This book had a great idea, I just found too many things confusing. They really distracted me from enjoying the mood of the book.

This book started so well & i was very intrigued. The premise sounded thrilling & suspenseful. With the added element of them performing an ancient ritual, i was expecting some crazy things to go down.

We get introduced to all the characters, their backgrounds and you start seeing their motivations for people down in the basement. That’s great, i love understanding the characters I’m about to read about.

Unfortunately from there, all the characters seem to blur together. There was only a couple that stuck out to me. They seemed to all have one personality so i wasn’t invested in any of them. Faye was the strongest character.

It was hard to trust anything that was happening during the book because most of them had taken acid at the start, which definitely made it less exciting. Because you couldn’t trust anything the characters were seeing, it was hard to gather that suspense. Most of them made stupid decisions. It was hard to tell if it was because that’s what those characters are like, or if it was because they were high. We didn’t get to know the characters well enough at the start, to understand what they were truely like.

I didn’t see the twist at the end coming though! I really enjoyed the ending so I’m glad i finished it.

Thank you NetGalley & RB Media for this audiobook copy.

A bunch of college students hide away to spend the night in their library's basement in order to recreate an ancient ritual involving drugs. So, like, what could go wrong? The students are a bit of a cliche of subgroups and they are really obnoxious in a way only college students in a book can be. All of that aside, this was a good read with a lot of scares and a good ending. Once you get past the first 25-30% and into the real tension the story does pull you in.

Interesting read where a bunch of about to graduate kids spend a night dying one by one in the library of rare books, creating a who done it.

The night before graduation seven students gather in the basement of the library to perform a ritual that will supposedly free them from the fear of death. For most of those in attendance it's a chance to let loose from the tightly wound expectations of school right before they're to head off into the wider world.

What starts out as an evening of possibility and intrigue quickly devolves into something sinister. First, the lights go out in the basement and as the students acclimate to the unnerving feeling of wrongness one of their number dies a horrible excruciating death.

Of course, there's only so many suspects and they're all locked in a library basement together. As the night progresses the fact that one of them is a killer permeates into each of their minds. Will anyone survive until morning?

I feel like this is a premise with a lot of potential. A locked-room mystery with only a limited pool of suspects and a proverbial ticking clock make for a good combination, and keeps that intensity up. Somehow, however, for me it failed to completely land.

There were some definite strong points, but overall, I don't know that I feel like it led anywhere. I was waiting for some unexpected twist to come that made me gasp out loud for the whole surprise of it. Not that there aren't some twists, looking back they simply felt obvious.

Where I think the book shined the best was in the beginning, the build up of everyone's backstory and where they're coming from. The whole idea that none of these people are classically "good" so there's this realm of possibilities of not knowing the lengths they would go to protect themselves or others. As things begin to devolve, however, I felt like that intensity slowly wanes.

I will say this is one of the few books where I start out not really caring about any of the characters because they all seemed a little self-involved, but as things progressed I began to feel a sympathy for these young people who it's clear are still growing into themselves. Eva Jurczyk was really good about infusing some vulnerability into these characters even when we're still questioning our trust in them.

I listened to this on audiobook and I'll say that the narrator did great in making the uneasiness of the situation really come through. Also, each character was very distinct in their voicing so in the chaos of everything going on, it was easy to touch base with who is speaking. I think audio also lends itself well to upping the intensity of the moment. If you're thinking about picking this one up, I highly recommend listening to it.

Overall, this was an ok read for me. I wish there had been a few more twists of genuine shock. I will say that I keep pondering the ending and my overall feelings about it which is not nothing when it comes to a read. One that keeps you thinking about it cannot be entirely without merit.

This one sounded amazing kids locking themselves in a library overnight to reenact a ritual, spooky things occur?! count me in.

Unfortunately this one just really missed the mark for me. I couldn't really connect to any of the characters and I was just really, REALLY bored. I am frustrated by how many times the Persephone story was retold one was enough, thanks. I was annoyed with how much Faye couldn't stop thinking about food- I get it you fasted, you're HUNGRY. There were multiple POV's and yet somehow I felt like I was in the same characters head the whole time, they all blended together.

This one was just very much not for me.

Might be worth a try if you like locked in mysteries, greek mythology or thrillers.

I read this as a book and I felt like it was just meh. So I scooped up the audiobook to see if I felt differently. I liked it. The narration was amazing. There are a lot of different perspectives but she did well! I was rarely confused.
I just found the whole story silly. "lets go trip balls in the special collections of the university library" and then everyone dies in different ways. Amazing.

A solid story and a solid audio. It was a single narration but I kept thinking how much multiple narrators would have elevated the book.

This is a locked room mystery with 7 students trapped in the basement of an old library overnight. Each of them carefully selected and brought to the event under the guise of participating in an ancient ritual - that, ironically, was supposed to diminish the fear of death. Who will be left standing in the morning?

Hannah Cabell does an excellent job narrating this story. Taking on seven different characters is challenging but she did it with ease. The book flowed well and her inflection was impeccable. The chapters were longer but transitioned well. My only complaint is how she read the chanting. Sounded a bit off to me but overall- excellent audio, would recommend!

That Night in the Library is a cleverly crafted closed room thriller that explores the psyche of different characters when faced with the fear of being locked in a room with someone dangerous. Each character was so unique which made this story multifaceted and well layered. This story will also keep the reader guessing until the end.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story. While I typically like each charcuterie to be narrated by a unique narrator, I thought the choice for a single narrator for this story was spot on. And I thought the narrator selected did an excellent job. I listened at 1.75x speed (with my normal audiobook listening speed 1.75-2x speed).

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for this advanced audiobook copy.

What happened that night in the basement of the rare books library?

Six people were invited to participate in a Greek ritual organized by one of the library assistants on the night before graduation. Most of the invited had a connection to the library but one tagged along with the drug (acid) that is meant to be used to enhance the experience. The library finally closed and they were locked in the basement for the night. The lights went out. Almost immediately, one is found dead. There was no way to communicate their distress because of scheduled IT maintenance and no phone signals. One by one, the attendees are picked off.

The premise was intriguing, but the execution left me rolling my eyes in boredom. Lots of repetition and characters that I could not care less about. The narrative shifted from person to person and in time as the reader learns more about them. Unfortunately, none were so endearing as to be missed when they died off. With all that happened, still was not sure I understood whatever was meant to be the main point nor were any of the answers to my questions given. It was a continuous ramble. I suppose if one was a rare book person or into Greek mythology, it might have proved more compelling, but I'm neither. Frankly, I should have marked it DNF and moved on.

I listened to the audiobook while following along with the e-book ARC - both provided by the publisher. The narrator, Hannah Cabell, was OK but the recording would have benefited with having a male voice as many of the characters sounded exactly the same.

Overall, quite a disappointment to me, a library lover who was aghast when some books were ruined. I'm even less interested in the antics of college students or reenactments of silly rituals based on mythology.

You’re locked in a library. This would be the ultimate place to work on the edits this book needs. I’m sorry. I really didn’t like this. The characters are all just so miserable and awful

I just couldn't really connect with this book. I really wanted to love it because I liked the synopsis! I don't know if it was too many characters or the characters themselves were just too shallow or not well developed...I just couldn't do it. The plot couldn't even keep me engaged enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’ve been a lover of locked room mysteries since I watched Clue. It’s still my favorite board game to this day.

This felt very much like something would happen. A group of 7 people are brought together to party and do a ritual the last night of their college year. Most of them work in the library, but aren’t really friends. When the first person dies, it’s anyone’s guess who makes it through the night. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters- but I did understand their motivations for participating and found some to root for.
This felt like a locked door mystery with the violence level of a slasher movie. I wasn’t actually sure what happened until the reveal. And I didn’t guess right!

🎧 Hannah Cabell did a good job narrating. There was a good difference between the calmer moments and the action scenes which helped heighten the emotions.

Thank you to Recorded Books for the alc.

Seven students(most of them grad) sneak into their university's rare books library the night before graduation to have a Greek ritual. Three of them were already working in the library as assistants and hoping get a permanent job there after the graduation, so they are in a competition for the job. But things didn't go as they planned.

I had to dnf this book after listening %20 off it, I was unable to finish it. I hoped I would enjoy this one, dark academia plus locked room mystery premise is just my cup off tea. Wishing for some The Secret History vibes with the Greek ritual. But didn't connect with any of the characters, found most unlikeable (telling your girlfriend maybe she would get raped in the ritual, c'mon). Academic setting didn't feel realistic either, as someone who lives it. I just couldn't continue this anymore.

Thank you Netgalley and the RB Media a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved this, I legitimately made the speed faster on my audio because I was so hooked on trying to figure out what was going on. Will absolutely be looking out for more from this author.

This is a difficult book to review - a fun and thrilling concept with questionable execution. I didn’t dislike this book, but I also don’t think that it came anywhere close to living up to its potential. I did enjoy reading it as an audiobook, though.

Seven college students are trapped in a library basement in the dark after originally planning to undergo an ancient Greek ritual - a great idea, but unfortunately, this was less dark academia and more low-budget thriller. I would have loved to have seen some more depth to the plot and background to the ritual.

Every single character in this book was incredibly unlikeable, which isn’t inherently bad, but did become a little grating after a while. The plot of this one definitely would have benefited from a little more nuance, as I felt that it became a little tedious and predictable after the first death.

I did enjoy the characterisation and general idea of this one, and would recommend it to mystery/thriller lovers. Make sure to check TWs before reading as this one is quite graphic. 2.5/5

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job. The book had an intriguing premise but it was repetitive throughout. I’m sure this will be a favorite for some but it was a miss for me.

I really really wanted to love this book. The premise was fantastic. I love a locked room mystery. The characters were unlikeable in a way that contributed to the plot and then made you feel for them at points. The audiobook was the narration was wonderful. I feel like the mystery part ended up being a bit of a let down but all in all in would read it again.

This book had a lot of negative reviews, and I’m not sure why. Yes, there were a lot of characters, but they were all very distinct. I had no problem keeping track of them. I liked how it was told from all of their points of view. Some of the characters were likable, and some were extremely unlikable.

I thought I knew what was going to happen a few times in the story. I read a lot of thrillers. The ending definitely surprised me though, and was something that I didn’t expect at all. It really made me enjoy the book!

Thank you Netgalley, Eva jurczyk and RB Media for the audio arc of That Night in The Library.
Narrated by Hannah Cabell.

While the premise of this book sounded great ( what can go wrong within a library?! ) I felt that it felt a little flat for me. Each character have their own POV as 3rd person and were individual enough although they felt a little wooden. It made it difficult to bond with any of them.

The plot itself was ok, just a slow built that felt like it didn't really go anywhere. The twists and the payoff at the end, again felt a little flat. I pushed through and kept listening which Hannah Cabell has a lovely storytelling voice and I feel that her voice helped me through the book itself. If you like a good. yarn of a story, then it's great. For me, I like a little more from the story itself.

3 stars