Absolutely entrancing! The narrator drawls you in to the story with her lyrical style. Uniquely atmospheric. From page one you are transported right into the pages. I was not able to put it down.

If you’re looking for a book with a magical library that carries weight to its plot, this is for you.

Sophie just lost her father with whom she shared the art of bookbinding. When he dies she is offered a job a a special library by her uncle. During her time there she unravels information about her dad, her family, and the truth about her mother.

This book is equal parts dark and whimsical. It’s definitely worth picking up.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!

This novel reminded me of Carlos Ruiz's The Shadow of the Wind...a lot, just with female characters instead of male. The Narrator was great!

This book was missing character development and that certain element of magic but otherwise was pretty good.

Sophie was offered a job at the Ayredale Library which was the last place her bookbinder mother was seen when she was a teen. This beautiful, endless library feels more at home than she imagined it would. But the keeper does not want to talk about her mother or what happened. To make things even more strange, she is the only one who can read these strange spells from a forgotten language. So much strange and mysterious things happening in such a beautiful place.
The audio was really well done. I felt like I was inside this beautiful library trying to figure out all the mysterys myself.



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…

I didn’t hate nor particularly like this one. The writing was okay, the plot was okay, the characters were even okay. It just didn’t hit or miss with me.

I absolutely devoured this book! And the narrator brought the story to life, truly amazing! The world building was done in such a way I wasn’t confused when reading. I was just rooting for the characters the entire time!

This is a full-blown fantasy with some spiritual/mythology elements in it. Unfortunately, I am completely missing any personal development of the character and the story lacks any kind of subtlety. I was not able to suspend my disbelief here to enjoy the novel more.

Narration was actually quite good and added some meat to the story.

Thank you, #Netgalley for the audiobook ARC of this book.

My overall rating of this book was 3.5 stars.
The narration was a 4-star.
The plot was a 3-star.

"Books and magic have always gone hand in hand."

Synopsis
Sophie Lawrence has been away from Ayredale Special Collection Library since the disappearance of her mother. Although she has no memory of her youth experiences, returning to the library unleashes dangerous secrets, unpredictable people, and lost memories that were better left unknown.
Enter the Ayredale Special Collection Library and join Will, Tia, Arthur, Victor, Sophie, and Edward in a mysterious journey combining magic and books.

My Opinions:
What I Liked
- This cover is amazing!
- books, magic, and the library. The overall themes in the story were well done. PLUS I just really enjoy magical tales
- The narrator did an excellent job bringing each character to life. I especially loved her rendition of Tia.

What I didn't like as much:
-There were several storylines and character development opportunities that I feel were missed.
- Unnecessary or repetitive details.

Would I listen to this again? Probably, just to see if there were aspects I missed. Would I read this story? Probably not. I feel like I would skip a lot of the unnecessary or repetitive details.

I’m not really much for audiobooks, but I did really like the story. I’d be happy to buy the book to put on my shelves

This book is a solid 3.5 with loads of room for potential. While a girl finding herself in a magical library really appeals to me, the reality didn't quite meet my expectations.

Initially, there are a lot of intriguing secrets in The Bookbinder's Daughter. Secrets that spark the imagination and draw the reader into the story in a wonderfully compelling way. Once Sophie begins to uncover her past, the plot really begins to take off; however, the characters don't necessarily go with it. I wanted more from Sophie, maybe a deeper emotional response. The confusion and fear were easy to understand and feel, but there needed to be more.

I loved the darker elements in The Bookbinder's Daughter. While the cover and blurb seem to give off a lighter magical vibe, when the main action hits, some really dark, twisty things begin to happen. The ending sequence was the best part of the book for me and really propelled me to the finish.

With lots of good qualities, The Bookbinder's Daughter can easily become the start to a wonderful series if given a few tweaks.

Absolutely loved. First audiobook I tried and the narrator was great. Kept me really interested and I loved the ending.

A decent enough story. All of the plot points are solid: manipulative boyfriend, mysterious disappearance of mother, death of father, forgotten memories, strange occurrences at the library. There was just something about all of the main characters that seemed unfinished. The book may have read better had there been some background regarding past events prior to launching into the story.
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

Sophie's mother was last scene at the Ayredale Library, world renowned for it's collection of rare books. It's also magic. When Sophie is invited back by her Uncle to work at the library, she returns hesitantly. After all, she doesn't remember a lot about her past; when she and her parents lived at Ayredale. When she discovers a mysterious door that leads to a magical tree, Sophie begins to think she might be able to solve the mystery surrounding her mother's disappearance.

This book had a really strong finish but the first 75% didn't really work for me. It was really slow, and I stopped and started this audiobook over at least 3 times until I finally buckled down and got through it. I wasn't super attached to Sophie as a character, and didn't love the amnesia thing where she couldn't remember anything about her past, because it meant that the reader was left without a lot of backstory that would have made me feel more invested in the character.

I thought the plot had all the things I would love. Magic? Yes. Library? Yes. Mystery to solve? Yes. But it just didn't come together for me. It was too bad, because the narration was pretty good.

I think this book would have been a standout had there not been so many other books about magical libraries. These libraries seem to be very trendy right now, which is such a fun theme, but ultimately the genre is getting a little too saturated. Nothing about this book stands out as being any different/more memorable than the others, so I worry that it will blend in pretty easily.

The writing is very good, very full of imagery and I had no problem imagining where the characters were. I could see the book play out in my head like a movie. The narrator was also wonderful.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookature Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was okay. Not outstanding, but not terrible. It just doesn't stand out to me and I probably won't remember much of it. Honestly, this "I have no parents and didn't know I possessed magical powers" storyline has been done so many times and this one blends in with the crowd.

In this book we meet Sophie, who's mother disappeared when she was a teenager. Upon the death of her father, she returns to where her mom disappeared. There's a magical library, evil villain, unexpected witch and predictable love story contained in the book, which made it one of many for me. The writing was good, but the plot wasn't original enough for me.

The audio was good. I really liked the narrator. She managed to engage me in the story better than if I had been reading the print version. All in all, 3 stars.

This title was archived before I was able to download it and listen. I will read and review at a later date.

The description with in the book about the library and the magical aspects of the book were so detailed that you can easily picture the scene.

The story follows Sophie whos father just dies and has a manipulative controlling partner. So when the opportunity to escape with her uncle for a job she takes it. But the job takes her back to her past and memories come back about her time at the library before her mother disappeared.

The reason for the 3 stars is because the first 70% didn't grip me and therefore wasn't enjoying the story but also the moments of Sophie naivety and decisions where in fitting with the build up. The last 30% of the book is when it picked up and i wanted to know what was happening and how it was going to end.

The narration is the reason i managed to listen through the 70% i wasnt enjoying the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the audiobook for an honest review.

The Bookbinder's Daughter by Jessica Thorne and narrated by Charlie Norfolk was a fantastic adventure world that I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in. Though it's a little slow to get going, don't give up if the summary sounds interesting. It picks up, I promise!

This is the story of Sophie and the strange things that she starts to uncover when she begins working at Ayredale Library. Though her father recently died and her mother is a distant memory, she starts recognizing things that seem familiar from her dreams while working there. Once she comes across this beautifully carved door and enters to discover the "tree" from her dreams, things start happening.

I don't want to give anything away, but there are a few others that aren't really looking out for her best interest and Sophie really shouldn't be trusting everyone. As she navigates her memories, new responsibilities, relationships and romances, Sophie discovers herself and a bit of magic too.

The characters and stories were well developed and the narration brought the story to life. I think that there is room for a sequel and I'll be on the lookout for one in the future hopefully!

DNF at 79%

i tried so hard to listen to this book and invested myself in this time and again but the narration and the storyline just didn't keep me reading. The storyline, theme and plot were all good but the way in which the book is written is too redundant and exhausting to read so... I let it go