Thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for the Audio ARC!

The Birdcage Library was quite an enjoyable read. The narrative took a lot of twists and turns, which kept things very interesting without ever feeling contrived or forced. I highly enjoyed the layers of puzzles within puzzles, and the protagonist's determination to get to the final nesting doll at the center of it all. Definitely would recommend to detective fans, cozy mystery fans, and fans of the 'Gilded Age' in general.

In 1932, plant-hunter Emily is hired to find a hidden treasure in a remote Scottish castle. Instead, she uncovers a diary leading her on a perilous treasure hunt and forcing her to confront a long-buried secret. This dual-timeline historical mystery is atmospheric and full of unexpected twists. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Birdcage Library (audiobook) by Freya Berry
This was a historical novel with a dual timeline between 1932 and the 1880s, told with multiple points of view between two women. You have Emily Blackwood who goes to work for Heinrich Vogel at a castle in Scottland. She was hired under the guise of cataloguing a collection but given the task of a treatsure hunt. While there, she finds the diary of Hester Vogel. Hester fell from the Brooklyn bridge on the eve of its opening in 1883. From the diary Emily is led to find a rare book.
I have to say that overall, I was disappointed with this one. In the beginning, the author goes to great lengths to describe Emily and her diabetes. The author fails in providing an accurate description of transporting or storing insulin in 1932. Storing it for long periods without refrigeration, under the bed would have been disaster out and unlikely. There is no detail given withthe administration, or source of insulin. Since there was so much care taken to describe how she carried the vials on a belt around her waste, it was careless to fall flat with knowledge of the drug or disease. From the description, the woman would not have lived seven years managing it in the manner as it was described.
Further the scenes were not detailed enough to take the reader there and experience the places. I struggled to get invested in the story. The mystery was carefully constructed but not engaging enough to hold my interest throughout the story.
The narration was confusing as it switched timelines and characters.
I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review an ARC of this audiobook. 2.5/5⭐️

This was such a whirlwind of a book! Dual point of view, dual timeline, more animals than you can imagine, a few villains, double meanings, multiple treasure hunts and a partridge in a pear tree!

I never expected that a book set during the earlier timeline would have such a stance on what is clearly a frowned upon subject today. Normally books set in the period of what our hero/heroines live are seen through rose tinted glasses and they aren't seen to partake in what we would think of now as vulgar activities. The clear one upmanship of the wealthy, always having to have more and better than anyone else, was well written but not the disgust of caging so many innocent and exotic creatures.
The 'many animals slaughtered for fashion' trend back in those times was seen as a rich man's sport and an indulged woman's right and I was surprised to see that Hester and the Emporium were fine with the blatant exploitation of animals. Although refreshing as it was exactly the stance that someone living in those times would have had.

The 1920/30s 'modern' timeline had heroine Emily at centre stage. She went through a multitude of feelings, and situations within these pages and I really liked her character. Very early on, it was said that she had a secret. I guessed what it was straight away and was glad to see that I didn't have to wait until the end for it to emerge. Hester I liked too, although the sadder her story line got, it was sometimes a slog to keep reading as it seemed so hopeless. I also guessed Charles' secret and the ending of the Paradise Bird's sweet life. Despite the fact that I knew what was coming, the ending had so many twists and turns that just when you thought it was the end, there came more twists. As I said before, a whirlwind!!

The research gone into a book with different eras and a distinct knowledge of botany must have taken an age to research. It was done beautifully well and as I said, I was impressed that the characters lived and thought like people from that era would, without modern notions creeping in.

The narrator was amazing, going seamlessly from male to female, Scottish to American and back again. Her voice was lovely to listen to and it made the book a better experience as audio versions often do.

My thanks to Netgalley, Freya Berry and Brilliance publishing for allowing me the opportunity to listen to the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Not my cup of tea between the narrator and the story I just couldn’t get interested it felt text book to me

** spoiler alert **

I started out with high hopes for the audiobook. The premise sounded interesting and I liked the idea of several strong women characters.

However (don't say you didn't know that was coming) my initial interest waned quickly due (in part) to the narrator, Lauryn Allman who narrated the action in an English accent, Emma in a Scottish accent and Hester in an American one. I got hopelessly lost trying to work out whose story I was in.. It would have been better to stick to all Scottish for Emma's part and all American for Hester, Things are not helped by the two characters being so similar as to be almost interchangeable. I also found the accents rather trying - the Scottish faded in and out and the German reminded me of Meryl Streep's Danish in Out of Africa.

So I tried to ignore all this and concentrate on the plot. But there was no relief there either. It is unnecessarily convoluted - bouncing from one time to another with these two women declaring themselves to be strong and independent yet fluttering into hysteria and swooning in nearly every scene. As for the oft mentioned reading lots of detective novels hence being good at working out a mystery - I'm terrible at whodunnits (I don't read a lot of them) and yet I'd worked out by the halfway mark exactly what had happened.

Why carry on reading? In the vain hope that there'd be another twist before the end and I'd be wrong. The melodramatic narration pushed me close to quitting several times though.

However what I did get treated to was the most unbelievable escape ever. You'd have to suspend the laws of biology and credulity both to get over Emma escaping from the top tower of a castle by diving into a freezing loch (that she doesn't know the depth of) all while suffering from the effects of ketoacidosis - a condition that usually requires immediate hospital treatment.

I have to mention one last part that I even noted down as I listened: There's a bit where either Hester or Emma/Emily is crying and some "hero" or other licks her tears off her face? Definitely a step too far.

Parts of the story are based on fact but the whole is wrapped up in a story so utterly ridiculous that I'm cross with myself for continuing.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for the audio advance review copy.

This is an interesting gothic tale, with quite a few twists and turns. I listened to this one and found that i did get a little confused at times with the interchanging stories (which are quite similar) and the twists for different characters.
I did enjoy it and the historical elements were really interesting.

I was drawn into this book by the cover art and a brief glance at the description. Treasure hunting mysteries in big spooky castles is usually pretty captivating for my attention.

Emily Blackwood has been taking care of her father in Australia until their investments are lost and they must return to England. Her father is unable to care for himself after an accident so Emily must take a job in a remote castle with a man she's never met. When she arrives, she quickly learns the job is a bit of a sham with the hopes of her arrival and something she has in her possession.

I enjoyed the mystery and the treasure hunting aspects woven into this story. When Emily finds a hidden diary, she hopes it will help her on her quest to uncover the treasure she is seeking. I am trying to be a bit vague and not give away too many spoilers or sneak peeks . I had the audiobook and thought the narrator did a really good job and found the story engaging and clever.

I am really glad I picked this book up and will be on the look out for more from this author. If Emily decides to go on any additional adventures or if the author decides to tell us more about Emily's excursions, I would love to read those stories as well.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher. Normally I enjoy a book with 2 timelines. Unfortunately I had a hard time keeping track of what was happening. The story just didn’t keep my attention. I’m so disappointed, I really thought this book would work for me. If the synopsis sounds interesting to you, read it. This may have just been a me issue.