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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
In this dual timeline mystery, Laura Lyons, the wife of the library’s superintendent in 1913, longs for more than her domestic life and decides to pursue journalism, discovering and writing about a radical women’s group as one of the few women in her journalism class. At the same time, valuable books are stolen from the library, threatening her home, and Laura is torn between her budding career as a journalist, and her family life.
Eighty years later, in 1993, her granddaughter Sadie lands her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library, only to face a new string of book thefts. As she investigates, shocking family secrets come to life, connecting the past and present in unexpected ways.
It was fascinating to learn that a family actually used to live in the New York Public Library. I loved how Fiona Davis brought this historical setting to life, making the library itself feel like a character. The details of early 20th-century New York, particularly the struggles of women breaking into journalism, a male-dominated field, added a lot of depth to Laura’s story and underscored her moving away from the traditional role at home. Meanwhile, Sadie’s modern-day investigation kept me hooked as she unraveled the mysteries of her own family’s past.
Like her other books that I’ve read, Davis masterfully balances history, mystery, and strong female leads. I can’t wait to keep going and read the rest of her novels.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What a crummy run of books... three in a row that haven't been great. This started off good, then most my interest for a bit, picked up and then I lost interest again.
I just felt like it was going a little too slow. I really wanted to like this and heard a lot of good things about it but right now it's not the right time.
medium-paced
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book. Sadie and Laura were both well written characters. The parallels with the books being stolen was interesting. I thought it was great to read about how each woman changed and grew. The library had such a big impact on both of their lives, in good and bad ways. I wish parts of the Laura’s story weren’t so rushed. I feel like we missed out on important things. Sadie’s portion of the story didn’t feel like it was lacking anything for me.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unlikeable characters, didn't know this would be an LGTBQ love story, and I don't like when books try to make infidelity justifiable.