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chaptersofmads's review against another edition
4.0
“... and the deepest, most fundamental part of her life involved a love of books. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to shut the rest of the world out, and have nothing to worry about, except the next page of whatever she was reading.”
TW: ableism, animal cruelty, animal death, alcohol, blood, body horror, body-shaming, bullying, car accident, confinement, death, death of a loved one, drowning, fatphobia, fire/fire injury, gore, gun violence, injury/injury detail, medical content, medical trauma, murder, racism, sexism, sexual content, stalking, torture, transphobia, violence.
A unique, cozy delight.
From first hearing about this book, I was nearly positive that I would love it and I'm so glad I was right. Books that include secret, morally ambiguous societies called The Library are quickly becoming a favorite sub-genre for me. Though this was a pretty dark story at times, the entire book had such a warm, cozy atmosphere that felt like reading in a library. Not all novels with a focus on books/reading are successful at feeling like a love-letter to readers, but this one succeeded.
When I say that, I also know this book isn't for everyone. The world-building is a bit complex and chaotic (purposefully!) and it has an almost historical fiction vibe. It has everything from Fae, to dragons, to zeppelins, and cyborg alligators. I know this might have thrown people out of the story, even myself, but I actually thought it was delightful lol.
My rating is a bit lower due to feeling like some of the representation in this book was a bit... messy, to say the least. Particularly when it comes to the character Kai. It was nothing major, slight references or passing comments that felt like the attempt at representing his culture had been poorly researched.
Also... without spoiling... there's a twist at the end that inspires comments that are both transphobic and upsetting at nature.
While I don't believe this was the author's intent, I would be remiss to ignore that these were still noticeable flaws.
The other thing I want to touch on is that, while a lot of people shelve this as a YA novel, I complete disagree. From the discussions had to the level of violence, to the maturity of the characters and the tone of the writing itself, I'm shelving this as adult.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book! It was a bit clunky or predictable at times, but never in a way that detracted from my overall love of the story. I'm excited to see where the series goes from here.
TW: ableism, animal cruelty, animal death, alcohol, blood, body horror, body-shaming, bullying, car accident, confinement, death, death of a loved one, drowning, fatphobia, fire/fire injury, gore, gun violence, injury/injury detail, medical content, medical trauma, murder, racism, sexism, sexual content, stalking, torture, transphobia, violence.
A unique, cozy delight.
From first hearing about this book, I was nearly positive that I would love it and I'm so glad I was right. Books that include secret, morally ambiguous societies called The Library are quickly becoming a favorite sub-genre for me. Though this was a pretty dark story at times, the entire book had such a warm, cozy atmosphere that felt like reading in a library. Not all novels with a focus on books/reading are successful at feeling like a love-letter to readers, but this one succeeded.
When I say that, I also know this book isn't for everyone. The world-building is a bit complex and chaotic (purposefully!) and it has an almost historical fiction vibe. It has everything from Fae, to dragons, to zeppelins, and cyborg alligators. I know this might have thrown people out of the story, even myself, but I actually thought it was delightful lol.
My rating is a bit lower due to feeling like some of the representation in this book was a bit... messy, to say the least. Particularly when it comes to the character Kai. It was nothing major, slight references or passing comments that felt like the attempt at representing his culture had been poorly researched.
Also... without spoiling... there's a twist at the end that inspires comments that are both transphobic and upsetting at nature.
While I don't believe this was the author's intent, I would be remiss to ignore that these were still noticeable flaws.
The other thing I want to touch on is that, while a lot of people shelve this as a YA novel, I complete disagree. From the discussions had to the level of violence, to the maturity of the characters and the tone of the writing itself, I'm shelving this as adult.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book! It was a bit clunky or predictable at times, but never in a way that detracted from my overall love of the story. I'm excited to see where the series goes from here.
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia
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