Thanks to Net Galley for the digital ARC of this lovely book! This was my third book by Paulette Kennedy, and just like her other two, The Artist of Blackberry Grange was written beautifully and with care. Kennedy’s characters are flawed and wholly realized, and her stories, though with some fantastical elements, stay grounded in a sometimes harsh reality.

Sadie, the main character, was a little hard to pull for at first, but as I better got to know her, I couldn’t help but love her and her plucky, go-after-what-you-want attitude.

If you haven’t picked up a Kennedy novel yet, I highly recommend it. I would describe each of her books as perfect entries in the “good for her” historical fiction realm.

I loved the spooky time-slips in The Artist of Blackberry Grange! Though Marguerite’s mind and body are failing, her evocative paintings catapult great-niece, Sadie, back into their family’s troubled past. Down-on-her-luck flapper Sadie is a captivated voyeur, striving to decipher these visions and learn more about the sexy ghost who bedevils her present as much as her female relatives’ past. But will she be able to resist him, or befall the sinister fate of her predecessor at the gothic mansion? Eerie suspense abounds at Blackberry Grange, with chilling scenarios both within and beyond the haunted paintings, interlaced alongside a sweet, tentative new romance. A great addition to the gothic genre!

Highly recommended for fans of gothic historical fiction!
Here’s a captivating tapestry of gothic atmosphere, suspense, and hidden family trauma, drawing the reader into a world where paintings become bizarre portals into the past. Paulette Kennedy masterfully crafts a character-driven narrative, allowing the long-buried secrets of a family to creep to the surface with the stealth and power of a lion stalking its prey. Just when you think you have a grasp on the unfolding mystery, the plot twists and turns, that will leave you captured.
The story centers around the FMC Sadie, who finds herself entangled in the unraveling of her family's shadowed history. The gothic setting, rich with evocative imagery, creates a palpable sense of unease, perfectly complementing the suspense that permeates every page. The paintings have a strange and unsettling life of their own. They serve as more than just objects; they become windows into a past that refuses to stay buried.
"The Artist of Blackberry Grange" is more than just a gothic thriller; it's a poignant exploration of caregiving, generational trauma, and the enduring impact of our actions across generations.

With historical fiction, I search for evocative atmosphere and original characters, and I found both in Paulette Kennedy's latest novel. Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and its old houses yield a fascinating atmosphere. I would really love to see one of these houses built in the late 19th century! To me, though, the chief attraction of The Arist of Blackberry Grange was its main character, Sadie. The author has the ability to make me care about someone and root for her when she is full of flaws. Recovering from a sordid affair with a married man, she is far from proud of herself. She goes to Eureka Springs to take care of a great-aunt mostly because she feels chased out of her hometown and has no way to support herself. She's messed up her life and while fairly young, the mistakes are starting to add up. The description of Aunt Marguerite's dementia feels very real, as is Sadie feeling overwhelmed. But along with these realistic problems a Gothic mood takes hold and the possibility of the supernatural. You would think that the plight of the unmarried sexually active woman in the 1920s, the exhaustion of caregiving for the elderly, and financial problems would have trouble blending into a story of the dead possibly appearing again. But it all works very well! I cared very much what happened to Sadie and I found the other characters well drawn. At the end of the Author's Note she shares some of the novels that influenced her, I see The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier. That novel also had an original approach with blending past and present. The Artist of Blackberry Grange will stick with you after reading it...

4 🌟

'The Witch of Tin Mountain' was an unexpected delight to me when I read it a few years ago, so I was more than happy to get my hands on this book.

In true gothic fashion, this is a roller coaster ride of the mysterious, the slightly spooky, and the just plain weird.

Most of the time I was more than happy to suspend my disbelief and get carried away by this tale - I absolutely love an old house full of secrets, tragic pasts coming back to haunt, inexplicable magic, etc, and this book abounds with those tropes in the most delightful way. Occasionally, I found myself rolling my eyes at Sadie and her decision-making skills, but overall I enjoyed the drama and my time with this read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

The year is 1925 and Sadie has had a particularly bad time of it. Her mother has died and her fiance has broken off their engagement.
Feeling very alone she finds that her great-aunt is in need of a live-in assistant.

It’s been ages since Sadie visited the grand mansion in Arkansas, high on a bluff. Some of the grandeur has eroded since then. The house is huge, dark, and very odd. But so are the people who live there.

Marguerite has moments of lucidity and moments of madness. Working hard to paint eerie scenes and people who seem to come to life and beckon you into the painting. Especially one painting of the same man who keeps showing up in Sadie’s room. Is this insanity?

Oh my what a story this is. I loved every bit of it.


NetGalley/ Lake Union Publishing May 01, 2025

This is such a well-done gothic story. It’s set in the 1920’s and that isn’t a time period I read about often. I really enjoyed how atmospheric this one was. It was very immersive and unsettling at times. This book is full of family secrets which I love to read about, and this one was so much fun. The worldbuilding in this book was so good and really sucked me in. I needed to keep turning the pages to find out what was going to happen, it was just that good. The amount of research that went into this book shined through and it was obvious that it was done. This book was also so creepy and unsettling at times and I just loved it. This book was a whirlwind in the best possible way, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you’re looking for a fun gothic book set in the 1920’s then check this one out.

The Artist of Blackberry Grange
by Paulette Kennedy
Pub Date: May 01 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the summer of 1925, the winds of change are particularly chilling for a young woman whose life has suddenly become unbalanced.

Devastated by her mother’s death and a cruel, broken engagement, Sadie Halloran learns that her great-aunt Marguerite, a renowned artist now in the throes of dementia, needs a live-in companion. Grasping at newfound purpose, Sadie leaves her desolate Kansas City boardinghouse for Blackberry Grange, Marguerite’s once-grand mansion sitting precariously atop an Arkansas bluff. Though Marguerite is a fading shell of the vibrant woman Sadie remembers, Marguerite is feverishly compelled to paint eerie, hallucinatory portraits of old lovers—some cherished, some regretted, and some beastly. All of them haunting.

With each passing night, time itself seems to shift with the shadows at Blackberry Grange. As truth and delusion begin to blur, Sadie must uncover the secrets that hold Marguerite captive to her past before reality—and Marguerite’s life—slips away entirely.

We meet Sadie in early 1900s America, where class structure and propriety is strictly enforced. Sadie has made many choices in her life that made her an outcast and she’s desperate to escape the trappings of life she’s found herself in. So she goes to her great-aunt Marg’s mansion in Missouri to assist in caring for her becomes more and more ill with dementia.

But there’s a curse on the family and Marg’s paintings have their own kind of magic. Sadie finds herself time travelling to Marg’s past and in doing so reveals the messy knot of family secrets.

There are many threads to this story. The main story of Marg making peace with her past and becoming closer to Sadie in the process is very sweet. There’s some modern takes on historical notions on race and class that are semi-pointed but fine (there’s one black woman who is a maid/nurse for Marg), many opinions about the Irish, and a pretty messy romance plot on Sadie’s end. The romance felt a bit forced and fast to make a happy ending, but overall was fine.

All in all, it’s a fine read. Well written if lacking anything spectacular that would make me recommend or reach for another of this authors work.

Kennedy continues to outdo herself with a haunting tale that is both fresh in its takes on beloved tropes, as well as true to her oeuvre and the Gothic literary tradition. With gasp-out-loud twists, heartfelt characters that jump off the page, and soft and beautiful magic around the edges, The Artist of Blackberry Grange might be my favorite Paulette Kennedy book so far. I cannot wait to see where she takes us next.

Paulette Kennedy has become one of my favorite authors, and The Artist of Blackberry Grange is her best work yet. With a deftness for blending gothic themes in unexpected ways, Kennedy has spun a tale of generational trauma and its lasting effects through her unforgettable characters, all within the unique setting of 1920s Eureka Springs. Readers familiar with her prior work will find one particularly delightful cameo, but it’s Sadie and Marguerite who are the beating heart of this story, and it’s their strength and love that leads to a most satisfying and bittersweet ending.

Atmospheric and layered in its hauntings, Kennedy’s latest follows a young woman at loose ends in her life who goes to live with her great-aunt in 1920s rural Arkansas during her great-aunt’s declining health. While there, she discovers the house is haunted and her great-aunt’s nostalgic portraits may be the only way to discover why. With a clear and admiring nod to The Picture of Dorian Gray, the portraits are more than paint and canvas, blurring lines between past and present, seductive and sinister. While allowing ghosts to inhabit the house, they also draw the heroine into the past where she can witness her family’s history, which turns out to be full of secrets and animosities that have affected generations since. Through this device, Kennedy explores the impact of family trauma, and the questions we ask about what, if anything, we can change about our past, and how we use our knowledge of our family history to avoid repeating the errors and cruelties of our ancestors. Thoughtfully and briskly rendered, with a strong sense of time and place, a delightfully flawed and relatable heroine, a charming but malicious villain to overcome, and an unfolding mystery to keep pages turning, this one’s a good fit for historical readers who enjoy a twist of magic and the sheer fun of a drafty corridor that leaves shivers on the back of one’s neck.

What an engrossing book! Sadie starts out as a depressed and desperate woman who has nowhere to go and jumps at a chance to find a place at her aunt's. It seems she is not really able to handle all the responsibility and then she meets the 'man' in the attic. This story has vibes of Anne Rice's Mayfair witches, but then branches out away from it. There's lots of suspense, twists, and good old fashion haunting in it.

This novel takes place in 1925 and follows Sadie, who after a broken engagement, decides to return to a mansion known as Blackberry Grange, where her great aunt Marguerite lives. Marguerite has been ill for sometime and requires a live-in companion, and Sadie immediately sets off to the Ozarks for a new start.

When she arrives, she meets Harriet, Marguerite’s nurse, and Beckett, the gardener. Marguerite herself tends to spend her time painting landscapes and portraits of those from her past. These are not typical portraits however, as each one seems more haunting and more intriguing than the last.

The longer Sadie stays at Blackberry Grange, the more she discovers that things are not as they appear. When the past and the present begin to blur together, it is up to Sadie to discover the truth before it is too late.

This book was fantastic and had me hooked from the first page. This was my first time reading a book by this author but it will not be my last. The writing was very good and the characters all well done. The story and the concept itself were original and well executed. I couldn’t help but be a bit sad when the book ended, as I wanted more of the characters and their lives (but in a good way!)

Thank you to the author and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review an ARC!

This book made me cry!! I've read all of Paulette Kennedy's books, and this one is tied as my favorite along with Parting the Veil. I loved the way Kennedy utilized art in the story, and the way Marguerite was portrayed. It's an excellent premise, with such a great exploration of family, generational trauma, and of course, Gothic elements. Kennedy is a master of the genre and I highly recommend this book!

I loved Paulette Kennedy's The Devil and Mrs Davenport and was really excited to see this one on netgalley. Kennedy does ghosts really well. I generally don't like books that are gimicky and the ghosts attempt jump scares. However Kennedy's books make the ghosts seem real as they build relationships with real people. With The Artist of Blackberry Grange I started to get a little bored as some of it seemed repetitive and nothing huge was happening. It almost seemed like the book was ending midway through. Overall I did enjoy this story and reading about the power of love and letting go of of those you have loved.

.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

This was not a typical book for me, but I grew into it and enjoyed reading it. Part Southern Gothic, part ghost story, part time travel, part feminist manifesto, the story, set mostly 100 years ago in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was successfully able to combine many styles and still remain readable and enjoyable.

I'd read more from the author. Well done.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

I loved this so much. Kennedy always does an amazing job weaving elements of magic/fantasy into a grounded historical setting, and it was so well-done here. The book felt really well-researched, which helped to sink into the setting and time period(s). Sadie was a super interesting MC, and went from being a bit unlikeable to someone who felt real and understandable. I also really appreciated the queerness woven into the story.

Paulette Kennedy has done it again! I was already a huge fan of Kennedy's work, thanks to her earlier books, but that feeling has been cemented with The Artist of Blackberry Grange. This new book has so many wonderful elements of a great Gothic story: dark family secrets, an enigmatic ghostly figure, an intriguing setting, and even a dreamy romance. I absolutely loved the world of painting, and the way the author surrounds those paintings in a veil of magic and mystery. Sadie, the main character, is interesting and so relatable. Her story takes place in the 1920s, at a time when women had so little independence, and we understand why Sadie makes the decisions she does. This timeline provides such a great backdrop for this type of story, and Kennedy has done amazing work in researching and presenting this unique history. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the ghost story. The worldbuilding, as in Kennedy's previous books, is outstanding and delightfully creepy. An excellent read!

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. This book is outside what I normally pick up. It's gothic and ghosty so felt like a good book to read in October (or any time really). It is well-written and the story displays the anguish of dealing with dementia as well as an evil spirit.