ARC August Review: Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley-Doyle


 Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Published by: Penguin Random House/Kathy Dawson Books

Date of Publication: August 8th 2017

Genres: YA Fantasy/Magical Realism

Pages: 368

Format: eGalley

   

If you’re not careful, you can spend your whole life looking for what you’ve lost.

One stormy summer in a small Irish town, things begin to disappear. It starts with trivial stuff—hair clips, house keys, socks—but soon it escalates to bigger things: a memory, a heart, a classmate.

Olive can tell that her best friend, Rose, is different all of a sudden. Rose isn’t talking, and Olive starts to worry she’s losing her. Then diary pages written by someone named Laurel begin to appear all over town. And Olive meets three mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel, and her twin brother, Rowan, secretly squatting in an abandoned housing development. The trio are wild and alluring, but they seem lost too—and like Rose, they’re holding tightly to painful secrets.

When a tattered handwritten spellbook falls into the lives of these six teenagers, it changes everything. The spellbook is full of charms to conjure back that which has been lost, and it lists a part for each of them to play in the calling. It might be their best chance to set everything back to rights, but only if they’re willing to pay the price.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found takes place in Ireland, much of the time is spent outside in the woods, a abandoned house, and a pub with a mysterious owner whose age remains unknown. The teens in this book are pretty much left to their own devices. It’s during a bonfire party that one of the characters by the name of Laurel, wakes up inebriated to find the spellbook that would inevitably bind all of their fates together. The spellbook contains the ingredients to cast the spell that would find what you’ve lost however…for every thing found…you must be willing to lose something & the choice is not always yours to make. These characters have all lost something valuable that they are willing to take the risk in order to get it back.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found was one of those books I spotted early on & just knew I wanted to read right away. I’m a lover of all things witches, spells, and mysterious atmospheres and this book delivered on all three. We follow multiple POV’s as there are three sets of friends:

Rose & Olive: Best friends and polar opposites

Rowan, Hazel, and Ivy: Rowan and Hazel: are fraternal twins squatting in a abandoned house after leaving a toxic home environment. Their childhood friend Ivy followed them & plays a protective role over them

Laurel, Ash, & Holly: with this set of friends we only get Laurel’s POV as she tells her group of friends story

Stories told in Multiple POV’s tend to be some of my most favorite because it’s a great way to have each character fleshed out, by getting in their heads. It did take me some time to get used to all of the players in this book because some shared striking character similarities with each other. I didn’t find any of these characters to have a real distinct voice but I enjoyed following the threads that connected them nonetheless. I did however, appreciate the diversity in this cast of characters with Rose being a bi-sexual POC, Olive being deaf & bi-sexual, and Hazel being gay. Friendship played a big theme in this book as well as sibling relationships. These characters for the most part are deeply flawed but what stood out most was the genuine concern for one another.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found is my first read by Moira Fowley-Doyle since I haven’t yet had the chance to pick up The Accident Season. Although there were moments of confusion, I was invested in this story and seeing it all the way through. Also, I wasn’t expecting the writing to be heavy with prose & so that took some getting used to but again it still maintained my interest. This is a slow paced read but the pay off makes it all worth your time. I found myself constantly trying to connect the dots & even went as far as making a little tree chart to see how each person knew the other haha! I can tell you this much…you won’t see the ending coming! & that alone was wonderful! seeing how well constructed & detailed this story really is was a real treat & speaks to the skill our author honed with her pen. I highly recommend Spellbook of the Lost and Found to those who enjoyed the movie The Craft & for anyone who enjoys piecing together a good mystery 😉

*HUGE Thanks Penguin Random House/Kathy Dawson Books & Moira Fowley-Doyle for the eGalley of Spellbook of the Lost and Found in exchange for an honest review

Hello Readers! Have any of you had the chance to read Spellbook of the Lost and Found? if you have, did you see that ending coming? btw, since this is a mystery & those are best to go into blind lol, I opted to go with this review format instead of my traditional categories…thoughts?

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31 thoughts on “ARC August Review: Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley-Doyle”

    1. Oh it’s published, was released 8/8/17 lol. I got this arc with a very small timeframe to read. & yes! to Ireland & Witches, def the perfect pairing 😃 thank you Lenna 😃💕

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  6. Wow this sounds like an incredible book Lilly, and between what you’ve said about the diversity and the well-developed friendships between the characters you’ve made this a must-add to my TBR list, and a must-read ASAP! 😀
    The blurb makes it sound a little bit like a magical realism book, is that the feel you got from it (I’m always on the look out for more magical realism books!)
    Great review, I hope I end up enjoying this book as much as you did. 🙂 ❤

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    1. Thank you Beth! I hope you enjoy this read when you get around to it. As for the magical realism.,..yes & no lol. I’m not sure I can explain it which is part of the reason I didn’t label the writing as such even though I kind of wanted to lol. The writing has been accused of being loaded with purple prose which I didn’t mind cuz it added to the atmosphere but it didn’t read as magical realism either. I guess cuz we’ve read a few books now that are def Magical Realism, it’s easier to recognize. This book revolved around a spellbook/1 specific spell & it’s consequences. hmmmm…lol, not sure but now I’m hella curious for your take when you get to it 😉

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      1. That’s all right, and thanks Lilly, I hope so too. 🙂
        I’ve read books where there’s been that gap between magical realism and other genres, and you can’t quite define where it fits. I’ll definitely have to make my own judgements on this one it seems; at the moment it still sounds like magical realism to me, but I guess I’ll have to read it and find out! 🙂

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  11. I am like you, I struggle to read multiple POVs when the character’s voices aren’t particularly different. Plus, with such a large cast of narrators, let alone characters, it can be a challenge to keep everything distinct in my head!

    I definitely like the format of this post! I love going into mysteries and thrillers completely blind, and this really supported that. I’d love to see your tree chart, but I’m sure it’s filled with spoilers… so, maybe not! How did you decide on this different format?

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    1. Oh goodness! It’s my biggest pet peeve when I can’t differentiate btwn one character and the next lol. I’m glad you enjoyed this format though because I really didn’t want to give anything away. The ending took me by surprise and I think like you, going in blind is best 😃

      P.S. My tree is def spoilery lmaooo!

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      2. I highlight on Kindle mostly but i feel most comfortable with pen & paper so if I’m home that’s my go-to. I def take notes when it’s more complex plot or a large cast of main/secondary characters. It helps me keep track of timelines as well lol

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