First, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one! Dark Sisters is a novel centred around three women across time-- Anne, Mary, and Camilla-- as they deal with a curse. With a backdrop of witchcraft and the supernatural, DeMeester tells the readers a story about religion, the patriarchy, misogyny, and homophobia. it reminds me of Weyward but horror, which is very welcome, because I love Emilia Hart's work.

We start off with Anne, in the 1750s, who makes a deal with a dark being in order to protect herself from persecution for being a witch. Through her, we see the creation of the town and the unsettling history of Hawthorne Springs. I liked her interludes-- they were haunting and distressing in such a beautiful way because of DeMeester's stunning prose.

Next, we have Mary, two hundred years later, in the 1950s. She's a closeted lesbian with a husband and child, and falls in love with a woman she meets in the city, Sharon. We, through Mary's character, the expectations of women in a patriarchal society and the influence religion has on it, further exacerbated by Camilla in her chapters. Where Anne's interludes felt like an origin story, Mary's chapters felt like victim statements. I liked her chapters the most, with characters like Vera and Sharon being very welcome in Mary's narrative.

Last is Camilla, the daughter of the pastor. She's rebellious, struggling with the pressure that comes with being the pastor's daughter, and we see her get sent to a "retreat" as a punishment for her actions. In her chapters, we see women falling sick and dying, and we see her do her damnedest to figure out why. Her story centers strongly around religion, cults, and the patriarchal nature of both.

The one thing that I struggled with was pacing. It was definitely a slow start and the author shoved a lot in the lat 15% before a really abrupt ending. I think some of the earlier plot points could be shortened, and the end could have definitely been expanded upon. It would be interesting to spend a little bit more time with Camilla at the end as well. The prose being so strong definitely saved the book from being 3 stars.

I did enjoy the novel! I think I might go ahead and add more of DeMeester's books onto my ever-growing TBR. I had a great time once I started figuring out what had happened. I would definitely recommend this book to people who enjoyed Weyward and The Sirens by Emilia Hart.

historical low fantasy might have a new member in the audience because wow. this is a gorgeous novella set in '40s chicago and centers around helen, a p.i. who deals with the supernatural. now, there is a serial killer running around, and helen has been given the opportunity of a lifetime-- if she finds out who the killer is.

i do have to say that the murder mystery side of this was a little weaker. the plot twist was fairly obvious, even as someone who doesn't spend too much time in the mystery genre. it is, first and foremost, a fantasy, and secondarily, it's historical fiction. though short, the novella is charming, and leaves you wishing for more of the universe. i would love to see more of helen and edith's relationship, as well as spend more time with marlowe, a deeply fascinating character.

i think something unusually strong (beyond the intriguing characters and fascinating setting) was that the story didn't feel rushed. shorter novels can often feel like the end has to shove itself in 20 pages, but this all felt very right. i enjoyed the bittersweet, but romantic ending. i adored helen's unconditional love for her brother (the reconciliation arc was... admittedly sped through, but i feel like it still fit), and the wonderful, aching selfishness of wanting a life with edith. it all got tied together so nicely.

lovely first book finished of 2026. c. l. polk, you might see me again. i had a lovely time.

it feels like a book shoved into philosophy papers?? or maybe the other way around???