Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2)

Synopsis

Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever.

Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library's deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London.

But Jess's home isn't safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon Jess must choose between his friends, his family, and the Library, which is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control . . . .

Loved

• The crew. I've decided one of my favorite elements of stories- especially action/fantasy type stories- is having a solid crew. Seeing characters bond, sacrifice for each other, banter, tease, and risk their lives for each other makes a story causes us to invest so much more into the characters. Although the crew is separated for the beginning of the story, they unite and end up becoming a formidable group that is willing to sacrifice and give up anything for each other. Their relationships develop nicely in this book, and we get to know the characters a little more deeply.

• The action scenes. The beginning of this story felt a little slow, but the entire second half of the book is jumping from danger to danger and we get a lot of action and suspense. Jess nearly dies in almost every chapter of this story, which seems like it would get old, but it's exciting to see his brilliance, pluck and criminal background help him out of dicey situations. 

• The world. In this sequel we get a lot deeper into this world with the dark secrets of the Library, to going inside the Iron Tower, and understanding how the Library has kept its power for so long. This world is fascinating and unique, with detailed history, long-held traditions, and a perfect setting for bookworms who love books about books.

Didn't Love

• This book suffered severely from second-book-syndrome for the first half of the book. The beginning seemed very slow, drawn-out, and it didn't feel like the plot was moving forward. I considered putting it down a few times, but decided to stick with it at least until the end of this book. I'm glad I did because the plot, action, and pace did really pick up and the last half of the book was exciting and engaging, and I found myself excited to find out what happened to the characters. 

Content

• Language: 
• Frequent uses of "arse," "bastard," "damn," and "hell."
• One use of "bullsh**."

• Sexual content: 
• A few kisses between main characters, not much described besides his arms around her.
• A character is forced to chart her monthly cycles and be paired with a male to try to have children with alchemical abilities. Talk of her "being forced to bed" a certain boy and her terror and anger about this.

• Violence
• Automated machines from the Library maim and kill frequently- descriptions of heaps of blood, flesh and bone left when they kill.
• Characters frequently have to fight other soldiers, some they know. Many shots are fired throughout the book- lots of soldiers killed, some familiar. One character shot in the chest and dies, a main character receives a wound from a shot.
• Fighting with "greek fire" that burns people and buildings alike. A man purposely jumps into the fire to end his life.
• Talk of death and corpses due to war with the Welsh and the Library war.
• Frequent attempts on characters' lives through poisoning, shooting, greek fire, and dangerous situations.
• A character is killed by stepping in front of a car, but was pushed.
• A character is forced to shoot a fellow soldier to prevent another's death.


• Other themes:
• LGBT Rep: Two of the main characters are a male-male couple. They talk of being "lovers" and kiss once in the story.
• A female character mentions that another girl had fallen in love with her, and she did not know how to handle this because she is in a relationship with a man.

Overall Thoughts

To be honest, the first half of this book was a little rough for me, but maybe it was because I didn't have a lot of time to read it at first. It felt slow and convoluted for a while, and didn't feel like the plot was really going anywhere. However, the second half of the book was very exciting and never let readers catch their breath as the crew got back together and raged war against the Library. The action scenes and seeing the crew work together and build their loyalty toward each other made the book totally worth reading in the end, and I was glad I stuck with it. I've started the third book in the series and it's already very interesting, so I think I'll stick with the series. Overall this is a really unique and creative series, and the first bit of Paper and Fire is definitely worth pushing through to be able to enjoy the whole series.