Today I am very excite to talk about a book that I picked up on a Barnes & Noble trip with my husband. He knows it is dangerous to take me into a book store yet, he does. He knows how much reading means to me. While I was walking around looking at books, this one caught my eye initially because of the cover and title. Upon reading the description, I quickly added it to my stack of books I planned on buying that day. I will say, it was smaller than my typical stack though so that is an improvement right?
I figured since I have not written a review in a while, this was the perfect way to start.
The Library of the Unwritten (Hell’s Library Book 1) 
Author: A. J. Hackwith
Publisher: Ace
Published: October 1st, 2019
Book Length: 382 Pages
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren’t finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.
Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing– a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.
But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil’s Bible. The text of the Devil’s Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell….and Earth.
I was not sure what to expect with this book but I loved the concept from the moment I read about it. A library in hell where all the unwritten novels are kept. The novels will manifest themselves as characters and try to find their authors on Earth to beg to be written…what an amazing idea! This is unlike any book I have read and I have to say I was fully invested and devoured this one so quickly.
Claire is not your typical sultry librarian, she is a take charge and get things done type of woman. She is also a writer herself and many of her own unfinished works are in the wing of the library she cares for. She takes care of all the books, repairing bindings, torn pages, etc…all to be sure they are in good condition when or if their author chooses to write them. I really enjoyed her character and quickly became invested in her story.
There were other characters I was interested in as well. Leto…this character’s story was my favorite to watch unfold. It had me very emotional at the end and I even cried. I bawled my eyes out sitting alone in my chair at 1am while my kids and husband were all tucked in bed asleep. Hero was another really great character to watch through the story. They evolved in a way I did not expect but really enjoyed.
The world building was well done, though we did not spend a lot of time in hell to see what it was like. We did not even meet eh horned man we know as the devil. Some of this story takes place in different areas of hell, others are in Earth or places you need to read about to really understand. I think every location was described well. There were a few times I had to slow my speed reading to fully encompass the scene the author was depicting for me in their words. I enjoyed following the characters as they found Angels and struggled to find pages from the Devil’s Bible before it was too late.
Overall, I really loved this book. I think it was my first five star read of the year. Wonderful concept, likable characters, fast paced plot, and gripping narrative. They had me at library but I fell deeper and deeper into the pages with each turn. I did struggle with my rating this book. I wanted to do a 4.5 but I think the fact that it really got me that emotional at one point has to push it to a 5.
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