Review: The Library Of The Unwritten

The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ahhhhh!

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Oh, it *pains* me that this book does not have more reviews and attention! This is one of those books I want to shout about from the rafters.

I've always been a sucker for books about books, I'm going to admit that right off the bat. But authors still have to be careful when deciding to write this sort of story - have to watch their step, tread carefully to make sure they're not just indulging themselves and playing into familiar tropes that don't require much creativity or effort on the part of the author.

This book is not like that in the slightest and it is so good.

Right from the beginning, we're tipped into a fascinating world. Claire is our main character, the Librarian of the Library of the Unwritten - books that never came to pass, books that wait for the potential to be. It's a fascinating concept, one that tugged at my gut because, well, are there many voracious readers out there who *haven't* imagined writing a book one day themselves?

The world building here is so intriguing, I loved it. It has a dab of Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch and a splash of The Archived but it is its own unique and compelling story and I loved so much of it.

The characters in this book are lovely, never quite what they seem. I love when that's the case, especially when the author is writing from different perspectives, but still keeping secrets, still keeping the reader guessing. There are heroes and villains but they're never quite the archetype, and though there are some things I guessed at, there were still quite a few surprises among these pages.

Claire is a fascinating and layered character - arrogant but with vulnerabilities, reserved but with much beneath the surface. She has made mistakes and lost, but she still is still a character that is eminently endearing in spite of it all, even if she frustrates you at times.

And the plot? The plot is a whole lot of fun. We get to dip in and out of other realms, each interesting and with their own merits. Nothing is as straightforward as it might seem, and there's a lot of personal growth for the characters as we go around. Leto is my baby and I'm prepared to fight for him, I'm just saying!

Ugh, just an altogether satisfying read for the weekend and this is a book where I definitely want a physical copy on my shelves. I've been approved for an ARC of the next book on Netgalley and I can't wait to read it!

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