The Library of the Unwritten in Hell was saved from total devastation, but hundreds of potential books were destroyed. Former librarian Claire and Brevity the muse feel the loss of those stories, and are trying to adjust to their new roles within the Arcane Wing and Library, respectively. But when the remains of those books begin to leak a strange ink, Claire realizes that the Library has kept secrets from Hell and from its own librarians.
Claire and Brevity are immediately at odds in their approach to the ink, and the potential power that it represents has not gone unnoticed. When a representative from the Muses Corps arrives at the Library to advise Brevity, the angel Rami and the erstwhile Hero hunt for answers in other realms. The true nature of the ink could fundamentally alter the afterlife for good or ill, but it entirely depends on who is left to hold the pen.
***
The second instalment in Hell’s Library series sees the gang take on the library itself after a mysterious substance appears in the Arcane Wing, Claire’s new home. After the events of The Library of the Unwritten the gang have been split up and, for Claire at least, punished. She has been put in charge of the Arcane Wing while Brevity has been made Librarian with Hero her assistant. Rami works in the Arcane Wing with Claire but things are not all smooth sailing.
Claire is finding it difficult to let go of the books and jobs she loved so much. And after the destruction of some books in the epic battle for control over the library while wanting to return to her books, she simply cannot face it, leaving Brevity to struggle alone without the guidance and support she needs. Being a muse she felt the loss of those books more deeply than Claire ever will and being grieving separately they are unable to mend the rift that’s appeared between them and move forward.
It doesn’t help that Brevity’s friend from the Muses Corps has arrived and seems to be doing everything she can to deepen the divide between them for her own gain.
I feel in love with this series and I was worried that this book would suffer from ‘second book syndrome’ but I promise you it doesn’t. It delivers on every promise and expectation of the first book and exceeds them to bring you a book that you just can’t put down.
All of the characters are changed. Months have passed since The Library of the Unwritten and each and every one of them has grown and changed in some way, and throughout this book we get to see them try to work through this new dynamic, what it means for them, and whether they can be more than the people/characters they were before. This is especially so in Hero’s case, who is torn between accepting himself as simply a character in a book and trying to forge his own path, showing that the characters which are created are simply more than words on a page.
We learn more about the Arcane Wing, the Library, Hell and the rest of the universe in this book which pleased me to now end. While I am very much invested in this series for the characters, it’s the world building which drew me in to begin with and Hackwith has created and is exploring a world like no other. The laws of the world are not easy to follow at times I admit, but if you preserve with it you will be rewarded.
I mentioned in my review of The Library of the Unwritten about the great representation in the book and Hackwith doesn’t stand still here either, exploring other characters sexualities and bringing us a progressive book which I hope speaks to many people and they can identify with.
If you haven’t started this series yet I recommend you start. This delightfully dark and humorous series is one you do not want to miss out on.
mbc84blog.wordpress.com 