
Member Reviews

Thank you to Netgalley and the published for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review. |

Bit hit and miss, enjoyable in parts but other parts were just a bit of a letdown. The end picked up but Sophie seemed a bit of a wet blanket to me and all the to-i g and fro-ing with Will was pointless. At parts I didn’t know what was going on and couldn’t picture it in my head. Don’t know if I’d read more from this author or not. |

Unfortunately following multiple attempts to connect with this book I have had to mark as dnf. I just couldn't get into it. |

I liked the premise of this novel, a magical library. However, the protagonist Sophie was not very interesting and I could not engage with the narrative. |

Thank you Netgalley & publishers for the opportunity to read this! WOW. The storyline. The characters. The cover Art. I was sucked in immediately and couldn't put it down! |

I very much appreciate being gifted this copy of The Bookbinder's Daughter by Jessica Thorne, and the opportunity to read & review it. Thanks to the publisher. |

What reader wouldn’t enjoy a book about a mysterious, magical library? But is that enough to keep you hooked? Nope! And therein lies the reason this book faltered a little. This book will make you feel great at the start but the end doesn’t create any impact. |

eeep this could have been packed with mystery and is the ideal book lovers read... however it faltered on it's delivery and wasn't great |

There is magic in books. The library is a magical place. Those who love to read know this. Our MC Sophie is about to discover it for herself. When she gets a job at Ayredale Library, she is thrilled and equally unsettled. The library houses the finest collection of rare books in the world, but it also was the last place her bookbinder mother was seen before she went missing many years ago. Sophie hopes this is the chance to solve the mystery of why her mother abandoned her as a teenager. But the job only leads to more questions as no one wants to discuss her mother. Things only get weirder when she discovers she is the only person who can read the unknown language in one of the library's oldest books. The classic orphan who is has unknown magical powers trope was on full display but it was done in a very fun way. There were twists and turns I expected but it still kept me reading. The only thing that made me a little confused was the lack of emotional reaction from Sophie at times. I'd expect her to be more reactive but she never seemed overly shocked by anything. It was a little slow to start but did pick up in the last half when everything started to reveal itself and the mystery of her mother was being solved. Overall a good read, not amazing but worth picking up. |

The Book Binder’s daughter is an interesting tale of a woman just getting out of a bad relationship, heading to the magical place she left when her mother was mysteriously killed. She has forgotten so much about her childhood there but it is all about to start come crashing back to her in unexpected ways. This book was okay. Not outstanding, but not terrible. It just doesn't stand out to me and I probably won't remember much of it. Honestly, this "I have no parents and didn't know I possessed magical powers" storyline has been done so many times and this one blends in with the crowd. |

I had high hopes for this but unfortunately it just didn't take off for me. Sophie just wasn't relatable enough with her lacking excitement over the whole 'magical library'. Overall it was a one and done and unfortunately wouldn't come to mind if I was recommending books to friends. |

Pure magic!!! I was instantly drawn to this book, the cover is gorgeous, the back blurb was enticing and well I just really wanted to read it, it sounded right up my street and it definitely was! I adored the magical library setting, I was hooked and really wanted to be whisked in there to explore for myself. The plot is original and engaging, it whispers magic at every corner, I was instantly hooked, this was my kind of book from start to finish and I am looking forward to re-reading it, that's how much I loved this book! Magical and mesmerizing, a truly beautiful book! |

A fantastic concept but the execution left me a little underwhelmed so I probably wouldn't recommend it. The author just didn't do enough with the concept they'd created so I was left wanting more than what I got. |

Binge read in two sittings, it played with my heartstrings and left me speechless. It was a rollercoaster and such a fab read....breathtaking!!! |

I unfortunately had to DNF this book. The premise sounded amazing and I am sure it will be for some people, but I just couldn't get through this book. It felt a bit slow and drawn out in the beginning, which made me want to put it down. |

Creativity is born in chaos...but it cannot thrive there. It needs us to bring order, so it can truly live." I would like to thank Bookouture for sending me an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Bookbinder's Daughter was that refreshing take on a magical library and "Books about Books for Bookworms", because it was definitely what sold me into it. It follows the story of Sophie Lawrence who is the daughter of two famous bookbinders wherein they previously lived in a magical library. Due to unfortunate events, she later finds herself orphaned, alone, and with selective amnesia, and is being given the chance to come back to this magical library by her last living relative. Things I Enjoyed - It's a book about books! What's more to like? And with a very heavy emphasis on the magical library, and how the author interpreted it. It was really creative and suited the over-all theme of the story. -The soft magic system was something I enjoyed, because it took its historical and familiar surroundings to make it spectacular without being too overwhelming. -If you love a very whimsical, almost lyrical writing style, this one is for you. The author did an excellent job in combining her writing style to the theme and tone of the story, which gave it an even more magical feel. - The romance was cute and heartfelt, but not something I would be screaming about. -Has a great concepts on family, love, and dedication. Things I Didn't Enjoy -It was just a tad bit too slow for my liking. Things didn't really picked up until almost around 50% of the book, but once you get pass through it, it's already a breeze. - I didn't exactly enjoy all the characters, even Sophie. They all just seem very one note to me and unrelatable, and I could have wished that their internal dilemmas weren't always repeatedly used because it gets very taxing to read it over and over again. -I'm not sure, but this book has a tone of "gaslighting" and heavy emphasis on manipulation, especially in Sophie's previous relationship. While I understand that some would use this form of psychological abuse as a writing tool, it just didn't really work for me. Basically her entire previous relationship with her ex-boyfriend and how it still affected her afterwards was not something I liked seeing. This book just had the makings of what I wanted to see in a magical library story, but just lacked a few important elements to suit my taste even better. However, I would still recommend this to anyone interested, because it's something different! |

A book about books built to beguile bookworms. A slow start for me as I couldn't initially connect to the characters and I thought the memory loss plot was a bit convenient. But, then something clicked and I was reminded of the joy of fictional magical libraries. If you liked The Binding by Bridget Collins or The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, I think you'll like this as well. |

An interesting book with some fantasy elements. Had a strong YA theme which I enjoy generally. I did find it dragged a little in parts but I appreciated the authors creativity. |

I love any books that involve magic and a library. This book was really beautiful and explores some really important topics. The library in this was almost like a character itself and it was amazing to read Sophie’s, the main character, and watch her world grow bigger |

A wonderful read, steeped in mystery and magic. This fantasy adventure involving a secret and magical library had me completely glued to the audiobook. The narration is excellent. The characters all have secrecy and mystery surrounding them and it's only as the story unfolds that we learn of the significance of those characters who belong to the library. Sophie was interesting. A sad and tragic character, she just needed something to pull her out of her shell and let her inner strength show. Will, her childhood love, is dark, mysterious and protective. I liked that magic is alluded to rather than in your face. People aren't casting spells like they belong in Hogwarts. The magic is more whimsical and subtle. Nothing really magical occurs in the first 30% of the book but we know that something happened to her mother and it wasn't something ordinary. I liked discovering the secrets of the library along with Sophie as she slowly pieced together her past, her abilities and her future. |