Title: The Garden of Promises and Lies
Author: Paula Brackston
Genre: Fiction, historical
Rating: 5.0 out of 5

As the bustle of the winter holidays in the Little Shop of Found Things gives way to spring, Xanthe is left to reflect on the strange events of the past year. While she's tried to keep her time-traveling talents a secret from those close to her, she is forced to take responsibility for having inadvertently transported the dangerous Benedict Fairfax to her own time. Xanthe comes to see that she must use her skills as a spinner if she and Flora are ever to be safe, and turns to the Spinners book for help.

It is then that a beautiful antique wedding dress sings to her. Realizing the dress and her adversary are connected in some way, she answers the call. She finds herself in Bradford-on-Avon in 1815, as if she has stepped into a Jane Austen story.

Now in Xanthe's time, Fairfax is threatening Xanthe into helping him with his evil doings, and demonstrates all too clearly how much damage he is capable of causing. With Fairfax growing ever more powerful, Xanthe enlists the help of her boyfriend Liam, taking him back in time with her. It is a decision that might just ensure she prevails over her foe, but only by putting her life—and his—on the line.

I think I’ve read the first book in this series—The Little Shop of Found Things—but I’m not positive, and I know I haven’t read the second book. Honestly, that didn’t detract from reading this at all. Sure, it would have added some depth, but a reader coming into this series at book three would be totally lost and unable to figure out what was going on.

I love the quirky characters—Harley especially—and find the whole basic premise fascinating, twining the past and present together like pieces of a puzzle. Brackston is an excellent writer, bringing both modern day and historical settings to vivid life and I’m now going back to read (or maybe re-read) the first two books in this series.

Paula Brackston lives in Wales. The Garden of Promises and Lies is her newest novel, the third book in the Found Things series.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live on 11/6.)

While many others may enjoy this book, I did not. I would not be able to recommend it to all of my patrons. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

The Garden of Promises and Lies is the third book in the Found Things series and once again Ms. Brackston has filled our minds with the most rich, dynamic and intriguing adventures of Spinner, Xanthe.

In this installment we have many of our questions answered in regards to the abilities of a Spinner but once again Xanthe must use her abilities to ensure the safety of those in her time as well as those in the time that the found thing sings to her. A beautiful wedding dress is very urgent in it's singing. For she knows it is utmost to answer its call. But things are much more precarious this time as Mr. Fairfax is not only playing dirty in his time but also in Xanthe's time and is messing with those closest to her. She knows it is now time to share her abilities and to let someone else help her even if she doesn't want anyone close to her in danger.

This time she will not journey through time on her own but with a person very close and dear to her. She will follow the course the dress has lead her to and hopefully she will be successful in thwarting Fairfax. But Xanthe soon feels that there may be someone else she must be cautious of even if she felt this person was an ally. Not everything is as it seems and soon Xanthe's world is turned upside down and she must now rush against the clock to save someone very important to many.

This was a brilliant continuation of the Found Things series and I cannot wait for the next one as this one ended on quite the cliffhanger!!!

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

I love Paula Brackston's books and this one is no exception.
I want to be a "spinner" and travel back in time too!
"Spinners are supposed to keep the order of things, to protect the way things are meant to be".
It does seem easier said than done as we see in the third book in the series "Found Things".
This time Xanthe goes to the year 1815 to solve a mystery and to protect her family from catastrophe!
She also has learned how to travel with non-spinners, including animals which may or may not be a "good" thing!
I love this series and can tell you that while reading, I am nervous for Xanthe and her companions each time she travels, no matter how short a journey!
I cannot wait for the next book so I can find out if everyone is ok and are there any consequences to time travel?
If you like time travel, this is for you!

The Garden of Promises and Lies by Paula Brackston

9781250072450

320 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: December 15, 2020

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Time Travel

Xanthe and her mother, Flora, own an antique store called the Shop of Found Things. She is known as a Spinner, a person who can travel between times. On a recent buying trip, a beautiful vintage wedding dress sings to Xanthe and she cannot resist its draw.

The appearance of Benedict Fairfax has unnerved Xanthe. He is an unpleasant man she came across during one of her time travels. She fears he seeks revenge after she sent him to another time in order to save her friend Samuel. When he approaches her and says she must come with him in time to help him she is apprehensive. He is dangerous and not helping him could put her family and friends in danger. Flora’s friend, Helga, arrives with her pet dog, Pie shortly before the fire on the stairs. The women and dog are trapped on an upper floor. Could Benedict have started the fire as a threat?

This is the third book in the Found Things series. The book is written in third person point of view. The characters are well developed and the story flows smoothly between the present time and the past. If you like books by Alice Hoffman or Ms. Brackston’s other books, you will enjoy this one. She has become one of my favorite authors and she never fails to deliver.

If you could go back in time, would you? "Found" items have called, or sung to Xanthe all her life, and their call makes her want to understand the history behind the item. To her, it seems as though there is a piece of history she can help make right. One day she stumbles into a blind house behind her new home in Marlborough, and discovers herself back in another time and era. In this third book, Xanthe has learned to better control her gift, so when a beautiful wedding dress sings to her, she knows she must listen to its song.

I am enthralled by the story itself, and the characters have a life of their own. Exploring history through Xanthe's eyes brings a richness to the past that I have never considered. If you could go back in time, would you? The magical reality of this story is enthralling and enticing, and it truly makes me want to walk a few weeks in Xanthe's shoes. I have truly enjoyed this series by Paula Brackston. The Garden of Promises and Lies is the third installment, and I am looking forward to the next one. It's not so much about changing history, but making a wrong right again. The characters are well written, believable and likeable (or despicable, whichever the case may be!) I am very glad to have received an e-copy of this book in advance. It is very much worth reading. especially if you like mystery, intrigue, history, along with a little romance.

this was my first book that I read from Ms. Brackston, I really enjoyed her writing style and enjoyed the way she introduced the characters. I look forward to more from Ms. Brackston.

A Garden Where Promises are Made and Lies are Uncovered
I've been a fan of Paula Brackston since I read her The Witch's Daughter series a few years ago. She has a unique way of infusing magic into realistic depictions of historical and modern settings, and of building nuanced and appealing characters to populate these landscapes. Somehow, I missed the fact that she had a new series, Found Things, of which The Garden of Promises and Lies is the third installment.  The book did not disappoint, and it was easy to get into and understand, despite not having read the first two stories in the series.

The Found Things series revolves around a girl named Xanthe, who has always been able to hear singing from antiques, and who has recently discovered that the singing is meant to draw her into the past to right a wrong and balance history. In The Garden of Promises and Lies, Xanthe has been drawn to an antique wedding dress, that whisks her away to the English countryside in the early 1800's. The stakes for Xanthe are higher than in past journeys because her mother has been threatened by a time-traveling enemy, and Xanthe has managed to bring her boyfriend back in time with her, risking leaving him stranded if anything goes wrong. There is plenty of suspense in the book, as Xanthe untangles the mystery of what the dress wants her to accomplish, and as she fights her fellow time-traveler, Benedict Fairfax, at the same time. She is helped by another time traveling friend that will be familiar to fans of the series, leading to a huge betrayal, and one heck of a cliff hanger for an ending.

The Garden of Promises and Lies, and the Found Things series in general, is unique as far as time travel novels because it features an entire network of people who can move through time, and who have a responsibility to maintain a balance as they do so. Xanthe comes to discover that at some point a schism occurred in the time traveling community, over what that responsibility entails, and how it should be accomplished. And as unlikely as it might seem, the garden of the estate that the wedding dress has drawn her to, has seen many past interactions between time travelers, and reveals to Xanthe that all may not be as it seems. By the end of the book, Xanthe has completed the task set for her by the wedding dress (the wrap up of the mission is satisfying), but she has been set on another path to discover the nature of the time traveling community, that will be far more dangerous. And that of course is where Paula Brackston leaves us hanging, to wait on the next book in the series. Although this book can be understood as a stand alone story, I plan to go back and read the first two books in the series, while I wait on the fourth. Any fan of Paula Brackston's, or of time travel novels in general, will love this book.

I really enjoyed the last two books in the series and wasn't disappointed with this one either.

Paula Brackston has a wonderful imagination, rich in historical knowledge and description and a seriously good storyteller. I like that this book jumped back in time to the Regency period so we got a whole new experience from Xanthe's spinning though time. i liked the twist and the continuation of the Spinners histories, and her feud with Fairfax kept me tense and ready for anything to pop out behind trees or shadowy corners. The only criticism I have is the length of the internal dialogue that Xanthe has to move the story forward. I would love to see more actual dialogue in the next one.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC, this is my honest review. I can't wait to read the next one in this series.

I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the 3rd book in Paula Brackston's Little Found Things series. And she has done it again. Weaving a story with Xanthe, her mother Flora and her boyfriend Liam in a time- traveling, exciting and sometimes dangerous story. While this is the 3rd book in the series, you don't need to read the first two in order to follow the story. Although, they are really good and I would recommend it.
In The Garden of Promises and Lies, Xanthe is drawn to a wedding dress in her antique shop that 'sings' to her and she is magically taken back in time. The dress and it's owner are connected to a true villan who can travel in time as well. And here comes Xanthe to find out what is wrong. This story is beautifully written and kind of makes you want to be able to time-travel too!!

3.5/5⭐️

This is the third in the Found Things series. Not my favorite so far as this one was slower in spots and didn’t hold my attention as well until the final 25%.

A story of time travel to places from antique objects that “sing” to Xanthe, I liked that she finally confided in some her ability as a Spinner. Dastardly villain and trust issues as well as a cliffhanger here.

I’ll definitely continue with the series.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

This is a wonderful series for people who like their time traveling with a little different “spin”. This installment is just as fun as the other books in the series, but what a cliff hanger!

A awesome time travel with a different spin.
Xanthe can go back in time with objects that sing to her.
A wedding dress is singing and Xanthe goes back and finds that she can swap time while back in time.
She finds a old nemesis back in time and decided she need help so she took Liam with her but things didn't go as planed .
Great story, with plenty of drama,intrigue and suspense.
Looking forward to the next.
Voluntarily reviewed.

The Garden of Promises and Lies continues the story of Xanthe, a woman who can travel through time with the help of objects that need her to fix something that occurred to (or didn't occur to) their humans. In this third installment of her story, she goes back to the 19th century Regency period, instead of the 17th century. A young woman who's going to get married in a wedding dress that Xanthe picks up at an auction two centuries later. It turns out the dress, and its owner, are connected to the Big Bad - a villain named Benedict Fairfax who has learned how to travel through time in his own way.

I do like a time travel story that focuses more on the historical time period than the present, and this one did that. The plot left sufficient time for me to become familiar with the time period and the people who lived in it. The story is suspenseful enough, although the plot did slow a little as Xanthe got things ready and talked to folks in her modern-day neighborhood. I was disappointed in the cliffhanger ending, but for sure there's no better way to keep a person reading the series.

All in all, a good time travel story, although I did prefer the 17th century plots.

I absolutely love this series! In this, book 3 of this series, many of my questions are answered. Xanthe finally accepts
and embraces who and what she if. She comes to the realizing that she must fight the evil that has come into her life, which is threatening everything she she holds most dear. Xanthe's journey is definitely not an easy one and she finds some people who she trusted are not who they seemed. She also, finally!, lets herself open up her heart for love. The ending was a surprise for me. A good surprise and I hated for the book to end!

I would like to thank Paula Brackton, St.Martin's Press and Netgalley for opportunity to read this advanced reader copy in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Oh how I love this series!!!! In book 3 of this series many questions are answered as well as Xanthe accepts who she is and embraces it fully. She knows that she must fight the evil that has come into her life that is threatening everything she loves. Her journey is not going to be easy as she finds some people who she trusted are not who they seemed as well as letting herself open her heart for love! The ending was not at all what I thought - as always Ms.Brackston has left me aching for the best book !! Thank you St.Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for my review. All thoughts are mine and mine alone

This was a great story with wonderful characters and a great story that I could not put down. I have not read the first two books in this series since I was told that you could read them separately. However, I think after reading this one I will go back and read those. I loved this one. The start was a little slow but the rest of the book was wonderful!

I just love this series and am sad when each story ends. This tale has a cliffhanger that makes me anxious for the next book to be published.

I love Xanthe and the world(s) she lives in! This installment had me laughing a bit more than I recall with the previous 2 books. Flora cracks me up and I love Liam!! Brackston really does a superb job of writing strong engaging characters. Love her books.

I enjoyed the first two books of the series, and the underlying time traveling premise. However, this book fell a bit flat for me until near the end, when it became quite exciting. Since this ended in a cliffhanger and I have been reading this series, I am planning on reading the next book to see where things go.

I don’t recommend this as a stand-alone. I think it would be confusing to try and start with this book. As it was, I felt disconnected from some characters which were introduced in previous books that didn’t resonate with me in this one. I am hoping that the romantic relationship between Xanthe and Luke will have more prominence in the next book.