Though there were some plot holes with certain characters, I find this type of writing lovely. I’m glad that the previous librarians are also involved in the stories as well and that there were some major character development that flowed nicely, looking at you Hero! I contacted the author and hopefully I get a reply soon because it’s book related. I loved Ramiel and Leto the most, so it made me happy to see him again and I also love the found family trope in this story too.
Lastly, I’m glad that this author didn’t shove the Christian/Catholic religion so much in the story too and even mentions other realms and cultures in a respectful manner. ( )

Pfft. When I read the first book of this trilogy, I had high hopes, even though I had a problem connecting with the main character. There was so much to love in the first book. The second book was blah; I still didn't connect with the main character, and worse still the rest of the characters went flat for me as well, and I'd intended to stop after 2. And then I found out it was planned as a trilogy, so there was only one more book and the completist in me reared her stubborn head.

I should have smacked her and told her to shut it. Everything went wobbly for me in this one and by the midway point, I found myself irritated by little things that in a book I was enjoying I'd have glossed over. Nothing about the story development surprised me or delighted me. 2/3s of the way in, the author's efforts at inclusivity, while admirable, often left me stumbling over the text and the pronouns.

Also admirable was the author's obvious passion for stories and her desire to share with the reader the necessity of stories to the human experience, but she got way too mushy about it for my tastes - and I had to laugh, because in the Acknowledgments she admits that she wrote this book during the lockdowns, leading her to be mushier than usual and apologising not at all the us cynics.

Towards the end, she skirts with breaking the fourth wall, which I generally don't mind, but it seemed like she was espousing a brand of atheism almost directly to the reader, which I do mind. I like her alternate philosophy as a construct for a story, but draw the line there.

I still stand by the beauty of the story's premise; I just couldn't connect fully with the characters and despite my willingness, failed to be drawn in by this particular story. But the completist in my is happy to know how it ends, and rests easy. ( )

Absolutely exceptional conclusion to the trilogy. I'm not entirely sure that the metaphysics constructed at the end is as clear, strong, or complete as it could have been, but that seems a small quibble after the wonderfully original tale that has been spun (Is the Library still in Hell? unclear!). Hackwith does a superb job of weaving the events of the first two books into the happenings in the third, in a natural and unforced way. Plus, she allows herself to wax eloquent on what it means for something to be a library. Well done! ( )

I loved the characters in this series, and the final book in the series gives them all a tidy little wrapup. Too neat. I enjoyed it, slightly more than the second book, but not nearly as much as the first. Overall, good series. ( )

Claire, Brevity, Rami, and Hero have fought tooth and nail for the Library of the Unwritten, but now they face an even more terrifying assault: Malphas, demon of Hell, has figured out that the unwritten books are the stuff of souls, and wants to take over the library wing for the power inherent in that. Claire and found family attempt to fend her off, but to do so they'll need the help of every wing of the Library to create a realm of their own.

I have enjoyed this series, these characters, the clever writing, and the meditation on the importance of Story to human existence, so much that it's leaving me somewhat incoherent in attempting to review it. To try to summarize it doesn't really do justice to this madcap fantasy-romance-found family. Let's just say that I found this an incredibly satisfying ending and I will attempt to recommend it to as wide a readership as I can. ( )