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The Hidden Palace
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
40 posts | 27 read | 22 to read
In this enthralling historical epic, set in New York City and the Middle East in the years leading to World War I-- the long-awaited follow-up to the acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Golem and the Jinni--Helene Wecker revisits her beloved characters Chava and Ahmad as they confront unexpected new challenges in a rapidly changing human world. Chava is a golem, a woman made of clay, able to hear the thoughts and longings of the people around her and compelled by her nature to help them. Ahmad is a jinni, a perpetually restless and free-spirited creature of fire, imprisoned in the shape of a man. Fearing they'll be exposed as monsters, these magical beings hide their true selves and pretend to be human--just two more immigrants in the bustling world of 1900s Manhattan. Having encountered each other under calamitous circumstances, Chava and Ahmad's lives are now entwined--but they're not yet certain of what they mean to each other. Each has unwittingly affected the humans around them. Park Avenue heiress Sophia Winston, whose brief encounter with Ahmad left her with a strange illness that makes her shiver with cold, travels to the Middle East to seek a cure. There she meets a tempestuous female jinni who's been banished from her tribe. Back in New York, in a tenement on the Lower East Side, a little girl named Kreindel helps her rabbi father build a golem they name Yossele--not knowing that she's about to be sent to an orphanage uptown, where the hulking Yossele will become her only friend and protector. Spanning the tumultuous years from the turn of the twentieth century to the beginning of World War I, The Hidden Palace follows these lives and others as they collide and interleave. Can Chava and Ahmad find their places in the human world while remaining true to each other? Or will their opposing natures and desires eventually tear them apart--especially once they encounter, thrillingly, other beings like themselves?
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Cheshirecat913
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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On vacation in a new place and found some used books stores.
My daughter has been looking for The Magic Thief so she is excited. I was happy to nab The Hidden Palace. Loved the first one.

PaperbackPirate 👏 great haul! 3mo
21 likes1 comment
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Liz_M
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Occasional Weekly Report:

I've recently finished the pictured books. Of course I am still reading Clarissa and I need to settle on the next read. Probably the tagged for bookclub or wait to see what BookSpin chooses for me.

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AllisonM89
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
Pickpick

Thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the ending

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AllisonM89
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker

I love how the author wrote the opening chapter in such a way that i don't have to wrack my brain trying to remember where the last book left off. She doesn't summarize book 1, but definitely reminds you of where you are in the story

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AllisonM89
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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❤️

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Vanessa
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

Finished this sequel to The Golem and the Jinni last night. I hadn‘t intended to read this right after finishing Golem, but I really just wanted to stay in this world with these characters. I liked it a bit less than the first book, but nonetheless it did not disappoint! ❤️

DisneyFan Didn‘t realize there was a sequel! 2y
Vanessa @Quixote1 I found out kind of by accident. I finished Golem and was looking to see if the author had written anything else… 2y
5 likes2 comments
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JuliaTheBookNerd
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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#Palace 👑 #SavvySettings 💚🍀

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

Eggs This sounds amazing … 3y
43 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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paisleyjess
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
Pickpick

Loved the sequel as much as the first book. The magical characters are written with real human emotions and thoughts, beautifully woven into a complicated and interconnected story.

4 likes1 stack add
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alysonimagines
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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I really enjoyed this riveting sequel to The Golem and the Jinni. The alchemy of history and folklore with compelling characters is pure enchantment.🔸#septemberreads2021

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SilverShanica
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new - don‘t judge me I have a lot of books.
Join the fun if you want. This is day 296.
#bookstoread
#tbrpile
#bookstagram

6 likes1 stack add
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bell7
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Mehso-so

The golem, Chava, and jinni, Ahmad, return in this sequel. They are friends, meeting at night to walk and argue. But as time goes on, Chava realizes that people will start to be suspicious of her as she never ages, and Ahmad keeps everyone at a distance. Reading was okay, but I felt vaguely dissatisfied. Events just kind of meander along, the narrative of characters all separated pulled me in disparate directions, and the ending was heavy-handed.

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Amie
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

This was really good, just not quite as good as The Golem and the Jinni.

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hissingpotatoes
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Panpan

.5/5⭐ This sequel has none of the brilliant character development of The Golem and the Jinni. It's just a slow, agonizing, dull passage of 15 years, and then in the last 1/5 of the book everything suddenly happens all at once but none of it makes sense.

BennettBookworm Completely agree! This one was a bummer in comparison to how much I loved the first 3y
11 likes1 comment
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SconsinBookyBadger
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Hey hey, it‘s the domestic puma come to join me in sneaking in one chapter of tagged book before the clock strikes midnight ending September‘s #20in4.

#CatsofLitsy

Texreader ❤️ 🐈 3y
32 likes1 comment
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KimM
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

The Golem and the Jinni are back....with relationship problems. Although not as compelling as the first novel, this one has some very interesting mythology and a satisfying ending.

SamAnne Would it be a good idea to reread the first one before diving into this one? It‘s been a couple years for me… 3y
KimM I didn‘t. She did a bit of a review in the beginning so it all came back to me. 3y
12 likes2 comments
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BarbaraJean
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

The Golem and the Jinni was such a perfect marriage of historical fiction + fantasy that I was both eager and a little hesitant to return to its world in this sequel. I needn‘t have worried—this was wonderful. I loved seeing the character‘s stories continued, as well as following some new characters. I especially enjoyed following Sophia more closely, as well as getting to see Chava‘s growth as a character. And I‘d be happy to read another sequel!

Amie I just started this and have been worried about being disappointed by it after loving The Golem and the Jinni so much, but I keep seeing positive reviews like yours so I'm hopeful that I'll love this one too! 3y
45 likes1 comment
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ReadingEnvy
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

The Golem and the Jinni (2013) was arguably a perfect novel with compelling characters and setting, leaving a lot of readers wanting more. And the author gave us more..is that really what we wanted?

The golem and the jinni have been friends and more for some time, but their relationship has started to change..the golem has really come in to herself as a career woman while the jinni has struggled to be honest about his dreams and desires. ↘️

ReadingEnvy A few other characters factor into the story but the supernatural ones are even more held back by the humanity around them as they head into the first world war. 3y
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Larkken
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Completed #bookspinbingo board from August : no bingos but some great reads! Favorite was probably the tagged book, but i also really enjoyed The 2000s Made Me Gay and A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking.

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BarbaraJean
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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I was just sitting here on my bed, looking at these bookshelves. (The one on the right is my TBR shelf. Yes, the whole bookcase.) This is what went through my head: “It‘s not that hard, really. I just need to read books from my own shelves.” And then I leaned over and opened the library book I‘m immersed in right now. 🙄😂

wanderinglynn I have an entire TBR bookcase. And just ordered more books. 😆😆😆 3y
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Larkken
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

This was a fantastic return to the #althistory NYC of the Golem and the Jinni! I also loved the WWI to WWII-era Middle East, complete with cameos from Lawrence and the ancient city of Palmyra. There was a bit more action than in bk 1, somehow, despite the broodiness of Ahmad et al, and I really loved the expansion of the story to Sophia esp. images taken from google bc the jinn reminded me of Ahmad, and the golem was the opposite of Chava 😆

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Larkken
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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#littensdressedinblood
Current mug and current read! I forgot this was today‘s prompt so the mug is not pleasingly full of foamy latte goodness, but almost empty. I‘m really trying to finish this book before the library takes it back, so maybe I should just make more 😅
I love this mug for its size and because it reminds me of The Starless Sea… but mostly because of its size 🤣

MidnightBookGirl That is a gorgeous mug, and it also reminds me of Starless Sea
3y
19 likes2 comments
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Addison_Reads
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

I feel like I've waited an eternity for this book and I'm so pleased that the wait was worth it. 💚💚💚

Finding myself in this world once again felt like visiting an old friend. The characters and the setting are both so vivid and immersive. I love that in this one we get more backstory on the Jinni and more of his mythology.

I can't recommend this one enough!

Cheshirecat913 Yay, I am glad to hear it was good. I loved the first one and look forward to this one. 3y
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DrexEdit
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

I've been looking forward to this book as The Golem and the Jinni has long been a favorite of mine. This sequel did not disappoint. The author evokes a wonderful early 20th century NY atmosphere & populates it with fantastic creatures, who should be all powerful, but have been limited in some way & so live among humans as humans & deal with human problems & emotions. In this sequel we see the havoc those powers can create. 5 big ⭐

DrexEdit The image, which I shamelessly stole from the interwebs, is the arch at Washington Square Park, around 1900, or roughly the time of the setting of the first novel. The arch figures in the sequel in an interesting way! 3y
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DrexEdit
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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I read a lot of books in July! I hope I can keep that up in August! Hard to pick a favorite or even top favorites. I liked them all in one way or another. But The Hidden Palace I have been looking forward to for a long time & it did not disappoint!
Even though I read The Wee Free Men in June, I did an audio re-read in July because the audio versions of the Tiffany Aching books are fantastic. I've even got my husband listening to them with me! 😊

vivastory Some great books here! Thanks for chiming in during the #NYRBBookClub discussion 3y
DrexEdit @vivastory Thanks! I hope to join in again in August but I had to get the book thru interlibrary loan so I don't know exactly when it will show up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! 🤞 3y
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vivastory Fingers crossed that it shows up on time! I need to confirm with my co-host but my guess is that the discussion will be 8/28 or 8/29. Definitely won't be prior to then 3y
Cinfhen Woohoo!!! Wonderful month!! I really enjoyed the Wecker sequel to Golem too 3y
DrexEdit @Cinfhen Thanks! The Wecker books are great and I love spending time in her turn-of-the-century New York! 3y
Cinfhen Agreed!!! The setting was probably my favorite parts of the story!!! The way she writes & describes NYC is amazing 😻 3y
33 likes7 comments
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Tianarose
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Love this already ..page 2

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DrexEdit
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Of all the myriad races of thinking creatures in the world, the two that most delight in telling stories are the flesh-and-blood humans and the long-lived, fiery jinn.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

BookDadGirlDad “The wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world. 3y
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BennettBookworm
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
This post contains spoilers
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Mehso-so

I was sadly disappointed by this sequel! I‘d been SO in love with the Golem and the Jinni, and anticipated this so much. But then it felt like on your favorite television show when the two leads finally get together and then the next season the show stops being enjoyable because you realize their passion and flirtation stemmed from a place of instability and poor communication...😕

LiteraryinPA Oh nooooo! I‘m sorry this disappointed you! 3y
10 likes1 comment
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Schlinkles
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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The one bonus to finally reading a book you had on your shelves since 2014 (the receipt was still inside) is that the follow up is already out. Instant gratification…7 years in the making.

DrexEdit Yay! I'm really looking forward to this too! I'm going to buy it eventually, but right now I'm waiting on the library hold list. #7!! :-) 3y
Cheshirecat913 💫 It is awesome when that happens. I really enjoyed the first one. 3y
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BennettBookworm
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Is it a problem that I didn‘t revisit the Golem and the Jinni before starting the sequel? Because it‘s been 8 years and already they‘re referencing so much from the first book that I do NOT remember 😳 just need some encouragement from folks who read this one- will it eventually matter less that I don‘t remember the first book?

BekaReid Uh oh. Should I take this as a warning to reread the first book then? It's been awhile for sure. 🙄 3y
BennettBookworm @BekaReid LOL I would personally recommend it! I feel like it would‘ve helped orient me! 3y
CampbellTaraL If there's time and capacity, re-reading the first might be helpful. I forgot a main antagonist's role/acts from the first book that would have made the actions of characters in this book make more immediate sense. I wouldn't say it was required to enjoy, though. The second book stands on it's own fairly well. 3y
BennettBookworm @taraWritesSci thank you! Helpful! 3y
Kempii I didn‘t know there was a sequel and am excited to check it out! Though I too am fuzzy on the events of the original book. 3y
30 likes5 comments
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CampbellTaraL
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

I waited a long time for the sequel to The Golem and the Jinni and was not disappointed. A lot of story and character complexity is packed into the book, almost too much so that some resolutions seem a little too convenient, but they work--it helps that the story is ancient mythology come to life in the early modern era.

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HeathHof
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Made an unexpected visit to the bookstore and couldn't leave empty handed. So excited for this one!!!

Tianarose My copy arrived in the mail a few days ago. I can‘t wait to dig in, although I‘m debating reading the first again 3y
59 likes2 comments
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Cinfhen
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Pickpick

Was this worth the 8 year wait?? Yes and no. I LOVED The Golem and the Jinni, it was the first fantasy book that I ever devoured. I think the buildup of suspense and excitement was so great that no book would have ever lived up to my expectations.
For me, the beauty of the sequel wasn‘t the magical stories of golems and jinns, it was NYC, the enchanting city at the turn of the 20th century. 👇🏼

Cinfhen We watch the building of Penn Station and walk the streets of the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village inhaling the sights, sounds and smells of the tenements with it bakeries, laundries, pushcarts
and factories. 👇🏼
3y
Cinfhen Wecker tenderly describes the historical highlights of the early 1900‘s; pogroms in Russia, sinking of The Titanic, tragic fire of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and a young Lawrence of Arabia are all woven into the tapestry of this tale. It‘s a slow burn with an anticlimactic ending, partly predictable but otherwise deeply satisfying.
(edited) 3y
peaKnit Thank you for your review! 3y
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TrishB Sounds worthy of a read. 😁 3y
Cinfhen I didn‘t want to tag you in case my review altered your reading @peaknit but thanks SO MUCH for sharing that the book had FINALLY published!! I hope you love it 3y
Cinfhen Have you read the first book @TrishB ??? 3y
peaKnit I‘m only 30% in but your review is reflective of what I‘m reading so far for sure, the images of the time are so vivid. I look forward to the disasters you mention, which sounds terrible but as a history buff I love that stuff. 3y
Cinfhen Yes, it‘s such an amazing time in history and Wecker describes it all so beautifully @peaknit 3y
Leftcoastzen On my TBR for a long time. Nice review, need to push it up the pile! 3y
TrishB Yes, really enjoyed it. 3y
JaclynW Lovely review. I loved the first book. My IRL book club is reading it for August. Can't wait! 3y
Cinfhen It‘s a great choice for Bookclub @JaclynW I hope you both get to this one soon @TrishB @Leftcoastzen I‘ll be watching for your reviews!! Im curious if others will be satisfied with this sequel 3y
BennettBookworm Your review is so lovely and I fully agree. I felt like the descriptions of the period in history and in NYC was fascinating, but the slow burn and anticlimactic/confusing ending for me made it a so-so. Also just so much angst between the main characters at times that could‘ve been resolved by just talking? 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ 3y
Cinfhen @BennettBookworm Thank you!!! I have to admit I‘ve already forgotten big parts of the story 😫it‘s a shame/ the writing and descriptions were wonderful but the plot line never really succeeded. I think you‘re right…overly angst & definitely weak ending. Not disappointing exactly, but not as well done as the first book. 3y
BennettBookworm Yes 100% agree! 3y
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Cinfhen
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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If you love novels set in NYC at the turn of the 20th century this book will not disappoint ~ its descriptions are GORGEOUS. My grandparents resided on the Lower East Side for more than 60 years so for me the sights, sounds, smells and streets described by Wecker are bringing back so many beautiful memories. This book is lush in details and prose. STUNNING ♥️🎧

Nute You‘ve got me so excited for this sequel. And it has a lovely cover just like the first book! 3y
Cinfhen It‘s available on #Scribd if you have a subscription @Nute And yes, the cover is another beauty ♥️🤩 (edited) 3y
rubyslippersreads This sounds great. I just need to read the first book first. 😄 3y
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Cinfhen Definitely read the first book @rubyslippersreads it‘s amazing 3y
BennettBookworm YAYYY I cannot wait! 3y
Cinfhen It‘s not disappointing @BennettBookworm 🙌🏻💕😁 3y
peaKnit 🎉 I‘m so excited to hear this, I‘m trying to savor it, but I want to binge!! 3y
Cinfhen I have a feeling this book is even better in print @peaknit ENJOY ☺️ 3y
75 likes3 stack adds8 comments
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Cinfhen
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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I thought I would re-read The Golem & The Jinni before jumping into the sequel.... but who am I kidding!??! I‘ve been waiting YEARS for this sequel and it‘s free on #Scribd 🙌🏻💗🎧 Thanks for posting and sharing @peaknit

TrishB Waiting for it to come down in price a bit first 👍🏻 3y
Cinfhen I have a feeling this book is better in print @TrishB but I‘m sure it‘s super pricey right now 3y
BridgetteM I love it when Scribd has new releases that I‘ve been waiting for! Excuse me while I go save this one to my Scribd queue... 😁 3y
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Cinfhen Right!!!! Go, run!!! Before they snatch it away @BridgetteM 😁 3y
peaKnit Oh yes! 🙌🏻 on another note, Orkney came. My library didn‘t carry it anywhere in their system so darn, had to buy a book lol! Getting ready for the #buddyread party! 3y
Cinfhen Orkney is gonna feel like a blip compared to this one. Im loving it!!! But it‘s HEAVY!!! I feel like it requires SERIOUS concentration 3y
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BennettBookworm
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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OMG OMG OMG IT‘S HERE!!!! SO MANY YEARS OF ANTICIPATION!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

BethM Beautiful cover! 3y
Soubhiville Enjoy! Are you diving right in to it? 3y
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BekaReid Nice! I only recently saw there was a sequel. Cannot wait to get it! 3y
Nute I remember that the cover art for the first book was just as lovely as the art for this one. Can‘t wait to get it! 3y
peaKnit Me too! I have been watching the calendar! I‘m trying to savor it but it‘s tough! 3y
48 likes6 comments
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peaKnit
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Literally the moment I have been waiting ages for. I‘ve already laughed out loud, I don‘t recall such clever humor in The Golem and the Jinni, in this book, so far, they seem to be becoming more human and relatable. I‘m so glad it‘s here! I have to keep the giddiness in check IRL but I know my fellow book addicts will understand! 🤣💕📚

Cinfhen It‘s out!!!! I didn‘t realize 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 3y
Cinfhen I‘m not even sure I remember the first book🙃 3y
peaKnit @Cinfhen I‘m a crazy stalker so I preordered and reread the last one last month 🤪 I would recommend reading that again, gosh I just love these odd characters and the detail. 3y
Cinfhen K, I‘ll do a re-read first! Thanks for sharing ❤️ 3y
DrexEdit OMG! OMG! OMG! IT'S HERE! 🎉🎉🎉🌞 3y
27 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Branwen
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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It's the bookish event of the year! 🎉🎉🎉

This is the book mail that came today, and while I am really excited about Girls at the Edge of the World and The Jasmine Throne, I am BEYOND THRILLED for The Hidden Palace, which is the sequel to The Golem and the Jinni! I first read that one in 2013 so believe me when I tell you that I have been looking forward to this for a long time! 💕📚💕 #bookmail

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DrexEdit
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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The Golem and the Jinni was one of my favorite reads of 2014. I'm very very happy that the sequel is coming out this June! This will definitely be a purchase for me! Happy Dance! 😄 🎶

peaKnit I have been waiting impatiently for this! Can‘t wait!! 4y
DrexEdit @peaknit 😊👍 4y
peaKnit Don‘t forget to grab it!😉 3y
DrexEdit @peaknit Thank you for the reminder! 😊 💜 👍 3y
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PatriciaU
The Hidden Palace | Helene Wecker
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Golem & Jinni fans! The Hidden Palace is now available on Netgalley! This will be my weekend, people. What are all of you reading?

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