I really struggled with the mix of Historical, Adriatic countries and Fantasy magic.
Once I got past this I enjoyed the story line and characters.
It would have been so much better if the story had been totally blended with a Make believe Fantasy World.
Hence only 3 Stars

Liara is a young woman who is searching for her identity and place in the world. She has suffered and been blamed for something which has been out of her control. Throughout this book you see her grow and learn more about her past and herself.

Thanks to Netgallery and Xchyler Publishing for the opportunity to review this book. This is my honest opinion of the book.

I found that I enjoyed the story but it was so slow for most of the book. The main character, I found abrasive and single minded. I eventually came to not hate her but I don’t think I like her.

The book promised a full fledged historical epic fantasy . And delivered the same.
This is one of those books many people say wrobg things or dnf while you feel like shouting and screaming how good this book is and throwing flowers(with their pots of course) in their faces.
Thanks netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read abd review this book. My opinion is fully mine.

Synopsis

Liara is a 16 year old orphan with an ability to gain other’s possessions. She knows the rumours surrounding her birth and knows why she is treated as an outcast within the village of Dvigrad. Magick. The only person who stands up for her is Father Phenlick who took her in as a child and raised her within the church to keep her safe. When Liara’s stolen possessions are found surrounded by magick, Father Phenlick protects her once more but has no choice but to banish her from the village into the protection of the only person who will claim her; Nagarath the wizard of Parentino.

Liara cannot wait to leave the village behind and the people that have cast her off and filled her heart with despair and betrayal. Nagarath coming to her rescue is just what she hoped for as the beginning of her new life in banishment. Magick is in her blood, what better way of discovering who she really is than being the apprentice of a wizard. Only Nagarath has other plans for her.

‘”You’ve questioned me about your parentage for as long as you’ve been able to speak. And I’ve seen all of you as you’ve grown. You’ve a heart divided, Liara. Wanting so desperately to be normal, to be accepted despite your origins, and yet hungry for the particulars and how they might be of use to you even now.”‘

My Thoughts

I have to say, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I put off reading it for a while and found that when I started reading the story, the pace was really slow. Liara’s life changed when she suddenly found herself banished from her village and into the world of an isolated wizard in the forest, but nothing seems to happened until towards end. I wasn’t sure at what stage it suddenly gripped me, but before I knew it, I was hooked on the story and needed more. I didn’t realise how caught up I was in their lives when before I knew it, I’d gotten to the end of the book.

The story itself is told in one of 4 locations, Liara’s village, Nagarath’s home magically hidden amongst castle ruins, the surrounding forest and finally the seaside town of Vrsar. Even with it’s limited locations, I never felt like there was anything missing. The author did an great job setting the scenes that you felt you were there alongside them.

‘Miserable and bedraggled as she was, Liara could not help the grin that spread over her face as realisation dawned. The winding narrow alley before her ended in a low wall. And beyond that, she glimpsed a great blue-green something filling the horizon. With a squeal of delight Liara ran to the end of the tiny street, eager to have a better view of the sea. Here was real magick. Liara breathed in a deep lungful of the salted air and leaned forward, drinking in the sight. Those who had built the city had made sure to take full advantage of the natural geography of the coastline. This foresight served Liara well as her eyes danced over the tiled rooftops, skipped over the spired of churches, and basked in the beauty that was Vrsar.’

After accepting the role as Liara’s guardian, Nagarath takes her to his home within the forest, swearing to protect his new ward the only way he knows how – through magick.
I really liked Nagarath as a character. He’s made out to be a lot older than he is at first, but we slowly realise that magick has taken it’s toll to make him appear older than he truly is. With his vast knowledge of magick and experience from a very young age, his role as her guardian/ mentor is well represented. We come to realise that he knows a lot more about Liara’s past than he’s let on, from how she was ‘created’, who her real family is, and why she needs protection that only he can give now. When he feels guilty for not being more involved with her upbringing, it leaves us to question more about his character and what secrets he’s hiding.

I wasn’t sure what to make of Liara’s character at first. She’s selfish, a liar and a thief and only has resentment and disrespect for everyone around her, only she makes it worse by feeling like an innocent when she’s discovered doing her sinful deeds. She’s even more frustrating when, because she has magick within her, she expects Nagarath to take her on as his apprentice, even when he tells her no. The way she secretly learns magick is really telling, especially when she creates the Catalogue for Nagarath’s library. In one way it’s nice to see that she’s taken her librarian role seriously and respectfully, another shows that she’s so self-absorbed and difficult which makes us question whether Liara will ever grow up.

The slow paced story is a fantastic way of building up the characters throughout the book. As Nagarath and Liara get to know each other within the confines of the castle, there are a lot of confusing emotions that are present which brings us to wonder where their relationship will lead too. Is it purely just guardian and ward learning to live with each other in Parentino? Is it wizard and apprentice reacting to each other’s magical aura? or is it simply a man and a young woman developing feelings for each other as they grow to rely on one another alone within Nagarath’s home. I really enjoyed the unknown chemistry between the two characters. By the end of the story, I didn’t even hesitate to get a copy of the next book to find out more.

‘He looked up at the dark ceiling, towards Liara’s quarters – Liara with her strange mood and unspoken questions. Though he hadn’t quite figured what had come over her while they sat together by the fire, he could tell when she was holding back. She clearly had questions that went beyond magick, beyond tea making and the like.
But so had he.
Nagarath turned his eyes back to the fire, as if staring into its searing light might burn away the fog that had settled into his mind.’

I would like to thank the Netgalley website and Xchyler Publishing for this partnership.

I was immediately attracted by the cover: we see the beautiful Liara and the magician Nagarath. And especially the summary and the catchphrase: "The know-how, the most dangerous magic".

It all begins when Liara, sixteen, is banned for witchcraft from her village by the priest who raised and betrayed her. A mysterious Nagarath mage takes her under his wing. She will have to restore the library which is neglected. She will secretly learn magic at the risk of being caught. She has a mortal enemy, the mage will do everything to save her.

A book read in one go, I hooked immediately to the moving story in some passages, captivating and filled with suspense and twists. The character of Liara is very endearing. Can wait to read the book two.

This book was ok. It moved a little slow and would be good if you want to read a relaxing easy book. I loved the characters and the depth the story went into and the twists and turns.

I received a free copy of The Bookminder by M.K. Wiseman in exchange for an honest review. This is intended to be the first book of “The Bookminder” historical fantasy series. Liara, resident orphan, ward of the church, kleptomaniac, and living contradiction, is the primary character. Following the horrors of the magic wars, the town priest outlawed the practice of magic in the valley. The penalty for such an offense? Death. The residents of the town despise Liara because she was created of magic and allowed to exist under the protection of the very same priest who declared magic forbidden. However, even the priest cannot protect Liara when, among her stolen treasures, the village guard discovers her inadvertent use of magic. Because the offense was inadvertent, the priest is able to reduce her penalty, but Liara is still to be cast out into the world at the age of sixteen. Then, Nagarath, another contradiction-a wizard allowed to live in the valley on condition of protecting the town from outside magics, volunteers to take Liara in. This tale tracks Liara’s struggle to become the magic user she was always destined to be. Liara’s goals for her own life and immediate future continually conflict with those of the townspeople, Nagareth, and everyone else.

Though it seemed to drag a little in the middle, it was worth continuing past the lull. Eventually, Liara seems to grow both as a person and as a magic user; however, she’s still young, prone to temper tantrums, and easily misled. Nagareth is little better even though he’s supposed to be her mentor. Maybe they’ll grow up together. Overall, I liked this book.

#TheBookminder #NetGalley

This is the authors first book, and it shows, at the beginning. I advise all readers to persevere!
Whilst the first few chapters feel a little haphazard and rambling, the book evens itself out into a gripping and interesting story.
Liara is an excellently crafted character. I despise Mary Sues, and she is most definitely not one! She's rather selfish and unlikeable at first, thinking of herself first in everything she does, but throughout the book she has a gentle metamorphosis into someone that's beginning to see the consequences of selfish actions, and absorbs some of her mentors wisdom. She's not perfect by the end of book one, but I was very impressed with how believable her development was.
I also enjoyed the science of the magic that the author uses, having definable laws and expectations. A lot of fantasy authors just plonk magic into a world with no explanation other than 'magic!', but Wiseman let's us understand how magic is supposed to work in her setting.
I'm feeling the ship here between protag and Nagarath, its a gorgeous slow burn, I hope my prediction is correct.
I finished this in one sitting, it was well worth the read.
My criticisms are that the world is a little malformed - the names of the characters from the village feel east block, Russian-ish in form, yet there are a jew jarring Western names in there, and then it's set close to Venice? In Europe? And the language of magic is Hebrew? I found that a bit of a mish mash, but easily forgivable once the meat of the story gets going.
Secondly, as I said, the first few chapters are a little hesitant, like the author hasn't quite found the voice of her story, but it certainly grows and develops a style and voice by about a fifth of the way in.
I'm going to immediately request the second in the series, so on the whole, a very much recommended book.

The Bookminder is a wonderfully written YA historical fantasy novel that takes place in 1679 in various historical areas in Croatia. Magick was outlawed many years ago after a devastating attack led by an evil mage. At the start of the novel, 16 year old Liara, daughter of the evil mage, was spurned by the folks of her town. She was caught using witchcraft and the town folks used that as a reason to banish her. Nagarath, Wizard of Parentino, steps forward to offer her protection.

Liara and Nagarath are both wonderful multi faceted characters. Both characters are deeply flawed but endearing. The Bookminder is a very character driven story. Majority of the events take place inside the Parentino Castle where we learn of the enticing magick-filled world the author has created. Stuck together in a limited space, the tension and connection between Liara and Nagarath builds and builds until the climax of the story finally hits you. The progression of the story is just awesome. Liara is an intensely driven, ambitious, and self-absorbed teenager. The years of prejudice she suffered in her town created a hunger for vengeance and the desire to prove her worth to herself and to those who rejected her. You are constantly wondering what lines Liara is willing to cross to dispel her insecurities.

To further immerse her readers, the author has also included appendices with a listing of the laws of magic, the Green Language (the language of magic), and character listing. It would have been great if there had been a map as well. However, this is a historical fantasy and the historical places in the story can be found online if you want to gauge the distance and orientation. But, honestly, it would have been awesome to see the map from the year 1679 perspective.

This novel is targeted correctly for YA. Teenagers who enjoy reading character driven, coming-of-age stories, or girl empowered fantasy novels should enjoy this story. I am uncertain if this title is appropriate for younger age groups since the topic of rape does come up from time to time of an event that happened off page in the past. Adults who enjoy fantasy novels may also enjoy this title. However, I think Liara's self-absorbed 'all about me' attitude may be too much for some adults to tolerate.

This is a great start to the series and I cannot wait for the next book.

Notes: Many thanks to Netgalley and Xchyler Publishing for providing a copy of this book.

A more detailed review has also been posted to my Blog and shorter, more succinct reviews posted to Goodreads and Amazon.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Actual rate: 4.0

Since I’ve read the second book in this series before reading this first book, I was quite disappointed. Not because of the plot, but because I’ve already know what will happen in the end -the surprise element is gone. The book is great as it clears my confusion regarding the second book.