Name: Anita Rut Kristjansdottir's review of Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer
Item: Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche
Rating: 5
Author: Anita Rut Kristjansdottir

Nancy Springer

"A young girl who is empowered, capable, and smart...the Enola Holmes book series convey an impactful message that you can do anything if you set your mind to it, and it does so in an exciting and adventurous way." --Millie Bobby Brown Enola Holmes is back! The nationally bestselling series and breakout Netflix sensation returns to beguile readers young and old. Enola Holmes is the much younger sister of her more famous brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft. But she has all the wits, skills, and sleuthing inclinations of them both. At fifteen, she's an independent young woman--after all, her name spelled backwards reads 'alone'--and living on her own in London. When a young professional woman, Miss Letitia Glover, shows up on Sherlock's doorstep, desperate to learn more about the fate of her twin sister, it is Enola who steps up. It seems her sister, the former Felicity Glover, married the Earl of Dunhench and per a curt note from the Earl, has died. But Letitia Glover is convinced this isn't the truth, that she'd know--she'd feel--if her twin had died. The Earl's note is suspiciously vague and the death certificate is even more dubious, signed it seems by a John H. Watson, M.D. (who denies any knowledge of such). The only way forward is for Enola to go undercover--or so Enola decides at the vehement objection of her brother. And she soon finds out that this is not the first of the Earl's wives to die suddenly and vaguely--and that the secret to the fate of the missing Felicity is tied to a mysterious black barouche that arrived at the Earl's home in the middle of the night. To uncover the secrets held tightly within the Earl's hall, Enola is going to require help--from Sherlock, from the twin sister of the missing woman, and from an old friend, the young Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether! Enola Holmes returns in her first adventure since the hit Netflix movie brought her back on the national bestseller lists, introducing a new generation to this beloved character and series.

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche

Courtney Passio

Anita Rut Kristjansdottir

Sarah Sammis

Over the course of the previous six books, Sherlock and Enola did come to an understanding. By book seven, they are sometimes working together, mostly at Watson's behest. Case in point, Sherlock is in one of his depressive slumps, so Watson is hoping she can bring her brother around.

While Enola is visiting, a woman comes to hire Sherlock, but it's Enola who takes the case. In a set up that at first sounded like Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2020), but ends up being something completely different.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...

Lacy W

Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com

3.5 stars

tw: sexism (throughout the book and not challenged), parental death, child death, derogatory terms for mental ill, involuntary incarceration

I’m going to be honest. I don’t know much about Sherlock Holmes. And I was completely unaware that he had a sister. And yes, I am well aware he is a fictional character. My first couple of sentences make it seem like Sherlock Holmes is a real person. But I am aware that he is not. Probably a good thing, if I am being honest. Holmes was a bit of a jerk and I’m saying that in the nicest way possible. Anyway. Maybe I should have read a Sherlock Holmes book or at least looked at a Wiki page of Homes before I started this book. But when St. Martin’s Press sends me a book, I will certainly read it, regardless of what it is about. That’s just the way of the world. 

Anyway, onto the actual review. I enjoyed this book but I wasn’t in love with it. The writing style was written in that old style but it was easy to read, which I appreciated. You wouldn’t believe how it is to read a classic book and try to decipher the writing. That is probably why I didn’t much care for Pride and Prejudice; I had no idea what was going on for most of the book. At least I knew what was going on in this book. 

Enola was an interesting character. She was pretty haughty and feisty. But I liked how smart she was! She honestly was such a genius. Other than that, Enola was okay. I am writing this review quite a few weeks after I’ve read this book so my memory of her is kind of fuzzy. But I do remember enjoying her as a main character.

I rated the book 3.5 stars because I really couldn’t stand Sherlock himself. He was such a prick to everyone around him. He was especially awful to Enola. Most of it was just because she was a girl. I can’t stand that. I have no idea if that is how Holmes is in his books. I would imagine so considering he had a bit of a cocaine problem. 

Overall, it was a good book but again, I didn’t really love it. Not one of my favorites but I certainly didn’t hate it. I would be interested in reading more about Enola and more of this series however. I should mention that this book was in the middle of a series but I didn’t get confused about anything that was happening so you can certainly read this as a stand alone novel. But I, personally, would love to read this series starting from the beginning.

Kristen Claiborn

Apparently, this particular series has taken the young adult world by storm. I didn’t even know if its existence until I read about a Netflix series with the same name. It was around the same time that I remembered I had this book on my TBR shelf (it was from a Goodreads giveaway, I’m embarrassed that it took me so long to read it, my apologies). I picked it up in November of 2022 when one of the selection for my book club was: “a book set in the 1800s.” 
	I’m a big fan of young adult books, and I’m fully supportive of each and every adult that enjoys reading them. Young adult books have been some of the best stories I’ve ever read, and they continue to engage both young readers and adults alike. They are stellar examples of literature and should be considered as such, no matter how old the reader happens to be. Embrace whatever books you enjoy reading. One of the reasons I find them so compelling is how influential they have the potential to be. Most adult avid readers can easily pinpoint the book that opened their world to books. I have a couple, but the first that comes to mind is Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. That one stuck with me for quite some time, even after I forgot what the book was about, I recall that I really enjoyed it. Because of that book, I kept looking for good books, finding authors like Lois Duncan and eventually Stephen King. I’ve been a reader ever since. 
	Now that you’ve survived my lecture on the importance of young adult novels, I can tell you that I didn’t exactly love this one. I had to consistently remind myself that the time it was set in means I’m likely going to read about misogyny, but that didn’t help much. I had a really hard time with the “women are helpless” theme, which was prevalent even after the women in the book proved they were far from helpless. Again, this book is set in the late 1800s in England, so it shouldn’t have angered me like it did. Enola proves her worth many times, which at least provides the message that women do, indeed, persevere. 
	I was particularly impressed with the vocabulary in this book. Teachers are constantly searching for books that can help expand the vocabulary of their students, but when they are always searching books in the middle-level and young adult categories, the search is often futile. Those books cater to kids, so they won’t have the more advanced words the kids need to be exposed to. This book is full of those words…so many words…I found myself reaching for my dictionary (which is conveniently located on my phone at dictionary.com, it’s free too!). It’s also a good series to help those young adults understand the history of the time period. This book, which is not the first in the series so I assume all of them have similar themes, can help to open conversations about history and social change. 
	This is a decent example of middle-level literature, with a strong female lead and great structure. For those who are interested, it would also be a great way to help compare print and non-print versions of the same story. Read this series, watch the Netflix show, then talk about the differences and similarities. While it’s not the best example of young adult literature, it’s not terrible.

Megan Lowe

3.75 stars.

I really liked the Enola Holmes movie, and indeed pictured the stars as the characters here, and this book was a solid addition.
I did find at times, the language to be a dense, I suppose as fitting the time, and am exceedingly glad I could look up the definitions on my kindle.
But the story is solid, just enough humour, just enough mystery, just enough darkness.
This is a quick, relatively easy read. Give it a go!

Shereen Evans

I want to thank the publishers and Netgalley for an arc of this book. I have been a Holmes fan and love that you get to follow Enola's story. The book starts with a brief background of Enola. This is a fun, adventurous book. Even though this is the 7th book in the series, you can read it as a stand a lone. 

You get to watch Enola and Sherlock solve this case. Sherlock and Enola a similar but she is full of sass, independent and strong willed. Also Watson makes an appearance to be roped into the antics.The book is fun of humor, wit and banter. If you want a fun mystery I would highly recommend this book.

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

Hooray for another Enola Holmes mystery! My students and I love this series, and this instalment is a welcome return for Enola, alone spelled backwards, her brother Sherlock and the stalwart Dr. Watson. In this episode, a beautiful, artistic twin dies leaving her sister bereft...and convinced that her twin is, in fact, not dead. She hires Enola and Sherlock to prove it. Disguises? Check. Witty banter? Check. Despicable villain? Check. Brilliant read for fans of the series and the Netflix adaptation of Enola's first mystery starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and the wonderful Helena Bonham Carter.

Sahi K

I actually never read the previous books in this series but had fun watching the movie. So when I got the email if I was interested in this book, I immediately took the chance. And this turned out to be fun. 

If you checkout my earliest posts on this blog a few years ago, you’ll know that I’m a huge Sherlock fan. So even if this is the story of his sister, just having him tangentially in the story is enough of a draw for me. Firstly, I have to appreciate the author for giving a good recap of everything that’s happened before, I so wish all authors would do that for their sequels. And this was such a quick read - I finished it in just a couple of hours and was quite entertained throughout, though I have to say that I found some of the vocabulary tough to follow. But that’s probably because I don’t read a lot of historical fiction. 

The mystery was interesting but a tad bit predictable - it wasn’t at all hard to guess what had happened to the missing young woman. But I think it was the characters who made up for any shortcomings in the plot. Enola is a fun, eccentric and impulsive young girl who is way too different and independent for her times. But she didn’t lack courage or creative ideas on how to solve the questions troubling her. I thought she got great company in Tish who was quite ready to go along with these crazy ideas, if only to save her sister. It was nice to see some female bonding. Sherlock seemed like a reluctant participant in his sister’s activities, but he can never let a mystery go unsolved and I loved how supportive he was of the girl’s plans. 

To conclude, I’m glad I got to read this book. It probably fills a hole in my heart left by all the Sherlock books I’ve read many many times. However, it wasn’t too special and I think my enjoyment was very much related to the nostalgia factor. But I probably will continue the series because why not.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Enola Homes and the Black Barouche

Author: Nancy Springer

Book Series: Enola Homes Book 7

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, historical fiction, mystery, thriller, sherlock holmes stories.

Publication Date: August 31, 2021

Genre: YA Mystery Thriller

Recommended Age: 15+ (murder, violence, slight gore)

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 272

Synopsis: Enola Holmes is the much younger sister of her more famous brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft. But she has all the wits, skills, and sleuthing inclinations of them both. At fifteen, she's an independent young woman--after all, her name spelled backwards reads 'alone'--and living on her own in London. When a young professional woman, Miss Letitia Glover, shows up on Sherlock's doorstep, desperate to learn more about the fate of her twin sister, it is Enola who steps up. It seems her sister, the former Felicity Glover, married the Earl of Dunhench and per a curt note from the Earl, has died. But Letitia Glover is convinced this isn't the truth, that she'd know--she'd feel--if her twin had died.

The Earl's note is suspiciously vague and the death certificate is even more dubious, signed it seems by a John H. Watson, M.D. (who denies any knowledge of such). The only way forward is for Enola to go undercover--or so Enola decides at the vehement objection of her brother. And she soon finds out that this is not the first of the Earl's wives to die suddenly and vaguely--and that the secret to the fate of the missing Felicity is tied to a mysterious black barouche that arrived at the Earl's home in the middle of the night. To uncover the secrets held tightly within the Earl's hall, Enola is going to require help--from Sherlock, from the twin sister of the missing woman, and from an old friend, the young Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether!

Review: To start off, I didn’t know that this was the seventh book in this series. I don’t remember if it was listed or not, but I totally glossed over that fact when I got a chance to review this book. I did feel like the book did need some previous book context, but this can stand alone if you wanted to just read this one. The book alone was fairly well written though and I did enjoy the plot. I also really liked the world building and the banter between the characters.

However, I did feel like the character development was a bit too quickly done and that the relationship between Enola and Sherlock was too quickly repaired. I don’t know if the other books dove into their relationship, but if it did then you would need the context of them. I also felt like the pacing was too fast for me.

Verdict: It’s great, but needs context.

Anita Rut Kristjansdottir &
Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer

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