Romilly Kemp and her father Tobias have moved to a ramshackle house in the English countryside. They have little to no money. Tobias paints and tells stories to Romilly, eventually turning them into a book series. Full of Tobias's beautiful illustrations, the books were a wild success, however, it also led to a series of mysteries of hidden words.

This book is sad, in that it's a young girl and her father. It's the story of a lonely girl and a sick father. These topics (mental health) are often touchy and difficult to read about but Polly Crosby has done so with kid-gloves making it understandable to younger readers.

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

This definitely got darker than I expected but I still enjoyed the book. It was interesting to think about what it would be like to be a kid famous for being in his/her parent's book.

Reading The Book of Hidden Wonders is like reading someone’s dream. It is infused with an ethereal and otherworldly feel that creates a magical reading experience. Told from the point of view of Romilly Kemp, a child of an artist who grows up in an old and rambling estate in the countryside, we follow her adventures with her best friend and the chaos her father’s books bring to her life.
Spending her days exploring the woods with her friend Stacy, Romilly is unaware of her family’s isolation and poverty. After her father is inspired to create a picture book series loosely based on Romilly’s adventures, the two finally begin to experience financial stability. When readers become convinced that the books contain clues to a hidden treasure, a constant stream of treasure hunters begin to invade their property. As the success of the books increases, her father’s mental state seems to decline. As the two spend more and more time isolated from the outside world, Romilly spends more time pouring over her father’s picture books and discovering her own hidden clues to a secret that will upend her entire world.
The complexity of the story is so multilayered that it’s only at the end do you see how cleverly it is all laid out. Romilly is a fascinating character. She has an incredibly unconventional childhood. Left to play all day by herself, her father so absorbed in his paintings, allows Romilly to develop an incredibly rich imagination. It is this imagination that allows her to cope with the mystery surrounding her mother’s absence and why her father is both so indulgent and at the same time, nearly negligent in his care of her. A layer of sadness hangs over Romilly and her father and follows them throughout their story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Polly Crosby, NetGalley, and Harlequin-Trade Publishing for allowing me to read the ARC of The Book of Hidden Wonders for my honest review.

This book is a beautiful story of family love and secrets that come together to result in Romilly Kemp learning about herself, life, and her family. Romilly, a young girl, and her father, published author of children’s books, live in a castle-like home, complete with a moat. Her father used Romilly as the main character in his books, which made her privacy a big issue. Readers decided the books were telling about a hidden treasure on their property, so they came in droves to dig and search. Romilly has so many family questions, like why her mother never comes to visit, what happened to her sister, and is there really a treasure. This is a fun mystery about family dynamics. I enjoyed this book.

The cover copy for this makes it seem like a fun and lovely romp through a girl's childhood and the books her father writes. It's not. This is peak mental-illness-as-horror.

Romilly Kemp, our narrator, tells a story about moving with her father into a mysterious property after being abandoned by her mother. In their new home, Romilly lives in a fairy-tale world, complete with quests and forbidden places and actions. She grows up in fits and starts, mostly feral and unschooled, and time is fluid: events that seem like they would take weeks are, Romilly tells us, done in a day; and the narrative jumps from month to month and season to season. Within the house, Romilly's father paints endless pictures of her, or what seems to he her, having adventures based on Romilly's actual play. Filled with obscured images and tiny details, the paintings become children's books that cause adults to obsess about clues to a hidden treasure. Romilly's mother appears, apparently on day leave from a facility for the mentally ill. She's frightening to Romilly, and incomprehensible, and Romilly's father refuses to explain anything about her or their situation. Romilly's grandmother appears from nowhere and is a brief light in Romilly's life until she dies, alone, and is apparently not found for some time. Romilly's dad makes giant sculptures on the land and lets tourists dig for the fabled treasure, never taking much of an interest in anything but his work. Romilly gains an enigmatical friend, Stacey, who dares her and drives her to exploration and danger, and with whom Romilly falls in love.

But finally we learn that Romilly had a twin sister who died, and Romilly's parents decided they would pretend this sister never existed, until they couldn't pretend any longer. Romilly's mother lives in an asylum; her father has dementia; and Stacey is a creation of Romilly's mind. But Romilly is such an unreliable narrator in the gothic tradition that I began to wonder if anything Romilly tells her audience is true. Is she the one in a mental health facility, imagining it as a wild estate full of danger and beauty, with her parents visiting only rarely? She was alone with her sister when her sister died: was she actually in some way responsible for her sister's death? Is the person she calls her father actually her parent, but a doctor who has focused on her case for his work and then ultimately moved on to other patients? What is true in this story, and what is imagined? Is this story all only in the mind of Romilly, whose traumas have made her construct a different narrative for herself?

I was caught up in this story almost immediately. The main characters are intriguing and the story unique. A compelling, somewhat dark story that chronicles a fictional childhood both idyllic and shockingly neglectful, raised by a creative yet disturbed parent. Chock-full of secrets, mysteries, and flashes of both beauty and suspense.

This story had great potential but ended up falling flat for me. I thought that it would be a twisty mystery and instead, it started with a young girl and therefore couldn't/didn't develop plotwise as I had hoped.

This is a wonderful family saga set in England. Romilly and her father live out in the country in an old rundown estate. They needed an income so dad started writing children's books. The series became an instant success featuring Romilly and her cat Monty. Fans start over running the estate trying to decipher clues in the illustrations about hidden treasure. As her dad starts losing his mental facilities Romilly starts to read the clues a little differently and finds an amazing family secret. A good story of family love and compassion. A sad story but rich in background and details. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"In each room the crying sounded different. In the drawing room there were huge, racking sobs; in the bathroom quiet little whimpers."

This is the story of Romily who lives in a ramshackle mansion in the English countryside with her artist father who writes picture books about Romily and her cat. These books a wildly popular and there's a story that they contain a treasure hunt.

The book is a coming-of-age story for Romily as people looking for the treasure wander in the vicinity of her life, as her mother who abandoned her comes in and our of her life, as she befriends a local girl.

As the years pass, and Romily finally uncovers the treasure, she is left to pickup the pieces of her life.

Even though the book is quite sad, I really enjoyed my time with it. I loved the visual elements and each of the characters were unique and interesting. I wish I knew more about the dad. Some really really beautiful writing and imagery in this story.

with gratitude to netgalley and harlequin publishing - Park Row for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Book of Hidden Wonder follows Romilly Kemp, a young girl who's father has made her the main character of his children's novels. While the idea of being the subject of her father's story originally excites her, as the years pass she begins to see the downfall of stardom. Many fans believe that hidden inside these books are clues to finding a hidden treasures somewhere on Romilly and her father's property. But is there really a treasure, and if so does Romilly have the courage to find it?

Let me begin by saying I really enjoyed the thought of this book. I also feel like it touches on subject matter that is so often overlooked in Young Adult stories as Romilly's father is ill with Dementia. However, it felt like there were so many minor plot points(a wild panther, a mystery friend, a crazy mother, a circus, a pedophile) that it was hard to grasp onto the main one. Romilly grows up in this novel but it throws her forward in time so rapidly the reader barely gets time to learn who Romilly has become at the age she was just to be introduced to an older and different Romilly. She was a very hard character to like for that reason and I found myself caring more about her father's, Tobis, storyline. However there is no real good sense of closure as he is whisked away 75% into the title and hardly addressed again. I am searching for something that I truely liked about this book, but am having trouble. However, I did give it a 2 star rating because while I couldn't follow the plot or being truly invested myself, I didn't hate this book. It's just hanging in limbo for me.

Other readers may find ways to connect with Romilly and make sense of her often choppy way of telling her story, I recommend this book to anyone 12 and up as the stint with the pedophile can easily be missed as it was such a small and "blink and you'll miss it" moment. I really hope this novel can find it's audience, but alas, I am not in it.

When I heard about this book during BookExpo, it sounded amazing! A girl has to find the hidden clues her father left her inside the children's books he wrote.

Except, reading the book wasn't all that amazing.

I expected the book to be told from an adult woman's point of view - like maybe she went back to her old house, discovered the books, and started this treasure hunt. But instead, the book starts when the main character, Romily, is 9 years old. It's just her and her dad moving into this ramshackle old house. All we know is that her mom "went away" and her dad used to be a professor, but now he wants to focus on his art. Eventually, her dad starts writing and illustrating a series of children's books with Romily as the star. There are hidden words on each page, and readers flock to Romily's house because they think the words will lead them to treasure hidden somewhere on the property. Romily doesn't really understand because she knows there's no treasure. Until many years later...

I have to admit, the hidden secret was not so secret for me. I knew that's where the author was headed, but what did surprise me was that there was so much story AFTER the big reveal. I kept waiting for the book to end.

Part of me liked the gothic nature of the book and how it did leave me wondering at times just what was real and what wasn't. However, I didn't like that I couldn't easily place the time period. One of the characters alludes to Indiana Jones, but that just means the story took place at some point after the movie's release. And as someone who was a child in the 80s not living in England, I had no idea who Terry Waite was - another reference made in the book. I had to look it up. Knowing this, I didn't think the writing style meshed very well with the timeframe. It all seemed so Victorian to me, or at least like it was happening in the 1950s. There was just a disconnect for me.

I guess what I'm trying to say is just like the lack of real treasure within Romily's dad's books, don't expect to find a treasure in The Book of Hidden Wonders either.

I am glad I read this book and while it is not for everyone I do think It would be good for mystery lovers and anyone who likes to read a book that really stays with you and makes you think

I loved this book. It starts off as a simple tale of childhood and growing up, but morphs into something much richer. It turns out that the child in this story has a pretty complicated childhood, filled with family trauma, mysterious characters who randomly appear, and an otherworldly setting in an old house. The story centers around Romilly and her father, the author of a series of books about his daughter. The story gradually peels back the layers on a dysfunctional family, instead becoming a revelation of the secrets behind the dysfunction, as captured in the magical books featuring Romilly. The characters are sketched deftly, and the story moves along at just the right pace. Secrets are revealed and mysteries solved, and we are left with a lovely meditation on the role of love, loyalty, and family, The book in the title could just as well be this book itself, as reading it was truly an unexpected wonder.

I really loved the first 3/4 of this book - the main character, Romilly, was interesting, complex, a little weird and very sympathetic. She lives a very untraditional childhood, living with her eccentric artist father in a strange old house in the country in relative poverty, until her dad gets the idea to make a picture book series with her and her cat as the central characters. These books become wildly popular and people think that they contain clues to a hidden treasure - though it turns out the treasure hunt is really for Romilly alone, and may not consist of actual physical treasure after all.

Her story of learning about the mysteries central to her own life was moving and realistically complex - it definitely got ugly and dark (Romilly, her father and her estranged mother all deal with various kinds of mental illness and trauma; the father's battle with dementia is painted with unflinching detail), but always felt very compelling and real in its emotionality. After Romilly discovers the truth of the central mystery hidden within her father's books and within her own suppressed memories, the book takes a really (to my mind) weird turn and becomes a lot darker and stranger. I didn't like this portion of the book as much, as it seemed to but somewhat unnecessary and tangential to what had been the book's central story, which I felt was very well-resolved with real emotional resonance.

Very interesting concept but not all that well executed. I found this extremely slow to start and couldn’t ever really get into the story. Sad as well.

Romily Kemp lives with her unusual father, Tobias, and her faithful cat, Monty. Together they live a secluded life on a crumbling estate surrounded by wild gardens. When Romily is 9-years-old, Tobias starts writing children's books about Romily. The books contain beautiful, detailed illustrations and clues to something mysterious. Most believe the clues lead to treasure, which begins a large fan base to visit the Kemp estate. As Romily grows older and more books come out, the more her father changes into a person Romily doesn’t know. It is up to Romily find out where the clues lead.

When I read the description of this book I was instantly intrigued. This book was beautifully written with a magical touch and a shadow of darkness. Romily and her father had an adventurous and loving relationship that I admired. The mystery of Tobias' clues for Romily kept me hanging on every sentence. My heart went out to Romily as she faced new chapters in her life as the famous girl in Tobias Kemp's books. I enjoyed the twists of love, family drama and mystery throughout this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Park Row for my ARC.
The Book of Hidden Wonders by Polly Crosby is to be released 09/01/2020

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was around 3.5 stars for me.

The pacing for this book initially threw me off. Based on the introduction it was clear we were hearing from Romilly on her upbringing but I wasn't really hooked by the story until almost the first half. This is actually a rich and haunting mystery and once the pace picks up the story becomes winding and mysterious and captivating.

That being said, it's also strange and confusing at times. <spoiler>I'm going to assume Romilly's mother reappears because her father reached out saying he had dementia. But she leaves again and we watch him slowly forget everything. But he started writing these books when his brain was presumably more healthy because he wanted to leave a treasure for Romilly. And this treasure is the memory of her dead sister? Instead of talking about the tragedy he creates an entire book series and markets it globally so that his daughter can one day, when he's gone, remember the trauma of losing her younger sister and have to go through that on her own? I can't wrap my head around it. </spoiler> This story is meandering at times but very tragic.

Much darker and sadder than I expected and an interesting mystery indeed.

Romilly is a young girl whose father wrote and illustrated books starring her. There is a rumor that there are clues to a hidden treasure in the books, and as she grows older she tries to find it. I don't know how I feel about this. It wasn't really terrific or anything, and it was obvious to me fairly early on what the "treasure" was going to be. I wanted to like it more, but it was more a sad story about a sad family than it was a book of wonders. 2.5 stars rounded to 3.

What a world Romilly inhabits: alone with her father in a huge, semi-decrepit house, homeschooled with only one friend. We all know that artistic fathers can be scattered and neglectful, and Thomas Kemp fits that mold to a T. His creation of the Romilly books brings fame and some fortune, but Romilly's life doesn't get better as a result. There are times readers will wonder what is real and what is not (the panther, for example), but at the end Romilly will crawl under your skin and you will hope for her future. Any more will be spoilers, so just let me say I hope the final product has some of the paintings in it.

eARC provided by publisher.

This was a tough book to read. It is extremely depressing, and the main character, Romilly, has such a miserable life. The story spans many years of her life, and, as time goes on, things just get worse and worse for her. From the description of the story, I didn't expect it to be as sad and miserable as it was, and I expected there to be more moments of beauty and joy. The idea of a father writing a children's book about his daughter that contains a hidden message for her is a compelling one, and that is truly what drew me to this book.

For about 70% of the book, I quite honestly didn't like it very much. The story meanders a lot, and appears to be a series of vignettes in the life of Romilly, with no particular direction. However, the last 30% of the book, while extremely dark and depressing, was full of answers to the questions that were set up throughout the first part, and made me realize that the first 70% was actually going in a certain direction. This is definitely one of those books where you have to get to the end to realize that the whole book is quite beautifully crafted.

I cautiously recommend this book. It's not for everyone, but those select few who it is for, will love it.