The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox

Available now

Here’s a list of CW from The StoryGraph.

From the Publisher:

With the stroke of a pen, twenty-three-year-old Ivy Radcliffe becomes Lady Hayworth, owner of a sprawling estate on the Yorkshire moors. Ivy has never heard of Blackwood Abbey, or of the ancient bloodline from which she’s descended. With nothing to keep her in London since losing her brother in the Great War, she warily makes her way to her new home.

The abbey is foreboding, the servants reserved and suspicious. But there is a treasure waiting behind locked doors: a magnificent library. Despite cryptic warnings from the staff, Ivy feels irresistibly drawn to its dusty shelves, where familiar works mingle with strange, esoteric texts. And she senses something else in the library too, a presence that seems to have a will of its own.  

Rumors swirl in the village about the abbey’s previous owners, about ghosts and curses, and an enigmatic manuscript at the center of it all. And as events grow more sinister, it will be up to Ivy to uncover the library’s mysteries in order to reclaim her own story—before it vanishes forever.

Reader Friends, this book contains a secret family, a secret library, a secret society, and a magical secret! It’s just secrets on secrets on secrets! I’m a sucker for a gothic romance and one that contains a hidden library with magical powers? Instantly hooked. I listened to this one on audio and the things I did to make sure I could keep listening…my floors were so clean and my house has never been so free of dust.

Fox does an excellent job of crafting one of the most sympathetic and enraging characters I’ve read. Ivy, young, alone, and living in poverty, is like a fish out of water in her new home. She wants nothing more than to spend her days in the hidden library cataloging and reading every book she can reach, but her household staff do everything in their powers to keep her away from her precious books. Unsure of how to truly conduct herself, Ivy is torn between asserting her place of power in the home and her easy-going, non-confrontational nature. At every point that I wanted to shake Ivy for acting so naive and trusting, the author not so gently reminds the reader of the era in which Ivy lives and her lack of agency as a young, single woman. Nearly every character felt like they had their hands tied in some way when it came to protecting Ivy, which was both infuriating and begrudgingly made sense with the story.

I really enjoyed how much Ivy was completely enthralled by her new home and it’s secrets. A former abbey, Ivy’s new home is incredibly large and she is constantly getting lost in newly discovered halls and rooms and there are even hidden passageways! She is hopelessly in love with her Library and immediately wants to share her new-found literary wealth with the rest of the village. It’s pretty hard to get too mad at a character who finds herself newly titled and her first thought is to start a Bookmobile!

For such a charming and magical story, this book is actually quite dark and disturbing. There is some serious gaslighting that goes on and Ivy is placed in some seriously dangerous situations by people who are supposed to care for her so definitely take care when reading this one.

If you want to add this enchanting tale to your library, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information. I borrowed the audiobook version from my local Library using the Libby app so don’t forget to check if your Library already bought it for you.

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The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Available now

I loved The Cartographers. Absolutely, 100%, could-not-put-it-down loved it! It’s a wonderful combination of magical realism, locked room mystery, and family drama. Our main character Nell Young had a falling out with her father nearly a decade ago. Both are cartographers who worked together at the New York Public Library and had been incredibly close until one day, Nell found an old gas station map at the Library and after showing her father, was immediately fired. Fired, by her own father. Now, Nell has received the devastating phone call that her father has died in his office and that seemingly worthless map that ruined Nell’s life is hidden in his desk. Determined to find out why this particular map is important, Nell sets off on a dangerous and unbelievable journey that uncovers long held family secrets and just may lead her to a second chance at happiness.

This is one of those tricky books that I feel describing the best parts ruins the wonderful surprises found within. If you really want to stay spoiler free, just walk away now and read this book. It truly is fabulous. If you don’t mind some very minor spoilers, pull up a chair.

The map that ruined Nell’s life is highly sought after by a mysterious group known as The Cartographers. The maps go for unbelievably high prices online and those that claim to have copies are warned off from trying to sell them. It is through this map that Nell discovers more about her parents’ college days and the events that led to her mother’s death. While trying to discover the significance of the map, Nell adds it to an online database and very quickly, she discovers the devastating consequences of her seemingly benign actions. As Nell tries to continue researching her map, she finds herself calling in one last favor to her ex, Felix, who worked with her alongside her father, before the map incident. What I really liked about these interactions is that Felix and Nell both still have feelings for each other, but it’s far from a smooth transition back into a relationship. They both hold old wounds from their first time together and neither one wants to be hurt again. It all felt very real how they were drawn together and fall apart again throughout the novel.

I struggle with books where flashbacks are heavily used because I find myself getting pulled out of the story. I never felt this with The Cartographers. The story flowed so easily between the two timelines and it never felt unnecessary or clunky. The way the plot is slowly revealed is really well done and I was enthralled from the very beginning.

I absolutely loved this one, highly recommend it, please read so we can talk about all the things!

If you would like to add this wonderful novel to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

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The Girl in the Witch's Garden by Erin Bowman

Available June 23, 2020

This book does have some discussions of parent illness and death, divorce, and the mother is magically spelled to be mean to children.

This book is absolutely delightful.

When her father becomes too ill to care for her, 12 year old Piper is sent to live with the mother who left her when she was only four. Hurt to find her absent mother has been fostering children, Piper is even more shocked when the children begin speaking of spells and magical gardens. Highly skeptical, Piper is convinced the children are playing a joke on her. But after meeting her mother for the first time in years, she learns her mother not only comes for a long line of witches, but is cold and dismissive of Piper when she learns Piper doesn’t have an affinity for magic.

Hurt, scared, and frustrated that she can’t communicate with her father, Piper spends her days bitter towards her new foster siblings and exhausted by their long list of chores. When Piper joins the children in their search for the secret, and magical, entrance to the dead gardens, she discovers that there is more to the story than she has been led to believe.

Full of mystery and action, The Girl and the Witch’s Garden is a beautiful story of family, friendship, and finding our inner strength.

I really enjoyed this middle grade fantasy novel. Piper is such a complex character that many children will relate to. She has grown up feeling abandoned by her mother and now has a dad with cancer and his treatments aren’t working. Her feelings of abandonment are intensified when she discovers her mother left not only for work, but begins fostering children. Not once has she tried to have a relationship with Piper but she wants one with other children? Piper has so much to deal with in this story and yet still remains strong and determined to make it to the end of the summer and see her father again. When she finds that she does have magical ability, Piper doesn’t use it just for herself, but to help out the children her mother has promised adoption to only if they can give her the secret to the gardens. Piper doesn’t want the other children chosen over her, but she also wants them to have a home.

The magic system is really well done with each child having their own affinity, or special ability. There is a creepy cat that always appears to be spying on the children-cats are creepy so I love that it was a cat. The children have to solve clues and find keys to unlock various parts of the secret garden mystery and it’s all very action packed and full of self discovery.

Sound like something you want to read? Want your own copy? You can get one here:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.