HOW TO SEAL YOUR OWN FATE
RATING: 4
GENRE: Mystery, Thriller

Annie Adams is back and she’s unfortunately stumbled onto another murder that happens on the Gravesdown estate - but who could be the murderer?

I really enjoyed this book with the juxtaposition of Frances’ diaries like the first book. We learn more backstory of previous side characters and how small of a town Castle Knoll is and intertwined its residents are.

No spoilers - I admit that Kristin Perrin has a way of storytelling that draws you in and leads up to an unexpected ending. I do recommend reading book 1 first as it does not read as a standalone but a continuation of Annie and Frances’ stories. Highly recommend as a cozy mystery set in the British countryside.

This was a great sequel to How to Solve Your Own Murder! In this we have a new murder for Annie to solve that once again involves diving into her Aunts files and diaries for some long buried secrets.

I just love the setting of this series and find Annie so charming. I’ve loved the slow build of a possible budding romance in her life and her relationship growth with the others in town.

I can’t wait to continue this series and see what Annie’s future has in store and how it will undoubtedly tie into the past.

Thanks to NetGalley & Dutton for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

4 🌟

I loved the beginning and the end... the middle frustrated me a bit. 😬

Okay, I'm not a huge fan of insta love but loved the concept of meeting on vacation and agreeing to meet up again at a different date/time. But the middle/third act break up felt a little long to me. However, I loved the ending!

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

Months after solving her aunt Frances' murder, Annie Adams is struggling to find her place in Castle Knoll when local fortune teller Peony Lane delivers a cryptic warning. Hours later, Peony turns up dead inside the locked Gravesdown Estate. As Annie starts digging, it’s clear someone is both silencing Peony and trying to make her look guilty, and if she doesn’t uncover the truth fast, her new life could be over before it even begins.

In 1967, teenage Frances Adams is still searching for answers about her missing friend when she teams up with Archie Foyle to investigate a deadly car crash tied to the powerful Gravesdown family. But the deeper she digs, the more tangled the lies become, and soon she’s questioning not just the people around her but how far the darkness in Castle Knoll really goes.

I was so excited to return to the Gravesdown Estate and the tangled web of secrets surrounding the residents of Castle Knoll. I love low-stakes, cozy mysteries, and this one absolutely lived up to my expectations.

One of the things I enjoy most about these books is how they build suspense without relying on fear or anxiety. The tension comes from the emotionally charged unraveling of secrets as you get to know the characters, pulling you in and never letting go.

This was especially true when reading from Frances' POV. We get a much deeper understanding of her in this second book, and the author does an excellent job adding layers to her characters, really making her come alive. We also got more of Jenny and Annie in this book, which I loved.

Needless to say, I enjoyed this read very much. And between the slow-building romance between Annie and the dreamy Detective Crane, along with all the unsolved mysteries surrounding Gravesdown Estate, I think it’s safe to say there will definitely be more Castle Knoll mysteries in our future—and I can't wait! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another great read by Kristen Perrin! This story has twists, surprises, and is the perfect mystery to cozy up with! I love dual timelines and enjoyed both storylines. Overall great for mystery readers!

The Castle Knoll Files are such interesting mysteries! They are told in a dual timeline, with connected murders in the past and the present. The past tells the story of 1967, when a teenaged Frances collects everyone's secrets and tries to understand a horrific car crash that killed her future husband's family, a crash that looks like an accident but feels off. In the present, Annie is also confused by the crash and how it connects to the murdered woman in her house. I loved how characters drove the story and the mysteries were so intricate and intertwined. I can't wait to see more of these characters! The ending left an opening for a third book, and I hope the series continues (and that they finally let two of my favorite characters finally get together). I can't wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Cozy Mystery

How to Seal Your Fate is the second book in the Castle Knoll Files. Like the first book, it follows the same formula of dual timelines, one in the present that follows Annie Adams, and the other one in the past that follows Annie’s great-aunt, Frances Adams.

In the present timeline, Annie becomes a murder suspect after settling in Castle Knoll, a small English village. So to clear her name from this crime, she has to dig into all the secrets about the village and its residents.

The other timeline is not very different in its purpose. Frances will team up with a pub worker, Archie, to investigate a car crash that killed a family. They will uncover many dark secrets and cover-ups. The book alternates in narration between the past and present, and the two timelines eventually intertwine.

I enjoyed the first book a little more than this one. Maybe because it felt unique then, but now I understand the author has a fixed structure for the whole series, which is two timelines, fixed heroines, and the same location. I’m not sure what more ideas she will be able to come up with for this structure, but that remains to be seen.

The book has strong female protagonists in both timelines, which is a positive thing. Whether you liked both timelines will depend on you and your preferences. Usually, readers tend to prefer one over the other, so that is natural. There are lots of twists and turns, so this will keep you interested throughout the book.

While the story has its twists and surprises, there remains a level of predictability, especially for avid mystery readers. Aside from that and the slow start, I found the novel to be an entertaining cozy mystery.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

3.75/5 ⭐️

This was WAY better than the first book. This one moved much more quickly.

Overall, a good mystery with good writing.

I really really loved the first book in this series and so was very excited for this second installment. It was pleasant but I thought it also lacked some character development and had pacing issues. However, overall I think the characters are likable and the mystery was interesting and so I’ll continue to follow the series!

I have to say that I enjoyed this book more than the first in the series, but I think the mystery is a bit unnecessarily complicated. I think for me, the characters are just a bit dull, especially Annie. Though I did like her better this time around. So while I'm not overly enthusiastic about the.series, I'd likely continue to read it.

And I love the cover design.

I didn't love this one as much as the first one. There are books where you aren't meant to know everything going on but will get filled in eventually. This one, I couldn't remember enough of book one, so it felt like things I needed to know where excluded. That tends to happen a lot when most of the drama are the nuance of peoples' relationships. If you want to enjoy this, reread or find a synopsis of the first book and review that first. I would still read other books in the series, and this was a quick read, but as I said it felt like something was missing.

I really enjoyed the first book in the Castle Knoll series, How To Solve Your Own Murder. It was fun to jump back into the world of Aunt Frances and all the town secrets. The best way to describe this series is like Cottage Core Knives Out.

In the first book, Aunt Frances has been murdered and her will states that whoever solves her murder gets her estate. (She knew she was going to be murdered).

The second book, we are back with the group of characters from the first story. But there are two new murders that need to be solved, with evidence going back decades.

I found the story quite convoluted and hard to follow. There were so many characters and twists and side stories happening that I was pretty confused at times. I just stayed the course hoping that it would wrap up well in the end and be thoroughly explained, which it did. Overall- the book was still enjoyable but not as much fun as the first.

Thanks to @netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥☄️
Trigger Warning: part of the evidence includes women being drugged and raped.

Not as good as the first, but still entertaining, twisty and thrilling. Had a hard time putting it down because I love sleuthing so much. Reminds me of Nancy Drew.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group (USA) for this ARC. Annie is trying to get settled in Castle Knoll after she solved the mystery of Frances Adam's murder and earned the right to her estate when Peony Lane is found murdered in the solarium. Now, Annie has another mystery to solve without being accused herself. Not knowing when I requested this book that this is book 2, I still found this cozy mystery series really cute without missing too much from book 1. #HowtoSealYourOwnfate #KristenPerrin #CastleKnollFiles #PenguinDutton #April2025

Once again, Kristen Perrin knocks it out of the park. I couldn't put this book down, even losing sleep so I could finish it. This book is the perfect mix of spooky, mysterious, and cozy for me. I loved the two different timelines and the way everyone's story converged to produce the final outcome. I am obsessed with this series and I need more already... My only issue was it took me a second to re-familiarize myself with the characters, but that's a fault of my own. If I could give this book 6/5 stars, I would!

Thank you for Kristin Perrin, Penguin, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

I am slowly falling in love with this whole series. I’m one of those people that always gets mad when I can guess the twist and/or the mystery within a few pages or chapters of the book and that hasn’t happened with this series! So that is a major plus for me.

Very excited to see what happens next!

Oof this one pains me because I was so pleasantly delighted by the first book. But this second one bored me. I didn’t enjoy picking it up, and the dialogue seemed cheesy. I also felt like I should have reread the first book because I didn’t remember any of the characters or important details. It just picked up where the other left off so I was missing too much context.

Maybe I’m the problem here? But I’m sad to say I will not continue reading this series.

Kristen Perrin’s How to Seal Your Own Fate is an absolute gem for mystery lovers! This twisty, suspenseful tale takes you to the eerie Castle Knoll, where amateur detective Annie Adams finds herself wrapped up in a mysterious case that begins with a cryptic fortune teller's message and spirals into something much darker.

The book expertly mixes small-town gossip, hidden family secrets, and a whole lot of intrigue. The dual narrative, switching between Annie’s investigation in the present and her great-aunt Frances' detective work from the 1960s, keeps the story fresh and engaging. It feels like you’re following two talented sleuths working together across decades, and I couldn’t help but root for both of them.

Perrin does an amazing job of connecting the past and present, with Annie’s cautious and modern approach to solving the case perfectly complementing Frances' bolder, more daring style. The way their stories come together is a real highlight, and every chapter unveils just a little more of the tangled mystery. While the pacing slows down in spots, it’s easy to stay captivated by the rich, suspenseful atmosphere and the slow reveal of long-buried secrets.

If you're looking for a clever and compelling mystery that will keep you guessing, How to Seal Your Own Fate is a must-read. Kristen Perrin has truly nailed the perfect small-town mystery, full of surprises, twists, and emotional depth. Curl up with this one—you’ll be hooked from the first page!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
I'm on a roll of reading book #2 in a series, where #1 was awesome and #2 was... pretty good. Not as good as the first but not sorry I read it. This was a mostly entertaining read with a rather convoluted plot. I like Annie and most of the surrounding cast of characters, though I had a hard time remembering who was who from the first book. While the first book was fresh and new, this iteration felt a little repetitive, and if the format stays the same, I'm not sure I'll keep going. And this is a small nit - but I have never seen a character's first and last name appear together so consistently as Peony Lane. Never Peony, always Peony Lane. That was odd and started to get very distracting. I enjoyed the book overall, but I may not be rushing back to read book #3 (maybe unless we get a lot more of Detective Crane).
My thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC via netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

How to Seal Your Own Fate is a good story that does not meet the heights of the first book but Kristen Perrin delivers a fun mystery. As much as I enjoyed this book, I think Perrin’s first book and mystery was much stronger than it’s follow up.