Wow, just wow! This book was a stunning read. It had all of the ingredients that make an amazing story - adventure, magic, interesting and different characters, beautiful descriptions... It was the kind of book that you can get lost in and as an adult it reminded me of my favourite reads from childhood. The kind of book that you want to disappear under the bed covers and read with a torch after you're supposed to have switched the lights off. Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

This was a really sweet middle grade book. I wanted to read this as I had previously read and enjoyed The House with Chicken Legs.

The main character Olia, was likeable, and she had a really adventurous side to her. I liked how we followed her on her journey to find out more about the castles magic, and the characters that she met on her way.

This book read a bit younger than her previous books, so I felt I wasn't as invested and couldn't connect as well but I think younger readers would definitely enjoy this.

I liked the references to The House with Chicken Legs and Babayaga and didn't expect the ending. Overall, enjoyable but I don't think I'd rush to get my own copy.

This much-anticipated third novel by Sophie Anderson is a triumph, standing up to its predecessors The House with Chicken Legs and The Girl Who Speaks Bear in the richness of its story weaving and scope of imagination.

Castle Mila is Olia’s family home - a majestic castle passed down in her family history from generation to generation. The castle is as mysterious as it is impressive - with secret rooms, impenetrable domes and hidden passageways that long to be explored - and is the perfect abode for a curious and adventurous protagonist like Olia, who wishes to leave no stone unturned when it comes to seeking out magic and who can’t wait to share it all with her baby sister Rosa once she is old enough. The castle has stood for 500 years, so when a storm threatens, Olia is sure that the castle should be able to withstand it even if it may mean cancelling the special feast planned in the great hall. But wise old Babusya - who is always well-tuned in to the world of magic and spirits - isn’t so sure, feeling that there is something different about the nature of this impending storm.

After the storm passes, part of the top of the castle has partially collapsed down into the great hall, revealing a hidden staircase that leads to one of the castles domes. The Aurora Dome has always fascinated Olia, believing it be a place of hidden magic. Allured by its potential and confused by Babusya’s mysterious instructions about unlocking the castle’s magic, Olia is soon swept away on an adventure through a magical door in the dome that leads to a whole new land of forbidden magic.

What ensues is a thrilling quest introducing a host of magical characters, as Olia finds true courage within herself and a new conviction in her own agency to pursue what she believes is important. The cast of characters is delightful, and pleasingly there is even an appearance from a particular house that is fondly familiar to fans of Sophie’s previous books. An interesting and topical theme emerges gently through the story, as Olia explores the concept of how to deal with the shameful actions of ancestors from generations before - actions that have caused long-lasting consequences for the individual liberties of a whole group of characters. Should we cut off things of the past and remove all memories of them, wonders Olia, or embrace our history while looking for ways to put things right?

Sophie Anderson masterfully introduces Russian folklore to new readership while exploring themes with true relevance to the modern middle-grade readers - identify, social justice, conviction of belief, what it means to find a home and the role individuals play in make the world a better place for others.

With beautiful illustrations by Saara Sodurlund bringing its magic to life, this is an enchanting and exciting tale is not to be missed.
Many thanks to the publisher for our review copy. This features on our Autumn 2020 Ones to Watch list.

Sophie Anderson is such a deft and accomplished storyteller—her books all seem to spring forth as fully formed modern-classics. I loved 'The House with Chicken Legs' and 'The Girl Who Speaks Bear', so I was anticipating great things from 'The Castle of Tangled Magic' and it didn’t disappoint. Olia lives in an old castle full of secret ways and fantastical domes. She’s sure there is magic in the castle and can’t wait to share it with her baby sister. But one day there is a terrible storm and the castle is damaged. Olia follows a magical guide through the castle’s domes to a land beyond, where a host of magical creatures have been trapped by a cruel wizard. Olia must defeat the wizard to save her castle and free the magic, but she must also make some difficult decisions and some sacrifices along the way. A spellbinding, heart-warming story about growing up and taking responsibility. (There’s also a lovely link to one of the other books that I particularly enjoyed.)

Twists and turns and a shared mission leads to adventure and excitement.
Deda Yaga who lives in the house with chicken legs is good and kind to Olia after her house is endangered . They journey to the magical land to save Olia’s house
A tale of ancient spirits, beliefs, strong magic and true friendship. This is a brilliant story which I would well recommend to children and adults from 8-99
I will be reading this to my class.

I was thrilled to get this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, as I loved The House With Chicken Legs , And this is FANTASTIC. Well done Sophie Anderson on writing another winner which had my ten year old gripped from beginning to end.

Reading a book written by Sophie Anderson is like wrapping yourself up in an enormous hug. Sophie is a word weaver extraordinaire and you know that she will set your heart a glow and provide nourishment for your soul.
The Castle of Tangled Magic is brilliantly written. From the very beginning the imagery is vivid, enticing and magical. Throughout the story there is a constant sense of anticipation which twists and turns like the hidden passage ways of Olia's ancestral home. Olia is the perfect character choice for this story. Whilst she is determined to do the right thing, it is the love of family that drives her inner strength and determination. Family and a sense of belonging is a theme inherent in Sophie's books and it is clearly evident here too; from Olia's love of her Babusya to her loyalty to Feliks. The Castle of Tangled Magic is a wondrous and magical tale and the tapestry of its words will fill you with a warm glow long after the final full stop.
This is a must read.
A magical tale of friendship, loyalty, love and family.
Thank you to Usborne Publishing and Net Galley for the early opportunity to read this book.

I'm always excited when I hear of a new Sophie Anderson book and I definitely was not disappointed! Filled with magic and adventure the Journey Olia takes in this book will engulf you. With many fantastical spirits you wish were real and some familiar stories popping up from previous novels this is again a wonderful tale from a brilliant author.

A wonderful story full of magic and folklore. I was hooked from the beginning as Olia chased her grandmother into the forest hoping to see the magic she thinks surrounds her. Later as storms rage around the castle she calls home, she learns that magic is seeping out of a hidden land, which could eventually destroy her home. As she goes on a journey to save the castle, she learns more about her family's past and makes new friends as she learns that home is more than the building where you live.
This was a beautifully woven tale filled with inspiration from Slavic folklore and mythology. I will be recommending we add a copy to the school library and pointing lots of children in it's direction!

I received an eARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Castle of Tangled Magic 🏰✨

A little late posting this review as I finished it a while back.

Sophie Anderson is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. She has the ability to create wonderfully magical worlds that you can’t help but get lost in.

Olia is an interesting chatacter - one you instantly like and feel a connection with. She is kind and caring, and the relationships she has with her grandmother and sister are adorable.
I loved joining Olia on her adventure to save her home.

A story about friendships, family and bravery that you will be unable to put down.

Thanks to @usborne for the free e-arc through @netgalley

4.5 Stars!

I am not a very frequent middle-grade reader, but this book won my heart! The Castle of Tangled Magic caught my attention due to its gorgeous cover and an interesting storyline, and I am so elated that I got a chance to read it.

The Castle of Tangled Magic is a beautiful and heartwarming story full of magic, love and courage. Olia is a courageous and curious child whose heart knows and believes in magic. Faced with the challenge of saving her beloved castle where she has spent all her childhood, she goes on a magical and adventurous journey. Soon she realizes that not only must she find the courage in her heart to protect her family and the castle, but also save a whole another magical world which is crumbling fast...

Full of gorgeous prose and stunning illustrations, this book was a delight to read. The premise of a magical castle full of mysteries and steeped in history, with domes which can only be reached by secret passages and windows that glow with magic was extremely alluring. The descriptions are vivid and make the scenes come alive with scents and colours. The story is richly influenced by Russian folklore and I was delighted to read about various spirits and mythical creatures. The illustrations lend life to a lot of scenes, and I could not get enough of them.

The entire ensemble of side-characters are fleshed out intricately and had interesting and unique personalities. The relationships between them are what lend life to the story, be it Olia's pure and innocent love for her younger sister or Felix's love and yearning for his wife. I adored the character of Babusya, Olia's grandmother, whose teachings motivate Olia to look at things from all angles, trust her judgement and find courage in her heart.

‘The castle of tangled magic’ has some lovely poetic descriptions that made me wonder and dream. The lovely descriptions are not only from the castle itself but also from particular details of the setting and its characters, such as Feliks, the fox like creature. Sophie Anderson uses language like a camera, you feel like you are zooming in with Olia. You are taken to a land of magic and totally immersed in it. This book offers plenty of marvellous exemples to children of what you can do with language and how you can create new worlds with the power of writing. A book to give children hope, hope to believe, to not give up and hope if you look for it, you might find magic!

Amazing book - will definitely put in the library. Loved the clever link to the house with chicken legs

I was barely a page into this book when I got that warm comforting feeling like when you sit down to watch a Disney film and you just know its going to be amazing! I got Alice in Wonderland / Narnia /the wizard of oz vibes reading this book!

I was honestly captivated from the first few lines, and the element of mystery introduced had me absolutely hooked by the end of the first chapter - I could already feel the magic and couldn't put the book down!

The main character is very likable and I got a feeling of female empowerment as I got to know her throughout the book.

The twists & turns had me guessing all the way through. There is also a lovely little link to one of Sophie's previous books (you don't need to have read it before this though) which I just loved!

A few of my favourite lines from the book:
“Magic is everywhere you believe it to be.”

"See with your heart and believe in yourself"

"Belief is one of the few things more powerful than magic.”

All in all I think this book is absolutely fantastic and I urge everyone young and old to read it and feel the magic.

What a wonderfully compelling middle grade book. As a librarian I read many, many books but the quality of the writing and exquisite story really stood out for me. I have no doubt there will be a waiting list at the library for this book. The attention to detail and the visceral experience all adds to this enchanting story. I certainly will be including it in my book club as not only will this book be a wonderful novel to curl up and read but I imagine that the children will enjoy discussing it with others.
Thank you for the early review copy.

Thank you so much to Usbourne for the Netgalley e-arc of The Castle of Tangled Magic!

The Castle of Tangled Magic follows the adventure of our young heroine, Olia, who's family has lived in Castle Mila for generations, a gorgeous ancestral family castle, holding more magic than one would first assume! As a wild wind story attacks the castle, Olia's grandmother suggests that Olia may be the only one capable of defeating the storm and saving her family's home.

I went into this book with incredibly high expectations, Sophie Anderson is one of my favourite middle-grade authors, with her prior books, The House With Chicken Legs and The Girl Who Speaks Bear, being two of the best MG books I've read. One of my favourite things to read about is Russian folklore-inspired stories, and this is something that Sophie Anderson does so well. With this being one of my most anticipated reads of the year, it's very safe to say that Anderson did not disappoint with this addition to her luscious written world, and I am thrilled to have read this absolute masterpiece.

Olia is a bold and courageous young girl, always putting family first. It was refreshing to see a young sibling relationship in the book that is so wholly built on pure love. Olia's love for her family informs most of the choices she makes, however throughout the course of her journey, she learns much about herself and her family's history that encourages growth in her. Alongside our standout heroine, the cast of side characters Anderson creates is outstanding; something I have loved about Anderson's prior books is the found family aspect, the main character finding their herd, and I adored that about this book too. The characters Olia meets along the way are all so endearing, and as a reader, I cared for each of them individually, Feliks particularly, because he was just stellar!

As always, Anderson delivers a gorgeous and mystical atmosphere in her writing, amplified by the magical settings. Castle Mila is described with such curiosity, you can't help but want to explore every inch of the magical building. But alongside that, the truly magical setting develops more and more each time you turn the page, resulting in a rich and beautiful tapestry of a world.

I found The Castle of Tangled Magic to be an incredibly compelling read, the plot held my interest at every turn, the tension felt real and there was a real sense of danger and the risk-factor throughout were very high. Our characters faced a number of challenges throughout their adventure, keeping the pacing of the plot well driven throughout. It's difficult to put this book down as these characters are moving forward through their journey at such a danger fuelled tempo, you don't want to miss a minute of it.

It would be wrong of me to not also mention the illustrations, which are breathtaking. They add another level to the storytelling, allowing the reader to get a truly fairytale feel.

Overall on CAWPILE this scored 9.57/10 which is an incredibly solid 5-star rating. A Beautiful book that I encourage readers of all ages to pick up.

Olia lives in a very old castle which she feels is full of magic, especially the one dome she cannot find a way into. Then one night during a storm she finds a way into the dome and into a magical world. Olia finds that she has to save this world and the home she loves, can she do this?
I enjoyed the book I loved that Olia leant about herself during the book also the fact that I learnt more about the Russian folklore and the creatures and spirits they have.
I thought that the first few chapters of the book we a little slow but once I was in the magical land I found it hard to put the book down and wanted to know if Olia could save the land and her home.

Sophie Anderson does it again! Everything she writes is delightful and totally captivating. The Castle of Tangled Magic will grab you from the start. Sophie weaves traditional folklore into a world of wonder where friends unite together on a fantastical quest. Magic bursts from the pages and pulls you in to an adventure that will have you smiling, crying and punching the air in triumph. Highly recommended as a class read and as a book to hook children in to reading.

Another Anderson classic with wondrous worldbuilding on the level of Diana Wynne Jones. Sumptuous, spellbinding, self-believing storytelling that I couldn’t stop reading. The queen of magical middle grade; I’ve never read a book by her I haven’t loved.

O and I are big fans of Sophie Anderson's books and we've been waiting with much anticipation for her latest book so we were hugely excited to receive an e-copy of The Castle of Tangled Magic last week and, oh boy, we most certainly weren't disappointed!

Olia and her family live on the edge of the village in Castle Mila that has been in their family for 500 years. Its sprawling hallways and many towers are a huge source of enjoyment for Olia who spends much of her time exploring the hidden parts of her home, intent on discovering every last secret and hidden room, and dreams of being able to show her baby sister the castle as she grows up. However, one day, a storm erupts over the castle which damages one of the towers and Olia's investigating reveals that there is much more to this tower and indeed the entire castle than she had ever realised, and it's up to her to save her family and their home.

K's opinion:
From the very beginning, the images created within this book are enticing and vivid, enhanced by the rich and beautiful language and description that Sophie weaves through every page - the castle sounds enchanting and I was desperate to climb into the book and explore with Olia. There's a sense of anticipation that tantalises and builds as the story progresses and you are lead willingly along with Olia and her friends (I'm not going to say too much as I don't want to spoil anything but it's safe to say that the setting is truly an immersive experience).

Olia is a character that people will undoubtedly fall in love with and is a true heroine. Full of life and enthusiasm, determined to do the right thing yet not without her doubts and fears, it is the love for her family that drives her on. She is definitely somebody that readers will want to emulate. And it would be remiss of me not to mention some of the other characters, namely Babusya, Olia's grandma, who emits a sense of calm and whose belief in magic is instrumental in the story, and also Feliks who is the truest of friends.

Sophie has a way of writing timeless stories that incorporate traditional values in a way that is both appealing and relevant to the world today and The Castle of Tangled Magic is no exception: there's very much a fairytale feel to the plot yet woven into it are messages about it being ok to make mistakes and that it's important to believe in yourself; she also touches upon the fact that we shouldn't forget what our ancestors did but should learn from that - hugely poignant at the minute. Family and a sense of belonging have been strong themes in Sophie's first two books and they resonate again strongly here in The Castle of Tangled Magic: it's clear that this is something that is strong in Sophie's life and the love and attention that is paid to the writing throughout this book shows how much this means to her.

Magic is woven into this book from the very beginning and it's the magic that draws you in. The Castle of Tangled Magic is undoubtedly Sophie's best book yet. It's a delicious journey through magical lands that will leave you with a warm glow in your heart (and, in my case, a tear in my eye!)

O's opinion:
When I was told we had access to a proof copy of The Castle of Tangled Magic, I stopped everything to read it, and I was not disappointed when I opened it! Olia is a brave character who just wants to save her home and family, and I loved how courageous she was, especially when she left her Babusya to enter the other world. Feliks is an amazing character, helping Olia along the journey, however, my favourite character has to be Babusya: she is full of wisdom and stories, and I adored her. I always like Sophie's books, and this one is her best yet. This is a must read, and I loved it.

I've read and loved all of Sophie Anderson's books so far - she has a beautiful way of writing that wraps you up in a blanket and transports you to another world. I was so excited to read The Castle of Tangled Magic and was not disappointed at all.

I was torn between wanting to read it in one sitting or slowly devour it and savour every moment spent reading this wonderfully magical book filled with mythology and folklore!

The characters feel like your friends as well as Olia's and you find yourself cheering and crying for them as you walk alongside them on their adventure to save her home and more than she ever thought she would - and could!

A book I cannot wait to share with my year 6 class when we go back to school!