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iris_lrf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
AXIBSJFIVFVHN;?.GIBDUHCFJFJVFFJXF
I normally write a whole fuckin essay here but I am quite aptly lost for words. No notes. I WEPT. IN PUBLIC. I DIDNT THINK I COULD DO THAT.
I have a new religion and it's Claire Juniper Hadley.
Edit: now that I'm capable of rational thought, I do think it's a shame that we don't see as much of Brevity, especially after AotF. Feels like there was a lot of untapped potential there.
I normally write a whole fuckin essay here but I am quite aptly lost for words. No notes. I WEPT. IN PUBLIC. I DIDNT THINK I COULD DO THAT.
I have a new religion and it's Claire Juniper Hadley.
Edit: now that I'm capable of rational thought, I do think it's a shame that we don't see as much of Brevity, especially after AotF. Feels like there was a lot of untapped potential there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and War
Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Dementia, Deportation, Emotional abuse, and Excrement
librarianmage's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death and Suicide
autumnnovels's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide
giulay's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
"To win a war against Hell, you have to know what you are willing to lose."
TW: panic attacks, anxiety, gore
What better way to start the year than with an
Unpopular Opinion Time đ¸âď¸
Actual rating: 2.5 âď¸
Letâs see if Iâm still able to write these Rather Random Reviewsâ˘ď¸, shall we?
Hey there, long time no read, huh?
I have no excuses; itâs been a rough time. But hopefully things will improve in the reading department, and you will see my non-sensical and messy words on your screen a bit more often.
So, letâs cut the chase.
The God of Lost Words â last instalment in a trilogy that, until now, I thoroughly enjoyed â kinda let me down a bit.
I really do know how to truly cut the chase, right?
The first book (The Library of the Unwritten) completely stole my heart. There is no other way to say it. I was enamoured with that book - no shame whatsoever. Its sequel, The Archive of the Forgotten, as you can already read in my Rather Random Reviewâ˘ď¸, left me unsatisfied and underwhelmed. Indeed, my two main gripes were Claire, our main character, and the plot.
I then hope that nobody is surprised when I say that the two main problems that I encountered whilst reading The God of Lost Words were Claire and the plot.
I do not even know with what to start because both are very frustrating topics, and I donât wanna feel those vibes just yet â you get me?
Thus, letâs start with the positive! (Yes, I am procrastinating, lemme live!)
Ramiel and Hero were the two bright stars of this book, and I am glad I managed to accompany them in this final adventure. Brevity, too, was an adorable character, and I truly liked her development and character-arc.
Moreover, the idea itself of a library in Hell, the demonic, human, and angelic figures that intertwined with one another, the religious/faith/damnation talks and the bookworm-ness of it all have deeply fascinated and captivated me since book one.
All these elements were (thankfully) present in this third and final book, and I was very pleased to experience once more the lure and the incredible atmosphere that this entire series managed to create.
Unfortunately, there were two other things that this series delivered till the very end. And those were a questionable plot and an even more questionable main character. And I donât mean it in the good way.
The characters (mainly Hero and Ramiel) were charming as always, but I do gotta say that my issues with Claire (that started, as previously mentioned, in the second instalment of this trilogy) carried on and were very much present even in this last book.
I do not know why, but Claire just rubbed me the wrong way throughout the story. There was something about her behaviour (or the way her behaviour was portrayed) that simply bothered me. Actually, now that I have re-read my Rather Random Reviewâ˘ď¸ for The Archive of the Forgotten, I do know what bothered me in Claireâs character, because it annoyed me already.
She had absolutely no personality.
There, Iâve said it.
Her only traits were her stubbornness and how unwilling she was to share her emotions. That was that. Her personality was dull and strict and flat; her only features were how firmly she could clench her jaw and how sternly she could look at you. And I was not about that life.
I just very plainly did not like her. Her chapters bored me and made for a rather unpleasant reading experience. I struggled with her, her character, her emotions, her behaviour, her unwillingness to openly communicate, and her relationships.
But now, for a bit of a spoilers regarding said relations.
So, indeed, as I mentioned relationships, let me just ever so casually talk about the relationship that has been depicted and created amongst Ramiel, Hero and Claire.
Because, what the fuck?
Do not get me wrong, I was pleased to see a representation of a polyamorous relationship (if we can call it that, as they never actually talked about their connections and the various consents needed) but nonetheless, this âpolyamorous relationshipâ came out of literally nowhere.
First thing first, in my opinion, there was absolutely zero (0) chemistry between Hero and Claire. Sure, they bickered and had some good back-and-forth, but for as much as romantic love was concerned, there was a vast nothingness that connected the two of them. Random romantic thoughts or feelings between the two were added without any build-up or any actual action coming from the characters. Sure, I understand why this romance took place: because of the whole metaphor of the love there is between reader and book â but me understanding it doesnât mean that I liked it.
I did not buy their romance and I was honestly slightly annoyed at this random addiction to the plot, as I found this relationship rather useless and unsatisfactory.
Even more lacking (incredibly enough) was the alleged relationship between Claire and Ramiel. Already, I somewhat struggled seeing the chemistry between Ramiel and Hero (even though they definitely grew on me, and I loved them with every fiber of my being), but the link between the angel and the ex-librarian was inexistent to say the very freaking least.
At no point, throughout the three (3) novels, Ramiel has ever even had a romantic thought for Claire and now I gotta believe that the three of them love each other and are together? Itâs a no from me, dawg.
The romantic detachment and disinterest from Ramiel concerning Claire were so freaking obvious and blatant I couldnât believe my eyes when I realized what I was reading.
It felt like a joke. It was useless and underdeveloped and came out of nowhere, and it was also rushed, badly executed and very simply not needed.
So, sure, I was happy to see a âpolyamorous relationshipâ but, tbh, Iâd have been happier if I hadnât seen it as it was very, very, very poorly developed.
To sum this mess up: the book would have been better without any romance
But enough with the relations.
Let me tackle the second point that really dipped my overall enjoyment of this last instalment: the plot.
As mentioned at the beginning of this Rather Random Reviewâ˘ď¸, I already had my issues with the plot, its content and the pace. These issues sadly were still very much present in The God of Lost Words.
The plot, in my opinion, lacked steam. Sure, the was the main problem, always present and always a threat, but also always slightly forgettable and uninspired. There were too many little side-quests that were, with all due respect, just underwhelming.
And that was because of the facility and ease in which these side-quests were resolved. It made me roll my eyes and made me somewhat question the whole plot of this novel.
Minor tensions and problems were resolved way too quickly and easily. Hence, apart from the core problem, there was actually very little that pushed the story forward, and indeed at times I found the plot slightly pointless and to be lacking something more.
Because of this missing, the parts of the story that should have been filled with action and friction were filled with overly worded descriptions and adjectives, and I was very simply just not a fan. I loved the characters (apart from Claire, but you know about it by now), do not get me wrong, but a book cannot live on characters alone, in my opinion.
It felt as if every issue started and ended in the span of one chapter (or two at most). It felt thus rather episodic and disconnected. The only thing keeping everything together was the distant and rarely mentioned threat that also functioned as the plotâs only push.
I cannot find the words (she said after a super long rant) to explain how disappointed I felt. The ease with which the side-quests and even the main issue (!) were resolved was upsetting and ludicrous.
But what enraged me even more was the swiftness in which everything was resolved. It was just unsatisfactory and underwhelming. Even more once I actually realised that the main, real, big problem also got the same treatment.
Moreover, precisely because of how rapidly all the problems were dealt with, the plot got repetitive and predictable. And that is never enjoyable.
The space that should have been left for a complex and tense plot was given to lines and lines and lines wasted (yes, you read that correctly) on descriptions and adjectives and deep-and-boring-and-repetitive-and-cheesy comments about what does it mean to be a reader and how important is a story to the reader (and vice-versa).
Now, The God of Lost Words had its positive aspects. But they were heavily overpowered by all the negative things that, in the end, ruined the book for me.
This novel was good and it was addictive, but simply because the characters (and I mean Hero, Ramiel and Brevity) were good and addictive. If I have to be objective and detach myself from them, this book was actually nothing special and very lacklustre â repetitive, uninspired and at times even overly cheesy and sappy.
The ending itself I found to be a bit confusing, and it also dragged a bit too much for my liking. And yet it also felt incredibly rushed and, hence, underdeveloped. Things â and I mean difficult, gigantic things â fell into place way too neatly, easily and rapidly to be satisfactory or even simply appreciated.
Towards the end, the repetition of the same ideas, the same speeches and the same metaphors regarding the reader, the story, the library and whatnot got heavy and made an already questionable ending even more mediocre â if not below average.
I am without a doubt a character-driven reader, but the plot has its importance, too. So what happens when both plot and characters disappoint me? Well⌠this happens.
The God of Lost Words was at times an average read with its shining moments, but all in all this was a very lacklustre, underdeveloped and unsatisfactory end to a trilogy in which I absolutely adored the first book.
"Thereâs a love between a reader and a story that no one can harm or possess."
TW: panic attacks, anxiety, gore
What better way to start the year than with an
Unpopular Opinion Time đ¸âď¸
Actual rating: 2.5 âď¸
Letâs see if Iâm still able to write these Rather Random Reviewsâ˘ď¸, shall we?
Hey there, long time no read, huh?
I have no excuses; itâs been a rough time. But hopefully things will improve in the reading department, and you will see my non-sensical and messy words on your screen a bit more often.
So, letâs cut the chase.
The God of Lost Words â last instalment in a trilogy that, until now, I thoroughly enjoyed â kinda let me down a bit.
I really do know how to truly cut the chase, right?
The first book (The Library of the Unwritten) completely stole my heart. There is no other way to say it. I was enamoured with that book - no shame whatsoever. Its sequel, The Archive of the Forgotten, as you can already read in my Rather Random Reviewâ˘ď¸, left me unsatisfied and underwhelmed. Indeed, my two main gripes were Claire, our main character, and the plot.
I then hope that nobody is surprised when I say that the two main problems that I encountered whilst reading The God of Lost Words were Claire and the plot.
I do not even know with what to start because both are very frustrating topics, and I donât wanna feel those vibes just yet â you get me?
Thus, letâs start with the positive! (Yes, I am procrastinating, lemme live!)
Ramiel and Hero were the two bright stars of this book, and I am glad I managed to accompany them in this final adventure. Brevity, too, was an adorable character, and I truly liked her development and character-arc.
Moreover, the idea itself of a library in Hell, the demonic, human, and angelic figures that intertwined with one another, the religious/faith/damnation talks and the bookworm-ness of it all have deeply fascinated and captivated me since book one.
All these elements were (thankfully) present in this third and final book, and I was very pleased to experience once more the lure and the incredible atmosphere that this entire series managed to create.
Unfortunately, there were two other things that this series delivered till the very end. And those were a questionable plot and an even more questionable main character. And I donât mean it in the good way.
The characters (mainly Hero and Ramiel) were charming as always, but I do gotta say that my issues with Claire (that started, as previously mentioned, in the second instalment of this trilogy) carried on and were very much present even in this last book.
I do not know why, but Claire just rubbed me the wrong way throughout the story. There was something about her behaviour (or the way her behaviour was portrayed) that simply bothered me. Actually, now that I have re-read my Rather Random Reviewâ˘ď¸ for The Archive of the Forgotten, I do know what bothered me in Claireâs character, because it annoyed me already.
She had absolutely no personality.
There, Iâve said it.
Her only traits were her stubbornness and how unwilling she was to share her emotions. That was that. Her personality was dull and strict and flat; her only features were how firmly she could clench her jaw and how sternly she could look at you. And I was not about that life.
I just very plainly did not like her. Her chapters bored me and made for a rather unpleasant reading experience. I struggled with her, her character, her emotions, her behaviour, her unwillingness to openly communicate, and her relationships.
But now, for a bit of a spoilers regarding said relations.
Because, what the fuck?
Do not get me wrong, I was pleased to see a representation of a polyamorous relationship (if we can call it that, as they never actually talked about their connections and the various consents needed) but nonetheless, this âpolyamorous relationshipâ came out of literally nowhere.
First thing first, in my opinion, there was absolutely zero (0) chemistry between Hero and Claire. Sure, they bickered and had some good back-and-forth, but for as much as romantic love was concerned, there was a vast nothingness that connected the two of them. Random romantic thoughts or feelings between the two were added without any build-up or any actual action coming from the characters. Sure, I understand why this romance took place: because of the whole metaphor of the love there is between reader and book â but me understanding it doesnât mean that I liked it.
I did not buy their romance and I was honestly slightly annoyed at this random addiction to the plot, as I found this relationship rather useless and unsatisfactory.
Even more lacking (incredibly enough) was the alleged relationship between Claire and Ramiel. Already, I somewhat struggled seeing the chemistry between Ramiel and Hero (even though they definitely grew on me, and I loved them with every fiber of my being), but the link between the angel and the ex-librarian was inexistent to say the very freaking least.
At no point, throughout the three (3) novels, Ramiel has ever even had a romantic thought for Claire and now I gotta believe that the three of them love each other and are together? Itâs a no from me, dawg.
The romantic detachment and disinterest from Ramiel concerning Claire were so freaking obvious and blatant I couldnât believe my eyes when I realized what I was reading.
It felt like a joke. It was useless and underdeveloped and came out of nowhere, and it was also rushed, badly executed and very simply not needed.
So, sure, I was happy to see a âpolyamorous relationshipâ but, tbh, Iâd have been happier if I hadnât seen it as it was very, very, very poorly developed.
To sum this mess up: the book would have been better without any romance
But enough with the relations.
Let me tackle the second point that really dipped my overall enjoyment of this last instalment: the plot.
As mentioned at the beginning of this Rather Random Reviewâ˘ď¸, I already had my issues with the plot, its content and the pace. These issues sadly were still very much present in The God of Lost Words.
The plot, in my opinion, lacked steam. Sure, the was the main problem, always present and always a threat, but also always slightly forgettable and uninspired. There were too many little side-quests that were, with all due respect, just underwhelming.
And that was because of the facility and ease in which these side-quests were resolved. It made me roll my eyes and made me somewhat question the whole plot of this novel.
Minor tensions and problems were resolved way too quickly and easily. Hence, apart from the core problem, there was actually very little that pushed the story forward, and indeed at times I found the plot slightly pointless and to be lacking something more.
Because of this missing, the parts of the story that should have been filled with action and friction were filled with overly worded descriptions and adjectives, and I was very simply just not a fan. I loved the characters (apart from Claire, but you know about it by now), do not get me wrong, but a book cannot live on characters alone, in my opinion.
It felt as if every issue started and ended in the span of one chapter (or two at most). It felt thus rather episodic and disconnected. The only thing keeping everything together was the distant and rarely mentioned threat that also functioned as the plotâs only push.
I cannot find the words (she said after a super long rant) to explain how disappointed I felt. The ease with which the side-quests and even the main issue (!) were resolved was upsetting and ludicrous.
But what enraged me even more was the swiftness in which everything was resolved. It was just unsatisfactory and underwhelming. Even more once I actually realised that the main, real, big problem also got the same treatment.
Moreover, precisely because of how rapidly all the problems were dealt with, the plot got repetitive and predictable. And that is never enjoyable.
The space that should have been left for a complex and tense plot was given to lines and lines and lines wasted (yes, you read that correctly) on descriptions and adjectives and deep-and-boring-and-repetitive-and-cheesy comments about what does it mean to be a reader and how important is a story to the reader (and vice-versa).
Now, The God of Lost Words had its positive aspects. But they were heavily overpowered by all the negative things that, in the end, ruined the book for me.
This novel was good and it was addictive, but simply because the characters (and I mean Hero, Ramiel and Brevity) were good and addictive. If I have to be objective and detach myself from them, this book was actually nothing special and very lacklustre â repetitive, uninspired and at times even overly cheesy and sappy.
The ending itself I found to be a bit confusing, and it also dragged a bit too much for my liking. And yet it also felt incredibly rushed and, hence, underdeveloped. Things â and I mean difficult, gigantic things â fell into place way too neatly, easily and rapidly to be satisfactory or even simply appreciated.
Towards the end, the repetition of the same ideas, the same speeches and the same metaphors regarding the reader, the story, the library and whatnot got heavy and made an already questionable ending even more mediocre â if not below average.
I am without a doubt a character-driven reader, but the plot has its importance, too. So what happens when both plot and characters disappoint me? Well⌠this happens.
The God of Lost Words was at times an average read with its shining moments, but all in all this was a very lacklustre, underdeveloped and unsatisfactory end to a trilogy in which I absolutely adored the first book.
"Thereâs a love between a reader and a story that no one can harm or possess."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Gore
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