"𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧*𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬?"
𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴."

Carolyn has spent most of her life locked inside an infinite library alongside her adopted siblings. Father gives each of them different catalogs to study, all becoming experts in their given fields. After a turn of events, father is missing, and none of them can reach the library, they need the help of an outsider.

I love this book so much. It has without a doubt cemented it's place in my top 10 favourite books of all time. It is everything I want from a story and more. The Library At Mount Char might be one of the weirdest, funniest and most confusing books I have ever read, but I loved every single second of it. There is something so special about reading the first 30 pages of a book, and just knowing it's going to be one of the best things you've ever read.

This book isn't going to be for everyone, if you like a linear structured narrative that isn't confusing, then this probably isn't the book for you. I spent the first 200 pages, so confused, but I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the craziness that was unfolding. And then the last 190 pages, when it all came together was so bloody satisfying.

I can't really say much without ruining this one. I recommend going in as blind as possible, but if you're into weird, witty, gory sci-fi, then you need this book. I mean you should buy it for Carolyn alone, she is such a fantastic main protagonist.  I love her with my whole heart. You know what is frustrating? The fact that this is the only book Scott Hawkins has written so far. I need more books like this in my life 😭

Thanks to my bookish bestie Kathryn for gifting me this book for Christmas. You are the best, and I never would have picked this up if it wasn't for you

I’m not sure where to begin with this book. The Library at Mount Char is weird. A lot happens that will make you experience a range of emotions which, admittedly, tend to be unpleasant. It certainly fits into the horror genre for disturbing imagery, but I wouldn’t necessarily call this a “scary” book (though I’d take my opinion on this with a grain of salt; it takes a lot for me to find something terrifying).

It really wasn’t until the second half of the book that I felt any kind of investment in the novel and understand what was actually going on. Until then, I found the first half incredibly slow and frustrating. The premise of the novel itself was interesting, especially for knowledge seekers who would love to be true masters of one particular topic. The idea that you pour through every imaginable book for that one topic has its appeal to a certain crowd, though the question is at what cost? If Hawkins could have revealed a little more of that at the start of the novel, I think I would have felt more invested from the start.

I felt that there was a bit of deus ex machina happening towards the end of the novel, but not to an extreme that would have made me hate this book. I still had questions even after finishing, but I get the impression that Hawkins wants his readers to sit in that unease in all the strangeness that happened in the novel.

I hesitate to recommend this to anyone, not because it’s bad, but because it’s definitely for a specific audience, which I think I wasn’t exactly part of. If you’re queasy with graphic descriptions of violence, I’d strongly recommend avoiding this one.