Except, reading the book wasn't all that amazing.
I expected the book to be told from an adult woman's point of view - like maybe she went back to her old house, discovered the books, and started this treasure hunt. But instead, the book starts when the main character, Romily, is 9 years old. It's just her and her dad moving into this ramshackle old house. All we know is that her mom "went away" and her dad used to be a professor, but now he wants to focus on his art. Eventually, her dad starts writing and illustrating a series of children's books with Romily as the star. There are hidden words on each page, and readers flock to Romily's house because they think the words will lead them to treasure hidden somewhere on the property. Romily doesn't really understand because she knows there's no treasure. Until many years later...
I have to admit, the hidden secret was not so secret for me. I knew that's where the author was headed, but what did surprise me was that there was so much story AFTER the big reveal. I kept waiting for the book to end.
Part of me liked the gothic nature of the book and how it did leave me wondering at times just what was real and what wasn't. However, I didn't like that I couldn't easily place the time period. One of the characters alludes to Indiana Jones, but that just means the story took place at some point after the movie's release. And as someone who was a child in the 80s not living in England, I had no idea who Terry Waite was - another reference made in the book. I had to look it up. Knowing this, I didn't think the writing style meshed very well with the timeframe. It all seemed so Victorian to me, or at least like it was happening in the 1950s. There was just a disconnect for me.
I guess what I'm trying to say is just like the lack of real treasure within Romily's dad's books, don't expect to find a treasure in The Book of Hidden Wonders either.
The Book of Hidden Wonders is published by Park Row and will be on bookstore shelves September 1, 2020.
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