Mark Lawrence delivers a satisfying second entry to his new trilogy that continues the stories of Evar Eventari, Livira Page, and the most over-the-top library in any universe you care to name. While things continue to heat up in the metaphysical (?) fight over the library and what it means for reality and those who use it, Evar is trying to survive after being driven out of the library by a new enemy and Livira is... well she's busy trying to become corporeal again (among other pressing issues).

Returning readers to the series will be happy to see that there are no quality drops here, while new readers will take one look at the synopsis and hopefully immediately pick up the first entry.

Mark Lawrence has done it again! What a fantastic second book to this new trilogy. Not only do I love how Mark starts the story (with a synopsis of what happened in the last book), but I adore his world building. Though a little confusing at times, everything makes sense by the end. We see a few new character additions in this book, and they are perfect. We also get to see more of the libraries inner workings and complexity of character. Fantastic read from start to finish, can't wait for book 3!

It’s a book 2 and unfortunately reads like a book 2 immediately. Stopped a couple pages into chapter 1. Not appropriate for our libraries, as we look for books that stand alone due to the small space we have.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.