The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick is a time-traveling novel about family ties, murder, and romance. 

I thoroughly enjoy historical fiction, so I was intrigued by The Phantom Tree the moment I read the description. I'm happy to say that the book lived up to its description! It was a daring, intense ride that had me turning the pages quickly. I fell in love with the characters of Alison and Mary Seymour and found myself at the edge of my seat as I followed their lives. 

The book was well-written, though the pace is on the slower side. I was okay with the slower pace, consumed as I was by the vivid details. 

The story concept and over-arching plot was enchanting. There's a dash of fantasy mixed in with the heartbreak of a lost son. I enjoyed the different perspectives, delving into both past and present. Getting into the heads of Alison and Mary was a fun experience--the girls are completely different, so they advanced the story in different ways. 

I liked the ending. It didn't end the way I expected, but I appreciated how everything came full circle in the end. 

The character development in The Phantom Tree was good. Alison and Mary's characters, especially, were fleshed out nicely. I appreciated their depth of character and learning about them as the book went on. The secondary characters--like Adam, Arthur, Thomas, and Will--weren't developed nearly as well, but they were all written to be very unique characters, so I think that worked well for the book. 

If you enjoy historical fiction, you should think about adding this one to your TBR! This was an easy 4-stars for me, and I'll definitely be checking out future books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Phantom Tree is my kind of time travel novel! Now, please don't ask me about whether the particular mechanics of time travel as displayed in this story could actually work or not. It made enough sense to me so I went with it.

What really sold me on this story is that instead of a present day character traveling back to the past, we get a character from the past traveling to our present day. With this fascinating premise, we meet Alison Bannister who has been searching for a way to return to the 1550s and save her infant son Arthur ever since she emerged through a door to the present.

The years passed but Alison has not given up on hope. When she finds an old portrait of her cousin Mary Seymour, she's one step closer to figuring out how to return home. But at the same time, the portrait draws her back into the orbit of her ex-boyfriend Adam who believes the portrait is of Anne Boleyn. She can't be fully honest with him about what she knows and she needs his help to investigate. The story spills out from there and it kept me absolutely enthralled.

We get to see what happened to both Mary and Alison in the past, along with Alison's present day life. There were several twists and turns, including one big one I did not see at all coming. There was the perfect amount of mystery and intrigue as we try to learn what happened to Mary and baby Arthur. There's also the question of whether Alison can go back or if she should go back. After all, Arthur will no longer be a baby upon her return and she'll be a complete stranger to him. Not to mention, everyone at that time believed her to be a witch.

I really enjoyed seeing past Alison compared to present Alison. Present Alison sees a therapist and has a hard time trusting others with information about her personal life but she must risk opening up to the people closest to her in order to have a chance at finding Arthur. The insight into Mary Seymour's life was gripping and heart-wrenching. Women did not have an easy go of things at Wolf Hall, nor anywhere, really, in the 16th century.

I've never read anything by this author before but I was impressed with her writing. Gorgeous prose and impeccable plotting, backed up by excellent research. A thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read!

After much deliberation, I have determined this shall be a 4 star read!

I *loved* this ... after the halfway mark. I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about the beginning of this book. I found the pace to be quite slow, the characters mostly unlikeable and the story to be somewhat boring. And then—and I don't even remember the exact point—it became amazing. Everything I didn't like at the start evolved into something I held close to my heart. The characters each came into their own, their relationships with one another growing beautifully. The mystery spanning across over 400 years unravelled like a fun treasure hunt.

It took me over a week to get halfway, and three days to finish the rest. It was hovering around the two star mark, and then the ending made up for it.

The Phantom Tree is a hard novel to accurately categorize Yes, it’s about time travel since the characters move from century to century. Yes, it’s historical fiction since part of the book is set in Tudor England and known historical figures do make appearances. To be honest though, I’d call it “history light.” It’s even a bit of a mystery. But, what it really turned out to be, for me, was just a well written, wonderful story that grabbed my heart and wouldn’t let go.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

In present time, Alison Bannister discovers a portrait of a woman from the 1500s, labelled as Anne Boleyn. But Alison knows it's not Anne Boleyn - it's a woman named Mary Seymour. Alison knows this because, once upon a time, she knew Mary. More than four hundred years ago, Alison and Mary lived together as orphans in Wolf Hall, not quite enemies but also not quite friends.

Now in present time, the portrait is the key to Alison's past - to getting back to her original time, finding something deeply precious to her, and discovering what happened to Mary shortly after Alison vanished through time.

This novel explores the question of what happened to Mary Seymour, the very real daughter of Thomas Seymour and Katherine Parr. Shortly after her parents respectively died from a beheading and complications with childbirth, Mary Seymour disappears from the history books. Did she die young or live to adulthood? Nicola Cornick creates a fictionalized story surrounding Mary's potential life, asking what could have happened to her.

I really enjoyed this novel! It's a mix of historical and fantasy elements, with time travel! I didn't realize until I read the acknowledgements that Mary was a real person, though I had expected some historical figures to factor into the story. I love historical stories in general, seeing how authors weave historical fact with their own fictionalized stories, taking liberties where needed.

I liked the premise of the story. Time travel is super fascinating so I was interested in how Alison a) arrived in the future b) would get back to her time. I loved how Cornick split the POVs from Alison and Mary in the past, with Alison in the future, trying to put pieces together. It was fun when Alison and Adam, her present-day ex-boyfriend, would figure out things about Mary's life and other relatives, and then you'd see it played out in "real time" in the past.

I particularly loved Mary and Alison's POVs from the past. I haven't read any novels taking place in Elizabethan time - though I have read plenty of primary source writings from women during this time. I love reading about the politics and gender relations of this time, and how messy families were with their own loyalties and power dynamics.

I think my only criticism of this novel is the inclusion of magic and its ending. This novel has a supernatural element to it, mostly in Mary's POV. Although I enjoyed it at the beginning, I found it a bit cumbersome to the plot afterwards. I felt like it could have probably been eliminated altogether or used better. I feel similarly about the explanation of time travel. I wish we had seen Alison leave her time for the future - how she travelled and arrived in our present day. Since the novel's ending was very reliant on time travel and the supernatural, it felt rather rushed and not as tightly-written as the rest of the story, which was more focused on the historical.

In short, the novel does incredibly well with its historical aspects, but the supernatural/magical elements left a little to be desired. Overall, if you want a really lovely story about the potential (if somewhat fictionalized) life of a girl who vanished from history, involving time travel, and messy relationships, this is perfect for you!

This is not my usual genre, however i was really intrigued by the blurp of the book which made me request a copy from netgalley - thank you so much to the publishers for granting me an ARC.

The whole book was a real surprise for me, as i enjoyed it more than i was expecting to! ..., and i enjoyed it a lot!! Excellent representation of time travel, great love story, lots of action and very good plot in general!

Fans of this genre should definitely grab a copy!! :)

This book really struck a chord with me. This whole idea of not fitting in and being at home, really, really hit home. Yes, the story is in places silly, coincidences are convenient etc. etc. but there was something wonderful about it for me. If you like Susannah Kearsley, I highly recommend picking this book up. It had for me the same vibes, I just ordered two more books by this author ;)

I thought this book was good and I enjoyed it for the most part.
The book is a mix of fantasy, history, mystery and romance. It alternates chapters between Elizabethan times and the present time. It follows two main characters each struggling to find their place in the world during childhood and facing obstacles as they grow up. First, it follows Mary Seymour who is the daughter of Katherine Parr and is now an unwanted orphan. She is sent to Wolf Hall to live for a few years and goes missing in her late teens. We also follow Alison Banestre who is also orphaned and lives with Mary in Wolf Hall. Mary and Alison deal with the problems of growing up in 16th century England and things escalate when Alison finds herself pregnant. As events unfold, Mary and Alison go their separate ways while promising each other to keep in touch through clues left.
In modern times, Alison is well into her adult years and has been stuck in the present for many years. She finds herself stuck and wants only to go back and find her lost son. She also reunites with an Ex who discovers a never before seen painting of Anne Boleyn which Alison knows is really a painting of Mary Seymour. They team up in discovering the truth and Alison secretly also hides her agenda in finding a way back home to her time.
I thought this book was enjoyable. The plot was bittersweet but a bit slow in the middle. It was an overall easy read and I loved the fantastical elements.

You had me at Kate Morton because I adore her as a writer... but this wasn’t her. There was too much suspension of disbelief required for this book and even then, the characters weren’t my favorite. I know I’m in the minority and I feel bad about that... I wanted to like it but it fell flat.

A spellbinding story of love and sacrifice beautifully told. Plenty of action and mystery to keep you glued to the pages as you follow Alison through time to solve a mystery and learn that love has no timeframe. A must read!

Since my early days of reading I've always been captivated by books which have a Time Travel element to them so I was really excited to dig into The Phantom Tree.

This novel's story is kicked off when time traveler Allison comes across a painting of what is said to be Anne Boleyn. She stops outside of the shop because she knows it isn't, it is in fact her friend Mary Seymour. Allison steps into the shop to get a closer look and the story kicks off from there.

Personally I really enjoyed this novel. The pacing is really good and it rarely dragged at all. The only slight downfall for me was that I felt there could actually be a bit MORE to the story but it was really well done. It's always tricky with time travel to make it believable yet fanciful enough to be fun and Nicola hit the mark there and the time travel element is quite well done.

Overall I think readers of historical fiction - especially those who like a bit of time travel a la Outlander - will really enjoy this book!

Received an Arc from Netgalley.
Two young girls thrown together by birth and circumstance, grow up to have their lives forever inextricably interwoven. Love time travel books. This was different in that the travel was forward instead of into the past. Masterfully written, impeccably researched. Evocative and emotional. This book is going to do very well.

I thought the premise of this book was great. If you like history mixed with sci-fi (like Outlander). I always find it so fun to learn more about lesser known people in history through stories like this. Sometimes in learning about history people's personalities get lost, which is a huge part of what I liked in this book. It really showed that people in the 15th/16th century are really not that different from how we are today.

Allison was a very interesting character, though I did get a bit frustrated with her interactions with Adam. I thought the romance was sort of rushed, and really wanted to focus more on the mystery of time travel and what happened to Mary. When we did find out what happened to Mary, I was sort of shocked. It seemed like such a drastic ending to that plotline. I did enjoy though that we found out what happened to Arthur.

In general I think that this book needed about 50 or so more pages to explain some things (like Mary's magic? Why was that a thing?). Otherwise I loved the story!

I enjoy reading about the Tudor era, which is why I was drawn to this book in the first place. It was a bit strange, but kept my attention, and had an interesting premise --- it was just a little different with the elements of time travel involved. As a whole I enjoyed it, but found the time travel aspect a bit strange and far fetched/not explained well. It was still an interesting read though, just not quite what I expected.

“I felt his smile. It was wonderfully comforting.”

This book got me shaking at how cute the couples are :)


plot:

The writing style was simply enchanting and very descriptive. It had a really good start which I found essential, especially for fantasy books, to be able to get the attention of their readers. It had the detail that fantasy books call for. I enjoyed the story a lot because aside from the fantasy or historical aspect, it was also very amusing and not boring. It did not really have the very strong fantasy vibe I was expecting at the start of the book.

Though it was a creative idea to make the plots at different eras, it was one of the things I thought was unnecessary for the book. I think I would have enjoyed it more if they stuck to the earlier eras. The back and forth of eras did not appeal to my reading style.

And from what I remember, we were not even given a specific date. . .

it was merely written as "present time" so I imagine it in the contemporary world.

It was not a bad portrayal however, words were chosen carefully to fully depict to the readers the timeline.


Aside from that, the other elements in the story fit the theme perfectly for me. What I like with historical fiction is how they can show us a different side to things. It made me see the life of novelty differently.


characters:

“There was love, and teasing and all the reassurances that I remembered. It made me want to cry all over again.”

i love the relationships of the characters because they were mostly relatable.

some of my favorite tropes were here so I may be a little bias hehe

“I was just a girl, in love with being in love.”

I cannot get over the couples in the story !!! They were so cute.

there were prominent familial relationships which I always like seeing in fantasy books because this very different world suddenly makes it more relatable in a way that a lot of people are familiar with, the aspect of family.


themes:

As I said earlier, though I like most of the themes that were in this book and they fit the fantasy genre, there were still some themes that I was not a fan of which was the main reason for my 3-star rating.


overall:

It was mostly an enjoyable read and I had a really hard time rating this because it had one of the most enchanting writing styles I have come across but the plot just really did not call out to me. Historical Fiction readers might love this since i the writing style seemed genuine and had a little bit of everything.

This book is a combination of historical fiction, fantasy, romance and mystery with the occasional gothic element. This is a time travel book, telling the story of two women; both orphans.

A great title to purchase for those historical fiction lovers in your bookstore or library, a charming premise that is well executed. There are areas that could have been improved, both in the writing and the plot, for those lovers of Tudor history, it will not matter. It is an escape and it is a joy.

The Phantom Tree
First of all, let me thank Netgalley and Graydon House for the chance to read and review this book pre-release. As always, these thoughts are my own. This review is spoiler-free and no main plot points are revealed.

I give the Phantom Tree 4.75 stars.

Synopsis: Browsing an antiques shop in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait—identified as the doomed Tudor queen, Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better. The subject is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr, who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 and presumed dead after going missing as a child.

And Alison knows this because she, too, lived at Wolf Hall and knew Mary…more than four hundred years ago.

The painting of Mary is more than just a beautiful object for Alison—it holds the key to her past life, the unlocking of the mystery surrounding Mary’s disappearance and how Alison can get back to her own time. To when she and Mary were childhood enemies yet shared a pact that now, finally, must be fulfilled, no matter the cost.

Bestselling author of House of Shadows Nicola Cornick offers a provocative alternate history of rivals, secrets and danger, set in a time when a woman’s destiny was determined by the politics of men and luck of birth. A spellbinding tale for fans of Kate Morton, Philippa Gregory and Barbara Erskine.

I adored this book…
and I don’t get to say that very much about stories. I have a set of perfect expectations that stories break all the time. THIS BOOK is nearly perfect. I won’t spoil anything for you, but I would have given it an easy 5-star rating except for the events at the close of the story.

History, Mystery, a touch of Romance, and a touch of Magic
Honestly, Nicola Cornick did (almost) everything right. There were enough clues in the mystery to string the reader along pleasantly, and there was so much historical ambiance that honestly it was like stepping back into Tudor England. The two main characters had distinct but similar voices, and I honestly can’t rave enough about this story.

It would have been my favorite book of all time except for the ending, but DON”T let that discourage you from reading and buying this amazingly detailed, clever, and interesting story. Rarely can I say a book has held my attention (even when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it!) as much as this story has.

Bottom line, pick it up, read it, and then tell me you loved it because it is a masterwork you don’t want to miss. (Do I EVER rave like this? No! You know it’s an amazing story if I’m raving)

If you like historical fiction, pick The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick up. If you don’t or have never read it, this is the best HF I’ve ever read.

Twin story of Mary Seymour and her friend, Alison Banestre in 1500's England and the present day search of Alison Bannester for clues left behind by Mary as to the whereabouts of Alison's child. The time travel blends seamlessly from Mary's story to the immortal Alison piecing together what happened. Interesting and a must for any British Tudor time period history buff who likes a bit of fantasy in their historical fiction. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I have loved and read many time travel books for years. Like all books some time travel is not worth reading or is just mediocre. The Phantom Tree is exceptional! I devoured it, reading it in one day and stayed up late reading with no regrets. The Phantom Tree set in Tudor and present time had all of my favorites History, Historical Fiction, Time Travel, Suspense, Mystery and a love story. Nicola Cornick books just improve with each new book. The Phantom Tree leaves me looking forward her next book and possibly rereading her earlier books.