3.5 stars for this debut by Samuel Burr. I loved the premise of this book, but it was just kind of long winded and meandering without getting anywhere for a long time. Told by two different points of view in two different times, we learn about Pippa at 67 founding the The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers and Clayton being dropped on her doorstep, and also Clayton as a young adult and mourning the loss of Pippa while also trying to discover his biological roots. This novel is all about finding yourself, found family, and some LGBT+ thrown in there. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.

When the book opens, Clayton finds himself orphaned a second time when his beloved adopted mom (Pippa) passed away. He'd been left on the doorstep of the home Pippa shared with several puzzle enthusiasts. Clayton's "family" was made up of a number of people living together in a commune like setting. When Pippa died, she left Clayton a series of clues to help him solve the one puzzle that had eluded him all his life: the identity of his birth parents.

The book is told in parallel storylines. One focuses on Clayon's journey of self-discover, and theother is a history of Pippa's life up to the point of Clayton's arrive. Readers will enjoy trying to solve the puzzles sprinkled throughout the book. I liked the split story as it felt like two jigsaw puzzles were taking shape and readers will be kept guessing how the two fit together.

Burr created a fascinating and clever tale with plenty of puzzles thrown in. One of the puzzles was a maze in which the correct path was supposed to spell out a word. Alas, there was more than one pathway out of the maze (the path I found was very short and didn't spell anything; perhaps the maze could be edited so only one solution is possible).

One a personal note, had I realized the book had LGBT elements, I would not have chosen to review it. Because I am committed to finishing every book I opt to review, I went ahead and finished it skimming over some parts. I felt like the same-sex attraction element came a bit out of left field as there were no hints about that until readers were well into the book. I only bring that up so other readers will not be taken by surprise.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of The Fellowship of Puzzle Maker from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

This one was quite the cozy mystery! It was heartwarming and the found family theme was really strong in this one. It also had a couple actual puzzles you can solve as you read. I liked how it defined what made people like puzzles from the start and established a common drive for many characters. The story is told in alternating timelines between the past and the present and I think pace and the reveal was done well! Thank you so much to Vintage Anchor/Doubleday for the ARC of this one!

A lovely dual time line novel about Pip, Clayton, and found family. Pip, an intelligent woman and puzzlemaker, creates a community of like minded talented people in the early 1960s. They live together, supporting themselves by making and selling puzzles. And then infant Clayton is left at their doorstep. Now, Pip has died and left Clayton a puzzle based scavenger hunt to find his bio-mom, a quest he'd never discussed with her. Don't worry if you can't work the clues (I couldn't)-some of them are cryptic, others dependent on your (and Clayton's) knowledge of London. Both timelines are big hearted and engaging with secrets abounding. Clayton discovers more than he anticipated during his quest (no spoilers) and you'll be pleased for him. Burr has done an excellent job with all of the characters (some of whom are a real hoot) the atmospherics, and the mystery. This has good storytelling, an intriguing premise and well, I became invested. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, An excellent read.

Philippa Allstock was a woman with a vision. She created a sort of commune, at a house she inherited, with like-minded individuals who liked all sorts of puzzles—word games, codes, mazes, mathematical puzzles, and the like. They became a family, and one day when a baby was abandoned on their doorstop, Philippa was thrilled. Clayton, the baby, grew up with many loving mentors, and the best mother in the world.
When Philippa died, she left Clayton a series of puzzles to solve that would lead him to his birth parents. And in the process, he travels a bit, jas a few adventures, and finds a new love.
I loved the story and the kindness and acceptance that pervade it. My only criticism is that the dual storyline (past and present), told in alternating chapters, make the book a bit disjointed.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a novel that follows a group of puzzle makers. When a baby is left on their door step, they raise him as their own. Now Clay is 25 and the leader of the fellowship, who was his adopted mom, has passed away. Clay goes on a search for his true identity.

This book was just ok for me. I loved the different puzzle aspects throughout. I love puzzles so that part was great. I also loved the friendships throughout. I think the writing was good also. I liked how we had different timelines going as well.

I didn't quite connect with the characters though or the story itself. I just felt a bit bored throughout and I didn't like how everything wrapped up in the end. I wanted more action or suspense in there, something to keep me engaged.

I am not a huge reader of contemporary fiction so those who love that genre might enjoy this one.

Thanks so much to netgalley and Vintage Anchor | Doubleday for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you, NetGalley and Doubleday, for my free digital copy for review.

I would describe this book as a delightful blend of humor, mind-twisting puzzles, and heartfelt moments. From the prologue, I was completely captivated. Being a fan of puzzles of all kinds, I found myself drawn in. While I may not excel at all puzzles, as Pippa says, “The solving is always more important than the solution,” a sentiment that resonates throughout the book. The main character, Clayton, is tasked with solving a crossword puzzle to uncover what he is seeking. My advice? Don’t just answer the puzzle, go with the flow; it’s a lot more enjoyable.

Clayton is an endearing character. Having grown up not knowing his biological parents, he was raised by Pippa and Earl, his foster parents, within a family of puzzle makers. His humor, thoughtfulness, and frustrations leap off the page, making it hard not to root for him.

The theme of found family, as seen in the fellowship, adds a heartwarming touch to the story. Pippa, Nancy, Earl, Hector, and the rest of the cast each contribute their own quirks, weaknesses, and strengths, and the way they come together is particularly appealing to readers.

While the puzzles initially drew me to the book, they did not disappoint. It’s always delightful to see this element woven into a story. A beautiful narrative with wonderful characters.

I highly recommend this book if you're seeking a read that will challenge your mind and warm your heart.

The Fellowship of the Puzzlemakers was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I really liked the puzzle elements, but I felt like the time-shifting made it hard to become absorbed in the individual relationships. It was a good 50 pages or so before I was 100% clear on who everyone was. And, even then, their characters didn't necessarily settle into themselves. Nevertheless, I still very much enjoyed the book. I liked the scavenger hunt aspect, the intelligence of the plot, and the fact that I didn't entirely see the ending at the beginning. I think many, many people would enjoy this one.

Pippa Allsbrook, an esteemed London crossword compiler, puts out a call for all those of a like mind to form a 'fellowship' of puzzlemakers, drawing in the best of the best in all related fields. Their motto? 'I CAME, I SAW, I SOLVED.' Eventually the group moves in together in a grand old house known as Creighton Hall where creativity flows and brilliant ideas abound.

But as time goes by, there's one puzzle they haven't been able to solve--the parentage of the foundling left on their doorstep 25 years ago, the baby boy they called Clayton Stumper. When Pippa passes away, she leaves a set of clues for Clayton to follow and perhaps find himself in more ways than he expects.

Being someone who enjoys doing puzzles of all sorts, I thoroughly enjoyed this light-hearted, charming story. Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this debut novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

I was intrigued by the title (I'm a fan of puzzles) and was excited to read this. With that said, I loved the premise of the book and what it was trying to accomplish but this was a sluggish read for me. I really wanted to love it but it just wasn't for me. But, what a great book idea!

I didn't love this nearly as much as I wanted to - I felt like the characters' experiences were trivialized in a way and also explained to death, which always rubs me the wrong way as a reader (I have a brain, I get it - why don't you trust that I get it?).

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is just my type of book. I love stories that show we are better together and also include some quirky characters. Books with cookie cutter characters bore me and Samuel Burr gives us a cast of multi layered characters that makes me an interesting story.

When Clayton Stump was just a baby, he was found on the front steps of the commune of The Puzzlemakers. Raised by a group of eclectic and older adults, results in Clayton, at twenty six years old, acts like he is eighty.

With the passing of Clayton's adoptive mom, Pippa, Clayton is sent on a scavenger hunt to discover who he is and what he should do with his life.

Samuel Burr has woven a story that is heartfelt and filled with great characters. I would have loved to know many of these individuals.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so heartwarming and whimsical. I love word games and puzzles, so it had me from the start there, but there’s so much more to it than that. It deals with grief, love, found family, and belonging. The dual timelines were great, and I liked seeing how the Fellowship came to be, and how past events lead to the current day timeline. The puzzle element was great as well

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a great fit for readers who enjoy stories about solving puzzles, celebrating found family, and exploring heartwarming LGBTQ-themed narratives.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced readers copy of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers.
I really wanted to enjoy this book based on the synopsis, but found it to be just okay. I do not think that I am the proper target audience. However, I do have several library patrons that I think will adore this one.

What an extremely lovely book. Reading it was like drinking a warm cup of tea. I highly recommend it if you are needing an uplifting story.

Vintage Anchor, a division of Penguin Random House, provided an early galley for review.

As a child, some of my favorite library books to check out dealt with puzzles. In the late 1970's, when I was still in junior high school, I had a subscription to Games Magazine. It is, therefore, no surprise the title of this novel would jump right out to me.

This novel has a cast of varied characters. I like the concept of the Fellowship itself - people of similar interests coming together and supporting one another. I also liked the puzzles sprinkled through the story for the readers to complete if they are so inclined. Some were fairly easy for me; a few took a little more time.

The story bounces back and forth between the present day (2016) and the past (when the Fellowship was first starting out). At first, this is marked, but then it is up to the reader to keep track of when we are. As I've noted in the past, I am not a huge fan of parallel narratives as they can sometimes be confusing or slow down any momentum gained when switching to the other period of the story.

Granted, there is no fear of that latter aspect here as the story has a very meandering pace as it is. There is movement, sure, but I was not feeling a sense of urgency as I read. And, the aforementioned puzzles also slow the reading progress down if time is taken to work them out as they are presented. But, perhaps, this might have been Burr's intention all along - to get us to slow down in this hectic 21st century world to take in and savor that which we are currently focused on.

I do have to nitpick something though. One of the characters in the book is always reading Danielle Steel novels. However, each title that the author notes clearly were written many years after the scenes in which they are shown. That is something only the well-read (or a librarian like myself) would catch on to. I am a stickler for accuracy in pop-culture references in historical pieces. With so many complex puzzles and such in the book, I was surprised to see this area of detail falling short.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr is a tale about the joy of puzzles and a young man solving a puzzle and finding himself. It is a highly recommended feel-good novel.

As a baby Clayton Stumper was left in a hatbox on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers in Bedfordshire, England. Now 25, he was raised by Fellowship founder Pippa Allsbrook, the esteemed and prolific maker of crossword puzzles, along with the other older members, all enigmatologists living together in the commune. Now Pippa has passed away, and Clayton wants to know who his birth parents were. Lucky for him, Pippa left a series of puzzles that will provide him with the answers he seeks if he can solve them.

The narrative follows dual story lines, alternating between the past, when Pippa started the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, and the present, as Clayton solves the puzzles and clues left for him. The past allows us the meet Pippa and the other members of the Fellowship before Clayton arrived. It's a look into who raised Clayton. The present follows Clayton's quest to find out who he is as an individual apart from the Fellowship.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a sweet-tempered, gentle, cozy tale that has pleasant, appealing characters, and many types of puzzles. The main focus of the novel are puzzles of all types and varieties. They are embedded in the novel and part of all plot threads in the narrative with the characters circling around the puzzles. The pace is slow, almost glacially at times, but if you adore puzzles and novels about finding your family, then this will be a good choice. Thanks to Knopf Doubleday for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Not my cup of tea, unfortunately. I wasn’t really into the story line. It fell a bit flat for me. Thank you to NetGalley for gifting me an arc.

Ratings:
⭐️⭐️

Review (no spoilers):
This book was alright. I struggled staying invested during parts of it. I think there might have been a bit too much puzzles within the body of the book. Since I couldn’t solve them myself I struggled to appreciate them.

I enjoyed the two timelines and getting to see Pippa’s story along with Clayton’s and how everything came together in the end.

I was definitely surprised about who his father was, so great job on the surprise aspect to this.

Thank you for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Puzzles come in all ways, shapes, and forms, and so do puzzle makers. It's the early 80's. Pippa is bright, beautiful, and alone. She decides to find like minded individuals to share in her love of puzzle making. She sends out invitations and one night brings some of the best puzzle minds in Great Britain together to form a club, The Fellowship of the Puzzlemakers. Surprisingly, but unsurprisingly, Pippa is the only female present and some of her male counterparts have trouble with her leadership. This slowly fades away and a new organization is born. Fast forward to when the members decide to make it a full time deal and move in together creating a living space with a commune feeling. Running along side this story is the story of Clayton, a baby that was left on the doorstep of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers some twenty something years early. Pippa, who has been his mother, has passed and it is now time for him to find out where he comes from. And in true puzzlemaker's style, Pippa provides Clayton with the clues he needs to solve to discover his origin story, how he ended up on their doorstep in a hat makers box all those years early. Full of quirky characters, heart, and puzzles this is a fun and touching story to read.