Review--The Library of Shadows by Rachel Moore

 

Funny, moving, and heart-achingly real, this romantic romp and paranormal romcom debut--through a haunted library with trapdoors, ghosts, and memories--is full of great love that triumphs over even death, perfect for fans of Ninth House and Cemetery Boys.

Radcliffe Prep. The third most haunted school in the country, where a student disappearance isn't uncommon and no one dares stay in the library after dark. And Este Logano enrolls with the hopes of finding her dead father.

Not literally, of course. She doesn't believe in ghosts. Going to her dad's school just seems like her best hope at figuring out who he was.

But then Este meets Mateo, who is maybe--probably--definitely--a real ghost. And an annoying one at that.

When Mateo frames Este for the theft of a rare book from the library's secret spire and then vanishes, Este will have to track him down or risk being expelled and leaving Radcliffe early just like her father did.

Except following her father's footsteps might be more dangerous than Este ever anticipated. As she investigates the library with its secret passageways, hidden tunnels, and haunted halls, she learns that the student disappearances aren't just myth. And if she isn't careful, she'll be next.

I love a good book that involves ghosts, so when I saw the cover for Rachel Moore's The Library of Shadows, I knew it was one I had to read! Whether the ghosts are friendly or spooky, I'm usually up for any kind of story involving them and Moore didn't disappoint on that front. 

That being said, this book wasn't without its problems. When Este arrives at the school her father attended when he was her age, she hopes to find some sort of connection to him there and when she uncovers a mysterious key in her belongings she uncovers a locked room in the library, one that had been locked since her father left the school. <cue dramatic music> Before uncovering this room, she meets a cute boy in the library, Mateo, who seems to know more than he's telling. He leads her to the mysterious locked door in the library and just when the going gets thick, he "mysteriously" disappears. And with him, a priceless book.

So now the head librarian is giving Este a chance to redeem herself. Not only must she "return" the book that was stolen, but she is also to work in the library on what's essentially a graveyard shift that goes from the evening to around 2am. This to me just screamed chaos. I mean, I get it's a "punishment" but what kind of school is encouraging their students to stay up late and not get anywhere close to eight hours of sleep and still go to classes afterward and maintain the proper GPA? This just felt a little too convoluted. Yes, for the story to work, Este needs to be in the library after dark, but this was just a little too far-fetched for me.

Then when it becomes obvious that Mateo is a ghost, I mean he is transparent on the cover, I also couldn't quite get behind his character. Yes, he's been haunting the school for a hundred years or so, but for some reason, he just adapts to what century he's living in. I mean, okay, in a way, I can understand it, but then it just felt too weird that he was so up to date on everything. But I guess if you're silently haunting a school for a century, the changes in technology and fashion and vernacular are easy to adapt to. Again, it's just a "me" kind of complaint, but from other books I've read featuring ghosts, most of them tend to still be in their era of when they died and became a ghost.

There's a bit of mystery involved surrounding the missing book and Mateo fills Este in on all the details and naturally, the book isn't whole and pages are missing, so now they must do some detective work and find these pages before time runs out. As Este only has until the semester break to return the book to the librarian or else she's expelled.

While I do love a good ghost book, I find the added romance a bit complicated as it usually can never end well. When the completely alive human falls for the ghost, you can only imagine heartbreak being the ending. While I won't spoil the ending, it did go in a direction I was afraid of. But that's all I'll say. In the meantime, we get that complexity of "how can we be together" kind of thing when one is dead and the other is alive. And while the romance didn't spring up right away, it did feel a little too insta-y for me. Which again, not a major complaint but you know how insta-love goes, you either love it or hate it. I actually fall somewhere in between. I'm fine with some insta-feelings and attraction, but throwing out that L-word so soon is just too much no matter the age genre.

All in all, while it may seem like I have a few too many issues with this book, I really did enjoy it. I love a good ghost story and mystery. There was great character development in this one. Sure it was a little corny here and there and followed your typical YA tropes that are eyeroll worthy, but it was still a fun story with a good mystery involved. I even almost sort of solved it beforehand as I kept wondering about this one thing that never seemed to be discussed and sure enough it had a role in the great "reveal" of it all! Lol.

So if you enjoy a good ghost romance/mystery that can be a little corny with its common tropes, then The Library of Shadows is the read for you! Plus there are tons of great references to make any booklover swoon, hot ghost or no! Lol.

Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars