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With her father the headmaster of her prestigious boarding school, Emma is used to things going her way. Her friends take her advice as gospel, she’s convinced that a relationship with her longtime crush is on the horizon, and she knows just about every secret the school holds … or so she thought.
When Emma finds an old book in an abandoned library, she discovers that anything she writes in the book comes true. The power of the book is not without consequences, though, and the last person to write in the book went missing years ago.
Forced into an unlikely alliance with the arrogant and aloof Darcy de Winter, the new boy at school, Emma searches for the truth behind the girl’s disappearance and uncovers a series of dangerous secrets along the way. She isn’t the only one who knows of the magical tome’s existence. Someone is determined to take it from her, and they’ll stop at nothing to succeed.
The Forgotten Book is a fast and short read, drenched in dark academia vibes and inspired by both Emma and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
I thought the story was good, but not groundbreaking. The characters felt two-dimensional, either falling into teen stereotypes or serving as placeholder names meant to fill a Jane Austen role. However, the more I read, the more I was dragged into the haunting, bittersweet mystery surrounding the unique magic system. There were also secret tunnels, which I loved.
Overall, the dark academia vibes and the sinister tone of the mystery make The Forgotten Book a good, generally clean option for a haunting autumn read.
Rated: Mild. Profanity includes 10 uses of moderate language, 23 uses of mild language, and 6 use soft the name of deity. A character gets tipsy after having two beers.
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