Another excellent fantasy from Gareth Brown. Full of adventure and mystery and a very excellent heroine in Magda.

An easy and exciting book of magical items, with some dark elements woven in. It was fast paced, and the audio was well done. Although this is a standalone, I loved the nods to The Book of Doors!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishing team for this ARC!

Gareth Brown is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. Her stories are both terrifying and entertaining bringing a fresh take on magic in our world.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult | William Morro for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Magda Sparks is a member of the Society of Unknowable Objects which has been tasked with finding magical items. She is sent to Hong Kong to retrieve a new object but a hit man is also on the trail. As Magda returns to London she realizes things are not as she thought. Very enjoyable mystery with some cool magic twists.

Great narration by Olivia Vinall.

I really enjoyed this author's first book, so I thought I would try out this one. It started off intriguing, but then just became too unbelievable and uninteresting.

The Society of Unknowable Objects is dedicated to the recovery and protection of magical objects, which it considers too dangerous to be out in the world unsupervised. When Magda's mother died suddenly 10 years ago, Magda took her spot alongside the other 3 members: Will and Henrietta, who are closer to her age, and Frank, their elderly leader and the owner of the London bookshop where they meet twice a year. Now in her early 30s, Magda loves magic, but when she's sent to Hong Kong to retrieve an object - the first they've come across in years - it goes horribly wrong, and she discovers that her whole world rests on a foundation of lies.

I'm a sucker for books about books, bookstores, writers, and so on. Magda makes her living as a mystery writer, and I really enjoyed her thoughts about how she might work this person or that situation into a story sometime in the future. Those thoughts fade as the story progresses, though, because the pace of events gets increasingly hectic. The 3rd-person narrative stays mostly with Magda, but we do occasionally jump to other characters to get a glimpse of the bigger picture. I'm often skeptical of men writing women characters, but Gareth Brown did an excellent job here. The audiobook is narrated by Olivia Vinall, who manages a large cast of characters with ease, shifting among British-, Welsh-, and American-accented English. And finally, although the book is a standalone, at the end there's a little nod to his first novel, The Book of Doors, and I immediately added it to my TBR list.

I had very much lived The Book of Doors so I had high hopes for this book which sounded to be in a similar vein by the same author.

Initially, it was too much in the same vein and felt a bit like a rehash of the other book.

About half way through though, it really turned and picked up, becoming all its own. I very much liked this book too and hope to get more.

I particularly enjoyed the early and ending Easter eggs. :)

The audiobook was well-narrated.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of the audiobook.

Created to keep and protect magical objects, the Society of Unknowable Objects hasn't has much to be in a while. For the first time since Magda joined a new magical object has appeared. As she is the only one of the four members willing and able to fly off to Hong Kong to retrieve it, Magda is happy to go on an adventure. Little does she know that it is going to be much more than a quick jaunt there and back home again, but instead a journey into the history of the society itself!
Magical and delightful, and complete with some some allusions to The Book of Doors, The Society was a wonderful read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an E-ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for the Audiobook ARC. Olivia Vinall does an amazing job narrating this book.

Rating: 5 Magical, Unknowable Objects

This is a well-crafted, action-packed fantasy/mystery/thriller with a secret society that guards and collects dangerous magical objects. The characters are well-developed and come alive, especially with Olivia Vinall’s narration.

Recommended. Now I need to check out the author’s other book: The Book of Doors.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the ARC of The Society of Unkowable Objects. I really enjoyed this book and I was really excited that it takes place in the same universe as The Book of Doors. I am anxiously awaiting further adventures in this universe!!

4.5 stars.

Thoroughly enjoyable, suspenseful book about magic without wizards, but with magical objects and protecting the world from them. It's so unusual to read a fantasy where magic isn't celebrated, but recognized for the evil deeds it could be used for, and one of the characters flatly hates magic and everything to do with it. This is a clever plot and a well-woven web of lies and secrets, with flawed characters you care about and watch as they inherit more and more responsibilities in the Society while fighting for their own lives. Highly recommend to fantasy and magic readers of all kinds.

I would say that if you liked Browns previous book 'The Book of Doors' you will like this one as well.
I think he does the magical elements well and that aspect of the book I really enjoyed- but I feel like his characters are lacking. I don't think I cared about a single character in this book (or in book of doors for that matter)

I would only recommend this book to specific people because although the magic was interesting I feel like it was lacking something.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the advanced reader copy. I listened to this quickly, and I know it SAYS it's a stand-alone, but I really feel like a sequel would be great! I enjoyed being drawn into this magical world and seeing how the main character better found herself and connected to others. I enjoyed Brown's "Book of Doors" and while this was different I felt a similar tug about it.

This was another layered, fantasy adventure story that has a group of secret members tasked with protecting the world and monitoring the dangerous magical artifacts that exist. This had some great twists, three-dimensional characters and had me fully invested from the very start. The end left me hanging and I hope there will be some kind of sequel. Recommended for fans of movies like National Treasure and authors like Dan Brown but with a magical twist. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a good one! This author is definitely going to be a go-to for me! I enjoyed his debut novel, The Book of Doors, and thought I would probably enjoy this one too. I was correct. More great story telling! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

If Gareth Brown writes it, I will indeed be reading, immersing myself in the world and obsessing over it for months after. In his second book, he doesn’t let you down! This one will have you clambering to read (or reread) The Book of Doors. Although the worlds aren’t connected, they mesh beautifully.

I have not read Gareth Brown’s previous book so may have missed a few easter eggs or references. However, I enjoyed this very much! There was a nice balance of larger adventure and smaller personal dramas. I like magic grounded in reality—the thought that there are objects with secret, special properties just out there in the world right now is delightful. I want to go back and read the Book of Doors right now.