Melissa B. (dragoneyes) -
Helpful Score: 1
When you see a book with such a lovely cover written by an author you think highly of, it is hard not to greedily devour it but, instead, slowly savor each word. I had to make sure I paced myself. Even so, it feels like a book that I'll need to reread in the future. Just a sense that there is so much magic in there that my mind didn't catch it all.
The story is made up of two POV's. On one end we have Livira who is from the Dust. When her settlement is attacked she finds herself and other villagers on a long journey. She winds up in a city where she ends up working in the library. Then there is Evar who has always been in the library and knows of nothing but its walls, his four adopted siblings and his caretakers. This is a library where if you are not careful you can get lost. It holds much knowledge but also many secrets. Through the labyrinth of books, you can find time traveling portals, android type assistants, and (my favorite) animal guides. Between their two tales, the story weaves a lovely tapestry that you just want to wrap around yourself.
I really enjoyed Livira's parts the best. I felt a connection. Especially reading about her always asking questions. I couldn't ask enough questions when I was younger and still find myself needing to know how everything works. Made me chuckle a couple of times when I read those parts. One thing that I've always enjoyed with Lawrence's books is his characters. He really makes it easy to bond with them. On top of that, he writes a story that you can see vividly and words that flow beautifully. So excited to read the next book in the series.
The story is made up of two POV's. On one end we have Livira who is from the Dust. When her settlement is attacked she finds herself and other villagers on a long journey. She winds up in a city where she ends up working in the library. Then there is Evar who has always been in the library and knows of nothing but its walls, his four adopted siblings and his caretakers. This is a library where if you are not careful you can get lost. It holds much knowledge but also many secrets. Through the labyrinth of books, you can find time traveling portals, android type assistants, and (my favorite) animal guides. Between their two tales, the story weaves a lovely tapestry that you just want to wrap around yourself.
I really enjoyed Livira's parts the best. I felt a connection. Especially reading about her always asking questions. I couldn't ask enough questions when I was younger and still find myself needing to know how everything works. Made me chuckle a couple of times when I read those parts. One thing that I've always enjoyed with Lawrence's books is his characters. He really makes it easy to bond with them. On top of that, he writes a story that you can see vividly and words that flow beautifully. So excited to read the next book in the series.
Laura P. (hemmputnam) reviewed The Book That Wouldn't Burn (Library, Bk 1) on + 1115 more book reviews
At over 550 pages, this was just too much for me. I enjoy fantasy from authors like Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs. This had a lot more philosophy, ambiguity, isolation and a to be continued ending that means I won't be picking up book 2. I enjoyed the library setting but there was lots of wandering around and (not surprising given the title) it burns! I appreciated the strong female lead and the plot twist but did not like the amount of time our heros spent apart. I don't always do well with time travel plot lines and this was one of those - sometimes the characters are ghosts who can see what is happening but cannot impact events - I find that frustrating for the characters and for me. I liked the strong writing that made me care about these people and fun quotations at the beginning of each chapter, but endless war hit a little too close to the real world headlines today for me to enjoy this book.
