Published By: Wildfire
Pages: 288
Released On: 12/08/2025
How does a girl with her head permanently stuck in a book look beyond stories and start over? If only it were that simple . . .
Chloe’s life feels like a book with a missing chapter. Stuck in a rut and back in her quiet hometown of Wellbridge, Chloe finds that she has traded big-city dreams for her childhood bedroom, working at the local library and hiding behind the pages of her favourite books. But one stormy night when she seeks refuge in the library after a disastrous date, everything changes.
Under the watchful eye of Mrs. Cook, the warm-hearted head librarian who seems to know more than she lets on, and Clementine, the library’s whisker-twitching cat, Chloe discovers that the library seems to hold more than stories. Here, books glow with secrets, characters leap from pages, and the shelves hum with enchantment. More importantly, it has an ability to nudge people toward what they need most – whether it’s healing, hope or a second chance. But is there more to the library’s magic?
Chloe must accept that she needs to face her past and learn that sometimes, the right book – or the right person – can rewrite your entire story.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Wildfire for the advance copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This was one of those books where I was completely drawn in by the cover.
It is magical and fantastical and loving, and it’s about books and a library. I mean, what more do you want?
I love that it’s mostly from the point-of-view of our protagonist Chloe, but then we regularly get it from the point-of-view of the library cat, Clementine.
Libraries are magical places, all book lovers know that, and this presents that belief in a more literal way.
On the surface this sounds like a frivolous, trivial happily-ever-after type book, and I’m not saying it isn’t that, but it touches on more complicated topics like death, estrangement, anger, and loneiness.
It is such a quick book to read. You’re fully absorbed in the story and with the characters, and it flows so well that it flies by.
This is character heavy and plot light, which is generally how I liked my books. What plot is there is fabulous and interesting and entertaining, but this is a character-led story and they’re all so brilliantly developed.
I’ve read a few books over the years where fictional characters come to life and I quite like the idea until I realise that I mainly read thrillers involving serial killers so maybe not.
There’s magic obviously, and it’s full of friendship and family, love and second chances, hope, joy, and purpose.
My one negative is that the ending seemed a bit rushed, everything was overcome in just a ew pages and it was done, so I’d have liked that explored a bit more.
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