Samuel Burr has written a heartwarming story of life, friends that become like family, and the love that sustains us all. The book is well written and filled with memorable characters who create all kinds of puzzles, crosswords, jigsaws, mazes, all kinds of word and number games, even cryptography. The book centers on Pippa who has drawn together a diverse group of slightly quirky puzzlemakers, each with their own specialty. Can they support themselves with their creations? All reside in Pippa's inherited estate in a puzzlemakers commune. She is the heart of the group. but they all encourage each other in their various endeavors, and soon become a family. When baby Clayton is left on their doorstep, he gives the group a purpose beyond their creation of puzzles and fills their lives with both love and yet another puzzle. The narration alternates between Pippa as she recounts the history of the Fellowship and its members, and the young adult Clayton as he embarks on the trail of Pippa's last puzzle, in search of both his birthparents and his purpose in life. I thoroughly enjoyed the book! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of this review are my own.

I was excited to read this book, mostly due to the puzzle theme. I recently hosted a library program with jigsaw puzzles, and I found a notable lack of puzzle-related books that I could display during my event. This book, however, fits the bill perfectly, with not just jigsaw puzzles, but the entire breadth of puzzling contained in a single story.

I think the fact that I was reading an ARC took away from the experience, a bit; once the formatting is complete, it looks like there will be some fun word puzzles throughout the book that the reader can play along with to predict the plot. I recommend reading this one with a pencil nearby!

There are some sweet characters and cute romances in the story. It's a fairly lighthearted story, overall. The plot felt a little "cheesy" at times. The beginning is a slow start. As I was introduced to all these characters and the concept of the Fellowship, I found myself wishing for more reason to care about the story. I think more emphasis on Clayton's childhood, with some fun interactions between him and the other residents, could've helped endear me towards him earlier in the book. I did, however, grow to love him, and by the end was rooting for him and the conclusion of his personal journey.

Overall, I wouldn't say this book changed my life, but it's a cute story about puzzles that puzzlers will enjoy puzzling over.

This was a really fun read. It took me longer than I'd expected to get through as something was wrong with the formatting on mine and it threw me off, but that aside it was a really fun romp. The people that it's meant for (puzzle lovers) are truly going to love it. Everyone else may as well. The protagonist is eternally relatable to anyone who has felt just a bit on the outside and looking for their place in life. I loved the multiple times and perspectives, as well. Worth a read, especially for puzzle fans.

A feel-good cozy book about an orphaned young man who sets off from the home in which he was raised by the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers. He was found by the founder, Pippa, on their doorstep, in a hat box, as an infant. When Pippa pass on, she leaves him a series of puzzles and clues in which she says he will keys to his past and to his future. Will please fans for Fredrik Backman, Gail Honeyman and similar feel-good tales.

This book could be summarized by a sentence that falls within its pages "Getting older without getting old." The idea of a crop of puzzling experts forming a commune, then being infiltrated by an insurmountable enigma in the person they dub Clayton Stumper was inherently appealing to a puzzle fiend such as me. There are cryptics, anagrams and word ciphers throughout, some truly hilarious. Clayton arrives shortly after his birth in a large hatbox, and I for one could hear Lady Bracknell intoning "A HANDBAG???" And he is raised by the eccentric group of puzzlemakers without any clues as to his provenance. Yes, this is typical cozy, but if puzzles are your thing, you'll find it delightful.

Such a cozy little mystery! I really enjoyed my first jump into non-thriller mysteries and thought the relationships in this book were so well done.

This is the perfect book to cleanse your palate, enjoy reading and truly hunker down with a solid read. Thank you, NetGalley!

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr is an enjoyable book.
Clayton Stumpler is a young man who was left at the Puzzlemakers building. He was raised by the group. He is part of a fading era. Pippa found and raised him. When she passes away, she leaves the ultimate puzzle for him.

He proceeds to go about solving the puzzle. It will help him figure out his past and teach him how to live-in today’s world.
I really enjoyed the puzzle aspect of the book, and I thought the writing was very good. There were a few places that I read over to make sure I understood.
This is a good book and worth a read.

I found this book to be very enjoyable. As someone who loves puzzles, I enjoyed the concept of the Fellowship of the Puzzlemakers. The mystery surrounding Clayton's parents was intriguing and kept the story moving. However, my only complaint is that the ending left me feeling unsatisfied. I was expecting a wholesome ending, but instead, I felt more sympathetic towards Clayton and angry at a few characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Vintage/ Anchor/ Knopf Doubleday for giving me a copy of the book.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a feel good book that I will recommend to anyone who enjoys a good puzzle. The quirky characters make for a delightful story that is not without some bumps in the road. Clayton searches for his biological family, comes to appreciate his adoptive family, and finds himself in the process. This book was a breath of fresh air.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The story is fun, creative, and full of puzzles to solve along with Clayton. I enjoyed the variety of puzzles types that were included.

After the death of his primary caregiver, Pippa, Clayton leaves his home with the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers following the clues Pippa left for him. Abandoned at the Fellowship as an infant, he goes on the search for his birth parents. This sweet novel is sure to satisfy readers looking for eccentric characters, puzzle solving, intricate plotting, and the bloom of first love.

This story is definitely a very mild mystery in which lonely characters try to find out where they belong — and Clayton, one of the main characters, tries to find out who he is. The synopsis of this book really made me want to read it, and although I enjoyed it, I did not think it was a great read. It definitely was a very quirky and eccentric, which made me have somewhat of a difficult time really getting into it, and it seemed to drag at points. I know that this book has generally gotten really great reviews, but for whatever reason I must be an outlier because it just was not my cup of tea.

The Fellowship started a few years before the special delivery arrived on the doorstep in the prologue. The author starts with the mysterious hatbox containing a baby, and the Fellowship deciding to keep him and raise him in their home. From there, the book alternates between present day and about 25 -30 years earlier.

Pippa loved puzzles and was a crossword creator. But she had always stood outside the crowd. Toward the end of middle age, she finds her people - other puzzle people who don’t really belong. The Fellowship was born.

Clayton was the baby in the hatbox. In present day, he is a man in his 20s who has been raised by a group of older people with no relation to one another. And he doesn’t know who his biological parents are…no one at the Fellowship does. Or do they?

This a book about discovering yourself and the people who make life good. Love shows itself in many ways and family looks different to different people.

There are a number of puzzles in the book, but most are in the early chapters, with the only other ones being a crossword clue as the title of the chapter. I would have liked to see more consistency - include puzzles or don’t. I suppose they were trying to appeal to everyone, puzzlers and non-puzzlers, but more even distribution would have been nice. Maybe only in the past chapters?

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot. It was warm and full of heart. It was fun and a little predictable. I enjoyed the different generations in the story, and the way age was never a hindrance, whether young or old.

My thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Anchor, Doubleday for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr is a sweet novel about what makes up a family. Pippa writes crosswords and has never found anyone with whom she has connected and started a family. Instead she reaches out to other puzzlers and forms the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, a family of her own. However, she is sad she never had the chance to raise her own child until by chance, a person leaves a child on the doorstep of the Fellowship, giving Pippa a chance to achieve this dream. In present day, Pippa has just passed away, and Clayton, the child raised by the Fellowship decides to set out to follow the clues Pippa left him to discover who his parents really are. Along the way, Clayton discovers the meaning of love, family, and how to follow your dreams.

I really enjoyed this story. The puzzles were a fun addition, and there were red herrings thrown into the plot so you wouldn’t know the answer to Clayton’s parentage right away although the reader could solve it before Clayton did. I really liked the side storylines as well. However, the chapters switching off between Pippa in the past and Clayton in the future was jarring at first. I preferred reading Pippa’a story at first until Clayton’s developed a bit more and was frustrated to switch around so often. However, once the mystery got going, it didn’t bother me anymore. Would definitely recommend!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A baby boy is left in a hatbox on the steps of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers. 67 year old Pippa Allsbrook, crossword puzzle creator and the founder of the society, finds baby Clayton and raises him as her own son. When Pippa passes away at age 89,, Clayton feels untethered, and longs to find out the mystery of why he was left on the door step. Pippa creates a special puzzle for Clayton to find out the secrets of life, and the mystery of his origins. A fun, quirky tale that I absolutely loved!

Infant Clayton Stumper was left, in a hat box, on the front porch of the house inhabited by the Fellowship of the Puzzlemakers commune. He was raised and loved by this eccentric group of mathematicians and puzzle makers. When he became an adult, circumstances propelled him to begin a search for the identity of his birth mother.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet story about love and friendship. Thank you, Anchor Vintage and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

Clayton Stumper is stumped. The person he has always seen as a mother figure has passed away and feels adrift. As an infant he was left on the step of an aging, eccentric institution of puzzlemakers. He never felt a need to know his biological family as he had so many adults in his life who loved him more than enough, but now with Pippa's death, he's feeling a desire to find his parents. Anticipating this, Pippa creates and leaves one last puzzle for Clayton to help him build his life outside the walls of the fellowship. This was a delightful story of puzzles and solutions to one man's journey to his future.

3.5 *’s Sweet and earnest, full of interesting puzzles, a lovely story. I have nothing else to add at this time, thoroughly enjoyable.

A delightfully wonderful book filled with the story of friends and of the quest of a young man. I am so glad I took a chance on this book. Following the creation of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a wonderful tale of distinct personalities blended to form a commune of different puzzle makers. They become the family to a baby boy left on their doorstep. As an adult, he is led by puzzles to try to learn of his parentage. His journey is a joy unto itself.
A very enjoyable read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was just OK for me. It was a bit slow and I felt like some of the storylines could have used a little more substance and resolution. Because of this, I really wasn't invested in any of the characters or the choices they made.