Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor

April didn't mean to start the fire. She wasn’t the one who broke the vase. April didn’t ask to go live in a big, creepy mansion with a bunch of orphans who just don't understand that April isn’t like them. After all, April’s mother is coming back for her someday very soon.

All April has to do is find the clues her mother left inside the massive mansion. But Winterborne House is hiding more than one secret, so April and her friends are going to have to work together to unravel the riddle of a missing heir, a creepy legend, and a mysterious key before the only home they’ve ever known is lost to them forever.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HMH for an eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.

This isn’t a book I would normally pick up for myself, but it’s the sort of book that the patrons in my library just can’t get enough of.

So look at me, reading outside my comfort zone, for the love of my job and my patrons. I deserve a cape. And a medal. And maybe a cookie? Is that pushing it?

Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor lives up to its comp of Annie meets Batman, as these group of orphans will steal your heart, solve the mystery, and save the day.

This book is packed full of action and adventure (some a little beyond belief, but hey, that’s part of the fun of it, right?). I didn’t know what to expect going in, because these aren’t books I generally read, but I enjoyed it! The mystery was easy for me to solve (at my age), but I imagine would be a fun challenge for the target audience.

❧ April makes for an entertaining narrator. Her voice is quirky and engaging.

Reading from her point of view, with her light sarcasm and jokes, made for a really nice experience. Even when the story itself was a bit slower, I enjoyed her humor and voice. There’s so much more to her than the jokes, though, so she didn’t come off as a one-dimensional character. April was left as a baby with a key and a note saying that her mother would return, and she clings to that hope, knowing that someone out there wants her and will come back for her. Which … gosh is that a heartbreaking way to live.

❧ The main mystery was a bit easy for me to solve, but the way it unfolded was fun to tag along with.

There was waaaay more action than I thought there would be. When I picked up the book, I thought surely it was just more of a mystery to be solved, but that definitely wasn’t the case. The way the mystery ends is a bit obvious, but it’s clear from pretty early on that the stakes are high, and they just keep rising. There’s danger and lies and scheming. You know, all the things that make action good and exciting.

❧ There’s a diverse cast of characters, and they all offer a little something to the plot.

I actually really enjoyed the diversity in abilities and histories, especially, which led to them all having a little something to add.

April: The main character, who is so very good at getting in trouble and less good at getting out of it. I’m a little torn on her character, as she does help those who need it, but it’s also a little self-serving in some ways. I think her character has a little more growth to undergo (re: hoping for sequels).

Tim: The realist, who understands the world a little too well for someone his age. Is the obvious voice of reason the group so desperately needs.

Colin: The schemer and con artist. Great at seeing through lies and getting out of trouble.

Sadie: The inventor and STEM expert, who may save the day or might make things explode or, hey, might do both. You never know.

When they all come together, not only are there a lot of surprises at what these kids can do, but it’s often pretty funny.

Because not only are we getting to know them, but they’re getting to know each other. And also themselves and what they’re capable of. There were a lot of fun little surprises and growing into themselves.

❧ These orphans have been through a lot, and their backgrounds are all a little different, but they’ll all for sure tug at your heart strings.

Even April’s story, waiting on a mother who abandoned her to return, is really just the tip of the iceberg (as if that’s not enough). I don’t want to go into too much detail, because learning about the characters’ histories is a big part of getting to know them and understanding who they are. Suffice it to say, though, that I enjoyed all the little details as they came up, and I really felt for their tragic stories.

The biggest thing that struck me while reading this is how, despite everything, they’ve all found something to cling to.

The found family vibes are strong with this one, and I just absolutely love it. I’m a sucker for the trope, and it never fails to deliver. It’s not that easy, though. Being in the system is rough, and these kids have been in not-so-great houses (careful never to use the word home, of course) and have missed out on a lot that many of us might take for granted from our upbringing. I think it really makes you reflect on your own blessings. Even the simple fact that April doesn’t feel that she can rely on others, because she’s always had to rely on herself, really hits home.

❧ The adults in this all have secrets (you know, as adults do) and I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface yet.

Again, this leads back to the whole there needs to be more books thing. Everyone in this book has secrets, and the adults are no exception to that. We definitely learn more about them as the story unfolds, but there’s still more to learn, and I’m so eager to do so! Ms. Nelson and Smithers, having been around when things with the Winterbornes first kicked off, obviously know more than they let on, and I didn’t feel that was fully explored here, which makes me all the more excited to think that more of it might come to light in the next one.

I’m a big fan of secrets and hidden things, and Winterborne house, as well as the family, have plenty of skeletons in their closet.

Probably not literally. But I’m also not ruling anything out. The ending even opens one more secret the family was hiding, and I really look forward to seeing how that might play out in another book, now that they sort of know maybe half of the truth of the family. Maybe even less. Who knows? More secrets for everyone!

❧ I can’t find anywhere confirming this is a series … but it obviously should be?

I mean, it’s written as a series. The way it’s left, I would be extremely annoyed (and consequently, my rating would probably drop to, like, a two) if this were not a series. First, the big main question about April is left unanswered, but heavily hinted at (and my original guess as to her background was apparently wrong. Oops). The obvious thoughts and implications that I thought should have been raised throughout the book connected to April’s true identity … weren’t. So that was a bit disappointing. But also, the ending leaves it where it feels like it’s definitely setting up a second book. So I’m really hoping there will be more from Winterborne House to come.

❧ There’s a really slow build in the beginning that almost feels like the start of a different book.

I had some misgivings when I started this, because it took me so long to get into the action. I mean, I understand that a book has to work its way up to the action and mystery, but I think this could have definitely used with a little more hook and pull in the beginning. There’s a little mystery and the fire mentioned in the blurb in the first 10%, so I’m not saying nothing was happening. But most of it was introducing characters and situations that are immediately then left behind. There’s some introductions of people and concepts that become more important in the rest of the book, so I understand its necessity, and I powered through that part, but it just didn’t feel like it had the spark that the rest of the book had.

❧ April is very singularly focused on her mother, which was endearing at first, but gets a little old as the story goes on.

I mean, what could possibly tug at your heartstrings more than an orphan who’s been waiting a decade for her mother to return to take her home? Very little. And yet … this was the singular thing about April’s character, until it became like a mantra. On the one hand, I understood April clinging to this idea, but it really annoyed me how almost until the very end, she believes this to the detriment of everyone else. For her, everything revolves around the idea of her mother, including other people’s actions. Will this frustrate the target audience? I suspect probably not. But I wanted to shake her and be like, “Not everything is about you!”

Would you help a mysterious millionaire, even if it means you could be dragged into danger?