The garden of promises and lies

The garden of promises and lies

Paula Brackston

Book - 2020

"As the bustle of the winter holidays in the Little Shop of Found Things gives way to spring, Xanthe is left to reflect on the strange events of the past year. While she's tried to keep her time-traveling talents a secret from those close to her, she is forced to take responsibility for having inadvertently transported the dangerous Benedict Fairfax to her own time. Xanthe comes to see that she must use her skills as a spinner if she and Flora are ever to be safe, and turns to the Spinners book for help. It is then that a beautiful antique wedding dress sings to her. Realizing the dress and her adversary are connected in some way, she answers the call. She finds herself in Bradford-on-Avon in 1815, as if she has stepped into a Jan...e Austen story. Now in Xanthe's time, Fairfax is threatening Xanthe into helping him with his evil doings, and demonstrates all too clearly how much damage he is capable of causing. With Fairfax growing ever more powerful, Xanthe enlists the help of her boyfriend Liam, taking him back in time with her. It is a decision that might just ensure she prevails over her foe, but only by putting her life-and his-on the line."--Provided by publisher.

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Subjects
Antique dealers > Fiction.
Witches > Fiction.
Time travel > Fiction.
Bradford-on-Avon (England) > 19th century > Fiction.
Fantasy fiction.
Time-travel fiction.
Romance fiction.
Paranormal fiction.
Genres
Fantasy fiction
Time-travel fiction
Romance fiction
Paranormal fiction
Published
New York, NY : St. Martin's Press, an imprint of St. Martin's Publishing Group 2020.
Language
English
Main Author
Paula Brackston (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Series information from book jacket.
Physical Description
309 pages ; 25 cm
ISBN
9781250072450
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Brackston returns readers to Xanthe's life in Marlborough (after Secrets of the Chocolate House, 2019), where she's adjusting to her new abilities. Xanthe has been able to hear history from certain objects since she was a child, and now that she lives near a special house, she can travel with those objects through time. Conveniently, she and her mother, Flora, run an antique store, the Little Shop of Found Things, which allows her to find items that sing to her while working. When Fairfax, another time traveler from her distant past, reappears, Xanthe is faced with hard decisions regarding whom to confide in as he quickly makes his ill intentions known. As she develops more control over her abilities, she is summoned into the past where Fairfax has settled. Between lying to her loved ones, and developing a quick overconfidence in her abilities, Xanthe makes many of the classic blunders of a heroine fumbling with her new powers despite her best intentions, keeping readers engaged in her adventures.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Brackston's enjoyable latest entry in her Found Things series (after The Secrets of the Chocolate House) finds time-traveling Xanthe Westlake on another reluctant adventure to the past. Xanthe, recovering from her breakup with Samuel--her 17th-century flame from the previous installment--is wracked by the guilt of knowing her return to the present allowed Samuel's former boss, maniacal aristocrat Benedict Fairfax, to follow her there. Xanthe, who is a Spinner with the ability to travel through time using historical objects, wants nothing to do with her ability, but when a wedding dress from the 19th century calls out to her, she is launched back to 1815 Bradford-on-Avon, England. Xanthe, who has visions of the bride who originally owned the dress, is compelled to help her before she is convinced by her family to marry Fairfax. As Fairfax's threats escalate, leaving Xanthe's mother in danger in the present day, Xanthe realizes she must break her connection to her Spinning abilities if she wants to free herself. Brackston wastes no time getting into the story, so readers unfamiliar with the series will likely feel lost. But those who enjoy Brackston's unique blend of historical detail, village charm, and twisty plotting will be delighted by this rip-roaring installment. (Nov.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

In the "Little Shop of Found Things" series, beautiful objects intimate their stories to the shop's proprietor, Xanthe, and send her whistling back in time. Here, she's home again, but she has inadvertently brought dark and dangerous Benedict Fairfax with her from a recent foray. To fix the mistake she must respond to the call of an antique wedding dress that deposits her in 1815 Bradford-on-Avon. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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