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bakeybeans's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
I found this hard to put down. The writing is lovely and really creates a world to live in while you’re reading, it drew me into the story.
Immediately after finishing the book I feel it’s 5*.
The plot is steady and things are revealed at a good pace to keep it engaging but nothing is revealed too soon. The way the characters search and find answers feels natural. I didn’t really experience a lull in the story. There were parts that felt like context for the characters but later in the story you realise it was foreshadowing or helps answer a question.
The pace definitely speeds up through the story, but reflects the story and as the urgency the characters face in the story increases the pace matches.
I liked the use of common phrases throughout the book which felt out of place at first but as you learn more I felt it fed into the theme of history repeating and civilisations rising and falling, leaving lasting memories despite the source being unknown.
The switching narratives helps develop the theme of history and knowledge twisting throughout history. I found the narratives blended well, with one sometimes offering answers to the other. The narratives also felt distinct to me, I felt the self-assuredness in Livira . With the pace of her opening chapters being slower but speeding up as her thirst for answers and knowledge increased. Opposed to the more cautious and careful approach from Evar.
It feels like a story written by someone who loves books, stories and libraries. The plot follows the characters but there is an underlying thread of this running throughout.
It made me think about how much I love books and how important they are.
Not only as we read them but what they will teach the people who come long after us. It made me appreciate books/libraries as portals to the past and possible futures. It created a feeling that books are special and the words within them hold a universe within the story.
Is it a perfect book, no. No one book ever could be. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and ordered the sequel when I realised how close I was to the end as I’m not ready to let the story finish.
Immediately after finishing the book I feel it’s 5*.
The plot is steady and things are revealed at a good pace to keep it engaging but nothing is revealed too soon. The way the characters search and find answers feels natural. I didn’t really experience a lull in the story. There were parts that felt like context for the characters but later in the story you realise it was foreshadowing or helps answer a question.
The pace definitely speeds up through the story, but reflects the story and as the urgency the characters face in the story increases the pace matches.
I liked the use of common phrases throughout the book which felt out of place at first but as you learn more I felt it fed into the theme of history repeating and civilisations rising and falling, leaving lasting memories despite the source being unknown.
The switching narratives helps develop the theme of history and knowledge twisting throughout history. I found the narratives blended well, with one sometimes offering answers to the other. The narratives also felt distinct to me, I felt the self-assuredness in Livira . With the pace of her opening chapters being slower but speeding up as her thirst for answers and knowledge increased. Opposed to the more cautious and careful approach from Evar.
It feels like a story written by someone who loves books, stories and libraries. The plot follows the characters but there is an underlying thread of this running throughout.
It made me think about how much I love books and how important they are.
Not only as we read them but what they will teach the people who come long after us. It made me appreciate books/libraries as portals to the past and possible futures. It created a feeling that books are special and the words within them hold a universe within the story.
Is it a perfect book, no. No one book ever could be. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and ordered the sequel when I realised how close I was to the end as I’m not ready to let the story finish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
lilly_reads98's review against another edition
I didn’t like the violence of the first chapter and just couldn’t get into the next chapter. I might try it again someday because it sounds good but what’s happened so far doesn’t intrigue me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
srm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
4.0
Well written and an interesting enough set up, but I'll never completely love anything with elements of time travel. My own fault for not reading reviews, though.
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, War, Death, Violence, and Confinement
dkamada's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Time is trippy and so is love
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, Slavery, Blood, Violence, Classism, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Self harm
angorarabbit's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Context: So I read my Libby books on the Kindle app and now I want to get all the silly achievements. Without giving Amazon any money.This was one of the five books on my GoodReads want to read list that was eligible for the Series Pioneer achievement and I only had to wait one day for my hold. So there you have it. Three of the other books still have holds, the fourth is not available at my libraries.
Clark Tech: The existence, maintenance and power supplies of the mechanism, assistants, and portals.These things have been running for thousands to tens of thousands of years. No explanation as to how the portals transport living beings instantaneously through time and space to where they need or want to be.I’m not certain, but I think a time travel rule was broken in the last chapters,
In many ways this reads like a YA book.We first meet the main character when she is 10. In the first third of the book we spend most of our time with children. The adults do not have much character development. The children as they age do not seem to change much except to mildly flirt. The protagonist has a “chosen one” vibe and also “she is not like other girls”. Boys pretty much exist to help her with her explorations. Serious rule breaking is follow.jAlso I didn’t learn one new word.
I really had high hopes for this book. I loved the ideas regarding the library, mechanism, and assistants., Although I’m always hesitant with time travel, the author does handle the time travel part better than many (time turners I’m thinking of you).It’s just that somehow the execution didn’t work for me. The writing was fine and for the most part the action taking place was clear. I was confused as to some characters motivations. The book was 3 stars going towards 4 until I got to the last 10 chapters (there are 70 chapters) then it starting slipping to 2 stars. It felt as if they were just the set up for book 2.
I also twigged two major plot twists in the first 10-20 chapters. I hate it when that happens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Violence, Genocide, Death of parent, Classism, Death, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cursing
One character has an intellectual disability, though it is not part of the plot. All characters are heteronormative.cronareads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Violence
musebeliever's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
The premise of an infinite library connecting different worlds and different times is really interesting. However, I grew tired by the author's choice to painstakingly relate andnexplain every single feeling, memory, and action of the two main characters. This considerably lengthened the book and diluted the story so much that it just became the background of the characters' never-ending inner monologue.
In addition to that, the author does the very creepy thing of having a 20yo man (who is in reality, probably 30 yo because of time stopping shenanigans), meet his soulmate when she is 12 yo. But because of time travels shenanigans, he actually met her first when he was a child, and she was an adult and could not recall it. I just can't with this type of meeting setting.
In short, the setting was interesting, but this was definitely not for me.
In addition to that, the author does the very creepy thing of having a 20yo man (who is in reality, probably 30 yo because of time stopping shenanigans), meet his soulmate when she is 12 yo. But because of time travels shenanigans, he actually met her first when he was a child, and she was an adult and could not recall it. I just can't with this type of meeting setting.
In short, the setting was interesting, but this was definitely not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Xenophobia, Body horror, and Violence
jmatsumura's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
One of the best books I have ever read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Kidnapping, Death, Classism, Murder, and War
yilliun's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wholly original and unlike anything I had ever read before. Some of the early sections dragged and I struggled to get through those world building pieces. The last 200 pages flew by though, so that made up for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Child death, Classism, and Xenophobia
hannxm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Death, and Blood