Books are themselves a subtle magic and libraries mysterious places full of stories waiting to escape and infiltrate the minds of the readers.

The Bookbinder’s Daughter weaves all of these together into a magical story with a few surprises.

Thorne is an excellent writer and the first few chapters were immediately gripping and engaging, full of intriguing characters, mythology and peril. It’s entirely believable as we see Sophie find her strength and escape her controlling relationship and return to her childhood home where she belongs.

Nothing is as it seems so we are suspicious of everyone and questioning everything to try to understand what is going on.

The attention to detail when it comes to the descriptions of each element are stunning and my mind’s eye could picture everything clearly.

The finale is perhaps a little rushed and chaotic, and I think it could have been structured slightly better so it fitted better into the rest of the book. Perhaps Thorne was not confident enough in the ending and chose not to devote the same time and meticulousness of her word choices to the last few pages.

That said, I was engrossed in the characters and the magic of the library and thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Thank you to @netgalley @bookouture for the digital ARC and ALC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts…
Interesting plot. This book started off strong and interesting. But then the plot became quite slow a quarter of the way through. Fortunately, I was approved for the audiobook as well, and that worked better for me in terms of keeping my interest. This book had a lot of potential. There were themes, such as Sophie’s memory loss that became repetitive. Although necessary, it was mentioned too often that it became distracting. Tia was a great character because her character was the most developed; the others were okay, acting more as secondary characters, even though they had important roles. The narration was good and read like new adult/young adult. I did enjoy the whole concept of this magical and fantastical library though.

3.5 ⭐️

A new fresh world of magic, where both main characters and readers are introduced beautifully through its pages until there is no other way than to love it and appreciate it.

This was my first book by Jessica Thorne, I am more than glad I picked it. She wrote more than fantasy in this book in a certain and remarkable way.

Lovely and encouraging!

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Sophie has much more to prove than she ever expected after accepting a job as a bookbinder, pleased to be following in her mother's footsteps. Working with rare books has always been one of her dreams, but there is much more than taking the job. Sophie hopes to find out once and for all what happened to her mother. One day her mother was there. The next day she wasn't, and Sophie wants answers.

When Sophie finds herself surrounded by shelf after shelf of rare and antique books, she feels a rather unusual sense of calm. She is not the only bookbinder there, and there is even a "Keeper of the Library". Perhaps one of them will enlighten Sophie about what happened to her mother?

Despite being dyslexic, Sophie finds a particular book, the oldest book on display actually, and it is full of spells - spells that apparently only she can read. How is it that she cannot read even the simplest of things without difficulty but she can read these spells in what is most certainly a forgotten language?

This unique ability of Sophie's opens a pandora's box and reading these spells is only the first of many strange things happening to her in rapid succession. In fact, Sophie begins to feel her mother's presence. What is more is that a maelstrom of events begin to occur, presenting danger to Sophie as well as to others. Will she be able to control what is happening or will she face her mother's same fate?

What a thrilling ride this book proved to be! I was captivated from the very first page and was completely drawn into the drama and magical mysteries that were happening.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

If a book has a magical library, I’m guaranteed to enjoy it! The Bookbinder’s Daughter started off ticking all my boxes — the aforementioned magical library, intriguing family mystery and swoony dark haired love interest. I really enjoyed the romance side of the novel and how kind and supportive Will was towards Sophie throughout the story. Victor on the other hand… their dynamic wasn’t my favourite and Sophie’s actions regarding her ex were a bit of a drawback for me. I also found the magical system and world building packing a touch for my taste, but that wasn’t why I was reading the novel. I enjoyed TBD for the characters, hands down.
I loved Thorne’s lyrical, emotive writing especially with how she described relationships both romantic and familial. At its core, TBD was a novel about belonging and identity and that’s where this novel truly shone. I found myself emphasising with the characters emotions and missing them once I’d finished. In my opinion, Thorne’s ability to do a heart wrenching character study was the novels greatest strong point.

This was an extraordinary story. I really could not have loved the beginning more. The world-building was phenomenal. The conceptualization of Ayredale and the Special Collection was marvelous. The book was an homage to people who love books, and that's always a special find for me. The characterizations were well drawn and I was thoroughly enjoying the slow build. Then things rather suddenly ramped up, action-wise, and that's where I feel like the story stuttered a bit.

It came back online after a little bit, but for a while things felt hurried and unlikely and the jarring dissonance with the previous spot-on pacing and story development threw me for a loop. Given a little patience, things fell back into the pace of the earlier bits which pleased me immensely.

I found the ending to wrap things up handily without being too tidy. It felt to me like things were left just open-ended enough for the possibility of future volumes set in this world, and I for one hope there are more. This was a wonderful story and I would truly love the chance for more adventures in - and backstop on - the Collection and Tree!!

This book was extremely enjoyable. I loved the storyline as well as the characters. The plot is easy to follow and the characters are well defined. Although this is an adult book - with adult main characters - it reads younger. This is definitely not a critique, but rather a potential for the book can appeal to a wider audience.

My one critique is that the author utilizes elegant variation a lot. Characters are often called both by their name and by their job title which can be confusing at times as it is hard to understand who is who.

A great book overall, I highly recommend!

The Book binders's daughter
By Jessica Thorne
As I first listened to this book, I felt like I was reading an adult version of the magic tree house books. The characters morphed and grew to these characters. At the end of the book I found that it's wonderfully unique story with characters brought so easily to the tale as if they grew into their roles. It is a beautiful picture of magic, Mythology , and legend creating a whole new world. It's interesting how inspiration connects the stories, one giving on to the next. If you are a lover of story this book will transport you, Give you the eyes of a child raised and grown and returning to the magic. Great book for young adults as well.

This book was the equivalent of a caldron full of exciting ingredients!
I was initially enticed by the beautiful cover and presumed it was a time hopping historical fiction novel but it involved fantasy, mystery and romance with a delicious Gothic flavour.

The story line follows Sophie (swipe for synopsis) who has been offered a new job, by her Uncle, at a library containing rare books...which also happens to be the place she grew up in and where her mother disappeared years earlier. The descriptions of the library are beautiful. I like the mysterious storylines as they kept you guessing....The story kept me gripped and I thought it was a really unexpectedly unique read.

I'm a big Sarah Addison Allen fan and this book had a similar feel. A magical, old worldy, mysterious tale. I haven't read a lot of fantasy so I thank the author for adding that element and broadening my horizons.

Thanks to the author and @netgalley for an ARC of this book
Pub date 20/9/21

Overall I really enjoyed this book! It took me while to get into and the digital copy was 713 pages, but I did really feel emerged in the story. This is the synopsis, taken from the books page on NetGalley:

The song surrounded her now, the murmuring of the library insistent, and her foot took the first step on the winding stairs. She knew it wasn’t entirely a dream. It was the library calling her, its magic driving her.

When Sophie is offered a job at the Ayredale Library – the finest collection of rare books in the world, and the last place her bookbinder mother was seen when Sophie was just a teenager – she leaps at the chance. Will she finally discover what happened to the woman she’s always believed abandoned her?

Taking in the endless shelves of antique books, the soaring stained-glass windows, and the grand sweeping staircase, usually shy Sophie feels strangely at home, and is welcomed by her eccentric fellow binders. But why is the Keeper of the Library so reluctant to speak about Sophie’s mother? And why is Sophie the only person who can read the strange spells in the oldest books on display, written in a forgotten language nobody else understands?

The mysteries of the library only deepen when Sophie stumbles upon an elaborately carved door. The pattern exactly matches the pendant her mother left behind years ago, engraved with a delicate leaf. As the door swings open at her touch, Sophie gasps at the incredible sight: an enormous tree, impossibly growing higher than the library itself, its gently falling golden leaves somehow resembling the pages of a book. Amidst their rustling, Sophie hears a familiar whisper…

‘There you are, my Sophie. I knew you’d come back for me.’

I found the plot really engaging and unusual, and it had been compared to one of my favourite books of all time, The Ten Thousand Doors Of January, so of cause I had to read it, it’s a perfect tale of a girl who has been lost for too long finding herself again. There is a trigger warning for an emotionally abusive relationship, which was absolutely disgusting! Sophie deserved better than him. But that quickly turned around,

I am a suckler for a childhood friends to lovers trope!


Sorry my reviews have been abit rubbish lately, I’m currently in a reading and reviewing slump :(

This book was a mysterious, heartbreakingly thrilling read. I loved the feel of this story as at times, even though it's a contemporary story it definitely had gothic themes running through the pages. The characters in this story constantly act mysteriously so initially it was hard to know who to trust but this added to my love for the story. The magic in this story had a dreamlike quality.

We follow main character Sophie while she’s grieving the death of her father and her quest to find out what happened to her mother. The storyline is extremely gripping and somewhat relatable. The detail in this book is also exceptional, you can imagine yourself in this library with massive staircases and never ending rows of books. I also loved the romance within this book with the reunited lovers trope between Sophie and Will.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes clean fantasy novels and likes a good cry while reading!

Back to my Netgalley books and I picked this one because I was so intrigued by the title and the blurb. The setting also takes place in an old, magical library. What’s not to love? I wanted very much to love this story but it just fell flat for me. The first half of the story felt draggy and confusing. It only picked up more than halfway through.

This story follows Sophie, one of the best bookbinder available, and her journey at the prestigious Aryedale library. She used to grow up there but after her mother’s sudden disappearance, her father took her and left the library behind. Now, her uncle has come and offer her a job as the bookbinder of Ayredale. Should she follow her mother’s footsteps and take over the role? Eventually, she returned to Ayredale and there she discovered secrets that she had long forgotten and clues leading to her mother’s disappearance. As Sophie settles in Ayredale, the library starts calling out to her in ways that only she can hear. Nothing is as simple as it seems and secrets cannot be kept forever. Then, there’s Will, the Keeper of the library and childhood sweetheart. How will their relationship unfold?

Although the story takes place in modern times, there’s just something about the library that also takes you back in time. There are some very interesting side characters in here and I wished Thorne had written more about their roles and characters rather than Sophie’s lost memory which was rather long-winded. I would have also loved to learn more about the history of Ayredale and the ancestors who have passed down their roles. There were elements of magic in here but even I felt this was underdeveloped. I only know it exists and not much else. Some of the dialogue also felt repetitive and unnecessary which really dragged out the story.

But its’s not all bad. This story is very fresh and original. I absolutely love the setting of a magical library, it’s every reader’s dream come true! I was very curious about Sophie’s mother and who she really is in the library. I love Sophie’s journey to self discovery here and how she learn to accept her flaws. Also, if you enjoy a broody, handsome beyond words male character who only has eyes for the girl he loves, say hello to Will! Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to be lost in an ancient library.

CW: Emotional abuse, cheating.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual star rating: 3.5. I’m conflicted in writing this review because I feel this book has so much potential, but ultimately left me feeling a little underwhelmed. The premise of a magical library was enough of a draw card to have me requesting and the library itself was beautifully written, with the philosophy behind it being really interesting. For me, the setting and ambience was the strongest part. I crave to see Ayredale. The magic was drawing on common knowledge but expanded on in a way that was unique and fresh to read but didn’t have rules or structure so for people that need a structured and well explained magic system this might not work for you but I enjoyed going along for the ride.

In terms of characters, Sophie has been in an emotionally abusive relationship (whilst not labelled on page, the characteristics of the relationship described gives me confidence in using it rather than just emotional manipulation - which was also present). I’m gonna give her slack, she made some choices, but I can understand her motivations behind them. The constant references to her memory loss were a little too on the nose for my liking as it was mentioned at least twice a chapter and yes, essential to the plot, but we could have minimised the amount it was mentioned.

Victor was an absolute twat. Will was your typical book-boyfriend with hair that was “overdue for a cut”... Tia was bloody fantastic and I love her. Uncle Edward was your doting, slightly misguided, mostly well-meaning fool but overall, I liked him by the end. Aside from Tia I felt the characters were very 2D but not “bad”, the potential for fuller characters is definitely there, especially seeing what Jessica is capable of with Tia.

In terms of pacing and plot there was a lot to be desired. I want emotions when reading and nothing shocked me or made me feel anything other than “this is enjoyable”. The big bad is obviously the big bad and personally, the mystery isn’t really that mysterious. The plot felt very Young Adult with New Adult aged characters. Personally I think the characters and villains could have been further developed with length. This is only a 248 page standalone so there is definitely room to expand to help support the plot and pacing.

I also received an advanced listeners copy and I cannot fault the audiobook narration. I started listening around 10 chapters in and it helped to further captivate my attention. I feel the issues I had with the characters and their descriptions were less noticeable once I started listening, rather than reading.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable read and I recommend people checking it out for something with a hint of whimsicalness, wanting to get lost in the pages of a book.

Thank you once again to NetGalley and the publishers.

ARC from Netgalley

The premise of this book is amazing, but the execution was lacking for me. I was ready for a lot of magic, a lot of mystery, and a dope library. But I was left with a confusing notion of what magic was in this book, the mystery basically being spelled out, and not enough description to really paint me a picture.

I thought Sophie was incredibly annoying and weak. There were so many instances of her knowing what she should do and just not doing it because she was timid or scared and it got very tiresome. The romance was mediocre and rushed, and I either needed more of that or more of an explanation of what the hell was going on with the magic.

Jessica Thorne describes her novels as 'sci-fi/fantasy romance' which is a reasonable summary, but there is more to them than simply romances. To me a romance is a novel which is so completely consumed by the 'love story' that there's nothing else to it. That's not the case here. Many novels on all sorts of subjects include a romantic subplot, and that's all it seems to be in this novel. For me at least, that's a bonus.

The main character is Sophie, a young woman who works as a bookbinder, like both of her parents did. She is trapped in a relationship with a coercive, controlling partner, and lacks the confidence to break free. Her mental health has been poor ever since her mother's death when Sophie was just a teenager, an event that led her to a 'breakdown' and memory loss, and still causes her to suffer nightmares as well as deep grief. At the start of the novel, her uncle reappears in her life, offering her a job at the Special Collection, a renowned library. It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but also means returning to the place she grew up, and the place her mother died. Once there, pieces of her memory start to return and it's soon clear that the Special Collection is no ordinary archive.

The novel is written in the third person, mostly from Sophie's point of view but with some parts for that of other characters. It's a compelling story which draws you in from the beginning. Sophie's predicament makes her immediately sympathetic and relatable. Thorne writes the controlling relationship, and the impact it has on Sophie, very well indeed. It is uncomfortable to read and you immediately strongly want her to be free of it. The impact of the relationship is also shown to be long lasting and continues throughout the story. There's a current trend for implausibly strong, tough female leads - and those have their place - and it was nice to see a heroine who had a degree of vulnerability as well as the strength to eventually overcome it.

The fantasy elements are intriguing enough, maybe not completely original, but nicely put together. A lot of the plot does rely on people not telling Sophie things that realistically they could or would have told her sooner. But it makes for a good story so I'm not going to split hairs. Like most captivating fantasy yarns, if you start to scrutinise the plot too closely you might find the odd hole, but it's much better to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Overall, this is a good fantasy adventure with a strong (if predictable) romance subplot and a good central character. It lacks that extra special quality which would elevate it to a five-star rating for me, and the plot lacks real surprises, but it's well written and enjoyable to read.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. But some trigger warnings for emotionally abusive relationships.

I liked the idea of sentient libraries quite a bit. The idea that books are created and the knowledge filtered out to the world is unique, and I really liked this aspect of it.

I liked the main characters, although I found them to be frustrating at times, which is why the book is 3.5 stars for me instead of 4.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC, but I dnf'd this one at chapter 12. This book had such a promising and interesting synopsis, but I found this book boring and I had to force myself to keep reading. Nothing seemed to be happening and I just never found myself sucked into this plot or connecting with the characters in any way. I hope other people will enjoy this book, but it didn't work for me.

A book about a library and magic- what’s not to love?

This captivating story follows Sophie as she returns to Ayredale library, her childhood home, to take up a position as a specialist binder. She has not returned since her mother disappeared and her memories have faded but she hopes to get answers by returning.

I really enjoyed the feeing of mystery through this book and really loved the premise. I do feel it could have been longer and some of the elements explored in more detail. Nonetheless, an engaging read and I will look out for further books from this author.

There’s nothing I love more than a magical library and the Bookbinders Daughter delivers this in spades. I loved the plot and the depth of the story line. My only minor criticism was that I felt it was a bit overwritten and spent a little too much time ‘world building’ as it were but wow; what a world! I loved the setting and the lore and I think this is a book that will stay with me - really really enjoyable read.

This book was not what I expected at all. It seemed to unfold and take twists that were almost too far removed from the initial story - I can cope with a magical tree but it seemed to go a bit haywire with the introduction of gods and demigods. I didn’t really enjoy it but I also wonder if that’s because I didn’t really ‘gel’ with the main character and found her quite boring and unlikeable - I got to about 75% of the way through and almost gave up out of boredom. In my opinion it could have been planned much more effectively to introduce more clues in the book before throwing in entirely new magic themes.