I received an eARC of this book on Netgalley from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine is the first in her new series The Great Library in which the author has changed history, allowing the Library of Alexandria to survive. Imagine for a moment a world where books, actual physical copies, are illegal to possess. The bookworm living inside me just withered and died at the thought! This is only in part the world the characters face in this book.

I loved the alternate history in which the library has survived and become the Library, an all-powerful entity who controls the world governments, the information that is allowed in the public and silences those that oppose them. It’s truly a scary thought! The Library, while it is a thing, represents the oppressing government and is the point of antagonism in the series. I like how the author recreates a history in which the Library is similar to the Roman governments and Roman Catholic church during its early reign. It’s interesting to see the dynamic and effect books have on the society as a whole.

There’s a large cast of characters that resembles that of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but the story itself is unique. I enjoyed the diversity of the characters with backgrounds from Britain, Welsh, German, America, Egypt, Spain, etc. It provided a glimpse of the way these countries fare against the Library.

Jess makes an excellent protagonist! He’s the underdog, raised in a smuggling family and in a life of crime, he makes himself a better person, strives to be at least. He’s passionate about books and preserving them, finding a way to share them with the world….but that borders on heresy to the Library. His smarts though gain him access to learn and serve at the Library.

The plot centers around Jess and his fellow postulants as they learn and are tested at the Library. I’ll be honest, I struggled in the first half of the story as the pace was slow, setting the stage for the series, BUT it picks up in the last half. I was fully immersed in the world created by Caine and found myself holding my breath, reading as fast as I could to find out what happened next.

Overall I enjoyed the story! The chemistry between the characters and the alternate history drew me in. I found myself wondering a lot of “what if’s” and doing my own research on names mentioned and events that happened. If you enjoy alternate history, action and adventure, and a large cast of characters, I highly recommend you dive into the series!