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The Last Heir to Blackwood Library
The Last Heir to Blackwood Library | Hester Fox
29 posts | 22 read | 16 to read
"Weaves a spell of darkness thats mysterious and magical, and binds it with a knot of deathless love." New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley In postWorld War I England, a young woman inherits a mysterious library and must untangle its powerful secrets With the stroke of a pen, twenty-three-year-old Ivy Radcliffe becomes Lady Hayworth, owner of a sprawling estate on the Yorkshire moors. Ivy has never heard of Blackwood Abbey, or of the ancient bloodline from which shes descended. With nothing to keep her in London since losing her brother in the Great War, she warily makes her way to her new home. The abbey is foreboding, the servants reserved and suspicious. But there is a treasure waiting behind locked doors: a magnificent library. Despite cryptic warnings from the staff, Ivy feels irresistibly drawn to its dusty shelves, where familiar works mingle with strange, esoteric texts. And she senses something else in the library too, a presence that seems to have a will of its own. Rumors swirl in the village about the abbeys previous owners, about ghosts and curses, and an enigmatic manuscript at the center of it all. And as events grow more sinister, it will be up to Ivy to uncover the librarys mysteries in order to reclaim her own storybefore it vanishes forever. Lush, atmospheric and transporting, The Last Heir to Blackwood Library is a skillful reflection on memory and female agency, and a love letter to books from a writer at the height of her power.
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Scochrane26
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Pickpick

This story has some twists that were a bit different from other books I‘ve read. I enjoyed the characters but sometimes wished the MC was less innocent (it‘s set after WW2 so had to lessen my expectations). A huge library is involved which made me happy. Don‘t want to give away spoilers. Thanks @Gissy for gifting me this one. 4 ⭐️

Gissy I‘m glad to here that. I need to read this one🤗❤️❤️❤️ 2mo
24 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Scochrane26
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@Gissy 1) you have such nice handwriting 2) Thanks for this book & all the extras! 3) any chocolate makes me happy 😀
A friend recommended this book awhile ago, so I‘m excited to read it soon! #jolabokaflodswap
@MaleficentBookDragon I always love this swap, thanks for organizing it again.

Gissy I‘m glad you liked it. Thank you ✍️😊
This book is in my wish list too🤗Looking forward to read your review😃
3mo
35 likes1 comment
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CaitlinR
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Mehso-so

A fluffy fantasy that doesn‘t require any deep thought or careful reading; perfect for the sprint to complete holiday preparations.

Called to a solicitor‘s office, Ivy Radcliffe is shocked to find that she is the heir of Blackwood Abby. Suddenly, she‘s thrust from modest life into the role of Lady Haworth. As an avid reader, she is thrilled by the estate‘s library — but it imposes a terrible cost. A curse that will steal her memories, and life.

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mcctrish
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Pickpick

This is Gothic mystery romance? A young woman inherits a title and an estate that comes with some serious drawbacks. It‘s quite puzzling in the beginning, is Ivy an unreliable narrator or are there dark forces at play? Despite being too tired to read most days I still read past my bedtime all week. Never doubt a book with library in the title

yourfavouritemixtape Library books are the best! 😁 4mo
49 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Laughterhp
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Pickpick

Finished this one last week. I think I now have read all of Hester Fox‘s books. This is a creepy things going on in a house book and a lot of memory loss. It was pretty interesting and I didn‘t expect some of the story. Great read!

#fangtasticreadathon #rushathon #31by31 #spookoween #falling4books #bookspin #littenlisten #scarathlon #magicalmonsters

TheSpineView Fantastic! 5mo
Andrew65 Excellent 👏👏👏 5mo
Read4life 🍁👻🎃 5mo
Catsandbooks 🙌🏼🦇🧡 5mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 5mo
42 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Blueroseis
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Reading reviews on Litsy this morning I found the review for 'The Last Heir to Blackwood Library' a book that I was unaware of before today. I thought fellow Litsy members may like to see a picture of an actual Blackwood Library which is in Blackwood, South Wales UK.

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iread2much
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Pickpick

I thought this book did a really good job of making this kind of scary house story logical, and the choices of the characters made a lot of sense. I also liked the parallels the author made to PTSD.
Ivy inherits a title and an ancient house with a dark secret, but will she survive longer than the other heirs?
3/5 read for a bit of magic, a bit of romance, and a lot of books and library love.

dabbe Hello there, Castle-Man! 🖤🐾🖤 5mo
21 likes1 comment
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TLuvs
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TLuvs Final rating is a 3.5 🌟. It was just okay, noting really stood out for the good or bad. 5mo
8 likes1 stack add1 comment
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OndinetheSea
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Mehso-so

I enjoyed this book. It's a very interesting story, and I really enjoy the occult/supernatural aspect of the story. I did get a bit impatient with the middle of the book.
I'm gonna give it 7/10

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hes7
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“In post–World War I England, a young woman inherits a mysterious library and must untangle its powerful secrets…”

#black #scarathlon #blackcatcrew

BookwormAHN I gave it the same rating 🐈‍⬛ 6mo
53 likes1 comment
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bookandbedandtea
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I started this last night and cannot wait till work is done so I can get back to it. 📖

32 likes1 stack add
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OndinetheSea
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I always make big TBR lists for one month despite the fact that I really struggle to read. I put too much pressure on myself to finish books and it triggers my procrastination 😅

So, this is my TBR list:
1. Belladonna
2. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
3. We Hunt The Flame
4. Can't Spell Treason Without Tea
5. The Last Heir to the Blackwood Library

And I'm givng myself the rest of the year to read these. Less books, more time, no pressure 📚❤️

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paisleyjess
Mehso-so

I didn't expect the love story aspect and that took me out of it a little bit.

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kissmehardy
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Mehso-so

Super atmospheric and spooky, even if I felt the ending was a bit anticlimactic. Watching Ivy uncover all the secrets and layers to Blackwood (and promptly forget half of them, because CURSE) was captivating and enjoyable, the Ralph reveals were less so. So-so for me, but an understandable pick for others. #gothicfiction #historicalfiction

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Serenity_Within86
Mehso-so

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Serenity_Within86
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I really don't know what to feel about this book. It's keeping my interest it just keeps getting weirder and weirder.I'm almost done and I need to find out what happens.

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Serenity_Within86
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Next book

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BookwormAHN
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Panpan

This was a mess of a book. The unreliable narrator trope really didn't work. Ivy finds out that she is the last heir to Blackwood. Once she gets there, the story becomes somewhat of a mess. She faces ghosts, cults, over privileged lords, secrets, memory loss, and a somewhat sentient library.

LiteraryinLawrence The phrase “somewhat sentient library” is so intriguing! Too bad the book wasn‘t great though. 8mo
Laughterhp That‘s too bad. I use to really enjoy this author but I feel like her last couple of books haven‘t been great. 8mo
49 likes2 comments
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Purpleness
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dabbe If the stash goes to infinity, count me in! 🤣🤣🤣 9mo
45 likes1 comment
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Purpleness
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47 likes1 stack add
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Librarylady3
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Loving this book but I am so frustrated! How are you going to tell a person that they aren‘t safe and need to leave and never come back and then not tell her why because you “don‘t want to frighten her?”. Just freaking tell her, man!!!

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KristiAhlers
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Mehso-so

I wanted to like this one way more then I did. Whilst I loved the Gothic vibe the storytelling was just not up to par. Great idea but mediocre execution.

Clare-Dragonfly Too bad! What a great title! 10mo
51 likes1 comment
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Librarylady3
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A great way to start a morning. A new book and cuddles from my oldest.

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Hooked_on_books
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Mehso-so

Ivy has been working hard to get by when she answers a mysterious summons to a solicitor‘s office and discovers she is the heir to a great house in Yorkshire. She discovers there a tremendous library but quickly finds odd things happening. Great premise, but it sadly doesn‘t deliver. I wish this had been reworked a bit and that the author hadn‘t relied on very obviously keeping things from the reader/protagonist.

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ATB
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Libraries and Librarians are the best. New book for my travels and was helped with a Libby problem I was having!!!

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SW-T
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Mehso-so

Very gothic. Plenty of supernatural elements, nice semi-secluded setting, and the staff were mysterious and sinister in turn. Not bad overall, but wasn‘t necessarily crazy about it either.

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Reecaspieces
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Pickpick