The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor - ADVISABLE

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor, 392 pages. G. P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin), 2025. $21 

Language: PG-13 (36 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (A few instances of passionate kissing); Violence: PG-13 (Descriptions of death, blood, and injuries) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

18yo Maeve keeps her real name a secret and moves frequently to protect her identity—ever since her father died when she was 11 and she discovered he was responsible for setting lose the Aldervine, causing the deaths of thousands of innocent people and the collapse of the connection between the three magically interconnected worlds Inverly, Leyland, and Barrow. She is content to continue hating her father and living a solitary life until she receives a seven-year-old, delayed letter from an anonymous “old friend” of her father’s who claims her father was innocent. She takes the remainder of her meager savings and is determined to get an Otherwhere Post apprenticeship by any means necessary because it is located at the former College of Scriptomantic Arts where her father worked, so she believes it holds the key to understanding her father’s past and hopefully finding the truth. As Maeve digs into the past, she discovers that uncovering the truth is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

While I found some of the world-building and plot development a little confusing at times, I loved the magical world, the mystery, and the descriptive writing. The dark academia atmosphere was completely captivating. The book had a slow start, but at the end, I couldn’t put it down. Maeve was single-minded almost to a fault and was a prickly character, but she was also courageous and it was powerful when she started learning to trust and found the strength to take charge of her own destiny, rather than remaining a victim of the past. This book had so many good elements: danger, magic, hope, and a slow burn romance with just a bit of spice. With so much potential, I found myself wanting more: more clarity, more depth, more development. These small disappointments aside, the unique world and interesting premise made this an enjoyable read. A couple of side characters are LGBT.

Marinda, librarian