We love buddy reading books to get through our TBR’s a little bit faster. And one of the books we read recently is Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith. We both had this one of our TBR’s for a while now and were suddenly in the mood to pick it up. So that is exactly what we did. And today we’re sharing our thoughts with you all. Let’s jump in!

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In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren't finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.
Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing—a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.
But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell ... and Earth.

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The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
Published by Ace Books on 01/10/2019
Pages: 384
Goodreads

Cover

Candyce The cover for The Library of the Unwritten is definitely a bit creepy. Before even knowing what the book was about I wanted to read it for the cover alone. I mean someone crawling out of the pages of a book is a bit scary!

“Forgiven doesn’t mean no regret. We’ll always regret the wrongs we’ve done. It just means you’re not punishing yourself for it.”

Isabelle I really enjoy this cover. It has a very sinister feel in my opinion and it peaked my interest right away. I also really like that the text in the back is in what looks to be like French.

“Claire lived by the firm moral philosophy that one could never have too many pockets, too many books, or too much tea.”

Review

Candyce When The Library of the Unwritten released quite a few friends had read it and all seemed to love it. I read the synopsis quite some time ago, so when Isabelle and I decided to pick this one up I really didn’t know what to expect. I can truly say that this book lived up to its hype.

This book is more than just about Hell’s library. I mean there are many unwritten books here and I thought that was such an interesting concept. Books that were in their authors minds, but never completed. The idea that a character could come out of their book was also definitely interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like it. Truly unique.

Our characters are on a journey to find the pages of a certain book and this doesn’t go easily. While they’re busy the relationships really grow and I loved all of the characters. We had Hero who gave us some humor and sarcasm, but was also so much more. Leto, the demon, who may be more human than you think. Brevity, the assistant, who was inspirational, but also doubted herself a bit at times. And Claire, our librarian,who goes from only wanting to protect the library to being so much more. The bond they all end up having with each other and their growth was really my favorite aspect of the story.

The Library of the Unwritten is also filled with some turns I didn’t see coming and is definitely action packed at times. I loved that it made me laugh, but also had me really feeling for all of the characters I’ve come to love. A.J. Hackwith has an amazing way with words and I can’t wait to pick up the sequel. This is honestly a book that’s hard to review, but I really recommend it to anyone who is looking for an interesting adventure with characters you can’t help but love. And I would love to have my own humongous library.

“The pain in death isn’t the dying. It’s the wounds we leave in our wake.”

Isabelle As soon as I read the title, I was interested in this novel. And after seeing some of my friends enjoying it, I got even more excited. I’ve had this book on my shelves for almost a year now but luckily I finally read it. Apart from reading the paperback, I also listened to the audiobook. And that audiobook was really well done!

Once again, while reading I realized I didn’t read the whole synopsis beforehand, haha. I thought I knew what this book was about, but I quickly realized I didn’t know where the story was going. And that was very enjoyable, I was surprised by the turns and the direction of the story but in a pleasant way! I really liked the plot of the story and I’m excited to read the sequel.

However, what I liked most about this book were the characters and their relationships. I loved reading about them so much! They truly were a found family and that is one of my favorite things ever in books. Claire is the librarian and it was lovely seeing how she slowly changed over the course of the book. Not much, but enough to make a difference!

We got our librarian, but we also got angels, demons, and some other really exciting characters. Hero managed to really grow on me throughout the novel but I think I liked Leto the most! He was such a lovable character and I loved his growth.

As as I said before, I’m really excited for the sequel. I loved the twists and turns towards the end of the book. And I am excited for the new setting we’ll be reading from!

“Stories are, at the most basic level, how we make sense of the world. It doesn’t do to forget that sometimes heroes fail you when you need them the most. Sometimes you throw your lot in with villains.”

So that’s what we thought of The Library of the Unwritten! Books about books and libraries really are something we both love. Have you read this book? If you have let us know what you thought in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!