The Vanishing BookstoreHelen Phifer375 pages/8 hours and 12 minutes
Bookouture/Bookouture Audio
January 7th 2025
About the Book:
‘Every story needs a happy ending. And you can’t have yours until you find the bookstore.’
1692. On the outskirts of Salem, a bookstore stands covered in overgrown vines. Inside, a young woman hides a linen-wrapped journal under a loose floorboard and runs away, panicked by the sound of hounds barking in the distance. The bookstore vanishes into thin air…
Present day. Stepping inside a pale-pink house on one of the oldest streets in Salem, Dora can’t believe she’s about to finally meet the mother she thought died tragically when she was just a child. But the excitement is short-lived. Dora’s mother has fear in her eyes, and with a trembling voice she whispers: ‘my life is in danger, and now so is yours…’
Desperate not to lose her mother all over again, Dora digs into her family’s mysterious past, and stumbles upon a seemingly impossible secret: the key to their survival is hidden in a bookstore that no one has seen for generations.
Losing herself amongst thorny brackens and twisted ferns, Dora eventually finds the path that leads to the bookstore. But someone is watching her. They’ve been waiting for her.
As she pushes open the beautiful blue door hidden amongst the sharp brambles, and stands in front of rows of crumbling leatherbound books with faded pages, she has no idea of the secrets she is about to uncover. Or that her life is in more danger than ever before…
Readers will lose themselves in the mesmerising magic of this absorbing and utterly unputdownable page-turner. Perfect for fans of Weyward, The Lost Apothecary and Practical Magic.
My Review
Fantasy, even fantasy light, isn’t normally my choice of genre, but there was something about the cover and description that grabbed me. I wouldn’t describe this as a cozy fantasy, but it is on the tame side of world building and situations.
I loved that there was history of the Salem Witch trials tucked away inside Dora’s story. I’ve always been fascinated by this period. It did take me a little while to connect to the story, but once I did I was hooked. For me the romance was a little secondary. I wasn’t really feeling the years of love between the two, but that might be an author choice due to their circumstances. But I wanted to know all there was about the time loop and the family history.
A little bit of magic, a fight for life and some really great characters made this an enjoyable read. I was really a fan of the side characters in addition to the main ones. I was rooting for Dora and her aunt’s and their quest to overcome their curse and escape what might be their fate. This one really lived up to the cover and the description.
Stephanie Cannon Did a great job bringing the suspense and magic to life. She voice matched the aura of the book and was delightful to listen to.
About the Author
Helen Phifer is the Bestselling writer of the hugely popular Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin, Beth Adams and her current series featuring Detective Constable Morgan Brooks published by the fabulous Bookouture.
She lives in the busy town of Barrow-in-Furness surrounded by miles of coastline and a short drive from the glorious English Lake District.
Helen loves reading books that scare the heck out of her and is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough scary stories she decided to write her own and her debut novel The Ghost House released in October 2013 became a #1 Global Bestseller.
She has written over twenty books in various genres and you can follow her over on Instagram https://www.
Or find her over at www.helenphifer.com
Social Media
Leave a Reply