I really wanted to love Otherwhere Post. The premise is intriguing, and the visual style initially drew me in. Unfortunately, the experience didn’t live up to expectations. The pacing felt uneven, and the story lacked the depth and cohesion needed to fully immerse me. Some elements showed promise, but they were either underdeveloped or too obscure to follow. It felt like style won over substance.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5)

Okay—this book was catnip for book lovers. Magic letters? A courier academy? Found family and hidden identities?? Say less. Maeve is a hot mess (girl, therapy pls), but I rooted for her the whole time. And Tristan? Sir, stop being so charming. The plot dipped a bit midway, but the banter, mystery, and heart made it all worth it. Gimme more ink-and-door fantasy like this!

This was a really well done YA fantasy book. I love the scriptomancy theme. At first it was giving "Divine Rivals" vibes. I liked Maeve and how determined she was to clear her father's name as well as her own. I will say, this does have academic cheating / lying without any recourse which I did find odd. I did love the action in this book and the different twists and turns it took. It was definitely pretty young adult and a bit immature, but it was cute for what it was. I did feel like ALL of the twists came at the last 20% and it felt like I was getting whiplash, I would have loved for it to start around 2/3 of the way through to make the middle a little less dull. I'd recommend this to any teen that likes YA fantasy / light romantasy. Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP for this eARC.

I absolutely adored this book - Emily Taylor is an amazing writer, and it was such an amazing, beautiful story. The prose was brilliant, as well as the storycrafting, and character building.

An interesting book where the magic system is completely based on writing, which was a big draw for me in picking this up. The magic system was pretty unique, as far as what I've read goes, and of course, the mystery was quite intriguing. Trying to sort out who framed Maeve's father and why was no easy feat, and I admired Maeve's determination and ingenuity in her quest to find answers. And despite her trust issues, she makes friends (and one more-than-friend) along the way, whom I also quite liked. Honestly, the only quibble I had was that Maeve's character arc was pretty slow. I understand why she has trust issues, but the whole running-away-from-her-problems schtick got pretty old. She was still trying that crap at around the 75% mark, and I couldn't help but be exasperated. All the same, the story did end up with a pretty satisfying conclusion.

Given my above opinions, I would not be opposed to more books set in this world.

Final Rating: 3.5 stars

A magical academy, a hidden identity, a dangerous secret, and a forbidden attraction make for a fantastic story. If you enjoy YA fantasy, mystery, and romance, you'll find a healthy balance of all three in The Otherwhere Post. I especially appreciated the historical setting and the gradual unveiling of the truth behind Maeve's identity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the review copy.

Finished this!! Once I actually sat down to read it, I enjoyed the story and characters! The only thing I will say is that I couldn’t really picture this fantasy world, there didn’t feel like a lot of fantasy building. The characters and their forming relationships took up the bulk of the story.

Fun and fast paced! I loved this story and think it would be perfect for anyone who loves Divine rivals by Rebecca Ross. It has much of the same fun and safe romance and whimsical world building.

The Otherwhere Post transported me into a magical world full of dark academia. The magic system with scriptomancy was so interesting. The parallel worlds were also fascinating, and I would love to explore those a bit more. Maeve was a wonderful main character, and her quest to learn more about her father added a layer of mystery to the story. The romance did feel a little rushed, but overall this was a really enjoyable read!

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Maeve Abenthy lost everything when the doors that connected worlds were closed and it was all blamed on her father. She's spent the last 7 years running and hiding. But a delayed letter from another world telling her her father is innocent has her posing as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she'll learn the magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. There's more than she could have imagined to uncover, even as dangerous and threatening letters put her life and those of anyone close to her in danger. Can she learn to trust her mentor and accept the help he offers, or will the truth and her life be drowned in ink?

This one's a great read from beginning to end. Sure, there are times when the plot is super predictable, but it's in a way that works with the characters and still makes for captivating reading. And it's the characters that carry it. Maeve's fully justified inability to trust in people makes for some frustrating moments, yet it's that bullheadedness that makes her such a compelling character. You want her to succeed on her own, even as you're mad at her for not accepting help from those who offer it.

It contains excellent character arcs and perfectly timed twists that kept me turning pages despite having a pretty good idea of where it did eventually end up. Read it for the journey more than the whole and you'll have a brilliantly excellent time.

Special props to the author for being nice enough to make this stand-alone book, when it could have been expanded into at least a duology. I appreciate it when authors finish a story when it needs to end, rather than extending it, and feel that it's so rare that it needs to be praised when it happens

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for the twisty read!

This book had everything I love! Dark academia, mysteries, and slow burn romance. If you're a fan of these three things, I recommend you read this book!

I enjoyed the characters of Maeve and Tristan and how they developed as well as the plot and worldbuilding!

Dark fantasy with lots of drama. Maeve hides from the world to protect herself from the damage her father had created. Never able to stay in one place very long and never using her real name to survive. A long overdue letter suggests that her father was innocent, so she now is challenged to try to clear his name and be able to face the world again. Magic and mystery lovers- a must read for you.

I thought I would like this book more than I did. The premise was interesting and it had decent world-building, I just never quite connected with the characters to make me really care in solving the mystery.

✨Book Review - the Otherwhere Post✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌑

I loved Hotel Magnifique when it came out and I would love another book in that world, so when I heard about The Otherwhere Post, I knew I needed to read it.

Emily Taylor writes magically! I absolutely adore that magic integral to her worlds and how rare it is to come by and how special having magic makes someone. Maeve is kind of annoying at times, but I think that helps sell her humanity and makes her relatable. I love all the surprise twists and turns and don’t want to give away major plot points, but as much as I was guessing and thinking I knew what would happen, I was pleasantly surprised not to have a clue when the big reveals happened!

Give it a read!

Social media links to come

2.5 stars.

Oh man, it's been so long since I've received this arc to me finishing it. I've taken so long to read this book that the book has been published for months already. So sorry! Just got so busy with life and splitting my time too thin between a multitude of stories.

Honestly, I think the main character, Maeve, was pretty good. I really liked how she was such a prickly person who would do whatever she did to accomplish what she needed and didn't always treat people with kindness. It took her quite a while to build up trust in her friends which I thought was understandable considering the circumstances she put her in and the background events that affected her life thus far. If you were tired of really sweet, overly good, and always right protagonists you might like her.

There is a romance in here but it's more of a subplot than anything. Tristan is skeptical and suspicious of her but he always treats her with dignity and recognizes her capabilities as a scriber. He never demeans her during this book and tries his best to support her which is a nice change from brooding, tight-lipped male leads. I'm not sure if I was fully convinced by their relationship but it's pretty minor in amount of page time anyway.

The pacing in this book felt really uneven. I thought it was fantastic in the beginning really hooking me in but then it sort of jumps and stutters, taking too long to build up or get answers which had made me reading through scenes without much connection. I wasn't convinced by the mystery of what happened to her father and almost forgot about it if it wasn't brought up again.

I think scribing is such a cool concept for magical abilities. Writing down words or phrases for magical spells or outcomes. Since, you know, reading words written down and being transported to other words can feel like magic. I enjoyed seeing what happened when things went wrong, accidentally or purposely, and how they needed to fix or mend things.

Definitely a good book to try if you want something with a bit more of a focus on plot and not heavily romanced based. The magic is cool and the characters have well defined personalities.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the original eArc.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor.
The Otherwhere Post is a mysterious fantasy novel with strong characters and enough plot twists to keep the reader involved. Maeve is a typical YA character with too much guts and not enough caution, which makes the character relatable to its target audience. Often times fantasy becomes too complicated with other worlds, creatures, and new vocabulary, but Taylor balances the fantasy creating a world that resembles ours.

Such a charming adventure and so well worth the read. I don't often read middle grade/YA picks but this really drew me in. If you like unique and whimsical fantasy world building, coming-of-age stories and soft romance, this is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wish this book were split into two! The world is enchanting and the magic is intriguing. The mystery was resolved creatively, but the pacing felt rushed. I wish I could learn more about the magic and different worlds.

Okay, so, this was different. In a good way. I don't read a lotttttt of dark/mystery-type romantasy books, but this was good. I also don't read a whole lot of young adult books either, but again, this was good. It actually made me reconsider my hold-ups with the genres. Emily Taylor clearly thought very long and hard on how to execute the Otherwhere Post, and it truly pays off. I am a sucker for an academic setting so this was already off to a good start, but what really intrigued me was how engaging it was. I was never bored. I was kept on my toes, and it didn't end. The slow burn was slow, but it was worth it. Simple.

Emily Taylor, keep writing, thank you and please :)

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for the ARC!

I loved this book! Sometimes you just need a cozy dark academia stand alone to get you out of a slump. Rivals to lovers, a deep conspiracy, unique magic system, ALL SO GOOD! I loved the redemption arc Maeve went through for her family, and how she just wanted her name to be cleared. Tristian and her are such a cute couple too! Ah, this is such a great stand alone.