Synopsis

For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements–books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.

All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .

In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue–and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.

Review

A fabulous debut novel with some very interesting magic, mystery and wonderful prose.

The story revolves around books. Not just any books though, for these books contain magic. I really liked the take on how these magical books worked (I won’t spoil it here), and how only certain people can read or even write them. I also appreciated how it leant into ‘all magic comes with a price’ and the various ways in which that notion applied to each character.

The characters themselves, Joanna, Esther and Nicholas were all very different, their POV’s very individual and all equally interesting. Joanna is a homebody, content to be surrounded by only her books for company, though plagued with a paranoia induced by her aloneness. Esther is the opposite, a headstrong adventurer who is always on the move. And Nicholas, kept hidden behind the walls of The Library for his own safety, rarely allowed any interaction with anyone save his tiny handful of family.

I love the atmosphere Törzs created with her writing. there was an undercurrent of danger, of threat to the characters through the whole book. It built slowly at first, and then very quickly bubbled to the surface in a way that made it very difficult to put the book down. The writing itself was excellent, and I am very impressed that this is a debut novel!

I recieved this book as an ARC for review from the publisher, Random House UK and NetGalley.