**I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I really wanted to like this book, but it sort of fell a bit flat for me. This isn't my usual go-to genre so that could be it.

After her father's death, Sophie is offered a job at the Ayredale Library by her uncle (and in the process leaves her abusive boyfriend in London). The library is a private collection of some of the rarest books in the world and has an eerie/unusual vibe to it. Sophie actually grew up in the library, but left as a teenager after her mother's tragic death and has since lost most of her memories of growing up there (supposedly trauma-based memory loss). She gets to reconnect with her childhood friend-to-lover, and do what she loves - bookbinding- in the prestigious library. Gradually, Sophie learns the mysteries of the library and has to learn to manage the forces of the library and the people who want to capture it's power.

The first 50% was a lot of build up with not enough reveal. It almost felt like if J.K Rowling had delayed the "you're a wizard Harry" bit until half way through the school year. I'm all for a bit of suspense, but I found it hard to get into the book in this case. I feel like the characters had a lot of potential but I didn't develop any strong attachments to any of them. I'm a romance junkie at heart, and the dynamic between Sophie and Will was great. I loved how they got a second chance and there was definitely a "fated partners" vibe. The whole book was a love-letter to book preservation, book-binding and libraries (which I did love).

If YA-ish vibe, magical/fantasy novels are your jam, this book might be the one for you.

For every fan of the "All souls trilogy" and a "Sorcery of Thorns" this book is the perfect combination between magic and mystery in a world that unravels around a young woman who needs to find herself after being lost for too long.
"It's a tune I know like my own heartbeat, like the rushing of my blood, but I can never quite capture it"
This book was a beautiful spell-binding tale of memory, love, magic and knowledge coming from the prospective of a girl deprived of her own past who is searching for answers to questions no one dared to make before.
I loved every second of it.
It wasn't just the setting, that has the ability to transport you between the shelves of an Elizabethan library , but also the dynamics between the characters who seem to be holding between themselves the key to unlock the secret of this story.
"Don't, whatever you do, get involved with that place. It will destroy you. Eventually it destroys everyone"
The way the author decides to describe the deeply rooted and complicated relationships between what it's supposed to be biological family and what really is the family you need, is astonishing.
As a reader , I'll never be able to forget half of these characters. Neither in how they hurt me nor how they made me cry both out of pain and pure joy.
Everyone should read this book. Even just so they can experience the beauty of finding one's self completely lost between the pages of old books ,called to life under the skilful hands of a binder.
"Wish for something without thinking about it, wish it hard enough, and it may happen. And then you may wish it hadn't at all"
"For the first time in her life she began to dread when it would all fall apart"

This story had great premise and I really enjoyed the beginning with the mystery of Sophie called back to her childhood home by her strange but compelling uncle who offers her a job. Home for her was The Library, the place she lived until she was fifteen when her mother disappeared and her father took her away. He never explained to her what had happened to her mother, nor was he a warm father figure to her. Moreover he always told her never to return to The Library. However, he did pass on to Sophie, his trade as s book binder and Sophie excels at the art.
On her return Sophie immediately feels at home but all is not well. Her childhood friend and sweetheart, Will, is initially distant, and his half brother, Arthur is scheming. But gradually Sophie learns some of the secrets The Library contains and when disaster strikes she steps up to the mark.
I enjoyed the story, the mystery, the intrigue, the magic, the characters and the setting in this book, but I did find it rather over written — the author driving home various points such as Victor's overbearing relationship with Sophie and Arthur's twisting of the truth and playing of the teenager's feelings of inviolability. For that reason I feel unable to score it more than a three star.
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a chance to read an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Three and a half
This was a fabulous idea in an amazing setting. The Sophie we meet has recently lost her father so is in quite a quandary really with an exceedingly controlling boyfriend Victor telling her how to live her life. She seems to have lost all memory of what happened to her mother fifteen years ago and indeed has no true recollection of living with both her parents. Her uncle contacts her offering her a prize position at a prestigious library and Sophie whilst unsure of exactly what she will find there takes the plunge and leaves her old life behind. Her new environment starts to trigger old, long buried memories. As Sophie reconects with those she played with as a child the library itself and that which it houses become very real with secrets revealed that change the course of Sophies life.
I loved the feel of this story as at times no matter that it's a contemporary story it definitely had gothic vibes. The people around Sophie constantly act mysteriously so initially it was hard to know who to trust but certainly there are a couple of very obvious nasty characters out for themselves. There is magic although at times it had a dreamlike quality. I am pleased that Sophie found her place in the library but still somehow feel that at times I just wanted to feel a tad more connected with the characters.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

If you love books, magic and romance, this suspense-filled story is tailor made for you.

Sophie Lawrence lived the first fifteen years of her life in a loving family at the Special Collections library in the small village of Ayredale. When her mother disappears under mysterious circumstances her grieving, embittered father uproots her from their home. The trauma fractures Sophie’s mental state and she remembers little, if anything, about that terrible night. Now fifteen years later with her father’s death, her maternal uncle offers her a position following in her parents’ footsteps as the bookbinder at the Special Collections library.

As the story unfolds we meet a cast of characters that are never what they seem and the library itself seems to hold secrets and magical properties. While she feels she has come “home,” Sophie is confronted by her fragmented memories, a lost love relationship and the not-so-hidden agendas of power and greed held by some of the staff.

I enjoyed the twists and turns in the storyline that added suspense and mystery to the magical realism thread of this novel. I found it highly entertaining with solid character development. The conclusion was simultaneously satisfying and left me hoping for a sequel to follow Sophie’s adventures and the library’s future.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for early access to the upcoming release! I do not usually forage in the magical/paranormal genres, but the intro of The Bookbinder’s Daughter had me so intrigued I immediately requested access. A young woman, fleeing an emotionally abusive relationship, comes home to the ‘library’ she was raised in. Yet even though she spent the first 15 years of her life here, her childhood, and those that still inhabit the library, is nothing but a faint imprint on her memory. This is due to a traumatizing event, the disappearance of her beloved mother. Now, back home where she belongs, she begins a journey of discovery, trying to recapture the events that took her mother on a faithful, fiery night.
I did find the first half of the story a bit slow. I also noticed an abundance of “are you okays”, and some repetitive content. Regardless, depictions of the library’s past, heard only thru closed doors, is brilliant. Imagery of ancient works and age-old languages, moving magically over fragile pages, are beautifully written. Awesome quotes, both humorous - “He drove a brand new Jaguar, because of course he did.” - and profound - “Worse than forgotten. Unknown.” - are well scattered throughout the story. And the paranormal, once realized, becomes big-screen worthy, lighting up our vision like spectacular fireworks.
I give this book 4 stars. Jessica Thorne is obviously talented, bringing her characters to life in a unique setting. Even though I am still not a huge magic/paranormal fan, I absolutely recommend this to those who are as I believe they will greatly enjoy this book.

The story was astounding and magical. The story narrated lyrically provided vivid details of the setting, the characters, and the story plot. The premise of a magical library has caught my attention and drew me into reading it.

The story follows Sophia Lawrence, a 30-year-old specialist binder, who received a job offer at Ayredale Library. Ayredale Library is known to hold some of the finest and rarest books in the world. It was also the same library where her mother worked as a bookbinder and disappeared when Sophie was fifteen years old.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and excellent read. The world-building was well written, and the plot was well-paced. I love the childhood love and the rekindling of romance aspect in the story. It could have been more splendid if there was a backstory about Sophie's mom, Elizabeth, and how The School of Night selects the previous keepers of the library. Understanding the contents of a magical book through a different language was a brilliant and unique idea. It was a fascinating read from beginning to end.

I am so grateful to the author, Bookouture, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an eARC of this book. I highly recommend this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Bookbinder's Daughter is an excellent book about a mystical library. After the death of her father, Sophie is returning to Ayredale Library to work for her uncle repairing and binding old and rare books 15 years after the mysterious disappearance of her mother who had worked as a binder there. This book pulled me in from the first sentence and held my interest with its mystery, family secrets, and magic. This is the first book of this author's I have read, nor did I realize it was science fiction, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to author Jessica Thorne, publisher Bookouture, and to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

I got this as an ARC from Netgalley and loved it. I hadn't realized it was fantasy before I started but it was creative, interesting, and had great build up at the end. There were a few things about the magic world that were confusing, but not enough to abandon the story. Would definitely recommend giving this one a read if you enjoy clean fantasy reads.

The setting of this book is a library that houses a special collection of ancient manuscripts. The manuscripts aren’t ordinary and neither is the library, which is a living thing. The manuscripts have magical properties & benefit society as long as they are housed in the library. Of course this is not common knowledge so most of the librarians are legacies whose family members have worked at the library for many generations. Sophie, the main character, is a legacy whose mother disappeared from the library years before. She has no memory of what happened and her father has always been adamant that Sophie should never return to library that was her home before her mother disappeared. However, after her father’s death she is offered a job there and can’t turn down the opportunity to solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance. When she arrives back at the library she discovers that everyone there seems to be hiding more than just the facts surrounding her mother’s disappearance. As she reconnects with a childhood sweetheart she discovers more questions that answers about the library, it’s history, and the intriguing people who work there.
I found everything about the library interesting including it’s purpose, origin, and history. I liked Sophie’s growth and her relationship with some of the other characters including her love interest Will. Even though I found the author’s writing to be a bit predictable and redundant, I would still recommend this book to readers who like stories about libraries and/or readers who like when characters are given a second chance with a previous love interest.

Thank you Bookouture, Methane Author for this lovely ebook!

WoW! What a beautiful, well written, magical story!
The romance and magic here are simply amazing and very interesting.
This was my first Jessica Thorne book and now I'm obsessed.
Her writing is absolutely stunning and admirable.
This is one magical, action packed, spell binding novel you won't want to miss!

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!

I really enjoyed this book. It’s not particularly quick moving but it gradually draws the reader into the world of the Ayredale Library, home to some of the most special books ever written. It’s set in present day London and then moves to the library where Sophie returns after a period of 15 years having lost most of her memories of her previous life there. Her loss of memory means that she isn’t sure about her past and especially what happened to her mother. The reader finds out the answers to the questions along with Sophie.
I really liked the whole concept of the library and the tree. I also really loved the historical context for the book and the inclusion of characters such as the mysterious Dr Dee. The idea of creativity being born of chaos and let into the world as the leaves of the tree are bound into books. I thought was a really interesting one. I have really enjoyed Jessica Thorne’s previous books and this was just as good although very different.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for letting me read this advance copy.

3.5 rounded up. Free Netgalley book for review.~. Vague SPOILERS I guess??

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Well written but I found the pacing weird and I don’t know how to describe it other than that. Also, I didn’t like that for the good guys to win, the villains basically had to make that one dumb move that cost them everything…. Because up until that point just about all of the main characters in the Library were making stupid, stupid decisions. This is one of those plots that relies on people not telling each other things to move it along. If you love drama you’ll love this.

Other than that, I loved the descriptive writing, and it was atmospheric as well. I kept reading it in large chunks between other books. It did a good job making me hate the villain in the story.

So this book is a real gem! There is a bit of mystery and a mix of fantasy, which is right up my alley!
So Sophie is offered a job at the Ayredale Library, and TBH who wouldn't jump to an opportunity to work at the library? But, not only is this THE Library that is the collection of antique books and things like that this is also the last place her mother was seen at. Originally she thought that her mother had abandoned her and she wants to see if she can finally find out what exactly happened to her mother.
So, when she arrives at the Library she feels at home, and then she finds out she has some magical powers along with her very talented skills of bookbinding.
I loved the magic with this book, I really loved that a Library was the main place of this story. I also loved the climax as everything was building up and the magic within the walls of the library behind the closed doors.
If you love fantasy, then this could be your next read! I loved the whole atmosphere about it. The magic, the hidden family secrets, and the unraveling and building up to the story.
Thank you to Jessica Thorne, Bookouture, and Netgalley for the incredible opportunity to read this gem!

As a child, Sophie had lived at Ayredale Library, where the most priceless ancient books are housed. She doesn't remember much about her time there, but she knows that her mother died at the Library under mysterious circumstances. Sophie's father has also died, but while alive he had warned her repeatedly that it would be dangerous for her to work at Ayredale, even though such a job was coveted by most bookbinders. So Sophie works at another library and lives with her controlling lover, Victor, until her Uncle Edward makes her an offer she can't resist.

Finally finding the strength to leave Victor, she returns to Ayredale and immediately feels its embrace. She finds she is able to read some of the ancient documents and spells that others cannot, cementing her importance to the Library and its mission. She reconnects with her childhood love, Will, but quickly the Library and its imposing tree careen out of control, leading to mayhem and betrayal.

This is a highly emotional story with enough action to keep fantasy fans reading. I would have preferred less repetitive description, more plot, and greater character development.

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

I did enjoy this. It's about a magical library, how could I not? There is some clever alternative history of libraries, magical books that only certain people can read, and a secret society of mages running the most important library of all. Sophie, the main character, has forgotten all about the library, and we learn about it along with her when she returns after a long absence. Sophie is traumatized from the death of her mother and subsequent isolation imposed on her by her father. It's painful to watch her struggle to interact with people, make any decisions, or take any actions. Many things are explained over and over, and over again. Maybe to imply how Sophie is ruminating on the same anxieties again and again.. Some of the other characters, and the romance, felt pretty flat. The concept of the library itself and the special books it contains is interesting though, and I definitely wanted to learn the "why" of it all.

"They're written on your soul. It's the language of the birds."

I am in awe with the library and want to go there and immerse myself in that world, that time. This book is intriguing and a definite page turner which made me want nothing but to learn the library's secret. It will draw you in immediately, so will the cover and title of the book.

Sophie is a binder, an excellent one. She is amazing person but is stuck in her past. The past which took her mom from her leaving her with a trauma that has blocked all her memories. She only gets glimpses of them in her dreams. She is someone who needs protection but comes out strong by the end of the book. I loved her character. A letter from her uncle brings her back to Ayredale, a place that took her mom, the same place where she will get all the answers to dreams that haunts her.

"Creativity is born in chaos."

Jessica Thorne has written a beautiful book with vivid descriptions of a world that will expand your imagination and keep you enthralled. It has suspense, magic,love and heartbreak, to bind you the story. The characters in her story are mysterious wanting you to know more. I enjoyed reading this book, it was captivating.

This if my first by the author and I'm glad to get a chance to read this.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I thought the idea of this story sounded fantastic. A magic library with a tree! This is place I'd love to live. Unfortunately the story got bogged down with repeated information told my multiple characters. Example: She kissed Will 15 years ago, does he still like her? Why does she feel like this. Will kissed her 15 years ago, does she still like him? Her mother disappeared. Now repeat this about every other page.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for giving me this ARC for free to share my opinion on this story.

The book cover art, the title, and the synopsis of the story all drew me into reading this one. I felt hesitant, as I was expecting it to turn into some sappy romance between some Librarian and some mundane damsel that was hired to put books on the shelf. I admit, I was truly wrong, and fully enjoyed the story.

The short plot description tends to make this an almost make-believe story: hired at the most prestigious of libraries of rare books even, where her mom used to work when she was younger. Oh my, vomit and drivel. Yet, that is where this story really starts at. But let's throw you some more bones - SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

All this takes place in England, as the story opens in London. Our main character, Sophie, is a simple compliant book binder with extremely talented skills) living with her controlling 'boyfriend'. She finds out she has been offered this prestigious position as a rare book binder for this library, where both her parents worked, at double the salary she makes and other perks. Of course, she remembers her family living at this library (large property) and her mom's disappearance, then her father taking her and leaving... blah blah.... forgetting the past, therapies, memories might come back. The usual hoo-hah. Wanting to think it over, she ends up catching her 'boyfriend' shagging another chick, and immediately leaves for this new job.

Now the job offer came from her Uncle, who also works for the library. Starting to sound like some weird family tree twisting and nepotism, right? Story moves on ... she does start to remember certain memories, and finds strange happenings occurring around her. Romance starts to blossom with Will, whom she was friends with before she was taken away. I wanted to be sure to get the romance in there.

So not to completely ruin it for you, Sophia finds out she has some 'magical' powers, as do some of the others around the library. Her family has been associated with the library since its creation many millennia before our story. Her romance blossoms with Will, though thankfully not in exquisite, sexual detail, and not so much that it takes from the story.

All in all, this was quite a good read. I was pulled in by storyline, as I have always enjoyed magical library stories (because libraries are truly magical places). The magic wasn't hocus-pocus related, and had quite a few distinctions on/of its use (only by certain people, and only certain types of 'magic'). There wasn't much really to do with the library itself, except as it being the repository of 'special' books, and how they were protected. Obviously, being "rare books" one just couldn't walk in and check out any book.

Character development was a bit lacking. Simple-minded girl, dumps cheating boyfriend for new job (double the perks!) and location, meets new love, large fantastical problem solved by simple girl, who know is in control of everything, and the world goes rosy once again. Yeah, there wasn't much to building the characters. A few look-backs of the time when they were younger, to explain certain things happening, or memories recollected by Sophia, but otherwise just so-so.

World build was somewhat interesting. I mentioned the magic, and how it is limited to certain characters, and the type of 'magic' they have the use of. The library itself consisting of what I will call, a living entity, that provides this magic, and the protections (through a Guardian) of not only itself, but its repository of knowledge (the books), in the simple form of a 'tree' living in the depths. And that this tree was the root of knowledge, and that creativity was shared through the binding of its leaves into books, and shared where needed around the world at times. Very different idea. I liked it.

Overall I found the book to be very enjoyable. Definitely a stand-alone, though, with some imagination, I'm sure future books could be tied to this one. Was easy to read and comprehend ideas. I saw no major differences of spellings between US English and British English, or words that are different for the same things. Definitely would recommend in the Young Adult and Fantasy genres.

#NetGalley #TheBookbindersDaughter