I loved this so much I went straight to Amazon and bought the first in this (I hope continuing) series. The reason for writing about the left-handed booksellers (yes, that sinister, not the evil one), that Garth Nix went into a bookseller in Bath and noticed the person serving him was left handed. And that bookseller mentioned that today, ALL the booksellers on duty were left-handed...
Amazing writing, good fast action (which I always like) and a fat slab of other worldliness within our own world. Totally recommended.

Review time:
The sinister booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Release date: 21st March 2023

Review: where do I start with this book it throws us back in the world that Garth Nix built in the left handed booksellers of London and he builds it more here, we are in a alternate 1980’s timeline and it makes me smile so much. The book is action packed, heart in the mouth moments. We go back to Susan and Merlin, Merlin is still the flamboyant self with the most amazing wardrobe, the way that the wardrobe is described makes you feel that you are back in the 80’s or what I know of the 80’s. This world has so much and I cannot wait until I have the copy of this to add to my ever growing Garth Nix collection because when the word auto buy author is brought up I do not even have to know what he is writing it will always be the one to go into my basket.

This book is amazing and if you enjoyed the first you will no doubt enjoy this. Bath and the descriptions make you feel you follow it around. You can tell that Garth Nix has visited the locations before because of the way he writes about them.

Thank you for @netgalley and @orionpublishinggroup for approving my request this book was everything I needed in the lead up to the end of 2022 and I cannot wait for you all to read it.

When I read the last page in The Left Handed Bookseller of London I hope there was going to be more books featuring these characters and to be able to travel to this alternate 80s UK soon.
It took more than two years but I did a happy dance when I was approved for the arc of The Sinister Booksellers of Bath and was able to catch up with Susan, Merlin and intriguing world of the bookseller and the Ancient spirits.
This book is even better than the first: we get to know more about the booksellers and meet a very dangerous Ancient with some serial killer tendencies.
There’s a lot of character development: Susan is facing her growing powers and discovering more about the books sellers, Merlin is a strong characters that I like.
I loved this plot that kept me turning pages and I hope there will other books in this series as there’s still a lot to learn and I’m not ready to say goodbye to these characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

When the Booksellers investigate a sorcerous map they uncover a number of disappearances which date back centuries and a sinister hunt that is gathering power to release an unknown entity. Susan finds herself reluctantly drawn back into the world of the Booksellers and she is now the focus of the murderous hunt.

The sequel to The Left-Handed Booksellers of London takes us deeper into the secret world of gods and monsters. This time the action is split between London and Bristol and the stakes are even higher. Another highly entertaining story from Garth Nix.

My thanks to NetGalley and Gollancz for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this, hoping for more in this series but more than happy to wait.

A wonderful adventure, this time dealing with an unknown ancient entity and the lengths “people” will go to to keep family safe. We meet Susan and Merlin again, as well as some of the other booksellers, and we also meet a host of new characters.

This is the very best kind of storytelling, sheer escapism and beautiful descriptions. Totally magical.

My favourite thing is that it’s all set in the early 80s, so information is still very much held in private collections and not Google-able. There’s a real need for bookseller guardians, who know so much more about the supernatural perils that our beloved island faces.

“The Sinister Booksellers of Bath” is the second in a new series by Garth Nix. I really hope there will be more!

The book is the continuation of Susan and Merlin’s complex relationship and their respective inherited powers. Susan is the daughter of a powerful and ancient Sovereign and Merlin is a Left Handed Bookseller. If you have read book 1 you will know this doesn’t just mean working in a bookshop, sourcing, sorting and selling books!

The story oozes mythology, folklore and magic. When Merlin accidentally finds himself in a different place via touching a translocation map, only Susan can help. The map and the strange place he finds himself in is a creation of a powerful being or beings. Reading about the adventures and research that follows was fascinating. I found it hard to put the book down. The quirky booksellers are all quite loveable. The book is set in the 1980’s in a world that is almost ours, in fact it still could be who knows what lies beyond the reach of us mere mortals. We have to read and enjoy the rich descriptions of the landscapes, towns, pop culture and magical happenings and trust our own imaginations.

Thank you to the Orion Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. Biggest thanks to the author for giving me a brilliant opportunity to escape to a different reality for a few hours.

Garth has struck with yet another brilliant book - I absolutely loved jumping back into the world of the Booksellers. Merlin was absolutely perfect again, I can't get over his character and how unique he is, definitely a favourite, and I hope to see more of him in future books.

Garth yet again created some more characters that you can really imagine, and in this book you imagine them in a rather terrifying way. I do love that about his books, you really have to create in your mind your own perception of places and characters.

We also got to meet more booksellers which I was happy about, and you heard about more of the places booksellers work so I would love to see the other Bookseller bases mentioned explored in future books too (fingers crossed).

Overall, definitely a book I could read again (and probably will)

This is a brilliant follow up to Garth Nix’s previous book set in this slightly alternative version of the 1980s, The Left Handed Book Sellers of London.
In this book, the action is set mainly in Bath and the West Country as Susan tries to live a normal life despite her newly discovered powers and relationship to the Old Man of Coniston. However, she is drawn into Book Seller affairs when they need her help to rescue Merlin who has become trapped in a garden by an ancient map.
I loved the characters of Susan and Merlin and their ongoing relationship. Merlin remains as quirky as ever with an incredible wardrobe including actual items from the BBC series of Pride and Prejudice. Susan is struggling with her magical heritage as she just wants to lead a normal life and complete her Art Studies although she comes to realise that this is going to be difficult if not impossible. I enjoyed the moments of tension between her and the booksellers as she sees that some of them don’t necessarily view her as an ally but more of a threat.
Besides the main characters, there are a whole host of minor characters, some from the previous book and many new ones who give the book real life. There are some great comic scenes involving cake as well as a very grumpy door man in the Admiralty Building in Bath. The comic scenes are an effective pause in the action which is very fast paced and involves a lot of travelling at high speed.
I loved this second episode in Garth Nix’s alternate 1983 and hope that this is not the last time we meet the Booksellers.
This probably wouldn’t work as a stand -alone as there are a lot of references to the previous adventures of Susan and Merlin so feel that you need to read the earlier book before this one.
I am really grateful to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is book two of what is shaping up to be a cracking series. For full enjoyment I suggest you read The Left-Handed Booksellers of London first as it will both introduce the world and characters, as well as giving backstory and development.
So, Susan and Merlin are still together - well one day a week anyway, Susan wanting to take a back seat in all this weird stuff she has been thrown into being the daughter of the Old Man of Coniston. She just wants to go to college and live her life normally. Yeah... good luck with that!!
So, we start in Bath this time. In, funnily enough, a bookstore. Where the booksellers are keeping an eye mostly on the entity who inhabits the hot springs the city is famous for, one Sulis Minerva. Although, that said, it is not she who is responsible for the shenanigans that ensue when an old map is discovered and Merlin is transported into it... And then it all gets a bit convoluted and weird and anything else I say about what happens will probably spoil things...
Suffice to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the world of the booksellers, both right-handed and left and the author has me fully on board with all the majical stuff that he has created around them. I was especially impressed with the story contained herein, especially following on from the explosive opening scene that right whetted my appetite for more.
Someone pointed out to me that this series is actually YA - oops, not been one of them for many decades. I say bah to that - I'm in my 50s and I love it!
If I have to criticise it would be that, apart from the main characters, the rest of the cast do lack a bit of definition. There are a bunch of them but they all seemed to merge for me rather than keep their individual personalities.
All in all, a solid follow up which leaves me hankering for more from the booksellers. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

4.5 stars
When I saw that Garth Nix had written a further adventure with the Booksellers, I knew this was going to be another brilliant read.
This book completely transports you to another world - a Bath that sounds familiar but isn’t really. It’s so clever with its links to reality.
Wizards, sorcery, Ancients and living statues - what more could you ask for in this fabulous mythical story.
I’ve loved being back with Merlin, Vivien and Susan again - their friendship and support of eachother runs strong through the whole story. The stories of the Ancients were once again filled with magic, mystery and intrigue.

If you like the first in the series, then you will love this follow up. We return to the magical world of the Booksellers, an order of soldiers and librarians who fight to keep malign mythic forces from overwhelming the modern world. It has all the characters you loved from the first book, including my favourite, Merlin, and we explore Susan's magical heritage in more detail while they battle stone giants. A real flavour of Alan Garner in this novel and I cannot wait for the next one!

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London #2
Fantasy
Garth Nix
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝑹𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑺𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝑻𝑬: 21st March 2023

The world building in this book is just brilliant. It's vibrant, full of life and well developed.

From the very first chapter there's danger and action which kept me so curious that I couldn't put this book down. The pacing was great and steady throughout the whole book too.

Although this is the second book in the series, I haven’t read the first one. This book is so well written though that I had no problems keeping up with the plot, especially because certain things from the first book were referenced to and included.

The characters were great. They were developed well and relatable. I really liked the growing relationship between Merlin and Susan, the witty banter between the characters and seeing the type of magic used in this world.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and I'll probably go back and read the first one too.

*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

So Garth Nix has returned to the world of the Lefthanded Booksellers. The first of these books The Left Handed Booksellers of London was a real pleasure to read. The world he created was kind of funky, a sort of alternative 80's in which the aforementioned Booksellers try to stop the mystical world colliding with the mortal.

We're once more treated to the return of the two main protagonists from the last book. Susan, the product of the Old Man of Coniston and a mortal woman, and Merlin, a left-handed bookseller. This time we travel to one of the other bookshops in Bath for the opening scenes. Then its straight into the story.

I love this world. There's a familiarity to it that's comforting. In my opinion, fantasy works best when there's a root that we can cling to. Then you can add the fantastical side without having to consult a map, (although I do like a map) or reread where on earth we are. Susan is a good character who in this book grows in statue. Merlin is still the wonderful oddball he was in the first installment. The old mystical world is still as enchanting. The humour is still there in spadefuls.

The pace of the story is relentless. After plunging Merlin into mortal danger in the first few chapters, there is no let up, apart from the eating of many slabs of cake. The world building is excellent. The storyline not too convoluted and yet enough to keep you guessing. I've seen this described as YA fiction. The original book I bought was from the fantasy section. I'd label it a crossover book, can be read by all ages. Unless you have a nervous disposition 😉

I look forward to reading further books in this series. Hopefully, we'll visit some of the other bookshops that are mentioned in the story. Garth Nix is back and it's a great book.

Oh, I just LOVED this book and raced through it far too quickly. The second in what I hope will be a series, it certainly didn’t disappoint. We return to the world of the left, right and evenhanded booksellers and their battle to maintain peace with the Old Ancients. All the characters from the first novel return and I would recommend that you read The Left-Handed Booksellers of London to get the most out of this book. I really don’t want to give any of the plot away as you just need to dive in and immerse yourself in this wonderful world that Garth Nix has created. I see that it has been described as a YA novel, but as I’m definitely not in that category, I think it would appeal to any age and I’m keeping everything crossed for another instalment. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC of this wonderful novel in return for an honest review.

Just as good as the first book. The first book was gifted to me by a student and I devoured it, so seeing this pop up I couldn't resist. I really enjoy Susan and Merlin and I knew to expect excitement from this second installment. The action starts straight back up and I was immediately swept away again. If you enjoyed the first book then you will surely love this one as well.