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julbel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.5
A fun, unique story of the battle between heaven and hell. The character dynamics are compelling, their individual qualms of what is right insightful, and their realizing their potential gratifying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt
paigereitz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Wow wow wow. This book is a masterclass on the human condition and humanity's drive for storytelling and literature. It turns tropes on their heads. It's witty and laugh-out-loud funny at times. It blends heavy and light and explores big themes. I loved every second of this ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death, and Suicide attempt
emilywickenson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-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
3.75
Every time I walk into a room and forget what I’m doing I’m going to think I’m just a character whose author hasn’t written that part yet.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicide
gansey_02's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
iris_lrf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.75
This is probably at least the fifth time I've read this book, and every time has been a delight from start to finish. Hackwith's beautiful style and well-rounded characters create an emotional roller coaster of love, heartbreak, redemption and family. Even with only two actual humans, all of the protagonists feel uniquely human in their own distinct ways, and it's impossible not to fall in love with the cranky old librarian or her anxious upstart assistants.
Like any good story about stories, The Library of the Unwritten plays with the concept of the roles we play, both by choice and by force, and what happens when those roles no longer suit us. Villains become heroes, sidekicks become leaders, guardians become caretakers. The stories we tell change, and those we lock away are brought back into the light.
It's not without its flaws, but what book isn't? Sure, there's some plot armour moments, but surely they're counteracted by Leto literally being unmade or Hero getting frequently beaten within an inch of his life . Sure, the ending is a little lacking, but with two more books to go, it isn't really the ending, is it?
I recently got the rest of the trilogy and I'm excited to see where the story goes from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Suicide attempt, Child death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Confinement, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Grief, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Minor: War, Self harm, and Kidnapping
clocrim's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide attempt
greenwood88's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
3.5
The concept was fascinating, especially as it didn't stick to purely Christian theology. The characters are rich and easy to fall in love with.
for me, the "mysteries" hidden behind the lines of plot were a little clunky, but enjoyable non the less.
for me, the "mysteries" hidden behind the lines of plot were a little clunky, but enjoyable non the less.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
a_novel_craving's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings: Murder, self-harm, bullying, suicidal thoughts, and mention of suicide.
I stumbled on the summary of this book late last spring and was fascinated with the idea. Sadly when it was gifted to me, for my birthday in July, I let it sit on my shelf unread until a few days ago. Wanting to read something somewhat different, but still, within the Fantasy genre, I decided to finally pick it up and dive in…and it did not disappoint.
This book is like nothing I’ve ever read before and I enjoyed every second of it! We follow four different perspectives as we journey through this book.
First, we meet Claire the current head librarian of the Unwritten Library who is very good at her job and keeps everything running as efficiently as she can. Claire has been the head Librarian for over thirty years and is rumored to have an entire wing dedicated to books she left unwritten during her time as a human.
We then meet Leto, a junior demon, who has been tasked with informing Claire of a runaway, unwritten, story that she’s been tasked to find and return. Leto is new to his position and is shocked when Claire informs him he’ll be traveling along with her to Earth to hunt down the runaway story.
Ramiel an angel and fallen Watcher is just going about his normal business of standing at the gates of Heaven and processing new souls when he’s met with a soul that’s carrying a suspicious scrap of paper, that seems to hold unknown power. When the soul informs him it’s a piece of the long-lost Devil’s Bible Ramiel finds himself tasked with hunting the rest of the book down. Having been barred from crossing the Gates of Heaven, since he sided with Lucifer before the War, he’s given the idea that he could reclaim his rightful place, and finally go home, if he completes his mission to collect the Devil’s Bible.
Brevity, Claire’s assistant and junior librarian, who also happens to be a former Muse, is being trained to someday take over the role of Head Librarian. No one knows exactly what causes Head Librarians to retire, or where exactly they all go, but there’s always someone training to take over whenever that happens. The longer Brevity trains under Claire she feels like she’s able to see past the strict and seemingly uncaring, exterior Claire presents to a kind and fearless person.
I won’t lie this book did take about a hundred, to a hundred and fifty, pages to finally feel firmly invested in the adventure. The lore I found deeply fascinating and the more I got to know the characters, through the different perspectives, then I found myself connecting and empathizing with them. This book is so fascinating and I can’t wait to read the other two books to see what journey, and adventure, we go on next!
If you’re looking for a unique fantasy that involved a library, heaven, hell, demons, humans, angels, and book characters brought to life…I highly suggest picking up this book and diving in!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Self harm
Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying
ashyq's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide