fish_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I think I was in a bit of a book slump when I started this, but it was kind of hard to dig in. As always with VE Schwab books, it kind of throws you into the world and explains bit by bit, but this one was much less confusing than some of her others. It was paced really well, and I really enjoyed the sort of subverted love triangle. I thought this whole world was really creative, and I think Schwab’s style of everything-is-a-mystery until it isn’t worked incredibly well for the story.
angelarosebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
miichelles's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
5.0
there has yet to be a book from V.E. Schwab that i doesn’t ensare me in it’s world.
sam_the_librarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ashleighbeanxo's review against another edition
5.0
Mackenzie Bishop is a Keeper. Not in a sporting sense, or that she'll make someone very happy one day. No, you see, Mackenzie, since the age of 12 years old, has been making sure dead people stay dead. When someone dies, they make a History, and the Histories are kept in an Archive. Sometimes the Histories wake up and escape, and it's up to Keepers to bring them back to the Archive.
Mackenzie's grandfather was a Keeper, and before he dies, he names her as his successor. Normally you have to be 16 years old to join as a Keeper, but Mackenzie manages to impress one of the Librarians, Roland, and she's the youngest Keeper to be anointed.
One year after the death of her younger brother Ben, Mackenzie and her family move into an apartment building which used to be a hotel. Her mother is planning on turning the cafe downstairs into a family business, but Mackenzie has more important things on her mind. Like the fact that so many Histories are running loose in the area, and one of them appears armed with a knife. Just how are the Histories escaping? Is someone helping them?
I really enjoyed this book. I love the majority of stuff that comes from Victoria Schwab, under whatever name, but this has to be one of my favourites from her. The concept of the dead being kept in an archive was just fascinating for me, and I managed to devour this book in a few hours.
One of my favourite characters in this book was Wes. I don't think we saw enough of him, and I loved the relationship between him and Mackenzie. I think he was good for her, in a sense that
The mystery of the Histories was intriguing, and I had a few suspicions as to what was going down, but I didn't guess the full story. The ending had me on the edge of my seat, and I already can't wait to read the second one.
Mackenzie's grandfather was a Keeper, and before he dies, he names her as his successor. Normally you have to be 16 years old to join as a Keeper, but Mackenzie manages to impress one of the Librarians, Roland, and she's the youngest Keeper to be anointed.
One year after the death of her younger brother Ben, Mackenzie and her family move into an apartment building which used to be a hotel. Her mother is planning on turning the cafe downstairs into a family business, but Mackenzie has more important things on her mind. Like the fact that so many Histories are running loose in the area, and one of them appears armed with a knife. Just how are the Histories escaping? Is someone helping them?
I really enjoyed this book. I love the majority of stuff that comes from Victoria Schwab, under whatever name, but this has to be one of my favourites from her. The concept of the dead being kept in an archive was just fascinating for me, and I managed to devour this book in a few hours.
One of my favourite characters in this book was Wes. I don't think we saw enough of him, and I loved the relationship between him and Mackenzie. I think he was good for her, in a sense that
Spoiler
she could be herself around him and not have to lie about being a Keeper. I hope in the next book their flirtation blossoms into something more!!The mystery of the Histories was intriguing, and I had a few suspicions as to what was going down, but I didn't guess the full story. The ending had me on the edge of my seat, and I already can't wait to read the second one.
behi's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a unique book.I enjoyed the concept and didn't get disappointed at the ending either.I honestly don't know why ADSOM is so much more popular than this book.I believe it's as good as the ADSOM series, even better
jillie's review against another edition
3.25
This was an entertaining read. I liked pretty much all of the characters. The first half was pretty boring though, I almost DNFd. I probably would have rated it higher had I not figured out who was doing everything. Was kind of obvious to me…
But I still think it’s worth the read.
2/16/23
But I still think it’s worth the read.
2/16/23
daddysauron's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
probablyytori's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it, but...
I don't think I've ever been so conflicted on my thoughts about a book in my life. On one hand, I really enjoyed this book. It had a great premise, great characters (*cough* Wesley *cough*), and wonderful writing. But on the other hand, it started out pretty slow and for the first 40% of The Archived, I could've cared less. I guess that shows when my Goodreads account tells me that it took me 5 months to finish this book.
As you can see, my updates went from "I'm intrigued" in April to "SHIT WENT DOWN" in August.
Mackenzie was badass
As a protagonist, Mackenzie was pretty freaking awesome. Her grandfather, referred to in the novel as "Da" taught her everything she knew about the Archive, the place where the dead are stacked on shelves like books (as the synopsis so accurately describes it). At first, she's a bit uptight and she lies a lot, but as the novel progresses, so does Mackenzie. She begins to trust other characters with her secrets whether she likes it or not.
There are skeletons in Mac's closet for sure. Her younger brother Ben, age 10, died in a hit and run (not a spoiler. Revealed within the first few chapters), and she wants desperately to get him out of the Archive, but she can't since Histories (the dead) go crazy once they're awoken from their slumber. I think Wes really hit the nail on the head when he talks to Mac about her brother.
I think there's so much truth in what Wes said. When someone important to you or your entire family passes away, I believe that they're imprinted on your lives regardless of how long it has been. Some people are just never meant to be forgotten.
Wes is bae
To put it in a short term that I got from Alexa, Wes is bae. Wes is frekaing bae, okay? And don't even get me started on Guyliner. That's quite possibly the best term I have ever heard.
Need I say more? Wesley is bae. Not only is he Guyliner, but he's hilarious, reliable, and confident (do not mistake confident with cocky). He's everything I'd want in a boyf--ahem, friend. Because him and Mackenzie are just friends...right? I ship it.
The Beginning vs The Ending
Like I said at the beginning, the ending is the best part. The first 40% was, in short, boring. Nothing much happened. Mackenzie moved. Mackenzie sent Histories (the dead) to the Return (back to the Archive). Mackenzie met Wesley. Mackenzie met Owen. Mackenzie--
Oh, right. When Mackenzie met Owen, that's when things started getting real interesting. I'm not willing to spoil anything, so I'll put my next thoughts in spoiler tags. (spoiler)Okay, let me just say that I'm freaking pissed that Owen betrayed Mackenzie like that. I didn't expect him at all. On the other hand, I very much expected Carmen. Sure, Roland was the obvious suspicion, and that's exactly why he wasn't the culprit. But Owen? C'mon. Owen! He was so...sweet and depressed and gentle and confused and just...ugh.
And the explanation to why he didn't slip? Oh my god, I swear my entire universe made sense at the time.(/spoiler) Anyway. Holy crap, the ending was amazing. Don't get me wrong--read this book regardless of my issues with the beginning. It's really good. Everything was wrapped up and made sense. I don't think there are any plot holes, and if there are they aren't significant.
Owen, Owen, Owen
It will be extremely difficult to talk about Owen without giving anything away, so I'm just going to jump right in and say it:
I wasn't very pleased with the way that Owen and Mac's relationship progressed. I'm not really sure if this is a spoiler or not, so skip the rest of this paragraph if you want to go into this book blind (it's not a bad spoiler, I promise). I hated how Owen kissed Mackenzie just to make her feel better. I mean, who even does that? And you know what was even worse? When Mackenzie went along with it. She called it her "escape" and compared it to smoking, which was what Da did to escape the Archive.
Honestly, that and the beginning are the biggest issues I have with this book. Otherwise, it was great (how many times can I say that it was great?).
The Lowdown
The Archived, while not as strong in the beginning as it was in the end, was a great read, and I'd gladly read it again. There's just something about Wes and Mac's relationship that makes me want to return the dead back to their rightful shelf spot if I got to meet a Wes of my own. The writing was spot on and kept me interested enough. The beginning was a bit slow but once I got 40% through, the pages flew by. Although the relationship between Mac and Owen irritated me the more the book progressed, I'd definitely recommend this to others!
(Sorry guys, I can't resist the 5 Seconds of Summer gifs. Alexa sends them; I save them.)
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I don't think I've ever been so conflicted on my thoughts about a book in my life. On one hand, I really enjoyed this book. It had a great premise, great characters (*cough* Wesley *cough*), and wonderful writing. But on the other hand, it started out pretty slow and for the first 40% of The Archived, I could've cared less. I guess that shows when my Goodreads account tells me that it took me 5 months to finish this book.
As you can see, my updates went from "I'm intrigued" in April to "SHIT WENT DOWN" in August.
Mackenzie was badass
As a protagonist, Mackenzie was pretty freaking awesome. Her grandfather, referred to in the novel as "Da" taught her everything she knew about the Archive, the place where the dead are stacked on shelves like books (as the synopsis so accurately describes it). At first, she's a bit uptight and she lies a lot, but as the novel progresses, so does Mackenzie. She begins to trust other characters with her secrets whether she likes it or not.
The first trick to lying is to tell the truth as often as possible. If you start lying about everything, big and small, it becomes impossible to keep things straight, and you'll get caught. Once suspicion is planted it becomes exponentially harder to sell the next lie.
There are skeletons in Mac's closet for sure. Her younger brother Ben, age 10, died in a hit and run (not a spoiler. Revealed within the first few chapters), and she wants desperately to get him out of the Archive, but she can't since Histories (the dead) go crazy once they're awoken from their slumber. I think Wes really hit the nail on the head when he talks to Mac about her brother.
"I didn't mean to look, Mac, but he's right at the surface. he's written all over your family."
I think there's so much truth in what Wes said. When someone important to you or your entire family passes away, I believe that they're imprinted on your lives regardless of how long it has been. Some people are just never meant to be forgotten.
Wes is bae
To put it in a short term that I got from Alexa, Wes is bae. Wes is frekaing bae, okay? And don't even get me started on Guyliner. That's quite possibly the best term I have ever heard.
"Well, so far I've met a morbidly obese antiques hoarder, and a boy who wears eyeliner."
"They call that guyliner," [Lyndsey] says.
Need I say more? Wesley is bae. Not only is he Guyliner, but he's hilarious, reliable, and confident (do not mistake confident with cocky). He's everything I'd want in a boyf--ahem, friend. Because him and Mackenzie are just friends...right? I ship it.
The Beginning vs The Ending
Like I said at the beginning, the ending is the best part. The first 40% was, in short, boring. Nothing much happened. Mackenzie moved. Mackenzie sent Histories (the dead) to the Return (back to the Archive). Mackenzie met Wesley. Mackenzie met Owen. Mackenzie--
Oh, right. When Mackenzie met Owen, that's when things started getting real interesting. I'm not willing to spoil anything, so I'll put my next thoughts in spoiler tags. (spoiler)Okay, let me just say that I'm freaking pissed that Owen betrayed Mackenzie like that. I didn't expect him at all. On the other hand, I very much expected Carmen. Sure, Roland was the obvious suspicion, and that's exactly why he wasn't the culprit. But Owen? C'mon. Owen! He was so...sweet and depressed and gentle and confused and just...ugh.
And the explanation to why he didn't slip? Oh my god, I swear my entire universe made sense at the time.(/spoiler) Anyway. Holy crap, the ending was amazing. Don't get me wrong--read this book regardless of my issues with the beginning. It's really good. Everything was wrapped up and made sense. I don't think there are any plot holes, and if there are they aren't significant.
Owen, Owen, Owen
It will be extremely difficult to talk about Owen without giving anything away, so I'm just going to jump right in and say it:
I wasn't very pleased with the way that Owen and Mac's relationship progressed. I'm not really sure if this is a spoiler or not, so skip the rest of this paragraph if you want to go into this book blind (it's not a bad spoiler, I promise). I hated how Owen kissed Mackenzie just to make her feel better. I mean, who even does that? And you know what was even worse? When Mackenzie went along with it. She called it her "escape" and compared it to smoking, which was what Da did to escape the Archive.
Honestly, that and the beginning are the biggest issues I have with this book. Otherwise, it was great (how many times can I say that it was great?).
The Lowdown
The Archived, while not as strong in the beginning as it was in the end, was a great read, and I'd gladly read it again. There's just something about Wes and Mac's relationship that makes me want to return the dead back to their rightful shelf spot if I got to meet a Wes of my own. The writing was spot on and kept me interested enough. The beginning was a bit slow but once I got 40% through, the pages flew by. Although the relationship between Mac and Owen irritated me the more the book progressed, I'd definitely recommend this to others!
(Sorry guys, I can't resist the 5 Seconds of Summer gifs. Alexa sends them; I save them.)
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