I remember really enjoying the first one, but now it's been several years before picking up the second and I struggled with this one. I cared about the characters, and I still really like how the story rotates among our quartet, but the story just plodded along. Some spots of great action and drama, but mostly just plugging along.

But I kept going back to it, so clearly it had some draw for me. And I'll almost certainly pick up the third before too long.

"The Archive of the Forgotten" by A. J. Hackwith offers a lackluster continuation to the premise set forth in its predecessor. Despite the potential promised by its fantastical setting, the narrative feels uninspired and fails to build upon the initial intrigue. Characters lack depth and development, rendering their struggles and triumphs largely uninteresting. While the concept of an otherworldly library holds promise, the execution falls short, resulting in a forgettable reading experience devoid of meaningful engagement or lasting impact.

I love a book that has to do with books! A library in HELL where a librarian has to take care of unwritten stories? Sign me up! This was a love letter to stories, and reading this type of book always makes me feel wistful. It might not always be the most plot-driven, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and it definitely picked up at the end!

This whole series was such a fun concept! I loved the first one and thoroughly enjoyed the follow up! I can't wait for the next one to come out. Now that Hell's librarian has had a bit of a change in occupation, the risks and challenges just keep getting more interesting and more dangerous.

After the destruction of many many books from the first in the series, we see some new consequences come to light. This new ink that the books are secreting is nothing to joke about and its going to take the forces of Heaven, and Earth, and the Library to figure out what exactly is going on and how to fix it!

A good sequel. I felt the first dragged just a bit, but the second improved the pacing. The characters are just as quirky as before. I was expecting a dark story in book 1, and I think I liked this better knowing that it is not a super dark story.

I thought I would like this series, but it just isn't for me. It just didn't hit the right notes for me. I'm sure others will enjoy it.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

I DNF'd this book. My library I work for owns the first book, so we will be purchasing the second. I loved the first book, but I found the second to be incredibly boring and repetitive.

Rep: LGBTQIA+

I would have probably enjoyed this story more had I known it was a sequel. As it were, I rushed to read the first book before getting into this one but the stress of it all affected my ability to really get into the story. That being said, the premise was interesting and I thought the characters were all very unique. There are clear differences between the interactions of the characters from the first book to this one; I actually preferred how it was in The Library of the Unwritten more. The first half of this novel was quite clunky but the second half made up for it by ramping up the pace. I think I’m going to give this novel another chance in the future (when I actually have the time to properly get into it), but for now, I’m giving it 3 stars.

A perfect sequel for one of my favorite debuts. But I read it during a slump and it really made me feel better, but I couldn't find myself able to write out a coherent review. Except that I wish there are many many more books in this series.

A fallen angel. A dead librarian. A disgraced muse. These are just some of the characters driving the action in A.J. Hackwith’s The Archive of the Forgotten, the second installment in Hackwith’s Hell’s Library series. The Archive of the Forgotten picks up the action six months after the events of the first book in the series, The Library of the Unwritten.

As The Archive of the Forgotten begins, the characters introduced in the first book have moved on to new roles. Claire Hadley, the former Librarian of the Unwritten Wing, has taken over the position vacated by the traitorous demon Andras. With the Watcher Ramiel as her assistant, Claire now presides over Hell’s Arcane Wing, a repository of powerful, strange, and sinister objects. The muse Brevity, assisted by the book character Hero, has assumed the role of Librarian of the Unwritten Wing.

Relations between Claire and Brevity are strained as the book opens. It doesn’t help that a new character who arrives on the scene, a scheming and ambitious muse named Probity, seems determined to drive a wedge between the two former colleagues.

When a pool of an unknown black substance appears in the Arcane Wing, the staff of the Arcane Wing and the Unwritten Wing begin to investigate the mystery. It soon becomes clear that the black substance is ink of some sort, but why is it there? And what is its significance? One thing for sure: it needs to be handled with care, as Claire soon discovers.

As the novel progresses, the reader is spirited to various realms of the after-world, including Elysium and the Dust Wing, a repository of forgotten books.

The Archive of the Forgotten flows nicely, and contains some sections of rich description. Hackwith uses humor to good effect, often weaving in wry observations about human nature.

The Archive of the Forgotten is presented in third person point of view. Each individual chapter is told from the viewpoint of one of the characters, and the author does a decent job of making these different chapters feel as though they are being told by different people, particularly in the case of the sections told from Hero’s viewpoint.

Having read both The Library of the Unwritten and The Archive of the Forgotten, I would say that while it’s not essential to read the first book in the series in order to enjoy the second, doing so will provide the reader with a deeper and richer appreciation of the events.

One observation I can make, having read both books, is that while the mystery of the ink in The Archive of the Forgotten does create a plot line to follow, I found the first book in the series more concrete and compelling. Maybe that’s because, for me at least, the Codex Gigas, the artifact that became the focus of the first book, seemed more concrete than the issue of the ink, and the places the characters visited in their quest to solve the mystery in the first book also seemed more interesting than was the case in the second book.

Granted, The Library of the Unwritten was a tough act to follow. That being said, The Archive of the Forgotten is a worthy read for many of the same reasons as the first book: interesting and well-rounded characters, an intriguing setting, and the exploration of the nature of books and characters. Add to that Hackwith’s masterful description and clever humor, and you have the recipe for a readable and entertaining volume.

Though I enjoyed the first book in this series enough to return for this second adventure, the slow pacing and writing of this story makes me reconsider following the series any longer.

I am a fan of the first in this series, so I requested this one as soon as I saw it. It doesn't disappoint. All of the great characters are back and their relationship dynamic is wonderful. Cant wait for the next one!

Archive of the Forgotten takes a second dip into the world of the Library of the Unwritten, but this time it’s not the demons we deal with—but muses. This revisit to the Library was quite different from the first, and had a very different overall feel. The characters seemed to get more developed, but lost their charm with that development. In the end, I found it hard to keep wanting to go on and risk ruining what I had already come to love in the first installment. Eventually, I finished the book and found it pretty lackluster overall.

I loved the first book, so I was so excited to jump right in. I felt some of the 'sequel syndrome' in where the prompt of the first book dulled down in the second. It definitely did expand the word-building, and I felt a deeper understanding of the characters as they developed. It was an intriguing book that kept me hooked. The book had a unique voice, and the idea for this series is amazing. Well done.

Thank you to NetGalley for granting me an e-arc for a fair and honest review.

This book is a sequel to the Library of the Unwritten. The first time I tried picking up the first book, I could not get into it. The tone was more whimsical than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a more realistic world (or maybe a darker world). Think of this as Supernatural compared to the Haunting of Hill house; those are two different ways of approaching the same genre. I came back to it several months later hoping that, knowing what to expect, I would enjoy it more. Sadly, that was not the case.

Nevertheless, I was really intrigued by the concept and I loved the queerness, so I decided to give the series a second chance when I saw it on NetGalley. That was a bad idea. I've heard great praise for this series from other readers, but my feelings of book two were the same as book one. Honestly, the plot was probably less interesting the second go around. In book one, I didn’t love the tone, but the plot was still compelling and the world extremely interesting. Book two felt like it was trying to continue in a world that didn't have much more story to tell.

Two weeks after I've read it, I could barely recite to you the finer details of the actual plot. It just wasn't interesting. The fact that I wasn’t engaged is probably because I don’t mesh with this authors mode of storytelling. It likely isn’t a bad book; it just isn’t the book for me. Which is unfortunate because these covers are absolutely stellar.

I don't want to spoil anything about this book or the series. But, what I will say is that these books are full of excitement, wonderful characters and an interesting atmousphere. There is never a dull moment, with something always going awry.

The characters are so loveable and I was at the edge of my seat needing to know how things were going to turn out. It is also refreshing that there are many diverse characters. This story breaks the mold on many levels and really makes you think about things. The writing not only tells such a fantastic fantasy adventure, but it is so insightful. It's a rare treat to find such a book. I shall assume that it because we are in The Library of the Unwritten where a story can blossom and grow into whatever it needs to be.

I look forward to reading the next book if and when we get one and any other books the author should come out with.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

It started off a bit slower than the first book, but I was happy to dive back in and expand more on the characters. It was nice to see them learn, grow, and adapt. The writing is consistent to the first book, so if you did or didn't like it, the second is not going to be any different. Four out of five stars.

This is the second book in the Hell's Library series. After the Library of the Unwritten, was narrowly saved, Claire lost her position as the Head librarian and has become the Head Archivist in The Archive of the Forgotten. her former aide, and muse, Brevity, has become the new Head Librarian.
However, the damage to both wings have created an ink that neither are sure how to deal with. The two clash over the problem as they attempt to stop more damage.
This book continues the series with the same fantastic characters that are fascinating. The world building is incredible and its' so easy to get completely lost in the world.
I can't wait for the continuation of this series.

I looked forward to the further adventures of Hell's librarian, and AJ Hackwith did not disappoint. The writing is exciting and involving, the characters continue to be be interesting and sympathetic. I think that when an author can show me character growth both within a book and in a series, I rejoice. The world building does not disappoint, and Hackwith skillfully picks it up where she left off in book one, without leaving new readers in the dark.