I thought I would love this book since I really enjoyed The Book of Lost Things, but I couldn't get into it at all. I've tried multiple times but it's just not for me.

This was just not my cup of tea. But I think others would love it. It's well written but there was just too much going on for me. Rapunzel made an appearance, talking severed heads, tír na nÓg vibes, attempted feminism and all sorts. I'll be strongly recommending this to one friend in particular.

What a great audiobook with an amazing narrator. Really loved the story and plot. The characters were very loveable and I was hooked from chapter 1.

I loved it, love this one and the previous. The author is a talented storyteller and this story kept me hooked
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Phoebe is just eight years old when she is in a terrible car accident leaving her in a coma, her devoted mother Ceres never leaves her bedside in hospital, reading to her daily. When Phoebe’s condition does not see any improvement, they are moved to another hospital for palliative care. This is where Ceres discovers an author’s trove of books and begins reading a book of Fairy Tales from the collection to her daughter. Soon Ceres discovers an old house on the hospital grounds, which seems strangely connected to the book and draws her into The Land of Lost Things, perhaps she will find salvation for her daughter there?

I hadn’t listened to the prequel to this initially - The Book of Lost Things, so I went back and listened to that first for context. It was well worth it. That book was really fantastic, so I had high hopes for this. Although The Land of Lost things is separate to the first, I enjoyed all the nods to the characters of the previous book and felt this gave me a greater appreciation for the tale, so I would recommend reading home in order. The use of magic sprinkled throughout the real world gives a credibility to the story making it more immersive. I don’t think I enjoyed it quite as much as the first book, which I was gushing about, but it was still fantastic and a fun read and I will definitely be reading more from this author.

The narrator was great, I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy her rendition as much as Nick Rawlingson who read the prequel, but luckily she was excellent.

“‘Twice upon a time – for that is how some stories should continue – there was a mother whose daughter was stolen from her.”

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Land of Lost Things’ by John Connolly. It is narrated by Lucy Paterson.

This is Connolly’s long anticipated follow-up to his 2006 ‘The Book of Lost Things’. I quickly realised that I was enjoying it and so purchased its ebook edition so that I could read along with listening to the audiobook.

The lead character is Ceres whose eight-year-old daughter, Phoebe, is in a coma following a car accident. Ceres reads aloud the fairy stories that Phoebe loves, hoping that they might call her back to this world.

After a time Phoebe is transferred to Lantern House, outside of Bletchley. It is a charitable care facility exclusively for children with a specialisation in brain injuries. We learn that the charity had been set up by David, who was the young protagonist of ‘The Book of Lost Things’. We also learn of his life following those events.

When Ceres explores David’s dilapidated house in the hospital grounds she enters the same fantastical world that he had decades before. It is a land that is influenced by Ceres's childhood memories and the folklore beloved of her father. It is a land of witches and dryads, of giants and the Fae. A land where an old enemy waits and watches.

While there a few fairytales told to Ceres, the focus is more on her journey through the Land and her encounters with various people and creatures. She meets up with the Huntsman, who played a major role in ‘The Book of Lost Things’. They had great chemistry with plenty of banter. I especially enjoyed their encounter with a rather feisty Rapunzel.

Each chapter is headed with an obscure word and its definition. Most are from Old English though there’s a sprinkling from other eras and regions. This added an extra layer to the narrative.

Ceres seemed a suitable name for the lead character given it is the name of the Roman fertility goddess whose daughter Proserpina had been stolen by Pluto and carried off to the Underworld.

With respect to the narration, Lucy Paterson is a well established voice actor with over a hundred audiobook titles listed as well as voicing video games and conventional acting credits. She has a beautiful, rich voice and I felt that she was a perfect choice to read this book. She drew me deeply into the story.

Overall, I found ‘The Land of Lost Things’ a wonderful book and a testimony to John Connolly’s skills as a storyteller. It was funny in parts, moving in others; full of wisdom, brimming with imaginative scenes and well realised characters. Definitely one of my top books of 2023.

Highly recommended.

Before I write my review I have to say that I am an avid reader of John Connolly's books, particularly the Charlie Parker series of novels ( if you haven't read them, I urge you to start!).
The Land of Lost Things is a sequel to the Book of Lost Things. The Book of Lost Things is the story of David a 12 year old boy who is grief stricken by the death of his mother, retreating into books of myths and fairytales. But David is lured by the sound of his mother's voice into a land of heroes and villians. Chief amongst them is the Crooked Man.
The Land of Lost Things takes place years later when David has mysteriously vanished. The story tells the tale of Phoebe, an 8 year old girl left in a coma as the result of a car accident and of her mother, Ceres. Cere's can only sit at Phoebe's bedside reading her the fairytales that her daughter loved in the hope that Phoebe will hear her are respond.
Drawn to an old house in the hospital grounds that is connected to David's story, Ceres finds herself drawn into a land coloured by stories of her childhood and by the myths told to her by her late father.
John Connolly has brilliant continued the story telling of David into this tale of Ceres and Phoebe. It is a wonderful creation.
This review is based on an audio book supplied to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It is beautifully read by Lucy Patterson. Having listened and relistened to her narration I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy of the book. Wonderful!

Ceres is suffering every parent’s worst nightmare. Her daughter Phoebe is in a coma, and she is lost without her.
So in hope of getting some response Ceres reads to Phoebe. Tales of folklore and fable.
She visits a strange house close to the hospital and realises that this property and the book she’s reading are intertwined.
Before Ceres can stop herself she is inside and is taken to a lost land. One with giants witches, wolves and dryads.
This becomes a journey hope, fear and friendship, a journey fraught with danger and an enemy watching and waiting.
Will she find answers and salvation for her and her daughter in The Land of Lost Things?
I’ve read every book John Connolly has written and can without hesitation this novel is as good as anything he has written.
I was utterly engrossed with this story. The audio narration by Lucy Paterson is first class. Her ability to draw the listener in with her emotions and storytelling is quite remarkable.
One of the best novels of the year. Simply superb.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this in return for an honest review.

I unfortunately requested this by mistake so I do apologise and wish you loads of luck for publishing day :)

4.5 stars. The perfect tale for lovers of language, stories, and books. Life is infinitely difficult for Ceres as her young daughter Phoebe lies in a long-term coma in hospital, lost between life and death. When Phoebe is moved to another hospital for her care, Ceres reads to her from a volume of Fairy Tales. She is soon drawn to an old volume of tales in the hospital grounds that draws her into a magical world of witches and other magical creatures the world from The Book of Lost Things. While it is not necessary to have read The Book of Lost Things, it will help shape the fantasy world of this book. A cleverly written and engrossing story. I immensely loved listening to the audiobook version of this story. The female narrator perfectly forms the voice of Ceres , expressing her emotional journey with such passion #thelandoflostthings #johnconnolly #netgalley #audiobook

An interesting read that looked at the importance of stories in our lives.

The beginning of the book was very emotional and made me really empathise with the main character, Ceres. After an accident leaves her young daughter in a coma, she struggles to carry on. When she discovers a mysterious book, she is drawn into a dark fairytale world, filled with peril and seemingly influenced by the stories she was told as a child. In this world she must fight to get back to her daughter and not give up. I

didn’t realise this was a sequel when I picked it up. I think I would have got a lot more from this book if I had read the first one as it seemed like there were many references to thinks I missed.

However, I thought the book was well written, with strong characters and plot and an excellent narrator..

The Land of Lost Things is a sequel to The Book of Lost things, but you can read them separately and it won’t impact. I loved this, I’m such a fan of John Connolly and his books never disappoint.

"Here is my story: I had a daughter once, but she was stolen from me and left in her place was a doll in her image."

Ceres' eight-year-old daughter Phoebe is in a coma following an accident, with few friends and family far away, she agrees to her being moved to a care facility in the country. While there she discovers the work of the long missing author whose legacy funds the facility, an author whose sole book will be all too familiar to anyone who's read The Book of Lost Things. Exploring the grounds of an abandoned building on the grounds she finds herself mysteriously transported to the titular Land of Lost Things. A land that's filled with characters both old and new and influenced in new ways by her presence.

As much as I enjoy John Connolly's Charlie Parker thrillers The Book of Lost is far and away my favourite of his works. So, to hear that he was revisiting the setting after so long, albeit with a new central character, came as a pleasant surprise. The change of protagonist from a son in search of his missing mother to a mother who fears she's losing her daughter changes the dynamic of the story and adds new emotional impact.

Woven throughout the narrative are a series of fairy tales narrated by Ceres and the Woodsman. Fairy tales of the darkest kind, where actions have consequences and people live and die by those consequences. These are a pleasure in their own right and stand alone as individual vignettes. I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing that John Connolly would write more of these and can only hope we get this if not a full third visit.

Could this being a sequel, of sorts, to The Book of Lost Things have an impact on your enjoyment? Not really. I suspect that those who've read the first book will get a greater appreciation, but for anyone who hasn't The Land of Lost Things works well as a stand-alone volume.

It's been almost thirty years since I last listened to an audio book, the format this was supplied in thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, and I did wonder if that would have an impact on my enjoyment of the book. I needn't have worried. Lucy Paterson is an engaging narrator, who admirably manages to give a unique voice to each of the myriad characters. I suspect one or two minor characters, were they to meet, would have the same voice, but that's to be expected in a story filled with so many characters.

I enjoyed this audio book, and the narrator has an almost off hand way of speaking that I like - as though she doesn't try too hard, she's just letting you in on what's happening, almost like a friend gossiping. That's a compliment by the way, it feels really natural!

Note: I will be reviewing the print book separately, this is a review for the audio book.

I was surprised when I saw that a sequel was finally being released after such a long wait for The Book of Lost Things but delighted to be granted early access to an ARC of the audiobook. I actually enjoyed this more than book one (which I reread a week ago in preparation for this!) it centres on a woman whose daughter is in a coma following an accident who ends up travelling to Elsewhere. I really enjoyed the links to the previous book, it’s a different story with different enemies and dangers but very much of the same atmosphere and magic. I loved how the book written in the last book is part of the story-thought that being able to reference David in that way was very clever. If you enjoyed the previous instalment of this series this book was well worth the wait.

I read the first of these books, The Book of Lost Things, about 15 years ago but I loved it then and it left a great impression on me so I was very pleased to see a sequel being released, The Land of Lost Things. This story centres around Ceres, a mother whose child, Phoebe, is in a coma after a hit and run accident. Ceres is struggling to cope with the stress of the situation and, when her daughter is moved to a hospital with an abandoned building in the grounds, finds herself led into the world of fairy tales and stories that her father studied and brought her up on. I loved the emphasis on the power of story telling and the idea that we become part of a book as much as it becomes part of us, the characters she encounters (especially Rapunzel!) and the connections between it and The Book of Lost Things. It's a very engrossing story, often very funny but also very disturbing at times, just like all the best fairy tales.

I listened to the audio version of the book and really enjoyed it - the narrator did a great job of presenting it as a novel but also with the overtones of being told a fairy tale within it, giving these stories a different tone to the rest of the book. I always prefer an audiobook with a single narrator and she did a great job of giving everyone a distinctive sound so it was very easy to follow.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy in return for an honest review,

#TheLandofLostThings #NetGalley

I believe that the first disservice I done to this book, was thinking that I’d read the prequel, when in fact I hadn’t, that made the story a little hard for me to follow. That’s on me and I’ll be looking to rectify that.

Despite being confused. I did thoroughly enjoy the story, it’s a story of witches, and folklore and magic, but at the root of it, it’s a story about learning to heal from grief. Highly recommend, although I’d definitely suggest reading “The Book of Lost things” first. The narration is brilliant too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton LTD for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I'm a big Connolly fan, so will enjoy most things he writes.
This one is the first time I've listened rather than read, and it was a good choice.
This one I more than liked.
It's definitely in my list of best books of the year.
My memories of the previous book are very vague, so I'm sure this works well as a stand alone.
It takes fairy tales and puts a darker spin on them.
Full of great characters (I'm looking at you Ceres, Woodman and David) and moments of genuine creepiness , and tension, it was a complete joy to listen to.
Also, it's surprisingly funny.
Laugh out loud at times.
It's been a long wait for this one to come, but it was worth it.

This book took me on a magical journey in way I never expected.
The Land of Lost Things is a sequel to The Book of Lost things. I have not read the first but I don't think that diminished my enjoyment at all.
Initially the story of Ceres, a thirty something mother to eight year old Pheobe, seemed to be a modern tale of lost souls. Gradually though, I was led into a very different world, a world in which nameless fears were personified; battles fought and a quest undertaken. This audio version was narrated by Lucy Patterson whose effortless transition between characters helped the story to flow evenly throughout.
John Connolly's writing reminded me of Celtic folk stories as well as the perhaps more widely known fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. I found it engaging, thought-provoking and very enjoyable.

The book is published on 7th September 2023.
I am grateful to Netgalley for the advance copy.