Yes folks it’s that time of year again, time for my annual rant and rave for Rachel Caine’s young adult fantasy The Great Library series. For the past four years I have raved about how much I just love this series but I’ve also had to rant away that yet again I now have yet another year to wait until the next book and oh what a long wait it will be. Last year’s rant was a bit more memorable since I’d thought the series was going to be a trilogy but found out we had another cliffhanger and had been expanded to five books. I’m a little calmer this year after book four but still….. such a long wait!

So…. I suppose I should be actually reviewing the book by now, huh? Honestly there’s not much to say at this point except what are you waiting for?? Read this series!! Ok, ok, I suppose I should add a little more info. The series is one that definitely needs to be enjoyed from the beginning as it continues onward from book to book and one would be lost jumping into the middle. The world in the books revolves around The Great Library that controls the books of the world and uses alchemy to distribute the books. Those working for the library track down anyone with any in their possession and confiscate the materials since ownership of books is expressly forbidden and anyone violating this law could even be sentenced to death.

Jess Brightwell is our lead character who came from a family that was involved in the black market for books. Jess had been raised to be a runner, delivering the books to those willing to pay the price and risk ownership but then Jess had been sent to the library by his father to become a spy from the inside. He got involved in the training only to find himself mixed up in the secrets of the library and with the group of friends he had met they began their battle against the Archivist Magister of the Great Library.

The world Rachel Caine created at the beginning of this story was a wonderful one filled with magic and so much more. But as the books have gone on things have been expanded more and more and with each book I’m still amazed at the story and the progress the characters make. At this point in the series the characters have been separated giving another layer as the point of view changes with the action going on in each location which gave it a faster feel than the last which I’d thought had slowed a little. After finishing this round though I am already making plans for next year to reread from the beginning to enjoy all of the books together so as you can guess I would definitely recommend to any fantasy fans out there to check out The Great Library series!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

"To save the Great Library, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire, and Ash and Quill put themselves in danger in the next thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.

The opening moves of a deadly game have begun. Jess Brightwell has put himself in direct peril, with only his wits and skill to aid him in a game of cat and mouse with the Archivist Magister of the Great Library. With the world catching fire, and words printed on paper the spark that lights rebellion, it falls to smugglers, thieves, and scholars to save a library thousands of years in the making...if they can stay alive long enough to outwit their enemies."

I feel like sitting down this summer and reading this entire series. Here's hoping I get to do just that!

I absolutely loved this book! Great progression of characters and story. Plenty of surprises and excitement.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

This might be the best yet in the series, and I think it was definitely my favorite of the series so far. We come off of the cliffhanger of the next book with everyone in limbo, and the author uses her mighty pen to move and shift all of our players like pieces on a chess board, forcing them towards the huge clash that is destined to happen soon.

We get to read POVs from multiple characters in this one. Usually when that kind of a change happens in a series, I am a little thrown by the change, but in this one, it flows and works perfectly with the story. We get to see all the little cogs of the story turning and moving and pushing the story forward.

I just wish I had waited to catch up on this series until the last one was coming out much sooner, because the wait is going to kill me!

Pick this series up. It's a lot of fun, really well-written, full of great characters and mystery and action and romance, and you won't regret it.

I felt the last book in this series was somewhat slow, but this book barely dropped below warp speed.  Alternating POVs from the characters, double crosses, triple crosses, intricate, multi-layered plans, and bigger automatons....so much going on.  I couldn't stop reading, but was so afraid not all of the characters would remain standing at the end - but no spoilers here.

In this book, several scenes demonstrate just how much the characters have grown and matured from Ink and Bone.  While being tested to their limits, they discover inner strengths and qualities needed to survive, and it was very satisfying to see how they've developed.

This is a wildly creative YA fantasy series I've enjoyed from book one, and will eagerly anticipate the final installment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book is not the place to begin this five book series but readers already invested in the characters won't want to miss it. Jess, masquerading as his twin brother Brendan, Morgan and Scholar Wolfe are back in Alexandria. Jess is trying to scam the Archivist. Morgan is back in the sealed tower of the Obscurists and Wolfe is back in the dungeons where he was tortured. Jess and Morgan have a plan and secrets which they didn't share with Wolfe.

The rest of the group - Khalila, Dario, Glain, Thomas and Captain Santi - are on a ship under control of Anit, Red Ibrahim's daughter. They learn that they have been betrayed and Red Ibrahim has decided to sell them to the Archivist. They aren't in favor of that plan and need to stage their own revolution to gain control of the ship.

This book is told from a number of viewpoints. Khalila is the voice of the group trying to get to Alexandria. Jess's sections deal with his plans to overthrow the Archivist and rescue his friends. Wolfe talks about his trials in the dungeon and his plans with the other prisoners to escape. Morgan is building support among the Obscurists and trying to outwit Gregory who is the Obscurist Magnus while trying to get the support of Wolfe's father who has become a very powerful hermit within the tower.

Each group is trying to build support to overthrow the Archivist who will go to any length to hold on to his power. Our heroes all want to return to a better version of the Great Library before it was corrupted into putting a stranglehold on knowledge.

I love the world building in this series with automata and a Great Library that used to control the world gradually losing its grip on power. The idea that things like the printing press have been invented over and over again and suppressed each time by the Library is intriguing. This world now has countries rebelling against the library. The printing press being used by smugglers and book burners to get their messages out.

The book was filled with action and excitement and with characters needing to make decisions that with test them to their limits. I can't wait to read the next volume to find out how everything works out and see if the Great Library can find its new role in the world.

The Great Library, repository of the world's knowledge for millennia, has been corrupted. To save it, Jess and his friends must take terrible risks. Morgan, the powerful Obscurist he loves, is once more locked in the Iron Tower to be used and bred. Their teacher Wolfe is back in the same Alexandrian prison that already broke him once. Jess is trying to con the Archivist face-to-face. The rest entrusted a smuggler with his own agenda with their lives. Cut off from each other and in constant mortal peril, they must raise a rebellion against the world's most powerful man. Another breathtaking adventure with characters who just keep getting better.

Ash and Quill left us with a huge cliffhanger, and Smoke and Iron picked up right where it left off. There was a lot of action in this book but not a lot of forward momentum in the plot. Morgan again finds herself in the tower on purpose. Jess and Dario are again plotting but not letting anyone else in on the scheme. Scholar Wolf is in prison, again, reliving that nightmare. While I enjoy the characters and their world, I feel like the overthrow of the Library could have been achieved in this book and not drug out into a fifth and final book. I'm still rating it highly due to how wonderful the first three books are and I know that middle grade to younger young adults will enjoy reconnecting with the characters and to see where the story goes.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I have been reading The Great Library series for years now, following the series as it released. Requesting the titles for advanced reading in hopes of getting through them faster and faster. In the recent read through I did to read Smoke and Iron I blew through them in about a week.

This series ticks every box that I love about young adult literature:

Thief character - Jess Brightwell; a smuggler turned soldier turned rebellion leader.
Diversity
Women of color, there is excellent representation in the form of Khalila Seif, a genius Muslim girl who changes the course along with her friends for eternity, Khalila is not the only woman of color, however, just my favorite.
A very explicitly stated gay relationship between two beloved characters that is shown as a beautifully healthy relationship where they both rely on each other and take strength as a team.
Books about books - the trading and owning of printed books are not allowed, the Library owns all.
You follow Jess Brightwell as he has joined the Library and realizing that things will have to change. Jess and the others take on the great battle of changing the world as they know it.

Smoke and Iron is an excellent addition to the series of The Great Library, the use of different points of view was a welcome and refreshing change. We were able to see how the world worked in the mind of some of our favorite characters. Something I greatly enjoyed.

A riveting story that makes you skip meals and food to find out what is going to happen next. I recommend it to anyone that loves an adventure story with a diverse and lovable cast of characters.

I adored the first 2 books in the series when I first read them. I was absolutely captivated by the world, the characters, and above all, the library. Sadly, I read so many books in between books 2 and 3 that I'd forgotten a big part of the books and didn't feel invested anymore. I pushed myself through book 3 and was really doubting whether I'd pick up book 4, but I'm glad I ended up doing it because WOW. This book was so fast-paced, action packed and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Falling back in love with a series is so wonderful, and I'm glad I got to do that.

What?! This book is crazy... Crazy good. There was so much going on that it was hard to keep straight, but I think that was a good thing in this case. We followed the struggles of Jess as he tries to outwit the Magister of the Great Library. It was finger nail biting action.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Smoke and Iron continues the story of Jess Brightwell and his friends, lovers of books all, as they fight against the insidious and corrupt power of The Great Libraryof Alexandria. A tightly-written tale of love, betrayal, power, and evil, fast moving and highly entertaining.

Excellent addition to the series! Rachel Caine has a wonderful talent of balancing the characters and the story where you are so pulled into it you don't realize you've went a read the entire book in one sitting. Yes, that was me! I love this series

We're back with the crew as they take on the Archivist - much more directly this time. War is on the horizon, and the Archivist is pulling out all the stops to crush any and all rebellion.

It took a little bit longer than I would have liked to get back into the world, but once I did, the story moved along at a nice clip. Lots of action, a smidge of romance, and some terrible betrayal keep the reader on their toes. After reading this one, it will be interesting to see how things wrap up in book 5. Overall, I really enjoyed revisiting this world, and look forward to doing so again!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, Wow, WOW! Are there enough ways to describe just how amazing this book was? Doubtful. From beginning to end, this book was suspenseful and packed with action and I was never bored. When the book starts, Jess is pretending to be Brendan, Morgan is back in the Iron Tower, Wolfe is in prison (again) and the rest of the gang are trying to get away from the Archivist while gathering allies to try and rescue their friends in the process. I just loved every single character and plot point in this book. I didn't like Dario at first, but I love him now and I love him even more with Khalia. Khalia is feisty and such a bad ass, though she underestimates herself a lot. I could feel her love of books and her horror about what the Library has been doing with them (i.e. burning and censoring them). Wolfe and Santi's relationship still makes me melt and Jess's harebrained scheme was foolish and stupid and also pretty genius. And I loved seeing what Morgan's life was like in the tower. This book had EVERYTHING. The ending to this book was unbelievable and yes, I teared up. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but there was one part in particular that was super devastating. It's weird, but I can't think of a single thing I would change about this book . . . other than the fact that the ending was a cliffhanger. How can I wait a whole YEAR for the next one???

Book: Smoke and Iron
Author: Rachel Caine
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with this ARC. Actually, this is the third ARC in the series that I have received over the past few years and I would really like to thank you for that!

The Great Library is one of those series that I have come to look forward to reading. I don’t know why it’s not more popular that it is, but it really should be. It has all the great makings of a wonderful and fun series. We have action, a mixture of characters, romance, and, well, pretty much everything that a great book needs.

Smoke and Iron picks right up where Ash and Quill left off. There really is no review of what happened in the previous books, which is something that I like. We are right in the middle of the action with all of the characters pretty much in danger and trying to get out of it…I know, I know, it’s a lot more complicated than that, but it’s the best I can come up with.

All of the characters are there. We have a heathy mixture of characters from different background. Pretty much anything you can think of it and it is there. Like in the other books in the series, we have a large cast, but it’s not hard to keep track of who is who. Rachel really does write such well developed characters and this is what makes it really easy to keep them all straight. I love how strong all of them are in their unique ways and how loyal they are to each other. However, there is still that human element that makes them seem real and pulls the reader into their story.

The writing was flawless as usual. I have been a Rachel Caine fan for years now and I have not read a story where the writing was not put together. I love the way everything flows and how she somehow manages to trap you into the story and makes it hard to get out. I really love the simple, yet complex, nature of the writing and how she has just the right amount of action/romance/everything else without managing to make it too overwhelming. I also thought that she does an amazing with getting the right amount of the story into the book.

Now, this book does not have a complete plot line and will be continued in the final book, which I am not sure when it comes out. However, if you want to read this one, go over to Netgalley and see if you can get an ARC.

Smoke and Iron will be released July 3, 2018.

(Review is already on Goodreads and will be posted on Amazon on publication date)

This latest installment of The Great Library kept me on the edge the whole time. The group of students has split, and are all trying to find their way while somehow managing to keep the momentum of what they have discovered moving. Can they find a way to save the Library, while also taking down the tyrants who have risen to power behind it's protection? This book moves fast, and the twists and turns keep you guessing. I cannot wait to read what happens next.

I am a huge fan of this series and have been waiting anxiously for this book since last summer. I am happy to report that I gobbled it up. The pacing was an improvement over the the last book; I thought Ash and Quill dragged a bit in places, and I like that this one moved along at a good clip. Ironically, that was also my biggest complaint: I thought the ending was rushed and would have liked some more time for the consequences of everbody's choices to unfold. Still, I was so happy to spend time with these characters again (especially Santi and Wolfe, who I think kind of got short shrift in book 3), and I am looking forward to the final installment of the series.