3.5/4 stars.

I have mixed feelings about this book, so apologies if this is more all over the place rambling, than review.

The main character, Elizabeth, spends an obscene amount of time swooning, or passing out entirely during the first three quarters of this book and honestly with little to no depth to her, became rather frustrating.

There are some scene's, particularly in the middle, that remind me very much of Beauty and the Beast. And if there is one thing that Margaret can do well, it is to describe a scene with regards to appearance and decor ect. Sadly though there is a lot of time spent describing surroundings and not enough done with characters. Bar Silas, he was the only character I felt anything for.

As with An Enchantment of Ravens, I enjoyed the story idea, but the characters were lacking. What book lover wouldn't love a book about libraries and magical books/grimoires, however I need to feel for my characters. I need to go on their journey with them, feel their emotions. Elizabeth had little to no layers to her at all, Nathaniel was marginally more intriguing, Katrien was far more interesting than the pair of them put together, but had only a marginal role. And as I've said before, Silas was the character that had the most appeal, and I cared about the most.

Margaret is fantastic at writing out detailed scenes, painting a beautiful picture of the areas the characters are in. She just hasn't quite mastered depth to her characters yet. Once she does though, I feel her books will truly be outstanding as she has fantastic ideas, this was a much needed story I just wish the characters were more.