The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston #travelingsistersread #BookBloggers @StMartinsPress

The Little Shop of Found Things is a historical fantasy and the first in a series for Paula Brackston and definitely one we are looking forward to reading more of.

The Little Shop of Found Things is a charming and intriguing adventure through time with a mystery, some historical details and a dash of romance (well maybe a bit more than a dash) that I really enjoyed from start to finish. It does start off a bit slow and takes some time to get into.

Paula Brackston creates an interesting character here with our hero Xanthe Westlake who has a unique gift to see connections by touching found things. I loved the dynamics here between her and her mother Flora and I really enjoyed their caring relationship and it was a nice change of pace from those stories with dysfunctional families.

I really enjoyed the supernatural parts to the story along with some historical details to this adventure through time while Xanthe races against time to solve a mystery and save the daughter of a ghost who threatens her. I thought Paula Brackston weaved all the elements to this story well, creating an engaging and entertaining story. The suspense is slow but very rewarding in the end. I recommend!

Mesmerizing, magical & bewitching!

The premise and themes that are featured in this book are probably some of my most favourite elements that I love to read about in my books. The supernatural, magical realism, time travel and antiques. Then bring all those things together into a book adding a little bit of romance to the storyline then I’m one happy and very contented reader!

THE LITTLE SHOP OF FOUND THINGS by PAULA BRACKSTON is a charming, haunting, suspenseful and romantic novel that I absolutely adored and loved the journey that this book took me on. The novel did take a little bit of patience in the beginning though to get used to the beautiful descriptive writing style but once that was mastered the rest of the novel flowed perfectly for me. 

PAULA BRACKSTON delivers an atmospheric, engaging and beautifully written tale of intrigue, suspense and mystery here with great characters, a captivating setting and an extremely enchanting storyline. I absolutely loved this storyline and the dynamics between Xanthe and her mother as well as a couple of the male characters. Which I won’t say too much about. 

I really connected with Xanthe, she was such a likeable and heartfelt character and I was totally fascinated with her ability to sense an antique objects past just by touching it and the magical adventure that it took her on, transporting her back to the seventeenth century. The adventure, details and descriptions back in this time period was absolutely fascinating and loved every minute of it. There were some pretty exciting scenes in the present as well that definitely kept me turning those pages. 

This book is by no means a fast-paced read but it definitely had a spellbinding effect on me and thoroughly entertained me!

 A mysterious, haunting and magical journey.

This charming tale follows Xanthe (love that name!) and her mother, Flora, who leave big city life to take over an antiques shop in the small, historic town of Marlborough, Wiltshire. Xanthe has always had an unexplainable connection to antiques, finding some pieces ‘speak’ to her of their past. Soon after arriving in the small town, while attending an antiques auction in a nearby village, Xanthe finds herself drawn to a silver, seventeenth century chatelaine. For those of you, like me, who don’t know what that is: “A chatelaine was a belt or clip – in this case a clip – worn at the waist or hip of the lady of the house. Most, like this one, had several chains dangling from the clasp, and to the end of these chains would be attached various useful or beautiful things.” Through the history and magic attached to this vintage piece, Xanthe embarks on a journey into the past involving long hidden secrets, prestigious and powerful families, unsolved crimes and forbidden love.

Had I fully read the blurb prior to reading this novel, I would never have imagined I would enjoy this as much as I did. Time travel isn’t a concept that I am attracted to nor usually find enjoyment in, however, this really worked for me. The author, Paula Brackston, has a very beautiful, smooth and intriguing way with words. The beauty of her writing, kept me fully engaged and entertained by this novel even though the storyline itself isn’t something I prefer. The atmosphere was heavy and incredible throughout the novel. I have a huge soft spot for stories involving the English countryside and old mansion houses so these being a large part of the novel were truly delightful for me. There were many degrees of drama and implausibility scattered throughout the story, yet it didn’t deter me from enjoying the unraveling of this mystery, keeping me engrossed and curious to the very end. That says something wonderful about the writing! 

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Beautiful, mesmerizing, eye-catching, intriguing and an extremely fitting representation to storyline. The pretty cover alone definitely enticed me to read this book!
Title: Appealing, suspenseful, intriguing and absolutely loved how the title played into the storyline. Absolutely perfect! 
Writing/Prose: Well-written, meticulous, engaging, captivating, and fluid.
Plot: Suspenseful, enchanting, exciting, intriguing, engrossing, steady-paced, enjoyable and extremely entertaining. 
Ending: A lovely ending that I was extremely satisfied with and also left me feeling extremely excited knowing that this is the first book in a series. Can’t wait to read book #2. 
Overall: A fascinating and fully absorbing read that had me totally engrossed within this tale from start to finish! I absolutely loved this storyline! Would highly recommend!

Thank you so much to Jordan at St. Martin’s Press and Paula Brackston for sending us all out a finished copy of this beautiful book to read and review. It was an absolute pleasure reading it!

Have you read this one? Want to read it? Drop us a comment! We would love to hear from you!