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A review by thecandlelightlibrary
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the Berkley Publishing Group for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Library of the Unwritten is a clever, original, and humorous story about unwritten books and the librarian currently in charge of them. It’s an entertaining tale written in the form of 4 alternating view points and I could have easily spent another 400+ pages in this world!
I absolutely loved the concept of this book. An entire library devoted to unwritten stories, some which have yet to find their authors and some which never did? Books with minds of their own and characters that can escape from their pages, impressionable to everything around them? Writer’s block appears whenever the library is closed? The world building was clever and imaginative, the characters quickly grew on me, and the story kept me entertained and wanting to read more.
There were only a couple of points in The Library of the Unwritten that fell a little short for me. For instance, sometimes the character backstory wasn’t super believable (especially when the plot hinged on something major that wasn’t even hinted at before) and for a couple chapters the author’s choice of narrator didn’t immediately seem like the natural fit for that point in the story (but it usually worked itself out by the end of the chapter). The overall ending was pretty satisfying, but there were a few loose ends I wish had been tied up better. However, I enjoyed the adventure the novel took me on enough that I was willing to trust the author would eventually explain. I’m excited to see how this series progresses!
The Library of the Unwritten releases October 1st and is available for preorder on Amazon. Thank you again to NetGalley and the Berkley Publishing Group for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.
The Library of the Unwritten is a clever, original, and humorous story about unwritten books and the librarian currently in charge of them. It’s an entertaining tale written in the form of 4 alternating view points and I could have easily spent another 400+ pages in this world!
I absolutely loved the concept of this book. An entire library devoted to unwritten stories, some which have yet to find their authors and some which never did? Books with minds of their own and characters that can escape from their pages, impressionable to everything around them? Writer’s block appears whenever the library is closed? The world building was clever and imaginative, the characters quickly grew on me, and the story kept me entertained and wanting to read more.
There were only a couple of points in The Library of the Unwritten that fell a little short for me. For instance, sometimes the character backstory wasn’t super believable (especially when the plot hinged on something major that wasn’t even hinted at before) and for a couple chapters the author’s choice of narrator didn’t immediately seem like the natural fit for that point in the story (but it usually worked itself out by the end of the chapter). The overall ending was pretty satisfying, but there were a few loose ends I wish had been tied up better. However, I enjoyed the adventure the novel took me on enough that I was willing to trust the author would eventually explain. I’m excited to see how this series progresses!
The Library of the Unwritten releases October 1st and is available for preorder on Amazon. Thank you again to NetGalley and the Berkley Publishing Group for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.