THE BOOK OF HIDDEN WONDERS (Park Row Books; September 1, 2020; $27.99 USD), a beautifully imaginative story of a father and daughter growing older together, their magical world of stories, and a fantastical treasure hunt that leads to a priceless and shocking family secret.

Romilly Kemp grows up with her eccentric father and her adorable cat Monty within the walls of a dilapidated mansion in the scenic English countryside. As Romilly has trouble fitting in with her classmates, she turns to her reliable furry friend, and as her father struggles to make ends meet, he turns to his art and writes children’s books based on Romilly and Monty. Soon, the tiny Kemp family’s world changes with the unexpected success of The Kemp Treasure Girl books and Romilly is thrust into the spotlight as their home is overrun by tourists looking for a treasure whose clues lie within the illustrations of her father’s stories.

As they both grow older, Romilly and her father begin to grow apart, and Romilly turns to his books to find the connection they have lost. And much to her surprise, the rumors were true – between the pages of The Kemp Treasure Girl stories are the clues that start Romilly on an unforgettable journey that leads her to the heart of a mysterious family secret worth far more than the gold and jewels the tourists on her estate have been searching for.

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I was not expecting this book to be as sad or handle as many different dark/difficult topics as it did. That being said it didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the book, but it did surprise me. We follow Romilly when she’s nine and as she grows, living with her father in a large but rundown house. I did think that the harder subjects were handled really well by the author and enjoyed the characters that were crafted. While it is a story on the sadder side, it was still an impactful tale about family, growing up and many difficulties that come with life itself.

I’m always a fan of stories about fathers and daughters, but this one at times was hard to read because of the strain between Romilly and her father, as well as her father’s deteriorating health. I would definitely say if this kinds of things are a trigger for you, be aware going in. There are also some instances of animal abuse to be mindful of.

POLLY CROSBY grew up on the Suffolk coast and now lives deep in the Norfolk countryside. Last year, THE BOOK OF HIDDEN WONDERS was awarded runner up in the Bridport Prize’s Peggy Chapman Andrews Award for a First Novel, and Polly also won Curtis Brown Creative’s Yesterday Scholarship, which enabled her to finish the novel. She currently holds the Annabel Abbs Scholarship at the University of East Anglia, where she is studying part time for an MA in Creative Writing whilst working on her second novel.

Social Links | Author Website | Twitter: @WriterPolly |
Instagram: @Polly_Crosby | Facebook: @PollyCrosbyAuthor | Goodreads

Happy reading!

THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE (on sale: September 1, 2020; Park Row Books; Hardcover; $27.99 US/ $34.99 CAN). opens when Margot Lee’s mother, Mina, doesn’t return her calls. It’s a mystery to twenty-six-year-old Margot, until she visits her childhood apartment in Koreatown, Los Angeles, and finds that her mother has suspiciously died. The discovery sends Margot digging through the past, unraveling the tenuous and invisible strings that held together her single mother’s life as a Korean War orphan and an undocumented immigrant, only to realize how little she truly knew about her mother.

Interwoven with Margot’s present-day search is Mina’s story of her first year in Los Angeles as she navigates the promises and perils of the American myth of reinvention. While she’s barely earning a living by stocking shelves at a Korean grocery store, the last thing Mina ever expects is to fall in love. But that love story sets in motion a series of events that have consequences for years to come, leading up to the truth of what happened the night of her death.

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In this book we start out with Margot going back to California to help her friend move as well as see her mother, but she’s been very worried as her mother has not picked up the phone and we very quickly find out that it’s because her mother has died.

From there on the book is dual perspective, with us learning Mina’s history in one perspective and Margot digging up information about her mother that she never knew. It’s a very heart wrenching story about family, what it’s like to be a Korean immigrant and what it’s like to be a child of one. There was so much to unpack with this story and I felt that for the most part the author really succeeded.

The writing style was absolutely beautiful and I really enjoyed the flow and cadence of Kim’s writing. For a debut this was really solid and I look forward to seeing what else she writes.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nancy Jooyoun Kim is a graduate of UCLA and the MFA Creative Writing Program at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Guernica, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s The Margins, The Offing, the blogs of Prairie Schooner and Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. Her essay, “Love (or Live Cargo),” was performed for NPR/PRI’s Selected Shorts in 2017 with stories by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Phil Klay, and Etgar Keret. THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE is her first novel.

Social Links | Author Website | Twitter: @njooyounkim |
Instagram: @njooyounkim | Goodreads

Happy reading!