I hate to say it, but I think I might be done reading Eva Jurczyk. Her debut was a three star read for me, but as always I am willing to give an author another shot and a three is not bad. Unfortunately, That Night in the Library just didn't do it for me. While I could see recommending this to the right person, I personally struggled with it and immediately disliked all of the characters. I didn’t care what was happening to them and just wanted to get to the end so I could figure out why the one died.

I did love the setting and how the group got locked in the rare books library, but the ritual part got a little weird for me. Jurczyk does know how to make her stories very bookish though and that’s one thing I love about her. The biggest reason I made it through this one was probably down to the audiobook, and I was glad we had Hannah Cabell as the narrator (she also narrates The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections). Cabell did a lovely job with her narration and while she couldn’t make me love the characters, she did help me make it through without skimming. Lots of action in this storyline, bodies dropping like flies, and tension so definitely pick it up if you think it sounds good!

Read this if you are looking for dark academia, unlikeable characters, and plenty of shock value!

Audiobook Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Interesting idea — but ultimately, I didn't finish the audiobook. Around the 65% mark, I couldn't be bothered any more.

The characters somehow felt unrelatable and flat, I couldn't connect with any of them.
One thing that really bugged me was that this was a chaotic mix of different relationships or combination of strangers. If they had been longtime friends (or if we had a newcomer trying to navigate an established dynamic), it could’ve added so much more tension and intrigue. Not that it couldn't have worked with strangers! But in this one, it definitely didn't.
The pacing was all over the place, some things seemed underdeveloped or lacking clarity, too slow or too fast. And at some point I had no desire any more to find out what was going on / going to happen.
Also, the chapters with the drug induced perception combined with the multiple POVs... it was just too much and too confusing all at once.
The narration by Hannah Cabell was okay, I think.

SUCH a fun concept, but a rocky execution. This was ultimately a DNF for me, but I was intrigued in the beginning. I believe the author's next works will only improve, and I will keep my eye out for the next.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this one but I didn't. How can a night in the library go so wrong?? Well, it did and I felt that all the characters were bags of dicks. Perhaps this was a me issue and not an author or writing issue. I will give Eva Jurczyk another try in the future.

#ThatNightintheLibrary
#NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an eerie mystery novel with college students attempting to spend a night in an old library. This book kept me questioning who dunnit throughout the book. It was interesting to get chapters from every characters point of view.

Read 6/25/24

2.5 stars?

This book sounded like it was going to be a dark academia lovers' dream. But guess what? It was the furthest thing from that. We spend most of the book following around people who are high off their asses, accusing each other of murdering their TA(teachers assistant) while they were locked in a rare books library so they could perform a ritual to make them not have any fear.... wow, and here I thought I didn't grasp anything while listening to this. Guess I was wrong. Still, not at all what it was labeled to be.

"She wouldn't emerge from here a changed person." That quote from the book is how I felt when I finished 😂

Unfortunately this book just really fell short for me. The cover drew me in and a locked room thriller is one of my absolute favorites. The plot was all over the place and the characters were not at all likable. I ended up DNF'ing this book. That being said, the audio narration was just fine. Thanks to NetGalley and RB media for this audio arc.

The premise was intriguing but, ultimately it just wasn't for me. I found the pacing incredibly slow and struggled to follow the plot/characters which is unfortunate because there is so much potential in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I listened to the audiobook for this one and I couldn’t tell if it was the writing or the narrator who struggled to make the characters distinctive enough. It made it a little hard to truly get into this story. I was very interested when I read the description. The story is about a group of students who sneak into the basement of the library the night before graduation to do a ritual that is meant to mirror the story of Persephone and Hades, but nothing goes as planned. I found the final twist at the end to be bizarre, but I suppose it was no more bizarre than the rest of it. It is bloody and gruesome which was fun, but it wasn’t a story I struggled to put down but one I struggled to pick up. I didn’t really care what happened to any of the characters and the most tragic part of the story was the ruined books (in my opinion at least).

That Night in the Library by Eva Jurczyk is a twist on the locked room murders scenario. A tale told with tense paranoia among a group of young graduates as a ritual done in secret goes terribly wrong.

Summary -

"...The William E. Woodend Rare Books Library, more alive than inanimate, stood elbow to elbow with the other gray stone buildings that made up the old campus, so often featured in university brochures. The first book had been shelved nearly one hundred and twenty years earlier. It wasn't a rare books library then. At some point in the intervening century, the collection of books was called 'special' and the doors were closed to the public.
One hundred and twenty years for the books to whisper and scheme. If given one hundred and fifty more, those books might find a way to make those sticks and stones, that concrete and steel, tumble to the ground..."

It is the night before graduation and seven students gather in the basement of the University's rare books library. No one is suppose to be in the library after closing and the automatic locks kick in, so they will not be able to leave until the following morning. They will have no cell service and no contact with anyone for the night. They are fully aware of this and depend on it. They are going to perform an ancient Greek ritual, said to free those who partake in it from fear of death. To enter the state expected for the ritual they must take hallucinogens, drugs to mimic the state of elevated consciousness the ritual calls for.

"...Are you okay?' Faye asked.
He wasn't okay.
He made a sound. It wasn't speech and it wasn't a scream. It was lower than that. A low, wet gurgle that was more terrifying than any scream could have been. Then he staggered forward two more steps and fell fully into their light.
His face, his button-down shirt, his trousers, were covered in blood..."

Just a few minutes into the ritual the lights go out and when they are able to see again, one of the seven lay dead. As the night goes on another of them is killed. They begin to realize that they are trapped in the basement, in the dark, with a murderer. The only question is, is the killer someone who had been hiding down there all this time, or is it one of them?

Review -

I really enjoyed That Night in the Library but I do understand the misgivings of some of the other reviews I have read concerning the story. The motivation of all to actually partake in the ritual still eludes me. With very few exceptions, none of them actually believe it will do them any good and if it was just to spend a night getting high, then certainly, there were better places to do that in the entire University campus.

But once you slip past that you have a very enjoyable thriller. A whodunnit that weaves through each of the characters and their personalities and motives. Jurczyk does a good job of developing them and as the tale goes on, the reader is drawn into each of them. The murders are a procession of falling dominoes and you are not always sure that the same killer is doing in everyone. What you are sure of is that the drugs they are taking are playing a major part in the unfolding scenario. As they begin to fear one another, their paranoia grows substantially. Which is ironic as they were doing the ritual to banish the fear that is gripping them.

The final reveal almost makes one that the entire night was one huge social experiment. What would happen if we locked seven well educated young people in a basement, how would they respond. Fear can make you do so many things. Things you probably thought you were never capable of.

A really good read.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a captivating read that held my attention from start to finish. The story was well-paced, and the characters felt real and engaging. I’m grateful to the publisher for providing an early copy—it was a pleasure to read!

That Night in the Library was unfortunately not for me. I think it had a lot of potential, but unfortunately tried to do too much.

Did not finish.

Slow, boring, did not understand. I was so set to. adore this but I just couldn't keep. with it and having read some reviews now, I probably would've gave up ssooner had I. read those first.
I'm not sure why this book just isn't doing well as it was so well presented with the synopsis.

two stars, if only for it gives me hope that my books will find an agent, publisher and whole team of people to back it since this one did...

I loved the description of this book and was so excited to dive right in. I listened to the audio version which may have impacted my view, however, I had a really hard time following this book. I found myself confused throughout and not really connecting to the story.

That Night in the Library by Eva Jurczyk is a gripping mystery that unfolds in the cozy yet complex setting of a small-town library. When a beloved librarian goes missing during a stormy night, secrets are uncovered, and tensions rise among the staff and patrons. Jurczyk skillfully intertwines character development with suspense, creating an atmosphere rich in intrigue and emotion. The exploration of community dynamics and personal relationships adds depth to the story, making it a captivating read for fans of cozy mysteries and character-driven narratives.

I got this as an audiobook arc and while I’m not super picky when it comes to audiobooks (as long as I can understand the words I’m good). The audiobook was well done (I approve). The book itself was kinda slow, the characters were annoying and their decision making at points had me questioning “how does your brain even work?” but nonetheless a bit entertaining. If you wanted to read an academic but not really book version of the movie bodies bodies bodies then I recommend this. Originally I was going to give this a 3⭐️ but the ending made me cackle so 3.5⭐️.

I liked the premise of this book...A ritual in the basement of an old library, but I was lost through most of this book.

There was a lot happening and many characters with many points of view. I almost didn't finish this book. I was underwhelmed.

This was such a fantastic read! The idea of doing a ritual in a university library, and to have someone die shortly after they start, I had to know what was going on and what was going to happen next! That was this just a mystery, or was there something to the ritual?

One thing that was interesting to me, was that before a character would die, we would be in their perspective. Which wasn't nessicarlyy the first time we'd been in their head, espcailly as the bodies started dropping like flies, there were fewer perspectives. But that meant that we saw most of these characters final thoughts, though not all of them.

Sometimes I wanted to shake them. They had fasted, and then they took acid-they were not in their right minds, they weren't thinking clearly. Like, just wait until morning, and you'll be let out. Instead, they let paranoia and fears get to them, acting wildly and erratic. Almost all of them could have walked out there, but no, they just couldn't wait.

That end, that reveal? That was shocking, at how stupid some people are. And gross! But to have all things kicked off because of that, of this whole night could've been prevented if that hadn't have happened? Some people are just eye roll worthy!

Loved reading this book and I'd love to read more by Eva Jurczyk!

This is a weird story.
One night, couple of young people lock themselves in a library for a party - or ritual. It starts with one ugly death and the course of the night continues the bloody way. No one knows who the perpetrator is. And there are always motives in a group of people...

I love this kind of murder mysteries, a locked room type of mystery - so what could go wrong? Firstly, the easy way the violence happens. Litres of blood here and there and the “rightful” killing is enabled. And the drugs influencing the behaviours is simply a lazy way of plotting. Secondly, the psychology behind the motives is weak. Thirdly, the Greek mythology hinted at is simply a bait.

The ending twist might be surprising, but by then I was so tired by this story, that I only noted it.

Unfortunately, this sounded so much better than it was. The execution didn't work. It rambled a lot and there was not one character I cared about. They were annoying and confusing and it didn't matter to me who survived. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook