Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor: Ally Carter does it again with a fun mystery adventure!

Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter

Rating: 4/5

Publication Date: March 3rd, 2020

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April didn’t mean to start the fire. She wasn’t even the one who broke the vase. 

She had absolutely no intention of becoming the only person who knows that Gabriel Winterborne, the missing-and-presumed-dead billionaire, is neither missing nor dead and is actually living in the basement of Winterborne House, sharpening his swords and looking for vengeance. 

Now that April knows Gabriel Winterborne is alive, it’s up to her to keep him that way. But there’s only so much a twelve-year-old girl can do, so April must turn to the other orphans for help. Together, they’ll have to unravel the riddle of a missing heir and a creepy legend, and find a secret key, before the only home they’ve ever known is lost to them forever. 

GOODREADS—BOOKSTORE LINK

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I received this e-ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my thoughts which are unbiased.

I started this in the beginning of March before the release but then life got in the way and I just had zero time and motivation to read this. But it’s safe to say that this pulled me out of the slump that was threatening to come! Ally Carter has a knack for really fun mystery type stories, complete with heists and a great group of friends! She’s one of my auto-buy authors, so I knew going in that I would really enjoy this!

Right off the bat, the first few sentences had me intrigued and laughing! I loved April’s sass and personality! I also loved April’s observational skills (she’s very Gallagher Girl material). April’s only 12 but she’s smarter than I could ever hope to be!

I’m a sucker for a good “found family” trope and this one had the perfect little group of children. Each kid had their own strengths and weaknesses and it broke my heart to see them all talk about their parents that left them in one way or another. It also broke my heart seeing April learn to trust and talk about her other experiences in her foster homes. SERIOUSLY… MY HEART HURT HOW DARE ADULTS BE SO TERRIBLE TO APRIL AND HER FRIENDS?!

I loved the mystery in this book. There were a few moments in the book that I didn’t fully understand what had just happened though. The transition at some points happened so suddenly that I would lose the plot and get a bit confused… but you know, that might have been the intention so that’s just me!

If you’re already a fan of Ally Carter like me, you’ll definitely enjoy this one! I would also recommend this to fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society and a Series of Unfortunate Events! If you enjoy huge kind of creepy mansions with tons of secret passageways and an even more secrets in general, lots of fun and crazy inventions that don’t always work but always keep you on your toes, children that are constantly underestimated, and adults that really should pay a bit more attention this is for you! I would recommend this to anyone who loves found families and has a mysterious key that definitely has to open something important!