The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: The Reimagining of Thornwood House

Series: The Magic of Iskendra #1

Author: Jaleigh Johnson

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Cozy

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

A witch and her young ward discover a magical, walking house and learn the true meaning of home in this cozy, enchanting novel from New York Times bestselling author Jaleigh Johnson.

Evelyn Sharpe is accustomed to dealing with natural disasters as a land witch, but she longs for a life with a little less danger for her and her adopted daughter, Ruby. So when the opportunity to take over as Caretaker of Thornwood House—a sentient home that acts as the magical heart of the village of Iskendra—arises, it seems almost fated.

When they arrive in sunny Iskendra, Evie and Ruby find the house is nothing like what they thought. First of all, it has walked away from the address. Thornwood House is grumpy, guarded, and extremely hesitant to allow the two witches through its doors.

Armed with gentle hearts and wild magic, Evie and Ruby begin to form tentative bonds with the house and the citizens of the small town. But there’s something deeply damaged about the building seeping into the forests surrounding Iskendra, and Evie will have to use all her power to protect the roots she’s started to grow. – summary from Goodreads

The Reimaging of Thornwood House is a cozy, feel-good book with magic, found family, and a sentient house!

I picked this book up on a whim from a recommendation from a coworker, and I am so glad that I did! It was such a lovely story, and I love how everything came together.

The main character was Evie and I really, really enjoyed her. She was determined to take care of the house and befriend the village, as well as take care of her daughter, Ruby. She had her flaws and an interesting backstory that was slowly revealed throughout the course of the story. I liked how the author showed Evie’s flaws while still making her a beloved character. Evie also wasn’t afraid to acknowledge when she was wrong or made a mistake, which I appreciated.

Adoption is a huge part of this book and I absolutely love it! I love books that focus on adoption, and this book was the first I read that focuses on the parent’s point of view. It was really interesting and I appreciated this viewpoint. I hope in future books this is still a main facet of the story. I loved this representation!

Ruby was such a fun character! She was a main part of the story, which I appreciated, and brought a lot of fun into the story. I really, really enjoyed how family was such a big part of the story.

There was a little bit of a romance, but it was definitely a subplot. I had no issue with this, as they started as friends and grew into something more. The chemistry was also there, so I think it will only grow in future books!

The Thornwood House was super cool, and I loved the sentient house aspect! I love a good sentient building, and this house is one of my favorites. It had a personality that shown through the pages, and I love how much it cared for its inhabitants.

The town of Iskendra is nice, and the town’s people were the best. I love all the different characters and how they fit into the story. The author did an amazing job of making the reader think one way about a character, only to switch it up at the end. The town is super interesting, and again I hope to explore it more in the future. I think this book was really just setting it up, so future installments will allow for a deeper dive.

The magic in this book was interesting and I enjoyed it. I am not a big fan of witches, but this book was tame, and it seemed more like elemental magic, which I enjoyed. I loved how Evie connected to nature and used her knowledge to help those around her. The forest was also sentient, in a way, and I thought that was super cool. I loved the forest scenes, and exploring this setting was so fun, though those scenes did have some nice tension.

There was a mystery that needed to be solved. I really enjoyed how this played out, and how the different characters affected it. It was interesting, fitting into the story nicely, as well as adding some depth and tension to the story.

The Reimagining of Thornwood House is a wonderful first installment to the Magic of Iskendra series, with magic, mystery, and family!