When I started this ARC I was unaware it was a sequel but I still enjoyed my time with the story! I was able to pick it up before book one and still catch the story!

If you are a fan of The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane, then you will love to see the gang back at it again with The Secret of White Stone Gate! Lots of crime-solving and twists to keep you entertained just like the first in the series. A must-read for my students who love mystery!

It was great to see the beloved characters of The Mysterious Benedict Society return! I read this to my boys over one weekend and they couldn’t get enough. The end of the story hints at a third book, so we are eagerly awaiting it!

This is a very unbalanced story. So unbalanced that I struggle with what to rate it as... I've gone with 3 stars as that is right in the middle and as neutral as I can get. What I want to rate it is as 2 stars for the first 80% that is boring and seriously lacking plot; but 5 stars for the explosive ending.
We are dropped into the story a couple of months after book 1. Everyone is back at the school, our lead gal's father's mystery is mostly still shrouded (plus the spoiler from book 1 is known), and the secret society seems to have gone mostly underground; but of course not entirely.
I can't say much about this without giving away too much of book 1 or the wonderful ending. So I'll leave it as this: If you loved book 1 and really like these characters, continue to this, book 2. If you didn't love book 1 and were already thinking about giving up on the series; then do so. It'll save you the pain of the majority of this book.
The magical question of course being will I read book 3? Maybe... but I won't be rushing to do so like I did following book 1.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review,

A great middle-grade book for my students! I really love the mysterious aspects and think that the whole series is a great fit for them.

I loved The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane and the sequel did not disappoint. When Emmy returns back to Wellsworth for her second year of school she is really hoping that all of the drama and danger of the past year is gone, but she soon finds out that her hopes are dashed. She finds that she is being used by some very powerful people and her friends are in danger because of it. Will there be a book three?? I sure hope so!

Sorry, read this one a while back and just forgot to review it. I liked this one a bit more than I did the first one. Lola is in trouble and Emmy knows they are not out of danger from the order and have to figure out what happens.
Fun, but maybe not my favorite mystery series.

While not as good as the previous installment, this is a solid Middle Grade read with engaging characters and setting.

Emmy and her friends face threats that never feels quite High Stakes enough for the reader, though if you try to put yourself in their shoes (as I suspect younger readers might), the threats become worse for their mundanity. Your best friend getting framed for theft and kicked out of school? Could happen. Discovering a secret society with chambers deep beneath your school? Probably not so much.

I enjoyed this book and recommend the series for MG readers, but I do hope that Book 3 will bring back more of the big set pieces and momentum of Book 1.

I loved the first book in this series because of its dark and mysterious plot line. Emmy’s harrowing adventure in her first year at Wellsworth had me itching for more. It’s no secret that I love a good secret society, especially when there is a nefarious plot mixed in there. When I was finally able to get my hands on The Secret of White Stone Gate my excitement was palpable. So did it live up to my expectations? Oh yes, yes friends it did.

First off, Emmy was still the same intelligent and feisty young woman that I remembered from the first book. If she was a little more reserved, I understood that was only because the reality of her situation had hit her hard. This new Emmy was more street savvy, and so focused on protecting those around her that it made me heart hurt a little bit. Imagine being responsible for the safety of so many people at such a young age, and what a burden that would be. I knew that this book was likely going to be a bit darker than the first one was, and I was right.

The Secret of White Stone Gate excellently brings Emmy’s story further down the path to fully understanding who The Order of Black Hollow Lane is and what they truly want. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t go too far into detail, but it was very satisfying to finally get more information on Emmy’s father. There is the perfect amount of tension here to balance out the growth that Emmy makes as a person. Plus, as usual, Emmy’s best friends are there to back to her up no matter what dangers face them.

Long story short, this was a wonderful follow up to Julia Nobel’s first book. I genuinely hope that there is more coming, and that Emmy continues to be the type of heroine that I love. My reader heart eagerly awaits the chance to find out what happens next!

This was a clever sequel to Nobel's first book, The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane. Fans will enjoy this follow-up and the chance to spend more time with Emmy and the crew at the mysterious Wellsworth academy. With a whole new mystery, as well as some familiar villains, this is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

The Secret of White Stone Gate is the sequel to The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane, and it didn't quite work as well for me as the first book did. Some of that is the settling-in nature of second books, I think: Emmy's back at Wellsworth, but the Order of Black Hollow Lane is convinced that she can lead them to her fugitive father. They wage a no-holds-barred campaign against Emmy, including putting pressure on her mom's social-climbing relatives and getting one of her best friends kicked out of school. The plot rambles a bit as Emmy tries to get ahead of the all-powerful Order, but there's plenty of drama when they face off at a climactic auction at the British Museum. A lot of the boarding school fun of the first book continues here, but I didn't love the random evil cousin (and I really want Emmy's mom to get it together — in the first book, it was sympathetic, but now she just seems like a terrible parent) and despite all the stuff happening (expulsion! car chases! people faking their own deaths!), not much actually happens that moves the plot forward. I like Emmy's world and I was happy to be back, but I'm hoping book three brings a little more resolution.

The Secret of White Stone Gate by Julia Nobel consumed me from start to finish. The eeriness greeted me and accompanied me throughout the entire story.

This Middle Grade read is perfect for tweens and adults alike. Each of the characters is well developed. There twists the entire time. Some as an adult I figured out some and others still took me by surprise. No one could be trusted by either the characters or the reader. I did not realize when reading this that it was a sequel. I never felt lost or confused.

I received an electronic advanced reader copy from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

The Secret of White Stone Gate is the second book in a series. I have read the first book and would recommend reading it before The Secret of White Stone Gate in order to fully appreciate the sequel. The mystery in the second book is just as good as the first..

I received The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane when it was published last year and absolutely adored it, so when I received this one, I was so excited to read it in the hopes that it would be just as good as the first. Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed!

One of my favorite things about this series is the realistic portrayal of friendships. The kind of friendships where friends lay their heads on each others' shoulders out of habit, where they admit they would be lost without each other, which is one so similar to how I am with my best friends even now that we're adults.

I still love Emmy, Lola, and Jack, and I was so happy to jump back into their world! Larraby was still as annoying as ever, as was Brynn. And don't even get me started on Lucy. *eye-roll* Oliver was an absolute sweetheart (Jack's family is quickly growing on me), and I loved him throughout this entire book! Sam was such a fun addition, and while he was a very good part of the story, at times it did kind of feel like he was only added to be a love interest, so I'm hoping he gets some character development in the next book. Emmy's mother was really frustrating once again; she tries to control her daughter's life when she has no idea what her daughter or her new life is like.

The plot was still a bit predictable in some parts, however, there were a couple of times when I was caught off guard and I love when that happens! I will also admit that Emmy made me a little mad with her "what could the adults possibly do to help" mentality. While I can see where she was coming from, especially with the level of corruption the Order has caused, she has adults whom she knows to be trustworthy and she still refused to ask them for help, and it almost caused a lot of problems for her and her loved ones.

All-in-all, this book made me angry, sad, and most of all, so happy that I smiled and laughed out loud more than once. I highly recommend this series and I'm so excited for the next installment!

This book was just as good as the first one! I loved it and bought it for my library. I love following Emmy’s adventures. The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane is continually on hold in my library because I keep talking about it. This book will be in hot demand as well.

This is the second book in the Black Hollow Lane series which follows a young girl named Emmy who is shipped off to a boarding school to England by her mother.

You can read my full review of that book on my blog here:<b> <a href="https://aelilyreads.com/2019/10/09/book-review-the-mystery-of-black-hollow-lane-by-julia-nobel/">click me</a></b>

We're back at Wellsworth Boarding School for year 2 of Emmy's studies and even more dangerous adventures!!

Uh...right?

Once again, this reminded me a lot of Harry Potter but with not so much of the magic and charm. There's even some Dursley-ish characters thrown in but they're so one dimensional and all yap and no bite that it just made me roll my eyes.

The plot is...odd. It's all over the place really and I found my eyes glaze over while reading it. It's a fast read but I didn't find it all too enjoyable and this entire business with The Order is just wearing thin on me.

I still loathe Emmy's mother with my entire heart by the way.

I feel that perhaps this series just isn't for me and that's okay. Not every book is a right fit but I'm glad I gave it another try.

2.5/5

Thanks very much to the publisher and Netgalley for this copy of my ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Secret of The White Stone Gate is a great page-turning follow up to The Mystery at Black Hollow Lane. It is populated by interesting and well-written characters. If you liked the first one I don't think you'll be disappointed by this sequel. I will definitely continue with this series.

Who can you trust? This is the question posed in The Secret of White Stone Gate, the second in the series by Julia Noble. The first chapters quickly remind readers of what transpired in the first book, The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane, so it is easy to pick up the ongoing plot and life in the boarding school in England. Emmy has returned to Wellsworth after a summer in Connecticut with her mother, ready to reconnect with her close friends Lola and Jack who oppose the Order. When Emmy finds a mysterious note from her father, and Lola is accused of a crime, and pressure mounts from the Order to reveal her father’s whereabouts, Emmy finds she must face the Order once again. Although a enjoyable read, this book lacked the tension and complexity of the first book, but will appeal to middle readers with the focus on the friendship of the kids bonding together in an ethical battle.

This is a great follow up to the first book in the series.
I love the characters, they are very relatable and deal with mostly normal problems except for the whole secret society trying to kill and blackmail Emmy.
I figured our the plot fairly quickly but I think its a great mystery for upper elementary students.

"In this exciting sequel to The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane, Emmy's adventures continue as she deals with a sinister organization, a missing father, and secrets she's not sure who to trust with.

After spending the summer at home in Connecticut, Emmy cannot wait to return to Wellsworth for the new school year and reunite with her best friends, Lola and Jack. Before she leaves Emmy receives a note from her father telling her to hide the remaining relics The Order of Black Hollow Lane are after - and to trust no one.

When Lola is framed for a serious crime she didn't commit, Emmy knows that she and her friends are not safe. The Order wants Emmy to give up her father's location...if she doesn't, those she loves will pay the price.

Emmy and Jack need to figure out a way to clear Lola's name without bending to the Order's sinister demands. And Emmy needs to figure out who she can trust with her secrets before it's too late."

Chills! And can we talk about cover love?