Wow I cannot wait for this book! I haven't read anything by Sara Holland before but I saw this advertised in the Bloomsbury YA Booklet at YALC and was intrigued. It is definitely going on my 2020 tbr list - it almost feels like a shame to go back to the book I was reading now.

Thanks for the extract!

The story really captivated me, the characters that we meet are so interesting and the world building left me wanting to know more. I can't wait to read the rest!

This extract has me hooked! I'm so intrigued to see where this is going to go and can't wait for more!

Even after reading the first few pages of this extract I am entranced! I already feel connected to Maddie in this short section and want to know more about Havenfall and it's history! The world-building is beautifully done, and each scene is so vividly portrayed! I'm looking forward to reading the rest!!

I was drawn in from the first page. I am very excited to handsell this book! Can’t wait to read the entire thing!

I love this extract and now I’m even more excited to read the full book! Sara sets up an exciting portal fantasy with mysterious happenings, a lavish history and a wonderfully atmospheric setting. This is definitely a title I’ll be watching out for over the coming months!

I thoroughly enjoyed this excerpt and would love to be able to read more!

Holland instantly draws you into this new and original magical world, and the reader learns some intriguing information about the protagonist's past without giving too much away. Personally, I really loved the concept of introducing a hidden town in the mountains, Haven, which acts as a gateway to other worlds. There is enough explanation which makes the world building easy to follow while definitely giving the novel endless possibilities of where the plot can go!

By the end of chapter 2, there are enough questions left unanswered which leaves the reader wanting to read on. It was also refreshing to see a narrative that focuses on two female characters in the opening chapters! Finally, there was some very pretty description and Holland certainly has a way with creating atmosphere!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for giving me the opportunity to read this extract!

I read an extract of the book and what can I say?

- Brother was murdered
- Mother is in prison because of murder
- Mother didn’t murder brother
- Monster from another realm killed brother
- there is magic in it!
- The writing is so fluent, I loved it in everless and still love it in her new series

Can’t wait for the real book to come out!

This was my first Sara Holland read and the extract didn’t disappoint. Whilst the prose was rather flowery and descriptive, it didn’t detract from the story for me. A flawed heroine, magic, multiple worlds, portals, shapeshifters, murder and a snarky stranger on a motorbike - what’s not to like?! Looking forward to the book’s release next year 📚

I hate that this was just a sampler! The story sucked me in from the very first word, and I hate to have to wait to read the rest of the story.

The plotline was very intriguing right away, and I'm very curious how it will continue.

I can't say much about characters and world-building as of now, the sampler gave little away about that.

As always, I loved Holland's writing.

Not fair...I need more. I loved the excerpt. When is the book fully released?

In just 2 chapters, Maddie and Havenfall have ne held captive. I have not read anything by this author before, but I want to now. She is very talented with describing places and people. The atmosphere of this book is shaping up to be very intense....I have suspicions of course, but it seems to be what the author intends.

Thanks NetGalley for the excerpt. I really enjoyed it.

I can’t wait to read the full book!

The author has a real way with words. I found myself really seeing the town of Havenfall...the descriptions were illustrative and I was drawn to this interesting isolated town.
Similarly with the arrival at the Inn, and sentences like this:
‘A waterfall behind the inn turns into a winding stream that feeds into Mirror Lake, circling the inn like a silver ribbon.’
And then the extract ends...at the perfect time (to make me want to read more)...

I want to get into the Inn, I want to learn more about Tara, I want to meet Marcus, and I want to see where this story goes.

Thanks Bloomsbury for the sneak peak.

Well I need the rest like NOW! I have so many questions, this seems like its could be a really good story and i can not wait to read the rest!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this extract! After checking it out, I actually don't think the book is for me. I wasn't immediately grabbed by the premise, though I did enjoy all the beautiful descriptions of the setting. I really enjoyed Holland's Everless, but struggled with Evermore, so I appreciate the chance to check out a small sample.

Main body of my review taken from my excerpt review post (attached/linked):

Given that the excerpt only contains the first two chapters of Havenfall, we don’t have too much of an opportunity to get to know the main cast of characters, although I’d say I got a pretty good feel for Maddie as a protagonist. She’s witty, having made me laugh at numerous occassions while reading the excerpt (even though I don’t know if the lines I laughed at were intended by Holland to be funny), and knows what she wants. Maddie’s tired of just spending her summers at Havenfall – she wants her uncle to name her as the next innkeeper (which he presumably will as she’s the only candidate in the running) and not go to college like her dad wants. I just wish the excerpt was longer so that us as readers get to spend more time with Maddie before March; I think she’s going to have quite the interesting journey.



Besides Maddie, a few other characters were name-dropped, and we’re introduced to Taya, a girl who applied for a gardening/landscaping position at the inn. Although we didn’t spend too much time with Taya, we got a little bit of background information on her – namely, the reason why she’s afraid of large bodies of water – and, if the summary from Goodreads is anything to go by, I think Taya will play a larger role in the story than expected. Also….. is that a love triangle I’m sensing?



I loved the dark and gloomy setting of Havenfall. Again, while there wasn’t enough time to get sucked into the world, I feel like Havenfall has that potential, and that with a setting of this type, Havenfall as a novel would make a great winter’s evening read. The book releases in March, and knowing England’s classically bad weather, I get the feeling that’s what we’ll be getting when this book releases next year… perfect for cosying up reading by the fire…. or in my case, sitting on a beanbag by your radiator. Having read Holland’s debut novel, Everless, however, I have no doubt that I will grow to love Havenfall and the other settings Maddie and co. visit, just as other Everless fans will.

This book was a good read that is perfect for a rainy day. I really liked this authors writing style and will be looking out for more books from this author.

I really enjoyed everless so was very excited when I saw Sara Holland name! The initial pages were a bit vague and I really felt unsure about where the story was heading. But once I hit the official first chapter I felt drawn in completely. I am however a little disappointed that Marcus wasn't actually the main character. It would be so refreshing (and useful for my profession) to have a male protagonist in some YA, especially YA fantasy as most is either too realistic or too young. I will look forward to reading but I don't feel like I can give a full review off so little of the book. Either way a strong start, I'm intrigued.

As a former reader of YA fiction, I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book. I believe it must be difficult to create a new magic world nowadays, and I would like to see where the story leads to. The setting of the novel and the mystery mentioned worked pretty well for leaving me wanting more. I also liked the writing style, not having read any books from Sara Holland before.

I loved Holland's first series and I really enjoyed this extract. So, I'd definitely pick it up when available.

Thanks a lot for this extract.

Havenfall is a doorway to different worlds/realms and the Haven Inn is a safe haven for all. Maddie, the niece of Haven’s keeper is hoping to inherit the inn and take care of the gateways to other worlds that come with it. An interesting start to a magical tale and I’d be keen to finish the story.