The Bookbinder's Daughter
By Jessica Thorne
Blurb
The song surrounded her now, the murmuring of the library insistent, and her foot took the first step on the winding stairs. She knew it wasn’t entirely a dream. It was the library calling her, its magic driving her.
When Sophie is offered a job at the Ayredale Library – the finest collection of rare books in the world, and the last place her bookbinder mother was seen when Sophie was just a teenager – she leaps at the chance. Will she finally discover what happened to the woman she’s always believed abandoned her?
Taking in the endless shelves of antique books, the soaring stained-glass windows, and the grand sweeping staircase, usually shy Sophie feels strangely at home, and is welcomed by her eccentric fellow binders. But why is the Keeper of the Library so reluctant to speak about Sophie’s mother? And why is Sophie the only person who can read the strange spells in the oldest books on display, written in a forgotten language nobody else understands?
The mysteries of the library only deepen when Sophie stumbles upon an elaborately carved door. The pattern exactly matches the pendant her mother left behind years ago, engraved with a delicate leaf. As the door swings open at her touch, Sophie gasps at the incredible sight: an enormous tree, impossibly growing higher than the library itself, its gently falling golden leaves somehow resembling the pages of a book. Amidst their rustling, Sophie hears a familiar whisper…
‘There you are, my Sophie. I knew you’d come back for me.’
Our Review
"It wasn't just a library. It was magnificent. A work of art."
The Bookbinder's Daughter by Jessica Thorne is such a cosy little read, it the book equivalent of a massive hug.
When Sophie is offerred a job restoring books in the beautiful Ayredale Library she sees it as a chance to a controlling relationship, but that is not the only reason she wants it so badly. She grew up in the Ayredale Library, and it was the last place she saw her mother alive. Since leaving at the age of 15 she has no memories of the place and she can't help but wonder if anyone there knows what happened to her mother.
"It was the offer of a lifetime. A chance to escape. A chance to get some answers about a part of her life which had been wiped away.
And maybe, just maybe, to find out what happened to her mother."
Strange things happen within the library and Sophie cannot help but be drawn to it's mysteries, and to her first love Will Rhys.
I liked the way the author left the reader to make their own decisions about the nature of Sophie's relationship with Victor and I enjoyed the way the characters interacted with each other.
It took me less than a day to read The Bookbinder's Daughter and I am a little disappointed that it took me so long to finally get around to reading it, such a wholesome read.
Our Final Rating...
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