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fromthebookshelfofdreams's review against another edition
5.0
Hauntingly beautiful!
This is the first book I have read by Jessica Thorne, and after finishing it I may or may not have gone and ordered all of her other works... woops? Who needs money when you can have good books, right?
I was immediately captivated by the world Thorne paints. In a mysterious library that houses an intricate and truly spellbinding magic to it's books, our main character Sophie finds her past colliding with her present, leaving her entangled in an ancient, chaotic battle. Full of action and drama, intriguing otherworldly creatures, and the perfect amount of romance, The Bookbinder's Daughter is a beautiful, magical tale that will capture any fantasy lovers heart.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.
This is the first book I have read by Jessica Thorne, and after finishing it I may or may not have gone and ordered all of her other works... woops? Who needs money when you can have good books, right?
I was immediately captivated by the world Thorne paints. In a mysterious library that houses an intricate and truly spellbinding magic to it's books, our main character Sophie finds her past colliding with her present, leaving her entangled in an ancient, chaotic battle. Full of action and drama, intriguing otherworldly creatures, and the perfect amount of romance, The Bookbinder's Daughter is a beautiful, magical tale that will capture any fantasy lovers heart.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.
maitaylor01's review against another edition
4.0
I find it hard to resist a book about a library, and when it is a magical library, then I am 100% sold! Jessica Thorne’s wonderfully imaginative creation is a library like no other, and once I stepped through it’s doors with Sophie, I knew I never wanted to leave.
The library is an ever changing beast, sometimes delightfully mysterious, other times dark and sinister. The inhabitants of the library are equally enigmatic. From vibrant Tia, to Titivillus, the library cat, there is more to uncover about each and every character than initially meets the eye. In particular for me, it was love at first sight with Will, and I was eager to uncover his secrets..
I have always wanted to try my hand at book binding and a job restoring damaged books in a mysterious library sounds like heaven. I would love to see the Mortlake grimoire, it sounds so beautiful, not to mention all of the other shelves full of rare books house within the library.
The mention of Elias Ashmole and the School of Night put me instantly in mind of one of my favourite book series, the All Souls Trilogy, and made me hopeful I would love this book just as much. Deborah Harkness is a tough act to follow, but luckily Jessica Thorne did not disappoint (having read some of her previous work, I was confident this would be the case). I feel like there is a lot more to come from the library, and I am hopeful for a follow up book soon!
The library is an ever changing beast, sometimes delightfully mysterious, other times dark and sinister. The inhabitants of the library are equally enigmatic. From vibrant Tia, to Titivillus, the library cat, there is more to uncover about each and every character than initially meets the eye. In particular for me, it was love at first sight with Will, and I was eager to uncover his secrets..
I have always wanted to try my hand at book binding and a job restoring damaged books in a mysterious library sounds like heaven. I would love to see the Mortlake grimoire, it sounds so beautiful, not to mention all of the other shelves full of rare books house within the library.
The mention of Elias Ashmole and the School of Night put me instantly in mind of one of my favourite book series, the All Souls Trilogy, and made me hopeful I would love this book just as much. Deborah Harkness is a tough act to follow, but luckily Jessica Thorne did not disappoint (having read some of her previous work, I was confident this would be the case). I feel like there is a lot more to come from the library, and I am hopeful for a follow up book soon!
val_between_pages's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
redheadragereads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Review in 10-ish words: Strong start to the story with cool imagery throughout. 3/5
Synopsis:
After losing her mother and then her father, Sophie is feeling lost. Living with a boyfriend who treats her like garbage, holding down her job and trying desperately to remember her childhood memories so she can get some answers.
Her absentee uncle shows up at her job to whisk her back to where it all began: Ayredale Library. People would KILL to work there, amongst the finest collection of rare books in the world.
Her return to Ayredale will raise more question than it answers.. not to mention the reappearance of a childhood love. Can she find out what happened to her mother and finally move on?
My thoughts:
I love a good library as much as the next person and Ayredale sounds like a bloody treat to work and live in! This book had a really strong start. I was super intrigued.. I love how Sophie left her old life and stumbled into this magical library.
Sophie herself was a little shallow in terms of her character, I didn't really connect with her or Will. I really enjoyed Tia as a side character though!
There is a lot of secret keeping.. and the reader experience a lot of being told there are secrets, which at time got a little old.
All in all, it's a good 'rainy afternoon and need an escape' kind of read- you can escape inside the walls of a really old, cool building for a little and be kept entertained.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ebook of this read in exchange for my honest review
Synopsis:
After losing her mother and then her father, Sophie is feeling lost. Living with a boyfriend who treats her like garbage, holding down her job and trying desperately to remember her childhood memories so she can get some answers.
Her absentee uncle shows up at her job to whisk her back to where it all began: Ayredale Library. People would KILL to work there, amongst the finest collection of rare books in the world.
Her return to Ayredale will raise more question than it answers.. not to mention the reappearance of a childhood love. Can she find out what happened to her mother and finally move on?
My thoughts:
I love a good library as much as the next person and Ayredale sounds like a bloody treat to work and live in! This book had a really strong start. I was super intrigued.. I love how Sophie left her old life and stumbled into this magical library.
Sophie herself was a little shallow in terms of her character, I didn't really connect with her or Will. I really enjoyed Tia as a side character though!
There is a lot of secret keeping.. and the reader experience a lot of being told there are secrets, which at time got a little old.
All in all, it's a good 'rainy afternoon and need an escape' kind of read- you can escape inside the walls of a really old, cool building for a little and be kept entertained.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ebook of this read in exchange for my honest review
ellliesbooks06's review against another edition
5.0
A new fresh world of magic, where both main characters and readers are introduced beautifully through its pages until there is no other way than to love it and appreciate it.
This was my first book by Jessica Thorne, I am more than glad I picked it. She wrote more than fantasy in this book in a certain and remarkable way.
Lovely and encouraging!
This was my first book by Jessica Thorne, I am more than glad I picked it. She wrote more than fantasy in this book in a certain and remarkable way.
Lovely and encouraging!
sharonleavy's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
3.75
Sophie and her horrible boyfriend Victor both work with books. Victor acquires rare book collections, while Sophie restores books, a profession also held by her late father.
When Sophie's estranged Uncle appears and offers her an incredible opportunity, Sophie is torn. The job Uncle Edward is offering is at the Ayredale Collection, where Sophie grew up. A magical world full of the rarest books known to man, Sophie is very interested but also daunted by the notion of returning to a place she barely remembers.
But Ayredale remembers Sophie.
This is, at its heart, a love letter to books, libraries and the magic found within them. It's magical realism, so won't be everyone's bowl of soup, but I really enjoyed it. It did slightly lose me around the middle when we first encountered the tree stuff, but I kept an open mind and enjoyed it for what it was - a very enjoyable fantasy adventure centered around books.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley.
When Sophie's estranged Uncle appears and offers her an incredible opportunity, Sophie is torn. The job Uncle Edward is offering is at the Ayredale Collection, where Sophie grew up. A magical world full of the rarest books known to man, Sophie is very interested but also daunted by the notion of returning to a place she barely remembers.
But Ayredale remembers Sophie.
This is, at its heart, a love letter to books, libraries and the magic found within them. It's magical realism, so won't be everyone's bowl of soup, but I really enjoyed it. It did slightly lose me around the middle when we first encountered the tree stuff, but I kept an open mind and enjoyed it for what it was - a very enjoyable fantasy adventure centered around books.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley.
alinavale's review against another edition
2.0
2,5/5 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This book is average. Nothing more, nothing less. I was hooked in the first half but the second half really, really disappointed me. The last sentence is what made me give more than 1 star. I liked the concept, characters and worldbuilding. However, nothing about the plot is even close to enough. Everything is so messy and confusing for absolutely no reason.
Reading this book, I did not hate it. Which is probably a good thing.
The review is very short because the book itself is short and mostly empty.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This book is average. Nothing more, nothing less. I was hooked in the first half but the second half really, really disappointed me. The last sentence is what made me give more than 1 star. I liked the concept, characters and worldbuilding. However, nothing about the plot is even close to enough. Everything is so messy and confusing for absolutely no reason.
Reading this book, I did not hate it. Which is probably a good thing.
The review is very short because the book itself is short and mostly empty.
jessicareadsit's review against another edition
4.0
Who doesn't love a good book about books?
The Bookbinder's Daughter is a whimsical tale of one woman's journey of self-discovery and her yearning for a place to call home. I have always considered libraries to be places of wonder, where one can escape to a multitude of realities with just the turn of the page and, I believe the author perfectly encapsulated this ideology.
In The Bookbinder's Daughter, Sophie returns home, to the Ayrendale library, the place where she tragically lost her mother in a mysterious incident that has plagued her since childhood. As the library begins whispering to Sophie and secrets buried within the past start unraveling, Sophie begins learning the truth of her origins and is faced with the startling reality that everything is not as it seems.
My inner book lover rejoiced at the author's ability to bring the library alive. The worldbuilding, specifically as it relates to books stemming from a tree of knowledge that slowly trickles into the world to spur creativity and innovation was utterly brilliant. The author has a very lush and descriptive writing style that complimented the wonder of the storyline. This was further enhanced by the versatile and daresay quite posh voice of the narrator, Charlie Norfolk. There was a very welcoming and calming quality about the voice that enhanced the story for me.
While I enjoyed the narrative, I believe the secondary characters (Will, Tia, Sophie's uncle, the keepers, even the cat) deserved to be developed further as these backstories could have enriched the story that much more and added some context to the inner workings of the library. The writing also felt slightly monotone and repetitive in certain areas. I believe the first 60% of the book could have been compressed to make way for more expansion in the second half of the book where the real action starts unfolding. The last 5% of the book flew by and it was slightly confusing with all the ideologies and explanations being crammed into this short space.
I believe in the essence of this book and adore the concept and truly believe that with some adjustments to the execution, this story could be fantastic.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Bookbinder's Daughter is a whimsical tale of one woman's journey of self-discovery and her yearning for a place to call home. I have always considered libraries to be places of wonder, where one can escape to a multitude of realities with just the turn of the page and, I believe the author perfectly encapsulated this ideology.
In The Bookbinder's Daughter, Sophie returns home, to the Ayrendale library, the place where she tragically lost her mother in a mysterious incident that has plagued her since childhood. As the library begins whispering to Sophie and secrets buried within the past start unraveling, Sophie begins learning the truth of her origins and is faced with the startling reality that everything is not as it seems.
My inner book lover rejoiced at the author's ability to bring the library alive. The worldbuilding, specifically as it relates to books stemming from a tree of knowledge that slowly trickles into the world to spur creativity and innovation was utterly brilliant. The author has a very lush and descriptive writing style that complimented the wonder of the storyline. This was further enhanced by the versatile and daresay quite posh voice of the narrator, Charlie Norfolk. There was a very welcoming and calming quality about the voice that enhanced the story for me.
While I enjoyed the narrative, I believe the secondary characters (Will, Tia, Sophie's uncle, the keepers, even the cat) deserved to be developed further as these backstories could have enriched the story that much more and added some context to the inner workings of the library. The writing also felt slightly monotone and repetitive in certain areas. I believe the first 60% of the book could have been compressed to make way for more expansion in the second half of the book where the real action starts unfolding. The last 5% of the book flew by and it was slightly confusing with all the ideologies and explanations being crammed into this short space.
I believe in the essence of this book and adore the concept and truly believe that with some adjustments to the execution, this story could be fantastic.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
the_bookworm_rabbit's review against another edition
4.0
I was so interested with the premise of this book. A magical library but in the 21st century!
Sophie is offered a job at an elite library, the same one where her mother was last seen 15 years ago.
When she arrives she finds a family and friends she forgot about and a whole load of secrets and lies as she tries to uncover the truth of her mother's past.
Sophie is a main character with a lot of depth. She is dealing with multiple levels of trauma, abuse, and mental health issues. I felt that she was written realistically.
I liked her development through the book as she experienced all the strange occurrences and unique individuals at Ayredale Library.
As for the world building, it was built up well as it was based off of England in the 21st century but had elements of a different time when magic reigned. The pacing of the book started off well, but things got a little hectic and rushed at the end. No spoilers, but there was a real chance for development between Sophie and Will at the end that was missed.
Overall, this was a great read with a great balance between the modern day and the history of the ancient library and its secrets.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Sophie is offered a job at an elite library, the same one where her mother was last seen 15 years ago.
When she arrives she finds a family and friends she forgot about and a whole load of secrets and lies as she tries to uncover the truth of her mother's past.
Sophie is a main character with a lot of depth. She is dealing with multiple levels of trauma, abuse, and mental health issues. I felt that she was written realistically.
I liked her development through the book as she experienced all the strange occurrences and unique individuals at Ayredale Library.
As for the world building, it was built up well as it was based off of England in the 21st century but had elements of a different time when magic reigned. The pacing of the book started off well, but things got a little hectic and rushed at the end. No spoilers, but there was a real chance for development between Sophie and Will at the end that was missed.
Overall, this was a great read with a great balance between the modern day and the history of the ancient library and its secrets.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
vikkilynn's review against another edition
5.0
There are several things to love about this book.
First, the language used is intricate, delicate and beautiful. Jessica Thorne has a such a mastery over vocabulary which she uses skillfully and without alienating her reader with a lot of “high-falooty mambo jumbo”. It’s simply exquisite. She uses words like a carver would use their tools to carefully craft a world-behind-the-world creating such detail and a stunning backdrop for this story. I fell in love with the library as though it was a living, breathing entity.
Probably the only thing I didn’t like was there was so much of this, it took a while for the actual story to unfold. You have to just stay with it but trust me, it’s so worth it!
Next, the story itself. The idea of books and magic housed under the roof of a library isn’t one unknown to us readers. Quite honestly, books are magic, transporting, creating, educating and allowing escape for our everyday lives - even if we’re escaping to vicariously live the everyday life of a book character. We meet it, crave it and thrill to it as we let the magic of a good book envelope us and take us where the author wants us to go. Outside of God and all I feel and know through my faith, books are literally the next best ‘high’ one can get.
I always love when an inanimate object suddenly becomes a character. There are two of those in this book; one is the library and one is the tree. They both have words, feelings, personalities and ebb and flow with the heroine flawlessly as she seeks out their secrets and unravels their mysteries. The library moans and groans under threat of evil. The tree dispels its leaves which, in turn, become pages for the bookbinder to create into a book.
There’s a nice symbiotic relationship here as the library cannot survive without the tree, which gives of itself to the library yet the tree cannot exist without the library; the library is its home.
The main character of Sophie is lost, alone and confused and all for the right reasons, having survived an emotionally abusive relationship and much loss. She flees to be with an estranged uncle as she takes on a job as the bookbinder at Ayredale’s library. She meets up with friends, old and new. There is a love interest in the form of Will and we struggle along with her to find out his connection to the library.
There is an evil presence and I often found myself wondering who were the good guys and who were the bag guys with the exception of Sophie, our heroine. There is a nice character development as we watch Sophie’s internal struggle to find out what happened to her mom but also to free herself from the bondage of her abusive relationship.
Lastly, I love that this story is almost told like a bit of folklore. It’s like a story you’d tell your kids at night, around a fire while sipping hot chocolate. It’s simply lovely!
First, the language used is intricate, delicate and beautiful. Jessica Thorne has a such a mastery over vocabulary which she uses skillfully and without alienating her reader with a lot of “high-falooty mambo jumbo”. It’s simply exquisite. She uses words like a carver would use their tools to carefully craft a world-behind-the-world creating such detail and a stunning backdrop for this story. I fell in love with the library as though it was a living, breathing entity.
Probably the only thing I didn’t like was there was so much of this, it took a while for the actual story to unfold. You have to just stay with it but trust me, it’s so worth it!
Next, the story itself. The idea of books and magic housed under the roof of a library isn’t one unknown to us readers. Quite honestly, books are magic, transporting, creating, educating and allowing escape for our everyday lives - even if we’re escaping to vicariously live the everyday life of a book character. We meet it, crave it and thrill to it as we let the magic of a good book envelope us and take us where the author wants us to go. Outside of God and all I feel and know through my faith, books are literally the next best ‘high’ one can get.
I always love when an inanimate object suddenly becomes a character. There are two of those in this book; one is the library and one is the tree. They both have words, feelings, personalities and ebb and flow with the heroine flawlessly as she seeks out their secrets and unravels their mysteries. The library moans and groans under threat of evil. The tree dispels its leaves which, in turn, become pages for the bookbinder to create into a book.
There’s a nice symbiotic relationship here as the library cannot survive without the tree, which gives of itself to the library yet the tree cannot exist without the library; the library is its home.
The main character of Sophie is lost, alone and confused and all for the right reasons, having survived an emotionally abusive relationship and much loss. She flees to be with an estranged uncle as she takes on a job as the bookbinder at Ayredale’s library. She meets up with friends, old and new. There is a love interest in the form of Will and we struggle along with her to find out his connection to the library.
There is an evil presence and I often found myself wondering who were the good guys and who were the bag guys with the exception of Sophie, our heroine. There is a nice character development as we watch Sophie’s internal struggle to find out what happened to her mom but also to free herself from the bondage of her abusive relationship.
Lastly, I love that this story is almost told like a bit of folklore. It’s like a story you’d tell your kids at night, around a fire while sipping hot chocolate. It’s simply lovely!