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monica98's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
On paper, it's everything I normally love ghosts, libraries, a mystery but it was not very well executed in my opinion. For being only like 300 pages so much happened with not a lot of payoff. The last 100 pages were a miss so much was introduced but only given a page and then jumped to a new thing. Also, the way texts were sent made me want to rip my eyes out had to decipher them to make them make sense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
The Library of the Dead is a very different kind of book than I was expecting. I conciously did not look up reviews for this book so I really had no idea the actual library wasn't quite as big of a part of the story as I thought it would. The Library of the Dead is not a bad book but expectations and a few other things stopped me from loving this story.
We follow Ropa, a ghosttalker who is just trying to make some money to keep paying the rent the place she lives with her grandmother and her sister. She sends messages between ghosts and their living relatives. Its a hard but simple life. But when ghost mother contacts her to find out what happened to her son she gets thrown in all kind of holes of Edinburgh she had no idea about yet.
Ropa has a very distinct voice which I think is a great thing. But I have to be honest and say that it took me very long to really get into it. Everytime I picked it back up I needed to get back into it again and that took some of the flow out of the story for me. I also had a bit of a bone to pick with how some of the magic was explained through Ropa reading passages of books. That was pretty dry.
When it comes to the world building the actual idea of the setting and the magic is really interesting. I think we got a good idea of what was important to the story but there is still a lot left to be discovered in other books. I loved that Ropa had to work a bit for the magic by figuring out what would work for her.
I did find it annoying that there was a reference to an incident in the past which is what shaped Edinburgh to what it is today. Yet there is never a good explanation of that.
With a title like The Library of the Dead I really thought we would be having more time with the library. Instead it is just something that is used in the background. I guess I was dissapointed by that. It doesn't seem like such an awesome place with those grumpy people in there.
I did like the addition of Priya and the Zimbabwean roots we see shining through.
We follow Ropa, a ghosttalker who is just trying to make some money to keep paying the rent the place she lives with her grandmother and her sister. She sends messages between ghosts and their living relatives. Its a hard but simple life. But when ghost mother contacts her to find out what happened to her son she gets thrown in all kind of holes of Edinburgh she had no idea about yet.
Ropa has a very distinct voice which I think is a great thing. But I have to be honest and say that it took me very long to really get into it. Everytime I picked it back up I needed to get back into it again and that took some of the flow out of the story for me. I also had a bit of a bone to pick with how some of the magic was explained through Ropa reading passages of books. That was pretty dry.
When it comes to the world building the actual idea of the setting and the magic is really interesting. I think we got a good idea of what was important to the story but there is still a lot left to be discovered in other books. I loved that Ropa had to work a bit for the magic by figuring out what would work for her.
I did find it annoying that there was a reference to an incident in the past which is what shaped Edinburgh to what it is today. Yet there is never a good explanation of that.
With a title like The Library of the Dead I really thought we would be having more time with the library. Instead it is just something that is used in the background. I guess I was dissapointed by that. It doesn't seem like such an awesome place with those grumpy people in there.
I did like the addition of Priya and the Zimbabwean roots we see shining through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, and Death of parent
ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
c_dmckinney's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
emily_journals's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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
4.0
I always love a good ghost story. Throw in a secret society with an underground library AND a whole magic system? SOLD!
The ghost system (is that a thing?) in this book was pretty cool, I loved the way all of the ghosts and the ways of communicating with the ghosts was conveyed and constructed, I found it to be fun and unique. Also, the magic system was interesting, I really like the combination between the old/traditional magic methods and the newer magic methods throughout the book. Additionally, I really loved the characters in this book. They felt so multi-dimensional and realistic. None of the characters was 100% good, but none was 100% bad either, they all had differing motivations and characterization.
Onto the negative points, there is a random storyline in the middle that doesn't really seem to fit into the rest of the book (if you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about).
The Brownie Storyline.
I think the point of it was to add to the magic system and assist with some of the world building, but it felt pretty out of place. Other point, the ending was pretty abrupt. When I first read (or listened, rather) to this book, I was like "did my audiobook pause? did my headphones stop working?" and then I checked my phone and was like "oh wow, it's over??". It can be explained by the fact that this book is part of a series, but I still think there could have been a little more of a conclusion/winddown.
Overall, this book was really enjoyable and I REALLY loved the magic system and world that was built, so I will definitely be continuing on with this series.
The ghost system (is that a thing?) in this book was pretty cool, I loved the way all of the ghosts and the ways of communicating with the ghosts was conveyed and constructed, I found it to be fun and unique. Also, the magic system was interesting, I really like the combination between the old/traditional magic methods and the newer magic methods throughout the book. Additionally, I really loved the characters in this book. They felt so multi-dimensional and realistic. None of the characters was 100% good, but none was 100% bad either, they all had differing motivations and characterization.
Onto the negative points, there is a random storyline in the middle that doesn't really seem to fit into the rest of the book (if you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about).
I think the point of it was to add to the magic system and assist with some of the world building, but it felt pretty out of place. Other point, the ending was pretty abrupt. When I first read (or listened, rather) to this book, I was like "did my audiobook pause? did my headphones stop working?" and then I checked my phone and was like "oh wow, it's over??". It can be explained by the fact that this book is part of a series, but I still think there could have been a little more of a conclusion/winddown.
Overall, this book was really enjoyable and I REALLY loved the magic system and world that was built, so I will definitely be continuing on with this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent and Classism
Minor: Violence and Grief
e_flah's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-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
3.0
I enjoyed the first half of The Library of the Dead far more than the back half. The story starts out strong with Ropa's unique narrative voice, an intriguing world that's reminiscent of ours but eerily different, and a rich portrayal of magic. However, the execution of the mystery didn't quite work for me.
The mystery at the heart of The Library of the Dead takes a few very weird turns that were never really explained, which drove me nuts. I'm here for weird supernatural stuff but an explanation or two -- especially when we got huge paragraphs on spell casting and other magical lore -- would've made a huge difference in my enjoyment of the story. The pacing was also a bit rushed. The first half of The Library of the Dead is interesting but fairly slow, propelled mainly by the reader's interest in Ropa as a main character. The back half was a wild race from one major plot point to the other before an anti-climactic resolution to the mystery.
The vaguely post-apocalyptic, magical Edinburgh was an intriguing setting to me. This is the element of The Library of the Dead that makes me more likely to pick up another book in the series. I'd desperately love to know what happened to make the world this way, what the deal is with the Library of the Dead, and what other wild, magical things are happening in Ropa's world.
The mystery at the heart of The Library of the Dead takes a few very weird turns that were never really explained, which drove me nuts. I'm here for weird supernatural stuff but an explanation or two -- especially when we got huge paragraphs on spell casting and other magical lore -- would've made a huge difference in my enjoyment of the story. The pacing was also a bit rushed. The first half of The Library of the Dead is interesting but fairly slow, propelled mainly by the reader's interest in Ropa as a main character. The back half was a wild race from one major plot point to the other before an anti-climactic resolution to the mystery.
The vaguely post-apocalyptic, magical Edinburgh was an intriguing setting to me. This is the element of The Library of the Dead that makes me more likely to pick up another book in the series. I'd desperately love to know what happened to make the world this way, what the deal is with the Library of the Dead, and what other wild, magical things are happening in Ropa's world.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Violence
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
2.5
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an alc of this book.
Ropa can talk to ghosts, and she uses this ability for her job relaying messages between ghosts and their living family and friends. But a lot more is going on behind the veil in this alternative universe Scotland, and Ropa will have to use all her knowledge of magic to help save the day.
I have to admit, I really struggled with this book. I had trouble following what was happening in the audio, whether that was because of the narrator's accent, or something else, I'm unsure, but I know that it was extremely difficult for me to follow the story. It seems like such an interesting concept to me, and I was really excited to read it, but it just fell kind of flat and never ended up drawing me in enough. I could see potentially enjoying this book more if I were reading a physical copy, and might give it another chance one day!
Pub date: June 1, 2021
Ropa can talk to ghosts, and she uses this ability for her job relaying messages between ghosts and their living family and friends. But a lot more is going on behind the veil in this alternative universe Scotland, and Ropa will have to use all her knowledge of magic to help save the day.
I have to admit, I really struggled with this book. I had trouble following what was happening in the audio, whether that was because of the narrator's accent, or something else, I'm unsure, but I know that it was extremely difficult for me to follow the story. It seems like such an interesting concept to me, and I was really excited to read it, but it just fell kind of flat and never ended up drawing me in enough. I could see potentially enjoying this book more if I were reading a physical copy, and might give it another chance one day!
Pub date: June 1, 2021
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Kidnapping
kamreadsandrecs's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
... Most of the novel is dedicated to world-building, and the mystery at the heart of the novel is rather thin, though there are some interesting (though perhaps somewhat predictable) twists and turns in it. The library mentioned in the title is not even the story’s central focus, since the mystery plot occurs primarily outside of it. The main thing holding this book together is Ropa, and it’s fortunate that she is interesting to read about.
Full review here: wp.me/p21txV-JP
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Police brutality