*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a fascinating debut that honestly packs a lot into a fairly short page count. In Paris 1866, we follow two sisters who have taken diverging paths but are reunited by the haunting of the de Jacquinots, a family of dysfunctional aristocrats who believe they are being haunted by a great aunt who was murdered during the Revolution. The book explores grief and complicated family dynamics and the treatment of young women in history and queerness.

I found the pacing of the story to be really compelling though I sometimes questioned narrative choices. For example the book begins from the perspective of Sylvie, the older sister who married a baron, but then about halfway through there's a change so we get a replay of certain events from Charlotte's perspective. While I think that helped keep the mystery of the reality of the haunting, it also made the book drag a little in the middle because we had already gone through those events once. I also thought the overall resolution felt a bit rushed.

I loved the setting of Paris 1866 with the shadow of the Revolution still hanging over the heads of society and the belief in spiritualism and mediums running rampant but I wish Lowkis had explored that atmospherically a bit more. 

Overall, I found this book to be a compelling read and a really solid debut, so I'd be interested in seeing what Lowkis writes next.