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girlinsanity's review
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
evenshadow's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
meecespieces's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Sexual content
bethtabler's review
4.0
The Night Library of Sternendach by Jessica Lévai is a lyrically beautiful book that tells a cohesive story in long verse. That is quite a feat in itself. But what is magnificent about The Night Library is that it is so engaging.
The vampire/paranormal genre is saturated with stories. It takes on the same ideas, mostly taking the classic vampire-type story's mythos and putting a contemporary twist on it. There is a whole lot of that in the urban fantasy genre. But, I got to say I have never read a vampire story in verse. I loved the innovative nature of it.
The Night Library of Sternendach is an emotionally grand tale. It is epic in its telling in the form of a romanticist lens. There is minimal backstory and worldbuilding, and it isn't necessary. I got enough backstory from the first twenty pages to get a solid foundation for the tale. From there, it was a swirl of lyrical descriptions and dialog. I laughed; it was heartfelt and quite beautiful.
I don't think this type of story will appeal to everyone. Reading a long-form story in verse takes some getting used to, and I found it much better to take sips of the tale than gulping it all down in a single sitting. But, if you are looking for something a bit experimental, give this story a try.
The vampire/paranormal genre is saturated with stories. It takes on the same ideas, mostly taking the classic vampire-type story's mythos and putting a contemporary twist on it. There is a whole lot of that in the urban fantasy genre. But, I got to say I have never read a vampire story in verse. I loved the innovative nature of it.
The Night Library of Sternendach is an emotionally grand tale. It is epic in its telling in the form of a romanticist lens. There is minimal backstory and worldbuilding, and it isn't necessary. I got enough backstory from the first twenty pages to get a solid foundation for the tale. From there, it was a swirl of lyrical descriptions and dialog. I laughed; it was heartfelt and quite beautiful.
I don't think this type of story will appeal to everyone. Reading a long-form story in verse takes some getting used to, and I found it much better to take sips of the tale than gulping it all down in a single sitting. But, if you are looking for something a bit experimental, give this story a try.
bookish_whispers's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, so a couple of weeks ago I saw this book on the newsletter I get from Shelf Awareness, and there wasn't anything about it. Not even the usual little review. However, the cover and the title caught my eye. So while I was waiting on my bus I jumped onto my library's site and did a bit of research on it. Luck would have that my library location had a copy so after I worked I went and snagged up that copy. One hundred percent picked this up because of the cover and only a sort of idea of what it was about.
What I didn't realize was this book was written in long verse. What I knew was it was about vampires and was sort of like an opera. All pluses in my world. Because I've never read a book set to read like an opera. But, I'm glad I took a chance at this book.
This is the beautiful love story of a girl who falls in love with a vampire, but it cannot be because she is the heir to a Hunter clan. It's a classic kind of love that was doomed from the start, but you just can look away because a part of you hopes that just maybe this time the story will end differently. Even though we all know that it won't.
The part about this book that I like the most is in the end what stops the Graf and Kunigunde apart wasn't some overly dramatic plot or a war between the Hunters and the Vampires. It's a duty, and it's such a well-played moment in the book. It was perfect. It's not tragic just sad in a way that breaks your heart. A love that almost was. Because they could usually turn their nose up at their duty and be together, but they both understand the consequences of those choices.
I was a little worried that the long verse would trip me up because it's not something I read often, or honestly see a lot in genres that call to me. But, I actually really liked the choice of long verse for the story. It not only added to the beauty of the story that was being told, but it served as a way to slow down my reading of the book itself. Normally I fly through novellas because the story moves so fast. And, while the plot does move very quickly here, having the long verse meant I was hyper-focused on every aspect of the story. Also, the time and effort it took the author to manage to not only tell a story in a long verse but one that hooks you right from the start.
Mostly because I adored Kunigunde. She keeps a level-ish head for someone so young, and watching her fall in love and then realize why she couldn't have that love was the most beautiful ride I've been on in a while. I really could go on and on, I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad it found its way into my inbox.
The only small complaint I had was toward the end when multiple characters were interacting I had a hard time keeping up with who was talking. Which might have been a personal problem. Because after re-reading a couple of pages I got a feel for how the dialog was bouncing and jived with what was happening.
But, yeah if vampires are your thing, and you want a quick and beautiful read. Definitely give this one a check. I really enjoyed it. I also think this the most I've used the beautiful when referencing a book. So there's that!
What I didn't realize was this book was written in long verse. What I knew was it was about vampires and was sort of like an opera. All pluses in my world. Because I've never read a book set to read like an opera. But, I'm glad I took a chance at this book.
This is the beautiful love story of a girl who falls in love with a vampire, but it cannot be because she is the heir to a Hunter clan. It's a classic kind of love that was doomed from the start, but you just can look away because a part of you hopes that just maybe this time the story will end differently. Even though we all know that it won't.
The part about this book that I like the most is in the end what stops the Graf and Kunigunde apart wasn't some overly dramatic plot or a war between the Hunters and the Vampires. It's a duty, and it's such a well-played moment in the book. It was perfect. It's not tragic just sad in a way that breaks your heart. A love that almost was. Because they could usually turn their nose up at their duty and be together, but they both understand the consequences of those choices.
I was a little worried that the long verse would trip me up because it's not something I read often, or honestly see a lot in genres that call to me. But, I actually really liked the choice of long verse for the story. It not only added to the beauty of the story that was being told, but it served as a way to slow down my reading of the book itself. Normally I fly through novellas because the story moves so fast. And, while the plot does move very quickly here, having the long verse meant I was hyper-focused on every aspect of the story. Also, the time and effort it took the author to manage to not only tell a story in a long verse but one that hooks you right from the start.
Mostly because I adored Kunigunde. She keeps a level-ish head for someone so young, and watching her fall in love and then realize why she couldn't have that love was the most beautiful ride I've been on in a while. I really could go on and on, I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad it found its way into my inbox.
The only small complaint I had was toward the end when multiple characters were interacting I had a hard time keeping up with who was talking. Which might have been a personal problem. Because after re-reading a couple of pages I got a feel for how the dialog was bouncing and jived with what was happening.
But, yeah if vampires are your thing, and you want a quick and beautiful read. Definitely give this one a check. I really enjoyed it. I also think this the most I've used the beautiful when referencing a book. So there's that!
katieg4's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bombegranate's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
fozlandgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
zjnorth's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
sunbeam_reader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This story brought me to a blubbering mess by the end. Hands down one of the most beautiful love stories I've ever read and absolutely a new favorite book of mine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Grief and Sexual content
Minor: Violence
Lots of blood drinking and sex scene is not explicit but involves drinking blood (it's all consensual!)