Having had high hopes for The Archive of the Forgotten, I wasn’t sure what to expect. This series finale promises danger, earth shattering risks, and the fate of the library. But even though I liked the grander story structure, I’m not sure entirely how I feel. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
To save the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, former librarian Claire and her allies may have to destroy it first.
Claire, the rakish Hero, the angel Rami, and the muse turned librarian Brevity have accomplished the impossible by discovering the true nature of unwritten books. But now that the secret is out, Hell will be coming for every wing of the library in its quest for power.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Beginning with higher stakes, which Hackwith established in the previous book, The God of the Lost Words immediately takes off. In many ways, The God of the Lost Words reminds me why I love this series. Because while Claire can be prickly sometimes, I love certain phrases from Claire that seem so in character. With the exception of Brevity, all of these characters seem so distinct, so nuanced and quirky. While there is plenty of grand plot action, I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of the library wings.
I so much wanted to love The God of the Lost Words. It even had the same lyrical and profound pieces of writing sprinkled around. Seriously, what a quote worthy series! And I truly appreciated the ending, the ways that Hackwith wove the threads from the past and the current actions together. But it was in the first 1/2 that I was sort of stumbling. And not getting a better picture of the libraries or other librarians was frustrating. I wanted to see the different pieces of the library world (something I’ve kind of been waiting for) and this seemed like a good moment.
But it wasn’t there? So while I wanted to read this book about the various other wings, especially in their eventual quest and adventure, there was certainly some lack of depth in the world. Which was just extra frustrating because I’ve loved so much of the world building in the first book, The Library of the Unwritten. So while I ended up enjoying most of the plot movement, this finale didn’t thrill as much as I expected.
Find The God of the Lost Words on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.