Wow! I loved this dark, coming-of-age/fantasy story!

The story follows Maeve as she is drawn into meddling with forces she doesn’t understand, resulting in the loss of her childhood best friend, Lily. As she desperately tries to rectify her mistakes, avoid the creepy local cult, find her friend and find the strength to be herself instead of trying to fit in. The errors she makes and her regrets feel very relatable and it didn’t take long for me to be completely engaged and rooting for her to succeed.

Throughout the story, the author explores the spectrum of identities – non-binary, gender fluid, sexuality, race, class – touching upon the internal and external struggles of the characters against their own upbringings, other people’s prejudices, and some overt hate crimes. That said, whilst the exploration of said identity issues does form a central theme, it is not the only one. There are strong morals here about being true to your beliefs, standing up for what is right, and loyalty to one’s loved ones.

And with all of that, the author didn’t forget to also deliver a nicely-paced, well-written plot which kept me gripped from start to finish, and some fascinating, well-developed characters that I was desperate to hear more from. Plus, The Housekeeper literally haunted my dreams for weeks after reading!

I can’t wait for the sequel, The Gifts That Bind Us, to be out (3rd Feb 2022) and to bring you my thoughts on what is in store next for Maeve and her ‘coven’ of allies.

I LOVED this. Love the tarot cards references and the magic system. This was such a unique and fun book, I cant wait to read more from this author!

The synopsis of this book really drew me in as I hadn’t read a book based around tarot. I really loved how it began I was hooked from the start. This book just wrapped me up in its pages, the mystery is interesting it has so many amazing twists and turns. I loved how it built up gradually. I loved the representation in this, the LGBT+, disability and BIPOC re is really merged into the story .
The only issue I had was the ending , it felt a little unclear, this may have been left open for a potential sequel, if so I’m looking forward to it.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I finally got around to reading this much loved YA novel. And just in time for Halloween too.

All Our Hidden Gifts introduces us to Maeve Chambers who at the start of the novel finds a pack of dusty old tarot cards at school, and begins to give scarily accurate readings to the girls in her class. She realizes she’s found her gift at last. But then, she discovers a strange card in the deck that definitely shouldn’t be there. And two days after she convinces her ex-best friend to have a reading, Lily disappears. Can Maeve, her new friend Fiona and Lily’s brother Roe find her? And will Maeve’s new gift be enough to bring Lily back, before she’s gone for good?

I was inspired to read this book following my interview for All About Books with a teacher and students from St Leos College in Carlow. They had read it for their Book Club and loved it. And I can see why.

Tarot cards, crystals, witchcraft and more have had a spike in popularity in recent years – just go on any influencer’s Instagram account today and someone is promoting one of them! O’Donoghue explores our obsession with predicting our futures, the need to believe in fate and the idea that everything happens for a reason through our protagonist and her classmates. When Maeve starts giving readings in school it spreads like wildfire and suddenly everyone is coming to her to find out what comes next for them. It causes a frenzy amongst the students. Does Boy X like me? Will I pass my Leaving Cert and get into the college I want? Everyone wants all of the answers now.

Maeve’s new talent also illustrates the power dynamics within the school. When she starts getting noticed because of the cards, she finds it difficult to ignore or deflect from the popularity they bring with them. And when giving a reading to her ex-best friend she underestimates the power that words have. We see how fast popularity can disappear and how suddenly you can become the outsider.

For me, I found the writing most effective when Maeve is first discovering and interacting with the cards. How she describes the feeling of power and control that they give her. I could almost feel the magic around me.. But maybe that’s just the Halloween spirit.

There’s great representation in the novel too, with O’Donoghue exploring themes of gender identity and sexuality. She also touches on religion and the rise of the alt-right. If only such books were available when I was a teenager!

There is a sequel on the way in early 2022 (The Gifts that Bind Us) so I look forward to reading that. My thanks to Walker Books UK and Net Galley UK for an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review. I was only 5 months late getting around to it!

A thoroughly enjoyable and beautifully written YA novel. I can't wait to recommend it to my students in the Library.

Loved this, and definitely one to recommend to secondary school students, though not sure how well it would travel outside of Ireland because so many turns of phrase are very specific (and the vernacular of my youth).
This book, despite being essentially fantasy, tackles issues around gender identity, homophobia and transphobia, family and friendship (and there's a nice intro into tarot reading too. Laughed out loud at so many points, great book

Full disclosure: I loved this book so this whole review is going to be praise and gushing. You have been warned.

Caroline O’Donoghue hit it out of the park with her debut YA novel about friendship, tarot, magic and found family.

I love reading about magic, witches, tarot and new age spirituality, but it’s not really something I have much experience with. My nan believed in angels, the power of crystals, attended spiritual healing sessions and evenings with mediums, and I went along with her to various events events, but I was too young to really understand what that meant. Now she’s gone I don’t really have any exposure to it, having lost so many people I love it makes me a little anxious to think about it in the context of myself. I do, however, love exploring it a little more through fiction what that safety net and distance of fiction.

Maeve stumbles upon magic and tarot completely by accident and at first she doesn’t really understand the power that she wields. I really loved watching her uncover her talent and revel in it in a way that she’s never done before; she’s never truly excelled at anything before tarot. It’s not like she’s immediately a magical hero either. It’s this new power that catapults her into chaos and propels the novel. O’Donoghue doesn’t sugar coat her characters and how Maeve’s dive into magic begins to unravel her life. She lets them be mean, say the wrong thing, act on impulse or anger, and it’s never without consequence, but it also never makes them a bad person. It just makes them people.

One of the big topics discussed in ‘All Our Hidden Gifts’ is the conservative war on difference, whether that be race, religion, sexuality or gender identity, and it hit hard in the current climate. Characters of all identities feature in the novel and as the tension builds around rescuing Lily and the involvement of the Children of Brigid, so does the pressure exerted on Maeve to face up to her privilege to be ignorance of the things that her friends, her sister, her classmates face every single day for having dark skin or not adhering to the gender binary. I’ve rarely seen a character realise and acknowledge their privilege on the page and then work towards being a better ally. It’s a powerful statement and one that’s not present nearly enough.

I was completely bewitched by this book and raced through it at breakneck pace. Acceptance and friendship are tackled deftly and with a hefty dose of magic and mysticism.

I was drawn in by the cover of this book and so glad that I was.
Its a captivating YA read starring Maeve, a 16year old and the youngest in her large Irish family. During a detention session she finds a set of tarot cards - and using them opens up a whole new world of magic and mystery, leading to disappearing friends and covering LGBT issues, religious bigotry, a range of cultures and classes, it is very inclusive and brings up issues that I don't think i would ever have thought about as a YA, so it really makes you think about things in a different way.
The storyline wavers a little in places but is well worth a read

All Our Hidden Gifts really surpassed my expectations, I found it entertaining, exciting and really, really creepy! So creepy in fact that I had to turn the lights on at one point!

I loved the mysterious way the tarot cards entered Maeve's life, and all the various magical elements to the story, and was intrigued to learn more. The strange way in which Lily disappeared and the Housekeeper herself, all had me hooked on the story.

There was some great diversity in the novel which I loved, and I especially enjoyed Fiona's character. The way she introduced Maeve to her own personal struggles was wonderfully written, and certainly made me stop and think about the different ways people get treated. I also adored Roe!

Super excited to learn that there's a sequel, and I can't wait to find out what happens to the gang next, now that they have all discovered their own hidden gifts.

This was such a captivating read for me. I really wish that I'd had a book like this while I was in secondary school, as I'm sure many other readers do.
Even though in my mid-twenties and passed secondary school years, how the author described the catty oppressive and stifling atmosphere of catholic all girls' schools in Ireland to be so apt and relatable.

I loved the character arcs in this story. Maeve is really struggling with how she acts around and towards other people at the start of this book, and while she may regret some of these actions, the desire and anxiety she has to be accepted outweighs this and she makes some horrible choices. Which may make her an unlikeable character to some but it makes her so human, as well. But by the end of the book, she's really evolved in many different ways. In how she approaches friendships and relationships, setting her own boundaries and accepting and respecting the boundaries people around her set.

I really liked the amount of representation this book had, especially in such a secular and frankly outdated setting as Ireland, where the church still has so much sway. Even for those who aren't actively religious they can still retain a lot of rigid and closed-minded ways of thinking simply because, "ah sure that's the way it's always been." Which is an unacceptable excuse and a cop out when it comes to not challenging homophobic/sexist or indeed any of the "phobic" ideals.

The conversation raised in this book surround the COB group and the LGBTQIA community made for really powerful reading. Echoing things we see in the media every other day.
I think the LGBT+ themes in this book would speak to so many teens and even adults struggling to express themselves. Not even struggling, but just being able to relate to so many aspects that these characters go through.

While I do have a slight bias, I suppose, being Irish and having ties to the setting and culture, I really would encourage people to pick this book up. It reads as a coming of age story with authentic young adult voices that are learning about themselves and working on the darker parts that people like to stay on the surface of.
It raises important conversation around closed-minded thinking within culture and how that is still affecting so many people today. And it tops it all off with some nice witchy folklore.

I really enjoyed this witchy YA debut from a writer who is an automatic read for me - I think Caroline O'Donoghue is just fantastic. Brilliantly written, All Our Hidden Gifts flies off the page with wit and charm. I can't wait for the sequel.

I’m not a Young Adult, but I loved this. This brought back the intensity of my own nerdy teenage years trying to find out who I was and where I fitted in.

Teenager Maeve Chambers doesn't have a best friend since she pushed Lily, her former best friend, away, and she also feels like the dunce of the family with how she struggles at school compared to her high-achieving older siblings.
Then Maeve finds an old, forgotten pack of tarot cards at school and discovers that she is able to give readings that are extremely accurate.
Glad to have found something that she is good at, Maeve thinks things might finally be going her way. Until Maeve comes across a card in the deck that has no place there and gives Lily a reading that results in her ex-best friend disappearing days later.
Where has Lily gone?
Can Maeve bring her back with the help of Lily's brother Roe?

Going into this novel I wasn't sure what to expect, but there ended up being a lot more to it than I thought there would be.
While Maeve wasn't one of my favourite protagonists, I still found her to be relatable and I could understand her motivations.
Roe and Fiona were probably my favourite characters and I enjoyed finding out more about them.
The setting of Ireland was interesting and I enjoyed the themes of discovering who you are and being true to yourself, which I thought the author handled well.
One of my favourite things about the book, possibly my favourite thing, was the diversity of the characters. I also liked the mystical/witchy vibes the book gave me.
The plot took a little while to get going, but once it did it was enjoyable and held my attention. There were some things that happened that didn't quite have the intended impact as I didn't feel as invested in the book as I could have, and nothing that happened blew me away or had me on the edge of my seat needing to know what would happen next.
The writing style was easy to follow but took me a few chapters to acclimatise to. In fact, after the first chapter I wasn't sure if I would even end up finishing the book. But luckily after a few chapters I settled into the story.
I am a little disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and unique read.

This was a very solid 4/5 and oh my god, it was awesome. I am definitely going to buy a physical copy of this book because wow, i really want to re-read this and be able to enjoy the beauty of it. Also, I've heard that the physical copy has little drawings of the carot cards and oh my god, yes!

But as for the story:
- The beginning was a perfect 5. The whole "carot cards", mysterious disappearance, high school vibes and the ambiance was very well done. I was super hooked.
- The middle felt a bit longer because the book tries to cover too many topics: hatred against minorities, magic, spells, horror stuff etc etc. It feels long even though it isn't because it is actually done in like 100 pages.
- The ending feels rushed because so many things happened in the middle that then, you are left with 20 pages to write the conclusion.

This book would have been a perfect 5 if it had been 100-200 pages longer. If I'm not wrong, there is a second book in the making? So maybe with the second book the entire story will be more "coherent" and it will all be smooth.

Either way, I absolutely enjoyed this book and if you are someone who likes witches and carot cards and some creepy content... this is for you!

All Our Hidden Gifts is a curious gem of a book, steeped in magic, tarot and mystery. It is one of those books that sneaks up on you and bewitches you in its pages.

I really, really how deeply Irish this book was. From its interweaving of real life movements and historical moments to its very heart and soul, it just sits proudly in its heritage and cements its own place in that cultural fabric. Alongside this, I loved the exploration of tarot and magic. It all unfolds in such an interesting and more than slightly unnerving way, but it still has this sense of awe and joy centered around the magic. These two factors combine to create this tantalising atmosphere that I just fell in love with.

I have a lot of love for books that just have a touch of the unknown to them. All Our Hidden Gifts is one of those sparkling stories that sublimely combines touches of the fantastical with reality. This just adds so much depth and richness to the story that readily invites repeated readings. For me, that added space allows for O’Donoghue to make her social commentary hit that much harder. This book largely focuses on the struggle of love against hatred and how monsters can be hidden behind charming facades. Often, hatred comes behind a veneer of politeness and concern about morality. This is unequivocally rejected and shown as the horror it is in this book. The cult-like environment created is disturbing and unnerving to read, reminding the reader of too many real-life examples.

This book just wrapped me up in its pages and cast a spell on me that I couldn’t quite break. The mystery is interesting the whole way through and I genuinely was surprised with the amazing twists and turns. I appreciated how it was gradually built in a way that kept you hooked, with this slow burning sense of dread simmering away and some moments that felt like classic horror film scares.

All Our Hidden Gifts carefully walks the line between our world and that just beyond us, combining supernatural elements with an atmospheric and gorgeously authentic story about love, hatred and fractured friendship.

I loved it! Really gripping throughout, a touch of magic and unputdownable stuff. Compliments to the author, I’m really looking forward to what she comes out with next.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this publication.

Friendship, mysteries and a setting that leaves you wanting more. I really liked our main character- she's smart, outspoken and cares about the people around her. However, I felt like something was missing. The mystery kept me intrigued but I felt like I wanted more out of it. Maybe because the pacing was a little jumpy in places and took out of the enjoyment, but overall great!

Absolute banger of a book!
Being set in Ireland was literally a cherry on top. Being familiar with all the quirky little Irish sayings, felt like being transported back home!
E.g. 'Grand' or the 'Hotpress'! The famous area that we as kids were NOT allowed to dare move a single item or evoke the wrath of the mammy!

Its full of diverse enjoyable characters and a brilliantly written magical plot. I for one have always been interested in tarots, crystals and anything 'witchy', so this was definitely up my street!

A couple of loose ends left floating around upon closing the back cover.... however, I'm a sucker for series, so bring on #2!!

An unusual story featuring tarot cards. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this book but was drawn in by the characters and a storyline unlike any other I have read.

Set in an Irish Catholic school, Caroline O’Donoghue’s first foray into YA tells the story of Maeve Chambers who doesn’t feel she has any special gifts, until she finds a dusty old pack of tarot cards during a detention. She feels a pull to the tarot cards and starts investigating and learning about each card’s meaning. It’s surprisingly easy for her to recall all the information and she soon begins giving tarot readings to her peers, discovering she has a real talent for it. However, everything changes when she’s forced to give a reading for her ex-best friend Lily. The mysterious ‘Housekeeper’ card appears and Lily disappears the next day, leading Maeve to wonder what other forces might be at play. Covering tensions in contemporary Ireland, LGBTQ+ hate crime, a romantic storyline and the occult, this was a brilliant read with just the right amount of supernatural elements for me.