Format: Ebook 

Rather surprisingly having read the title and blurb, this book follows three main characters: Joanna, living isolated alone in the woods, the sole protector of a rare book collection; her older half-sister, Esther, who left home at eighteen and has been running every since; and Nicholas, a Scribe writing magical books for a secret library organisation under the watchful eye of his uncle. While his presence was a surprise, I was incredibly grateful for it as it’s fair to say a lot of our understanding of this world comes from him. 

Törzs has developed a magic system built on books, and who wouldn’t love that? The magical world is made up of two types of people: Scribes who can write them and those who can sense them. This was such an interesting magic system and it’s a key element of the book so we can fully immerse ourselves within it. 

The book also contains plenty of mystery, and I found myself constantly questioning what I was learning and pulling the different threads together in my mind as I read. These mysteries kept me hooked throughout as I was keen to see whether my understanding of the world translated to being able to solve them before we reached that point in the plot. 

Everything built beautifully towards a tension-filled and dramatic ending and, while I can understand the calls for more in this world, I found myself very satisfied with how the book concluded. I think this was a great standalone fantasy. At a time when we have so many series out, it’s really nice to find a self-contained story that is so well-rounded and thought out in a single book.