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sauvageloup's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
a fun supernatural, dystopian mystery read, enjoyed it.
pros:
- the writing style was different and fun. I got a real sense of who Ropa was and liked her a lot. her character comes through through the writing, with a quirky mix of slang and complicated language and concepts. shes both smart and street smart.
- I also really loved priya and gran as side characters, they were great. priya was a lot of fun to read, and ropa's love for her gran was obvious.
- there was also some lovely descriptions in Huchu's writing, creating a great atmosphere.
- the horror was also genuinely creepy with the Brounie, the eyeless milkman, the unaging siobhan
- while the mystery was great, the tensions ropa had about still bringing money in and helping her family felt very real. she really feels she has to carry everything and doesnt tell anyone older than her, apart from Callender, who fails her.
- I likes the dystopian Edinburgh a lot, made a nice change from London, and the implied breakdown of society which was hinted at but never entirely explained, was interesting.
- priya's magical wheelchair was fab, really interesting application of magic.
- and the bits of African culture, the mbira helping ground the spirits and gran's magic, were great, enjoyed learning about them.
cons:
- I never got a real sense of Jomo, he seemed quite hapless and not particularly helpful, didnt quite get Ropa's loyalty to him.
- occasionally the slang dialogue did feel a bit forced but not often.
- the two main bits of the plot seemed very disparat . the creepy brounie house and the children having elixir made from them were only barely linked.
- I did get a bit frustrated with the refusal to give an in depth explanation of a lot of things, like the collapse of Edinburgh, why the milkman had no eyes, why only the faces of the kids got old, what happened with Ropa's mum, why Ropa's magic didnt work (tho I guess it said at the end that she just needed to be angry enough), how Priya's wheelchair magic worked (why could she go on ceilings but not up a steep hill?). I mean, it's a mystery story and a series so some of these are understandable but there did seem to be a bit too much vagueness at times.
but overall, really enjoyed this read :)
pros:
- the writing style was different and fun. I got a real sense of who Ropa was and liked her a lot. her character comes through through the writing, with a quirky mix of slang and complicated language and concepts. shes both smart and street smart.
- I also really loved priya and gran as side characters, they were great. priya was a lot of fun to read, and ropa's love for her gran was obvious.
- there was also some lovely descriptions in Huchu's writing, creating a great atmosphere.
- the horror was also genuinely creepy
- while the mystery was great, the tensions ropa had about still bringing money in and helping her family felt very real. she really feels she has to carry everything and doesnt tell anyone older than her, apart from Callender, who fails her.
- I likes the dystopian Edinburgh a lot, made a nice change from London, and the implied breakdown of society which was hinted at but never entirely explained, was interesting.
- priya's magical wheelchair was fab, really interesting application of magic.
- and the bits of African culture, the mbira helping ground the spirits and gran's magic, were great, enjoyed learning about them.
cons:
- I never got a real sense of Jomo, he seemed quite hapless and not particularly helpful, didnt quite get Ropa's loyalty to him.
- occasionally the slang dialogue did feel a bit forced but not often.
- the two main bits of the plot seemed very disparat .
- I did get a bit frustrated with the refusal to give an in depth explanation of a lot of things, like
but overall, really enjoyed this read :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexism
a past character's gambling addiction is discussed.carrionlibrarian's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
I didn't love it, but I like it enough to want to read the sequel.
I think Ropa, Priya, and Ropa's family are good characters but some of the story I sort of glanced through without actually reading. I felt there was a lot of the book that was just written to fill space. I know for some people, they need all the imagery or details, but for me it can slow the story down.
I think Ropa, Priya, and Ropa's family are good characters but some of the story I sort of glanced through without actually reading. I felt there was a lot of the book that was just written to fill space. I know for some people, they need all the imagery or details, but for me it can slow the story down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Gore, and Car accident
atlantiareads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The Library of the Dead was not my typical read, but was a nice change of pace. Theres a good mystery and great cast of characters. I found this book to quite creept at times. Even though the main character is 14, this book i feel like is definitely better suited to an older age range.
Overall i felt the first 130 pages were too slow and were difficult to get through. Truthfully consideted dnf'ing.
I feel like learning more about the greatly detailed magic system and spending more time in the hidden library would have brought me more enjoyment with this book.
Unsure if I will continue on to book 2.
Overall i felt the first 130 pages were too slow and were difficult to get through. Truthfully consideted dnf'ing.
I feel like learning more about the greatly detailed magic system and spending more time in the hidden library would have brought me more enjoyment with this book.
Unsure if I will continue on to book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Police brutality, and Medical trauma
lefthandlou's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Grief
bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
This was really hard for me to get into. The premise is intriguing- a girl who delivers messages for the dead gets caught up in solving a series of kidnappings- but I was severely hindered by the multitude of slang words and phrases dripping off every page. I can’t even decipher which ones are part of this post-catastrophe world or which ones are just Scottish.
The magic system used is a lot more analytical and mathematical than I tend to prefer. The characters are pretty frustrating since no one ever explains anything and they all just exist in a perpetual state of trying to seem cool.
I don’t think I’ll be continuing this series for my own sanity.
The magic system used is a lot more analytical and mathematical than I tend to prefer. The characters are pretty frustrating since no one ever explains anything and they all just exist in a perpetual state of trying to seem cool.
I don’t think I’ll be continuing this series for my own sanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
oldladysadie's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I absolutely love Ropa, her Gran and her Zimbabwean magic using the mbira. I wish we got more of that, or at least saw more of the Scottish magic system in use throughout the book.
At times, it felt like this book was trying to be two different stories at once. There was the supernatural mystery with Nicola and the search for Ollie, and there was the titular Library of the Dead (which didn’t factor into the main narrative nearly as much as I expected going in, given it’s the title of the novel).
I still feel like Ropa, Priya and their respective magics are a breath of fresh air, and will most likely read further in the series. I hope future installments spend more time exploring the magic systems that have been set up, though, and that we get more time with the side characters to really get to know them.
At times, it felt like this book was trying to be two different stories at once. There was the supernatural mystery with Nicola and the search for Ollie, and there was the titular Library of the Dead (which didn’t factor into the main narrative nearly as much as I expected going in, given it’s the title of the novel).
I still feel like Ropa, Priya and their respective magics are a breath of fresh air, and will most likely read further in the series. I hope future installments spend more time exploring the magic systems that have been set up, though, and that we get more time with the side characters to really get to know them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse and Police brutality
Minor: Addiction and Alcohol
pvbobrien's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The Library Of the Dead was a tricky book because there are a lot of interesting things, but I struggled with the execution. The book is written in first person with a lot of slang, which is fine, but the protagonist rambles. It has a very “inner monologue” feel and it slowed down the narrative. Add to that: the library mentioned in the title only appears in a couple chapters, and the plot didn’t really get going until halfway through the book, and this was a struggle for me.
The magical concepts were interesting, but the system was infodumped and the protagonist’s explanation came off a bit impatient with the whole thing. I still haven’t nailed down the time period (futuristic but with loads of contemporary pop culture references?). The descriptions of magic were good and the plot was interesting, but delivery was simplified and overly lucky.
In general, the book was interesting to read, but a bit too messy to hold my interest for a re-read or continuation.
The magical concepts were interesting, but the system was infodumped and the protagonist’s explanation came off a bit impatient with the whole thing. I still haven’t nailed down the time period (futuristic but with loads of contemporary pop culture references?). The descriptions of magic were good and the plot was interesting, but delivery was simplified and overly lucky.
In general, the book was interesting to read, but a bit too messy to hold my interest for a re-read or continuation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Medical content
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
The main character is BIPOC and a supporting character uses a wheelchair. Characters experience poverty.arlaubscher's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Trafficking