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emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I really enjoyed reading this. I had been looking for a fantasy to sink my teeth into and this was teeth-sinkable for sure. The writing style was really well done; I liked the tone it leant to the novel and the ways in which setting, characters, objects (etc.) were described.
The multiple POVs were an unexpected delight. It gave so much breadth to the story, insight into characters, and the satisfaction of disparate tales weaving together. All the POV characters were distinct, and I liked that Chee gave them all nuance in their motives. I.e., the "bad guys" had more going on than "must do bad things". I particularly liked Reed's character, in his almost-obsession with himself and his loved ones being remembered by doing great deeds that will grant them immortality in oral storytelling.
The romance was, thankfully, unobnoxious. It didn't take away from the story, and felt very minor considering the multiple POVs. Also, I actually liked Archer, the male LI, as a character, which definitely helped.
The most captivating part of this book was how meta it was. Not just in how the MC was philosophising about being a main character in a book, but also in the physical elements of the actual book itself. For example, there's a message in the page numbers, and some pages have burnt or blacked out parts and finger smudges. It was trippy to wrap my head around how the book I held in my hands related to "The Book".
I do have a couple of criticisms. The first is that the world-building was pretty standard. We don't get much of a deep dive into the character of each island, how they are culturally and physically different from one another. This left the world feeling shallow. But the Library did add uniqueness, as did hints of other aspects that may come out to play in the next two books. The magic system was pretty cool, especially seeing it in use. But we only really saw one aspect of it at that.
The second flaw I found was that not a whole lot happened over the course of the story. While there were fights and challenges to keep the reader engaged, it was all pretty straight-forward and linear, especially as the MC's journey is literally marked on the map at the beginning of the book.
The multiple POVs were an unexpected delight. It gave so much breadth to the story, insight into characters, and the satisfaction of disparate tales weaving together. All the POV characters were distinct, and I liked that Chee gave them all nuance in their motives. I.e., the "bad guys" had more going on than "must do bad things". I particularly liked Reed's character, in his almost-obsession with himself and his loved ones being remembered by doing great deeds that will grant them immortality in oral storytelling.
The romance was, thankfully, unobnoxious. It didn't take away from the story, and felt very minor considering the multiple POVs. Also, I actually liked Archer, the male LI, as a character, which definitely helped.
The most captivating part of this book was how meta it was. Not just in how the MC was philosophising about being a main character in a book, but also in the physical elements of the actual book itself. For example, there's a message in the page numbers, and some pages have burnt or blacked out parts and finger smudges. It was trippy to wrap my head around how the book I held in my hands related to "The Book".
I do have a couple of criticisms. The first is that the world-building was pretty standard. We don't get much of a deep dive into the character of each island, how they are culturally and physically different from one another. This left the world feeling shallow. But the Library did add uniqueness, as did hints of other aspects that may come out to play in the next two books. The magic system was pretty cool, especially seeing it in use. But we only really saw one aspect of it at that.
The second flaw I found was that not a whole lot happened over the course of the story. While there were fights and challenges to keep the reader engaged, it was all pretty straight-forward and linear, especially as the MC's journey is literally marked on the map at the beginning of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Terminal illness, Medical content, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Moderate: loss of a loved one, PTSD Minor: theft, gambling, drought, famine