I definitely read / ordered this one because of the buzz around it. I think perhaps my expectations were too high, it was a solid story but I wasn’t as wow-ed as I had hoped. The premise is awesome, secret society that holds all of the knowledge of humanity and the magical Medeans. They choose six entrants every year from a variety of specialties who are able to immerse themselves in the library of Alexandria for a whole year before five of them are chosen for the program.
The five characters are all unique and mostly interesting with different motivations for their interest in the library. We learn their backstories and see how they relate to one another. That part of the story relied a little too much on romantic pursuits between the group than I would have liked. I enjoyed the magic and the discussions of time, space and physics but that felt sometimes like an afterthought to the steam the author was trying to generate. If that’s your thing, you’ll probably be more compelled by it than I was.
The twist in the end was too little, too late for me. If it had happened a little earlier and we fleshed out the impact more in this story, I think I may have landed my rating a little higher. Frankly, in general the story needed more action. It was wayyyyy too much talking and thinking and not enough momentum towards the decision. Each character has their own arc to the discovery of who will be the five but I just think it could have been trimmed a bit to a more compelling pace. I probably will give the second one a try but I won’t exactly rush out for it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
What’s the last book you had high hopes for but just didn’t wow you as much as you hoped?
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