Spellbook of the Lost and Found

3.5 Stars

“Be careful what you wish for; not all lost things should be found.”

This book was honestly one big mindwarp. But I kinda liked it. It’s gritty and seductive, with an air of mystery that created a perfectly surreal environment for the story. We follow Olive, and her best friend Rose, as they begin to lose things after the town’s annual bonfire. They meet up with 3 mysterious teens, Hazel, Rowan, and Ivy, who have lost things of their own. The ragtag group begins to find diary pages from a girl named Laurel and an ancient spellbook that can recall lost things. Magic, mystery, and mayhem ensure in this seductive and enchanting read.

Things I Liked
The different friend groups present in the story are all really fantastic. I show more loved how Olive, Rose, Hazel, Rowan, and Ivy’s story was paralleling Laurel, Ash, and Holly’s. I also loved the friendships between Olive & Rose, and Hazel, Rowan, & Ivy. The developed and established friendships made the entire team up more enjoyable and believable.

There was this surreal feeling atmosphere over the entire story. It created this serendipitous world where everything happened and was interconnected. It really matched the subject matter and I liked that.

At the end of the story I was left with some unanswered questions, but I don’t think everything in this story needed a clear answer. I like that I’m left wondering about some aspects of the story. It matched the mysterious nature well.

There was also some great representation in this book. Hazel identifies as a lesbian, and Olive and Rose identify as bi. Rose mentions that she's half-Indian. Olive is is deaf in one ear, and uses a hearing aid. I loved the seemless inclusion of different sexuality, race, and ability.

Things I Didn’t Like
While I did enjoy the overall surreal feeling, it did have this weightless quality that made it hard to connect with the characters in the beginning of the story. The magicalness was perfect for the mystery, but it did keep the story from being grounded for me.

I found that in the beginning third of the book, the different POV chapters ran together for me; especially because we’re introduced to the three groups at roughly the same time. The different groups finding the other’s “lost things” also didn’t help differentiate the people/

Ivy left a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth after a reveal that happened in the last quarter of the book, and I didn’t really like her much after that. I know everyone in this book is selfish, but I felt like that she did went a little too far.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found is a magically captivating read that draws you into a world of loss, mystery, and endurance. The dynamics really shined, while I found the romances to be a little lackluster. This is my first book from Moïra Fowley-Doyle, but it definitely intrigues me enough to check out more of her work.

I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. show less

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

A spellbook appears. A town begins to lose things big and small. Diary pages begin to appear in bunches of flowers and on the side of the road. And through it all, various girls lose themselves and try to find themselves again, through friendships, romance, and ties to the past and future, all with the help of some magic.

This book is so beautifully written. It's just got this gorgeously surreal tinge through it all, but Fowley-Doyle also manages to make it feel so real and immediate. I cared deeply about the characters and what was going to happen to them.

There are also some unexpected and show more amazing twists and turns, especially towards the end of the book.

For me personally, there really wasn't anything not to like about this book. The ending felt a little pat, but I actually liked that, which isn't typically the case for me. I can see how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it, even though this is definitely not the typical genre I gravitate towards.

Definitely try this book. Not everyone seems to have liked it, but I found it very beautiful, and a quick read. show less

I'm going to dive right in with the one thing I didn't like - and it's probably my own fault - which is the confusion that tortured me during the first couple of chapters.
There was an overdose of characters and it made everything so confusing. I kept going back to be sure that I was piecing everything together correctly. It could've easily been me being distracted and thus getting frustrated was my own fault. Who knows..

After a while I finally had it figured out though, so the fun could begin! But the confusion kinda stuck. This time, in a good way.
None of the characters knew what was happening exactly, how things were getting lost and found and lost again. Their confusion confused me as well, up to the point that I had very weird show more theories completely thought out - detective-mode activated, haha!
I honestly love it when a book grabs me like that; getting me that invested and without frustrating the hell out of me? Even when I turn out to be wrong, several times? Kathy = happy!

A fun and nice touch to this book are the chapters.
For starters, each chapter has a different POV - and, remember, there are a lot of those - but they also all start with saying what was lost and/or found during that chapter.
Just reading that little part alone made you wonder how they lost or found those items. So instead of a chapter ending with a cliffhanger, you get another way to motivate - more like tempt - you to keep reading.

As for the characters themselves.. For some reason I couldn't really connect with any of them. I understood them, their thoughts and actions. I just couldn't feel them. Maybe the overload of characters made them all a little bland for me, even though they all have their distinct characteristics.. But it didn't bother me at all - honestly, I'm just realizing this while writing out my review so it couldn't have been that bad!

All in all I loved the story, the originality, the way all the twists and turns came perfectly together at the end and - this has to be mentioned! - the presence of bisexual characters!

For this, I'm giving Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle 4 / 5!

Kathy

I paid full-price for this book. This is my honest review for which I'm not being compensated in any way. show less

Updated Review

Actually this book is a solid 4 stars for me. I have to say when I finished it I didn't think it was. This book though has had some lasting grip on me though, enough so i found myself reading [b:The Accident Season|23346358|The Accident Season|Moïra Fowley-Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1428338423s/23346358.jpg|42905086] right away, I don't know what to say other than the writing has a quality that makes certain moments so clear you could touch them. The Characters were all given enough story that you wanted to know more but were not let down when you were not given the "more".

Now with that said I do remember the exact moment the pieces clicked together for how the book was going to go and how I completely show more turned on my PLL brain and pushed the right answer away.
The edge of magic-realism in this book was well worth the read. The book as a whole put me in the mind of a Alice Hoffman-esque book with more modern, young adult/teen feel. I'd almost call it a gateway into the whole wonderful genre

Find My Aesthetics Board Here:
https://pin.it/b5nudstah76rse show less

In Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle, a small town's annual bonfire is the catalyst for some very unusual occurrences.

A meandering tale with chapters alternating between three points of view, the novel has a unique premise that, unfortunately, quickly becomes repetitious and lacks any type of forward progress. The many soundalike names (Olive, Rose, Ivy, Hazel, Rowan, Laurel, Holly, Ash, etc) make is virtually impossible to tell the characters apart. The chapters are narrated in first person and with the exception of Olive, the voices are so similar, it is impossible to tell them apart. Much of the supporting cast is also somewhat bland with little to distinguish them from the others.

Olive is one of the few voices show more that is distinct and easy to follow. Her family is also unique and their interactions are truly delightful and incredibly enjoyable. Olive's friendship with Rose (who is rather distinctive) is quite heartwarming and their text messages are hysterical. Olive's sister Emily is also a breath of fresh air and she is wise beyond her years.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle's does have some unexpected plot twists and a wonderfully diverse cast of characters. However, readers will need plenty of patience as they work their way through this convoluted, incredibly slow-paced young adult novel. show less

I really liked this story. I read most of the book in a single day and captivated by it. I decided to read this book because I was intrigued by the blurb and I am really glad that I did. This was one of those books that made me want to keep reading "just one more chapter" until I had reached the end.

This book is told from multiple points of view and it works very well for this story. Every point of view in this book really added something to the add to the overall story. I really liked each of the points of view equally which was a big plus for this book. I feel like Olive's point of view was the dominant one in the book that really pushed the story forward. Laurel and Hazel's points of view were equally important and usually gave me show more something to think about.

I enjoyed the way the book was laid out. Some things were lost and some things were found. How did all of this happen and what does it really mean? How do you get back the things you have lost that are important to you? I found myself really thinking about these questions as the characters made their way through this story. I wasn't sure how things would end up connecting and ran into a few surprises during the story.

I liked the writing. This was my first experience reading Moïra Fowley-Doyle's work and I am quite impressed. She was able to create a large cast of characters in this book that really came to life. There was just enough unknown to keep me guessing throughout the story. The descriptions were vibrant and I could really visualize what was happening at any given point.

I would recommend this book to others. I think it is a unique story filled with an interesting group of characters. I plan to read more from this talented author in the future.

I received an advanced reader edition of this book from Kathy Dawson Books via First to Read. show less

Maybe it's more about firsts. Maybe every first is a loss.

There was something quite lovely about this book. Set in Ireland, a sweet f/f pairing, bi rep, great relationships between siblings and friends. Definitely recommend!