NetGalley Review: The Spellbook Library, Vol 1 by Uta Isaki

Hey all, Sam here.

So…I’ll be completely honest…I have like 20 partially drafted posts for this blog, and some of them have been sitting in the drafts for a few months now. I have had quite a few books in the past handful of months that I’ve wanted to read and review in time for their release day…only to forget to finish the post and schedule it. But I need to talk about these books I’m reading, because it is important, maybe moreso than it was before now.

Today’s Manga Monday post is one for a volume that I read back in September, fully planning on having the review up before its October 22nd release day. Well, since it is obviously November 11th now, I completely failed at getting this review up in time. Better late than never, I guess.

I am going to try and have at least two other reviews up this week (maybe more if I get in a post writing groove). I’d like to be more regular and consistent with my posting on here.

All right, let’s get started…

When he was a child, troublemaker Yan was attacked by a ferocious spellbeast…until he was rescued by a group of Spellbook librarians. Inspired by the librarians’ heroic efforts, Yan vows to turn over a new leaf and become a Spellbook librarian to repay their kindness. On the day of his employment exam, he meets Tohru, a mysterious young boy who has his own reasons for wanting to work at the library. Together, Yan and Tohru set off and join the ranks of the Spellbook Library, and begin the long journey to learn just what it takes to become a Spellbook librarian!

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

Magic and libraries?! Count me in! This was such a quick read and I was definitely interested in the characters and the world and the magic. Overall this volume made me think about the series Magus of the Library by Mitsu Izumi (I’ve reviewed the first three volumes on the blog, which means I need to review four more volumes, so I might do a re-read and review soon-ish).

Obviously I think most of us are on the bookternet (whether that is book blogs, a Bookstagram, a BookTok, whatever) because we enjoy books and reading, and having a community to share that enjoyment. So finding stories that themselves have some major focus on books is usually a good time.

I think the idea of having spellbeasts and these Spellbook librarians who take care of problems that arise from spellbeasts is pretty cool. And sealing spellbeasts into books is a really intriguing concept, which makes me think of Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. And with it being such an important job, of course there’s an employment exam to pass to even start the process of becoming a Spellbook Librarian. It’s cool to watch Yan and Tohru with their big ambitions and hopes, and also seeing how there’s going to be all sorts of struggles and obstacles in their way…but I think it will make them even more capable in the end.

This first volume read fairly quickly, and I enjoyed the art and the design of the characters. I’ll be honest, I will probably read this again, not just because I enjoyed it, but because the realities of recent national events has muddied my memories of the past couple months. Stress can do that to a person. Volume 2 of this series is expected December 31, 2024, so I’ll probably re-read this one right before starting the next one.

All right, well that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.