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Thursday 4 February 2021

Book Review: All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue book cover

AD* | Maeve’s strangely astute tarot readings make her the talk of the school, until a classmate draws a chilling and unfamiliar card - and then disappears.

After Maeve finds a pack of tarot cards while cleaning out a closet during her in-school suspension, she quickly becomes the most sought-after diviner at St. Bernadette’s Catholic school. But when Maeve’s ex-best friend, Lily, draws an unsettling card called The Housekeeper that Maeve has never seen before, the session devolves into a heated argument that ends with Maeve wishing aloud that Lily would disappear. When Lily isn’t at school the next Monday, Maeve learns her ex-friend has vanished without a trace.

Shunned by her classmates and struggling to preserve a fledgling romance with Lily’s gender-fluid sibling, Roe, Maeve must dig deep into her connection with the cards to search for clues the police cannot find - even if they lead to the terrifying Housekeeper herself. Set in an Irish town where the church’s tight hold has loosened and new freedoms are trying to take root, this sharply contemporary story is witty, gripping, and tinged with mysticism.


Exciting, engaging, and full of surprises, this book really does have it all!

All Our Hidden Gifts is a Young Adult paranormal fantasy novel, focusing on fledgeling witch Maeve. Drawn to an old pack of tarot cards and finding herself suddenly immersed in all things occult, Maeve soon finds out that she's bitten off more than she bargained for when her ex-best friend Lily goes missing after a disastrous tarot reading. Feeling responsible for Lily's disappearance and desperate to find the answers, Maeve embarks on a dangerously thrilling journey to bring Lily safely home.

Maeve is a flawed heroine, yet one who is still inherently likeable and relatable. She's not perfect, but then, who is? With Fiona, her new best friend, and Roe, Lily's older sibling, the trio begin to step further and further into the unknown. With mysterious events happening around town and a rise in homophobic and intolerant behaviour, the world they thought they knew quickly comes crashing down around them. 

As well as paranormal fantasy, this book also features love, friendship, mystery, and LGBTQ+. It's current and relevant, yet with added mysticism and the occult. It's extremely well-written and highly readable - gripping and thought-provoking throughout. 

All Our Hidden Gifts is a complete dream of a novel and I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed for a sequel!

Rating: 5 stars

All Our Hidden Gifts is available to buy now.

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* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Will you be reading the book? Let me know in the comments below! 

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