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Book Reviewed by:The New York Times bestselling author of Hotel Magnifique returns with another glittering dark fantasy about a deadly mystery that spans worlds and a teenage girl who must risk everything to uncover the truth.
Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost everything: her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father's crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.
Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words: Your father was innocent.
To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she'll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father's past draws more attention than she'd planned.
Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she's lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.
Maeve begins to dig into her father's past and discovers more than she bargained for. Filled with mystery, loss, and unique magic, The Otherwhere Post is a solid sophomore novel for Emily J. Taylor. Taylor writes a solid mystery, with shocking revelations that feel natural to the progression of Maeve's search. Although these emerge slowly at first, the world building and character development keep the story moving; the slower moments convey emotion and remind readers of the loss and trauma the characters have experienced. Taylor's novel is fantastical, clever, romantic, and utterly enthralling. The Otherwhere Post will appeal to fans of mystery, romantasy, and dark academia and leave them wanting more of this magical world...continued
Full Review
(707 words)
(Reviewed by Jordan Lynch).
Emily J. Taylor's sophomore novel, The Otherwhere Post, is an academic young adult fantasy filled with haunting secrets, a fascinating magic system, and a sweet slow-burn romance. Taylor has shared that the idea for the story struck in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Between quarantining and the sleep deprivation that comes with having a newborn, Taylor says she felt like she was living on a planet apart from all her loved ones. A banal trip to the mailbox, however, sparked an idea: a magical post office that delivered letters to other worlds. But how do you make a story about a postal service, even a magical one, interesting?
You pair it with an intriguing lead. "An image formed in my mind," says Taylor, &...
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Two strangers find themselves connected by a vast and mysterious library containing many wonders and still more secrets, in this powerfully moving first book in a new series from the international bestselling author of Red Sister and Prince of Thorns.
Jessica S. Olson, author of A Forgery of Roses
Unique, whimsical, and utterly spellbinding, The Otherwhere Post kept me captivated until the very last page. Emily J. Taylor is as much a magician with her words as are the characters she writes. A triumphant sophomore novel that asserts Taylor as one of YA's most compelling storytellers.
