Let me start by saying I did not intend to, but read this entire book in one sitting. At first I found myself comparing it to The Book of Doors, which I also loved, but nah, it is way more similar to The Pagemaster (shout out to the other elder millennials who were obsessed). It also reminded me of another recently loved book, Ink Blood Sister Scribe.

While I did see a lot of the reveals coming, I didn’t see all of them coming, and I found myself in the awkward position of both rolling my eyes at the Central Library and feeling like… the bloodred tattoos have gotta be a bad sign! I’m assuming that the big revelation will be that both the tony exclusive establishment and the fringe rebellion are bad news bears, and Emerson and Adrien will have to forge a way forward together somehow. Or maybe that’s just my hope. It seems like everyone except them kind of sucks! But I will definitely scream aloud if Adrien sucks too.

As Taylor Swift tells us - “Who are we to fight the alchemy?” (A better parallel to the book as a whole is probably “I Hate It Here,” but hey, this is my review, and I ship them!). Can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

I was 100% drawn into this world, and the idea of transporting one's self through the pages of books and exploring new lands is magical. I very much look forward to reading the next one

I really enjoyed the premise of Secrets of the Catalogue — how cool would it be to be able to enter the world of the book you’re reading!? The concept is definitely what kept me hooked on the story. The one negative, however, was the lack of detail on the world building. I’m not sure what, exactly, the books in the catalogue are — are they fiction? Some kind of alternative reality that the librarians travel to? I wish the author had taken the time to explain the Catalogue a bit more in depth, but regardless, it was still an enjoyable read and I can’t wait for the next book to come out!

I really enjoyed this one! It’s an engrossing mix of fantasy and contemporary genres, all while having a deep love for books. Emerson is a great main character and I truly hope there is a sequel!

Books as portals to a different realm?

Ummm....yes you have my attention. As an avid reader, and a person who believes books allow us to explore the world in a whole new way and experience a range of emotions this book was perfect.

Jump into an epic fantasy adventure and enjoy a great read!!

I just reviewed Secrets of the Catalogue by Amelia Spencer. #SecretsoftheCatalogue #NetGalley

I adore a good mystery. This was full of intrigue and interesting characters which really helped the flow of the story. It was so easy to be absorbed into the story. There could have been a little more fine tuning, but I think this really left off perfectly for the next book.

Thanks NetGalley and publishers for the arc of Secrets of the catologue by Amelia Spencer.

Wow!! Pick it up, read it and be sucked into a new world, one that every book lover will adore.

Eagerly awaiting the next one. Another author added to my must reads list.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC

When I came across this book I was very excited to start reading it. The concept of the Secrets of the Catalogue is amazing and for people who like reading, I think the idea of travelling to different worlds through books is something we all would want.
That being said I don’t think that the full potential was reached.

The things I liked

From the beginning, the author grabs your attention by throwing you into the MC world. I also enjoyed the way different places were described, I could feel and picture the atmosphere the characters were in. I adored the doorknobs, they made me giggle out loud.

The things I didn't like

I was confused most of the time when reading this book. I still don’t understand what exactly the purpose of the librarians is, why are they there? The same goes for the banned books, which are fiction, but what determines if they are fiction or not? Because Alice in Wonderland isn't fiction, so what are the rules? I think this is the main issue I ran into while reading, most things aren’t explained well enough or are just explained with 1 sentence.

I also couldn’t connect with the MC and felt like the things she did, didn’t have a purpose. One example that shows this is her struggle with her mom, apart from one scene we don’t feel the connection she had with her, so why should she care about the whole ‘’rebellion’’

Overall I felt a little bit let down by the execution, but still enjoyed the book. I will read the next book in the series when it comes out because I am curious about where the story will go.

thank you again to NetGalley for the ARC

For me, books have always been a way to explore other worlds. For Emerson, books become a way to literally explore other worlds.

When Emerson discovers she's a Librarian, capable of traveling through books in the Library, she also discovers that she doesn't know the truth about her past. But she wants to...

An enjoyable mix of magic, mystery, adventure, and romance! I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Did I mention there are gargoyles!

I received an ARC via netgalley for an honest review.

The writing of this book was not as smooth as I would have liked, but it makes up for it with an interesting premise and plot. I enjoyed reading about Emerson's journey in discovering the world of the library and the other worlds it guards. I found myself wanting to spend more time in the "real" world than in the fantasy worlds that she traveled in, because I wanted to know more about the mechanics of book travel and the structure of the library. I'm excited to read the second book, and I hope we find out more about Emerson's mom and her secrets in the sequel.

The premise of this book felt intriguing and fresh. While some aspects (e.g. traveling between worlds, including storybook worlds) felt reminiscent of other books I’ve read, particularly Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, this definitely felt different in tone. It was less gritty and therefore better suited to a YA audience. To this point, a lot of the character/plot elements of the book may read better with a YA audience, like the love triangle it introduces. The main character, Emerson, also reads younger than I would expect a graduate student to come across. However, it does feel as though the reader is often cut off from Emerson’s emotional state despite a highly personal journey with a strong link to her recently reappeared mother.

However, the last 1/3 of the book certainly improves on this aspect, and I enjoyed seeing Emerson’s more visceral reactions, especially during late conversations in the novel, e.g. with the head librarian, and during the gala at the close of the book. I expect that as this continues as a series Emerson will continue to grow and come into her own as a character. I enjoyed that the end of the novel hints at delving further into her relationship with her mother, and her mother’s past, which are some of the more intriguing plot points introduced in the novel.

“Secrets of the Catalogue” is the first instalment in The Librarians series. We meet the main character, a young woman called Emerson Blackwell, shortly before she discovers that she is a Librarian and that the world she has grown up in has a whole other dimension she knew nothing about. Not only that, but unbeknownst to her she is the daughter of another Librarian, her late mother Iris, who died in a house fire when Emerson was still a teenager. Iris Blackwell is apparently a well-known figure in the world of Librarians, who regard her as something of a rebel and/or villain for going against the establishment of the Central Library.

As Emerson tries to come to grips with the legacy of her mother – which promises to become something of a leitmotif throughout the series – she must simultaneously make her own way in the world of Librarians and practice the craft of jumping in and out of books.

As many other book lovers, I love books about books. This is very much a book about the world of books but even after having read “Secrets of the Catalogue”, I am not entirely sure how this particular book world is supposed to work. I understand that the Librarians can enter the world of books, but not WHY they do it or what the job description of a Librarian actually is. Also, the Librarians can’t enter ordinary works of fiction but only, as far as I understand, books written by other Librarians and describing actual worlds. But how did the author Librarians get to these worlds in the first place if not through books?

There are a few other plot holes that I had trouble getting my head around while reading the book which is why I, sadly, can only give it 3 stars. For instance, a character being described as mentor to Emerson despite them only meeting a couple of times and having about 1½ serious conversations throughout the whole of the narrative, which is about the slimmest justification for calling someone a mentor that I have ever come across.

Despite this, I still enjoyed this book enough to look forward to the second instalment in The Librarians series as the underlying concept is both interesting and promising. Hopefully book 2 will contain a lot more world-building and further insight into the characters and their histories.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Secrets of the Catalogue
Amelia Spencer

“You deserve to be in any room you choose to step inside, he said quietly.”

Honestly this was THE BEST. For me, reading is 100% about stepping into other worlds and this story is literally that. A fantasy adventure based on literally walking inside books and I’m just like….. 😱😱😱😱😱

Just enough romance in here to have you intrigued, I got a feeling more is coming. You will get lost in the best way in this one.

I absolutely loved this. I really appreciated the fast pace; you get right into the story. Maybe even too fast for some but that's how I like it. I loved the universe. I'm always a fan of magical libraries. It's not terribly original, but here it was executed very well. It was exciting visiting different worlds and while they all felt a bit cliché, they were painted vividly and I'm looking forward to discovering more in the next book. It had several tropes I'm not necessarily a huge fan of (love triangle! forced proximity!) but somehow it didn't bother me because I was just so engrossed in the story. One thing however that's my pet peeve in fantasy books is ~dark, mysterious~ names and unfortunately this book is very guilty of that: Silas Rathbone, Iris Blackwell, Atalanthya Moon... *deep sigh* it's fine the characters were interesting but honestly books immediately lose points from me when they have such names. It's a very minor flaw though because it was honestly a delightful read and I'm looking forward to the next one. Especially with that ending!

Review posted on goodreads and shelved as netgalley, and scheduled on Instagram @the.moonflower.reader for Friday. Unable to post to amazon at the moment but definitely will when the issue is fixed.

Imagine a world where books are portals to other universes. Librarians can visit other worlds by simply reading a book from the catalogue. This is the world Emerson is just discovering, after family tragedy has shaken her life she find her way to the central catalogue and there her adventure begins.

This is such a wonderful concept for a book, I have imagined what it would be like to travel into my favourite books many times, but as Emerson finds out, it's not necessarily as good as it sounds. I found this book took a little while to find it's feet but once it did I was happy to be dragged along on Emerson's adventure. My main criticism is that most of this book felt like it was building towards something and just as it gets there the book ends. That means I have to wait for part two! This was an easy to read book that hinted at a far more complex world but trusted the reader to pick up what they needed and not to overload you with immediate world building, which I appreciated, this felt like a more natural approach as the reader is learning alongside Emerson and it really makes you feel like you're part of the same journey. I give this book 3 stars and am looking forward to part 2!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

When I read the blurb for Secrets of the Catalogue, I was immediately hooked by the concept. A world where librarians actually enter the worlds of books? Sign me up!
I wasn't disappointed with how the author brought this to life on the pages. Right from the start we are thrown into the adventure and traveling through the pages of these mysterious books. The wider plot too was really interesting, and as we learned more about the Central Library, I liked how we are never meant to be sure who we are supposed to trust.

The writing had a darker, eerie tone to it which really lent itself well to the book and the plot. The pacing was good too, always moving forward enough to keep the pages turning!

I would have liked a little more fleshing out of the characters. For example, I would have loved to spend a little more time getting to know our MC Emerson, to understand what her motivations are and more of her thoughts after she discovers she is a Librarian. However the book isn't that long, and perhaps we will have some more introspection in the second instalment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and I truly loved the concept. Looking forward to seeing what happens next!

This is a fantasy story that grabs you on page one. Thrilling and action packed, with lots of secrets to be revealed. As an avid reader I like being caught up in a good book, but maybe not this much; then again I’m no librarian for this book catalogue - which I think is a really good thing. Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, Amelia Spencer and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed Secrets of the Catalogue. It's an entertaining, easy, fun read. The story hits the ground running from page 1. Emerson has a lot of new and confusing information thrown at her, whether it's about her mother or finding out about the Catalogue or getting conflicting info from the two men in her life. For the most part she really doesn't have much choice but to go with the flow, to find out the truth by herself in her own time. I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling.
In the meantime, she's dealing with discovering her own abilities and learning to travel to the new book worlds.
Although the book does end on a cliffhanger of sorts, it's certainly not a terrible one! This feels more like waiting for the next chapter in a series.
I think Secrets has a lot more stories in it and there's a huge amount of scope for this adventure. I'm really looking forward to book 2.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really fun and interesting ideas, with a compelling mystery and fantasy worlds. Characters could be fleshed out more, as the attraction between them is a bit sudden. The ending is very frustrating, and I wanted more of a conclusion from the book as it felt like a setup with no denouement. Otherwise an enjoyable read.

Intriguing and immersive, entering The Secrets of the Catalogue was just how I imagined Emerson stepping foot into the fabled Library of hidden worlds.
At first exciting and breath-taking, then as the story progressed, with burgeoning suspicion and hesitancy, until even I wasn't sure what was correct, anymore. An evenly paced, slowly unfurling mystery into what is true and who can be trusted, I found the wide range of characters and their different stories fun to compare and scrutinise.
I did feel that towards the end of the book, that Emerson should have had her loyalties to several of the parties tested in different ways, forcing her to make even small choices about who she was trusting, instead of following along a little more passively. The end was good, and I enjoyed it, but it felt a little too much without stakes. I would be tempted to ramp up several different obstacles and stakes for the ending of the next book, like a plunge after the crest of a roller coaster that has carried you through the whole novel.
I'm excited to see where Emerson's journey takes her, but I was wildly off-put by the out-of-the-blue blood sacrifice she had to offer to the door in the last few chapters (um, spiritually gross?) and am not certain I'd want to read the next one if it contained more of that. I think it would stand perfectly fine without that element, and would caution against the temptation of using occultic rituals, as I feel it might harm its reception more than help it.

Thank you for the opportunity to read, and good luck with publishing and the upcoming books. Cheers, Lefty