Listen, I remember listening to this one on a road trip. I remember being riveted. I remember loving it as much as I loved the first book... but apparently I did not remember to review it on Goodreads. I will revisit it and rectify that mistake.

This book series confuses me because it has all the elements I usually love, but I just can't get into it. I love Ropa and her whole vibe and I love creepy libraries but it still doesn't catch me as much as I think it should. I've heard this one is set up a little more straight forward than the last but I just couldn't get into it past the first chapter. The book still have great ambiance though.

I liked this more than the first book (which wasn't hard) but there's just something about these books that continues to confuse me. They're adult titles, but really feel like young YA or even middle grade. It's an alternate reality, but there's an over reliance on current pop-culture references. Also the Scottish slang is so hard to decipher as an American reader (not a fault of the book, just something that makes is personally harder for me to read).

I did really enjoy the world building in here and liked getting to see more of the societies and how the magic system works.

The narrator did a good job.

The second book in a trilogy whose premise I find intriguing, yet I find the pacing for this story to be quite a bit slower and more descriptive than what lends me a joyful reading experience. I like the character progression as the series goes on but constantly teeter on whether I'll finish reading the story because of its pacing.

Ropa’s business lost all credibility when she took time out to figure out what was happening to the kids that disappeared. She solved her case but wrecked her reputation. Now she must find some way to supplement her income to make sure her sister and grams have food and a warm place to stay. She has a great opportunity to apprentice for a with a renowned magic user who is a bit eccentric. But never having been to a magic school gets in her way when she fails the magic test. So, no apprentice ship for her. However, the magic man sees potential and decides he wants to work with Ropa. But it will have to be as an intern. That means no money. Ugggghhhhh. However, Ropa can not pass up the opportunity no matter how much she may want to.

To help earn a little green she takes on a case at the Our Lady of Mysterious Aliments magical hospital. Something has happened to a boy named Max Wu that is beyond all their knowledge of medicine and magic.

While the main story is finding a cure for Max, this story has multiple story lines going just like the original books in the series. As readers we get to learn about the Bank of Scotland and how it came to be, how it exists in this alternative society, and how magic is tied up with all of it. We also meat a nice Canadian who just wants his family money out of the bank.

Plus, we finally lean more about the library of the dead. There is actually more about the Library of the Dead in this book then there ever was in book one. And it is really interesting. Really.

I liked this book just like I did the first one. I find even though it is not the best book I have ever read; I cannot stop thinking or talking about it. I like how it mimics life where everything is happening at once. Not use one story line from beginning to end. The author does a great job of weaving and completing most of these story lines but leaving just enough to make you excited for the sequel. And that I am. I need book 3 now. But odds are I may have to reread books 1 and 2 before I start that a year from now.

Honestly, this book didn’t stick in my mind even as I was reading it. With the first book, we got a very distinctive MC with a lot of character (indeed, a lot of readers didn’t like her, citing her as crass/vulgar, but to me that felt very genuine and helped the book stand out among other books with similar premises and themes), but Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments sees Ropa toned down and mellowed out, and the story itself is much more formulaic. This reads more like YA than it’s predecessor and didn’t leave us with much as far as surprises or insights. It felt almost detached and a lot of Ropa’s drive was just… lacking.

I liked seeing more of Priya and other facets of magical infrastructure, like the schools, the archive, and a bit more about the society. But overall, it just didn’t stick

The narrator was very good and the story is so fun. I love how Huchu seamlessly blends magic into the modern day world that it seems like it should really be there. The story is enjoyable and I can't wait for book three!

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments is a fantastic YA fantasy about a girl, Ropa, who lives in a caravan in a dystopian version of Edinburgh with her grandmother and sister. Ropa is trying to find the time to participate in her own magical studies while also making enough money to support her sister and grandmother. She takes on a case involving a boy in a coma at the magical hospital but is forbidden from being paid based on her apprenticeship guidelines. She continues to try to discover the cause of the boy's condition as well as identify the evil entity that is currently infecting Edinburgh.

The world-building was great, and I liked the rough-around-the-edges aspect of most of the characters. The audio narration was fantastic, but I did have to slow it down to 1x speed (I usually listen at 1.25x) because of the thick Scottish accent of the narrator. I enjoyed this book so much, that I recommend the prequel (which I haven't read) to my book club.

I listened on audio and the narration was robotic and unemotional. It ruined the entire story for me. I also did not read the first book in the series so that detracted from my enjoyment of the book as well. I did not get a lot of background about the time & place of the setting or the rules of the Society.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* 4.5 rounded up. I really like this series, the language use cracks me up so much! a book after my own swear-filled heart lmao. Didn't even notice this was part of this series until i started it and was happily surprised! would recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. Hadn’t read the first and was not lost within this one. Would recommend to those who enjoy their books sprinkled with a bit of magic.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I did not read the first book in the series, but I did not feel too lost in listening to this. I was not thrilled by the language. i feel that it took away form the story. I did like the story though. I think I am going to go back and read the first one. Overall, it was a solid listen.

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu is the second book in a series. Ropa Moyo, our protagonist, is a ghost talker and takes on odd jobs helping the deceased finish their unfinished business. She lives in a caravan in the slums with her grandmother and little sister. She wants nothing more than a better future for her family. In this installment, she is hired by a hospital to help figure out why some schoolboys are falling sick. She also comes across a fortune hunter who wants her to help prove an inheritance. In an alternate reality, after a worldwide catastrophe, magic and cell phones coexist on the streets of Edinburgh, and Ropa repeatedly finds herself in altercations with gangs, magicians, and bureaucrats.

I don’t usually read sequels without having read the first book in a series. I don’t like risking that I might get lost in some of the details, nor do I particularly like going back to read the first book when I know a lot of the exposition or backstory. However, I made an exception here, and I am pleased I did. I enjoyed this story. The author struck a good balance in bringing the new reader up to speed on what happened in the first book without overburdening with exposition. It’s gritty, has a good voice as told in first person from Ropa, and feels real despite the magic and the alternate reality setting. I love that we have a strong female lead and no romance subplot. That can be hard to find in books meant for this age group. I appreciated the representation, and it was handled well. I also enjoyed the narrator who did a great job bringing Ropa to life, as well as the other characters. I will look forward to the next installment of T.L. Huchu’s series and would recommend this to urban fantasy and paranormal fans.

I received a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley.

I was not able to listen to this book before it was removed from my device. Unfortunately, I am not able to review.

The first book in this series left me with a lot of questions about the dystopian version of Edinburgh and I am glad that I got some answers in Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments. Ropa, the young female protagonist, is back. Her ghost talking business is basically over and she finds herself once again entangled in another magical mystery of sorts.

The mystery was a decent one but there were so many ancillary threads being pulled on at the same time that it sort of took me out story a bit. I listened to this as an audiobook. Perhaps as a result of the "stream of conscious" writing style, the narration was a bit dry and ultimately just okay for me personally. I think I would have preferred reading this book as opposed to listening.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for providing an advanced listener's copy of the audiobook for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This sequel to The library of the dead was just okay for me. I really enjoyed the first book, especially the concept and world, with a young girl who can speak to the dead living in a modern Edinburgh with fantastical elements. The familial relationships were the best part in this book for me. Ropa is tasked with discovering what has put a young man in a coma (natural or magical causes), which leads to a mystery involving the two exclusive boys magic academies in the city. For me the world building is fantastic but the actual plot fell a little flat and I just never got that invested. It was good on audio though narrated by Kimberly Mandindo. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC.

4/5 stars. The audiobook narrator is incredible, and really brings the Scottish environment to life with her accent. She also has perfect characterization for Ropa. I also love the mystery aspect that slowly expanded out from just the intrigue of the library.

This book cemented two things for me: this is an instant buy series and only experienced through the audiobook.

Ropa thinks she got a job lined up, but all she gets is unpaid internship work when she fails a test. With many bills to pay, she takes work to figure out why a teenage boy is in an icy coma.

This entry into the series delves deeper into Ropa’s magical world and Scotland’s past. Ropa is an intriguing, bright character even when she makes mistakes. I feel sorry for Ropa because she has so much love and concern for her family with no one to help her. You have to listen to the audiobook because Ropa uses a lot of slang that goes over my head. With the audiobook, it adds color to the world without me wondering what she’s saying.

I can’t wait to see where this series is going.

Why does everyone greet each other by saying, “God save the King. Long may he reign”?

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

After being underwhelmed by the first book in this series, I went into reading this one with considerably lower expectations and was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the problems I had with the first book weren't repeated in this one. Ropa was back, and, once again, I loved her character. Her sass was just so much fun to hear (the narrator once again did a wonderful job of bringing her to life), and her life and perspective provided a window into what it is like to live in a family with a working poor background. It also shined a light onto the unfair nature of unpaid internships as they often create barriers that make entering certain professions extremely difficult for people of lesser means. Each of the characters was fleshed out a bit more, and I really enjoyed reading Ropa's interactions with her friends and family. The world-building was much improved in this story compared to the first one. We finally got more background on the library and magical societies, which was really interesting. This book did a good job of straddling the line of deepening the reader's understanding of the world while also developing and intensifying mysteries that will span the course of multiple books. I also liked that all of the world-building and plot lines served the central mystery in some way. It made the narrative feel cohesive and allowed the mystery to unfold in an organic way with multiple twists that kept me guessing. That being said, the mystery itself was a bit convoluted, and I had to stop and rewind the audiobook several times to try to understand the leaps in logic. It all came together in the end, though, and I'm really curious to see where the overarching plot of the series goes next. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

This was a really fast and enjoyable read with awesome world building. It gave me a lot of Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud vibes. Ropa is a great character that is easy to root for. I will definitely continue the series I really want to see what T.L. Huchu does to further the great world building. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio who sent me an ARC audiobook of this title in exchange for my honest review.