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The Book of Thorns

An Enchanting Tale of Two Sisters Connected by Magic

ebook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
"Betrayal, loss, love, redemption, and justice collide in this masterpiece of a novel. You won't want to miss The Book of Thorns." —Paulette Kennedy, author of The Devil and Mrs. Davenport
A spellbinding tale of secrets, betrayal, and magic from the author of The Heir to Blackwood Library!
Penniless and stranded in France after a bid to escape her cruel uncle goes awry, Cornelia Shaw is far from the Parisian life of leisure she imagined. Desperate and out of options, she allows herself to be recruited to Napoleon's Grande Armée. As a naturalist, her mysterious ability to heal any wound with herbal mixtures invites awe amongst the soldiers...and suspicion. For behind Cornelia's vast knowledge of the natural world is a secret she keeps hidden—the flowers speak to her through a mystical connection she has felt since childhood. One that her mother taught her to heed, before she disappeared.
As Napoleon's army descends on Waterloo, the flowers sing to her of a startling revelation: a girl who bears a striking resemblance to Cornelia. A girl she almost remembers—her sister, lost long ago, who seems to share the same gifts. Determined to reunite with Lijsbeth despite being on opposite sides of the war, Cornelia is drawn into a whirlwind of betrayal, secrets, and lies. Brought together by fate and magic at the peak of the war, the sisters must uncover the key to the source of the power that connects them as accusations of witchcraft swirl and threaten to destroy their very lives.
Look for these other gothic mysteries from Hester Fox:
  • The Last Heir to Blackwood Library
  • The Witch of Willow Hall
  • The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
  • The Widow of Pale Harbor
  • A Lullaby for Witches

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      • Booklist

        March 1, 2024
        Two sisters, unaware of each other, live very different lives though united by the magic of flowers and a locket that each wears. Cornelia, in England, lives with an uncle who wants to marry her off to the highest bidder; Lijsbeth, in Belgium, is a servant for a family with a predatory son. The two are brought together by the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the Battle of Waterloo. Traveling with the French Army, Cornelia acts as a healer and becomes part of an unconventional romantic threesome. In Brussels, Lijsbeth, still a servant, arranges flowers in a way that exudes power and meaning and finds love for herself. Battles are won and lost, lovers die, and accusations of treason and witchcraft bring the story to a head back in England. Lijsbeth ferrets out the truth of the sisters' parentage and the fate of their mother. Magic remains a uniting force. This unusual story is told in alternating sections by the two sisters and will find an audience with readers of historical fiction with a hint of magic.

        COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • Library Journal

        March 1, 2024

        Fox's The Last Heir to Blackwood Library was a B&N most-anticipated book. Her newest also contains a bit of magical realism, as two sisters meet on opposites sides of the battlefield during the Napoleonic Wars and use the magic of flowers to solve the mystery of their mother's death. Prepub Alert.

        Copyright 2023 Library Journal

        Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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    • English

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