxes and mounting repairs, she’s going to lose them both.

Ingrid has faith in the homespun witchcraft Edie passed down to her, yet hope and clients are dwindling. . . . Until Sailor Loeffler’s bachelorette party changes everything. Sailor is local royalty—part of the vast “Savannah Sauce” empire, beautiful and wealthy beyond imagining—and Ingrid’s reading is so accurate that she becomes the bride-to-be’s confidante. To keep that access and all the privileges it brings, Ingrid relies more and more on hexes and dark spells—using the baneful magic Edie always warned her against.

As Ingrid works even riskier spells, she is drawn further into the Loefflers’ inner circle and the obstacles in her path melt away. But is it witchcraft or other, more earthbound forces? Ingrid can feel the lines blurring even as her powers seem to grow, until she must confront the truth about just how far some people, including herself, will go to keep the life they’ve always wanted . . .

Genres: Horror, Gothic, Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Southern Gothic

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2026

About the author

EMILY CARPENTER BIO:

Emily Carpenter is the critically acclaimed, Amazon bestselling author of suspense novels, Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies (which received starred reviews by both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly), Every Single Secret, Until the Day I Die, all released by Lake Union. Her most recent release is REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS, which Publishers Weekly called a “refreshingly modern gothic tale” and Kirkus called “an exciting, gothic-tinged quest.” After graduating from Auburn with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, she moved to New York City. She’s worked as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows, As the World Turns and Guiding Light. She’s a member of Tall Poppy Writers, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family. You can visit Emily at emilycarpenterauthor.com and on Facebook and Twitter (@EmilyDCarpenter) and Instagram (@emily.d.c).

Reviews

[Nenia Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily Carpenter does it again. A SPELL FOR SAINTS AND SINNERS is a Southern gothic with witchy vibes that delves into the closed-ranks of the old money Savannah elite. Ingrid does her best to continue her grandmother, Edie's, work while doing light magic, but when she gets sucked into the Loeffler family's orbit, she begins to question everything-- not just her own morals, but her family history, and what she would do to get ahead and seize what she wants.

I kept thinking I'd guessed the twists of this book and then I'd be proven wrong a few chapters later. It was like being repeatedly slapped, but, like, in a good way. Carpenter's books are often slow to start, much like a traditional gothic is, because so much time is spent building character and atmosphere. Because fast pacing tends to be a selling point these days, fewer and fewer books really take the time to hone in on their setting and characters like this, and sometimes it feels like a lost art. I really appreciate that Carpenter takes the extra time.

As with her other books, this has so many of my favorite tropes: dark love story vibes, morally grey and complex FMC, hot bad guys, oppressive setting, and lots of fun surprise twists that subvert the genre or at least play with it a little. For anyone who likes thrillers with unique plots and modern-setting gothics, I'd highly recommend this book and GOTHICTOWN.

Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy!

4.5 stars

[Bookaholic__Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spell for Saints and Sinners couldn't have a better setting than Savannah, GA. It truly provided the perfect atmosphere for this story.

Ingrid is a struggling psychic witch who becomes obsessed with a local heiress after she visits her shop for a reading before her wedding. The deeper that Ingrid involves herself in Sailors life, the darker her magic becomes.

The first part of this story is a slow burn but it doesn't take long for it to increase in intensity and darkness. Effective use of themes like obsession, abuse of power, deception and dysfunctional families kept me glued to the pages.

[Mana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Spell for Saints and Sinners drops you straight into the damp, haunted streets of Savannah. Here’s Ingrid White, a young psychic clinging to her grandmother’s crumbling shop, her reputation hanging by a thread. Things shift when Sailor Loeffler walks in, a rich heiress with deep local roots, and suddenly Ingrid’s world gets messier. She’s caught between desperate hope and the dangerous magic she’s willing to risk. At its core, this is a story about survival versus morality, unspooling as a slow-burning thriller, thick with atmosphere. The story sometimes can’t untangle all its own threads, but that’s part of its charm.

Ingrid’s struggle stands out, especially when her beliefs crack under pressure. She’s ready to cross lines to keep what she loves, even as reality and magic blur together. Her connection with Sailor pulses at the heart of the novel, it’s both anchor and snare, obsession and dependency weaving together. The side characters bring color, though a few drift by without much depth, their motivations foggy, which can soften the emotional punch in spots.

The novel leans hard into themes of class, ambition, and power, all tangled up in that Southern Gothic setting. You feel the weight of old money, social divides, and personal sacrifice. Witchcraft here isn’t just spellwork; it’s a stand-in for the tough choices people make when they’re cornered. The mood hangs heavy, moss and tension everywhere, though sometimes the atmosphere takes over and the plot slows down, which might try the patience of readers who want a tighter, more propulsive story.

Emily Carpenter’s style is lush and poetic, painting Savannah in all its faded glory. She’ll pull you into quiet, intimate moments, then jolt you with sharp bursts of drama. The rhythm isn’t always even; sometimes the story lingers when you want it to move, but the language sticks with you. When it clicks, it’s immersive. When it stumbles, you wish for more focus, especially in the way Ingrid’s inner battles play out.

In the end, the book carves out its own spot in Southern Gothic suspense. Psychic powers, tangled family loyalties, a heroine wrestling with identity and power. The story doesn’t tie up every loose end, but it’s a moody, thought-provoking read for anyone who loves flawed characters and murky moral ground. Even when the narrative stretches itself thin, it’s clear Carpenter knows how to cast a spell.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Kensington Publishing for an ARC in exchange for a review.

I'll start by saying that this book just wasn't for me. I went in expecting "gothic horror" - which is how the book is categorized on Goodreads - and didn't find a trace of horror at all. Savannah as a location in and of itself could be considered gothic, but it was very surface level and gave no sense of dread other than "there are ghost tours here." Sure, our MC is a witch, but besides others telling us she's really good at spells and getting feelings about people, it seems like her grandmother's ghost does most of the work and it's unreliable at best.

I think my biggest critique was plot and pacing. Plot points seemed tossed in to make the book longer rather than having anything to do with character motivations or common sense. I feel like one person can only make so many bad decisions before we start rooting against them, and that's what happened for me in this book with the MC. There was a level of immaturity to the MC too when it comes to actions and consequences, but I digress.

Character relationships were also very surface level. There was a lot of telling - "she's my best friend," or "she was evil" = but nothing reflected in the character's actions/dialogue to show the reader that was the case. It's one of my biggest pet peeves in books and it was delivered in spades here.

I really had to push through to reach the end, and even then the twist wasn't worth the effort, unfortunately.

I don't want to discourage others from reading this because I know some will enjoy it; just don't go in expecting "gothic horror" because that isn't what this book is, in my opinion.

[Kaitie Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ rounded-up.

🖤 Southern Gothic
🔮 Witchcraft
🖤 Class Dynamics
🔮 Obsession + Desperation
🖤 Moral Ambiguity

This was quite the book! A page-turning Southern Gothic with all the witchcraft vibes. I didn't particularly love this story, I thought it was well-written and executed.

Ingrid is about to lose everything. Having taken over her grandmother's psychic business and home after her passing, she is struggling to keep the business and home afloat. That is—until glamorous Sailor Loeffler shows up with her bachelorette party, ultimately taking Ingrid in as her personal psychic. As Ingrid's fate intertwines with the Loeffler family and their manipulations, she begins to lose sight of what is truly important in her desperation to please the Loefflers and remain part of their inner circle.

There are many great aspects to this story. I loved the well-illustrated power dynamics and the moral struggle as a result. Ingrid isn't a particularly likable character but her choices feel very real, and show readers how easily a person can be manipulated through baiting wealth and connection. This book is toxic and messy, which I also tend to love. As Ingrid struggles with her own morality we see how the Loefflers have achieved such a high degree of status through covert manipulation. I never felt myself rooting for any of the characters in this book, but the suspense and the plot unravelling had me turning the page.

I think my biggest struggle with this book was that I had to suspend disbelief quite often throughout the story. It felt difficult to rationalize the character's actions as believable in my mind—and while ultimately there were greater forces at play I still didn't feel particularly sold on some of the plot elements. I think there were too many convenient plot lines for me to savour the story as a whole.

Overall a page-turning Southern Gothic with some great thriller elements as well. While I wasn't rooting for the characters I was completely entranced by their... choices.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC of this book. All thoughts and feedback contained within this review are my own.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This was somehow both wild yet somber at the same time. For it being a witchy book, I feel like that makes sense, though.

[Samy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desperate to save her crumbling Savannah townhouse, psychic Ingrid White becomes obsessed with Sailor Loeffler, a wealthy heiress. To maintain her role as Sailor’s confidante and secure her own future, Ingrid turns to the dangerous, dark magic her grandmother once forbade. As her hexes seemingly clear her path, the lines between supernatural power and cold-blooded obsession blur into a haunting Southern Gothic descent.

The novel features a slow start, with the pacing only improving in the second half. While there are some exciting parts with a lot of drama and death, the book is just okay overall.

The characters are generally difficult to like, making it hard to feel any empathy for them. I understand Ingrid’s obsession with the Loeffler family is a central theme, but her behavior often feels desperate and uncomfortable to read.

Finally, the end is underwhelming; rather than focusing so much on the mother, the ending would have been more satisfying if it provided more closure regarding Ingrid and Sailor.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and comments are my own.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set against the lush, haunted backdrop of Savannah, A Spell for Saints and Sinners follows Ingrid White, a down-on-her-luck psychic desperately trying to save her grandmother’s home and business. Her fortunes shift when she catches the attention of wealthy heiress Sailor Loeffler during a bachelorette party reading. Drawn into an elite world of money and power, Ingrid increasingly relies on darker hexes and spells to maintain her place, until obsession and blurred realities force her to confront the true cost of the life she’s fighting for.

Part psychological thriller, part Southern Gothic with modern witchcraft, the novel explores class, seduction, and the dangerous edges of desire.

I was fortunate to receive an advanced audiobook copy courtesy of NetGalley and RBMedia, and I’m glad I did. The story held my attention throughout with its atmospheric tension and compelling slow-burn pace, though it did stretch in a few places where the narrative felt unnecessarily extended. Ingrid is a grounded, sympathetic main character, a young woman simply trying to survive and protect her home, whose layered backstory emerges naturally and helps explain her increasingly risky decisions. The twist was one I didn’t anticipate, yet it made perfect sense in hindsight.

Cassandra Campbell’s narration added real heart and nuance; she infused Ingrid with personality and emotional authenticity that made the character’s inner world vivid and easy to connect with.

Overall, this is a solid recommendation for fans of thrillers that simmer rather than sprint, especially those who enjoy Southern settings, supernatural elements, and morally complex characters.

Thank you to Emily Carpenter for this engaging story, to the publisher, RBMedia, for the polished audiobook, and to NetGalley for providing the advance listening opportunity.

[Courtney Pityer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Spell for Saints and Sinners is a Modern contemporary novel which follows the adventures of a young physic named Ingrid I will admit I found this novel to be very cute. We are introduced to Ingrid who is very passionate about the. Work that she does and will do just about anything to keep this tradition going. While some of her motives and ideas are little risky you have to sympathize and realize that she is doing it to save the work that she is so devoted to.

She is on the verge of losing her building due to massive property taxes and expensive upkeep. However a plan to get involved with some money makes this the perfect opportunity for Ingrid to rise to the opportunity. Will she succeed or is she in way over her head.

[Stacey Markle · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating 3.5

This felt very long for not a lot of action or intrigue. Not a great payoff in the end. I would have been happier with more magic!

[Misha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such a slog. Despite being relatively easy to read, this is not suspenseful and the characters are all flat, one-dimensional and (the worst one) boring. Ingrid is a psychic slash witch trying to save her grandmother's home and business, is "discovered" by the local rich family's daughter, Sailor. Ingrid becomes vaguely obsessed with being Sailor's friend and fancies herself in love with Sailor's brother, Cas and is mildly attracted to her father, Rill. It sounds like an interesting premise a la The Talented Mr Ripley, but Ingrid is genuinely so one-note and unintelligent that the whole thing feels unengaging. This book is like watching a slow motion traffic accident but not even that engaging. Even with the twist thrown in at the end, the whole thing is flat and boring, unfortunately.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great atmospheric Deep South gothic where you can feel the sweat from the humidity glisten on your skin. Emily Carpenter does a wonderful job of bringing the setting to life. There is also a great characters development where you feel you know & understand these characters. But do you really!?! I loved this book & was ready to give it a 5 star rating until I got to the final chapters. I’m finding a lot of authors give us a deep look into the characters & their surroundings and build these elements up slowly & carefully and then… poof! Time is ticking & they have to wrap up their book before a deadline. All characters get their quick “this is what happened”. I want the end to be as robust as the rest of the book. In this book particularly I felt like the main character, Ingrid, was just dropped as the answers were revealed. What happens to Ingrid? Overall a good book; 4.5 stars.

[Mo Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

‘Like a gender-flipped You but dripping with Southern Gothic atmosphere, a young psychic on the verge of losing everything becomes obsessed with a wealthy, beautiful heiress in this clever, darkly atmospheric novel of psychological suspense set amid the lush, moss-draped beauty of Savannah.’

Unfortunately, A spell for Saints and Sinners missed the mark for me. It read like a children’s book that just so happened to be centered solely around adults. Adults who were immature in a myriad of ways; their actions, their thoughts and oh man, the dialogue... the dialogue was so cringey and painful.
Overtly cheesy, convenient and trite.

As a whole, this one was just too jejune for my personal tastes.

Thanks to NG and Kensington for this arc in exchange for review. I am always grateful.

Pub: 3.31.2026.

[The Page Ladies Book Club · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would you risk to keep the life you love your morals, your magic,or maybe both?

A Spell for Saints and Sinners by Emily Carpenter follows Ingrid White, who inherits her grandmother’s psychic business complete with a charmingly worn Savannah townhouse and a reputation that once made her grandmother a local legend. The problem? The clients have disappeared, the house is falling apart, and the property taxes are threatening to take everything away. Ingrid desperately wants to keep her grandmother’s legacy alive, and she truly believes in the homespun magic Edie taught her.

Then Sailor Loeffler walks into her life.

Sailor is the kind of wealthy, glamorous Savannah socialite who seems untouchable, and when Ingrid’s reading for her hits eerily close to the truth, suddenly Ingrid is pulled into the glittering inner circle of Savannah’s elite. The attention, the access, he possibility of saving her home it’s intoxicating. But keeping that place in Sailor’s world means leaning more and more on the darker spells her grandmother warned her never to use.

And that’s where this story really hooked me.

I loved how the book slowly blurs the line between magic and manipulation. Is Ingrid’s power real? Or are the wealthy people around her simply capable of making problems disappear in very human ways? The tension builds quietly but relentlessly, and the Savannah setting with its old houses, secrets, and lingering superstition felt like the perfect backdrop for a story about ambition, temptation, and the cost of getting everything you ever wanted.

By the end, I found myself questioning Ingrid’s choices just as much as I understood them, and honestly, that moral gray area made the story even more compelling.

If you enjoy witchy stories with dark undertones, messy ambition, and Southern gothic atmosphere, this one is absolutely worth adding to your TBR.

✨️Thank you, Kensington Publishing and Emily Carpenter, for sharing A Spell for Saints and Sinners with me!

[Jeremy Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, HAS NEVER BEEN GRITTIER!

A Spell for Saints and Sinners is one of those dangerously bingeable books where you tell yourself you’ll stop after one more chapter, and suddenly it’s very late, and you’ve inhaled half the novel. Yeah, I did read this in one sitting. This story follows Ingrid, a psychic witch, as she finds herself pulled into a dangerously new social circle and the consequences of those new relationships. Emily Carpenter’s writing is so compelling. It is sharp, moody, and effortlessly immersive. I was enraptured in this series and it’s impossible not to keep going. She has this incredible ability to pull you into her characters’ lives and hold you there, letting the atmosphere do just as much work as the plot. This felt like reading something crafted by an author who is fully in control of her voice and absolutely knows how to keep readers hooked. Emily Carpenter is truly a talent.

The magical realism elements are what make this story especially addictive and unsettling. Ingrid is a witch, and you're rooting for her and her abilities the whole time while reading. You’re constantly questioning what’s real, what’s imagined, and what might actually be at work beneath the surface. There is so much uncertainty that it keeps the tension humming. Nothing is ever fully explained in a neat little bow, which makes every reveal feel earned and unsettling. And the twists? Layered, sneaky, and relentless. Just when you think you understand what’s happening, Carpenter pivots and pulls the rug out from under you again. The ending delivers shock after shock, each revelation stacking higher than the last, leaving me stunned and deeply satisfied. This book doesn’t just surprise you, it outsmarts you. Literally such an amazing read! Don't miss it.

[rowan | gloomandgrimoire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley/Kensington Publishing. All thoughts + opinions are my own.

A Spell for Saints and Sinners is about Ingrid, a psychic-witch who inherited her grandmother Edie's business and is struggling to stay afloat in the rapidly growing market of Savannah, Georgia. She finds her lucky break when the rich heiress to a local business, Sailor Loeffler, schedules a bachelorette party at her business, and she quickly becomes entangled in the Loeffler family, finding herself desperately seeking Sailor's friendship and approval, as well as financial benefits.

This was really all over the place. It started off strong for me, and I was easily rooting for Ingrid and her best friend/roommate Miles to succeed, then somewhere along the halfway point it just really seemed to go off the rails as more was revealed about everyone's past and the goings-on of the book's events. Every character is insufferable, and there is a lot of suspension of disbelief needed to read this, and at some point it gets a bit tiring to keep up with.

I didn't find the ending to be particularly satisfactory, and the "twist" was just so out of left field with zero foreshadowing that I didn't even really know what to think at that point.

I think the marketing for this book also did it a huge disservice. It's described as both a gender-flipped You and Saltburn which is not accurate on either front. I had forgotten about that by the time I read it, but I think if I had gone into this book expecting those vibes I would have been massively disappointed.

[Meagan Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had me intrigued with the southern Gothic mystery aspect. I love a good Gothic mystery/horror so I figured why not try a southern Gothic mystery.
This book showcases two worlds, the rich and elite from Savannah and the people who work for them.
I enjoyed the psychological thriller aspect of the mystery. I felt like I was questioning the whole time as to whether the magic and witchcraft in this was real or not. And I do love a good unreliable narrator.
I wasn’t a huge fan of our FMC. So I found it harder to love this book because of that. I think that the author did a good job on the mystery and the tangled web of the storyline, but I think that the character development and helping the readers fall in love with the main character was lacking. I think I would’ve liked this book more if I felt more connected to our FMC.

[Dawne Mccurry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ingrid is a psychic/witch in Savannah that learned her craft/skills from her grandma Edie (who I adore). When she befriends wealthy Savannah heiress Sailor she enters the world of the rich, successful and famous. But what looks good on the outside isn’t always the way it is on the inside. Many secrets from the past threaten to change the course of events happening around Sailor’s wedding. Shocking events and twists and turns kept me reading this book late into the night!!!

Another Emily Carpenter masterpiece with all the feels of a Southern Gothic story with a little witchcraft and magic thrown in.

I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator Cassandra Campbell was absolute perfection!!!

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This southern gothic thriller delivers a slow-burn mystery with a moody, atmospheric setting. While the pacing is deliberate, there are several surprising twists and strong whodunit moments that kept my attention along the way.

I especially enjoyed the eerie atmosphere and sense of place, which added depth to the story. However, despite its intriguing elements, the book ultimately didn’t fully click for me. Fans of slower, atmospheric mysteries may appreciate it more than I did.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Amina Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC

3.25 I'm a sucker for Southern Gothic Horror. Being from the south, I can immediately feel the sticky heat and voodoo in the air. Our protagonist is a witch who inherits her grandmother's craft and business. But she gets tangled up in the mess of the rich folk who promptly exploit and dispose of her. It read more like a thriller than horror, but I loved the messy friend dynamics. I do think the author really took it there with grit and revenge, but instead used a daft hand. I was wrapped up in the story, but only because it felt like more of a campy Gossip Girl than a Southern Gothic. Still quite entertaining.

[Taylor Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.
*****

Still sitting here stunned a few days later.

Not entirely decided how I feel. It kind of came off that the story was cut right at the climax, then we get a really short epilogue, instead of actually seeing how the climax plays out?

The MC was a little bit stupid sometimes. Couldn’t figure out if she was genuinely making these mistakes in logic, or I just wasn’t reading her correctly. Otherwise I found her desire for family and belonging to be very compelling.

[Judy Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily Carpenter makes a triumphant return with her latest engrossing Southern Gothic thriller, A SPELL FOR SAINTS AND SINNERS, following the success of Gothictown, (a top audiobook of 2025).

This gripping tale revolves around Ingrid White, a down-on-her-luck psychic and witch in the enchanting yet shadowy streets of Savannah. Desperate to change her fortunes, Ingrid employs dark and unpredictable magic to infiltrate the opulent world of the city's elite, particularly becoming enmeshed in the life of the wealthy heiress, Sailor Loeffler.

At its core, the story is a fascinating exploration of toxic obsession, perilous spells, and the chilling secrets that lie within families. As Ingrid navigates the treacherous waters of Savannah's high society, she finds herself ensnared in a web of intrigue, where each spell cast pulls her deeper into a world filled with danger.

The increasing intensity of her magical acts will leave readers frantically turning the pages, eager to uncover the dark truths hidden beneath the surface of glamour and privilege in this unforgettable journey.

The Vibe:  A sultry, Spanish moss-draped descent into the dark heart of Savannah high society.

Highlights...

Ingrid White inherits her grandmother’s run-down townhouse and struggling psychic business in Savannah, facing crippling debt with past-due property taxes.

She performs a reading for Sailor Loeffler, a wealthy bride-to-be from a prominent family ("Savannah Sauce" empire), and becomes obsessed with her privileged life.

Sailor pulls Ingrid into her inner circle, using her for readings and companionship, while Ingrid relies on and becomes addicted to using dark spells/hexes to maintain her status.

Ingrid uses her dark, forbidden, "baneful" magic passed down by her grandmother to protect her position, while uncovering the dark, treacherous history of the Loeffler family. The line between reality and witchcraft blurs as the Loeffler family’s secrets turn dangerous. 

My thoughts...

A baneful masterpiece of Southern Gothic suspense that asks: What are you willing to sacrifice to belong? In a city where ghosts linger in the moss and money buys salvation.

In Emily Carpenter’s sultry and sinister city of Savannah, the Spanish moss hides a hard truth: Privilege is the most dangerous magic of all.

In a hauntingly atmospheric Southern Gothic narrative, this tale delves deep into the complexities of obsession, envy, and the shadows of class disparities, all woven together by the threads of humanity's deadliest sins.

The author, at the pinnacle of her craft, brings to life a captivating array of characters that linger in the mind.

The audiobook...

Narrated with exquisite dread by (favorite), Cassandra Campbell, this is a must-listen for anyone who likes their thrillers seductive, dark, and dripping with humidity. Campbell’s narration is the 'secret sauce' here; her sultry, grounded performance turns Emily Carpenter’s prose into a living, breathing Southern Gothic nightmare.

Campbell is a legendary voice in the Southern Gothic and thriller genres! Her narration style—often described as languid, atmospheric, and soulful—is a perfect match for Emily Carpenter’s "sultry" prose.

The author and narrator perfectly nail the social chasm between the two women: Ingrid’s voice is a frayed nerve of desperation, while Sailor’s is a sultry, polished weapon of privilege.

Characters...

Ingrid, a desperate psychic, navigates her turbulent existence, grappling with her own haunting visions and unfulfilled desires. In stark contrast stands Sailor, a cunning and manipulative heiress, whose charm masks her ruthless ambition. Adding layers to this intricate story are a host of dysfunctional family members, each grappling with their own vices and secrets, further enriching this dark yet compelling exploration of wealth and morality.

The story takes a "twisted" turn as accidents and even murders begin to occur. Ingrid eventually discovers that her grandmother and the Loefflers share a dark secret past that returns to haunt her. Ingrid must confront whether her growing powers are truly witchcraft or other forces and decide how far she will go to keep the life she has built. 

Savannah...

The city of Savannah itself is a central force, defined by "moss-draped oak trees," "heavy humidity," and "historic townhomes" that hide dark secrets. It is a place where "ghosts linger in the moss and money buys salvation.

The author uses classic Southern Gothic tropes like generational trauma, family legacies, and the sharp contrast between the "privileged elite" and the "spiritually ambitious".

Themes...

A primary theme is the blurring of boundaries—between magic and madness, "homespun witchcraft" and earthbound greed, and the "seduction and salvation" offered by the city’s upper class.

Emily Carpenter deftly explores several dark, interconnected themes typical of modern Southern Gothic suspense. 

~Class and Privilege
~Obsession and Possession
~The Price of Ambition
~Magic vs. Madness
~Legacy and Family Secrets

The characters often look to magic or money as a means of salvation from their past or present failures. The atmosphere is heavy with menace, decay, and dread.

The takeaway...

The ultimate takeaway of A Spell for Saints and Sinners  is that privilege is the most dangerous kind of magic. The sultry humidity hides a hard truth: when you play with baneful magic to reach the top, you might find that the 'saints' are the most dangerous demons of all.

The ending is a macabre reminder that some legacies aren't meant to be claimed, and the price of 'belonging' might be your soul. Cassandra Campbell’s voice drops to a chilling, languid whisper in the final chapters that will leave you questioning who the true 'saints' really are.

Recs...

If you want a thriller that feels like a slow-burning fever dream, this is it. Between Carpenter's lush writing and Campbell's masterful narration, A Spell for Saints and Sinners  is a must-listen for anyone who likes their Southern Gothic dark, humid, and deeply obsessive. 

Special thanks to Recorded Books and NetGalley for sharing an advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Mar 31, 2026
March Newsletter

A Spell for Saints and Sinners and Gothictown:
While A Spell for Saints and Sinners focuses on personal obsession and modern witchcraft in Savannah, Gothictown centers on a family trapped by the sinister traditions of a small Georgia town (think Paradise). Both novels expertly use Southern Gothic tropes to explore how the past and privilege can corrupt the present. 

Highly recommend both audiobooks (narrated by Cassandra Campbell). Her signature style—that rich, atmospheric quality she brings to Southern suspense—makes her a perfect match for Emily Carpenter's Gothic thrillers.

[Addy McGarr · Rating 2 out of 5]

No one is more disappointed than I am at a 2-star review (which, frankly, is teasing the edge of 1.5) for this book. This was the title I took with me on vacation to South Carolina, thinking that a southern gothic set in the low country would pair perfectly for the trip. What I got instead was an infuriating story about very bland, bad people that told me lots of things that it had trouble backing up with actual story detail.

Ingrid White is a witch -not a fortune teller - operating out of her grandmother's home in Savannah, GA. Money is tight and living is tough until Sailor Loeffler walks into her shop and makes an offer to bring Ingrid into the fold of her millionaire-empire family. Suddenly, Ingrid has more clients and money than she could ask for. So what if the Loeffler's business practices are unethical and the men in the family all seem to have a wandering eye for pretty faces? Ingrid only has plans to bask in the glow that Sailor gives off - that is, until it is taken away.

First of all, I want to address the claim that this story is a gender-flipped version of You. It is absolutely not. In You, we know that Joe is an obsessive creep and while we might feel a bit of sympathy for him simply because we experience the world through his eyes, we know without a doubt that Joe is a bad guy. Not so in Ingrid's world! First of all, the obsession displayed in this book isn't even in the same zip code as You. After falling in with the mega-rich Loeffler family, Ingrid does her best to stay in their good graces. Nowhere in this book did I find her actions "obsessive". A little desperate at times, maybe, but I think we would all feel a compulsion to please someone who saunters into your life and offers you the good life on a silver platter.

Aside from the phony comparison, this story sadly hit a lot of sour notes for me. The characters here are completely flat and none of them are particularly likable either, including our main gal Ingrid. While other characters are just flat-out evil, Ingrid has a more insidious kind of unlikability - she's an asshole. She's wildly ungrateful for the people in her life and assumes the worst of every person she meets. Miles, her roommate/love interest(?)/best friend spends a good majority of the book tailing after Ingrid and trying to make her life better, but much of her internal monologue about him includes calling him simple and stupid and comparing him to a dog. Miles himself is a walking red flag from the beginning with his possessive behavior, but that's honestly completely secondary because Ingrid repeatedly lets him get away with this.

I was wishing for a lot more atmosphere to really make this feel gothic, but the best scenes of this were the ones set inside Ingrid's house. The descriptions here were strong and I felt like I could see the place. Gothics rely a lot on atmosphere, though, and I felt like this fell short.

This book suffers from the major sin of "Tell, Don't Show" and there are numerous scenes where we get a reminder of the clues thus far from Ingrid because I guess she thinks we forgot what was happening since the last chapter. Literally the entire final chapter is an expository summary of the aftermath of the events of the book, which reads like the end of a true crime documentary (Sally Jo lived for another 16 years and opened a book shop in Maine. Jerry became a drug dealer. Pamela couldn't be reached for comment).

There's also a strange issue of magic use here, which feels strangely placed in the book without feeling like the author did any research into the ways that people who are Wiccan or similar faiths include magic and rituals in their practice. Ingrid and her grandmother supposedly follow some homemade style of witchcraft that no one else in the world practices, but that invention feels like a bit of a cop-out to absolve the lack of actual research. (On this note, the author also made the strange choice of making her only gay characters serial adulterers. Not sure where you were going with that one, girl.)

Finally, if you are still thinking of reading this after reading this review, I would like to let you know right now that his book is neither a horror nor a thriller. The book does include a mystery and a murder, but I would label it as a drama at best. It read at times like a Hallmark drama and at times like a Mary Kay Andrews novel (I mean, Jesus Christ, one of the women in this is called "Scoot"). At one point or another, every male character in the book wants to bang our main character and there is a not-insignificant amount of romantic intrigue and several off-page sex scenes. The book really is all over the place in terms of genre. I think if I knew that going in, I may have been less disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a DRC of this title.

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 3 out of 5]

In A Spell for Saints and Sinners, Emily Carpenter basically said, what if we dropped a financially desperate baby witch into the world of Savannah’s glittering rich elite and then watched her slowly convince herself she’s not the problem. And I, personally, love a woman who makes one bad decision and then says, well, I guess I live here now.

Ingrid White is barely holding it together. She inherits her grandmother Edie’s psychic shop and townhouse, which sounds romantic until you remember property taxes exist and roofs cost money. The house is paid off but spiritually and structurally on life support. She’s clinging to Edie’s Book of spells, doing palm readings, trying to believe she has real power and not just good intuition and better vibes.

Enter Sailor Loeffler. Rich. Beautiful. Savannah royalty via the “Savannah Sauce” empire. Engaged. Magnetic in that way where you’re like, I would ruin my life for her but I would also check her credit score first. Ingrid gives Sailor a reading that hits a little too close to home and suddenly she’s not just Miss Edie’s granddaughter, she’s the personal psychic to the heiress. And let me tell you, proximity to wealth is the most intoxicating drug in this book.

The relationship between Ingrid and Sailor is where this thing really hums. It’s obsessive. It’s co-dependent. It’s giving gender flipped You but with Spanish moss and wedding planning. Ingrid starts justifying darker and darker spellwork to keep her place in Sailor’s orbit. Baneful magic. Hexes. The kind of rituals Edie explicitly warned her about. And when obstacles in Sailor’s life start disappearing, sometimes violently, Ingrid is forced to ask… is this my magic? Or is something else moving the chess pieces?

Here’s where I both loved and wanted to gently shake this book. The atmosphere? Immaculate. Savannah feels humid and haunted and socially predatory. The altar room scenes are cinematic. The class tension is sharp. You can feel how badly Ingrid wants to belong, how intoxicating it is to be chosen by someone like Sailor. That craving for validation is so real it made me uncomfortable in the best way.

But oh Ingrid. My chaotic little ethically flexible witch. She is frustrating. And I mean that with affection. She makes choices that made me physically sit up and go, Girl. GIRL. At a certain point the bad decisions stack like Jenga blocks and you’re just waiting for the whole thing to collapse. She oscillates between sympathetic and deeply delusional. Watching her convince herself she’s justified is honestly the most psychologically interesting part of the book.

If you’re expecting full blown gothic horror, this is more psychological Southern suspense with witchcraft seasoning. The horror is less ghosts jumping out and more watching a woman rationalize her descent into moral quicksand. The first chunk is a slow simmer. Once the darker turns hit, especially when accidents escalate and secrets about the Loefflers start surfacing, it gets juicier. There’s a twist toward the end that absolutely reframes things, and I gasped. Out loud. Alone. In my living room.

Where it lands at three stars for me is depth. The vibe is strong. The themes of class, power, and desperation are juicy. But some side characters hover instead of fully landing, and I wanted just a little more emotional devastation in the finale. Give me one more gut punch. Ruin me properly.

Still. A morally messy psychic. A rich heiress bride. Dark magic that may or may not be real. Generational grief. Social climbing via spellwork. That is a cocktail I will absolutely drink.

Whodunity Award: For Making Me Side Eye Every Rich Girl With a Wedding Pinterest Board

And a big chaotic thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. You handed me a humid little spiral of witchcraft and social climbing and said, have fun. I did. Even while I was yelling.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Southern Gothic. At All. More A Modern Day Gatsby. With Witches And Magical Realism. I've read at least one or two of Carpenter's books before this one (and have a few more), and I know Carpenter knows Southern Gothic - Gothictown, her 2025 release, was spot on for that genre. But this aint that at ALL.

Yet what we *do* get is an "on trend" (re: magical realism) update to The Great Gatsby, that great work of Americana from a century ago, brought into more modern times (complete with sexting and #MeToo elements!) and with a Southern flair, moving it from New York to Savannah yet keeping a lot of the same overall look and feel... yet adding the fact that our main character is a witch and psychic. Had the description been based more on this, I do think at least some of the existing 1* reviews likely wouldn't be there, as this is far more accurate than the current "official" one.

So yes, for those who want nothing at all to do with any form of witchcraft at all... I'm telling you now, this aint gonna be the book for you.

But for Mass Effect fans... our main character shares at least one verbal tic with one of the more popular characters in that franchise (certainly one of my own favorite non-Shepard characters), so you may want to read this book for that alone. Particularly if you love that particular verbal tic. But if you're one that plays the drinking game of it... don't do that with this book. You may get even more drunk than you do from playing ME3. ;) Or maybe you're a college student and/ or in your 20s (or later, really, but let's face it, most of us grow too old for this shit by our 30s or so) and *want* a literary drinking game. In that case, I have a book for you! ;) No judgement, have your fun. Just try not to land in jail, please. ;)

Gatsby is one of the Great Works Of American Literature for *reasons*, and while this book does a good or even great job of updating it and moving it several hundred miles South, it doesn't *quite* hit *those* levels. Still, it is absolutely a solid look at how at least some of the themes explored in that book have both changed and remained the same over the last century or so, and for that alone it would do well to be studied in collegiate literature classes at minimum, perhaps even Junior/ Senior level high school classes... assuming, of course, modern high school students remain capable of such analysis and critique that was required of high school students when I was still in school 30 yrs ago.

One last personal note: I had this book for months as an Advance Review Copy before finally getting to it about a week after its release due to some personal "real life" issues that arose in mid March 2026 and are ongoing through April 2026 (and really all summer before they are fully resolved), and for whatever reason I had it listed as 288 pages long when I first entered it into my tracker when I originally downloaded it just before Halloween 2025. Finding out I was both missing the deadline *and* that the book was nearly twice as long as expected was... interesting. But that was also no fault of Carpenter or anyone involved in the publishing of this book and was entirely on me. Still, as it did come to bear on my overall experience with the book, it needed to be noted in my review. :)

Overall, this really was a strong book for what it actually is, and I think readers who go in with a more honest expectation of what it actually is will enjoy it quite a bit. But yes, readers who approach this book expecting Southern Gothic and finding absolutely none of that will feel disappointed, and honestly so. So approach this as the modern day update to Gatsby, moved to the South and with witches and magical realism added that it is, and I honestly think you will enjoy this book quite a bit, if that is something you're into at all.

Very much recommended.

[notreallyacat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start with the positive: Our main character, Ingrid? Very badass powers. I would for sure read a whole book that just focused on her learning things about people using her abilities and then they played out in some way. Maybe she could solve crimes? Maybe she could COMMIT crimes? Yes, yes, I'm aware that I'm digressing and imagining a totally different book now. Our real Ingrid wouldn't turn to a life of crime (bummer).

So let's talk about what's ACTUALLY on the page. Ingrid is a psychic. Ingrid needs money because the psychic biz doesn't pay very well when you apparently don't advertise and instead just hope for walk-ins on your residential street. Ingrid impresses a rich girl with her psychic powers and becomes that rich girl's pet psychic. And then we simply...spend the rest of the book following the dramas of trying to retain our darling rich girl's friendship.

In fairness, the "gender-flipped Saltburn"* billing is, in a very watered-down way, accurate. It ignores, uh, almost everything about Saltburn, but if what you liked about Saltburn was "poor kid invited to spend time with rich family," then have I got a book for you. But personally, I was looking for a bit more from my read, so I hate to say it, but I had trouble feeling invested as soon as it was revealed that the plot really was that simple. Ultimately, this book really reads very, very YA—Ingrid seems like an incredibly young character desperate to belong and be desired (the book is written in a very YA style as well)—and I would actually rate it much higher if it were intended for YA audiences, but instead, it weaves in references and themes that almost seem intended to throw off the potential YA label. Given that Ingrid was allegedly an adult and that this book was intended for adult audiences, I would have expected some self-reflection or some sort of interesting class commentary (the book was set up so well for that sort of thing!), but instead, it basically set up its plotline in the first few pages and then marched us through until it had predictably played out.

Don't get me wrong—just because this wasn't for me, that doesn't mean it might not be for you. If you're looking for an easy read with magical themes that brings a Savannah Georgia setting vividly to life, you absolutely might love this. I'd probably consider this best for magical realism fans (though folks who like plain ol' contemporary fiction and mysteries would be good fits too!). Don't expect it to be horror, gothic, or a thriller.

* It looks like some platforms are calling this a gender-flipped Saltburn and some are calling it a gender-flipped You. If you go into this expecting a gender-flipped You, you'll be confused, disappointed, and probably annoyed. Just so you know, it's not a spoiler to tell you that there are no serial killers in this book, and the main character is really, actually, seriously just a normal girl who's not obsessive so much as incredibly easily manipulated.

🎧 I listened to this in audiobook format, and the audiobook was what kept me reading! The narrator's voice is very neutral, which is my favorite style of narration. I'll be looking up more of her work!

(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy! All opinions are, of course, my own.)

[Nicole Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Emily Carpenter’s “A Spell for Saints and Sinners” casts you into an evocative version of Savannah, which is humid, haunted, and brimming with secrets, where psychic Ingrid White is barely holding her life together. After inheriting her grandmother’s shop and legacy, Ingrid is desperate to preserve both her reputation and her roof. When a reading for wealthy heiress Sailor Loeffler opens the door to steady income, Ingrid grabs hold, even if it means wading into deeper, darker magic than she ever intended. What follows is a tale of ambition, class divides, and the messy moral choices made when survival and power begin to blur.

Carpenter writes Ingrid as a compellingly flawed protagonist; she is determined, lonely, and willing to cross lines in ways that both frustrate and fascinate. Her relationship with Sailor forms the story’s emotional center: part lifeline, part trap. Sailor’s lavish but rotten world contrasts sharply with Ingrid’s precarious reality, and their dynamic raises the stakes as favors turn into demands and magic becomes a currency Ingrid can’t quite control. Their connection often lands somewhere between dependence and obsession, giving the story its slow-burning tension.

Atmosphere is one of the story’s strongest spells. Carpenter paints Savannah with lush, sensory prose: crumbling storefronts, moss-choked cemeteries, dimly lit altar rooms where power and belief intersect. The supernatural elements are relatively restrained as they’re more like a flickering suggestion than full-blown horror, but I still found myself drawn in by the suspense. If you’re looking for an overt gothic terror, then you may feel underwhelmed, especially as the mounting dread comes more from social pressure and moral decay than specters or scares.

The pacing shifts throughout: the opening grips tightly, immersing you in Ingrid’s world and the eerie implications of her spellwork, but the middle sections wander as plot threads multiply and not all are fully resolved. Some character relationships feel told rather than shown, and secondary figures, particularly those outside the Ingrid–Sailor orbit, could have benefitted from more development. Still, the story delivers twists that genuinely surprise, even if the ending felt a bit abrupt.

What lingers after closing the book is less the magic itself and more what it represents: the choices we make when pushed to the brink, the way power seduces and corrodes, and the cost of wanting something, like security, love, belonging, badly enough to bargain with forces we barely understand.

Overall, “A Spell for Saints and Sinners” is a moody Southern Gothic thriller where psychic visions mix with class tensions and moral compromise. Though not as haunting as its setting might suggest, it offers an atmospheric, twisty exploration of ambition, desperation, and the shadows cast by privilege. This book is perfect for those who love flawed heroines, murky magic, and stories where the biggest mysteries aren’t always supernatural.

[Clover · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you netgalley & rb media for providing me a copy of this book in return for an honest review

our protagonist, ingrid….. oh do i have so many words to say about her. but they all come to mean the same thing – i couldn’t fucking stand her. at the start of the book i’ll give her that she’s charming….. in a “i feel bad for you diva” way. like cmon now how are you fucking up tarot reading and u own the business….. anyways. the gleeful energy she has dumping her friends for sailor and the richy riches is really grating after a while, especially since boney and miles make sure the reader is reminded of this fact every 3 pages. speaking of miles… what a fucking nothingburger. i was expecting so much more from him. at the mid-point of the story i really thought he was actually going to do something meaningful, and then the climax happens, and i was on the edge of my seat even more. but then the book just… doesn’t do anything with it and instead gives him an ending that is objectively the most boring way it could’ve gone. and u know what his story is not even resolved. and by god is sailor not much better. i’ll admins i liked her, but when everything happened with scoot i instantly couldn’t fucking stand sailor and she rlly did not get back in my graces at all. and the rest of the cast? one note as hell. and u know what sometimes a cast will flop and that’s ok.. as long as ur story can pick up the slack. folks, this book’s plot did not pick up the slack. the minute i read the description comparing this book to saltburn i could instantly predict where this story was going, and barring a few minor details i was right on the money. i should not be able to guess your book’s entire plot by the first line in the blurb. unless maybe it’s a romance or something but even then those aren’t always formulaic. but god this book felt like it was just going through the motions.
the writing was… nothing to write home about. there were a lot of moments i physically cringed listening to this audiobook. every time ingrid did the devil horns to someone i really wanted to drive my car into a wall because it was so repetitive. and every second chapter “her body ran cold” appears and it’s just…. cmon now we can google synonyms. don’t be scared of a thesaurus please. all that to say this book engages in a lot of tropey, cliche’d writing, and it does none of the characters or the story any favours. everyone comes off as insufferable with no redeeming features which, yet again is FINE, but the plot kept building and building up to something big happening, it happens and then it’s almost instantly resolved in the last like 5% of the book, and then in the epilogue the author decides to randomly whip around and knock you out for shits and giggles. so much of this book as well was set-up to point into certain directions, for example with sailor’s dad (do not ask me how to spell that man’s name i listened to this as an audiobook) and edie, who the secret sinner is, etc. and i mean… ok yeah if you set something up in your thriller-mystery there doesn’t always need to be a red herring… but there were none here. i was here thinking of all these potentials for all these plot threads and in reality what actually happened or how x went down usually turned out to be the most boring scenario. and in between these revelations are ingrid going around town flaunting her new friendship, being insane about said new friendship, miles whining to her, ingrid talking to edie, and the rest of the book was all laufler(?) family dynamics. which is also fine but when they all either talk like cartoon villains or have the depth of a wet piece of cardboard im gonna not have a good time.
i really can’t think of anything else meaningful to add. the narrator was…. fine, i really liked how they did the voice for sailor and scoot. the ending was meh. the story was meh. every plot twist was meh. Meh

[Gwendalyn Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

🔮 ⋆˚₊ 𖤓☽˚.⋆ 𓂃 ࣪˖ 🔮

Title: A Spell for Saints and Sinners
Author: Emily Carpenter
Publisher: Kensington
Pub Day: March 31, 2026 Thanks to @kensingtonbooks @btc_books @emily.d.c #EmilyCarpenter #ASpellforSaintsandSinners for my early copy of this book

🔮 ⋆˚₊ 𖤓☽˚.⋆ 🔮
💭 My Bookish Thoughts:
Savannah practically narrates itself in this book. Emily Carpenter writes this city the way only someone who truly loves it can, every cobblestone, every grand townhouse, every ghost trailing behind the old money families. There is even a nod to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil woven in, and if you are a fan of Berendt's Savannah, that little detail will make you smile.
This one pulled me straight into Savannah society and refused to let go. The atmosphere is thick, the drama is messy, and the tea is absolutely scalding ☕🔥
Think of it as a modern Southern Gatsby with witches and a generous pour of moral ambiguity. Ingrid is not a straightforward heroine. She is desperate, increasingly reckless, and willing to bargain with things she cannot fully control, and that complexity is exactly what gives the story its teeth. Nobody in this book is fully innocent and honestly, that is what made it so addictive.
The question the whole novel circles is a delicious one: is it the magic working, or is it simply what ruthless, privileged people with resources and no conscience can quietly make disappear? That tension between the supernatural and the deeply human never fully resolves, and Carpenter is smart to let it breathe.

Is it a five-star read for everyone? No. It is a slow burn, and the descent into obsession mirrors Ingrid's own unraveling, measured and deliberate. But if you surrender to the Savannah heat and stop waiting for things to move fast, the dread that builds is genuinely eerie. I felt from the very first chapter that everything was going to go very, very wrong and I could not look away.
It was not my single favorite read of the month, but there was something irresistible about it all the same, like a spell you know is probably a bad idea and whisper anyway.
Would I keep a witch on retainer after this? …yes. Yes, I would. 🔮

🌿 Setting: Savannah, Georgia in all its moss-draped, slow-burning, gloriously gothic splendor.
📚 Read this if you liked: The Great Gatsby, You, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, or anything Southern Gothic with a modern witchy edge.

[Obsidian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

If you are going to promise me a gender-flipped version of "You" with Gothic elements you have to bring it. I don't know what this was, but it was not that and I got to 49 percent before I DNFed this book. I just could not and would not go on. I got to chapter 32 and said that's it. I don't care enough about any of these one note characters and just hope something bad happens to mostly every character at this point.

The overall plot to A Spell for Saints and Sinners is that Ingrid needs money to save her grandmother's house and then managing to do a fortune for the town's rich girl, named Sailor and becoming her new best friend (pet) just didn't bring it at all. And when Sailor decides that she's going to bring Ingrid into her inner circle to push her to more fame and fortune, Ingrid decides she will do whatever it takes to stay Sailor's true best friend.

Ingrid was annoying and kept saying "Oh Goddess" every five seconds that I started having flashbacks to 50 Shades of Grey. It didn't help that every man in the area was in love with her it seemed. And I know it wasn't supposed to be funny, but the book synopsis calls Ingrid a psychic, but the actual book has her calling herself a witch and she goes around just telling people I am a witch. I don't know why, but it made me crack up each time.

And her so called best friendship with Sailor was aggravating. Neither one of them seemed to have any coping mechanisms. We hear about Ingrid's other friendship with her roommate and others and it felt like every chapter she was discovering people had feelings. Not one person felt even a trinkle developed while I was reading this.

I also am ticked that I got told there's Gothic horror elements in this. Not so far. This is just magical realism (which I love) that is not exactly done to perfection either, but it's definitely not Gothic horror.

The flow was bad. I am at 49 percent and it just kept going on and on. I guess I am supposed to care that Ingrid is now in with the rich but there's no tension. Just scenes of her going from place to place and not wanting her poor friend's to embarrass her.

All that to say, not really worth it to me to read to the end for a twist some readers called out.