Title: Ash and Quill
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: July 11, 2017
Hoarding all the knowledge of the world, the Great Library jealousy guards its secrets. But now a group of rebels poses a dangerous threat to its tyranny....
Jess Brightwell and his band of exiles have fled London, only to find themselves imprisoned in Philadelphia, a city led by those who would rather burn books than submit. But Jess and his friends have a bargaining chip: the knowledge to build a machine that will break the Library’s rule.Their time is running out. To survive, they’ll have to choose to live or die as one, to take the fight to their enemies—and to save the very soul of the Great Library....
I'm never really certain about what to say when it comes to sequels. I don't want to soil anything, but, alas, I must reveal spoilers for the first two books to review this one.
This one starts off immediately after the end of Paper and Fire. Jess and crew are stuck in the Burner city of Philadelphia. They are instantly taken prisoner and have to scheme their ways out of persecution.
I was glad to see more of some of my favorite characters this time around. Not that they weren't there before, but Brendan and Dario had much smaller parts to play in the first two books, whereas they are both very important to this installment. Brendan is quite the schemer himself, just as much as Jess. And I loved really learning more about him. It was also good to see the two interact more.
Then we have some of the old favorites, like Wolf and Santi, Khalila, Glain, Thomas, and of course Morgan. Thomas is beginning to get more and more cunning the more he hangs with Jess. And we get to see some more of his engineering prowess in action.
I'll be straightforward. This series is full of action, adventure, plotting, betrayal, and people that love books. What could be better? As Jess and crew try to take on the Great Library of Alexandria, everything always falls apart. And the only thing that can save them all is their wits. Especially the wits of Jess and Brendan. Morgan and Jess's relationship blossoms even more, and Morgan sacrifices parts of herself to save everyone. The cliffhanger here is a doozy, and I cannot wait until the fourth installment is out as well.
If you weren't hooked before, you will be now. If you weren't in love with Paper and Fire, I beg you--give Ash and Quill a shot. It brings back the fast pace of the first book while diving deeper and deeper into the characters the way the second book did. It never drags, and the romance is sweet but not a focus at all. If anything, Jess sacrifices Morgan for the greater good, because he knows he needs to, rather than doing the selfish thing and staying hidden and happy.
Overall
This was probably my favorite so far in the series. If you have been considering reading this series, do it!
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
World: 5 stars
Feels: 4 stars
I was glad to see more of some of my favorite characters this time around. Not that they weren't there before, but Brendan and Dario had much smaller parts to play in the first two books, whereas they are both very important to this installment. Brendan is quite the schemer himself, just as much as Jess. And I loved really learning more about him. It was also good to see the two interact more.
Then we have some of the old favorites, like Wolf and Santi, Khalila, Glain, Thomas, and of course Morgan. Thomas is beginning to get more and more cunning the more he hangs with Jess. And we get to see some more of his engineering prowess in action.
I'll be straightforward. This series is full of action, adventure, plotting, betrayal, and people that love books. What could be better? As Jess and crew try to take on the Great Library of Alexandria, everything always falls apart. And the only thing that can save them all is their wits. Especially the wits of Jess and Brendan. Morgan and Jess's relationship blossoms even more, and Morgan sacrifices parts of herself to save everyone. The cliffhanger here is a doozy, and I cannot wait until the fourth installment is out as well.
If you weren't hooked before, you will be now. If you weren't in love with Paper and Fire, I beg you--give Ash and Quill a shot. It brings back the fast pace of the first book while diving deeper and deeper into the characters the way the second book did. It never drags, and the romance is sweet but not a focus at all. If anything, Jess sacrifices Morgan for the greater good, because he knows he needs to, rather than doing the selfish thing and staying hidden and happy.
Overall
This was probably my favorite so far in the series. If you have been considering reading this series, do it!
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
World: 5 stars
Feels: 4 stars
5 stars
Note: I received an arc of this book on Netgalley, and this in no way sways my opinion of this book.
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