Ash and Quill (Great Library, #3)

by Rachel Caine

[inlibrisveritas]

Spoiler Warning for book one and two! This review may have spoilers for the first two books in the The Great Library series, if you are interested in starting the series I recommend checking out my review of that book instead.

This binge read of the series has been so much fun! It is rather unlike me to consume more than one book of a series in the same month, let alone three but here we are and I’m eager to keep going.

Ash and Quill picks up after another stellar cliffhanger and the fight has gotten even more desperate. Jess and the group are in Philadelphia, the heart of the Burner movement, and they have a long arduous road ahead of them in their goal to reshape the library. I really wish I could pinpoint all the things I loved about this one without ruining the series for anyone, but alas I can not. I will say that I am loving where Caine is taking us on this journey! I enjoyed getting to see more of the Burners, and while I understand the ultimate cause the fanaticism is utterly terrifying. This world has two major thought groups and both can seem ideal when glanced out, but they both contain a multitude of unsettling ideas and practices…and then there is Jess and his group, stuck between two giants clashing and steadily gaining the ire of both. Ash and Quill gives us an even wider view of the madness happening in the world, and also the reach of the Library. Paper and Fire brought the country to country turmoil to the forefront with Wales and England, and this one shows us what happens when the Library finds itself dealing with dissension from once allies.

I am so glad that this book puts those odd grey areas in the spotlight. There is no good and bad movement, both have incredible goals marred by sickening practices. Our group isn’t full of people with sparkling pasts who make decisions to stand in the line of fire without a single thought, they are people who have fear and anger. They mistrust each other all while protecting each other. I think these sort of complex interworkings are why I adore these characters so much. They have all grown so much and I find myself loving characters I once felt somewhat indifferent to. Jess understands what having a family means, Dario is still an ass but incredibly loveable, and Kalila has become the quiet power of the group. And Morgan…Morgan is shaping up to be something else entirely. Her story is growing in ways I never expected and I’m both super excited and apprehensive to see where it all takes her. The relationships that have formed make me almost heartsick especially Santi and Wolfe, I absolutely live for the small scenes where we see them sharing a moment.

As usual, the narration for this one is absolutely excellent! I am almost saddened by the fact that I have an early copy of Smoke and Iron because it means I’ll miss out on Julian Eiffier reading it to me.

I am super excited to be moving on to book four!