Between Flowers and Bones by Carolyn Leiloglou Review

 Happy Friday Sweet Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you've taken the time to drop on by The Preppy Book Princess today for another book review.

I'm Kirby, and I'm always excited to have you here.

If I'm being honest, I've never the biggest fan of summer. I don't enjoy the heat, the excessive crowds, the grumpy people that seem to all of a sudden appear from everywhere, yeah it's just not my favorite. We've been under heat warning this entire week again, and it's unfortunately supposed to continue throughout the weekend.

I plan to spend most of this weekend (apart from working) swimming and hiding out in my air conditioned house reading my Bible, watching Youtube, catching up with some housework, and curling up with some more great reads.

And speaking of great reads, I recently had the chance to read another one of my 2024 most anticipated releases, and today I can't wait to tell you guys all about it. However, if you'd like to check out my review of the first title beforehand, you can do so using the link below:

Beneath the Swirling Sky

Now let's go ahead and jump right into today's review.

Between Flowers and Bones by Carolyn Leiloglou and Illustrated by Vivienne To:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Waterbrook

Publication Date: September 10th, 2024

Genre: Middle Grade/Adventure/Speculative/Christian Fiction

Series: The Restorationists

Synopsis:

In a world where paintings become portals and adventure lurks behind every canvas, the young Restorationists discover that every Gift was made to fight the darkness in the second novel in the thrilling middle grade series from the award-winning author of Beneath the Swirling Sky.

Twelve-year-old Georgia assumed she would one day be the last Restorationist protecting art from evil forces. So she was thrilled when her cousin Vincent finally joined the family calling.But Vincent’s flashier Gift makes Georgia feel like a sidekick rather than a hero. And things only get more complicated and perilous after he willingly steps into the heart of danger.Will the remnants of the Restorationists’ society fracture under the pressure of the Distortionists’ schemes? Or is Georgia’s Gift really enough to rescue her family, the art world, the Restorationists—and ultimately save the day?

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I loved this second installment in Carolyn Leiloglou's The Restorationists series. The first title had been honestly such a pleasant surprise, and this one was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I was worried it was maybe not going to live up to my expectations, as I'm not a fan of Georgia O'Keefe's art in the slightest, but I ended up enjoying this one even more.

The story starts a little while after the catastrophic events of the first, and this time readers get to follow Vincent's cousin, Georgia's perspective. She's an interesting character, has had quite a different childhood than Vincent did, and she's struggling with feelings of bitterness and jealousy over the fact that she's all of a sudden not the only child restorationist in the family any longer. I enjoyed how realistic and authentic all of her reactions were to everything coming her way, but also the way she had a big heart for her family and the monstrous responsibility they've been born with.

The story twists and turns in ways the reader won't see coming, and I found it was a wonderful, immersive read that was often hard to put down. It's nice to have another middle grade title that I can wholeheartedly recommend to Christian families to pick up for their young readers, as the content was actually clean, and the focus was on family and friendships, and working together. There's also a couple of lovely faith elements included that almost brought a tear to my eye.

Another winner for me from Carolyn Leiloglou, and now I'm left waiting (not so) patiently for the third title in the series. This is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year, and I can't possibly recommend it enough.

Final Rating: 5/5.

Thanks so much to Waterbrook for allowing me to advance read and review this title!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher (Waterbrook) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review. 

Thanks so much for reading guys! I pray you all have a wonderful weekend :)