This book was totally not what I thought it would be, but because of that, I liked it better than I thought I would! Extremely lyrical and at times even poetic, I would classify this novel as a supernatural historical romance, and what’s not to like about that? I thought that the author set up the premise nicely without being over the top about Xanthe’s abilities when it came to found objects. The descriptions of ley lines were well done and accurate, and bolstered the supernatural aspect of the plot. I also thought that the author did a very good job with the historical portion in the time of King James I without it reading like a history lesson. I have studied that historical period extensively, and I found her descriptions to be accurate. The only part of the book that I did not care for was how abrupt the end seemed. After all of the build-up, and everything that Xanthe had gone through, I would have liked a better resolution of both the historical and present time lines. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

The Little Shop of Found Things is a historical mystery series with time travel and a bit of romance. It follows Xanthe, a young woman who is looking to pick up the pieces of her and her mother's lives and start anew with a little antique shop in Marlborough. Xanthe has a unique gift in that she can read artifacts upon touching them and get glimpses of their past. It is this gift that leads her time travel to the seventeenth century to right a wrong. It was reminiscent of Outlander, but I feel that it holds its own merit. The pace was really enjoyable. Xanthe was a very likeable leading lady who genuinely cares for those closest to her. Romance wasn't too overdone. I would definitely be interested in reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for this free eARC.

This is the first book I have read by Paula Brackston, and will have to pick up a few of her others.

At first, I could not get into this book. Once I got about 30% into it, it was hard to put down.

Xanthe and her mother leave London, for a fresh start. They take over a antique store in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe and her mother go to a auction, where she is drawn to a silver chatelaine.

Once she is home, examining the chatelaine, she is transported back to the seventeenth century. Shortly after, she is confronted by a ghost, who gives her a task. She has to prove a young girl is innocent, or it will cost her her mother's life.

I loved all the historical detail! Brackston did a great job, with even the smallest details. There is also a little bit of romance, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

I'm not usually interested by books with time travel or history. However, this book was fantastic. I enjoyed the relationships between characters. The mystery is well paced and keeps your interest. You feel like you are right there with Xanthe. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Xanthe and her mother, Flora, move to a small country town from London to set up an antique shop after the separation of Xanthe's parents. Xanthe has a supernatural gift that allows antiques to "sing" to her, showing her their story. When Xanthe purchases an item at a sale for her shop, the item does far more than just "sing" to her. Compelled by both a ghost and the antique item, Xanthe travels to the early 1600's to attempt to set free a young house maid accused of theft and destined to die.

I was first drawn to this novel by the wonderful cover and the title. I love all things England and quaint little shops make me happy. Stories with a supernatural twist are what I enjoy most. Brackston is an extremely detailed writer who obviously does much research about her settings in an attempt to transport the reader with heroine of the story to the 1600's.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. The book moved at an extremely slow pace. The time travel did not begin until almost 1/4 of the way through the book. The romance aspect didn't appear until the last 1/3 of the book. Many of the characters were not well fleshed out, causing it to be difficult to fully connect to the story. Xanthe and Flora's past is alluded to, but not fully explained. The ghost aspect of this story was completely unnecessary and honestly detracted from the book.

This is the second book of Brackston's that I have read and not enjoyed. I think her style is not for me and I will avoid her future novels, which is unfortunate as the concepts truly appeal to me.

**Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review****

After leaving London for a fresh start, Xanthe runs an antique store in Marlborough with her mother, Flora. Xanthe finds herself feeling a connection to the people that owned the items that they offer for sale in the shop. Then it becomes more than just a feeling....she touches one item and finds herself transported back to 1605. A ghost demands Xanthe's help with righting an injustice.

This book is such a nice blend of supernatural, mystery and romance. It's a bit like Outlander meets antique-ing. I found the plot creative and interesting...I didn't want to stop reading! This book is a nice start to a new series. I can't wait to find out what object might send Xanthe back into the past in the next book!

Paula Brackston is the author of several other books including The Witch's Daughter series. The Little Shop of Found Things is the first book by Brackston that I have read. I'm definitely going to check out her other books!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I heard somewhere that this book was bound to enchant fans of Outlander, so when I saw it available for request for request on #NetGalley, I had to ask if I could read it. Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read it in exchange for an honest review.

The book indeed lived up to what I had heard. I was immediately drawn into the story of Xanthe and her mother Flora and had trouble putting the book down until I had finished it and even then, I just wished that it would go on so I could find out more. The book is the first in a series but doesn't not end in a big cliffhanger although it lends itself to more very easily.

As the story begins Xanthe and her mother are settling in to a new home and antique store in the historic town of Marlborough. They have come as a result of a devastating divorce, in the hopes of finding a way to earn an income and rebuild their lives. On arrival their situation immediately becomes more difficult when Flora's husband appeals the divorce decision leaving them in a state of limbo with very little cash on hand.

Life is even more complicated because Flora is dealing with a chronic illness in the form of arthritis. I was quite surprised to see this as it isn't something that typically gets covered very much in the books that I have read and yet it has an integral part of this story. It captured my attention in a very personal way because I have been living with rheumatoid arthritis since the age of 28 (I'm now 64) and also developed osteoarthritis somewhere along the way. While I was pleased to see it covered in the book, the author never declared what kind of arthritis Flora had. I suspect from the descriptions that it was probably rheumatoid arthritis but the author never came out and specified. This was the one weakness I found in the story. Flora had to use crutches and yet the vast majority of people with RA cannot handle crutches because it places too much strain on the other joints. Flora even went through a flare as part of the story where her hands became like claws. This too sounds to me like rheumatoid disease. The average reader is not likely to notice this at all and although it puzzled me, it didn't keep me from enjoying the wonderful story and while Flora is around through most of the book, and her illness makes her daughter Xanthe much easier to manipulate, it is Xanthe's experiences that really matter in the book.

Xanthe is a fascinating character who has been through hard times. Her criminal boyfriend dumped her and left her to deal with the consequences of his crimes. Her father has been singularly unsupportive and she is very concerned for her mother's health. She has always been able to sense things about some of the items that she comes into contact with (they sing to her) - a potentially useful skill for someone dealing with antiques. Soon after her arrival in town, she and her mother attend a local auction and one item sings out to her with an intensity that she has never felt before.
A very old chatelaine is up for bids and though it blows their budget completely, Xanthe has to have it regardless of the cost. Little does she know that there is a ghost in her home that is watching and waiting to draw Xanthe in and place her in a position where she can save the ghost's daughter from death.

How Xanthe moves back through time to the early 1600's and what happens while she is there make for a fascinating read that really educates as to one of the major issues of the day, the religious divide between protestants and Catholics, who can be sentenced to death if their belief system becomes known. It was not an easy time to live and be an girl but the author did an excellent job of setting the stage and keeping up the pace to keep the audience involved.

Within it's pages the book has lots to please the reader, including action, struggle, endurance, romance and rich historic details even as Xanthe moves from time to time. The author has a wonderful way with words and her descriptions made me want to stop and read them aloud to anyone near-by. I highly recommend this book if you have an interest in history or time travel. 4.5 stars.

An enjoyable time travel tale featuring a woman with a strange ability to "read" objects and learn about their past owners.
On foot of a really bad breakup and the disintegration of her parent's marriage , Xanthe moves to Marlborough to open an antique shop with her mother. At an auction she notices a seventeenth century silver chatelaine that seems to sing to her. Driven to bid for the piece she brings it home, only to find that something sinister is happening. A mysterious spirit appears and she is thrown back into the past, where she must try to save an innocent young woman from hanging.
The premise behind this book, which promises to be the first in a new series, is a really clever and interesting one, having a character that can connect to the past through an item leaves the field wide open to a range of interesting possibilities. The character of Xanthe herself is an interesting one, she has a difficult past which leaves her understandably reluctant to trust , and having that wall that she has built up be tested both in the past and the present makes for a more interesting than the average love triangle. The pacing of the book is good, building steadily to an exciting conclusion, and the writing style is clear , with some truly beautiful descriptive passages about the area the book is set in. Another highlight is the wonderful cast of characters the author has populated the area with, from a vintage obsessed cafe owner to a history buff barman. These people really come to life on the page and bring a nice extra depth to what is already an enjoyable book.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own,.

This book starts off very slow. Once Xanthe met Samuel I didn't want to put the book down. The lengths Xanthe goes through to help Alice is quite something. The love she has for Samuel will not be lost through the centuries. I really do hope that there are more books because I really need to know what happens with Xanthe and Samuel. You find a lot of history and antiques in this book. You also find a little magic.



*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

3.5 stars

The Little Shop of Found Things is the first in a series about Xanthe Westlake, a young woman possessed of psychometric powers- she can sense the history of object, complete with visual imagery of the history of previous owners. On the face of it, this is an exciting skill, especially for an antique dealer looking for insights into the provenance of an article. On the other hand, when the ghosts start talking to you and demanding things, and you fall into another time about 400 years ago, you're looking at some serious challenges. A silver chatelaine poses just that problem. It comes with a haunting Martha Merton, and her wrongfully accused daughter Alice, one very appealing Samuel Appleby, and the mystery of missing parts of the chatelaine.

This is a quick, enjoyable read but not particularly deep. It develops slowly and in all honesty I didn't feel it was particularly novel in its use of time travel. (That may be because the bar is set so high in the past year because of reading Diana Gabaldon and Octavia Butler novels using the plot device.) Nevertheless, I'd pick up the next in the series to see if Xanthe can find her way back to see Samuel again.

(blog review includes an image of a chatelaine here)

A silver chatelaine from the mid-1800's, Victoria and Albert Museum

I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from St. Martin's Press, along with a paper review copy, in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 50%
This book moved way to slowly for me to keep going. I wanted to like it and I wanted to like the characters but I just couldn't connect to them. No one seemed to be doing what they wanted to and so their motivations were not captivating. Maybe I'll pick this book up again another time, but for now it's just not grabbing me. Like I said, interesting story and concept, but not so interesting execution.

This was a wonderfully magical read. The time period was well researched and so well described that I could easily picture everything. The ending concluded the storyline, but left the characters open for a sequel. Highly recommended for fans of Susanna Kearsley.

3.5 rounded up to a 4.

"The Little Shop of Found Things" is the first book that I have read by Paula Braxton, and now that I have started this series, I will definitely keep my eye open for its sequel/sequels. That being said, the slightly lower review was because I had a difficult time getting into the story. It took me quite a while to get through the first 34% of the book, and I almost wanted to set it aside because the pacing and story did not interest me at first. It took me less than 2 days to finish once the action and plot of the story started to pick up though.

The premise is fun- the main character, Xanthe, is setting up an antique shop with her mother. Some antiques "sing" to her, and her connection to one of these items causes her to travel back in time to the 17th century. The author does her best to explain away some more problematic things that a character could have travelling back in time- clothing, speech, etc... but at times, I couldn't really suspend my disbelief. It was a bit too jarring to have someone wholly unprepared to go back in time to magically fit in and thrive. Once I decided to put some of these problems aside and just enjoy the book for what it was, it did end up being a fun, almost light-hearted novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book- I am happy to write this review and look forward to seeing Xanthe's future adventures!

In this story, Xanthe and her mother Flora have just purchased an antiques shop as a fresh start after a going through a hard time. We learn that Xanthe can sometimes feel "memories" associated with certain items. Shortly after moving into the apartment above the shop, Xanthe aquires a chatelaine and feels a very strong connection to it. Around this time, a ghost that inhabits the house with some unresolved issues shows herself to Xanthe and threatens her mother with harm unless Xanthe uses the chatelain to go back in time to 1605 and save her daughter from hanging.

Xanthe decides to travel back and try to save the girl, and meets a man who helps her along the way.

Now, having read this blurb it sounds like it would be a pretty exciting book right? not quite.

This book is not very long, however it took me over 2 weeks to read. Because it just wasn't very interesting. Nothing about this book had me racing to get back to it until about the 65% mark. I just really didn't care what happened to the characters. Samuel (her love interest), was the most interesting character and he really didn't have a huge role to play until much later in the book.

This is the first book in a series, and I am hoping that all the set up at the beginning is perhaps just to get things going for the series.

Also, the name of our heroine - Xanthe. I had to look up how to pronounce it (apparently its Zanthee), I just really didn't care for it. I know it's a small thing but had to be said lol.

I'm a big fan of time travel stories. This one took me a good chunk to get into it. I'm not sure why. Overall a decent but pretty standard novel.

I was definitely drawn to this book by the cover and description. It held promises of spending a few days or so in a magical place, but as the book progressed, I developed mixed feelings about the story.

I liked the air of mystery surrounding the main character, Xanthe, and her ability to know things about the previous owners of the objects she touched. I felt that the characters were well fleshed out, and therefore, they became real to me as the author continued to add touches to bring them to life. I also appreciated that the characters didn’t curse, and even though sex was mentioned, there weren’t any graphic scenes.

The problem was that although I don’t actively seek out time travel books, I’ve read a few and watched television shows that involved the practice, and I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Xanthe’s travel was so limited. She could not go to a previous point to alter what happened before the events she was experiencing. She had to keep moving forward to deal with the consequences of the act. I also didn’t understand Alice’s mother, a ghost, who would want to change the past and be so incredibly mean about it.

Overall, the book was well written, and even with the small problems I had with it, I felt it was worthy of a four star rating. Since the book ended in a way that felt like a sequel was a possibility, I’d love to see how the author would continue the story.

A first time time travel reader and I could not stop reading. I was nervous at the start but the characters and history drew me into this genre of writing. I was mesmerized. I will look forward to reading the next book written in the series.

The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston. New York, St. Martin’s Press, 2019.

This book is about antique dealer Flora and her daughter Xanthe who live in an English market town in the present day and Margaret and her daughter Alice who lived near there in the 17th century. Each daughter is imprisoned after being accused of a crime she did not commit; as the story begins Xanthe is free while Alice is not. While travelling back and forth through time to save Alice, Xanthe, who has the extra sensory gift psychometry and at least two transferable artistic talents, meets and is helped by an appealing gentleman in each era. The book is well written and progresses at an appealing pace. Historical and descriptive details woven through help the reader understand and visualize what is happening. There are several nicely developed characters in each time period that further support the story. Overall, time travel aside, I found this story to be realistic, glad that I did not encounter distracting details that made me stop and ask myself if this really could be happening. I was surprised that the author did not try to create parallel characters and situations and liked the book better because she did not. The ending is also acceptable and reasonable.
I read historical fiction constantly and look for books with time travel themes, always happy when I can find good ones. I really enjoyed reading this book. I didn’t absolutely love it as I do Susanna Kearsley’s books, similar in a way, but I really liked it. It left me wanting to know more about the earlier period and wanting to visit the market town. I understand that this is the first in a new series a look forward to reading more of Paula Brackston’s work.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Little Shop of Found Things free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The electronic copy I received does not have a cover; I did not notice the cover until after I read the book. It is perfect – I love it!



I will add to Amazon.ca once the book is released and they begin accepting reviews.

Xanthe has always has a special gift--antique items "sing" to her and she's able to sense something of their past and the stories they hold. Xanthe and her mother, Fiona, move to rural England to take over an antique shop. While shopping for inventory, she discovers a silver chatelaine (key ring) that calls to her. After bringing the chatelaine home, Xanthe sets about restoring the chatelaine and is transported back to the 17th century. Startled, she thinks of her mother and is instantly sent home--only to find herself face to face with the resident ghost. The ghost reveals to Xanthe the origins of the chatelaine, an injustice done that's tied to the chatelaine and tasks her with saving an innocent girl's life. Xanthe resists at first, fearing being permanently separated from her mother, but the ghost threatens Flora's life and Xanthe reluctantly agrees to go back to 1605.

When Xanthe arrives back in 1605, she meets architect Samuel Abbleby, who has a connection both to the innocent victim and to the home that Xanthe now owns in the future. He is the one person who can help her succeed with her quest, but he's also the one person she's reluctant to leave. The book ends rather abruptly and without good closure on the relationship between Samuel and Xanthe. The ending seems to indicate a sequel, which is good, because I have to now how Xanthe's story ends!


Note: I was provided this book free from #netgalley in exchange for my unbiased review of the material.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston starts with a girl, Xanthe, and her mother, Flora starting a new adventure together in Marlborough. Xanthe has a gift she can touch antiques and see the story behind the antiques. She comes across a chatelaine in an auction sale that turns out to have belonged to someone in the seventeenth century. While examining it she gets transported to the seventeenth century where she encounters a ghost that needs her help. On her journey to help the ghost she falls in love with an architect who is supposed to be helping her.

*Sigh*.... Where do I start?

For starters, I want to start on a positive note and say I love Paula Brackston’s writing. This was well written and her writing style is beautiful.
After reading the synopsis I said to myself’ Ooo! What a fun read this sounds. A girl with a gift that becomes attached to a chatelaine and gets sent back to the seventeenth century to help a ghost? UM YES PLS’. But it just completely fell short for me. I wish there was more action, more mystery solving, and less romance.

I am deeply saddened at the result of this book. In the beginning of the book I was completely absorbed and enjoying every second of it. Once I got to 40%, the book slowed down. I figured ‘okay this happens it will pick back up again’, that wasn’t the case for me. The book just continued to drag and bore me. I was so sad and determined to get to the end of this book but I just simply could not.
I typically am a quick reader but this took me forever to get to just 70%! If i am fascinated by a book I will find every second of the day to read it but this book was just not doing it for me. I found myself constantly putting it down and distracting myself with something else.
As much as I wanted to love Xanthe, she seemed a little flat to me. I felt like she could’ve had a little more character in her especially for how she was portrayed.
Also, I struggle with enjoying ‘early modern english’ which there was a lot of being that Xanthe was transported to the seventeenth century and all.

I saw this is a beginning of a new series so I am hoping I can find it in me to complete this one in attempts to try out book #2. While this worked for some readers, it just simply didn’t for me.