Blog Tour: A Review of The Heart-Shaped Box by Lucy Kaufman
Today I am helping end the Blog Tour for The Heart-Shaped Box by Lucy Kaufman! I am sharing my review for this novella. If you are lucky enough to be in the UK, there is a giveaway going on! This is a page-turning psychological thriller novella about infatuation, revenge and the lengths we will go to for love.
Novella Description:
Victorian, rural Sussex. When headstrong daughter of a rector, Constance Timothy, receives a flurry of gifts in pretty little boxes from the charming, smouldering student doctor Smith Williams, her whole family anticipates a future betrothal.
Yet beneath the exquisite pastel lids and satin bows lie macabre secrets that entice Constance into a private world of obsession and darkness, where morality becomes blurred, loyalties are tested and unthinkable acts are possible.
One secret will shake the genteel world she knows to the core…
The first book of The Carousel of Curiosities series, this haunting novella is perfect for readers of Sarah Waters, Laura Purcell, and Angela Carter.
The Heart-Shaped Box
Series: Carousel of Curiosities #1
Author: Lucy Kaufman
Published: February 3, 2026
Kindle: 87 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 19-29, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Jessica’s Review:
The Heart-Shaped Box is a short novella, just 87 pages, but it pulls you in! At first you think it’s going to have a little romance with Constance receiving gifts from her suitor Smith Williams, but then what the gifts are… The reader realizes that this novella is in fact, is going down a dark path!
The more gifts Constance receives the further into the macabre Constance goes, and she is seemingly enjoying it. As the novella progresses, there are a few unexpected twists and then the reader was left hanging: I need the second in this series as I need to know what happens! Ms. Kaufman, how many novellas will be in this series? When will novella two be released?
In addition to a potential romance this novella has topics that readers who enjoy ‘darker’ novellas will enjoy: Jealousy, the macabre, obsession, and more!
I received a copy to read and review as a part of the blog tour. I enjoyed reading this one! I just wish I had been able to sit down and read it quicker than I did.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
UK Giveaway
If you live in the UK you can enter this giveaway: Subscribe to Lucy Kaufman’s newsletter at www.sepiaink.co.uk by 15th February 2026 (UK home address only) to win a small heart-shaped box of chocolates!
About the Author:
Lucy Kaufman is an award-winning author, playwright, audio dramatist and poet. 40 of her plays have been performed professionally around the UK and Australia, to critical acclaim. She has lectured in Playwriting and Screenwriting for Pen to Print and Canterbury Christ Church University and is a mentor at The Writing Coach. Originally from London, she now lives by the sea with her husband, sons, dogs and cats.
Contact Lucy:
Instagram: @kaufmanlucy
Instagram: @sepiainkpublishing
Sepia Ink Website
Blog Blitz: A Short Story Review of Don’t Forget the Crazy by Lucy Kaufman
Today I am taking part in the Blog Blitz for Don’t Forget the Crazy by Lucy Kaufman! I am sharing my review for this short story. If you are lucky enough to be in the UK, there is a giveaway going on!
Short Story Description:
Her lists are life or death.
“If it’s on the list, I have to do it.”
Milli Morgan lives by her lists. Groceries, goals, organising her boss – nothing escapes being ticked off her ever-growing to-do lists. Order brings her comfort; control keeps the chaos at bay. Everyone can rely on Milli.
Until the day new items start appearing on her list in red ink.
At first, she blames stress. A prank. Someone playing mind-games. But one instruction on the list refuses to be erased and demands to be completed.
A command so terrible she would have to be crazy to tick it off.
Don’t Forget the Crazy is a dark psychological suspense short story about obsession, perfection, and the dangerous pressure of always being “the good girl.” Fans of Gillian Flynn, Lisa Jewell, Patricia Highsmith, and Shirley Jackson will devour this chilling portrait of order unravelling into darkness.
Don’t Forget the Crazy
Author: Lucy Kaufman
Published: November 30, 2025
Kindle: 57 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 7-9, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Jessica’s Review:
This was a fun and quick read. Milli Morgan writes down lists. Not on her phone, but on paper in blue ink. She lives by these lists, everything she does is part of a list. Until strange things start showing up on her list. Not in the blue ink she uses, but red ink. These add ons get stranger until one item that appears on her list demands to be done.
I did enjoy this short story. I myself make lists on paper, yet not as extreme as Milli. I have to have physical lists! This short story starts by taking place at Christmastime, and its that time of year currently, so that added to my enjoyment. I did giggle out loud a couple of times, but then we get serious with the very demanding item. Will Millie do this demand? What will happen? And why is there a cat on the cover??!?!! If you read this short story then you will find the answers!
I’m a reader who doesn’t have to have a definitive conclusion, but in the case of this short story a few more pages with a definitive conclusion would have worked best for me. I look forward to seeing what Kaufman writes next.
Many thanks to the author and Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for a copy that I could read for the blog blitz.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
UK Giveaway
To enter the Giveaway: All you have to do is follow Lucy Kaufman on Instagram by 24th December 2025 to win an Audrey’s solid milk chocolate Scaredy Cat. *You must live in the UK to win**
Again, WHAT is the deal with cats?!?!? You must read this short story to find out!
About the Author:
Lucy Kaufman is an award-winning author, playwright, audio dramatist and poet. 40 of her plays have been performed professionally around the UK and Australia, to critical acclaim. She has lectured in Playwriting and Screenwriting for Pen to Print and Canterbury Christ Church University and is a mentor at The Writing Coach. Originally from London, she now lives by the sea with her husband, sons, dogs and cats.
Contact Lucy:
IG: @kaufmanlucy
@sepiainkpublishing
Sepia Ink Website