mattiedancer's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
- Fans of fantasy mixed with sci-fi
- Fans of complex fantasy worlds
- Fans of characters who love (or live in) academia
- Lovers of books and fantasy novels
- Someone looking for a new, unique read and isn’t afraid of a complex world state.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gore, Gun violence, Car accident, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, and Animal death
anewton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence
karanextweek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There were a couple points in the book where I guessed what was going to happen (and wanted to strangle Irene for taking so long to see it!) and a few times I was genuinely surprised.
My only complaint is the teacher/student sexual tension trope. It’s weird and icky and I don’t like it.
Moderate: Violence and Gun violence
Minor: Vomit and Sexism
mblanke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual content
katievallin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Gun violence, Murder, Body horror, Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Racism, Violence, Car accident, Death, and Gore
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, and Stalking
bethanycrowepowell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Death, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Ableism
Pivots quickly from intellectual banter to excruciating magical effects and squicky dead body things. Not overly detailed, but runs the darker side of "fantasy violence".leeang's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A twisting (albeit not very surprising) mystery plot line with lovable characters! There ARE some whacky surprises in store though.
Spoiler
I did not see the alligators coming!I just enjoyed this book! It was fun and easy and I’m honestly looking forward to book two.
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, and Confinement
Moderate: Violence
starrysteph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
We're dropped into the secret society of the Library, which exists between alternate worlds and collects unique works of fiction. We follow Librarian Irene and her fresh assistant Kai as they attempt to recover a stolen book, unravel a mystery, & get out of a whole lot of trouble.
It's a playful mystery story, though it suffers a bit from underdeveloped/simple characters who lack the insight they perhaps should have had. I can imagine it would be more fun for perhaps young readers who don't catch on to the (fairly obvious) clues and suspicious situations.
The worldbuilding was intriguing and I actually liked being dropped RIGHT into the action and catching up as we went along. And of course - as a person who loves to read - a book about a mysterious society of Librarians is a pretty delightful concept. This is a long series with spin offs and I would consider reading more tales set in the world! Maybe the plotting & characterization has greater depth as we go on?
CW: body horror, injury, blood, death, violence, murder, animal death, sexual content, ableism, sexism
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Gore, Medical content, and Sexism
clarabooksit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, and Sexism
jessitheblonde's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Violence