Review--The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde

 

Can you love the dark when you know what it hides?

Some things aren’t supposed to exist outside of our imagination.

Thirteen years ago, monsters emerged from the shadows and plunged Kierse’s world into a cataclysmic war of near-total destruction. The New York City she knew so well collapsed practically overnight.

In the wake of that carnage, the Monster Treaty was created. A truce...of sorts.

But tonight, Kierse―a gifted and fearless thief―will break that treaty. She’ll enter the Holly Library...not knowing it’s the home of a monster.

He’s charming. Quietly alluring. Terrifying. But he knows talent when he sees it; it’s just a matter of finding her price.

Now she’s locked into a dangerous bargain with a creature unlike any other. She’ll sacrifice her freedom. She’ll offer her skills. Together, they’ll put their own futures at risk.

But he’s been playing a game across centuries―and once she joins in, there will be no escape...

K.A. Linde's The Wren in the Holly Library wasn't on my radar when it first came out and I truly regret that now...or maybe not since I won't have long to wait for the second book! Lol. But it came on my radar recently when I decided to make a road trip tomorrow to go to Linde's KC event and I thought, let's give it a go since I'm buying the second book and I was positively delighted by this magnificent book!

I pretty much knew nothing about the book other than what the blurb told me, but man, The Beauty and the Beast vibes are alive with this one! I wouldn't go as far to call this a retelling, but there is a beauty, there is a monster, and there's what we all loved most...a library! Set in a world ravaged by monsters, humanity has taken quite a dark turn. But there is a treaty in place that helps to keep the peace between the monsters and humans, but still life is not kind for those humans who were never the rich and elite...which is a great deal many!

Kierse is a thief, one of the best. When she's hired to steal a ring from a library in a huge manor, she treats it like any other job. The plan was going along swimmingly, until she is caught by the homeowner, who just happened to be one of the aforementioned monsters. As to what kind, is unclear. But Graves is intrigued by Kierse, for she has a special skill set he's sorely in need of. He offers her a job to steal a powerful weapon and includes rounds of particular training sets as well. With the money being too good to pass up, a caveat Kierse made sure to stipulate in exchange for her services, she agrees.

The premise behind this story deeply intrigued me! Having just read Linde's vampire book where vampires came out into society and were running things, I was liking the idea of the whole monster crew coming out into society and running things! Of course, there is not necessarily peace in the cities. There's still turf wars, still fights and certain crews to avoid, both of the human and monster variety. It's still a very dangerous place to live in if you're human.

I've always loved "monster" stories! No matter the monster and I love learning about new ones. Here we get a good variety but not everyone is in the spotlight. But it was still an intriguing story nonetheless.

Like any good story the treads The Beauty and The Beast tale, we have romance that takes awhile to come around. Kierse and Graves begin to grow feelings for one another but since they are two of a kind what with their dark pasts and secrets, there's bound to be more conflict than kisses, but never fear for there are plenty of kisses! Lol.

Eventually we do get a good buildup of secrets piling up, one after another it seems. There were some hints to things and what with the books' titles it becomes a little more obvious, but you still can't quite fit all the pieces together until the very end when more gets revealed! And these were some doozies of info droppers, that's for sure!

We did get something like a cliffhanger at the end of this one. I don't know if it's because I nearly have the sequel in hand or not, but I felt like these weren't the killer cliffhangers as I had expected. I mean, we've all been there when those famous last words appear on the page and when you turn the last page you're reading the acknowledgements instead of a continuation! Lol. Here, while things are tense and there's a precarious balancing act happening, I feel like the cliffhanger isn't all that bad. It's honestly an ending worthy of a first-in-a-series! But still tremulous at best and I do really want that sequel to just keep on living in these pages for a little while longer. I'm sure by the end of the next book I will be singing a different tune! Lol.

If you're looking for a new paranormal fantasy read rife with monsters and secrets galore coupled with a familiar romance (and let's not forget that library) then I highly recommend reading The Wren in the Holly Library! It's the perfect blend of fantasy and mystery with a hint of paranormal thrown in for good measure!

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars