THE HOUSE OF FORTUNE follows the remaining household members of THE MINIATURIST some 18 years after the ending of that earlier book. The child born at the end of THE MINIATURIST is now an adult and available for marriage; hopefully one that will rescue the financial misfortune they find themselves in. It’s been a difficult 18 years financially and socially. While this book can be read as a stand alone, I think it is better appreciated after reading the earlier work. The writing style is lush and descriptive, almost old world-like in it’s descriptions of characters. A perfect book for readers who love character descriptions and settings more than tight plots. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Although I loved The Miniaturist, I didn't think I needed more in that universe. Well, I was very wrong! This is a beautifully woven tale that takes place 18 years later, focusing on Otto, Nella, Cornelia, and Otto & Marin's daughter, Thea.

Money is an ongoing issue as the household tries to keep their place in a society that none of them seem to like very much, while Thea is busy visiting the playhouse and falling in love with a painter there. Chaos ensues.

I love Jessie Burton's writing, it's very lyrical and beautiful without being stuffy or overly flowery. It's just very comfortable and delightful prose. I flew through this book and wished there were 100 pages more, continuing the story from the very fitting place that the characters ended up.

This sequel to The Miniaturist was wonderful! I enjoyed this time period and location because it is less commonly written about by historical fiction authors. Family drama, financial troubles, magical realism...this book was a page-turner for me! While I think it could stand alone, I think it was helpful to have read The Miniaturist.

This is a sequel to The Miniaturist which I've previously read and loved it.
1705 in Amsterdam
Thea is eighteen years old and it's time for her to get married. With her family reputation it will be hard to find a suitable husband who will secure Thea's future. Aunt Nella’s mission of finding a wealthy husband for Thea, comes to an end when she meets Jacob van Loss at the ball. Thea, however, falls in love with Walter, a painter who works in the playhouse in which Thea finds refugee from daily family problems. Thea and Walter betrothed in secret and it seemed that Thea won her love until she starts to receive miniatures followed by the blackmail notes. Meanwhile, her father and aunt are struggling to manage their lives financially. Thea's father, Otto, lost his job and there is nothing they can do to live comfortably. Unless if Aunt Nella agrees to give her childhood property for a pineapple orchard that Otto is so desperate to start with Caspar Witsen. But Nella will never agree to that business in the place she wants to forget. Busy with family problems and husband arrangements, they don't notice presence of miniaturist in their lives once again after eighteen years of absence.
A wonderful book with interesting family story from Amsterdam in the year of 1705. I love stories where dreams do come through and when family never gives up on each other.
It is such an enchanting story full of secrets and drama that I had a hard time putting this book down. The writing is brilliant, the story is very engaging. Love this book and I hope there will be another one.

Thank you @NetGally, @BlumsburyPublishing, and @JessieBurton for a beautiful ARC.

I was very happy to read this sequel to The Miniaturist because I never felt satisfied with the ending of that first book.
The House of Fortune picks up 18 years later, when Marin’s daughter, Thea, comes of age. The story goes back and forth in points of view between Petranella, the protagonist in the first book, and Thea, who has a unique set of challenges to overcome.
Petranella is almost frozen in time and not much has changed for her since her husband, Johannes, died. She lives in the same house, constrained by Amsterdam society and mores, and seems content to follow the same pattern day after day for the rest of her days. Thea wants much more out of life – love and adventure, and also to be free of a house where secrets are kept close.
The author does a good job of creating a fresh plot and moving the story of Petranella forward to a conclusion that feels more satisfying. She ties up a couple of loose ends from the first book too. I still wanted more about two other primary characters, namely Cornelia the maid, and Thea’s father, Otto. But perhaps there will be a third book?
There is less of the magical realism that permeated the first story, but overall, a satisfying read.

Thea Brandt is a girl on the cusp of womanhood looking to take hold of her own destiny despite her obligations to family and the role of a 18th century woman. She longs to make her own future. Burton writes with an effortless beauty that immerses you into the setting of 1700s Amsterdam. All of the characters are well rounded, and given plenty of back story as the plot progressives. There is plenty of atmosphere, at times dark and dreary as the Brandt family sits on the precipice of ruin.

I went ahead and read The House of Fortune after learning that it was the sequel to another book, many people mentioning that it could be a standalone without having read the first. Those folk would be right, however, I felt that I missed a little bit of the back story when it came to the Miniaturist. I felt that she would have been more of a force considering how fiercely, one of the main characters, Nella, held onto her in hopes of returning to save their family.

Full of ambition, secrets and dreams, I would still love to read more of Jessie Burton, starting with The Miniaturist.

I so loved the Miniaturist that I was excited to jump into the sequel.

The House of Fortune does not disappoint and I think I like it better than the first but its close.

Its 18 years later ( I don't want to give away the ending of The Miniaturist) and it was a delight to return to Amsterdam.

The family is in dire financial straits and Nella has a plan.

There are family secrets, mystery and intrigue.

I love the gothic feel and the writing is so vivid I felt that I was right there with all of them.

The House of Fortune is a must read; you could read it as a stand alone but you will get more out of the book if you have read The Miniaturist.

Get your copy and put it near the top of your TBR pile. You wont regret it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA, Bloomsbury Publishing for a read I just relished.

Thank you so mu for the digital review copy.
I’ve reviewed The House of Fortune early and added a order link.

While marketed as a stand alone, companion novel, I'm glad I decided to pick up The Miniaturist before picking up House of Fortune as it follows the same family eighteen years later. Burton's writing is so delightful and charming and beautiful that this book could totally stand on its own, and she does a great job of explaining the overarching plot points/themes from the first book, but if reading this without reading the Miniaturist first, you are exposed to the final climax of TM which will kind of ruin that reading experience.

Anyways, having read the Miniaturist a week prior to picking it up, I had the Brandt family living in my head rent free and I desperately wanted to go back into that world visit that tragic little family in 1700s Amsterdam. Burton does such a great job of writing such complex, heartbreaking characters that are full of equal parts hope and dread and it's almost unbearable to see them suffer time and time again ... but there's always that final moment that is so sweet and envelopes you in a warm hug. Things can change... new beginnings are possible.

I think I may have liked this one more than the first! But that might also be due to the fact that starting this book, I was already totally endeared by the family and Marin took a little getting used to in book 1.

It wasn't one I could get into, the heroine did not appeal to me. I think my patrons might read it because the author has written other popular books like "The Miniaturist," so we will still be buying it.

The tension in this novel is palpable. An unusual family made up of a half Dutch, half African girl, her father, her aunt, a cook, and a cat live in constant stress in a house in Amsterdam. They are on the brink of ruin. Their home looks prosperous, but it is anything but. Family secrets and scars abound. The author has you on the edge of your seat until the end of the book.

This skillfully written novel takes a slightly unorthodox family and spins a tale that makes you care deeply about the main characters. By the end of the book, you'll feel great relief that they are finally settled, and not in a way you or any of the characters imagined.

The only big flaw in this book was the figure of the miniaturist. It has been several years since I read this author's previous book, and I did not remember enough about this character to make sense of the many, many references to her. Four and a half stars, rounded up.

The House of Fortune
by Jessie Burton
Pub Date: August 30, 2022
Bloomsbury
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
Alive with the magic of 18th-century Amsterdam, an enchanting, fantastical stand-alone companion novel to the sensational New York Times bestseller The Miniaturist, which has sold over two million copies worldwide.
* Historical Fiction
#2 in the series
I love that the author waited 18 years for this sequel to begin. Thea Brandt is turning eighteen and is ready to welcome adulthood with open arms. At the theatre, Walter, the love of her life, awaits her, but at home in the house on the Herengracht, winter has set in – her father Otto and Aunt Nella argue endlessly, and the Brandt family are selling their furniture in order to eat. On Thea’s birthday, also the day that her mother Marin died, the secrets from the past begin to overwhelm the present. I wish we got to “experience” more of Amsterdam because the way Burton wrote it made it seem like an incredible time and place to be. I loved how she painted the pictures of each place the family or Thea was at, but I just wanted MORE of it.
I liked the book because I like historical fiction. It was a good fit for me. 4 stars

What a wonderful surprise! I didn't realize this was the sequel to The Miniaturist until I was 20% into The House of Fortune. So I did what any sane person would do and quickly watched the TV version of The Miniaturist to refresh my memory (Anya Taylor-Joy was amazing as Nella and every scene looked like Dutch masterpiece paintings!!). It was interesting and smart of Jessie Burton to begin the sequel not when The Miniaturist had ended but 18 years later, when Thea turned 18; same age as Nella was in The Miniaturist. Even though 18 years had passed, Nella and Thea had to face the seemingly impossible choices for family, honour, love, and future. Even though The House of Fortune felt slightly less mystical than The Miniaturist, it was still a very captivating story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange of a honest review.

I’m a huge fan of Jessie Burton since I read The Minaturist and The House of Fortune definitely didn’t disappoint. Since I finished the first book, I’ve been curious about the life of Thea Brandt.

The House of Fortune does an excellent job of tackling a complicated family history and the determination of Nella, Otto, and Cornelia to protect Thea. It also beautifully articulates the desires of a young woman to find love and live life on her own terms.

Again, I was sad to see this book end and I am hopeful that she’ll write another story about the Brandt family!

This is the follow-up/companion novel to "The Miniaturist", which I enjoyed. If you're planning on reading the first book before this one, disregard the first paragraph of my review to avoid spoilers. The previous book ended with the surprising birth of Thea to the Brandt household. It is now eighteen years later, and time to entertain marriage prospects for this treasured daughter and niece. The setting is Amsterdam in the 1700s. The people living in the household are Nella, young widow of Johannes Brandt these last eighteen years and aunt to Thea; Otto Brandt, father to Thea and a man of color who was welcomed into the family fold by Johannes Brandt; Cordelia, long time maid and cook of the house. These are all characters from the previous book. The one character present in spirit only is Marin Brandt, sister of Johannes- she died shortly after giving birth to Thea.

While many "part 2" books have a kind of sophomore jinx where they are not quite up to par with the original book, this one succeeds. It maintained my interest throughout. The young character of Thea breathes new life into this story while she also yearns to learn more about her late mother and the past. The patchwork family that lovingly raised Thea have been forced to sell paintings and other valuables during financial strife. Brokering a marriage for Thea to a prominent and financially solvent suitor would be advantageous to all. However, Thea has a secret: she's involved with a handsome set painter at the local theater.

The elusive miniaturist reprises her role, as mysterious packages containing prophetic figurines are left on the Brandt doorstep once again.

This book would read well as a stand alone, but could be enjoyed even more so having read "The Miniaturist" first. I enjoyed the writing of these companion books so much that I purchased another one of this author's books, "The Muse" to read at a later date.

Thank you to Bloomsbury USA, Bloomsbury Publishing for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

It was nice to see these characters again and watch them get to the place I always assumed they would end up. The character of Thea is a nice addition with her story mirroring Nella's from the first book. The author quickly sets the reader back into this world and back to our investment in the characters' lives. We once again return to a very atmospheric setting and a world where fortune and status are everything.

The only disappointment I felt in this sequel is that we still don't know what the Miniaturist's purpose and origin is. It may not be the author's purpose to explain who this character is though as the miniatures serve as a catalyst for change and understanding. Still, if there is to be another installment in this series, I hope that the author considers resolving this.

I definitely liked this. But the fact that I couldn't really remember what happened in the previous book was super distracting. So, I can say with absolute certainty that you do not need to have read The Miniaturist to enjoy this. I love reading books about places that I have been and this book about Amsterdam definitely fits into that category. If you like historical fiction about Amsterdam, this might be the book for you.

“The House of Fortune”is Jessie Burtons’s followup sequel to “The Miniaturist.” I recently read the first book a few weeks ago and was excited to get this ARC to read the second novel. The story continues in early 18th century Amsterdam with the 18 year old daughter of Marin, Thea Brandt and her discovering some family secrets. I enjoyed revisiting these characters.

I was very intrigued to read a follow up to The Miniaturist. I was a little disappointed that she seemed almost an afterthought…she remained so much on the periphery, the whole connection to her could have been omitted with little change to the overall plot. Less mysterious and more family drama oriented, this remained a compelling read.

This was a good read but the storyline was a bit slower paced and I was hoping for a little more depth to it as well. I liked how the ending came together but again wished there was a little dramatic substance along the way.