j.a. hemingway – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Urban Fantasy
Length: 410 pages
Author: J.A. Hemingway
Publisher: Glenthorne Press, LLC
Release Date: June 9th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Stories are disappearing… and Theo may be the only one who can stop it.

After his fantastical and dangerous encounter with the magical town of Bridgingdale, Theo is left reeling from all he has learned about Leyna, the Book Keeper, and her ancient calling to mend tears between the literary world and reality.

When characters begin to fade from the pages of beloved classics, Theo knows something is terribly wrong. Desperate to warn Leyna, he must find his way back to her one more time. However, the only person who can help him is the one person he swore never to trust.

As the line between fiction and reality begins to unravel, even the most treasured books hold secrets. And when worlds collide, the damage may just be irreparable…

The Much-Anticipated Sequel to The Secret of the Book Keeper brings a fresh mystery in the magical world of the Book Keeper!

Thank you to the author for the gifted copy.

GOOD FINALE.

J.A. Hemingway genuinely writes incredibly well. It’s a well crafted story that does a good job of providing a tale to get lost in. I love that it’s a true young adult novel and one that can easily be handed to a teen. Theo is an endearing MMC who you want to cheer for and is a relatable 20ish year old. While the characters are college aged I think this can be enjoyed by younger and older audiences.

I liked the way this book developed. There’s good themes of forgiveness and acknowledging mistakes. The character development was top notch. The books within books was a fun plot device that added a magical element. I thought the reveals were good and the magic system made sense with realistic boundaries. There’s a soft background romance that’s heartfelt too. I just loved all of these characters.

The ending brought everything together beautifully and wrapped up the story in a very satisfying way. I loved where everyone ended up and I think there’s potential to follow a character on another adventure!

Overall audience notes:

YA Urban Fantasy
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild
Content warnings: physical altercations, loss of loved ones (recounted)

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Length: 300 pages
Author: J.A. Hemingway
Publisher: Glenthorne Press
Release Date: October 15th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Theo, a 17-year-old American backpacker exploring Europe, tries to brush off the odd behavior of the townspeople of Bridgingdale, an obscure English village—until a suspicious fire in the town square reveals the first of the town’s many secrets.
At the center of it all is the mysterious and daring 17-year-old Leyna, a Book Keeper with an ancient calling to mend tears between the literary world and reality.
When fantastical monsters and villains start escaping their stories, Leyna insists it is someone else’s nefarious doing, but the townspeople refuse to accept this as possible. Only Theo believes her. Together they must work to discover and stop the saboteur before it’s too late . . . for both worlds.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

GREAT FOR YA.

What I loved most about this was that it’s a book you can easily hand to a teenager without any glaring content warnings for a category that’s hard to describe.

I thought the story was great. It’s a fun concept with the hidden town and all of the monsters jumping out of classic books. I liked the action it brought and seeing how the characters worked together each time.

Theo, I adored. He was a wonderful MMC. Easy to root for, open to rolling with new information and a loyal person. I liked his friendship with Leyna (and maybe a little bit of romance too?) and am excited to see that continue in book two.

This is an urban/portal fantasy and not a full fledged new world or anything. Diving into different books was fun and y’all know I love a Pride and Prejudice moment. I thought the magic system worked well inside the confines of the magical realism. The ending was solid and left a good opening for the next book that I definitely will be reading.

Overall audience notes: