I throughly enjoyed The Otherwhere Post! Maeve changed her name since her father was blamed for a terrible crime. She gets an anonymous letter stating that her father was innocent. This causes Maeve to enroll as an apprentice at the Otherworld Post to track down the sender of the letter.

Maeve and Tristan have great banter from the start. The sarcasm level is appreciated and an enjoyed both these characters the most. The stakes for Maeve’s motivations make sense and aren’t too dramatic so some of the risks she takes for the most part feel logical. I never got bored and loved the way everything gets resolved and ends.

First thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this, the premise is incredible, but I just didn’t connect with it. The writing felt pretty juvenile, world building too shallow, and the stakes were so low that I found it hard to stay engaged. This is definitely aimed at a younger YA audience, but then would get overly graphic with some gruesome details. It felt like the author couldn't make up her mind on what she really wanted this to be.

Overall, this was a dud for me. I was wishing for so much more.

“If you could reverse the worst thing that’s ever happened to you, wouldn’t you risk everything to try?”

Seven years ago, Inverly, one of the three identical connected known worlds was destroyed in a matter of minutes by Aldervine. In order to save the other worlds (Barrow and Leyland) from the same fate, the Written Doors, which connected the worlds and made travel between the three possible, were burned and destroyed. People were stranded wherever they were when the doors burned, thus separating families.

During all the chaos, scriptomancer Jonathan Abenthy perished. It was also believed that his twelve-year-old daughter, Maeve perished. When in fact, a stranger found her and pushed her through the Written Door to Leyland, where Maeve found herself in an orphanage. An investigation determined that Jonathan was solely responsible for the release of the Aldervine. At the orphanage, Maeve was bullied, abused, and told to never tell anyone who she was. After a short stay, she ran away and managed to obtain a fake name and paperwork.

Now eighteen, Maeve is barely surviving and still living under an assumed name. She doesn’t live in one place for long or allow herself to get close to anyone, lest they figure out who she really is. Maeve’s life once again changes when she receives a lost anonymous letter via an Otherwhere courier. The letter, from seven years ago, states that it’s from a friend of her father, who says her father was innocent and wants to meet. Maeve sets out on a quest to find the anonymous letter writer and prove her father’s innocence.

Emily J. Taylor’s The Otherwhere Post puts letter writing, or more specifically scribing, front and center. This young adult story combines a little romance with magic, mystery, suspense, and a few thriller-like moments. Maeve has built a wall around herself and doesn’t trust easily. Lying for her is second nature. But she has a good heart. The banter between her and Tristan, the boy appointed to be her mentor, provides a little break from some of the heaviness of the book. The Otherwhere Post focuses on the themes of friendship, found family, betrayal, greed, and absolute power. This was an intriguing, thought-provoking page-turner, with no dull moments.

~ Favorite Quotes ~

“When you discover what it is you love, you must clutch on to it with your whole heart and never let it go.”

“You’ll never get over your fears unless you face them.”

This was a dnf for me - I gave it to 30% and just was not clicking with the story or the characters

Thank you for the opportunity to read early

Maeve Abernathy had to go into hiding after her father was accused of terrible crimes. When she received a letter saying Your father was innocent, she plans to uncover the truth. She poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post to be trained in scriptomancy, the dangerous magic allowing people to enchant letters and deliver them to various worlds. Searching for the truth is drawing too much attention, and her mentor knows she's lying about her identity. She's being threatened, and being told to stop her investigation or else.

Three worlds were linked together by Written Doors allowing travel and trade between them. Other worlds were infected with Aldervine, a plant that sank into people and put them to sleep as it consumed them. Maeve’s father was reviled as the man who brought it to Inverley, which devastated the world and killed everyone in it before it was sealed and the Written Doors destroyed. The people who were trapped in the other two worlds remain there, and only the people trained in scriptomancy and are able to use the traveling scripts can become couriers. Once thinking she could run away, Maeve decides to steal the identity of a potential student to discover the truth about her father. Her mentor has secrets and heartbreak of his own, and someone is using scriptomancy to send Maeve subtle threats and scares in the school.

The world details are really fun to read about. The quality of quills, ink, paper and how to stop the magic from bleeding through the paper are discussed, as well as the rigid rules required to be a courier. The couriers are the only ones able to move between the two remaining worlds due to the time and energy to hone the magic talents involved. While Maeve only wanted to discover the truth about her father, she learns about scribing, and even makes friends in spite of herself. The threats she faced are really inventive, and the showdown in the final quarter of the book was tense and drew me in. I really enjoyed the world here, and the characters portrayed in it.

I've been on somewhat of a dark academia kick lately, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of The Otherwhere Post, a YA dark academia billed as A Darker Shade of Magic meets Divine Rivals. I'd say that it fulfills both of those promises fairly well - the worldbuilding was on par with V. E. Schwab's and it has the Divine Rivals-esque romance to please romantasy readers. I personally enjoyed both comps better than The Otherwhere Post - for a number of reasons I'll go into here - but I still felt this book was a good read.

The Otherwhere Post centers around a mystery. Maeve Abenthy is the daughter of a man her realm (and Maeve herself) believes is a mass murderer - many years ago, Jonathan Abenthy released the Aldervine, a deadly magical vine, into their world, sealing off the doors between realms for good. As Jonathan's daughter, Maeve lives her life on the run, but a mysterious letter has her sprinting towards her father's old scriptomancy school. In order to find the recipient of the mysterious letter, who claims her father is innocent, Maeve must learn the art of scriptomancy: magic writing that lets the user travel between worlds, imbue letters with vivid memories, and bring ink on the page to life, among other uses. On the quest to find the letter writer and prove her father's innocence, Maeve's life becomes increasingly endangered and her fate entwined with that of a charismatic young courier, Tristan.

The mystery element is very well done and kept me guessing throughout. Taylor introduces enough twists and turns to keep the story engaging, while also building in downtime to discover the characters and explore the romance. I thoroughly enjoyed how the mystery element took us on a journey through the various different realms - the worldbuilding is a particular highlight. Like A Darker Shade of Magic, there are several realms layered atop each other here, which only special magical people can travel through, and one of the realms is infected and dangerous. I think Taylor explains that complex concept very well, and the worldbuilding remained accessible throughout. Although scriptomancy is a magic I haven't seen done before in fantasy, Taylor never info dumps or leaves the reader confused; there was just the right amount of explanation at just the right time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in the world Taylor crafted, and I think others will too.

I also really liked the romance. Tristan is fantastic - a well-dressed and shy academic, who hides his magical gifts due to a secret dark past. He's so sweet and so good to Maeve, while also not being one note. I would take a thousand Tristans, please - can we make "secretly a golden retriever" a more well-used romantasy trope? I love that Maeve was the morally gray one here, and I love the way that their relationship unfolded throughout the novel.

But what I didn't love was Maeve herself, or, rather, the way that Taylor treats Maeve. Maeve makes a number of horrible decisions that, were she a real person, would not work out nearly so well. I felt there was a good amount of luck on Maeve's side, or at least a good amount of "don't kill your darlings" going on. I also didn't love how nearly everyone seems to like Maeve, despite her rather standoffish behavior. I don't mind an unlikeable or morally gray protagonist, but I do mind whenever everyone falls all over them. From Maeve's too-nice (and kinda nosy, tbh) roommate Nan, to the random secondary characters that let Maeve do what Maeve wants to do, the characters supporting Maeve's bad decisions are the only wheel that kept this plot turning. And THAT really detracted from my overall enjoyment. Well, that and the random conveniences of everyone turning up whenever Maeve needs them most.

And then the other thing is that, while the worldbuilding and the twisting plot felt sparkling and full of life, the characters and writing did not. Outside of Maeve and Tristan, the other characters felt like background or like plot devices to drop clues. The villain is exactly who you think the villain will be, because everyone else is so unambiguously nice or forgettable. I think part of this is due to the writing. I read an ARC, so this could be corrected, but it was so flat and there were lots of typos. Forgotten filler words like "a" and "the" mostly, but enough that I questioned if it was written in a hurry, or if it had gotten a final editorial pass. And once I noticed all of these things - plot conveniences, typos, and lack of character growth - I couldn't stop seeing it, and then I no longer cared if Maeve ever solved the mystery. I just kept reading because the magic carried this book.

But as always with YA, take my reviews with a grain of salt - I'm a midtwenties bookworm who's read far too much for her own good. If you gave this to me ten years ago, I'd have devoured it, and, after all, that's the intended audience. This is a solid, middle of the road YA dark academia that has plenty of mass appeal and enough twists and turns to satisfy clever teen readers. The romance is sweet and age appropriate, and the language and subject matter makes it a good gateway YA book for middle grade readers seeking something more challenging.

Many thanks to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin Young Readers Group), and Emily J. Taylor for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Teen for providing me with an ARC!

I read Emily J. Taylor’s debut novel, Hotel Magnifique, a few years ago after receiving it in an Owlcrate box and I really enjoyed that one, so I was super excited to get a copy of The Otherwhere Post!! This book completely exceeded my expectations, I loved everything about it.

The book follows Maeve as she tries to prove her father innocent for crimes he committed several years ago. She uses a fake identity to get her into the prestigious scriptomancy school so she can learn more about his past and also the skill in general. I really liked the worldbuilding and magic system a lot! It reminded me of two of my favorite books of all time with the different versions of the same cities in different worlds (A Darker Shade of Magic) and the magical letter writing (Divine Rivals). Usually I don’t like when there are obvious comparisons to other books but this was still different enough and I still enjoyed this book a lot!

This book combined so many genres together and it did all of them perfectly. There were the fantasy elements with the magic and the fictional world, the romance between the apprentice and her mentor, and the mystery plotline. Every single element was balanced perfectly with each other.

I highly recommend this book and I look forward to Emily J. Taylor’s next novel !!!

I'm not always a fan of dark academia, but this novel is definitely an exception. The idea of a school where scholars learn to enchant letters to allow them to travel between overlaid worlds is so intriguing that I was happy to pick it up, and I'm glad I did. Maeve, our main character, has been running and hiding for the past seven years to escape association with her father's horrible deeds. She's planning to run again until she receives a mysterious letter claiming that her father was innocent, and she can't let it go. But finding answers might cost her everything.

If you're not a huge fan of novels set in academies, don't turn your nose at this one. Although there is an academic setting, the focus is not on classes or petty gossip or quarrels between students, so it doesn't feel like your typical dark academia story. Instead, we have a young women who infiltrates the scriptomancy academy in order to search for answers about her deceased father. It's set in an interesting world where special forms of writing hold powers. While some of these are described in detail, I do think there is room for more exploration here and am intrigued to know whether there might be a sequel to this book in the future.

I appreciated the interplay between our two main characters and was certainly rooting for them to get together. They both had secrets and struggles to overcome, and it kind of worked. This book was really about the plot though and about introducing the reader to some wildly fascinating ideas about the world in which it was set. I enjoyed it a lot, but would caution that if you're not interested in a slightly disjointed, not to character driven experience, this one might not be right for you. Having said that, the writing is well-done, the world is fascinating, the characters are likable, and there is room to expand to a series if the author so chooses. I would recommend this.

Maeve was so easy to connect with! Not the picture perfect heroine but more of a loner who cares about her goals and not much else. Shes driven to find out answers and doesn’t care what rules she needs to break to reach them.

Tristan was a fun character. And such a great counterpart for her. He’s very secretive, stubborn and has a whole haunted vibe to him.

The magic system was so unique! I loved how refreshing it was to not read another story that has the same things as the next fantasy book!

This book was fantastic in every detail, from the unique magic system and world-building to the slow burn romance and yearning with an added level of mystery, dangerous scribings and newfound friendships.

If you are a fan of a darker academic setting, hidden pasts and the journey to discover what lies beneath layers of buried history, magic that feels fresh, Edwardian inspired setting, *almost kisses* and characters that stick to you long after you close the book!

Finding solid good young adult fantasy in this age is so hard. I stumbled upon this and just from the description of Tristan, I knew I would like this, I'm not even going to lie and say it was the intricate magic system that beguiled me! Not to say it wasn't a crucial, perfectly thought-out and executed part of the book. Scriptomancy was a unique take on magic and writing power. It did confuse me for a bit but that only solidfies it as strong world-building in my books. If it's too easy to digest, it's lacking something.

Tristan did not disappoint. He was the exact surly, sarcastic guy I had in mind. New fave hero alert! On that note, Maeve did not let me down either. I love heroines who can lie with their whole chest, and do. She was an expert liar with a slight conscience, of course, but not enough to turn her into self-pitying, sorry-state main character who refuses to lie and steal. She was grounded and fun while being serious. She was the highlight of the book.

Emily J. Taylor is a new author to me, one who I will be keeping an eye on for future releases, and so should you.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this book, it just completely failed to interest me at any point. Maybe because I never got to know anything about the characters? I know Maeve has rust-red hair and Tristan has dark hair (I think?) and glasses. I don't know what Nan looks like, or Shae, or anyone else in the book. We learn nothing about their likes, dislikes, etcetera except that Maeve doesn't get along with horses and Tristan likes music. At once it feels very hasty and at the same time like nothing's happening. Maybe I'm just the wrong audience?

The Otherwhere Post is a fun, fast-paced YA fantasy full of magic and adventure. I enjoyed the characters, pacing, and magic system. I was hoping to see more of the additional worlds, but it does leave room for Emily Taylor to create a series in the future.

I received an ARC from PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited when I was approved for an ARC of The Otherwhere Post as I had read Hotel Magnifique and thought it was a very underrated book. The world building and character work was fantastic. I think I went into this book with very high expectations and it disappointed me a bit. It was a very very slow burn with lots of lyrical and descriptive writing. I wanted more from it and again, I think that is because I had high expectations. I do see why people are loving this book but I wanted more plot and higher stakes. I do recommend if you love slow burn murder mysteries set in a fantasy world. I will be picking up the next book Emily J. Taylor writes.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for an e-arc of The Otherwhere Post by Emily J Taylor.

Maeve Abenthy never gives out her real name and for good reason; the entire world knows her father doomed another to death and destruction when he released the Aldervine, a ferocious plant that kills. That day the door to travel between worlds was burned, leaving people trapped whatever world they were in. At least that’s what everyone thinks - including Maeve - but one day she receives an anonymous letter saying her father wasn’t the one who did it. Now Maeve is looking for answers and is determined to find the truth about what really happened. However, this requires her to fake her way into the scriptomancy academy in order to get answers.

This was my first book by Emily J Taylor and throughly enjoyed it. It’s older YA and while I’ve had a hard time with YA as of late, I must say this was a delightful read!

It’s an academic fantasy and I really enjoyed the magic system of scriptomancy, where people are able to use writing and inks to imbue the world with magic. There are different factions within this system and we learn more about each one as Maeve delves deeper into the world. Although she does have some experience that she gathered from her father, back before everything changed.

I really enjoyed the mystery along the way and how everything plays out, such as who and what roles everyone played in that fateful day so many years ago. Maeve also has good character development in the book even if I was yelling at her to trust people. It’s understandable why she has trust issues though. Her blooming romance with Tristan was sweet to see - two souls trying to navigate life after traumatic events and somehow find each other.

We don’t learn much about the other worlds that are connected in and honestly I would have loved to learn more about them - but that’s just me since I love parallel universes. I’m just saying if some other interconnected books came out I wouldn’t be mad. Haha

If you’re looking for an academic fantasy filled with intrigue, scheming, mystery and a bit of romance - then pick this up!

I originally read Hotel Magnifique and fell in love with the magic that Emily wrote, after that I knew I would need more of her writing! The Otherwhere Post is just as exciting and beautifully written but a whole new world of magic.

It was easy to get swept up in the world building and cast of characters. Of course you also get some cringy dialogue, but that comes with the territory of new romance.

Overall a fun read and I look forward to seeing more of her work!

4.25 stars!

The worldbuilding in here is fantastic! It’s so well thought out, truly. I was engaged the entire time.

Maeve hasn’t been able to use her real name in years, thanks to her missing/presumed dead father. When she receives a letter indicating that he might be innocent, Maeve uses her wits to investigate the claim and enrolls in a coveted school to do so. The art of scriptomancy is thoroughly explained, and it’s quite fascinating. There’s a little bit of romance, too, if you like that sort of thing.

In short, I loved the story and highly recommend it!

“The Otherwhere Post” follows Maeve as she attempts to infiltrate the magical Otherwhere Post by posing as an apprentice to find out who sent her a mysterious letter, and in the process unravel the mystery surrounding what happened to her father years before. Her plans are complicated by her noisy mentor, Tristian, a handsome boy with a mysterious past.

I can’t even begin to explain how much I absolutely LOVED this book. “The Otherwhere Post” has it all - great world building, a unique magic system, fantastic characters, a compelling mystery, beautiful writing, and a swoon worthy romance. Maeve was a great main character- I loved her character arc, her relationship with Tristan and Nan, her back story, and her prickly, self reliant personality. Everything about her was perfect.

And Tristan has set the book boyfriend bar to a new high! I loved that he never gave up on Maeve but still respected her boundaries. I also loved watching him work through his trauma and to learn and grow and trust himself again.

I also just loved the setting! The candlelit/gaslight vibes were impeccable - there’s just something about a town by the sea in the autumn that hits all of the right spots for me. I really want to explore the Otherwhere Post campus and all three cities of Gloam. The setting felt so real - like one could just walk right in and explore.

The magic system was also incredibly fascinating. I read a lot of fantasy and the concept of scriptomancy was a really fresh and unique take on magic. I do wish that there had been a bit more exploration of what scritpomancy entailed and what it could do. But I think I’m also just greedy for anything more in this world!

Finally, the writing was absolutely gorgeous. Emily J. Taylor’s prose draws the reader right into the story and doesn’t let one go. “The Otherwhere Post” is a fascinating meditation on the power inherent in the act of writing. And I definitely want a quill pen and a new journal now.

Again, I can’t recommend “The Otherwhere Post” enough. This will definitely be one of the best books I’ll read this year and it very well might be a new lifetime favorite. I honestly can’t stop thinking about how amazing this book was. I am fairly sure this was a stand alone novel but I’m holding out hope that Taylor returns to this world in the future and gives us the continuing adventures of Maeve, Tristian, and Nan. Regardless, I will be eagerly checking out Taylor’s other works and anxiously awaiting anything else she writes.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Teen Canada, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For the last seven years, Maeve Abenthy has lived under a false name, constantly on the move so as to prevent anyone from connecting her with her father, who was accused of a terrible crime. But when she receives a mysterious letter that claims her father was innocent, she is determined to uncover the truth. And the only way to do that is to learn scriptomancy, the magic that allows couriers to travel between worlds. Maeve impersonates an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post to learn this art. But looking into the past of such an infamous person as her father is drawing more attention than she expected, her mentor Tristan has already figured out that she isn’t who she claims to be, and worst of all, someone knows who she is and is sending threatening – and increasingly deadly – letters to warn her off this investigation.

I read Hotel Magnifique by this author a couple of years ago and I found it kind of a struggle to get through, so I was a bit nervous about this one, but with such a fascinating premise, I couldn’t pass it up!

I absolutely loved the world building! It was fantasy with plenty of dark academia and a touch of mystery. The concept of scriptomancy which was basically the magic system, and its wide reaching capabilities were fascinating, especially the ability to create portals between worlds. There was a good amount of information and backstory shared without it ever feeling like an info dump, in this aspect anyway.

However, I would have liked to see the scriptomancy itself in more detail. There was plenty about what it could do, but the how was never really explained and the story left things rather vague on that front. I would understand if this was the first book in a series and it’s intended to be developed more, but all indications are that this is a standalone.

The mystery arc was handled pretty well too, there were lots of twists and plenty of false leads and red herrings, which made it interesting. I didn’t manage to guess it until close to the end.

This book was a fast paced, easy read and I was completely hooked right from the beginning. There was a little more violence than I would expect to see in a YA novel, but nothing too bad.

Maeve was pretty much your typical teen protagonist, likeable but a tad too impulsive, which made me frustrated with her character occasionally as she ran off to follow a lead with no plan whatsoever yet again. That said, her arc was well written with pretty much zero angst (which I really appreciated).

I felt there was a bit too much going on in those last few chapters, and though there was an appropriate build up for it, it was difficult to keep track of all at the same time. Nonetheless, there were some shocking last minute twists that were excellently written and the story wrapped up all the arcs in a satisfying manner.

Overall, The Otherwhere Post was an entertaining read, and I would highly recommend it to readers of all ages. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this author will write next!

This was my first experience with Emily J. Taylor’s writing and I was not disappointed. I loved the dark academia vibes and the fantasy elements that made this book feel very atmospheric and immersive. The characters were interesting and my younger self could relate to Maeve and some of her impulsivity and gutsy actions. The plot was interesting and I never felt bored or as if my attention was straying away from the book. There’s a bit of a slow burn romance side plot going on also which creates extra interest in this story. The romance doesn’t overtake the main plot though, which is what I look for in romance implemented in books that I read. There’s world building did fall a bit short in some areas but I did love what was done, I just would have loved it to be expanded upon because it had so much potential. Overall, I think many readers who enjoy YA fantasy books will really enjoy this one as well!

Many thanks to the publishers Penguin Group / Penguin Teen and NetGalley for my advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review and opinions!