Knowing the origins of this story definitely tainted my view of it, but even if I try to put that aside, I didn't think this was that good of a book. It felt slow and overly saccharine. Sure there were a few cute moments but it felt overdone. I think that the story itself is 2.5 stars, but read on to see why I can't give it that rating.
This book is based on the Canadian Sixties Scoop. There is a very well written review from Goodreads that covers the issues in this book better than I can: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3601407534
But suffice to say, I cannot and will not support a cozy fantasy book inspired by the author learning about atrocities committed against Indigenous families. The Sixties Scoop involved the government stealing Indigenous children from their homes and putting them into residential schools, stripping them of their culture, and throwing them into environments ripe for physical abuse, sexual abuse, and even murder. I'm not exaggerating. So to take this and make it into a cozy little found family story where we just don't question HOW these children came to be "orphans" and everything's okay because their "master" loves them is just... beyond words. When you add in this context, Linus is not our hero. Linus is someone who keeps his head down and ignores the damage that results from his actions while still clapping himself on the back as a good guy.
I was adamantly opposed to reading this book and only caved because I joined a book club only to find out that this was their pick. But my digital copy was from Libby, and when I eventually picked it up as a physical copy, it was purchased used from a local bookstore. I did not want to give a single penny to the author, and I suggest you don't either.