It’s been a long time since I did a book review. And yes, it’s been just as long since I actually finished a book. I’ve been a bit distracted lately in the area of reading, but I’ll try and get back at it. I believe that I mentioned in my last blog that I am feeling the tug to read again. But finding time is tricky with all the work that I need to do with the hotel, blog, podcast, and my book. But, you’re not here to hear about that, so let me tell you about the latest book I read; The Reimagining of Thornwood House.
Thornwood House Summary
The Reimagining of Thornwood House is a cozy fantasy written by Jaleigh Johnson. In this book we follow Evie, a land witch who works for an organization that works to protect and preserve magic, and help others. Her job was to help out after natural disasters, and she was one of the most powerful they had. However, she wants a change and is trying to adopt a young farseer witch that she has been mentoring. Farseer witches can look into your future, but only a limited amount of times. Evie takes on a roll of caretaker of a sentient house in a small village, and after some hard work, convinces the organization to let her go.
Welcome to iskendra
When Evie gets to the village of Iskendra, she quickly learns that the task won’t be as simple as she thought. Especially when she gets there and the house is gone! After finding it, she manages to coax the sentient house to come back and begins the long task of restoring, magically and physically, while trying to bond with it and become it’s caretaker. As she begins to meet people in the village she learns that some are not so easy to accept a witch that they consider an outsider. But Evie knows that if she can’t settle here, the organization will force her to come back and they’ll take her daughter, Ruby, away. As she works to find her place, she realizes that there is something else happening and it could be killing the house.
What I Liked About Thornwood House
Now, I’m clearly not a land witch, but I could definitely connect with Evie, especially her desire to be Ruby’s mother. Wanting to find a place to call home, yup I went through that too. And found mine. Ruby was a joy to get to know and read about. In fact, most of the characters were lovable and the character of the house was fun as well. The last handful of chapters were page turners for me and I was eager to see how the story ended. Evie’s character growth was so very well written and the writing was beautifully done. I could picture everything as I was reading it.
The Downside to Thornwood House
Now, I’ll be honest, the fact that I mentioned that the last handful of chapters were page turners is a bit telling. I was bored for, probably, three quarters of the book. There were moments in those chapters that made me chuckle, but for the most part I was bored. It felt like nothing but renovations were happening. Now, I’ll caveat here that it makes sense for not a lot to be happening. It’s a cozy fantasy, not a high fantasy, which is what I enjoy. So, this is more a personal thing than any fault of the story.
Final Rating and Thoughts
I had to really think about what I wanted to rate this book. For most of the book I was sitting at a 3 star. It wasn’t unenjoyable, but because I enjoy books where things are actually happening, and cozy fantasy books don’t have a ton of action, I was bored. But the writing was beautiful, the characters were enjoyable and easy to love. So, I will settle with a final rating of 4 stars. If you’re looking for a cozy read, I would definitely recommend this book. But if you don’t enjoy cozy books, this is not a book for you. The action is all in the last few chapters, and it’s great action, but if you expect an action packed book, this is not it.
What’s Next
Well, this book was a book club pick. And no, I didn’t forget to write a review for the July book club book. I still have not finished it. Oops. The book club pick for September I am excited about. Hopefully that gets me back in the reading spirit. I do know that things are changing at the hotel for September, with scheduling. Which is annoying, but hopefully it only lasts for that long and things settle again in October. Mainly because it could cut into precious blog and podcast time. But, I also want time to read again. I said that this would be the year I read 50 books. I’m sitting pretty at 12 books! Ha, I have my work cut out for me. Wish me luck, my friends. Well, until Friday, I hope you have a great week and remember that anything can happen if you try!
