Meet Florence Granger, a young woman who, on many accounts is way ahead of her time. She is a book binder by trade – this in itself is highly unusual for a woman at the end of the 19th century. She picked up this craft from her father who she had just run away from when we meet her at the doors of Lord Belfield’s Yorkshire estate, offering her services to restore his valuable library.

She joins the Belfield household and following her curious mind, she becomes a self-appointed detective looking into the many secrets Rose Hall and its inhabitants seem to harbour. She finds it easy to pick up a whiff of scandal and her investigations make this read deliciously gossipy, turning it into a fast-paced upstairs-downstairs novel.

The people she encounters are all somehow larger than life and come from a diversity of backgrounds. There is the aristocratic family of Lord Francis Belfield whose (mis)deeds leading Florence to ponder questions of class and wealth as generated by slavery. There is Wesley the footman, as queer as they come, inviting Florence to contemplate questions related to GLBQT; the cook Baxter with her life so closely tied to Rose Hall that an independent, self-determined life has become totally unthinkable for her touching on women’s rights and gender issues.

As if this wasn’t enough, matters of civil rights take centre stage when Florence discovers the true identity of Frances Belfield’s deceased wife and her family roots. In the wake of this discovery, she learns the truth about her own identity and origin. That sends her on a new journey, which is where the book ends and her next adventure can begin.

This story is issue-packed, which I think detracted from what it seems to be its intended focus, the lives of Black Britons before Windrush and their links to the Victorian colonial project. It is also somehow a very unlikely story, but one I couldn’t help liking, if only for the pluckiness of its heroine.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Sphere / Hachette for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the title and cover for this historical novel set in the early 20th century. The story revolves around Florence Granger, disowned daughter of a bookbinder. She tricks her way into a stately home by pretending that her father has sent her to restore the books in the library. While she is there, she begins to discover a mystery about the death of Persephone, wife of her employer.
I loved this book to begin with but as it went on, I found myself less interested in the plot and characters. The writing is excellent with some gorgeous atmospheric descriptions but the plot seemed to drag and become overly complicated. I was really interested in Florence’s story and the lives of the coloured community at that time. The part of the novel set in Liverpool was fascinating but I still found myself skimming over quite a bit of the second half of the book.
I think that part of this was down to the fact that I didn’t find the character of Florence that likeable and none of the other characters felt particularly well rounded.
It was certainly a good debut novel and I will be interested to read more by Kuchenga Shenje.
Thank you to Net Galley and Little Brown Books for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the idea of this and the first third of the book but I found the characters weren’t really developed, it read more like a young adult book. Parts were very enjoyable but it was lacking in others.

A really interesting take on the turn of the century novel from a brand new voice. Shenjé does a great job of reimagining concepts of race and gender, telling the story of Florence, a disgraced bookbinder who takes a job in a house with a mystery.

I felt like the book was trying to do too much at once, but I really appreciated the concept and found it a very easy read.

As always, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

I wanted to enjoy this so much, but found it a little slow and struggled for it to hold my attention.

The author's writing style is excellent, but I think the storyline wasn't for me. Florence is the daughter of a bookbinder and as a result, is charged with restoring Lord Belfield's rare collection of books.

Furthermore, I feel that the blurb intimated that it would be historical fiction and I understood that this book would be historical gothic. However, it was a lot more history than that, with the black culture in Britain and focussing on how women were treated in Victorian times.

All in all, I can see that someone would really enjoy it, but for me, it was not what I thought it was going to be.

A beautiful cover for a wonderful story. This is set in the early 20th century and follows Florence, the daughter of a bookbinder. The writing was great and I felt myself warming to Florence throughout the book. I believe this is a debut book and I am excited to read further work from the author in the future.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

Florence Granger, disowned by her book binder father amid a scandal, seizes an opportunity to get a job as a book binder for Lord Francis Belfield of Rose Hall, by intercepting a letter meant for her father. Intrigued by the mysterious death of Lady Persephone, the Lord's wife, she embarks on a quest uncovering hidden secrets within Rose Hall. Kuchenga uses the backdrop of a murder mystery to delve into the lives of marginalized individuals, particularly black and queer people in Victorian times.

Kuchenga in the authors note acknowledges that her inspiration for her novel came from Andrea Levy's "Long Song". Her decision to focus on the experiences of black individuals in Britain before Windrush she felt was important as British history is notoriously white washed.

Despite appreciating the plot's exploration of marginalized lives during a time period that is not widely written about, I felt dissatisfied with the writing. I felt it lacked depth leading to one dimensional characters and a lacklustre narrative.

The narrative, initially engaging, lost momentum the more I read. Crucial scenes lacked tension and suspense, with significant events lacking the emotional impact one would expected.

Overall I wasn't bored reading it but not one I will readily recommend.

Thanks to Little Brown Book Group Uk for the ARC. Always an honest review.

Although I like my historical novels a little bit more gothic than this turned out to be, the aspects of history revealed and exposed in this story are both important and powerful. The tender, vulnerable relationships featured were sensitively explored and I enjoyed the complexity of the characters, even the ones that were truly awful in nature.

There are more than a few treats in this novel. The cover is brilliant as is the title

Set in the early 20th century, we meet Florence, the daughter of a bookbinder. When she gets to Rose Hall, shes there to restore the rare collection of books of a certain Lord Belfield. My book and emotional feels were high at this point as you just know something is going to go very wrong - and all surrounded by books!

Secrets and gothic charm. Brilliant!

This story wasn’t what I was expecting at all but that's no bad thing. Except this time it was. Unfortunately I found the Libray Thief hard to get into and harder to stay with.

Too much of a slow burn so I was really uninterested in picking this back up when I put it down.

The story just didn’t do it for me and as a result I wasn’t interested in the characters or their outcomes.

On a positive note, the writing is good and so I would definitely give another book from this author a try.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Netaglley for the chance to read an early copy

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.
When I read the blurb to The Library Thief, I was expecting a gothic mystery with some romance and plenty of books. But this wasn’t that story.
The story starts much like any gothic mystery- a single ,penniless young woman, a job in a huge, creepy manor, eccentric staff, a distant Lord of the manor and a mystery that needs to be solved. But then the story takes an unexpected turn and becomes more historical fiction focussing on the issues of race and the plight of women in Victorian times.
Even though this wasn’t the story I was expecting, I enjoyed the story and learning about black Britons in Victorian society-something I know very little of us.
The writing in this book is atmospheric and descriptive with some interesting characters. All the secondary characters have a fascinating backstory, but I didn’t warm to any of them except for the footman.
The book has some dark and disturbing themes particularly around sexual violence but there is an optimistic and uplifting ending.
Content Warning
References to sexual assault, rape, domestic violence, racism, and misogyny
Perfect for fans of
So, this book would be ideal for anyone who likes serious historical fiction but not if you were hoping for a bookish gothic romance.

Book review 📚

I want to say this book was great, but sadly, it wasn't. I went in with an open mind and absolutely loved the twists and turns throughout the entire thing but I found myself rushing it so I was able to have those unanswered questions. Normally I can stick it out but this time around the story couldn't keep me "grabbed".

The writing was brilliant with great descriptions but my only fault was the actual plot itself. I'd definitely try a book from this author again.

I really struggled with this book. Just felt it wasn't for me at this time. Couldn't really get into it. Will go back to it again when in different frame of mind.

Personally I wasn't overly enthusiastic about this book. It kept me turning the pages and I wanted to know what happened in the end, but even though there are many twists and turns, especially towards the end, I did find it overall, a little slow. It's definitely worthy of 4 stars though. There is a diverse set of characters, each with their own stories developing through the book, some very likeable, others downright nasty, but all believable. 

The writing is very good and I'm sure many readers will love it, it just wasn't really my thing, as I felt it shares many similarities with Victorian sagas which I'm not a great fan of.  I found the revelations towards the end really caught my interest and it has a poignant ending which I really liked.

Florence is brought up by her dour bookbinder father the only highlight in her life is reading the myriad books that are brought for repair. However she is forced to leave home after being found in a compromising position by her father. The only way to avoid the streets is to pretend she has permission to undertake a commission intended for her father - restoring a collection of rare books at Rose Hall. As she spends time there she discovers a number of secrets and finds herself in danger. I enjoyed the atmosphere of this book but found it to be a bit disjointed and rambling I guess a reflection of Florences's character but still a bit annoying.

A fascinating story of race in Victorian England. It started out like your typical historical fiction - a young female bookbinder enters the stately home of a lord to complete work on the library, only to find secrets and a suspicious death; however the story took a very different turn to one that I hadn't expected. Whilst being well versed in the history of the colonies, frankly, I wasn't really aware the lives of black Britons who lived in England prior to the Windrush generation, so this book made for very interesting reading. A compelling and well written tale. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book and the setting, the characters and storyline were very engaging. Thanks for letting me review it!

"The Library Thief" by Kuchenga Shenjé is an updated gothic mystery. It has the imposing house in a remote location, the mystery surrounding the mistress's death, the oh so evil character and much more. Like "The Fingersmith" there are books and forbidden love, and any references towards "Jane Eyre" are a nod towards colonialism and inter-racial relationships. This last point is heavily explored later in the book and provides a different look at Victorian society and it fits in nicely with current topical discussions.

I thought this was brilliant and the plot was so complex it’s hard to know where to begin in leaving a review. Florence is an incredible character- brave, intelligent, resourceful and my heart went out to her for the suffering she endured.
So much to think about and I’m still pondering and longing for a sequel in order to find out what has happened to Florence in Jamaica and Orion, Sybil and Miss Arabella long after I had finished the book- so if that doesn’t tell you how good it is I don’t know what will!

I really enjoyed this book, it was atmospheric, gothic and full of mystery. The characters were well written and realistic as were the settings.
I liked the intrigue throughout which kept a dark atmosphere going all the way through.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc