This is O’Donoghue’s first foray into YA fiction and it finds its own place in a market that can be considered oversaturated. I have never read a YA book that focuses on tarot and witchcraft in the way All Our Hidden Gifts does and in that regard, it feels like a breath of fresh air within the genre. It follows a fairly standard YA plotline, as in it focuses on a girl who comes across as very ordinary while surrounded by talented friends and family and she discovers she has this gift for tarot reading and is thrown into a perilous adventure. This doesn’t make it a bad story but it did follow that predictable storyline that is associated with the genre.

What I did love was the setting, All Our Hidden Gifts is set in modern-day Ireland and contains a lot of modern-day references that I did actually enjoy hearing within the text, though I imagine it has the potential to make the book seem dated in the future. The magic was woven cleverly into the environment and the way it clashes against Catholicism I found to be a very interesting aspect to the book, as it also highlights issues in the current day in relation to homophobia and racism.

I found the LGBTQIA+ representation in this book to feel very natural and not included for ‘inclusivity points’ in any way. While we got to see the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ characters within the story, and indeed as part of the plot, it didn’t become the characters only personality trait. They were well rounded and fleshed out beyond their gender/sexual orientation.

I am not currently sure if this book is a standalone or a series. It has potential to become a series, following Maeve’s development as a witch and the secondary plotline but does also work as a standalone if you don’t mind some half-answered plot questions. The secondary plotline could do with some further exploration, it isn’t exactly resolved but an explanation is offered for why the ending doesn’t fix all the problems and it is interesting to have a novel where there isn’t some quick fix for all the world’s problems, especially one set in the modern-day.

My main critique of this book is that it could have a lot more depth but, as with a lot of YA, it focuses on being quick-paced and entertaining over having rich world-building and a gradual build-up. The personalities of the characters do match their ages very well, a slight selfishness and arrogance that does tend to come with youth, which can seem irritating to a slightly older reader, such as myself, but they aren’t shallow and I think it is written well to match the intended demographic. The witchcraft element I felt could have been a little more fleshed out, the rules to the magic were not fully laid out and while I understand the basics of Wiccan magic, it wasn’t clear exactly how magic worked within the setting as it seemed to vary.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book. I started it intending to read around a hundred pages and ended up devouring the entire book in one sitting. A wholly enjoyable YA fantasy novel which offers something new in its setting and fantasy basis, with inclusive representation and the potential for a sequel.

I was unable to read as the text was unavailable for Kindle device. The reviews sound wonderful......

Grateful to NetGalley & the publisher for sharing this ARC with me for review.

I can't believe how fast I got into this book! I went into this expecting something along the lines of The Graces by Laure Eve which I absolutely adore. And then it seemed like this might be a milder version of that, which in a way is true, but it is also in fact a completely unique story and a very pleasant surprise.

The author wastes no time in moving the plot forward but every new development has a point to it and I believe that is what hooked me to the story just a few pages in. That is not to say that things that need to be kept a mystery aren't. And I am not someone who enjoys reading about ghosts at 1 AM but The Housekeeper was terrifying yet intriguing enough a character on its own that even though I felt like she would pop out at the foot of my bed any moment, I could NOT put my laptop down.

I found the characters to be very relatable as well, even the angsty protagonist; it would be a valid argument to say that the characters sometimes interact in messy, vile ways with each other but I honestly found that very true to real life. Friends say bad things to each other, they fail to see things from each other's point of view, end up being ignorant to the problems of those closest to them...and these are all things that the author brings up in way that the character's recognize in each other and call each other out on. Issues such as racism, homophobia, social plights, jealousy, school cliques are all intertwined into these character's story arcs but at no point did I find any of these things off-putting. I feel that the author did a good job of maintaining the balance between fiction and realism; at any rate, I believe these qualities will actually help this book to stand out from the usual contenders in the YA category. There is indeed a romance acting as one of the central plotlines and, despite being very picky about my storybook romances these days, I did not find this one annoying or cringe-worthy in the least.

Overall, the writing was gripping and I ended up enjoying it far more than I had anticipated.

Rating: 3.75/5

I heard about this book via a friend who knows I have an interest in tarot. The blurb caught my attention. Overall, I enjoyed it. The beginning is slower paced but sets the scene, but by the middle I was as captivated as I hoped to be and couldn’t put it down. I needed to know where Lilly was and how Maeve would make things right or if she could.
I loved how tarot and the card’s meanings were blended into the tale, but it was the author’s use of the premise of magic and witchcraft to delve into the world of homophobia, racism and privilege that made me love the story. It revealed parts of Irish culture I never knew about, as well as the undercurrents and tension we see all over the world.
Maeve is a hard character to love, never mind like with her sense of privilege, outspoken and bratty nature. The cards force her to study her behaviour and see the hurtful consequences of her actions. It is a coming of age story and would love to read more about what happens. There is so much more to discover and I felt it was setting up to be a sequel with some threads left dangling.
I would love to know more about Lilly is an unseen constant in the book, and you only hear Maeve’s voice and view of what happened. I would love to know her viewpoint to because she sounds she has so much to say.

I read this book in one sitting, in less than 12 hours. I stayed up till 5am to finish it, and I have zero regrets. Fantastic book, I devoured it and was still hungry for more! Book 2, please?

All Our Hidden Gifts is the YA debut of established writer Caroline O'Donoghue. Set in Ireland, this is the story of Maeve, a young girl who is living a very ordinary life until the day she discovers a dusty set of Tarot cards when cleaning out a school cupboard as part of a punishment. Something about the cards speaks to Maeve and she starts to do some research into their history and meaning, and soon develops a reputation among her classmates for the accuracy and perception of her readings. She feels like she has finally found her gift, and is revelling in her new found popularity but it all comes to a shocking halt when a reading for her former friend Lily takes a dark turn, and a mysterious card showing a sinister woman known as the "Housekeeper" appears in the deck. When Lily disappears that night, Maeve feels guilty that she may have somehow caused her to vanish , but also because she knows she has not been a good friend to Lily. Along with Lily's brother Roe, and her new found friend Fiona, Maeve is determined to find out what happened to the missing girl and along the way uncovers the strange history of the small town she lives in, and how history may be repeating itself.
I have something of a love/hate relationship with magical realism as a genre, in theory it should be something I enjoy, and often the premise of a book hooks me in but unfortunately I am frequently underwhelmed by the execution. I am happy to say that this could not be further from the case with All Our Hidden Gifts, I loved every page, and thought the blending of the magical elements into the story was expertly handled. Maeve may not be the most likeable of characters, but she is all the more real for her faults and failings , and I enjoyed seeing her character grow over the course of the book as she is forced to consider issues from perspectives other than her own. I also liked the gentle development of the the romance between her and Roe, who was easily the most interesting character in the book. Aside from a missing sister, Roe is trying to figure out life as a gender fluid person, and what that means for a relationship with Maeve. I thought it was interesting that the author incorporated aspects of Irish social history into the story, and she did it really well, The character of the "Housekeeper" with its parallels to the White Lady found in so many cultures and mythologies was a clever idea. I found the storyline involving the Christian religious group a little less successful, though it felt very relevant to society today, I wish it had been developed a little more. I think the author may have tried to pack too much into one book, but that really is a very minor complaint about a book that I enjoyed immensely and one that I have already recommended to friends .
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This isn't usually a book I tend to read but it intrigued me and I ended up enjoying the story. Although my enjoyment was impacted by me not particularly liking the main character. The side characters were more interesting for me. But overall it was an interesting read.

This… was not what I expected. I really liked it though.

All Our Hidden Gifts brings us to Ireland and into Maeve Chambers' life. Maeve is pretty lonely, she feel like the odd one out in her family since they're all geniuses and got into a massive fight with her old best friend, Lily, a year before… Now she's on the edge of a group of girls at school who barely know the real her.
The book starts right after Maeve got in trouble at school. Again. As punishment, she has to clean up something in the basement and she stumbles onto a deck of tarot cards. She immediately a strong connection to the deck and while everything at school is uneasy, studying to read tarot is easy. She starts doing reading at school and it becomes super popular. That is until she begrudgingly does a reading for Lily and everything goes wrong and Lily ends up missing the next day…
Maeve, and her two new friends, Fiona and Roe, Lily's sibling, will do anything to find Lily and understand what happened.

I loved a lot of things in this book. I loved the characters, I found them layered, well rounded and just interesting. I loved learning more about tarot and how the magic system was explained, how it worked. The setting was also great, I really felt like I was in Ireland, I could see the river, the town, the school, it was so very immersive.
The plot was engaging and kept me interested the entire time. I could barely stop reading. The whole cult-ish thing was unexpected but it added another dimension that was compelling.
I also really liked the writing.
I really don't know what to add, I feel like I'm pulling teeth at this point, so I'm gonna stop. Just read this, ok?

Maeve isn't good at anything much, until she finds an old pack of Tarot cards at school and starts doing readings. Then her former friend Lily disappears, and she teams up with Lily's brother and new friend Fiona to try and work out what's happened to her. Tarot, magic, gender and other identity all mix against a backdrop of increased attacks on LGBT+ people in town as history seems to be repeating itself.

This is very readable, with relatable characters - none of whom are too perfect or super special in a YA trope kind of way. They need to be a group to find Lily, and the characters work as one. Side characters like the woman who owns the Divination shop are well-drawn, even the parents are proper characters, albeit minor ones. The "bad guy" is an anti-LGBT campaigner, in an all too plausible storyline which highlights the fact that tensions we think are gone are actually very much lurking under the surface. Fiona pointing out that Maeve just hasn't noticed racism and tension also speaks to white privilege. It's very readable and enjoyable as well, I would recommend it.

4.5 Stars out of 5

All Our Hidden Gifts is a compelling and beautifully written book that pulls you in slowly, until you’re so invested you can’t stop reading. There are twists and turns, a mystery that leaves you desperate for answers and some interesting characters, the likes of which are my favourite kind in YA fiction. I couldn’t put it down, and was desperate for more. What initially caught my eye was the gorgeous cover and mention of tarot cards, the blurb sounded exactly like my kind of book and it didn’t disappoint! It took me on a journey through tarot and friendship that I didn’t want to end.


Maeve, the main character, is not a “good” person. She’s done some pretty horrible things, but over the course of this book she goes through a journey of how to learn to be a better friend and a better person. She’s not always likeable as a character – she’s angry, selfish and desperate to be liked. She pushes away the person who understands her best, her best fried Lily. She’s relatable because she has messed up, but she can’t change the past, she has to accept it and do what she can with the future. Roe and Fiona are the other main characters in this book, and I loved getting to know them, finding more about their lives, and seeing past Maeve’s initial impressions of them. Each character has so much personality, and so many dimensions to them that I couldn’t help but want to know more about them and their lives, and rally affirmed the idea that you can’t judge a book by its cover.

This book was brilliant in it’s statement that you don’t have to forgive the people that hurt you, and that you can change who you are and you can always learn and grow, which is such an important message for teens to learn. We aren’t fully formed as teens, there’s so much self-discovery that goes on in that period of our lives, and beyond. I think it’s important to have relatable characters who aren’t a moral compass, who are flawed and difficult, and privileged in ways they don’t understand but grow to learn about. Maeve’s friendships with Roe and Fiona are wonderful because they make her want to become a better person, and work through her jealousy, anger and flaws because she cares about them and the issues they face.

There are some important discussions on privilege, racism and LGBTQIA+ issues in this book. We are taken through a dreamy landscape of magic juxtaposed with real life issues faced in Ireland (and elsewhere). The catholic church’s everyday influence vs the rights of women and the LGBTQIA+ community, and how this can impact and has impacted lives. The ongoing struggles that minorities face, racism, microagressions and hate crimes that are often ignored because despite there being some progress, it isn’t enough. We see these issues though Maeve, who can’t relate but is trying to become an ally. I’m really happy that All Our Hidden Gifts showed Maeve leaning about things that she had been able to not think much about, and having questions about them but being told the way to go about asking them. I feel like so much of the reading experience of those parts for me was joy that readers would be able to learn and see themselves in this book. Roe was such a hugely important character for me, because of that. Seeing a queer, non-binary person struggling with their gender expression and identity, being afraid to come out to their parents would have been so vitally important to teen me (and is still important to adult me, too!). He is a gem of a character and he and Fiona really made this book for me.

I really enjoyed this book. It had elements that were reminiscent of some of my all-time favourite books by Deirdre Sullivan and Moira Fowley-Doyle, with dreamy prose, a focus on Irish landscape, magic, queer identity and self-discovery. I love the blurring of lines between reality and magic, the feeling of being unsure if something is real or not. The ways in which the land becomes part of the magic. The tarot cards are the centre of everything, the catalyst for all of the events in the book. They’re explained really well in the book, and they carry us through the story with clues, readings making predictions but I still had no idea how they would come to pass. Everything was connected and fit together like a puzzle but you couldn’t see what was going on until the end. It was a rollercoaster journey of emotions for me, and I can see that this book may not be for every reader due to having so many threads and some difficult to read moments, but it was definitely an incredible read for me! I highly recommend it, and can’t wait to read more of O’Donoghue’s work in future!

I've really loved Caroline O'Donoghue's other books so was keen to read her first YA novel. All Our Hidden Gifts is about a girl called Maeve who finds some Tarot cards and starts doing readings for her friends. When a girl she knows goes missing, it becomes a bit of a mystery/thriller with fantasy element. I found this a really quick, enjoyable read and its definitely something a bit different. Would definitely recommend!

All Our Hidden Gifts follows Maeve as she tries to navigate her way through teenage life with all of its changes, emotions and hormones. During a detention at school she is asked to clean out an old room where she comes across an old set of tarot cards. She soon learns that she has a knack for reading the cards and telling people their fortunes. What starts out as a harmless bit of fun ends in a missing girl and a dark cult of radicals taking their political beliefs to a new level.
I really enjoyed the pacing of this book and the tarot/witch elements were really interesting. I especially enjoyed the folklore surrounding the cards and how there are similar tales in lots of different cultures. I didn't get on to well with Maeve as a character. I found her insipid and quite loathsome in some parts. I found the side characters far more interesting such as Fiona and Roe. There seemed to be a lot subjects that the author wanted to tackle and although I could see where she was trying to go with them I don't think the book was long enough to explore the issues as deeply as she could have.
All in all a quick entertaining read but no show stopper.

--Thank you to Walker Books for the eARC. All opinions are my own--
All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue will be published by Walker Books on February 4th. The book centres on Maeve Chambers, who finds a mysterious Tarot deck while cleaning out a storage room at school. Set in Ireland, Maeve at last finds her calling in these cards and starts providing uncannily accurate readings for her schoolmates. Until her ex-best friend Lily goes missing after a reading goes awry. Together with her friend and her crush Roe, Lily’s sibling, she sets out to get her back before it’s too late. Gripping, mysterious and addictive, I read All Our Hidden Gifts in a single sitting. It’s not a perfect book by any means, but it’s an enjoyable read and a solid addition to the current UKYA market (well, Irish YA, but published in the UK). If you’re anything like me and love Tarot, creepy but intriguing books and wonderful teenage characters, check this one out.

Loved the Irish setting of this book and the representation. The first half of the book with the main character finding the tarot cards at school, then her ex friend mysteriously disappearing was promising. Unfortunately I found the second half lost pace and dragged a bit. Would try something else by this author

This book was so cute! I like how it combined reality with magic as opposed to it being a complete work of fantasy. You could really believe in this.
I felt really bad for Maeve, she wanted what every teenager wants and had to live with the guilt with how she got what she wanted. I feel like in the end she got what she was after and that it was genuine.
I liked how this book was written, it was easy to follow.
I wish I knew more about what happened after the last page but that's how books go sadly.

All our Hidden Gifts is about the mysterious disappearance of Maeve’s former best friend Lily and centres on Maeve’s new friendships with Lily’s brother Rory, or Roe as he likes to be called, and Fiona a cool drama loving student not normally associated as Maeve’s type.

Maeve finds a pack of tarot cards at their fee-paying all girls’ school and sets about learning how to read them, becoming quite a celebrity around the school in the process as she practices on pupils at lunch and break times. After a disastrous reading for her former friend Lily, she makes a comment about wishing for her to disappear – and she does.

With great remorse, Maeve realises she may have had a hand in her disappearance and sets out to try to find what happened and to work out how to bring her back. On the way, she becomes first friends and then girlfriend to Roe, though she is holding back a secret from him that she is sure won’t allow this to last. He is also grappling with the fact that he is bi and struggling how to deal with family and classmate reactions. Fiona is from a large family of Philippine immigrants who have had experience with tarot cards before and she helps Maeve to make sense of her new-found talents as a reader and becomes a real friend to her.

There are other plot lines too – the Housekeeper card keeps appearing throughout as a sinister link to all the events and their continual brushes with Aaron, a slick American who is head of Children of Brigid, a supposed peaceable charitable organisation which seems more like a cult give another angle. I wasn't convinced about how Maeve 'came back' and found this part of the plot a tad confusing.

I enjoyed the character constructions and how they interacted but found the section where Aaron was introduced didn’t work for me and I was left unsure how he fitted in until much later in the book. I can imagine if you are a reader who has qualms about tarot cards and their links to occult events then this is not the book for you. I was ambivalent about this so enjoyed it for what it was but the fairly detailed sounding descriptions about how they work might deter some readers – or encourage them to explore further I guess.

It covered a lot of themes relevant to young adults today and I can imagine anyone experiencing teen angst about their place in the world and how they fit in will identify with parts of each character and will gain some comfort in the thought that it’s a tricky time for everyone!

With thanks to Net Galley for a digital early release in exchange for an honest review.

It’s times like these I wish Goodreads allowed half stars! All Our Hidden gifts wasn’t quite a four star read but three stars feels a bit stingy.
Plus points - creepy ghost lady (the housekeeper), some good LGBTQIA+ representation that felt natural and not just shoehorned in, a creepy old school complete with strange old nun, teens finding their hidden powers.
Minus points - god the main character was a drag. She was so selfish and self-centred and even at the end of the book when she should have had some character development she still needed to be reminded that not everything is about her. Roe and Fiona, her friends, were much more well-rounded characters and I think the book from their perspective might have turned the story from good to great. (If I’m honest - I finished this book three hours ago and I’ve forgotten the main girls’ name, but remember all the others, which I think speaks volumes!)

I did enjoy the spooky ‘housekeeper’ and pictured her like a j-horror ghost with long,dark, wet hair obscuring her face. I also like the mix of Irish folklore with the tales from Manila that Fiona’s Aunt and Mum remember and the Wiccan beliefs,

I’d recommend to teen readers but as an adult reading YA it was missing that something that helps it relate to older readers too - again, I think a lot to do with how bratty the main character comes across. I found it difficult to relate to her or root for her when she was essentially a victim of herself!


I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in return for a fair review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's an excellent YA and had me interested throughout.
The character of Maeve is so well written. She's a young girl in Ireland, who feels definitely less than her brothers and sisters and whose ex best friend disappears and Maeve believes it could be linked to some Tarot cards she found in her hand in a weird experience at school.

It's a well told tale with thrills, relationships and mystery and with some thought provoking elements.

Such a great read. Loved it.


Thanks so much to NetGalley and Walker books for the opportunity to preview my eARC.

All Our Hidden Gifts follows Maeve who discovers a pack of tarot cards one day, after a failed reading and an argument with her ex-best friend, Maeve wishes for her to disappear and Lily ends up disappearing.

I really enjoyed the start of the book, right away I knew I would like Maeve and her personality is very strong – she is a flawed but likable main character. I liked how the book set up the tarot card plot; with Maeve discovering her gift for readings, the setting being an old school and the history between Maeve and Lily leading up to their argument, in general the start of the book was my favourite part. However, the plot of the book is really weird, I did not like the different subplots in the book and personally they did not flow really well – it felt like I was reading a different book in comparison to the start of the book. I still read on because the book is really easy to read, I enjoyed the writing style a lot and I did like the side characters - the friendships/family aspect in the book, the setting and the parts involving magic.

There is a lot that happens with the plot, the subplots are interesting but feel underdeveloped and out of place in a book that I thought was just about magic. The majority of the book was focused on the subplots and so the actual plot develops really slowly and although the stories do connect in a way, I felt like the ending was rushed and so they do not wrap up well especially the subplot – I did not get the point of building up the villain and those he surrounds himself with only for the book to switch back to the main plotline like it was nothing. Personally, I just thought that the book was a weird mix of things that did not go well together.

I did like the side characters, but I would have liked to know more about Lily because we barely know anything about her before she disappears, so it made it hard for me to connect to her and care that she was missing. The romance was awkward, it felt really one-sided and it was on and off a lot, then towards the end things were happening really quickly – it just develops weirdly. The ending of the book itself and the way the book wraps up the story was anti-climatic and kind of disappointing.

2/5

Caroline O'Donoghue is no stranger to writing however this is her first time creating a YA novel.

What I can say is, those who love this genre will definitely find this book a great read.

I was immediately drawn in by the front cover, feeling an instant need to read it and after hearing Caroline talk about it during a live zoom event from Walker books, I was beyond excited when I was gifted an ARC via Netgalley.

With a mix of love, drama and even a touch of what I'd describe as paranormal, over all it as an entertaining read that will appeal to many.

The story itself is set in Ireland, our (not so loveable) protagonist is sixteen-year old Maeve Chambers. She is the youngest member of a rather large family. Being the youngest and a teenager she is at a point in her life where she is struggling. Not quite as talented as her siblings, she sees herself as the thick one and in her own journey to find herself she ends up losing so much more.

Maeve currently attends an all-girls Catholic school and in and attempt to try and impress her peers she gets herself into a spot of bother, resulting in a sort of in school suspension. Her punishment involves cleaning out a cupboard know as the 'Chokey' where she finds a set of tarot cards...and it turns out that she has a skill when it comes to reading the cards.

She starts practicing her skills on her school friends but after a dramatic reading with her ex best friend, poor Maeve believes that a mysterious card from her deck - The Housekeeper - may have stolen Lily away so she decides to dig deeper into the magic behind it all.

After this what transpires is scary, worrying and well to most, unbelievable.

There were a few things that didn't feel completely necessary or perhaps needing more detail to them to make them really fit within the story. One of those being Maeve and Roe's relationship. I felt that they'd be better suited as friends than moving to boyfriend and girlfriend but like I say that could be more down to character development.

On the whole this story is wonderfully unique.

I loved the use of wicca type magic and LGBTQ themes that were used throughout. It felt like those subjects were fairly well researched, not just thrown in for the sake of it.

A stand alone? that could easily become a series.

All Our Hidden Gifts is going to be a great addition to the YA adult genre and I'm looking forward to seeing what Caroline comes up with next.