Where do I start! Don't read the reviews, just see the 5 stars and BUY IT! You won't regret it!!!
But if you do need a review, here is one that will contain small spoilers, which will give you the IN as to what is come in this book. I WON'T RUIN THE ENDING, just give you little tidbits so you see why I made my first statement. I'll cover some of the start of the first book - Ink and Bone.
So, Ink and Bone... We met Jess, the son of a book smuggler in a world where owning an original book is a death sentence.
From the very first page we are taken into a world that is set in the future but feels very much like the turn of the last century. (The steampunk theme to the book is clear from the first page to the very last, and I can't help but love it! It was the first steampunk book I had read.)
The introduction to Ink and Bone, and to Jess... We see Jess, just a child at the time, running sweaty and wild through the streets of London with a book strapped to his chest - hidden under a shirt - knowing that if he is caught, he will be disowned, hung and left nameless and counted as one of many murdered (as we find out, just like his dearest older brother) if caught by The Great Library. (The Great Library of Alexandria that is set to own all the books and control the world.) The end result, his head is hung low with the weight of the world on his shoulders as because of those he got killed when the library Automata, (statues powered as Rachel Caine herself states, gears and magic) were alerted by Jess as he ran by them. (They have almost a sixth sense when someone is carrying a book or is acting strange or “looks” suspicious.) And also, because the precious book he carried against his beating heart, let's just say, doesn't exist anymore. (An abrupt awakening of what madness, money and power do to you - INKLICKERS SUCK!) Note: Inklickers are people that eat books!
When Jess is 16, he’s seen by his father - in a way - deemed worthless, as Jess isn't dedicated to the family business (he still carries the weight of the world on his shoulders due to the first scene of the book) of smuggling books like his twin brother Brendan. (That kid is as sly as he is manipulative - his father trained him well). His father makes a decision to send him to join The Library to infiltrate and see weaknesses and snag precious books, he might as well have sent him to war.
On his first day, the things he encounters, one great example - A burner: someone who believes a life is worth more than a book, and to try and prove his point, he throws Greek Fire - also known in history as Dragon's breath - over himself. Yeah, let's just say, it doesn't end with him walking away looking like a zombie or the dude from Skyfall. It's intense and it gives the book an edge and a meaning that no other book has. Life is worth more than we realize.)
Soon we meet a group of teenagers all heading to the same destination. All of them are joining the library for their own reasons and can't be trusted, we learn that pretty much from the start. But who can you trust, that is the question! NO ONE? Maybe? ;) Everyone seems to be there for themselves, not to get attached or to make friends. But what he finds is friends in the most random and magical of places, Morgan a great example, a girl with a secret of her own. Spoiler: Obscurist magic is beautiful.
The characters to focus on: Jess - the boy is badass and very intense. Morgan – she is intriguing, secretive and a perfect match for Jess. Thomas - he has an amazing mind, gentle soul and one of my favourite characters in this series. Glain - SHE IS BADASS - she reminds me of a younger Black Widow. Khalila - I love her reaction to getting hugged by Jess, she has a precious insight to their world that makes it feel pure - she doesn't see the wrong the library does - she is blinded by it. Dario - I could've slapped him but you learn to love him. Wolfe - Gee wizz, this dude has a lot of issues, but he is one tough, defiant son of a gun, and this book...it wouldn't work without him in it. You would feel like something is missing. Santi - By heck, if you want a soilder on your side, that could kill someone in one punch type of way - maybe a bit of an exaggeration - READ IT AND FIND OUT - YOU CALL HIM! (I imagined him in a Terminator movie.)
By the end of book 1 you'll NEED book 2.
Book two: Paper & Fire.
This book is so hot; it burns deep down into your imagination and leaves your bones shaking due to shaking the book because is it finished! (This book needs to become movie. LIKE NOW! Gah!) So help me, I jumped up and down when I got chance to read this, and wouldn’t shut up about it. (I still don’t!)
When we come back to Jess, we see him once again strapped with a book to his chest; we don’t know what it is truly for just then… we just know it is VERY important. So important, if Jess is caught with it, a lot of people could be implicated and killed. This kid has the ins and outs of the library almost figured; there is no hiding anything from him. Knowledge is power and he knows how to get it! Especially when it involves injustice and a friend! Dark and Dangerous times lay ahead for him.
Glain, I love this girl. Fierce and loyal to her friends, she is now a Captain – Like Santi. Her role is to teach other Soldiers what to look for, train and prepare them for life on the streets. Also, to seek out the enemy and to find, capture and kill anyone who could possibly be against the library. (Burners are freaking insane, but set on their course to destroy the library, no matter what they have to do. In this book, take note: There is a scene midway through when they are in Rome, that when you read it, you’ll either WTF or head tilt while thinking, did I just really read that? YES YOU DID! Burners give up their life rather than be caught!) As for Glain in this book, she plays such an amazing role……
Dario and Khalila, These two are sweet on each other as we see from the first book. Their relationship is clear in Paper & Fire. But their actions hold consequences. Dario’s especially. That kid feels he has something to prove to Jess and to everyone with disastrous consequences.
Wolfe and Santi… My word, I adore these two. Ink and Bone doesn’t have a patch on what we see happen between them in Paper & Fire! SPARKS, HEAT, PASSION, RAW ANGER, INTENSE EMOTION and one hell of a back story that shows you just what they have both had to overcome to be together. I just hope Wolfe doesn’t put them in jeopardy. Wait till you see how we learn of Wolfe’s back story of when he was taken, I re-read the scene because it’s harsh but WOW!
Now SPOILER! (Thomas! Dear, dear Thomas. The hell that boy has gone through is nothing we can guess but only read and imagine. And what’s to come, hell is going to rain down upon the library and Jess, Thomas and the gang are going to at the centre of it. NOTE. THE. LAST. CHAPTER of Paper and Fire!)
This series so far has been amazing, I have loved it from page 1… There is truly nothing negative I can say about this series. Paper and fire is definitely the best of the two books published so far within this trilogy. BRING ON ASH AND QUILL – I’m presuming it is due out next year (2017) I DON’T WANT TO WAIT THAT LONG! Then I realized we’re in August already.
As Paper and Fire unfolds, we see some NEW dangerous intriguing characters I haven’t mentioned for a reason. As I said, I didn’t want to spoil anything. But this I will say, Wolfe and his Mother meet up in this book, she plays a big roll towards the end of Paper and Fire, and we learn so much from her. And my word, it may just break your heart what happens at the end of this book. I was almost crying. I NEVER CRY AT BOOKS!
So, to rate this book in one final sentence, 10/10 epic stars – I couldn’t of wished for better characters, fast paced, action packed, slightly romantic, heart wrenching, death defying read.
Ash and Quill is now on my most anticipated list of books to come out next year.
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Reviews with images
Product damaged prior to delivery!
I bought these books and one of the two were damaged. I'm not sure how brand new books get creases in them like this but I'm not very happy that the books which are presents are damaged.
Top reviews from other countries
Autumn Melody
Good sequel
Reviewed in India on December 12, 2017
Autumn Melody
Reviewed in India on December 12, 2017
This book picks up with the characters scattered in different places and brings them back together. The ending was something I was not expecting. There was seriously a lot of fire in this book. Made me feel bad everytime they described a burnt book. Looking forward to buying the next part once it becomes available.
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Maria
Am loving this unique and captivating series.
Reviewed in Australia on April 13, 2018