SOLVED. YA Fantasy about a girl with a magic book, love interest in a secret cage fighting ring. [s]

[Natalia]

My friend and I are looking for this book we read in middle school (which we finished in 2019, so the book had to come out that year or before).

The book was about a girl whose mother had taught her to read in secret. This was significant because reading was either banned or not taught for some reason.

She found (or maybe stole) a book that taught people how to do magic. There were some people in the world who had fire magic.

At some point she was in a magic conservatory/library with a old man who was showing her around.

Some sort of army was chasing her through the forest because they wanted to arrest her and take the book. At one point, she was hiding in a hammock in a tree from this army.

There was also a love interest that was forced to take part in a secret cage fighting ring that was located in an underground tunnel. She may have ridden a boat across the River Styx in this tunnel (or something adjacent to that? if that makes sense? It could have been an allusion to the River Styx, we are not 100% sure on this part).

The cover was probably green. The word 'book' may be in the title somewhere.

If this sounds like any book you know of (even if it does not 100% match everything written here), please let me know. We are losing our minds trying to find this book haha. Thank you

[Becca]

The Book Knights by J.G. McKenney?

[Natalia]

Becca wrote: "The Book Knights by J.G. McKenney?"

That's it! Thank you so much!