What do you think?
Rate this book
430 pages, Hardcover
First published July 3, 2018
“Is a fire the fault of a man who drops a match, or the one who spilled the oil all over the floor, knew it, and left it there?”
☼ JESS || Jess’ chapters were REALLY fun to read, because he was impersonating his twin brother Brendan for the first half or so, who reminds me a lot of Kaz Brekker (but smiles more) and who I ADORE. I don’t think Jess changes very much at all, except he does get a little braver?? I guess??? (I’m reaching here.)
☼ KHALILA || I ADORE Khalila!!! I absolutely love her. She’s one of my favorite parts of this book, and one of my favorite characters! She’s such a strong (female) character—her most powerful tool is her voice, but she’s also sweet, caring, passionate, and also, a really great fighter. And I think it’s extremely important to see this hijabi Muslim woman in a place of leadership.
☼ WOLFE || Okay, Wolfe and Santi are my favorite gay dads to ever exist, and I just adore their relationship. I’m 99% sure that Wolfe has PTSD (was tortured physically and mentally before the series takes place), and seeing him fighting that—seeing Santi try to help him—was really inspiring, especially as a mentally ill person myself. Didn’t really see the need to include his POV though?
☼ MORGAN || Morgan was just NOT a good character in this book. Her only development is from “do I love him?” to “maybe I don’t love him” to “I do love him” and it’s so hilariously RIDICULOUS that this strong, fierce woman has been reduced to an arc like that. And while she had more of a personality in this book than previously, her “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE NOT GONNA HELP ME” attitude got on my nerves quickly.
“[…] we will bring our light back to a world we left in darkness.”
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review! This did not affect my opinion in any way. All quotes are from an advanced copy and may differ in final publication.
“Not having a book at hand was a punishment worse than death.”
“Their children – and he would always think of them as their children; he’d given up on everything else – were late returning, and that was almost certainly not good news.”
“Without Santi, they would not find the strength. Without Jess, no inspiration. Without Thomas, there was no real future. Without Glain, no protection. Without Morgan, no audacity. Without Wolfe, no challenge to do better, be better. Without Dario, no subtlety.”
“You have the gift, you know.”
“What gift?”
“Silence,” he said. “You let people think. And yet, you also lead from silence. I’ve met a few like you.”
"Silences, he learned, had layers to them. Some were tense, on the verge of violence; some were slow and calm and peaceful. This one had edges."
"Without Santi, they would not find the strength. Without Jess, no inspiration, Without Thomas, there was no real future. Without Glain, no protection. Without Morgan, no audacity. Without Wolfe, no challenge to do better, be better. Without Dario, no subtlety. Without her.. but she didn't see her role. It would have been prideful to imagine she could be spared, but she knew she could not spare even one of these others."
"The Library had started as a preserver of knowledge, a beacon of light, but that through the centuries and millennia, it had become a center of power. Power rotted from within."
"Forgive me for clinging one more moment to the fiction that right will prevail without becoming worse than its opposite."