Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester: A fierce, feminist horror that burns with rage—though not always with realism

Kristi DeMeester’s Dark Sisters (releasing December 9, 2025) takes on patriarchal power, religious hypocrisy, and generational trauma with fire, blood, and no small dose of feminine fury—but sometimes the blaze feels more like stage lighting than wildfire. It’s the kind of novel that makes you want to light a match and watch the patriarchy burn. Part historical fiction, part supernatural horror, and part feminist manifesto, this story spans centuries and three women bound by a curse born of desperation and defiance.

Anne Bolton, accused of witchcraft in the 1700s, bargains with darkness to survive. Mary Shephard, the obedient 1950s housewife, discovers forbidden love with a woman named Sharon. And Camilla Burson, a modern preacher’s daughter, rebels against both her father and the system he represents.

If that sounds like a rallying cry disguised as fiction—it is. The men in Dark Sisters are, quite literally and figuratively, bloodsuckers. DeMeester doesn’t just hint at how religion has historically been used to control women; she rips the veil right off. It’s gaslighting in its purest form—men feeding off the energy, devotion, and autonomy of women while insisting it’s all for their “own good.” (Sound familiar?)

The book’s best strength lies in that raw, unflinching rage. DeMeester captures how power operates through fear—especially the way accusations of witchcraft have always been less about magic and more about control. The word “witch” itself comes from wisdom, and it’s no coincidence that wise women have so often been punished for daring to know too much. Intelligent women have always threatened the fragile egos of mediocre men, and Dark Sisters doesn’t let anyone forget it.

That said, the witchcraft thread feels a bit too neat, too Gardnerian in its construction—more modern Wicca than seventeenth-century superstition. In the 1700s sections, that feels anachronistic; in the 1950s storyline, it’s even harder to buy. Sharon, Mary’s secret lover and self-proclaimed witch, is oddly cavalier about her beliefs in an era when a woman could be ostracized—or institutionalized—for less. And Mary, having grown up in a repressive religious cult called The Path, accepts Sharon’s witchcraft with surprising ease. That relationship could have been ripe with tension and fear, but instead, it floats by with the cozy calm of a suburban affair.

The same unevenness shows up in the horror elements. There’s plenty of blood, but it’s the glossy, cinematic kind—more ketchup than carnage. It’s not that the novel lacks gore; it’s that it lacks grit. True gothic horror crawls under your skin and stays there, whispering at the edges of your dreams. Dark Sisters feels more like a beautiful bonfire: bright, defiant, and impossible to look away from—but not quite hot enough to scar.

Even so, it’s hard not to admire DeMeester’s ambition. This is a novel with teeth. It’s angry and unapologetically feminist, and while it sometimes sacrifices realism for aesthetic, it never loses sight of its purpose. Dark Sisters may not haunt your nightmares, but it will definitely ignite something deeper—a recognition of how much women have had to burn just to stay alive.

Verdict: A lush, furious, and occasionally uneven blend of history and horror that exposes the timeless machinery of male domination. Come for the feminist rage, stay for the fire.

An advance reader copy of this book (ARC) was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Related Content

• Blood, breath, and candles: Writing rituals for the witch-creative (She Writes)
• Author spotlight: Kristi DeMeester (Nightmare Magazine)
• Kristi DeMeester is screaming on the inside (Publisher’s Weekly)
• Unmemory by Kristi DeMeester (Ink Heist)

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