The Lost Book of Magic by Amelia Mellor

Title: The Lost Book of Magic

Author: Amelia Mellor

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Publisher: Affirm Press

Published: 24^th September 2024

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 352

Price:  $22.99

Synopsis: It’s 1895, Melbourne is in crisis, and Pearl and Vally Cole’s father has suggested the unthinkable: it might be time to close the grandest bookshop in the world.

When a ghostly visitor offers Pearl magic that could save her home, she seizes her chance. But her new friend is not what he seems, and the unstoppable magic in the palm of her hand comes at a terrible cost.

Vally can see just one way to save Pearl before she is lost forever. He must call upon the sinister magician who nearly destroyed the Cole family two years ago. But the Obscurosmith only performs the impossible for a price …

Reunite with old friends, solve fiendish puzzles, and find five lost treasures from across the globe in this sweeping adventure that concludes the story of The Grandest Bookshop in the World.

~*~

The Lost Book of Magic brings us the epic conclusion to the wonderful series that takes place in Cole’s Book Arcade in Melbourne in the 1890s. In 1895, two years after the Obscurosmith tried to destroy the family and their bookshop, and trick them into thinking their sister, Ruby was back. Now, Melbourne is in trouble, and Pearl and Vally’s father is doing the unthinkable. He wants to close the grandest bookshop in the world and move the family and business to Sydney. Trouble begins to brew when a ghostly figure offers to help Pearl save her home. But magic always comes with a price, it seems. This wraith is determined to destroy Pearl and Melbourne, and Vally’s determined to save her, but he needs help from some old friends – Kezia Kwon and Billy Pyke – and a sinister friend from the past to do so.

Time is of the essence – because their parents and oldest siblings will be back from Sydney soon, with a decision that could change the family forever.

The final book in the Grandest Bookshop in the World series is just as good as the first two. Like its predecessors, it is filled with games and magic, good and evil, and friends who make Cole’s Book Arcade the joyous place that it is. Pearl and Vally are brave and curious, and they drive much of the narrative, working to save the bookshop and stop a mysterious spirit taking over Pearl, much like the Obscurosmith tried to destroy Vally and Pa in the first book. The stakes are always high in these books, with puzzles and riddles to solve, nineteenth century Melbourne to explore, and family and friends to save. There is a sense of fear and worry, but as a wide reader, it was appropriate for the age group – middle grade readers, and fans of the series will love trying to solve the puzzles and riddles Vally, Kezia, and Billy are set to save Pearl and the bookshop. And indeed, the world around them. A world that is unaware of magic, unlike our fabulous trio, whose lives have been changed in many ways by the wonderful Book Arcade.

Everything in this book was carefully planned, thought out and created, and pulled together all the things we had read about in the first two books. I loved that we got to return to characters we have loved, and they have made the series truly special. They make it unique as well, because these real people are brought to life in magical ways amidst a world that is filled with wonders. The joy, adventure, and magic in this book and series is what has made it succeed, and become one, that based on the children’s book groups I am part of, one of the popular series of the last few years in Australia. As a reader, I have to say it is much deserved. This is a series that has heart and soul as well as magic and mystery tied up in a fun, historical fiction bow that brings history to life. Not only is Melbourne brought to life, but a bookstore, books, and family that is part of its history come to life for readers. I always enjoy historical fiction that explores something that may not be as well known to some people, because it shows that history is more than the important figures, voices, and events that we know from history class or the numerous books on the same topics that are around.

It is books like The Grandest Bookshop in the World series that can create readers, and further a love of reading. These books are magic, and show how magic books can be, and what imagination does as well. I have been reading this series since it first came out, intrigued by the title and plot of the first one. A magical bookshop and books about books and bookshops are always fun and interesting, because there are so many ways that an author can go with them. There are lots of strands that can be teased and pulled to create unique stories within a bookish world that celebrates the joy of words and reading. Reading is something magical as well, something that can connect communities and a way to share stories. And in this wonderful conclusion to the series, it was a delight to see how this all came together.