The Wren in the Holly Library
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15
Ratings2
Average rating3
Set in an alternate day New York filled with monsters, The Wren in the Holly Library is a dark, spicy romantasy loosely inspired by Beauty and the Beast - perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab and Leigh Bardugo. She stole from a monster . . . now she must pay the price Street thief Kierse should have known something wasn't right. Now she's trapped in a library -- with a monster. She can't run. She can't hide. And this man - this being, filled with terrible power and darkness -- is well within his rights to kill her. By trespassing, Kierse has broken the fragile peace treaty between monsters and humans. But instead of killing her, Graves does the unexpected: he offers her a job. A chance to find out who she really is. Kierse has always known she's different. That she can do things a little better, a little faster. And there's that sense she has when danger is only a breath away. But if the old tales are true, there are worse things in the world than monsters. Like a threat more ancient than legend. Like Graves. Or like Kierse herself . . . From bestselling author K. A. Linde comes the start of an addictive dark romantasy series where monsters live among humandkind, and ancient secrets threaten to destroy everything . . .
Featured Series
1 primary bookThe Oak and Holly Cycle is a 1-book series first released in 2024 with contributions by K.A. Linde.
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Contains spoilers
This was an easy enough book to read. I would have been able to finish this faster had I not been struggling to finish reading another book.
The pacing of the story is good. It started off in the middle of something but, as a reader, it didn’t feel like I was dropped in a confusing situation where a lot of things were happening at once. The plot followed a certain flow. There’s a BIG GOAL. But on the way to the BIG GOAL, smaller goals were set. So, the story didn’t feel dragging or not exciting for large stretches of time.
There are spots in the plot where it seems like it’s what’s happening just seems too convenient. However, I forgive those just because it keeps it from adding too many characters or complications.
The author was also not afraid to kill off characters. Sure, they are minor ones. But given how the last book I read had a ‘Big battle’ where only one person from the protagonist’s side got killed, I appreciated this.
There were enough instances of twists that made me doubt if they will succeed in their goal or at least doubt if they were going achieve it without losing something along the way.
There were romance and what folks these days call “spice”. Personally, I didn’t think the plot needed it. Or if the author really wanted it to have it, they could have just upped the ‘will they or won’t they’ factor rather than have it happen without showing us the building tension.
The end was open ended which gives the author leeway to write more.
Overall, it’s a solid read. Is it the best thing I’ve read or wowed me? No. But I wouldn’t discourage people from reading it.
