Read time: 4 minutes
🎧 Listened in audio
📢 Narrated by Lisa Flanagan
⏱ Duration: 14 hours
🏷️ Publisher: Ace Books
📅 Published: October 1, 2019
Book Blurb:
When Val Jenkins arrives at the NOVA Prize gala—one of Canada’s most prestigious literary awards—she expects the usual: authors in questionable formal wear, thinly veiled rivalries, and dreams of $100,000 prize money. What she doesn’t expect is murder. The shortlisted authors each harbor secrets: a romance writer readers know from Fishnets & Fantasies, a narcissistic professor, a terminally ill writer chasing “award-winning” status, and a literary darling dodging the Canada Revenue Agency. With an embittered editor, an octogenarian bookie, two homicide detectives, and one suspicious historical portrait in the mix, Val’s crime-beat dreams are about to come true—whether she’s ready or not.
Let’s talk about the book:
I don’t read fantasy often, but The Library of the Unwritten snagged me by the title alone, and I’m so glad I took the bait. This is a fantasy debut that rewrites the genre playbook. Unwritten characters living in Hell’s library, waiting for their authors to finish them, characters jumping ship to become heroes in someone else’s story. It’s meta, it’s bold, and it works beautifully.
The world-building is where this book really shines. Hell isn’t just flames and punishment. It’s structured, political, and oddly human. The Library itself being independent from Lucifer adds such a fun layer to rebellion and autonomy. And then you have characters like Brevity, Leto, and Ramiel, who all feel distinct without being overwhelming. What really got me was Hero’s arch. He moves away from his given storyline to protect the Library and help Claire. Lisa Flanagan’s narration was another thing that holds. 14 hours of audiobook wouldn’t have been possible without her brilliant and engaging narrative skills. Every character had a voice, every twist landed with weight. I thought 14 hours would drag, but I was so deep in Claire’s world that the ending blindsided me. Now I’m stuck waiting for book two like a character trapped in an unfinished manuscript.
A.J. Hackwith built a universe where stories have power, characters have agency, and librarians are the last line of defense against cosmic chaos. I’m here for all of it. There’s something deeply satisfying about watching stories literally fight to exist. It makes me think about all the half-ideas sitting in my notes app, and whether they’re waiting somewhere too.
Would I recommend it?
If you love meta-fantasy, found family dynamics, or stories that play with storytelling itself, this is absolutely worth your time. It’s imaginative without being confusing, emotional without trying too heard, and just different enough to stand out in fantasy. Lisa Flanagan’s narration is also clearly done by someone who loves the material as much as you will. I’m genuinely excited to see where the trilogy goes next.
Read Next: If You Loved This, Try…
- The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman — Librarian spies stealing books across parallel worlds. Same chaotic-librarian-vs-cosmic-forces energy.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harlow — Meta-narrative magic and books as portals. Gorgeous prose, similar “stories have power” vibes.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson — Sentient grimoires and a librarian determined to protect them. YA fantasy with the same fierce bookish loyalty.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Amongst Our Weapons (Rivers of London #9) by Ben Aaronovitch — Urban fantasy with bureaucratic magic and found family. Perfect if you loved Hell’s corporate structure.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett — Heaven vs. Hell with humor, heart, and unlikely heroes. Same irreverent take on biblical mythology.
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
So… what’s living in your unwritten stories?
If unfinished stories had a place where they existed without you, would they be patient… or trying to escape? Tell me, what’s a story you’ve been meaning to write but haven’t yet?
Book Links
Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal
Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
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