Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for giving me this ARC for free to share my opinion on this story.

The book cover art, the title, and the synopsis of the story all drew me into reading this one. I felt hesitant, as I was expecting it to turn into some sappy romance between some Librarian and some mundane damsel that was hired to put books on the shelf. I admit, I was truly wrong, and fully enjoyed the story.

The short plot description tends to make this an almost make-believe story: hired at the most prestigious of libraries of rare books even, where her mom used to work when she was younger. Oh my, vomit and drivel. Yet, that is where this story really starts at. But let's throw you some more bones - SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

All this takes place in England, as the story opens in London. Our main character, Sophie, is a simple compliant book binder with extremely talented skills) living with her controlling 'boyfriend'. She finds out she has been offered this prestigious position as a rare book binder for this library, where both her parents worked, at double the salary she makes and other perks. Of course, she remembers her family living at this library (large property) and her mom's disappearance, then her father taking her and leaving... blah blah.... forgetting the past, therapies, memories might come back. The usual hoo-hah. Wanting to think it over, she ends up catching her 'boyfriend' shagging another chick, and immediately leaves for this new job.

Now the job offer came from her Uncle, who also works for the library. Starting to sound like some weird family tree twisting and nepotism, right? Story moves on ... she does start to remember certain memories, and finds strange happenings occurring around her. Romance starts to blossom with Will, whom she was friends with before she was taken away. I wanted to be sure to get the romance in there.

So not to completely ruin it for you, Sophia finds out she has some 'magical' powers, as do some of the others around the library. Her family has been associated with the library since its creation many millennia before our story. Her romance blossoms with Will, though thankfully not in exquisite, sexual detail, and not so much that it takes from the story.

All in all, this was quite a good read. I was pulled in by storyline, as I have always enjoyed magical library stories (because libraries are truly magical places). The magic wasn't hocus-pocus related, and had quite a few distinctions on/of its use (only by certain people, and only certain types of 'magic'). There wasn't much really to do with the library itself, except as it being the repository of 'special' books, and how they were protected. Obviously, being "rare books" one just couldn't walk in and check out any book.

Character development was a bit lacking. Simple-minded girl, dumps cheating boyfriend for new job (double the perks!) and location, meets new love, large fantastical problem solved by simple girl, who know is in control of everything, and the world goes rosy once again. Yeah, there wasn't much to building the characters. A few look-backs of the time when they were younger, to explain certain things happening, or memories recollected by Sophia, but otherwise just so-so.

World build was somewhat interesting. I mentioned the magic, and how it is limited to certain characters, and the type of 'magic' they have the use of. The library itself consisting of what I will call, a living entity, that provides this magic, and the protections (through a Guardian) of not only itself, but its repository of knowledge (the books), in the simple form of a 'tree' living in the depths. And that this tree was the root of knowledge, and that creativity was shared through the binding of its leaves into books, and shared where needed around the world at times. Very different idea. I liked it.

Overall I found the book to be very enjoyable. Definitely a stand-alone, though, with some imagination, I'm sure future books could be tied to this one. Was easy to read and comprehend ideas. I saw no major differences of spellings between US English and British English, or words that are different for the same things. Definitely would recommend in the Young Adult and Fantasy genres.

#NetGalley #TheBookbindersDaughter

Thorne does it again. I have loved every single Jessica Thorne book I have read, they are action-packed, romance-filled hugs!

The Bookbinder's Daughter is no exception, the world-building was details and amazing and the character had a rich history even though we started 30 years into their lives.

I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone!

Set in the present day yet with magic woven through the narrative it makes the reader suspend belief and become totally immersed in the world of the library and all that it represents.
The book is lyrical, well written and full of book binding details and we can appreciate the love of books the author obviously feels.
A superbe read and highly recommended to anyone ready to put aside mundane logic .

A magical book that is about so much more than you think.

It is about grief, finding your voice, family, legacy and knowledge.

Trigger warning!

The abuse from the controlling and manipulative, relationship with Victor, I thought was written very well. The way his voice plays in her mind and makes her conscious of her actions, things he wouldn't like. It is heartbreaking.

Then we have all the magical elements and memories that the author carefully drops hints and clues throughout the book before the big reveal, it has you believing you know what happens but then there is so much more.

A must read!

What a magical read! This is intricately fashioned prose and I loved it. The library is heavenly and mystical with the inhabitants being slightly odd. Sophie had so much to learn and in the end she rose up to her destiny. Wonderful book.

The Bookbinders Daughter by Jessica Thorne
I give this book 4 stars

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 she was just a teenager – she leaps at the chance.
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?

I was immediately drawn to this book by the cover and title. I started reading and became lost in the enchanted world of a magical library tree.This fascinating and imaginative fantasy is threaded with family,secrets,romance and spells. A myriad of descriptive detail kept me enthralled and l fell in love with Will and Sophie’s story.
With thanks to Netgalley,Jessica Thorne and Bookouture for my chance to read and review this book and be part of the blog tour

Past collides with future on this fantasy journey. Sophie feels like the magical library is calling her but is is a dream or reality? As Sophie searches for the truth about her mother's disappearance, who who she her able to trust. Fantasy readers will enjoy this story. Sometimes it was rather confusing.

I absolutely loved this story. The writing was excellent, the worldbuilding superb, and the story enchanting and gripping. Set in a secret library with magic and mystery included, reading this story was absolute bliss. The story is about Sophie and her search for answers as to what happened to her mother 15 years ago when they lived in the library. For me, this is Jessica Thorne at her best and the passion for magic and storytelling really shone through in this book. I was gripped from the prologue and hooked right through to the end of the story. If you love books, magic, intrigue, and mystery, rolled into one, you are going to love the bookbinder's daughter.

** 4.5 stars **

When a story blurb hints at the of my favorite things to read about (books, libraries, and mysterious magic), I'm thinking 🤔 I should pinch myself because it's also my am author a really enjoy reading so it most be too good to be true. Well after some initial pain, I glad to believe it was real.

I have read the prior books, in which J. Thorne steps out of the world of young adult and into the deep pool adult fantasy. Both genres have their challenges to overcome as there is a lot of fierce competition amongst each, so it makes winning readers harder. Based on her last work and this book, I don't think Ms. Thorne will have to worry about finding fans, new or prior.

Sophie is the kind of woman that others may as someone that needs protection or mothering. She just gives off that vibe; you know a lamb among the wolves. Some with take that queue and want to help her, making sure she is okay. But others . . . well there are always the wolves that covet the lamb. They prey on her weakness to make themselves feel stronger. We have met people like this. Sophie is stuck, that is until she receives a letter that forces the past she has blocked out to collide with her present.

Now faced with a decision that will change her future as well as possibly answering long unanswered questions from her past, she must make a choice. Once she makes that choice and steps foot back in her family's ancestral library to start archiving records, she may not like the answers that are revealed or the long forgotten memories she ran from. There will be no turning back.

You can almost smell the leather and musty pages of books as you read, feel the magic weaving through the story as it threads is way through Sophie's life and your mind creating this spellbinding and romantic story.

** Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced review copy and opportunity to read it. The opinions are my own **

Thank you for my copy of The Book Binder's Daughter. I loved this story so much! With romance and a magical library, what's not to love.

I was drawn to "The Bookbinder's Daughter" by Jessica Thorne as it was likened to the Binding and The Night Circus. I did enjoy the first part in which Sophie is poached from her job and lured back to Ayredale Library and the Special Collection where she spent her youth. The description of her being able to read certain scripts was beautiful as was the description of the bindings. However things kind of unravelled for me once the Axis Mundi was unleashed and it became all too fantastical for me.

Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review this title!

I was completely drawn to this title the minute I saw the cover and read the blurb! A new-to-me author, characters that sounded exciting, and an overall theme of mystery. What’s not to like?!?

I was pulled right in by the writing style and characters that we’re first presented with. I loved getting to know our protagonist and supporting cast! The overall theme was well imagined and beautifully crafted, yet just a little too much for me. The magical aspects were at times just beyond what my imagination could keep up with… a great story just not completely my style.

Again, many thanks!

3.5 stars
A decent adult fantasy novel (I think it's adult?) and the build-up toward the ending was more exciting than the actual climax. Still, loved the childhood lovers reuniting and rekindling their old love and absolutely loved the library magic :)

Sophie remembers little of her childhood. She remembers her mother disappearing when she was very young. After that, most of her early years are a blur, as her father took her as far from The Library as he could, forbidding any contact between Sophie and her mother’s family. However, when he hears that her father has died, Sophie’s uncle, Dr. Edward Talbot, comes to take her home, back to Ayredale, back to her destiny.

A beautiful tale of the timeless battle between good and evil, The Bookbinder’s Daughter drew me in from the first page. Jessica Thorne is well on her way to becoming the next must-read fantasy author with this masterpiece. I absolutely loved this book. Gorgeous scenery descriptions, fully developed characters, rich history, and classic old-fashioned good storytelling make this book a treasure to read and reread for years to come.

This book comes out on September 20, 2021 and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Cuddle up and completely fall into this one.

Thanks to Jessica Thorne, Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Sophie still grieving her father goes to work for her Uncle restoring books. She spent a lot of time in this library growing up. It’s a magical place, she hears whispers and is able to read books no one else can. This place and the people in it have secrets and all is not what it seems.
This was a really good book, I enjoyed it so much! It was fast paced and kept my interest to the end
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I loved this book. I was hooked from the first page. It was so mysterious and intriguing. I haven't read too many books with magical libraries, so I can't compare, but I would definitely recommend this book to those who like this trope. I also really liked the mythology the book pulled from as it is one I haven't seen used much. The writing was lyrical and easy to fall into.

this was a beautiful story and an enjoyable read, but the writing needs improvement and more editing because it was s repetitive that it made me frustrated with the same phrases being reiterated so many times.

An intriguing story that resulted in a very enjoyable read. I hated having to out it down when life got in the way.

I liked the overall plot and the chemistry between Sophie and Will but I kept getting bogged down in the writing. Many phrases were beautifully and lyrically written while at other times the same information was repeated twice in the same paragraph, just phrased differently. The book had highs and lows. Without giving away the plot, I felt some things were never fully explained, and the explanation for others didn’t make sense. How could Sophie allow herself to be manipulated by the person twice boggles my mind. To me the book had great promise but didn’t satisfy me.

Hauntingly beautiful!

This is the first book I have read by Jessica Thorne, and after finishing it I may or may not have gone and ordered all of her other works... woops? Who needs money when you can have good books, right?

I was immediately captivated by the world Thorne paints. In a mysterious library that houses an intricate and truly spellbinding magic to it's books, our main character Sophie finds her past colliding with her present, leaving her entangled in an ancient, chaotic battle. Full of action and drama, intriguing otherworldly creatures, and the perfect amount of romance, The Bookbinder's Daughter is a beautiful, magical tale that will capture any fantasy lovers heart.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.