Excellent audiobook, something a bit different from my usual listens and I loved it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my feedback

I was thrilled to be approved on Netgalley for an ARC audiobook of The Book Binder’s Daughter. I love books about books! Plus, It’s a fantasy book; so I was completely sold.

The Book Binder’s Daughter follows Sophie as she returns to Ayredale Library to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a book binder. However, this is also the location her mother disappeared from when Sophie was a child. We follow Sophie has she discovers the mystery and the magic of the library. She also looks into the circumstances surrounding her Mother’s disappearance.

I loved the concept of this book and the audiobook itself was wonderful! I did find myself wanting a bit more character development of the supporting characters in the novel. I also could have used more explanation around the magic system. That being said, I did enjoy this book and look forward to more books by Jessica Thorne.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher, Bookouture, for gifting me this audiobook for review!

Rating : 3 ⭐️

I listened to the audible version of this book and found the narration to be engaging. This was a good thing, because I did find my attention wandering from the story itself. This is a shame, because there is so much in this book that sounded so promising; a magical library, a childhood sweetheart, a coercive ex who really needs dealing with, and mysteries to solve about how Sophie's mother disappeared and why her father did everything he could to keep her away from the library and staff. I just felt that the story needed a little more oomph for want of a better word, and a less convoluted plot (because I'll be honest, I just never quite got on board with what the tree actually was!).
Sadly for me this was a book about magic that lacked any sparkle.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the copy in return for an honest review.

I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 60%.

Things I enjoyed about this book: I love the representation of dyslexia in the main character, specifically the enjoyment of audiobook. I enjoy the idea of the plot with a magical library and books that can’t be read by everyone.

But honestly…. That’s about it. This book relies heavily on the amnesia trope. So much so that 60% through the book, the main character still doesn’t know shit about what’s going down. Everyone leaves Sophie in the dark about everything, therefore the reader is in the dark about everything. It makes for a very frustrating reading experience.

The author also relies on insta love. Technically there is an established friendship and relationship feelings, but because of the amnesia trope…. We, along with Sophie, know nothing about it!

I got very frustrated with the story and decided to DNF at 60%.

I took a while to get into this and I think it’s just character and world development on audio for me. However this had elements of ‘a discovery of witches’ ‘the librarians’ and something else I couldn’t quite place but all of this did mean it was my kind of book. There were parts of the story I just didn’t see coming and enjoyed this standalone novel. I did however feel a little astounded with the characters who were ‘the baddies’ and how they brought the fight, just seemed a little less in keeping with the rest of flow of the story and it’s genre. The ending did seem to be a little chaotic and I feel it may have let itself down towards the end but it’s still definitely worth a read….or listen!

Loved the idea of this book but it just fell a little short for me. I felt it lacked depth, I wanted to be sucked into the story and to empathise with the characters but I just didn’t. I didn’t hate it, it was enjoyable, just not enough for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Jessica Thorne for my audio arc of The Bookbinder’s Daughter in exchange for an honest review.

Out now!

I’m a little late writing this review due to my operation and then moving house but it’s definitely been one worth the wait .

I loved the Mageborn series by this author so I was excited to read this one especially because like many readers I have a soft spot for books set in magical libraries.

Sophie Lawrence can’t believe her luck. At a time when everything in her life is going wrong she’s offered an opportunity to work at the prestigious Ayredale Special Collection. But when Sophie arrives at the invitation of her uncle, she begins to realise that the library was her home once. The people her friends and family, so why can’t she remember anything about it?

Sophie is desperate to find out if the collection and the mysteries at its heart can help her figure out what happened to her mother and why she disappeared all those years ago. Then she stumbles upon the biggest mystery of all, a great tree growing inside the library, it’s golden leaves falling like the pages of a book.

This was an enjoyable listen, the narrator did the voices great and really helped me picture the characters. I loved the Ayredale collection and the library and the idea behind the tree and it’s links with the books and the idea of creativity And chaos. There were some great surprises and twists and I thoroughly enjoyed them all.

Jessica Thorne is quickly becoming a favorite for me. I don't even know why I doubted this book. This cover looks a little old school teenage anx to me but instead we get a Book Binder's daughter (obviously) with a missing mother, missing memories and father who's flipped his lid because of those things, but when her father dies her rich uncle who works for a highly esteemed but secretive library comes to take her back to where it all starts. When her memories start coming back the magic starts to come alive as well.

I am annoyed I don't have an uncle that's just loaded.... The one's I have alive just coon hunt and slip in and out of jail 😂

I enjoyed listening to this one, but since I’m not used to audiobooks I had a hard time keeping track of it. I wouldn’t mind reading the book though.

3.5 stars

I requested this book because I saw it a few times on bookstagram and the cover is gorgeous. I love the idea of the magical library. it was a bit slow at first, but then it picked up and got more exciting towards the ending. Funny thing, I requested the E-book, forgot about it while waiting for the approval and then I requested the audiobook, so that was a win win, I loved the narrator.

Thank you @netgalley & @bookouture for this audio arc in exchange for an honest review 💕

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.

Content warning: loss of parent as a child, missing parent, emotional manipulating and controlling partner

I'm a sucker for any story that involves a magical library with librarians that are tasked to keep it safe, so when I read the synopsis for Thorne's THE BOOKBINDER'S DAUGHTER, I thought this would be right up my alley.

When Sophie was a teenager, her mom disappeared, and she can't remember anything about what happened that night. To get away from all of it, her dad whisked her away from Ayredale and the special collections library that they had both worked at. As a bookbinder in London, her dad tried his best to put the past behind them. Sophie grew up learning the trade and became a skillful bookbinder herself. After Sophie's dad passes away, she gets an unexpected visit from her uncle, with an offer that she can't refuse. The opportunity to work at the very same library where her mother disappeared from, giving Sophie a chance to find out what happened, while getting away from her emotionally abusive and controlling boyfriend. But as Sophie adjusts to life in Ayredale, she realizes that all may not be what it seems... and that the weird dreams of a tree with golden leaves that she's had for years might have some truth to them.

I really liked the premise of this book, the early descriptions of the Ayredale Library were great, but I felt like the library took a backseat once the plot picked up, which was a shame. The final conflict fell a little flat for me, I'm not entirely sure why, but it just felt like it was missing something. Part of that may be because the characters themselves weren't all that interesting or lifelike.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but it didn't quite meet my expectations.

Charlie Norfolk does a great job with the audiobook.

This book had me at “magic library,” but I don’t think he magic was quite enough. The narrator did a good job, but the characters weren’t as deep as I wanted. The main narrator Sophie was very hard to relate to. What kind of person finds themselves at a magic library and doesn’t get even a little bit excited?? I thought there was a lot of potential in this one, but I had expected and hoped for more. I did really like Will’s character, actually out of all of them he was the only one I completely just liked. Sophie and her parents used to live at the Special Collection library. Until one day something terrible happened and her mother disappeared. She had a mental break and her father took her away from the library and refused to speak of it again. Sophie is just getting over her father’s death and getting back to life at a job she loves and her boyfriend (who quite obviously is using her). A mysterious uncle she hasn’t seen since she was a child comes and makes her another offer and she finds herself returning to the Special Collection.

I love the idea of the library and the book binding aspect and I also liked a few of the side characters.
But the main characters where a bit flat or had very big changes in character.
They would suddenly do things that where out of character and then go back to how they where before.

This was a bit of a slow pace for me and repetitive and not one I'd recommend to friends. For a different listener, it could be a perfect fit though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eALC in exchange for my honest review.

Trigger warning: emotionally abusive relationship

Sophie's story begins when her uncle arrives and offers her a job at the Ayredale Library -- a famous and respected collection in her industry. Sophie's mother Elizabeth also worked at the library and disappeared years ago. Sophie leaves an emotionally abusive relationship in London to flee to the country and the library.

What's odd is that Sophie doesn't remember many of the people and events that happened while she lived at the library, including her mother's disappearance. Her memories begin to return to her once she is within the library's walls once more.

This is part of the magic of the library, which is controlled by the Axis Mundi, a giant tree at the center of the building. As the story progresses, more about the magic of the library and the circumstances surrounding Elizabeth's disappearance are revealed. Sophie also falls for Will, her childhood friend and crush who is still at the library.

This was a hard book to get into because the fantasy elements were only revealed little by little as if the fantasy was a mystery. Sophie and Will's relationship just happens without any buildup or emotions involved, which seems more unrealistic than the magical tree.

Recommended only for fans of bookish contemporary fantasy.

Why do we have libraries?

Some say that libraries serve as gateways to knowledge and culture that support learning, innovation, and creativity. In Bookbinder's Daughter, Jessica Thorne, the author, conceives a story about the role of libraries in our society with a magical twist. It's my first time reading this kind of story and I couldn't stop myself from reading on until I find out the connection of the enigmatic Ayredale Library to a possible apocalypse triggered by selfishness and greed of some people working in this library.

The main character is unforgettable and relatable. Sophie's love for her mother and struggle with depression and trauma caused by the disappearance of her mother who was a bookbinder in Ayredale make me root for her. Relief washed over me when her elusive childhood memories gradually returned to her as she worked at the library. Her courage and sacrifice, in the end, kindled my appreciation of maternal and familial love.

The most exciting part for me is the revelation of the power that the library possesses through one of the characters whom I didn't expect to be the conduit of apocalyptic magic. The descriptions of the images and the sound carried me to that scene, invoking the emotions of awe and fear. The effects they have on me are still the same even on the second or third reading. Experiencing as if what I am reading is real is the reason why I love sci-fi and fantasy stories and The Bookbinder's Daughter is one of the best I've read so far.

Thank you, Jessica Thorne, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the ARC (ebook and audiobook) in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5

This book really dragged for me; every time I picked it up I had to put it back down in less than an hour and couldn't pick it up again for at least a couple of days; and it just continued like that for awhile; so I finally decided to give up and not to finish. I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy it though it just obviously wasn't for me.

Thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy of this audiobook.

Sophie has spent her young life surrounded by books. She grew up in the Ayredale Library which houses some of the rarest books in the world. Her mother worked in the library but disappeared there when Sophie was a teen. Her father doesn't much want to talk about it. Sophie's husband is a greedy and unkind man so Sophie jumps at the chance to return to the library as an employee. She is hoping to discover the truth about her mother's disappearance.

This is another one that I wanted to like but just couldn't get into. I didn't love any of the characters and it was a bit too much fantasy for me.

#TheBookbindersDaughter #NetGalley #audiobooks #bookstagram

Ayredale Library. Sophie’s new workplace is also the last place her mother was seen alive. Desperate to find out what happened and to escape a manipulative relationship, Sophie embarks on a journey that will change the course of her entire life. Why can she understand texts no one else can? Why does she feel at home in this strange place? When she finds a mysterious door that matches the pendant her mother left, she opens it to find an ornate tree and hears her mother’s voice.

The summary of this book drew me in. Magical Libraries? Eccentric booklovers? Magic and ancient spells? You got me! Turns out, this book was absolutely fine. I didn’t love it. I didn’t hate it. I got distracted a time or two but for the most part, followed the plot to the end. An excellent premise with many moving parts, interesting characters, and a straight-folk romance if that’s your thing. You might get more out of it than I did.

It’s not bad. Not at all. Just didn’t hit me the way I’d hoped. Charlie Norfolk did a great job narrating and bringing the story to life, but I feel that I should have gone with the print version. Would have given me less opportunity for my mind to stray to other things. I know I’m really selling it, but if you like your romance heavy on story with fantastical elements, there’s a good chance you’ll really enjoy this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this Audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars
A book written to celebrate the love of libraries, we all book lovers like this kind of stories where there is an exceptional library and a magical haven for books and for us, it is our dream to find one and to live many fantastic adventures within it. Libraries are our wonderlands and that's the idea the author might intended to transmit through her book.

The story is about Sophie (My favorite name for Heroines) who got offered from her uncle a job of a bookbinder at the Ayeredale Library where her mother disappeared mysteriously. Now, after her father's death and the end of a toxic relationship, she sees it as a good opportunity to discover the truth but what she doesn't know is that there will be so many mysteries to unravel and hidden secrets about her family's past and the library.

Now, it was interesting all this captivating worldbuilding relating to the tree of knowledge and the incorporation of metaphysics to the fantastical aspect of the story making it looks more smart and complex for the reader but it might not be appealing to everyone.
For the characters, they needed to be more developed and for this the author could have wrote a duology for this plot or another 100 pages, it really needed more space for the story and the characters background's development, it felt really rushed and like "I have to put everything in this one book". Also, I liked Will's sensibility and Tia's personality who even with the villains of the book needed to be really more developed.

I loved the narrator of the story, it was a pleasure listening to her voice. Also, I followed the story with the ebook and I really liked the author's writing style which made me interested in reading her other books.