The Secret Book of Flora Lee is a charming, heart tugging book that will have you turning the pages long after the lights should be out.

It is a story about sisters, magic, grief and love, family, secrets, war and so much more.

Hazel and her sister Flora having been evacuated during WW2 out of London are living in the Aberdeens when 4 year old Flora simply disappears.

Twenty one years later Hazel receives a copy of a children's book that is the secret world she and Flora were part of.

From that moment on you are caught up in their story both past and present and the magic of the storytelling will have you hooked.

The Secret Book of Flora Lee is spellbinding and one the reader should take and savor.

Patti Callahan Henry you have a new fan: this is my first but not my last book of yours.

I don't re read many books but I could certainly do so to revisit Flora and Hazel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada, Simon & Schuster for a spellbinding read I won't soon forget.

A really moving and lyrical tory about family, relationships and sibling bonds.

Hazel has always had a vivid imagination and a penchant for telling tales. It is therefore fitting that she works in a bookshop and has landed a dream job in the Sotheby’s rare books department. On her last day at the bookshop a delivery arrives featuring a book with the same name and a similar plot to a story she used to tell her long missing sister Flora. This package sets if a chain of events that change Hazel’s life forever.

This was my first book by this author and it won’t be my last. This story is heartbreaking but yet, there is hope also. I was completely swept away.

Not very long ago, and not very far away, a reader fell in love with a book.

I can honestly say within 20% of this book I had pre-ordered 3 copies of it. One for myself, and the other two for my friends. The story of Hazel—a woman forever searching for her long lost sister—wove its way into my heart and held tight. The duel time lines added depth to the story—the before when the sisters were together and used to escape from the traumas of war into the Whisperwood—a land only the two of them knew about, until they didn’t. Fast forward to Hazel working a bookshop and coming across a rare book, a first edition of a story about Whisperwood by an American author. Everything in Hazel’s life quickly unravels from there as she searches for answers and cuts the tethers that had been holding her back for twenty years.

Peppered with POV’s from other characters that only further enrich the narrative—this book is definitely worth picking up for those who love a mystery with heart and a sister willing to lose everything for answers.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram within the week of April 3rd/2023. Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster Canada for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon &Schuster Canada for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

A young English woman, Hazel in 1960 London stumbles across a book that is identical to the one she used to tell her little sister, Flora Lea. A story Hazel swears she never told anyone else. So how can this be? Is her sister alive?

This book has a little of everything- mystery, romance, dual timeline, action and fantasy. Hazel and Flora are two British evacuee children from London and we witness the way different children were treated by their billets and by the local townspeople. I am quite used to my historical fiction novels having dual timelines and I didn't find it confusing as the date was always identified in the chapters. The author's note provides historical information and further reading references for any readers who want to pursue more information about Operation Pied Piper.


I did find the book a little slow in building towards the final reveal of what exactly happened to Flora Lea. There's a lot of scenes that I found were mere distractions from the main objective-find the sister. I have to admit that sometimes Hazel got under my skin with her stomping her foot and her absolute obsession that the Whisperwood tale only belonged to her and Flora. 🙄 It was just really annoying.

I try never to make comparisons between my authors or my books when reviewing but this one felt very reminiscent of Kate Morton's writing. I like KM so that similarity worked for me.


Expected Publication Date. 02/05/23
Goodreads Review Published 02/04/23

this was a charming novel with a magical setting. hazel and flora are sisters that have been evacuated from london during the second world war. they move to a small town and in with a single mother, bridie, and her son, harry. hazel is quite a bit older than flora and takes it upon herself to protect hazel from the realities of the world. hazel tells flora the tale of whisperwood, a world where they escape to together to go on adventures. until one day, when flora goes missing.

it’s twenty years later, hazel is working in a book shop for rare collectables, and a book comes into the office telling the exact story of whisperwood, the secret world that only hazel and flora ever knew about. this takes her on a journey to find the author of this book hopefully uncover the lost life of her sister, flora.

the story was compelling, and i really enjoyed the two timelines. hazel was a very lovable character, and she grows quote a bit throughout the book. this story has everything; love, family, career, mystery, and magic.

i did find this book repetitive and at times slow. there seemed to be so many obvious solutions to the mystery of flora’s life that hazel didn’t consider. the ending was surprising but felt unlikely.

all things considered, i enjoyed reading this! it would be a really good car/airplane/train ride book, or a great beach read.

thank you to simon and schuster canada and #netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A book about books, a book about family,a book about a magical invisible place,a story about the power that books have on us.

I don't want too share much as I want you to experience the Journey of Whisperwood and other aspects of this amazing book.

When you read Patti Callahan"s books you will not be disappointed and this maybe her best book yet.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Books for allowing me to read and review this magical book

All thoughts and opinions are my own and aren't influenced by anyone else

This was an intriguing book. I enjoyed the multiple points of view and the way the two different time periods wove together to provide a complete picture of what happened. I also loved the ending! The only thing that kept it from being a five-star read for me was that in the first half to three-quarters I felt some impatience with the character Hazel and the pace of the story. However, I definitely enjoyed it overall and think it will appeal to quite a broad range of readers.