Thank you to netgalley.com for this ARC.

This was a very different, but very heartwarming book. I enjoyed the puzzles throughout the book even though they were way over my head to try to figure out! The characters were funny, flawed, and I found myself rooting for them. This book was well written and I enjoyed it very much!

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr is one of those books that sneaks up on you with its charm. It follows Clayton Stumper, an orphan raised by an eccentric group of puzzle-makers, as he sets out to uncover the truth about his past. The premise alone is delightful, but what really makes this book shine is its warmth.

Burr weaves riddles and wordplay into the narrative so seamlessly that you feel like you're solving puzzles right alongside Clayton. The characters are quirky and lovable, the writing has a nostalgic, almost storybook quality, and at its core, it’s a story about belonging, self-discovery, and human connection.

If you love books that feel like a warm hug (with a side of brain-teasing fun), this one is worth picking up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy. This is my honest opinion.

Well, I enjoyed the story. It seemed to take me forever to finish it. It started quite strong and then seemed to slow down almost too much for me to complete. However, I did completed and overall it was a good read.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been a little backlogged with my ARCs but am working diligently to get caught up. This book was definitely out of my usual reading style but I found it very enjoyable! It’s about a group of mostly older people who form a fellowship for their love of all things puzzles. It spans many years and we get to see the characters grow and get more of their backstories which I really enjoyed. I would recommend for anyone who likes fiction and puzzles, and people coming together to form their own family!

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Publishing for gifting me an ARC of Samuel Burr’s delightful debut novel, The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers. In exchange I offer my honest opinion.

This book is clever, fun, charming, mysterious, memorable and uplifting. Told in dual timelines, The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers follows the lives of an eccentric group of British puzzlers who establish a commune - a community of likeminded individuals where they work together to hone their craft and skills. When an abandoned baby is left on their doorstep, the group enthusiastically agrees to raise the child, despite their advancing age. Now, 25 years later, Clayton is eager to discover his biological roots and the Puzzlemakers decide to help him on his quest in the only way they know how…through hidden clues and solving puzzles. Utterly delightful and absolutely heartwarming. I’m hopeful author Samuel Burr, will treat his readers to more from the Fellowship.

I didn't finish this book so I can't give a valid review. It didn't catch my attention. I would usually like this type of book but I had a hard time getting into it and I had so many other books to read that this one kept getting a lower priority until I just gave up on it.

I love puzzles and enjoyed this collection of characters. A mystery without violence was welcome and I loved how the pieces fell into place. Slow at the start, but what puzzle isn't?

I know this was a very popular book, it just wasn't for me. Maybe the wrong time and frame of mind for it. I will keep it on my TBR list and try again another time. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I know this was a well-recieved book, but it wasn't really for me. I had an extremely hard time getting into this book and staying engaged, I hope others enjoy this one, though! Thanks so much for the copy from DoubleDay and NetGalley!

A satisfying, easy read filled with puzzles and the latest brain twister. In some ways it felt like the mind games my grandsons plunk down and wait for solutions - I grew quite close to Pippa and understood her choices. As for Clayton Stumper, I got his as well. The story is neatly wrapped up at the end and it filled the gaps in my day when it was read.

What more can one require of a book? Looking forward to more adventures from Mr. Burr.

*A sincere thank you to Samuel Burr, Vintage Anchor | Doubleday, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #TheFellowshipofPuzzlemakers #NetGalley

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers!

This was such a surprise, fun read. Sometimes you just need to read a book like this and I am so glad I did. Clayton Stumper, grew up at the Fellowship of Puzzle Makers, actually he was abandoned there but it turns out it was a blessing in disguise. He was raised by a group of enigmatologists, puzzle makers of every kind. Word puzzles, math problems, crossword puzzles, you name it. Pippa Allsbrook, started the club years ago and took care of Clayton with all her heart. When she dies, she leaves the house and the club to Clayton. He is devastated over her loss but she leaves him one more puzzle. He must leave the comfort of his home and find the clues to the puzzle. His journey to solve the puzzle, was so heart warming. There were twists and turns and sweet surprises. I really found this book so enjoyable. This was a four star read for me. I loved the characters and the story. I want to thank Netgalley, Samuel Burr & Vintage Anchor for my copy for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this book. It was an absolute treat.

I really loved this 🥹

There are so many loveable characters from all walks of life, but Clayton was so wholesome. I really enjoyed how we were given clues about his birth story through puzzles and quizzes (which I genuinely sat and tried to work out!)

Overall, this is such a lovely, unique, heartwarming book about friendship and found family, and it will warm your heart and make you smile - and at times, sob.

I couldn't recommend this one enough!

The quirky characters and unusual premise made this a page turner that I was sorry to see end! We switch from past to present throughout the book and learn more about the character who has devised this puzzle for her son to be solved after her death. All of the puzzle makers were interesting and well written. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more by this author.

Clayton Stumper’s arrival at the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers was unorthodox: tucked inside a hatbox left on the front porch as an infant, with no hints as to who left him there or why they chose the Fellowship. A group of enigmatologists (yes, I looked it up and no, it’s not a word made up solely for the purpose of this book, as much as it may seem to be), the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a collection of the best puzzle creators in the UK. Pippa Allsbrook, the head of the Fellowship and a renowned crossword compiler, raises Clayton with assistance from the other members. As one of her final acts, she created a puzzle-based scavenger hunt to help Clayton learn the truth behind his history and parentage.

The novel flips back and forth between Clayton’s journey and the formation of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers. The changes can feel abrupt, but the pacing of the stories works well. While it’s not a book that I would say go out and find a copy immediately, if you’re looking for something while waiting to get off the holds list for the next big thing at your library, this might be your answer.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

This one went just a little too deep into the puzzle niche for this reader. Anyone picking up this book who’s ready to put their thinking cap on and scratch their puzzling itch will enjoy this one. I also just couldn’t manage to suspend my disbelief that a community like the one in this story would actually exist and that the events could happen in any way close to what is described.

The premise of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers drew me right in. I love doing crossword puzzles, acrostics, jigsaw puzzles and more. (I also do Wordle and Connections every day.) Here we have a group of expert puzzle makers who band together into a commune of sorts, starting around 1980. The group was the brainchild of Pippa, a woman who never married and is an expert at constructing fiendish crossword puzzles for a London newspaper (hiding behind a male alias, alas). In 1991, a baby is abandoned at their group home and in her mid-60s, Pippa becomes the mother she always wanted to be. Twenty-five years later, Pippa dies and gives Clayton a series of clues so he can discover the mystery of his parentage.

This all sounded terrific to me, but it fell a bit short in the delivery. First of all, I’m not a huge fan of dual timeline books, especially those that bounce back and forth, chapter by chapter. I find that I’m settling into one story and then I’m yanked out of it for the other story, and then back again. If you don’t mind this, you will probably enjoy this book more than I did.

I found that the various members of the puzzle maker fellowship blurred together. One of them, Earl, is a maze maker (on paper and in landscapes!) and Hector paints and then creates jigsaw puzzles from his art. Along with Pippa and her crosswords, those are the only ones I could really keep straight. Also Nancy/Nance, a much younger woman who was amazing at trivia, but she left the fellowship around when Clayton was abandoned there. I loved her character: a female London cabbie, which was very unusual at the time (no idea if it’s still unusual). Another oddball character was Angel, the housekeeper. But the bulk of puzzle makers were forgettable.

I was more interested in Clayton’s hunt for clues to his parentage, but it was kind of boring. (Honestly, Clayton was boring!) Instead of the adventures, Pippa hints he will have, we follow him to London, where he visits Nance, gets another clue, and so on and so forth, visiting the British Museum, finding a safety deposit box at Harrods (I had no idea they did that there!), befriending an old woman he meets on a park bench. He finds a companion due to his visit to Nance, and they get mugged while walking together, but somehow only Clayton is injured. That confused me.

I was hoping for more puzzles to solve along with Clayton, but the one crossword puzzle that Pippa left for Clayton was pretty easy to solve and even had a weird errors of sorts - when a clue is phrased in a way that the answer should be a noun, it’s odd to have the answer be a verb! (A hungry desire = Crave! Nope, make the clue agree with the answer!)

I normally love stories with found family but this one didn’t quite hit the right notes for me.

Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

A boy abandoned at birth and raised by a group of puzzlers, after the death of his adoptive mother searches for the truth about his origins by following the clues she left him and, in doing so, discovers himself. Cozy mystery, easy summer reading and, all in all, feel good story, but nothing really unforgettable.

1991- A baby is left on the front stoop of Pippa's house where she lives with other members of the Fellowship of Puzzle Makers. She takes the boy in and raises him as her own. Now- the boy is in his twenties, Pippa is gone, and he wants to find out where he came from. Who left him all alone in that hat box? In order to figure out his past, he'll have to look toward the future and solve the puzzles that Pippa left along the way. Good thing he has a group of puzzle masters to help him.

Loved the dual perspectives and the mystery of it all. I found the puzzles challenging but not unsolvable and thought it was really well done. I recommend getting the print version, I had both the audio and print and it was much easier to have a physical representation of the puzzles. I will be recommending this as a book for my adult book club here at my library!