found family in hell.
FOUND FAMILY in hell.
found family IN HELL.
FOUND FAMILY IN HELL.

“The library exists in hell, it doesn’t serve it.”

— overall thoughts: 3.75 —

goodness the platonic relationships make me so soft. If I get to go on this kind of adventure in hell, I will gladly dig myself a grave. this felt like aj hackwith took me on a good ol’ fun adventure around the depths of hell and even though that might sound ~dark~ it really wasn’t. There was more humor than I thought there would be but also a lot more insight into what it means to be human.

“We are the dreams that did not die with the dreamer. We care nothing for the dark. We are imagination.”

wondering what the vibe/tone is?
my answer: the good place + good omens + scythe

it’s the magical realism kind of plot that gives structure to a vague concept aka “hell”. a book about unfinished books that come to life and librarians chasing them down because they just want to be reunited with their authors *big pleading eyes emoji*

“Regardless of the reason, when books ran, it was the librarian’s duty to catch them.”

Before i started reading i actually didn’t know that the books actually took on their characters so that they look human (even though it is in the synopsis) and I thought they were just actual books flying around. The fact that they physically took on the heroes of their own stories was so fascinating.

and the fact that the book chose to not focus on romantic relationships made me want to sob harder than i already was.

“Might be the unwritten have an idea or two on how their own story should go. Might be, they have reason to be angry. Pray they never wake up.”

it was a little difficult for me to wrap my head around the world and magic system because it was a little bigger than i expected (playing games with demons, puzzles that they were constantly solving) but if i this physically i probably would have been able to follow it more.

but the themes and the messages that it was trying to get across was very well-received and the dark-ish but whimsical tone that the book set is just my cup of tea. i was seriously sobbing (especially towards the end).

yes, the plot was great and the world-building was solid but their little found family and the character dynamics were *chefs kiss* to be honest, it was Claire who i had found it the most difficult to connect with personally but i enjoyed her company nonetheless. Claire is also the pansexual rep here in case you were wondering.

“Beware the stories that find their freedom,”

the plot and structure reminded me too much of stories that i was head over heels for (the good place, good omens, scythe) that i almost felt like i had to like it and i thought it wasn't going to work for me at first but thankfully the characters pulled through

the dichotomy between heroes and villains was a big A+ to me

like seriously. please read this for my main men: Hero and Leto <3

i may not have enjoyed this as much as i thought i would but we're fine because i still achieved a lot more raw enjoyment in this book than the past books i just completed

*buys all the copies of this book and calmly starts handing them out to all of you who find logical angel and demon stories interesting*

“Nothing we do, is not felt,”

instagram | blog | ko-fi | booksirens