Book Summary and Reviews of The Bookbinder's Secret by A. D. Bell

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Janine_S

Delightful historical mystery
A delightful mystery that keeps you riveted! Lilian "Lily" Delaney is an apprentice binder and n Oxford. It's 1910. Lily is quite talented and she is requested by a customer to do a binding for a business ok that belongs to his wife. While there she obtains a book that has been partially burnt. When the binding comes off, Lily finds pages detailing a story of girl being forced into a marriage.... And we are off into a journey to find out more about the people written on these pages. The book twists and turns and Lily meets interesting people along the way. While there are things that can be easily figured out, these do not detract from this well written book. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC.

labmom55

Entertaining
In 1901 Oxford England, Lily works in her father’s bookstore and as an apprentice to a bookbinder. When she is requested by a collector to handle an assignment, he also gives her a burnt book. The book is supposedly worth nothing. So why is someone now desperate to lay hands on it? Could it have to do with the fifty year old letter Lily found underneath the binding?

The story combines both intrigue and romance, along with strong character development. I’m never a fan of romance stories and found the love triangle unnecessary. Luckily, the book leaned more towards intrigue and so kept my interest. Bell does a good job of painting the frustrations Lily faces as a woman in a man’s profession, along with her unwillingness to settle down as a wife. She also does a good job of setting the time and place so scenes were easy to envision.

The story moves at a brisk pace, alternating between Lily’s story and the pages she continues to find. The story does rely on a few too many coincidences. Pick this for the entertainment value, not the intricacy of the plot. This is not a cozy mystery and there are multiple scenes of violence.

I listened to this and found Olivia Vinall to be a good choice as narrator.

Ann_Beman

a puzzle-box of a novel, for books-about-books fans
Set in Edwardian Oxford, The Bookbinder’s Secret is steeped in ink, paper, and quiet defiance. Lily Delaney, a gifted young bookbinder, discovers that a set of six distinctly crafted volumes hides a dangerous secret. A.D. Bell layers historical detail with an elegant mystery, letting the scent of glue and leather mingle with coded letters and buried grief. The pacing takes its time, but that suits a story about patience, craft, and the way books hold more than words. This is for you if you're a book-about-books fan and/or you seek literary intrigue with a romantic, slightly gothic glow.