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.

Sophie has recently lost her father and is working in London as a bookbinder. She is already struggling in life, when her relationship ends. She finds out her partner has cheated, but he also has a manipulative streak. Just at the right time, her uncle offers her a job working in the Ayredale library. Sophie actually spent a lot of her childhood there, although she doesn’t remember it all that well. Her mother disappeared from the very same library when Sophie was only 15. She thinks this job offer will give her the opportunity to look into her mother’s disappearance.
Once she starts working there the library starts to feel like a home away from home and meeting the locals of Ayredale is helping her fill the gaps in her memory. She begins to notice that there are ancient books in the library, books that lure her with magic. She hears an ancient song and if she follows it will whisk her to another place. In addition, the ancient books lure them with a magical song to a mysterious place, but would she be able to return and is the magic strong enough to get her there?

I was instantly draw in by the story and liked the magic element, but felt it lacked any background explanation or mythology. I thought it could have been given more depth. However, I was caught up in the story and really enjoyed the characters. I was interested in the mystery of Sophie’s mother, that kept me reading to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Ms Jessica for giving opportunity to read e-arc in exchanging honest review.


I would rated 3.5 stars


I took 10 days to finish. First, I might be busy as well and second, this story might have a slightest dislike from me hence late finishing.

This book really looks promising. Magic, mystery, ancient history and libraries. Reader might want to experience this once in a lifetime. It sets in modern period, Sophie Lawrence who had to return to her childhood hometown to be the keeper of a magical library as requested by her uncle, Dr Edward Talbot.

She returned, she learned and she gained secrets and stuff but it didn't really reach the hype to me. The secrets offered is good but not too attractive to keep you reading. I love the story also mentioning histories all over the world about libraries. Basically, if you're a library geek, this one for you. I also felt like the pace is sometimes dragging, sometimes medium.

The romance is a bit of insta-love. They are both adults but quickly fixing their love which they left it when they were just teenagers? I believe Sophie just ran away from an abusive relationship so she should be taking some time not immediately consuming old romance.

The ending is good, it explained everything about the past of Sophie wanting to know and who is Will actually but I already out of heart to enjoy it.

I enjoyed this book, any book that’s about books is automatically one of my favorites. I truly enjoyed the authors writing style and the overall story just wormed it’s way into my heart.

This book intrigued me because of the great description and also because it had quiet polarising views.

I think the book had a great concept, but the execution seemed like it was trying really hard to make everything work in the sense that I felt like I was a little overwhelmed by the extent we know about the characters. Every character had a backstory and story arch.

I don’t necessarily think this is a bad way to construct the book, and I have liked this kind of depth to a book before (I.e. the entire throne of glass series), however I felt like the ending was rushed and the characters felt like they were underdeveloped by the end of the book.

Overall I think the book was okay but I've certainly think it could have been constructed better.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me this e-ARC.

Another book that gave me contrasting opinions.
Let’s start with the good stuff…
The beginning gave me “The Thirteen Tale” vibes (my absolute favourite book in the entire world), with Sophie receiving a think envelope, with a mysterious look to it. I was drawn to it, there was clearly something hidden, some secret that even Sophie wasn’t aware of.

So we embark in a journey with the MC going off to find out what really happened to her mother all those years ago and why her father kept her away from that library she grew up in.
Sophie lost most of her memories by living that library, so it made sense that when we read from her point of view, the reader was as clueless as she was. It made you really feel part of the story and was feeling what Sophie was.

I liked the dual POV, but Will side of the story could have been more open as he knew everything that happened all those years ago.
Magic was a constant in the book even though it wasn’t in your face, it was very subtle, and it wasn’t out there until the end.

Now, for the things that didn’t quite make it for me…
Getting halfway through the story, I was really intrigued by the surrounding and the prep to it, but I got scared that the ending would not live up to it and I was somewhat right.
The book was quite slow in revealing everything and I feel like everything was revealed in the last 30 pages, but at that point so much information was thrown at me that I was a bit lost and didn’t really know what was happening anymore.
I found a few of the passages quite repetitive, with Sophie always going back to that only memory she had of the library.

Overall, I liked the book and the story was not too bad, but felt like there could be more to it a lot sooner. I would have liked seeing Sophie enjoying more of the (could have been) fascinating world and the “Art” as they called it, but maybe there’s potential for a sequel now that she is aware of who she is and what’s happening?

Trigger warning: Abusive and manipulative relationship

Thank you to netgalley for the e-arc

Oh my did this book just draw me in so much that I could not put it down.

"I dreamed about the tree again last night. I’ve had the dream for as long as I can remember. Not every night, not every dream."

We follow Sophie, a book binder, that has had a rough life, from her mother going missing as a teen, her father only recent passed to her rocky relationship with her "boyfriend". Sophie accepts a job offer from her estranged uncle to be a book binder in a prestige library, the family business, a magical library. Not remembering anything from her childhood Sophie is about to rediscover it all in the most unexpected way.

While there were parts that did not seem to fit in well, very little world building and very minimal, if any magic system The BookBinders Daughter was such an easy, entertaining whimsical tale that takes you to another world, I do believe that this is probably why I could not put it down.

This book, is a truly and simply, a love letter to every author, library, bookshop, reader and all magical books.

I will 100% be recommending this to everyone and anyone

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

This was an enjoyable read- seemed to start a little slow, and I wasn't sure I was going to really like the main character but it redeemed itself at the end!

I've been on a genre group of bookish reads and this is wonderful. I enjoyed learning not only about the book-binding tips and such, but the relational aspects of the title. It was the perfect mix and I can't wait to recommend it to other bookish friends.

Sophie and her horrible boyfriend Victor both work with books. Victor acquires rare book collections, while Sophie restores books, a profession also held by her late father.

When Sophie's estranged Uncle appears and offers her an incredible opportunity, Sophie is torn. The job Uncle Edward is offering is at the Ayredale Collection, where Sophie grew up. A magical world full of the rarest books known to man, Sophie is very interested but also daunted by the notion of returning to a place she barely remembers.

But Ayredale remembers Sophie.

This is, at its heart, a love letter to books, libraries and the magic found within them. It's magical realism, so won't be everyone's bowl of soup, but I really enjoyed it. It did slightly lose me around the middle when we first encountered the tree stuff, but I kept an open mind and enjoyed it for what it was - a very enjoyable fantasy adventure centered around books.

This story is about Sophie who has a very sad life in a lot of ways. Her mother disappeared when she was a teenager, her father has recently passed away and her romantic relationship is not good at all. Her life is a bit of a mess.
Her Uncle gives her a job at an exclusive and very special library.
Sophie has memory loss of her past, she decides she’s going to get some answers about her mother’s disappearance and her “missing years.”
So, the fun and interesting part of this book is that the library is magical!
It’s a story with a bit of fantasy, myths and fantastical magic 🪄
My favorite part of the story is the library and the amazing things about it and surrounding it.
The characters didn’t completely grab me or win me over.
Some plot points never came to fruition.
It didn’t stand up or out in a strong way.
It’s a nice bit of escapism without a lot of depth.
There’s a very whimsical feel to the story and I enjoyed that aspect.

Oh goodness, I loved this book! I would highly recommend this book to family and friends. If you like spellbinding books and stories, you will love this.

I loved Thorne's first two novels, I thought they were laid out well and had good characters with depth and growth, so I jumped at the opportunity to read her new book. Unfortunately, I had a very hard time getting into the book. It was not written in an appealing way and the characters are written in a way that is difficult to get behind. Sophie seems like she is in a cloud, walking around scared and unsure and unaware of decisions she should have made and be making. She seems almost content or comfortable in really unhealthy situations and gives others control over her. I also don't know what to think about Will, he seems ok, but he's hiding something. Overall I am sure its a good story, but I think the beginning needs some work and Sophie needs some character trait that people can get behind from the beginning.


I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

This was an interesting and fast paced read. The main characters wasnt the kind I really like but I admire her tenacity and in some ways she is strong willed. The storyline was interesting and kept you reading to know what happened and I like that in a story.

Having enjoyed this author's earlier books, I was eager to get into this one. The beginning was slow where its world took time to draw me in. As the book progressed, I was more comfortable with the spin in words. Sophie was the protagonist who got to work in the same library her mother had disappeared in. So I liked the concept, the delivery could have been sharper and thrilling. Overall, an entertaining read.